December 6, 2014 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.

Corina Cristea, 06.12.2014, 12:15

IMF — Romanian authorities on Saturday continued negotiations with representatives of the IMF and the European Commission regarding the draft budget for 2015. Negotiations are hampered by diverging visions over the budget deficit. IMF officials expect a 0.9% deficit, while the Government insists the deficit should stand at 1.4%. Prime Minister Victor Ponta claims the demand is unacceptable, and that it would force the Government to slash money for investment, healthcare or the co-financing of European projects. On Friday, Minister Delegate for Budget Darius Valcov said that Romania could not afford a budget deficit below 1.4% of the GDP, and that the economy would face a severe slump with a 0.9% deficit.

MOLDOVA — The Constitutional Court of Moldova on Saturday looked at a notification regarding the neutrality of this country filed by Liberal MPs who plead for NATO accession. Under the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova is neutral and cannot host foreign troops on its territory. Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu however believes these provisions to be unfair, given the presence of Russian military in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestr. In another development, the Moldovan Liberal Democratic and Liberal-Democratic parties continue negotiations regarding the future governing program. The three parties won the elections of November 30, grabbing 55 of the 101 seats in Parliament. The Government hopes to obtain EU candidate status by 2017 and to join the EU in 2020.

HANDBALL — The Romanian women’s handball team on Sunday will play Norway in Debrecen, Hungary, as part of the first match at the European Championships. Denmark and Ukraine will face each other in the other group fixture. Coach Gheorghe Tadici sees Romania ranking among the first eight teams this year, after it ranked 10th at the European Championships of 2012 and in 2013 at the World Championships. In the last two friendly matches ahead of the Championships Romania grabbed a two-leg win against Germany.

RULING — The Bucharest Court of Law is ruling in the case of the pre-emptive arrest of 11 people in the Media PRO court case. Prosecutors accuse these people of money laundering and tax evasion, causing a damage worth 1 million euros to the state budget. Media PRO is one of the most influential private media trusts in Romania, owning a network of television stations, magazines, newspapers and cinema halls.

MEETING — The Western powers and Russia should avoid being separated by new walls, 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the symbol of a divided Europe, French president Francois Hollande told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday in Moscow. Putin hailed what he has termed “a genuine working visit”. Hollande is the first European leader to pay an official visit to Moscow since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine. The two leaders also called for an immediate stop to the bloodshed in Eastern Ukraine. According to France Presse, the meeting was not duly prepared, with Hollande scheduled to arrive in Moscow after an official visit to Kazakhstan. In Astana, Hollande had said that Moscow and Kiev should kick off a peace-making process supervised by the French and the Germans to reduce tensions sparked by the annexation of Crimea and the Russian support for breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine.

WITHDRAWAL –The United States will delay the withdrawal of some 1,000 military from Afghanistan by several months, the outgoing Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said on Saturday. Upon his last official visit to Kabul, Chuck Hagel said that in early 2015 Afghanistan should still host some 10,800 military, as compared to 9,800 originally estimated in the withdrawal calendar. The United States plan to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan in 2016 below 5,500 military, while in 2017 the only forces present will be those ensuring the security of the US embassy in Kabul. Romania too kicked off the withdrawal process this year, which since 2002 have joined the international coalition to combat terrorism. Romania contributed some 25,000 military to operations in Afghanistan, having successfully carried out some 1,900 military and humanitarian missions. The number of Romanian military who will stay behind at the end of 2014 stands at 200. The Romanian troops will take charge of training of Afghan security forces.