December 12, 2014 UPDATE
A look at some of the top stories in Romania today.
România Internațional, 12.12.2014, 12:15
Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta said on Friday that the government programme for 2015 and 2016 will have 15 priority lines of action, including combating tax evasion, the absorption of European funds, the development of the administrative capacity and the consolidation of the fiscal system. Mr Ponta made these statements after a meeting of the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romaia, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Reformist Party. Next Monday, the prime minister will present Parliament with the new cabinet, which no longer includes the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, whose place is taken by the Liberal Reformist Party, a splinter Liberal group led by the former prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu. The 2015 budget is based on a 2.5% economic growth rate, an annual inflation rate of 2.2% and a budget deficit level of 1.8%.
The secretary of state for European affairs George Ciamba reiterated Romania’s commitment to Black Sea regional cooperation during the 13th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the member states of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation held on Friday in Thessalonica. The Romanian official congratulated the Republic of Moldova for taking over the Organisation’s presidency in the first part of 2015 and said he was convinced that the results of the recent parliamentary elections in Moldova, which confirmed the country’s pro-European choice, will ensure the continuity of the European commitment of the Organisation.
The Romanian secretary of state for political analysis and the relationship with Parliament Radu Podgorean on Friday attended a meeting of the EU External Relations Council in Brussels. Talks focused on the post-2015 development agenda, migration and the crisis generated by the spread of Ebola. The Romanian official highlighted Romania’s financial and logistical contribution to efforts to contain Ebola as part of the European and international civilian protection and response mechanisms.
The European Institute of Romania has awarded the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation the 2014 Excellence Award for radio for promoting the European spirit and values. The award was granted for the EuranetPlus project, developed by Radio Romania, which produces and broadcasts journalistic material on European issues and is funded by the European Commission. EuranetPlus is a network of 15 public and private radio stations and corporations from a number of European Union member states reaching more than 20 million listeners daily.
The Romanian women’s handball team have qualified for the main groups of the European Championships hosted by Hungary and Croatia, after defeating Ukraine on Thursday in their last Group B match. The Romanian squad finished their group matches on the third position and qualified to the next stage with just one point, which they won in a draw against Denmark. In their next fixture, Romania will play against Hungary on Saturday, followed by Spain on Monday and Poland on Wednesday.
