November 28, 2019
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 28.11.2019, 14:00
IPIFF – The 14th edition of the Independent Producers Indie Film Festival — IPIFF 2019, the only festival in Romania supporting independent filmmakers, is under way in Bucharest. The Festival is organised by the Romanian Union of Film and Audiovisual Producers – Romanian Association for Collective Management of Audiovizual Works. For five days, film lovers have the opportunity to watch at the Union Cinema in Bucharest, the latest Romanian independent features and short films. The current edition of the festival also includes a screenwriting competition for short and feature film. Workshops for scriptwriters will also be held, aimed at helping them turn their scripts into films. One of these workshops, dubbed “The art of project presentation, of finding the right co-producer and of negotiating the best co-production deal”, is held today by Renate Roginas.
ELECTION RESULTS – The Central Election Bureau has today announced the final results of the presidential runoff of November 24. Thus, incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, supported by the ruling National Liberal Party, won the election with 66% of the votes, double the result of his contender, former Social Democratic PM Viorica Dancila. The voter turnout was 45% (almost 10 million voters) of the people included on the election lists. As many as 944,77 Romanians abroad went to the polls, of whom almost 94% supported Klaus Iohannis.
DECEMBER 1 – Around 4 thousand military with the Romanian Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the National Administration of Penitentiaries as well as 200 technical equipment will take part in the December 1st parade, celebrating Romania’s National Day. Also, 500 troops from allied and partner countries will attend the parade. The National Day will be celebrated across the country and abroad, including in theatres of operation, with parades, religious ceremonies, exhibitions of combat military technology and weapons and cultural events. The date of 1st of December 1918 remains a symbol for the union of all Romanians. Declared an official holiday after the anti-communist revolution of 1989, 1st of December marks the completion, at the end of World War I, of the creation of the Romanian nation state following the union of all provinces with majority Romanian populations that had been part of multinational empires.
APPOINTMENT – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has today signed the decree on the appointment of Lieutenant Gen. Daniel Petrescu as Chief of the Defence Staff, replacing Gen. Nicolae Ciuca, who stepped down after being appointed defence minister. “He is a well-known, respected, eminent army man,” President Iohannis said about the new Chief of Staff. He also emphasised that Daniel Petrescu’s professional background includes tactical, operational and strategic positions in the Romanian Land Forces, under NATO command, and participation in missions in the theatres of operations in Angola, Albania, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Supreme Defence Council had approved General Petrescu’s appointment on Wednesday, at its first meeting attended by the members of the new Cabinet headed by PM Ludovic Orban.
ECONOMY – Romanian economists signalled the budget risks involved by the increase in pensions, stipulated by the laws in force. One of its effects might be a higher trade deficit, of up to 6.5% by 2022. Central Bank chief economist Valentin Lazea believes that the enforcement of the pension law should be postponed and that an increase in fiscal revenues should not necessarily be followed by an increase in taxes and duties. On the other hand, PM Ludovic Orban has said that next year’s budget should be drawn up by taking into account a 40% increase in pensions, and that any intervention, through emergency decree, in this sensitive field is out of the question.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
