January 27, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 27.01.2014, 13:00
Eight counties in the east and south of Romania are until tonight under a code-orange snowstorm alert, as the wind is expected to reach 60-70 kmph in these regions. Two motorways and 24 national roads are still closed, railway traffic is disrupted and several flights have been delayed. River and sea ports are also closed, while in tens of localities power outages have been reported. Schools have been closed down for two days in the capital Bucharest and in half of the counties in Romania affected by heavy snowfalls and blizzard.
PM Victor Ponta has a meeting today with the joint delegation of the IMF, European Commission and the World Bank, which is in Bucharest for an assessment of the stand-by loan agreement signed with Romania last autumn. The talks focus on the priorities of economic reforms and the legislation with an impact on the economy. Last week the international experts also had talks with President Traian Basescu, who reiterated his opposition to a supplementary excise on fuels. Talks were also held at the Ministry for Finances, with officials for the National Tax Agency, the National Bank of Romania, and with trade unions, which suggested the introduction of differentiated taxation. Until February the 5th, the international experts are to have talks with the authorities, representatives of political parties, trade unions, business associations, banks and civil society.
The Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans is on an official visit to Bucharest, less than a week after the European Commission released its report on the judicial systems of Romania and Bulgaria. According to the Romanian and Dutch foreign ministries, the visit is a good opportunity to strengthen the relations between the two countries, often marred by tough accusations, as the Netherlands opposes Romania’s Schengen accession on grounds of insufficient judicial reform. The Dutch foreign minister will have talks with the Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta and with his Romanian counterpart, Titus Corlăţean, about economic cooperation, considering that the Netherlands is a top foreign investor in Romania, as well as about energy security, the EU enlargement policy and the Eastern Partnership.
The Ukrainian Justice Minister Elena Lukash warned on Monday that she might request the introduction of a state of emergency unless the protesters who occupied the ministry building in central Kiev leave. Scores of radical protesters seized the building on Sunday night, without any resistance. One of the opposition leaders, ex-boxer Vitaly Klitchko urged the rioters to withdraw, but to no effect.
Simona Halep has today become the third Romanian tennis player to reach the 10th position in the WTA ranking, as she moved one place up thanks to reaching the Australian Open quarter-final. The two other Romanian players to have made it into the “world top ten” are her manager, Virginia Ruzici, who reached no. 8, and Irina Spîrlea, a former no. 7 WTA. Simona’s rise began last May, when she only ranked 64th in the world, but since then she has won 6 WTA tournaments, which made her the “Most Improved Player” in last year’s professional tennis circuit.
