March 4, 2016

Romanias former sovereign King Mihai I undergoes treatment in Switzerland. Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos to attend EU-Turkey meeting in Brussels. Romania faces Slovenia in the Davis Cup.

Newsroom, 04.03.2016, 12:00

The former Romanian sovereign
King Mihai I is in a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was taken five
days ago, according to his press office. He is physically weak, but stable, and
receives constant treatment. In a statement published on Wednesday, the
94-year-old king said he received news of a serious medical diagnosis a few
weeks ago, at a time when his family and Romania celebrate 150 years since the
establishment of the dynasty and the formation of the Romanian modern
state. Diagnosed with two types of
cancer, Mihai I has also undergone surgery. He handed over his public
responsibilities to his older daughter, princess Margareta. Born on the 25th
of October 1921, Mihai I was king between 1927 and 1930 and then again from 1940 until
1947, when he was forced by the communists to abdicate and go into
exile. He returned to Romania after the collapse of the communist regime in
1989.

The Romanian prime minister
Dacian Ciolos on Monday travels to Brussels to attend the meeting between the
European Union and Turkey. The former plays a crucial role in stemming the flow
of migrants to Europe. Ciolos will also attend an informal meeting of European
Council members. On Tuesday, he will have talks with the European Council
president Donald Tusk about internal EU affairs, including the economic
situation, employment, the refugee crisis, Schengen, the EU’s relationship with
Britain and the energy union. The two officials will also tackle external issues,
such as the eastern neighbourhood, the Republic of Moldova and Syria. In
another meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Dacian Ciolos will meet NATO Secretary
General Jens Stoltenberg
to discuss regional security issues, such as NATO’s presence in eastern Europe,
the Black Sea area and the EU-NATO strategic relationship. On Wednesday,
Romania’s prime minister travels to The Hague for talks with his Dutch
counterpart Mark Rutte and other senior officials.

The E.coli bacteria was not found
in milk produced by farms in Arges and Dolj counties, said the Sanitary and
Veterinary Agency. The tests have been carried out as part of a wide-scale
investigation to find the source of the E.coli bacteria that infected tens of
children in Arges. Agriculture minister Achim Irimescu does not rule out that
the source may be the fresh cow cheese produced by a factory using milk from
the farms in Arges and Dolj. The representatives of the Federation of Producers
of Traditional Products do not agree with the minister and say his statement
caused a lot of damage to the image and sales of these producers, whose sales
allegedly dropped by 40%. Three infants have died since the beginning of
February because of serious digestive complications caused by the E.coli
bacteria.

The former Romanian deputy prime minister and interior minister Gabriel
Oprea has resigned from his position as leader of the National Union for the
Progress of Romania party. He justified his decision saying he does not want
the scandal in which he is involved to affect his party in an election year.
Oprea is under investigation for abuse of office while serving as interior
minister. Anticorruption prosecutors accuse him of authorising the purchase of
a luxury car by the ministry and of abusively using official police escort to
which he was not entitled.

Romania’s Davis Cup team this
weekend faces Slovenia in the first round of the Europe-Africa Group 1. Marius
Copil, no. 202 in the ATP world ranking, today meets Blaz Rola, no. 106. In a
second match today, Adrian Ungur, ranked 193, faces Grega Zemlja, ranked 181.
In a doubles match on Saturday, Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea face the pair
Tomislav Ternar and Aljaz Radinski. In the final two singles matches on Sunday,
Adrian Ungur faces Blaz Rola, while Marius Copil faces Grega Zemlja.