June 30, 2016 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 30.06.2016, 12:15

According to the Governor of the National
Bank of Romania Mugur Isarescu, Great Britain’s decision to leave the EU has
effected the financial markets in Romania to a lesser extent than those of the
other countries in the region. This does not mean, however, that the impact
will not increase in the future. Mugur Isarescu has underlined the fact that
the result of the referendum held in the UK has increased the level of
uncertainty on international markets. Isarescu has also stated that the annual
inflation rate remains negative for a longer period of time than the Central
Bank had initially estimated, but at lower values, following the disappearance
of the effect of the drop in the VAT on foodstuffs in June 2015 and the low
prices of imported goods. On Thursday, the Central Bank decided to maintain the
monetary policy interest rate at 1,75% per year. Also, the current levels of
the minimum mandatory reserves that banks must have at the National Bank have
been maintained.

The Romanian Institute for
Public Policies is deeply worried by the many racist and xenophobic
manifestations against Romanians who live in great Britain and calls on the
Foreign Ministry in Bucharest to take measures. In a press release,
representatives of the Institute say that it’s the responsibility of the
Romanian state to take additional measures through its diplomatic and consular
missions in Great Britain, in order to promptly intervene and support the
approximately 200,000 Romanians who are now faced with the risk of being the
victims of severe acts of intolerance.

US President
Barack Obama has said the UK vote to leave the EU raises longer-term concerns
about global growth. He has also called for an orderly process for the British
exit. In Paris, the French finance minister Michel Sapin has told the BBC that
everything is on the table in the EU’s negotiations with the UK, including the
freedom of movement. In London, prime minister David Cameron’s office has
underlined that replacing 40 years of agreements between the UK and the EU may
involve a long and complicated process.

Slovakia on Friday will take
over the EU’s 6-month rotating presidency from the Netherlands. The main
challenges of its presidency are the UK vote to leave the European Union and
the situation of the refugees. Slovakia’s left wing prime minister Robert Fico
has stated he is expecting a difficult presidency. The 27 member states
remaining in the EU after the UK exit must find the necessary strength to
embark on a profound reform of the EU’s fundamental policies, Fico has also
said. A former communist country in Central Europe, Slovakia has been under
criticism for its response to the refugee crisis. The authorities in Bratislava
have, in fact, submitted a complaint to the European Court of Justice against
the introduction of obligatory migrant quotas established by the EU.

The United States will be
taking additional security measures in the run-up to the 4th of July
holiday following Tuesday’s terrorist attacks at the Ataturk airport in
Istanbul, Turkey, in which 42 people were killed and more than 200 injured, US
flight security experts and officials have said. The CIA director John Brennan
has said the attack bears the hallmark of the
Islamic State group and has warned the group may also carry out attacks in the US.
The additional security measures include a more visible presence of security
forces carrying weapons and tactical gear and an increase in the number of
passenger checks, screenings and complex verifications. Approximately 43
million Americans are expected to travel for the 4th of July.

Romanian tennis Simona Halep,
number 5 in the WTA rankings, on Thursday won the match against the Italian
Francesca Schiavone, ranked 111th in the WTA classification, 6-1 6-1, in the
second round at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. For a
place in the final eighths, Halep will play against the Dutch Kiki Bertens,
ranked 28th. Also on Thursday, the 47th-ranked Romanian Monica Niculescu
defeated the Serbian player Aleksandra Krunic 6-1, 6-4 and qualified for the
second round, where she will taken on the Swiss Timea Bacsinszky.