February 4, 2018 UPDATE

Romanian Defense Minister pays official visit to Chisinau/Romanian Bernadette Szocs wins ITTF Europe Top-16 Cup tournament

Newsroom, 04.02.2018, 19:15

VISIT — The deputy prime minister for Romania’s strategic partnerships’ implementation, Ana Birchall, is taking part in the European Open Government Leaders’ Forum held on Monday in Milan, Italy. The event is organised on the first day of Italy’s Open Government Week. The Forum will gather policy-makers, senior civil servants, high level experts and Civil Society Organizations’ representatives from across Europe to discuss the role of civic participation for better policy making and improved public governance systems. The debate will also be aimed at generating new political support for open government and strengthening commitment to action.

DEFENSE — Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor is paying an official visit to Chisinau on Monday, at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart Eugen Sturza. Minister Fifor will be accompanied by the Chief of the Army General Staff, General Nicolae Ciuca. Tackled at the meeting will be the security situation in the region and bilateral cooperation in he field of defense, with an emphasis on joint projects aimed at helping Moldova continue on its European and Euro-Atlantic path. Previously, Mihai Fifor said that 2018 would be a year dedicated to the modernisation of the Romanian Naval Forces and in that respect a project would be presented at Wednesday’s government meeting, regarding the purchase of four multifunctional corvettes. The contract could be signed until the end of the year, and the corvettes are to be produced in Romania. The Romanian Naval Forces’ two frigates are also to be upgraded.

FORECAST – The Romanian National Commission for Prognosis has revised upwards the evolution of the country’s GDP this year, to 6.1% from an initial 5.5%. The final consumption is expected to go up by 6.3%, which is also more than initially forecast. However, consumption is going to slow down in the next three years to reach 4.9% in 2021. The European Commission has estimated an advance of Romanian economy of up to 4.4% this year, a figure similar to the one estimated by the IMF, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

REPATRIATION — A Romanian citizen was evacuated safely from Yemen, via Jordan, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday in a release. The Romanian citizen was constantly in touch with Romania’s Embassy in Amman, which monitored his repatriation and granted him consular assistance.

HANDBALL — On Sunday the Romanian women’s handball champion, CSM Bucharest, defeated the Danish side Midtjylland 31-26, in the Champions League’s Group 1 main round match away from home. CSM top the group which also includes Hungary’s Gyor Audi ETO KC, Nykoebing Falster Handbold of Denmark, Rostov of Russia and RK Krim Mercator Ljubljana of Slovenia. CSM Bucharest will play the next match at home, on February 11, against Rostov. On Saturday, Sport Club Municipal Craiova defeated the French side Brest Bretagne Handball, 16-15, in an EHF Cup Group A match. In another EHF Cup match on Sunday, Handbal Club Zalau beat the Norwegian side Larvik, the Group D leaders, 25-22, and qualified for the competition’s quarterfinals.

TABLE TENNIS – Romanian table tennis player Bernadette Szocs on Sunday won the ITTF Europe Top-16 Cup tournament in Montreux, Switzerland. Participating were Europe’s 16 best players. Szocs defeated in the final the Dutch Jie Li, the trophy holder, 4-1. The competition was first organised in 1971, and among the winners have so far been the Romanians Olga Nemes in 1983, Emilia Ciosu in 1993 and Otilia Badescu in 1995. There is also good news from tennis as Romania’s team on Saturday and Sunday defeated Luxembourg at home, 3-1, in the first round of Europe/ Africa Zone Group II of the Davis Cup. (Translated by Elena Enache)