July 17 2014 UPDATE
A look at some of the main stories in Romania today
România Internațional, 17.07.2014, 12:05
Ukraine’s prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk has ordered the immediate creation of a government committee to investigate the circumstances of a plane crash in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. A Malaysian passenger jet with 295 people on board flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donetsk region, 50 km from the border with Russia. According to the interior ministry in Kiev, there are no survivors. The foreign ministry in Bucharest said Romania’s diplomatic missions in the Hague, Kuala Lumpur and Kiev are working with the local authorities to find out whether any Romanian citizens were on board the plane.
During talks on Thursday with representatives of the business community in Romania, president Traian Basescu said he is favour of lower taxes and a cut in the social security contributions paid by employers in Romania provided this measure is sustainable. Business people also agree with the measure in principle, but are concerned about a possible budget deficit increase and a rise in taxes as a result, according to a statement by Steven van Groningen, the former chairman of the Council of Foreign Investors. On Monday, the president also discussed the matter with prime minister Victor Ponta, having previously said he would oppose the measure unless the government explained how it would make up for the decrease without unbalancing the budget. In the president’s opinion, a reduction in the employers’ social security contribution may lead to higher taxes or lower investments. The prime minister emphasised this is the best time to take this measure, because the country has reported economic growth and higher budget returns.
Romania’s candidate for a position of European commissioner, Dacian Ciolos, is welcome to be part of the new European Commission, said Romanian president Traian Basescu on Wednesday in Brussels, where he attended a special meeting of the European Council. President Basescu said repeatedly that Romania wants to retain the position of commissioner for agriculture, as well as its current holder, Dacian Ciolos. At the end of the meeting in Brussels, Herman van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, concluded on the need for further consultations to decide on other key appointments. EU leaders decided to meet again on 30th August for fresh talks.
Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic met on Thursday members of the Romanian ethnic community in Timoc Valley, in the east of Serbia. Ponta said Romania calls on Belgrade to treat the Romanian minority in Serbia at European standards, just as Romania does in the case of its Serbian minority. Earlier in Belgrade, he reiterated Bucharest’s commitment to support the European integration of Serbia and the other states in the region. The Romanian prime minister had talks with his counterpart in Belgrade about Serbia’s European future, the development of joint infrastructure projects and the situation of the Romanian minority in Serbia. Victor Ponta also met Serbia’s president Tomislav Nikolic.
Talks came to an end on Thursday in Bucharest on the unification of the right wing opposition in Romania as the leaders of the National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party agreed on the final details concerning their future merger. The two parties will have a single candidate in the presidential elections in autumn, whose name will be made public at the beginning of August. The National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party decided to join forces and create a large right-wing party after the European Parliament elections in May. In another development, the Permanent Council of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in the ruling coalition, has designated the party’s leader, Kelemen Hunor as its presidential candidate.
Romania’s economy minister Constantin Nita said on Thursday after a visit to the Ford factory in Craiova that the authorities are looking for ways to encourage people to buy new cars made in Romania. He said the government supports the car industry and the 600 companies in the field, which employ 200,000 people and have a turnover of 16 billion euros, of which 7 billion euros account for exports. According to the minister, next year Romania will host a fair of cars and car parts made in this country. In another development, the European sales of Dacia cars made by the French group Renault in Romania rose by around 32% in June according to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association published on Thursday.
Four NATO military ships on Thursday started an exercise in the Black Sea port of Constanta, jointly with two Romanian mine sweepers and a frigate. The allied ships, two of Italy, one of Turkey and one of Britain, are part of a navy group fighting naval mines. As a NATO member, Romania regularly takes part in exercises initiated by the NATO command centre.
