September 13, 2017 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 13.09.2017, 19:40
Romanias President Klaus Iohannis appreciated in a communiqué issued on Wednesday the call for unity with the aim of consolidating the European project made by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker during his state of the Union address in the European Parliament. The Romanian head of state also hailed the proposal made by Juncker that a special EU summit be held in Sibiu, central Romania, on March 30th 2019, when Romania will be holding the sixth month presidency of the EU Council. The summit would focus on strategic matters concerning the future of the EU. Also, the Romanian president appreciated the Commissions support for Romanias Schengen accession. Jean-Claude Juncker said that Romania and Bulgaria should be accepted immediately into the free movement area. He also stood for the introduction of measures to help the EU members that wish to adopt the Euro. Juncker tackled other issues such as Brexit, terrorism, illegal migration, economic growth and jobs. He also said that the products sold in Eastern Europe should not be lower in quality than those marketed in the West.
On Wednesday, the Romanian Government approved the first adjustment of the 2017 budget, maintaining the budget deficit of 2.95% of the GDP. The Finance Minister Ionut Misa has stated that the adjustment is positive, given that in the first six months of the year, Romania registered an economic growth higher that estimated initially, which triggered a GDP growth of some 4.8 billion Euros. According to the Government, all public institutions will fully benefit from the allocated amounts. The ministries of agriculture, health, internal affairs and the ministry for the business environment will get more money. On the other hand, the ministries of regional development, transportation and communications will get less.
The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has rejected the simple motion of no-confidence filed by the opposition National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union against the proposals made by the Justice Minister. The signatories say the amendments proposed by Tudorel Toader to the justice laws are an attempt to cancel the progress made in this area. Minister Toader has responded that the amendments are necessary, given that the laws in question date from 2004 and the Superior Council of Magistracy has called for them to be updated. Some of the changes, criticized by both civil society and the media, refer to the fact that the president is no longer to appoint the heads of the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, the transfer of the Judicial Inspectorate to the Ministry of Justice and increasing the length of service required to promote magistrates. Earlier this year, a government attempt to ease criminal legislation on corruption triggered some of the largest street protests in post-communist Romania.
The 26th edition of the most important annual meeting of public broadcasters from around the world, organized by Radio Romania, ended on Wednesday. Gathered in the mountain resort of Sinaia, in central Romania, the participants discussed the future of public media, its role in defending cultural diversity and the pride of serving communities. On Tuesday, the 150 participants in the conference agreed that, regardless of financing methods and the development of technology, public media institutions must continue to focus on three fundamental directions: information, education and entertainment.
Romania ranks 42nd out of 130 countries around the world in terms of human capital development, reads a report published on Wednesday by the World Economic Forum. Although above the world average, Romania, with 66% of its human capital developed, lags behind countries in the region, such as Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic, but it is ranked better than Portugal, Spain and Greece. According to the report, only 62% of the worlds human capital is developed. Top of the list is Norway, with more than 77%, followed by Finland, Switzerland, the US, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Sweden.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that the procedure for the repatriation from Syria, through Lebanon, of a group of five Romanians and one Syrian member of their family had been completed. Since the start of the evacuation operations from Syria, in 2011, 735 Romanians and family members have been repatriated. The Romanian Embassy in Damascus provides protection and support also for citizens from Australia, Canadian, France, the Republic of Moldova and Portugal, currently on Syrian soil.
