February 6, 2016

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 06.02.2016, 12:01

COSAC The Chairwoman of the European Affairs Committee of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Ana Birchall, will attend on February 7th and 8th the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union — COSAC-, hosted by the Hague in the Netherlands. The main topics on the meeting’s agenda are the priorities of the Dutch presidency of the EU Council, such as migration, EU border security, European finances and the Eurozone, strengthening the European domestic market and the relations between the EU and Great Britain. The Netherlands is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council.

INFLATION A fresh Central Bank forecasts reconfirms the plunge of the inflation rate in the first five months of the year, following the drop of the VAT on all foodstuffs and the decrease of other taxes. According to the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, in the absence of these measures, the inflation rate would have gone up to almost 2%. The central bank has decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at 1.75% per year, as well as the current levels of the interest rates on minimum mandatory reserves applicable to the liabilities of crediting institutions.

LASER The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, the Romanian Corina Cretu, has approved a new calendar for the works on the most powerful laser in the world, which is being built in Magurele, near Romania’s capital Bucharest. The decision was necessary to avoid losing the funds allocated for the first execution phase, which has been delayed. The European Commissioner has also approved the inclusion of other facilities, and the purchase of additional equipment. The project, which is quite unique in Europe, will benefit from last generation technology, which will allow the study of the impact that strong electromagnetic radiation has on matter. The project is run through the European fund for regional development, and its completion is due in 2018.

EARTHQUAKE A powerful earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, has hit southern Taiwan, killing 7 people and wounding hundreds. Rescue teams are now searching for survivors among the ruins of buildings that collapsed in Tainan. Among the buildings affected there is a 16 – storey tower. Taiwan, which is very close to the junction between two tectonic plates, is hit by earthquakes on a regular basis. In 1999, a quake measuring 7.6 hit the island in September, killing 2,400 people.

TENNIS Tennis player Simona Halep, ranking 3rd in the WTA classification, is today playing against the 13th ranked Karolina Pliskova in the first game of the confrontation between the Romanian and the Czech teams, part of the Fed Cup’s first tour. Also today, Romanian Monica Niculescu is taking on Petra Kvitova. On Sunday, Halep will play against Petra Kvitova, and Niculescu will face Karolina Pliskova. The potential doubles will oppose the pairs made up of Andreea Mitu- Raluca Olaru and Denisa Allertova — Barbora Strycova respectively. The Czech team participating in the Fed Cup this year has been the best of the past years, and has gathered 9 titles, including the one won in 2015.

HANDBALL The Romanian women’s handball champions CSM Bucharest are today playing against the Hungarian squad Gyor, away from home, in the main group 2 of the Champions League. Before this game, CSM ranks 3rd in the group, which secures its qualification into the quarter finals. In the same competition, another Romanian team, vice-champion HCM Baia Marie on Friday defeated on home turf the valuable Hungarian squad FTC Rail Cargo Budapest, in the 1st main group. The Romanian players rank 4th in the group, the last position that still allows qualification into the quarter finals.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team will play in Cluj, north-western Romania, against the representative team of Portugal, in its first match at the Rugby Europe Championship, the second most important competition after the famous 6 Nations Championship. This months and in March, the Romanian rugby players will also play against Spain, Russia, Germany and Georgia. In autumn, under the leadership of the Welsh Lynn Howells, Romania participated in the final tour of the World Cup in England, where in the group stage it defeated Canada and lost to France, Ireland and Italy.