B9 Format. The
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is on an official visit to Poland to attend a
top-level meeting of the B9 Format that includes NATO members from central and
eastern Europe. Iohannis and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda are having
talks on the strategic partnership between the two countries and regional,
European and security cooperation, according to a release from the President’s
Office in Bucharest. The two officials are also expected to review the results
of the defence cooperation as part of the Bucharest Format to prepare the B9
meeting on Friday co-chaired by the two heads of the state. Also today,
Iohannis and Duda will be attending the opening of an exhibition entitled A
centennial of the Alliance. Romanian-Polish diplomacy 1918-1939 staged by the
Romanian Cultural Institute in Warsaw together with the Romanian Embassy and
the support of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries as part of the
celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the creation of modern
Romania and the centenary of Polish independence.
Trip. The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila is to be
received today by Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on the last day
of her official visit to Lisbon. On Wednesday, she met her counterpart Antonio
Costa and had talks about ways to boost economic ties and cooperation in the
military, strategic and cyber security areas, as well as European cooperation
in the run-up to Romania’s holding the EU presidency in the first half of 2019.
NATO. A two-day
meeting of NATO defence ministers begins today in Brussels. Romania is
represented by its defence minister Mihai Fifor. The agenda of the first day
features a presentation of the stage of implementing the allied deterrence and
defence posture and ways to make it more efficient. Of particular interest for
Romania is the consolidation of allied advanced presence for NATO’s entire eastern
flank, including the Black Sea region. Another area discussed on the first day
of the meeting is the fair distribution of responsibilities within NATO. Talks
will also look at aspects related to the fight against terrorism and the
progress made for the launching of a new NATO training mission in Iraq.
Investigation. Romania saw the highest number
of investigations into the use of EU funds in 2017, namely 11, of which 8 ended
with recommendations, shows a report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
Hungary, Poland and Greece were next. Illustrative in Romania’s case are two
investigations conducted into projects financed by the European Regional
Development Fund. The representatives of a municipality, the
beneficiary, colluded with representatives of the company who designed the
technical specifications for a road, in order to establish restrictive criteria
in the tender documentation that would benefit one particular economic
operator. The two colluding organisations falsified a large number of
documents, including the technical project and memorandum for the road
construction, the report by the European
Anti-Fraud Office also notes. The damage caused to the EU budget has
been calculated at some 21 million euros.
IMF report. Romania
posted solid economic growth in 2017, low unemployment levels and an improving
financial sector, according to a report published by the International Monetary
Fund after consultations with Romania. The IMF experts warn, however, that the
Romanian economy is showing signs of overheating. Public investment fell
significantly in percent of GDP amid a low absorption of EU funds, while the
government and current account deficit widened to 2.8% and 3.4% of the GDP,
respectively, the IMF report also shows. Romania is expected to see a 5%
economic growth rate in 2018, accompanied by a current account deficit and
elevated inflation.
Tennis. The Romanian and
world no. 1 Simona Halep today faces the 2016 champion and world no. 3 Garbine
Muguruza of Spain in the semifinals of the French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament
of the year. The other semifinal is an all-American affair, with world no. 10
Sloane Stephens taking on the world no. 13 Madison Keys. Halep was in two
French Open finals, in 2014 and again last year, but lost both of them. She
played another Grand Slam final this year at the Australian Open, which she
again lost.