14 February 2018

Romanias economy grew by 7% in 2017 compared with 2016./ Defence minister Mihai Fifor attends NATO meeting in Brussels.

Newsroom, 14.02.2018, 13:32

Economy. Romania’s economy grew by 7% in
2017 as compared with the previous year, which accounts for the highest growth
rate in the last 9 years, according to data published by the National Institute
for Statistics on Wednesday. In the last quarter of last year, the growth of
the GDP slowed down compared to the similar period in 2016 to reach 6.9%, from
8.8% in the third quarter. The annual inflation rate went up in January this
year to 4.3% from 3.3% in December last year, as a result of higher food and
non-food prices compared with January last year. Experts are worried, however,
about the boom of the Romanian economy. France Presse news agency quotes
analyst Cristian Paun as saying that Romania, which had the strongest growth
rate in Europe thanks to vigorous consumption, is neglecting investment and
will have to prepare for difficult consequences. The European Commission has
also warned that the main driving engine of economic growth was household
consumption as a result of lower taxes and higher salaries and that public
investment has dropped for the second year in a row.

NATO. The Romanian defence
minister Mihai Fifor is today attending a two-day meeting in Brussels of his
counterparts from other NATO countries. According to a defence ministry
release, on the first day, the participants will be discussing planning and
policy for nuclear deterrence. Talks will focus on the modernisation of the
Alliance, the adjustment of NATO’s institutional and command structure,
European defence and cooperation between NATO and the European Union. Another
important issue on the agenda is the NATO members’ allocation of 2% of their
GDPs to defence. Prior to the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
said more European defence spending and
capabilities can strengthen NATO, but only if the EU’s efforts are a complement
and not an alternative to NATO.

Flu. The number of deaths caused by the flu virus in Romania has reached
29, the National Public Health Institute announced on Wednesday. More than
800,000 people have received the flu vaccine. Doctors recommend the population
to get the vaccine amidst a growing number of flu cases. Health minister Sorina
Pintea says, however, that there is no question of an epidemic in Romania. She
says prevention is the most important thing, and that public health
directorates and hospitals must take the necessary measures.

Asylum. Almost 5,000 people submitted
asylum applications in Romania last year, more than double compared with 2016. Of
them, more than 1,300 qualified for refugee status or subsidiary protection and
another 1,500 people benefited from other forms of protection and were signed
up for integration programmes. 174 foreign nationals were relocated from Greece
and Italy and 43 Syrian refugees arrived in Romania as part of the extra-EU
relocation scheme. Most asylum applicants come from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan
and Pakistan.

Literary prize. The
Romanian writer Mircea Cartarescu wins the Thomas Mann prize for literature in
2018, one of the most prestigious German literary prizes. The 25,000-euro prize
is granted jointly by the city of Lübeck and the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and will be
handed on the 17th of November. According to the jury, in the past four decades, Mircea Cartarescu has
become the most important voice in Romanian literature, first through his
poetry, then through his novels, short stories and essays, while his unusual,
polyphonic romantic trilogy Blinding earned him a place in world literature.
Cartarescu is the recipient of many national and international prizes,
including the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding in 2015. His work is
available in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Polish, Swedish,
Bulgarian and Hungarian.

Tennis. Four
Romanian tennis players are today playing in the Doha tournament in Qatar,
worth 3.1 million dollars. World no. 2 Simona Helep plays Russia’s Ekaterina
Makarova, Sorana Cirstea plays Belgium’s Elise Mertens, Mihaela Buzarnescu plays Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, while Monica
Niculescu faces Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova. Mihaela Buzarnescu is also
playing in the doubles competition in Doha.