June 9, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news.

Newsroom, 09.06.2019, 19:27

MOLDOVA — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has called on all political forces in the neighboring Republic of Moldova to observe democracy and the rule of law. Moldova’s stability is essential for the its European path, as the country has committed itself to conducting a comprehensive reform process, also as regards the rule of law and good governance, a communiqué by the Romanian presidency reads. Romania’s Government has also announced that it closely monitors the political evolutions in the neighboring country, and has urged all political forces there to respect the democratic process. The European Commission has said in a statement that “the European Union stands ready to work with the democratically legitimate government, on the basis of a mutual commitment to reforms and to the core principles enshrined in our Association Agreement.” The European Union strongly reiterated its call for calm and restraint, saying that dialogue between democratically elected representatives must remain the key to finding a solution to the current political crisis.

MISSION – As many as 20 companies will take part in an economic mission of promoting Romanian IT&C products in the US, in June 10-14. According to a communiqué of the Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship on June 10-12 the Romanian companies will participate in the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC, the highest-profile event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment in the United States and also in the Select USA Spin-off in San Francisco, on June 13 and 14.

G20 – The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici headed the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks included topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues.

ADOPTIONS — Hundreds of people from abroad, adopted from Romania in the 1990s, have succeeded in the last four years to find their biological parents due to a Facebook page. This page was opened by a Romanian from the county of Buzau, who settled in Ireland, who was trying to find her brother who had been adopted 26 years before and whom she finally found in Manchester, the UK. The Facebook page “The never forgotten Romanian children”, set up in 2015 by Ileana Cunniffe Băiescu receives daily requests from adopted people and has 60 thousand followers. She has confessed she received in four years alone, around 15 hundred requests and that around 70%-80% of the cases have been solved.

REPORT — Health and the education of their children are Romanians’ main concerns, while in terms of priorities paying the bills is on top of the list. Investment in their own education and saving money are also important for Romanians, according to a recent survey conducted by the Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy. Only one in five adults understand the basic financial products, which places Romania last in Europe in terms of financial education. Life insurance products are seen as complex, difficult to understand and expensive, while 40% of Romanians believe all financial products are the same. Half of the respondents have admitted to being poorly informed on the topic of insurances. The survey was conducted between May 6 and 9 and has an error margin of 2.7%.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s football team is in Malta, scheduled to play against the host national team on Monday in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Friday Romania drew against Norway, 2-all away from home. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romania’s team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia. (Translated by Elena Enache)