November 7, 2014
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România Internațional, 07.11.2014, 13:00
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS – The Constitutional Court of Romania has today validated the outcomes of the first round in the presidential elections and the two candidates to be competing in the November the 16th runoff. The two are the Social Democratic PM Victor Ponta, backed by the ruling alliance in Romania, who won 40.44% of the votes in the first round, and the Liberal Mayor of Sibiu Klaus Iohannis, representing the Liberal Christian Alliance in opposition, with 30.37%. Once the results validated, the campaign for the runoff may begin. Victor Ponta has secured the support of several candidates who left the race, including the former Liberal PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu and two populist candidates, Corneliu Vadim Tudor and Dan Diaconescu. In turn, Klaus Iohannis will be backed by the independent rightist candidate Monica Macovei, a former Justice Minister.
CORRUPTION INVESTIGATIONS – A Bucharest court is trying today a request filed by anti-corruption prosecutors, who seek 30-day preventive custody on the mayor of the southern Romanian city of Pitesti, the Social Democrat Tudor Pendiuc. Held on Thursday night alongside 4 other people, Pendiuc is facing charges of bribery and abuse of office, with damages put at nearly one million euros. Also today, the former head of the Constanta County Council Nicusor Constantinescu is brought to court. He was apprehended in Turkey 2 days ago, under an international arrest warrant, and is probed into in several corruption cases.
EU FUNDING – The Partnership Agreement between Romania and the European Commission is launched in Bucharest today. The document regulates the spending of the European funds allotted to Romania for 2014-2020, namely around 43 billion euros, of which nearly 22 billion euros in cohesion funds. The money is to be used in infrastructure, healthcare and education, the development and modernisation of local communities, for creating new jobs and bridging the development gap between Romania and other EU member states. Taking part in the event is the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu.
STRIKE – Rail traffic is severely disrupted in Germany by an unprecedented strike of the state-owned Deutsche Bahn employees. According to international news agencies, the strike may last until Monday. Unionists demand, among other things, a 2-hour reduction of the working week and a 5% pay raise. Meanwhile in Brussels over 100 thousand people protested the austerity measures announced by Belgium’s right-wing government headed by Charles Michel. The protests came after information surfaced regarding secret tax deals between Luxembourg and more than 300 multinational corporations that saw billions of euros sent to tax havens.
BULGARIA – Bulgaria’s PM Boiko Borisov announced having put together a right-of-centre government, after including two more parties in the ruling coalition. To secure its majority in Parliament, the new coalition agreed to new measures in its governing programme, such as holding a referendum on compulsory voting and extending the barbed wire fence on the Turkish border. Bulgaria is the poorest EU member state, and since Boiko Borisov stepped down last year under street pressure, the country has seen an extended political crisis that further deepened its economic problems.
SPORTS – Romania’s football champions, Steaua Bucharest, drew last night away from home, 2-all, in a game in Europa League Group J against Portugal’s Rio Ave. With 7 points, Steaua ranks second in its group after the Ukrainian side Dinamo Kiev, who defeated on home ground the Danish team Aalborg, 2-0. Also yesterday, in Group D, Romanian vice-champions, Astra Giurgiu, ended 1-all at home in a game against Celtic Glasgow from Scotland, and lost all chances to qualify into the European spring. In this group, Red Bull Salzburg of Austria has already qualified, after defeating Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb.
