April 3, 2019

april 3, 2019 A roundup of domestic and international news

ROMANIA-MONTENEGRO - Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila hailed progress reported by Montenegro in the negotiation process with the EU at the end of a meeting she had in Bucharest with her Montenegrin counterpart, Dusko Markovic. Dancila reiterated Bucharest's commitment to continue to support the EU enlargement process based on individual merit. The agenda for talks included defense cooperation at NATO level, energy security in the region and agriculture. The Romanian Prime Minister said a Romania-Montenegro business forum will be held later this year. In turn, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said Romania is not just a friend, but a partner for Montenegro, able to help based on its experience as EU member. Also today, Dusko Markovic will meet President Klaus Iohannis. 



JUDICIARY - The College of EU Commissioners is today discussing the rule of law in Romania. The Commission has repeatedly expressed concern over the latest developments tied to the rule of law in Romania. The Commission believes both the content and the procedures used to operate recent changes in the field, by using emergency decrees and without consulting stakeholders, go against the recommendations issued under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which has been monitoring Romania's progress in reforming its judiciary and combating corruption since its EU accession in 2007. 



NATO - Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu on Wednesday and Thursday is taking part in the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting held in Washington. The event is symbolic, marking 70 years since NATO was founded. A joint Declaration will be adopted at the end of the meeting. The North-Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington on April 4, 1949 by the United States, Canada and 10 European states. NATO currently comprises 29 states from Europe and North America. Romania joined NATO in 2004. 



CONFERENCE - Romanian Minister for Tourism, Bogdan Gheorghe Trif is in Bucharest today attending the conference titled "Sustainable Tourism - Common Policies of EU Member States", organized on the sidelines of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Attending are experts from European institutions and travel specialists from EU member states. The Romanian Presidency's priorities in the field are digitizing the sector, collaborative economy (sharing physical and human resources) and the sustainable development of tourism at EU level. 



INVESTIGATION - The Social-Democratic Party's treasurer, Mircea Draghici, has challenged the decree whereby the National Anticorruption Directorate is investigating him in a case linked to spending subsidized party funds, claiming the case lacks "any legal basis". Prosecutors say Draghici was tasked with managing the party's assets and funds and had allegedly pocketed 380 thousand euros pursuant to signing a real estate rental contract. The subsidized money was given to Draghici to cover the partial payment accounting for two thirds of a building.  



FUNDS - The European Investment Fund (EIF) today signed four financing agreements with Romania, whereby granting Bucharest over 170 million euros for the development of SMEs as well as to be able to provide loans for students who want to further their studies abroad. Some 450 students will benefit from advantageous loans to study in another EU country, such as Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway and Turkey. Under the new agreements, a total of 3,000 SMEs will benefit from improved terms for financing. EIF is part of the Group of the European Investment Bank, its main mission being to support European SMEs by facilitating their access to financing. 



MOTION - The simple motion filed by the Liberal Party and the People's Movement Party in opposition against Transport Minister Razvan Cuc was today debated and rejected by the Chamber of Deputies. The two parties called on Minister Cuc to step down, saying that the ruling coalition has pledged to build 350 kilometers of motorway by 2020, of which only 58 kilometers have been completed in the year and three months that have since passed. The two parties also said that in spite of the EU funds specially allotted for large infrastructure projects, only four financing requests have been submitted in nearly five years. The opposition also claimed the situation spells disaster in terms of rail infrastructure, while the national airliner Tarom is on the verge of bankruptcy. 



TENNIS - Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu (30 WTA) is today playing Lauren Davis of the United States (184 WTA) in the second round of the WTA tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, totaling 800,000 dollars in prize money. This will be the first direct match between the two players. Buzarnescu previously ousted Poland's Magdalena Frech (182 WTA) in the first round at Charleston. 
(translated by V. Palcu)


www.rri.ro
Publicat: 2019-04-03 13:42:00
Vizualizari: 1021
TiparesteTipareste