November 12, 2018 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 12.11.2018, 20:09
VISIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Monday received in Bucharest the president of the European Economic and Social Committee, Luca Jahier; the two officials talked about the upcoming Romanian presidency of the EU, issues related to the future of the EU, its multiannual budget as well as social and cultural aspects. President Iohannis has said that during its EU presidency Bucharest wants to obtain concrete results for the EU citizens and contribute to the consolidation of the European project. In turn the EU official has said that the European Economic and Social Committee wants to play an active role during the future strategic meetings such as the Sibiu Summit on May 9th 2019.
TALKS The European Union and London have not reached an agreement yet over the way in which the United Kingdom will leave the bloc, but talks between the two parties continue, the EU chief negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier has announced. The EU official on Monday presented before the General Affairs Council in Brussels the latest developments in the talks over Britains leaving the bloc. The event was also attended by Romanias permanent representative to the EU, Luminita Odobescu. The Irish border is a pressing issue in the Brexit talks as neither side wants to introduce a physical border in Ireland for fear of undermining the peace accords, which put an end to almost three decades of violence in Northern Ireland. The UK is to leave the European Union at the end of March 2019.
IMF Increases in public wage and planned changes to pension benefits should be reassessed for their negative implications for fiscal sustainability and long-term growth, says an IMF communiqué published on Monday. An IMF team led by Jaewoo Lee visited Bucharest between November 6th and 12th for talks over Romanias latest macroeconomic developments. According to Jaewoo Lee, ‘economic activity in Romania remains strong with unemployment at a record low. At the same time, spending composition is increasingly skewed towards rigid items to the detriment of public investment. According to the IMF official, “fiscal consolidation would enhance room for fiscal policy maneuver, thereby reducing the economys vulnerability to domestic and external shocks.
VOTE The European Parliament met on Monday in plenary session to vote on a resolution regarding the rule of law in Romania. They are set to vote on passing the resolution on Tuesday, and that same day the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification report for 2018 will be published. According to the press, the draft resolution is critical of the Romanian Parliament and executive, and issues tough recommendations to the authorities in Bucharest regarding the judicial system.
(translated by bill)
