October 18, 2018 UPDATE

october 18, 2018 update For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here

EU COUNCIL MEETING - Romania's president Klaus Iohannis on Friday is attending the 12th Asia-Europe Summit in Brussels. On Wednesday and Thursday, President Iohannis attended the European Council meeting. Talks focused on migration, security and the future of the Eurozone. According to Radio Romania's correspondent, EU leaders agreed on a set of measures to prevent cyber-attacks and protect EU citizens against aggressions of any type. With respect to migration, EU leaders highlighted the need to cooperate with transit countries and set clear objectives for Eastern Mediterranean, so as to put a stop to the flow of migrants. In his address, the president said that preventing and combating radicalization and terrorism should remain top concerns for Member States.


OMBUDSMAN - The Ombudsman on Thursday demanded additional information from the Government and the Justice Ministry over the notifications regarding the Government emergency decree on the justice laws, filed by the Prosecutor General's Office, the Save Romania Union and National Liberal Party in opposition, who claim that several points in the decree go against the Constitution. The Ombudsman was requested to challenge the decree at the Constitutional Court. The emergency decree stipulates, among other things, that prosecutors with the Prosecutor General's Office, the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism should have a seniority of at least 10 years. Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar said the new regulations could result in numerous irregularities in the system, while Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said the decree only transposes the points of view of the European Commission, the Venice Commission and the Superior Council of Magistracy. 


VISIT - Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Thursday continued her visit to the Arab Emirates. The Romanian official had talks with Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, State Minister for Economic Affairs and Trade, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Talks focused on new ways of consolidating bilateral relations in terms of economic cooperation and investment. On Wednesday, the heads of government in Bucharest and Abu Dhabi adopted a joint declaration on the establishment of a strategic economic partnership between the governments of Romania and the United Arab Emirates. The document underlines the important regional role played by the latter and Romania's membership of the EU, which provides significant opportunities of bilateral cooperation in priority sectors for Bucharest, such as trade, investments, industry, agriculture, the financial and banking sector, energy, transport and infrastructure, the IT sector, education, culture, research and innovation and tourism. The declaration also highlights the important role of the Romanian and Emirati communities in the respective countries in the economic, social and cultural development of the two states. Also on Wednesday, the Romanian prime minister visited the Sheikh ZayedMosque, after on Tuesday she travelled to Dubai for talks with the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin RashidAlMaktoum, whom she presented with the most recent investment opportunities in Romania. Viorica Dancila will next travel to Kuwait, the last leg of a tour that also took her to Turkey. She said the purpose of these official visits is to promote economic relations. 


AFRICAN SWINE FEVER VIRUS - A delegation of the European Commission will carry out an audit in Braila, southeastern Romania, until October 25, to see if the authorities have taken the appropriate steps in combating the African swine fever, the virus that led to over 200,000 pigs being culled in this county. A report will be made public compiling their conclusions on the European Commission website.  The audit follows as Romania has been taking part, since 2015, in a multiannual European programme designed to combat the African swine fever, 75% of which is funded by the EU. Bucharest pledged to spend the money, along with its own contribution, to prevent the spread of this disease. The number of outbreaks has reached 1,021 in 260 towns in villages in 14 counties, the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority announced on Thursday. According to centralized data, some 107 boars were reported as infected, while the total number of pigs culled so far stands at 350,000.


REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT - Romania has managed to recover 220 million euros accounting for around a quarter of the European funds allocated under the Regional Operational Programme, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu told Radio Romania. Thus, some of the 800 million euros available under this programme and which Romania was no longer able to spend by the end of the year due to a lack of applications, have been redirected to the development of small and medium sized enterprises and to purchasing medical equipment and ambulances for all counties in Romania. In another development Commissioner Cretu attended the 7th edition of the Annual Forum of the EU Strategy on the Danube Region (EUSDR), hosted by Sofia. The EU official said the Danube Delta boasts huge potential with tourism bringing great economic benefits to the entire region. On November 1 Romania will take over the presidency of the EUSDR for a year.


TENNIS - Romanian and world no. one in women's tennis Simona Halep has withdrawn from the WTA Finals held in Singapore between the 21st and the 28th of October and which brings together the world's best eight players in 2018. Halep was recently diagnosed with a herniated disk injury which also forced her to forfeit the Moscow tournament and withdraw in the first round in Beijing. Halep, who won the French Open this year, ends the year in the top position regardless of the result in Singapore. Playing in the WTA Finals are Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Angelique Kerber of Germany, Naomi Osaka of Japan, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Sloane Stephens of the United States and Kiki Bertens of The Netherlands.

(Translated by C. Mateescu & V. Palcu)



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Publicat: 2018-10-18 18:55:00
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