August 18, 2016 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 18.08.2016, 12:15
RESPONSE – The Romanian Foreign Ministry rejected information according to which the United States started to transfer nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania. EurActiv.com, quoting two independent sources, wrote that the US started the transfer of weapons stationed in Turkey to Romania against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Washington and Ankara. According to one of the sources, the transfer raises numerous technical and political issues. Another source told EurActiv.com that the US- Turkey relations deteriorated to such an extent after the attempted coup in July that Washington no longer trusts Ankara to harbor its nuclear weapons. These are about to be transferred to the airbase in Deveselu, in southern Romania, according to EurActiv.com.
CAR SALES – Car sales in Romania went up almost 15% in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the Automobile Makers and Importers Association. Production for domestic brand Dacia, made by Renault, went down 6.6%, but continues to be the bestselling brand in Romania, with a market share of over 30%. Next come Volkswagen, Skoda and Renault.
TRADE – Romanian Minister of the Economy, Costin Borc, receiving in Bucharest Turkish Minister of Development Lutfi Elva, praised Turkey’s role as the premier trade partner for Romania outside the EU. According to a press release, Minister Borc said that the Romanian offer for the Turkish market is generous, and suits its needs. The two officials convened to continue these talks this autumn in Ankara, at the meeting of the mixed government commission that supervises economic relations between the two countries. In 2015, Turkey, aside from being the most important trade partner outside the EU for Romania, was the fifth most important such partner overall, the sixth most important export market, and the 9th most important supplier.
FARMERS – Romanian farmers on Thursday protested in front of the Government building, calling for the resignation of Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu. Farmers are unhappy for not receiving state subsidies worth 360 million euros from EU funds. Farmers went on strike and claim to continue their protest until all the payments are made. Over 350,000 hectares of farmland are affected by the drought, Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu has said.
OLYMPICS – Andrei Gag, the only Romanian athlete who competed on Thursday at the Rio Olympics, failed to qualify to the final of the shot put event. Andrei Gag failed his first two attempts, and managed a third attempt measuring 20m40cm, a result that placed him 13th in the general standings. So far Romania still has only four medals in Rio: the gold obtained by the women’s epee team, the silver obtained by the pair Florin Mergea/ Horia Tecau in the men’s tennis doubles, and two bronze medals, obtained by Gabriel Sincraian in weightlifting, and by the women’s coxed eight rowing team. Romania did not get any medal in gymnastics at this edition, which happens for the first time in the last 44 years.
TURKEY – PKK claimed a new bomb attack on Thursday in south-eastern Turkey, killing three military and wounding six. Also on Thursday, six people died and 200 were wounded in two car-bomb attacks. In another move, the Turkish economic police on Thursday ran numerous raids in Istanbul against companies suspected of supporting financially Fethullah Gulen, in exile in the US, accused by the government to be behind the attempted coup last month. 200 arrest warrants were issued in the raids. This is the second such operation this week, mostly against prominent business people. On Wednesday, Turkish PM Binaly Yildirim said that over 40,000 people have been detained after the failed coup, half of them being placed under arrest, facing prosecution. The purges in the army, police, the judiciary and public administration removed 80,000 people from public service, the PM announced.
(Translated by C. Cotoiu and V. Palcu)
