7 April, 2016
Pres. Iohannis consults parties on security, European commissioner visits Romania
Newsroom, 07.04.2016, 11:59
CONSULTATIONS — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said he would hold talks next week with parties represented in Parliament for amendments in security legislation. He said that the relevant rules should be improved, since they no longer live up to the challenges of national and global security. The president emphasized that, in issuing this legislation, rights and freedoms have to be observed.
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER — European Commissioner for Internal Market, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, is today and tomorrow on a visit to Romania. She is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos, Minister of the Economy Costin Borc, Finance Minister Anca Dragu, and the minister in charge of European funds, Aura Raducu. Commissioner Bienkowska will hold the keynote speech at a conference on improving business in the country, held by the EC representation in Romania. The commissioner is also set to visit the Ploiesti Industrial Park, meeting business people.
DEFENSE TALKS — Defense Minister MIhnea Motoc held a meeting today with his Georgian counterpart, Tinatin Khidasheli, discussing recent events in regional security and Black Sea cooperation. Motoc said that Georgia is a key paretner for Romania in the region, and one of the most important for NATO and the EU. The two ministers discussed possibilities of cooperation in military training, intelligence and special forces. The Georgian minister said that security challenges like the recent attacks in Brussels, Ankara, Istanbul, and Paris are proof that enhanced security cooperation was needed.
ELECTION POLLS — A recent poll indicates that if elections for Parliament were held on Sunday, the Social Democrats would get 38% of the vote, while the Liberals would get 37.2%. The only parties that would be over the threshold for representation in Parliament would be ALDE, the alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the People’s Movement Party, and the Union of Ethnic Hungarians, with slim margins above the 5% threshold. Romania is now under a technocratic government. Local elections are scheduled for June, with parliamentary elections following in autumn.
PANAMA — The Panamanian government will set up a special commission to investigate financial practices, after the Mossack Fonseca leaks. The largest fiscal information leak in history revealed how heads of state past and present, high ranking politicians, business people or famous athletes, as well as criminal organizations were using tax havens to syphon away money. At the same time, the government of Panama said that it would cooperate in any international inquiry into the issues revealed by the leaks.
BRUSSELS ATTACKS — Belgian PM Charles Michel admitted that the recent attacks in Brussels, claimed by ISIS, which left 32 dead, were a failure of security. He said that Belgium was not a failed state, and said that new security measures would be put into place. At the same time, the European Parliament said that one of the attackers had been a janitor for the institution years ago. Prosecutors in Brussels identified him as Belgian citizen Najim Lachraoui, one of the two suicide bombers at Zaventem Airport. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, Brussels is still being patrolled by enhanced security forces, while the subway functions at half capacity.
POLO — Romania’s national polo team today plays against Russia, in its last Group A game in the preliminaries to the Olympic games, an event held in Trieste. In the previous four matches, Romania beat Slovakia 13-11, tied against Canada 10-10, and lost against France (11-12) and Hungary (8-12). The first four teams in each group will qualify for the quarter finals. The semi-finalists will qualify to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer.
