Romania attended the Autumn
European Council in Brussels
Romania’s President, Klaus
Iohannis, on Thursday attended the autumn European Council, alongside the EU
leaders. The focal points on the agenda of the summit were the refugee crisis
and securing the EU’s external borders. The summit, which initially should have
lasted two days, ended on Thursday night with an announcement of an agreement
being reached in principle between the EU and Turkey, on capping the inflow of
refugees heading for Europe. In exchange for securing Ankara’s better
cooperation to contain the wave of migrants, the European leaders promised
Turkey visa waiver for its citizens, financial assistance and opening new
chapters in the negotiations for EU accession, a process that is now being
blocked. Turkey, the main gateway into Europe for the flow of migrants coming
from neighbouring Syria, is currently providing shelter to some two million
Syrian refugees. In another move, the European leaders decided to tighten
control on the external borders of the EU and to find solutions to the
humanitarian crisis generated by the conflict in Syria. Refugee-related issues
and EU reforms had been approached, ahead of the summit, by Romania’s
President, Klaus Iohannis, and the President of the European Parliament, Martin
Schulz. Iohannis said migration-related issues should be approached in their
entirety, in the areas where they emerge, and the EU should cooperate with all
the refugees’ countries of origin and grant support to transit countries, such
as Turkey, as well as to the countries that are now providing shelter to
refugees.
The new US ambassador to
Bucharest has referred to the cracking down on corruption and the improvement
of the economic environment in Romania
Romania has made significant progress in fighting
corruption and improving the economic environment, the new US ambassador to
Bucharest, Hans Klemm, told an economic forum held in Romania’s capital city.
He added that Romania must
capitalize on its strengths and strategic advantages and serve as a springboard
for investors in the region. On the
other hand, the US ambassador said Romania must break the cycle of
political influence in economic decision-making. He called on Romanian politicians to stop meddling in the
management of state owned enterprises for political gain. Hans Klemm has also
said politicians should protect and publicly defend those prosecutors that
pursue corrupt actors, and vocally support an independent judiciary.
Romania
gives loan to neighbouring Republic of Moldova
Romanian
Deputies ratified a Reimbursable Financial Assistance Agreement, under which
the neighbouring Republic of Moldova is given 150 million euros. The loan has a five-year
maturity and carries the same interest rates at which Romania borrows from
international markets. The first installment, amounting to 60 million euros,
will be transferred next month. While in Bucharest to attend the ratification,
the Moldovan PM Valeriu Streletz thanked Romania for the constant support
provided to Chisinau in various fields. He emphasised that this new loan will be used
to promote reforms and modernise the country. The PM of Romania, Victor Ponta, explained
that the difficulties that the Republic of Moldova is facing at present are the
consequence of Russia’s response to Moldova’s European accession aspirations.
Victor Ponta: The Republic of Moldova needs
financial support today, and it can only receive it from us. It needs it in
order to get through a difficult period, which, I’d say, they have been facing
especially because of the economic sanctions imposed by the Russian Federation
in response to one thing: the fact that last year the Republic of Moldova
signed the EU Association Agreement.
Valeriu Streletz was also
received by the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, who reiterated that the Republic
of Moldova can rely on Romania, at any time and to a substantial extent.
Romanian Government gives facilities for
overdue tax payments
Individuals and
companies that pay their overdue taxes to the Romanian state by March 31, 2016,
will have their delayed payment penalties and some of the interest charges
erased, under an emergency order passed by the Government on Wednesday. PM
Victor Ponta emphasised that this was not a fiscal amnesty measure, but rather
a form of supporting the taxpayers which failed to pay the amounts owed to the
state budget by September 30, 2015. In order to benefit from this facility,
taxpayers must lodge an application with the local tax administration office.
Romania’s hosting elements of the
missile defence system triggers reactions in Moscow
The Romanian
diplomats reacted to the accusations of a Russian Foreign Ministry official,
Mikhail Ulianov, according to whom Romania breaks the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) by hosting elements of the anti-missile shield at
the military base in Deveselu, in the south. The Romanian Foreign Ministry
dismissed the accusations as ungrounded and reiterated that this European
component of the US missile defence system has a strictly defensive purpose and
does not target the Russian Federation, but rather ballistic missile threats
from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. Early this week Moscow called on the US
and Romania to reconsider the inclusion of Mark-41 missile launchers in the
defence system in Deveselu. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry official,
this would be a challenge to international security and will be viewed by
Moscow as a serious violation of the INF Treaty signed by the USA and the
former USSR in 1987.