June 6, 2019 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 06.06.2019, 19:47
SUMMIT – On Thursday, in Ljubljana, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis hailed the fact that the priorities that were established last year at the summit in Bucharest were confirmed at the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Slovenia. He recalled that, back then, major tools were agreed upon, as well as the list of priority projects in fields such as transport, energy and digital development. Also, an investment fund was created for the Initiative, in which Romania participates. The US economic presence in the region is a genuine catalyst for cooperation, has a strategic value and is a major component of the Transatlantic Partnership, the Romanian president said. The Three Seas Initiative is a political cooperation platform, at Presidential level, launched in 2015, which includes the 12 EU Member States located between the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Sea.
ASCENSION – On Thursday, Orthodox and Greek – Catholic Christians celebrated Ascension Day, which marks the moment when, 40 days after Resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Since 1920, Ascension Day has also been a day of celebrating Romanias heroes. Religious services and military parades were held across the country on the occasion. In a message conveyed on Thursday, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said that Heroes Day was dedicated not only to those who died in wars of the past centuries, but to all those who devoted their lives to motherland and the Romanian nation, including the heroes and martyrs of the communist prisons, those who died fighting against the Communist regime in Romania and also the soldiers who have died in various theaters of operations abroad.
IMF – On Thursday, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had a meeting with the IMF expert delegation, headed by Jaewoo Lee, the head of the mission for Romania and Bulgaria. The IMF team is in Romania for the annual assessment of the macro-economic situation, which is a regular procedure entailing consultations with the national authorities. According to a Government release, the PM has stressed the fact that, in the past years, Romania has had one of the biggest growth rates in the EU, a trend which is very likely to continue in the coming years, according to estimates. For 2019, the economic growth is estimated at 5.5% of the GDP, against the background of a normal agricultural year and a recovery of the service and investment sector, the Government communiqué reads.
ECONOMY – The National Statistics Institute on Thursday confirmed the 5% growth registered by the Romanian economy in the first quarter of the year, as compared to the same period last year. The data show, however, that the growth was mainly generated by the increase in consumption, as households consumption expenditure rose by 7%, contributing 4.3% to the growth of the GDP. The share of investments was of only 0.9%, while exports maintained a negative contribution, of minus 3.3%.
FOOTBALL – Romanias football side is in Norway where on Friday it will play against the Norwegian national squad in a match counting towards Group F of the European Championship preliminaries. On Monday, the Romanians will be playing Malta also in an away match. We recall that so far into the competition, our footballers lost to Sweden 2-1 in Stockholm in March and secured a 4-1 win at home against the Faeroe Islands. The first two sides in group F will qualify for the final tournament. Lots are to be cast for Euro 2020 in Bucharest on November 30th. Romania will be hosting four games of the final tournament, three in the groups stage and one in the round of 16. We recall that also this month, Romanias under-21 side will be playing in the European Championship in Italy and San Marino. Our side is part of group C together with England, France and Croatia.
(translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)
