Tag: RRI news

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced on Facebook on Sunday that he would ask president Klaus Iohannis to have the deputy Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea take over all the responsibilities of a prime-minister. Deputy Prime Minister for Security Gabriel Oprea is the leader of the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the junior partner in the government dominated by Ponta’s Social Democrats. He had already taken over part of the prime minister’s responsibilities, as Ponta went through a surgery in Turkey and said he needed a long period of recovery. On Monday, the Prime Minister was expected at the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, as he is being prosecuted for corruption, but, invoking the knee surgery, his lawyer asked for a postponement. Also on Sunday, governmental sources, quoted by the media, announced that the Social Democrat senator Mihai Fifor was proposed for the position of Transport Minister. The office has been vacant since June 11th, when the former minister, Ioan Rus, had to resign, following the offending sentences he had made about the Romanians living abroad and their families in Romania.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry disapproves of the statements made by the Austrian Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz, regarding social security for intra-community workers. The Romanian Ministry believes that mentioning Romania in this context is unjustified, as the Romanian citizens only come 5th among the European beneficiaries of child benefits, after Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia. Taking such a stand, right before the regional elections in Austria, may turn the Romanian citizens who are legally working in that country into victims of an internal political dispute, and at the same time affect the relations between Romania and Austria, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has also stressed. The Federation of Romanians’ Associations in Europe has too criticized the Austrian Minister’s statements. Talking about the Romanian children in this context is inappropriate, reads a communiqué issued by the Federation, which also stresses the fact that the free movement of people and workers is one of the European Union’s fundamental principles, and access to social services should not be based on discrimination. Kurz had recently called for a reform of the Austrian social security system, saying it was not right, and gave as an example the situation of the Romanian citizens working in Austria, whose children were left back in the country. He said the 160 Euro benefit that the Austrian state paid to those children should be diminished down to the level of the one in Romania, namely 20 Euros.

On Monday, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will present in plenary parliament session the country’s National Defense Strategy for the period 2015 — 2019. On June 17th, the defense committees of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies endorsed the document, which is to be debated and voted upon in plenary session. One of the novelties of the strategy is the concept of ‘extended security’. National security is no longer regarded as just a matter of defense, but also in relation to other aspects such as public order, economy, infrastructure, education, health-care, environment and culture. The strategic partnership with the US and the membership to NATO and the EU are reaffirmed in the document as the main pillars of Romania’s foreign and security policies.

The first Romanian citizens crossing the border on the basis of their national ID cards have been registered at the borders between Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population. On Tuesday, the Government in Chisinau adopted a decision under which all EU citizens are allowed to cross the Moldovan border also on the basis of their valid national identification cards, not just passports. Bucharest has hailed the decision, terming it as political evidence that Moldova is committed to its European integration efforts.

On Monday, the Romanian Defense Minister, Mircea Dusa, will pay a visit to the military personnel participating in the TRIDENT JOUST 15 AND RESOLUTE CASTLE 15 exercises, held in central Romania. Over one thousand soldiers from 25 NATO member countries are participating, until June 28th, in the TRIDENT JOUST 15 exercise. As part of this exercise, it’s for the first that time structures of the Allied Joined Force Command Naples have been deployed in Romania. Also as a first, the control and command unit of NATO’s Response Force has been temporarily transferred to Romania. Another 200 Romanian and American soldiers are participating in the RESOLUTE CASTLE 15 exercise until September 15h.

On Monday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu will attend in Luxembourg the summit of the EU foreign ministers. The talks will mainly focus on the relation between the EU and Asia and the EU’s actions with regard to energy diplomacy. During a working lunch, the ministers will hold a debate on the EU — UN cooperation on crisis management and development, in the presence of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

On Sunday, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Francois Hollande with Athens’s proposals for a mutually beneficial agreement. According to a communiqué issued by the Greek government, this agreement should provide a final, not a provisional solution to the Greek crisis. On Monday, the heads of state and government of the 19 Eurozone countries will gather in Brussels to establish the faith of the financial bailout program for Greece. The program was blocked when Athens refused to take new austerity measures. Greece needs 7.2 billion euros by the end of the month, otherwise it runs the risk of defaulting on payments.

Romania won silver in the group event of the aerobic gymnastics competition hosted by the European Games in Baku. Hungary got the first place and the bronze went to Spain. The Romanian delegation has won 5 medals. Gymnast Adreea Iridon won the silver medal in the beam event and one bronze in the bars event, Roxana Borha and Elena Meroniac won silver in the womens kayak double 500 m event and male gymnast Marius Berbecar got the bronze in the parallel bars competition.

On Monday, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will present in plenary parliament session the countrys National Defence Strategy for the period 2015 — 2019. On June 17th, the defence committees of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies endorsed the document, which is to be debated and voted upon in parliament. One of the novelties of the strategy is the concept of ‘extended security’. National security is thus regarded not just as a matter of defence, but also in relation to other aspects such as public order, economy, infrastructure, education, health-care, environment and culture. The strategic partnership with the US and the membership to NATO and the EU are reaffirmed in the document as the main pillars of Romania’s foreign and security policies.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry disapproves of the statements made by the Austrian Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz, regarding social security for intra-community workers. The Romanian Ministry believes that mentioning Romania in such a contest is unjustified, as the Romanian citizens come only 5th among the European beneficiaries of child benefits, after Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia. Stressing upon such stands, right before the regional elections in Austria, may turn the Romanian citizens working in that country into victims of an internal political dispute, and at the same time affect the relations between Romania and Austria , the Romanian Foreign Ministry has also warned. Kurz had called for the reformation of the Austrian social security system, saying it was not right and gave as an example the situation of the Romanian citizens working in Austria and whose children were left back in the country. He said the 160 Euro benefit that the Austrian state paid to children should be diminished down to the level of the one in Romania, which is approximately 20 Euros.

The first Romanian citizens crossing the border on the basis of their national ID cards were registered at the borders between Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population. On Tuesday, the Government in Chisinau adopted a decision under which the EU citizens are allowed to cross the Moldovan border also on the basis of their national identification cards, not just passports. Bucharest has hailed the decision, terming it as a political signal of Moldova’s clear commitment to joining the EU.

On Monday, the Romanian Defense Minister, Mircea Dusa, will pay a visit to the military personnel participating in the TRIDENT JOUST 15 AND RESOLUTE CASTLE 15 exercises, held in central Romania. Over one thousand soldiers from 25 NATO member countries are participating, until June 28th, in the TRIDENT JOUST 15 exercise. As part of this exercise, it’s for the first time that structures of the Allied Joined Force Command Naples have been deployed in Romania. Also as a first, the control and command unit of NATO’s Response Force has been temporarily transferred to Romania. Another 200 Romanian and American soldiers are participating in the RESOLUTE CASTLE 15 exercise until September 15h.

The European Central Bank will not allow banks in Greece to collapse, because that would create a domino effect, which would damage other European banks as well, said a Greek official, quoted by news agencies. On Friday, the ECB allocated emergency funds for the Greek banks, which are faced with a major shortage of liquidities due to the massive withdrawals in the past weeks. The Greeks are afraid their deposits might be converted into the national currency if Athens leaves the Eurozone. On Monday, the 19 Eurozone heads of state and government will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels, to establish what’s going to happen with the financial aid program for Greece. The program was blocked when Athens refused to take austerity measures. Greece needs 7.2 billion euros by the end of the month, otherwise it risks to default on payments.

Today is the last day of the 22nd International Theatre Festival in Sibiu. For 10 days the town has hosted over 2 thousand 5 hundred artists from 70 countries, with a marathon of theatre, music and dance performances, as well as numerous street events. The Festival in Sibiu is the third largest of this kind in Europe, after those of Edinburgh in Scotland and Avignon in France.

Romania has won silver in the group event of the aerobic gymnastics competition hosted by the European Games in Baku. Hungary got the first place and the bronze went to Spain. The Romanian delegation has won 5 medals. Previously, gymnast Adreea Iridon won the silver medal in the beam event and one bronze in the bars event, Roxana Borha and Elena Meroniac won silver in double kayak 500 m and male gymnast Marius Berbecar got the bronze in the parallel bars competition.

Sustainable development and the post 2015 development agenda, the conclusion and modernization of bi and multilateral trade agreements, the eradication of poverty and the fight against climate change were the main topics on the agenda of the summit of the EU — the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, where Romania was represented by its president, Klaus Iohannis. Two joint declarations were adopted at the end of the meeting, one of principles and one political, which establish the political grounds of this inter-regional partnership. Also, an action plan was adopted, for the implementation of the declaration of principles, a document which provides for joint initiatives in fields such as IT research and technology, social inclusion, urban development and migration. The Romanian head of state said that at the summit he stressed the need for change, for updating the inter-regional cooperation mechanisms, in order to maintain cooperation between the two continents viable and effective, as a strategic tool, not only for this process, but also for a more active and aggregated action towards solving global issues.

The World Bank has revised its world economic growth forecast for this year downwards, to 2.8%, 0.2 lower than before. For Romania, though, the bank anticipates above average growth: 3% in 2015, 3.2% in 2016, and 3.5% in 2017.

The Romanian Transport Minister, the Social Democrat Ioan Rus has resigned, following the insulting statements he made during a TV show about the Romanians who are working abroad. His resignation, which has been accepted by the Prime Minister, had been called for by the opposition and the Diaspora, which termed his statements as irresponsible and showing that Ioan Rus knew nothing about the situation of the Romanians living abroad and felt no responsibility whatsoever for those people. Ioan Rus has apologized in a press release, saying that his intention was merely to stress the serious situation facing many Romanian families.

Romanian retirees members of the ‘Unirea’ National Federation protested on Thursday in Bucharest, demanding a national action program to ensure decent living conditions for the Romanian pensioners. According to the federation, pensions in real terms in 2014 were lower than even in 2009, with fewer and fewer treatment vouchers each year. The federation claims that the general state of health among seniors has been deteriorating because of poverty, with rising mortality and morbidity rates, with the number of civilian retirees dropping from 6 million 12 years ago to 5.18 million at present.

The Romanian Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, on Thursday met his counterpart from the Republic of Moldova, Oleg Balan. At the meeting, the former said that Moldova was a privileged partner for Romania, specifying that fighting cross-border organized crime was still a priority for the two countries, adding that Romania would open up more positions for Moldovan students to attend the Romanian Police Academy. Also, the Romanian deputy PM assured the Moldovan minister of Romania’s full support in his country’s bid to join the EU. In turn, Oleg Balan welcomed all the support granted by the Romanian authorities to the efforts to reform the Moldovan police.

Citizens from NATO member states believe Moscow is responsible for triggering the Ukrainian crisis and see Russia as a threat to its neighbours, as indicated by a Pew Research poll quoted by press agencies. 39% of the respondents believe that the situation in Ukraine was provoked by Russia, while 18% believe the responsible party is the pro-Russian separatist faction. About half of the people polled said that Russia was a threat to neighbouring countries. Moscow’s aggressive action in the ex-Soviet space was harshly condemned on Wednesday in the European Parliament.

Standard and Poor’s lowered Greece’s rating from CCC+ to CCC, emphasizing that, lacking an agreement with its creditors, Athens would go bankrupt in the next 12 months, France Presser reports. Athens is under negotiations with its lenders to get the 7.2 billion Euros in due payments as part of the second financial assistance program.

The Romanian — Spanish pair made up of Monica Niculescu and Arantxa Parra Santonja has qualified for the quarter finals of the doubles event of the WTA tournament in Nottingham, Great Britain, with over 226 thousands dollars in prize money. The defeated Hao-Ching Chan and Ala Kudriavtzeva of Taiwan and Russia respectively, 6-4, 7-6. In the quarters, the two players will be taking on the British pair Jocelyn Rae/Anna Smith. On Wednesday, Monica Niculescu qualified for the singles quarters, beating Olga Govortova of Byelorussia 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. Next she is to play against the British Johanna Konta.

On Saturday in Berlin, Romania’s national football squad will be taking on the national team of Northern Ireland. The game counts towards the Euro 2016 preliminaries and is rated a final of sorts in Group F, which also includes Hungary, Finland, Greece and the Faeroe Islands. With four wins and a draw in their first five fixtures, the Romanians top the table with 13 points, followed by Northern Ireland, with 12. the last time when Romanian took part in a final tournament of a European championship was 2008.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is attending the summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process hosted by the Albanian capital Tirana. The main topics on the agenda of talks are regional developments and the European prospects of the Western Balkan countries. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Government, Victor Ponta will stress how important the consolidation of the regional cooperation process is to Romania and will reassert this country’s support for the continuation of the EU’s enlargement process, on the basis of the fulfillment of the accession criteria. The Prime Minister is accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu. Albania is currently holding the presidency of the process. The participating countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and Kosovo.

IMF and EC representatives are today concluding their technical assessment mission to Bucharest. The current financial program under assessment is due to end this autumn. The talks have mainly focused on the changes brought to the Fiscal Code and the economic measures to be implemented starting January 1st, 2016. On Monday, the experts held talks with Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, on the impact that the reduction of fees and taxes would have on the state budget. The government insists that Romania needs fiscal relaxation, which was also acknowledged by the international financiers. The latter, however, want guarantees that the budget deficit targets set by the Romanian Government are maintained. The delegation will return to Bucharest in late June, for a full assessment of the running agreement.

750 Romanian, Bulgarian and American soldiers are participating in south-eastern Romania in the annual training module part of an international training exercise. In parallel, by May 28th, over 1,500 soldiers from Canada, Great Britain, Romania and the US are taking part in the ‘Trident Poseidon 2015’ exercise, held in Romania’s territorial waters and the international waters of the Black Sea. The exercise is aimed at strengthening interoperability among the NATO forces, as well as at boosting cooperation among agencies in Romania, against the current difficult security background. As part of this exercise, on May 27th the port of Constanta will play host to an evacuation simulation targeting non-combatants from a conflict area.

According to a release issued by the Romanian Cultural Institute, Brussels is today hosting a debate on the Republic of Moldova’s European prospects. The event has brought together experts from research institutes, members of the European Parliament, European diplomats and representatives of the Moldovan mission with the EU, in the aftermath of the recent Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, whose aim was to bring Europe closer to the six former members of the USSR. We recall that last year Chisinau concluded association and free-trade agreements with the EU, whose member it hopes to become in 2020.

The performance staged by the Odeon Theatre in Bucharest, “For Sale”, directed by Gianina Carbunariu, has got the award for best performance in 2014, granted by the Theatre Union in Romania, UNITER. In the best director category, the award went to Victor Ioan Frunza for the performance “Furniture and Pain”, staged at the ‘Nicolae Balcescu’ UNESCO Cultural Center in Bucharest. The best leading actor award went to Vlad Ivanov for his role in “The Good Person of Szechwan”, after Brecht, by the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest, and the award for best leading actress went to Anca Hanu, for her part of Amalia in the show “Breathe Deep, Amalia”, staged at the National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca.

Romanian tennis player Andreea Mitu, who is participating in the Roland Garros tournament for the first time, will play against the 12th WTA ranked Czech Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the Grand Slam tournament. The other three Romanians who made it to the second round also know who they will be playing against. Simona Halep, ranking 3rd in the WTA classification, will take on the Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Irina Begu will play against another Croat, Ana Konjuh, and Alexandra Dulgheru will take on the French Alize Cornet. Monica Niculescu did not manage to get to the second round, as she was defeated by the Spanish Carla Suarez Navarro.

Romania continues to be committed to providing security in the region and to promoting a safe, free and prosperous Europe, not only within NATO and the EU, but also in the neighbourhood. The statement was made by president Klaus Iohannis on Monday at the opening of the Security in the Black Sea Region” international program, organized by the Romanian Intelligence Service in cooperation with US institutions. Iohannis termed the current geo-political background as a complex one, characterized by global transformations, and said the Black Sea was an area of both convergence and collision of the Riparian countries’ and international players’ interests.

On Monday, Prime-Minister Victor Ponta met with the members of the joint IMF, EC and WB delegation, whose technical mission ends on Tuesday. The talks in Bucharest focused on the impact of the new Fiscal Code, which provides, among other things, for some lower taxes and fees. The Government insists that Romania needs fiscal relaxation, a fact that has been acknowledged by the international financiers. The latter, however, would like guarantees that the budget deficit targets set by the Romanian government will be reached. The delegation will come back to Bucharest in late June, to assess the current agreement, which Romanian wants to terminate in autumn.

Attending in Sofia a debate on the fight against corruption, the former Romanian Minister of Justice, Monica Macovei, has stated that the planned amendments to Bulgaria’s constitution are a waste of time and will do nothing but hamper the fight against corruption. According to Monica Macovei, the right solution is not to set up new bodies and amend laws; what is important is for everybody to work as a team and to focus on the major crimes. Bulgaria needs independent professionals and prosecutors to fight against corruption, Macovei also said. As the Minister of Justice between 2004 and 2007, Monica Macovei initiated a number of reforms that helped Romania join the EU on January 1st, 2007. During her term the National Anti-Corruption Directorate was set up, seen as the most effective institution in the fight against this scourge in Romania.

12 Romanian vessels, an American destroyer and a Bulgarian minesweeper, with around 1,500 soldiers on board, are taking part in an exercise called ‘Trident Poseidon 2015’. Held for four days in Romanias territorial waters and the Black Sea international waters, the exercise aims at improving the interoperability between the NATO forces and interagency cooperation in Romania. One of the activities part of this exercise is the evacuation of civilians in a conflict area, an activity which will be carried out on the 27th of May in the military port of Constanta.

Romanian tennis players Alexandra Dulgheru, Irina Begu and Andreea Mitu on Monday qualified for the second round of the Roland Garros tournament. Monica Niculescu lost in the first round to the Spanish Carla Suarez Navarro. Dulgheru had no problems beating the American Nicole Gibbs 6-3, 6-1, Irina Begu defeated American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 7-6 and Andreea Mitu won the match against the French Alize Lim 6-3, 8-2. On Sunday, Simona Halep, ranking 3rd in the WTA classification, defeated the Russian player Evghenia Rodina 7-5, 6-4. In the second round, Halep will play against the Croat Mirjana Lucic — Baroni. Romania has no representatives in the men’s singles. In the doubles, Horia Tecau pairs up with the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer and Florin Mergea plays alongside the Indian Rohan Bopanna.

The Romanian men’s handball team HC Odorhei won the Challenge Cup after defeating Liberty Seguros ABC/UMinho of Portugal 32-25 on home turf. In the first match the Portuguese side had won 32-28. This is the first trophy for the HC Odorhei team, which is now the third Romanian team to have won the Challenge Cup after Steaua Bucharest in 2006 and UCM Resita in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Pope Francis has accepted President Klaus Iohannis’s invitation to visit Romania. The event might take place in 2018, but it has to be prepared carefully said the Romanian President upon his return from Italy on Saturday. He stated that during the talks he held at the Vatican on Friday, the Pope was very much interested in the general situation in Romania and the Black Sea area. The meeting with Pope Francis occurred on the day celebrating 25 years since the resumption of diplomatic ties between Romania and the Holy See. During his visit to Italy, Klaus Iohannis went to the Romanian pavilion at the Universal Exhibition in Milan and met with representatives of the Romanian community in the peninsula.

NATO MPs have gathered for 3 days in Budapest to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and measures to fight hybrid conflicts, which combine the military component with cyber attacks and political, economic and propaganda actions. These are issues of concern for NATO, which were also tackled at the previous NATO foreign ministers’ summit. The participants will also discuss prospects regarding Afghanistan and its security forces, after NATO passed from a fighting to a training mission in the area. Other topics on the agenda of talks are negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, the developments in the Balkans and the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Iraq, which have triggered an increase in the number of refugees. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly has 257 representatives from the parliaments of the 28 countries that are members of the Alliance.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Saturday promulgated the law on the funding of political parties and election campaigns. Initially, the law had been sent back to Parliament for re-examination, and the legislative made the changes requested by the head of state. According to the law, loans to parties will have to be returned within 3 years at the most, the money will be lent and returned only via a bank account, and the amounts that are not returned within a set timeframe shall be regarded as donations.

Ukrainian President Petro Porosenko on Friday promulgated the laws banning any type of communist propaganda and glorifying nationalist combatants, laws that made Moscow furious, France Presse reports. Voted by Parliament on April 9th, the laws are aimed at breaking up with Ukraine’s Soviet past for good, at a time when the authorities are fighting against the pro-Russia separatists, in the east of the country. The laws in question forbid any Soviet symbol, condemn the Communist regime and open the archives of the Soviet special services. Passed almost a quarter of a century after the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence, these laws draw an equal sign between the communist and the Nazi regimes. There are similar laws in Poland and the Baltic countries.

The former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death on Saturday, together with another 100 defendants. The penalty is to be either confirmed or denied on June 2nd. Morsi and the others are accused of plotting mass prison escapes, as well as for perpetrating violence during people’s revolt of 2011 against the former number one in Cairo, Hosni Mubarak. Morsi, who was the first president elected democratically in June 2012, was ousted in 2013 through a military coup. In April he was already tried for violence and instigation of violence and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Amnesty International has stated that the death penalty has become the Egyptian authorities’ favourite tool to remove the political opposition.

The best Romanian tennis player at the moment, Simona Halep, has failed to qualify for the final of the WTA tournament in Rome, with over 2 million dollars in prize money. She was defeated in the semi-finals held on Saturday by the Spanish Carla Suarez Navarro 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Simona Halep will get a check of 100 thousand Euros and 350 WTA points. The next tournament that Simona Halep will participate in is the French Open, due to start on May 24th in Paris.

On the last day of his visit to Italy and the Vatican today, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is to meet with the leadership of the Community of Sant’Egidio, a church public lay association, which has organised several actions benefiting Romania. On Friday, the president was received by Pope Francis, who accepted the invitation to visit Romania. Klaus Iohannis also held talks with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. Both parties voiced satisfaction with the excellent nature of bilateral relations and agreed to carry on developing them, focusing on the promotion of religious freedom and inter-confessional dialogue and on fighting fundamentalism. The visit agenda also included a meeting with the Romanian students enrolled in Rome’s pontifical education institutions. On Thursday, Iohannis visited the Romanian pavilion at the Universal Exhibition in Milan and met with representatives of the Romanian community in the peninsula.

NATO MPs are gathering for 3 days in Budapest to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and measures to fight hybrid conflicts, which combine the military component with cyber attacks and political, economic and propaganda actions. These are issues of concern for NATO, which were also tackled at the previous NATO foreign ministers’ summit. The participants will also discuss prospects regarding Afghanistan and its security forces, after NATO passed from a fighting to a training mission in the area. Other topics on the agenda of talks are negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program, the developments in the Balkans and the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Iraq, which have triggered an increase in the number of refugees. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly has 257 representatives from the parliament of the 28 countries that are members of the Alliance.

Ukrainian President Petro Porosenko on Friday promulgated the laws banning any type of communist propaganda and glorifying national combatants, laws that made Moscow furious, France Presse reports. Voted by Parliament on April 9th, the laws are aimed at breaking up with Ukraine’s Soviet past for good, at a time when the authorities are fighting against the pro-Russia separatists, in the east of the country. The laws in question forbid any Soviet symbol, condemn the Communist regime, open the archives of the Soviet special services and acknowledge as fighters for the independence of Ukraine the nationalists who, for a while, fought alongside the Nazis against the Soviet occupation. Passed almost a quarter of a century after the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence, these laws draw an equal sign between the communist and the Nazi regimes. There are similar laws in Poland and the Baltic countries.

In Shanghai, India and China have signed cooperation and trading agreements worth 22 billion dollars, with the Indian Prime — Minister Narendra Modi attending, France Presse reports. The agreements are mainly focused on the banking sector, telecommunications, solar energy, metal works, port infrastructure, the cinematographic sector and an area of industrial development. The volume of annual trade exchanges between the two countries stands at 70 billion dollars.

Tonight, most museums in Romania will open their gates for the public to visit them free of charge. Hundreds of events have been planned for the Museums’ Night, to be hosted by museums, galleries and other alternative venues. The event has reached its 11th edition and is organised by similar institutions across Europe. This year, visitors will be faced with a rather unique form of protest, as many of the works of art on display will be covered in black sheets, in an attempt to draw attention to the fact that soon nobody will be able to see them any more. According to the National Network of Museums, which organised the protest, 110 museums in Romania are to be returned to their rightful owners and thousands of heritage items have already been returned.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the second best in the world according to the WTA rankings, is today meeting the Spanish Carla Suarez Navarro, number 10 in the WTA classification. The two will compete for a place in the final of the tournament in Rome, with 2.4 million dollars in prize money. In terms of direct matches, Simona is ahead of the Spanish player 5-4. In the quarters, Halep defeated her compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru, and Suarez Navarro won the match against the Czech Petra Kvitova.

Pope Francis, who on Friday received at the Vatican the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, accepted the latter’s invitation to pay a visit to Romania, which is a predominantly orthodox country. According to the Romanian presidency, the date of the visit will be established using the diplomatic channels. Pope Francis would thus become the second pope to visit Romania after John Paul II, who in 1999 was the first head of the Catholic Church to visit an orthodox country. Also on Friday, Klaus Iohannis met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. During the talks, which took place on the day celebrating 25 years since the resumption of diplomatic ties, the good relations between Romania and the Holy See were stressed, as well as both parties’ intention to carry on their good collaboration, focusing on promoting religious freedom, inter-confessional dialogue and fighting fundamentalism. President Klaus Iohannis’s program on Friday also included a visit to Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he observed a moment of silence at the tomb of Pope John Paul II. On Thursday, the Romanian President visited Romania’s pavilion at the 2015 Universal Exhibition in Milan and met with representatives of the Romanian community in northern Italy.

The High Court in Bucharest on Friday sentenced development minister Liviu Dragnea to a one year suspended jail sentence for his involvement in the “Referendum” case, but the ruling is not final. After the ruling was made, Dragnea tendered his resignation from the government and stepped down from all political positions he held in his party. Dragnea was brought to justice by prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, being accused that in his capacity as Secretary General of the ruling Social Democratic Party he used his influence, in conditions other than the legal ones, to influence the referendum of July the 29th 2012, on the impeachment of the then president Traian Băsescu. In the same case, 74 other people, mostly members or former members of the Social Democratic Party, who got involved in the campaign for the referendum, have been either acquitted or received suspended jail sentences. Although 87% of the voters stood for the impeachment of president Basescu, the referendum of 2012 was not validated because of a lack of quorum.

On Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu participated in Bratislava in the meeting of the Visegrad Group, made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The guests were representatives of the Eastern Partnership and of some EU member countries. In the run to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, on the 21st and the 22nd of May, minister Aurescu talked about the need for the Partnership to become stronger against the current difficult security context in the region. Also, the Romanian minister reiterated Romania’s support for a stable, democratic and predictable development of its eastern neighbors. The Eastern Partnership is made up of the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has improved Romania’s economic growth forecast for 2015 up to 3%, from 2.8%, as it was in January, a report issued by the aforementioned financial institution shows. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development estimates that in 2016 the Romanian economy will grow by 3.2%, one of the highest growth rates in emerging Europe, whereas for the other 35 states included in the report, the EBRD estimates a growth of only 1.4% in 2016. Since the start of its activity, EBRD has invested some 7 billion Euros in 368 projects in Romania.

The Romanian Government has decided to give up the plan to tax tips, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici announced on Friday. He said that, although the measure had been requested by the business environment, its implementation would have been extremely difficult. The Bucharest executive had recently passed an emergency ordinance providing for the taxation of all forms of income, including tips, by 16%. The employer would have decided to whether keep the tip or give it to the employees. Subsequently, the Ombudsman challenged the ordinance at the Constitutional Court.

The NATO foreign ministers decided at the meeting in Antalya to extend the presence of the alliance in Afghanistan post 2016, when the current mission of training Afghan military and policemen, involving over 12,000 military, comes to an end. The next mission will be civil-led, smaller than the current one and will include the participation of both civilians and military. They will provide counselling and training services for the Afghan security structures. 625 Romanian military are currently deployed in Afghanistan, most of them protecting the base in Kandahar and counselling the Afghan security forces. 23 Romanian military have been killed in the line of duty and over 150 others have been injured in Afghanistan so far.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranking 2nd in the WTA classification, has qualified for the semifinals of the Rome tournament, with 2.4 million dollars in prize money. On Friday she defeated her compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru, ranked 72nd. Also on Friday in the men’s double, the Romanian –Dutch pair Horia Tecau/Jean -Julien Rojer was defeated by the pair made up of Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and David Marrero of Spain, 6-7, 4-6, 10-5.

A joint IMF and EC technical mission will pay a visit to Bucharest next week, the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has announced. The talks with Romanian authorities will focus on the new draft Fiscal Code and the stage of implementation of the measures included in the program agreed upon with the IMF and the European Commission. The current agreement, the third since the economic crisis of 2009, is only valid until this fall. It was signed in September 2013 for a period of 2 years and is worth some 2 billion Euros. Yesterday, the European Commission recommended that Romania should take all the necessary measures to complete the precautionary financial assistance program. The Commission has also urged Bucharest authorities to take measures regarding the labour market, to adopt the national strategy for curbing school-dropping and to carry on the national health strategy.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is paying a 3-day formal visit to Italy. Today, the head of state will visit Milans Universal Expo, whose theme this year reads ‘feeding the planet, energy for life. During the evening he will meet with representatives of the Romanian community in Milan. On Friday, the president will go to the Vatican, where he will hold talks with Pope Francis. The agenda of the visit also includes a tour of the Saint Peter Cathedral, as well as a meeting with Romanian students enrolled in Romes pontifical institutions. This is the second formal visit that President Iohannis is paying to Italy. In late April, Iohannis held talks in Rome with his counterpart Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso and representatives of the Romanian community in Italy.

On Wednesday the European Commission presented the Agenda on migration, which details the measures aimed at settling the crisis in the Mediterranean. The initiative stipulates the development, by the end of this month, of a provisional mechanism through which the EU countries will have to take over 20 thousand refugees, and the creation of a permanent one by the end of the year. According to France Presse, the distribution shall be made in keeping with the following factors: the GDP, the population, the rate of unemployment and the number of refugees already settled in that respective country. Romania will get 3.75% of the total number of immigrants, accounting for 657 people, while France and Germany will get 3 thousand and 2 thousand respectively. For the first time the European Commission proposes the activation of the emergency mechanism stipulated in the EU Treaty, with the aim of providing support for the member countries that are faced with an unexpected migration wave. Such plans had to be developed following the large number of immigrants coming from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, who are crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe. This year alone, some 2 thousand immigrants have lost their lives while trying to cross the sea.

The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has participated in the North-Atlantic Council held today on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministers summit in Antalya, Turkey. The meeting of the agenda focused on the latest developments in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of the Alliance. In his speech, the Romanian Minister said that for the security environment around the Alliance to improve, the decisions adopted at the NATO summit hosted by Great Britain in September 2014 must be fully implemented, and, more importantly, the process of adaptation of the Alliance must be completed with a broader strategy. To this end, he suggested a coherent, integrated strategy targeting both the eastern and the southern neighbourhoods. The Romanian Foreign Minister has also stressed the need for a firmer inclusion of the Black Sea area on NATOs strategic map.

The death toll of the magnitude-7.3 earthquake that hit Nepal on Tuesday has reached 114, the CNN reports. 96 people have died and 2,500 were wounded in Nepal, the other victims being reported in India and China. The quake destroyed the buildings whose structure had already been weakened by the tremor measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, which shattered the same region on April 25th, killing over 8 thousand people.

“Heads Up by the French actress and director Emmanuelle Bercot, starring Catherine Deneuve, opened on Wednesday the famous film festival in Cannes. Over 50 films are to be screened until May 24th at the prestigious event, 19 of which are competing for the Palme dOr trophy. The jury includes, among others, the American directors Joel and Ethan Coen, the French actress Sophie Marceau and the Canadian film-maker Xavier Dolan. This year Romania is represented by Corneliu Porumboius ‘Treasure, in the Un certain regard section, and by Andrei Cretulescus ‘Ramona, in the short-reel competition.

Three Romanian tennis players are today playing in the third round of the Rome tournament, with 2.4 million dollars in prize money. The second best tennis player in the world, Simona Halep, will play against the American Venus Williams, number 16 in the WTA classification. 72nd ranked Alexandra Dulgheru will meet the Russian Ekaterina Makarova, number 8 in the world, and Irina Begu, 31st ranked, will play against the athlete from Belarus, Victoria Azarenka, who holds the 29th WTA position. Simona Halep will also compete in the doubles, alongside the Italian Francesca Schiavone. The pair will try to defeat the Russian Ala Kudriavteva and Anastasia Pavliucenkova. In the same round, but in the mens doubles, the pair made up of the Romanian Florin Mergea and the Indian Rohan Bopanna will meet Horia Tecau, also from Romania, and the Dutch Julen Rojer.

Marking 10 years since Romania signed the EU Accession Treaty, President Klaus Iohannis conveyed a message saying that the decision made back then was a recognition of the fact that Bucharest was ready to join an area defined by democracy, rule of law, market economy, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. The status of EU member that Romania got on January 1st, 2007 translated into many benefits for the Romanian citizens, the head of state also said, among which the development of a legislative background in line with the EU one, access to structural and cohesion funds, participation in the decision-making process at European level, the free movement of people across the EU territory, as well as the access of Romanian companies to the single European market. However, the president also stressed, there are still processes that need to be finalised, such as the accession to Schengen and the adoption of the single currency. The EU is already an integrating part of the Romanians’ lives, and this status is beneficial from an economic, social and diplomatic point of view, and also in terms of security, said in his turn Romanian Prime-Minister Victor Ponta. He reasserted the Romanian Government’s strong commitment to the European project and to reaching all the objectives entailed by Romania being a member of this big family.

The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called on Bucharest to conduct a serious investigation following the recent statements made by the former president Ion Iliescu regarding the existence of a CIA centre in Romania. Anne Brasseur says in a communiqué posted on the Assembly’s web page that Romanian prosecutors should investigate into this matter and see who is responsible. In an interview published this week in the German weekly ‘Der Spiegel’, the former president of Romania Ion Iliescu says that he approved in principle the setting up of a CIA centre in Romania. He explained that the Romanian authorities did not interfere with the activities carried out by the US service and they had no idea what was going on at that centre. It was a gesture of good will that we made at the end of 2002, before Romania’s accession to NATO” Ion Iiescu also said for the German magazine, which has again brought to the forefront the issue of CIA’s secret prisons. Bucharest had denied the existence of such prisons in Romania.

More than 1000 people died in the earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale that shattered Nepal on Saturday. The epicentre of the quake was approximately 80 km north of capital Kathmandu and was followed by 16 aftershocks. Avalanches started in the Mount Everest area and claimed lives from among mountain climbers. The earthquake was also felt quite strongly in the north of India, as well as in capital Delhi. The Romanian embassy in New Delhi has announced that no Romanian citizen from the area has requested any help and there is no information regarding potential victims among Romanians. Alex Glavan, the Romanian climber who is now on Mount Pumori, approximately 8 km west of Everest, has announced he is fine.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry has hailed the recent decision made by the Canadian Government to include Romania among the countries for which the provisions of the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) will be applied in 2016. The Romanian citizens who in the past 10 years have had a Canadian visa or who have a short term residence visa for the US can enter Canada without needing a visa, following registration into the eTA system. The measure is similar to the one applied in the case of citizens who do not need a Canadian visa. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, this decision, which is a major step in the process of fully wavering visas for Canada, reconfirms the efforts made by Romanian and Canadian authorities to solve this issue.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranked 3rd in the WTA classification, has failed to qualify for the final of the WTA tournament in Stuttgart, with 731,000 USD in prize money. In the semi-finals she was defeated by the Danish Caroline Wozniacki, number 5 in the world, after a marathon match that lasted 3 hours. Despite the defeat, Halep is to go back to the second WTA position on Monday, benefiting from the early withdrawal from the Stuttgart tournament of Maria Sarapova. In Bucharest, the men’s final of the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy tournament, with 439,405 Euros for grabs, will be played by the Czech Jiri Vesely, 7th seed, and the 5th seed Spanish player Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The two defeated in the semi-finals the pair made up of the Spanish Daniel Gimeno — Traver and the French Gael Monfils. The Romanians Marius Copil and Adrian Ungur have qualified for the doubles final.

Marking 10 years since Romania signed the EU Accession Treaty, President Klaus Iohannis conveyed a message saying that the decision made back then was a recognition of the fact that Bucharest was ready to join an area defined by democracy, rule of law, market economy, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms. The status of EU member that Romania got on January 1st, 2007 has translated into many benefits for the Romanian citizens, the head of state also said, among which the development of a legislative background in line with the EU one, access to structural and cohesion funds, participation in the decision-making process at European level, the free movement of people across the EU, as well as the access of Romanian companies to the single European market. However, there are still processes that need to be finalised, such as the accession to Schengen and the adoption of the single currency, but Romania remains fully committed to achieving these two goals as soon as possible, President Klaus Iohannis also said.

The Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici is attending in Riga, Latvia, the informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. The talks are mainly focused on short and long-term challenges posed by the EU budget, the EU’s economic situation and financial stability and key measures to ensure the EU’s growth potential. The agenda of talks also includes topics such as the union of capital markets and the package of measures on increasing fiscal transparency. Recently, the IMF has revised upwards to 2.7% its forecast regarding Romania’s GDP growth in 2015. For the year 2016, the institution has forecast a 2.9% growth for the Romanian economy. As regards world economy, the IMF says it will grow by 3.5% in 2016 and 3.8% in 2016, in line with the forecasts made in January.

Romania and Bulgaria can defend their interests in Brussels better, as long as they act together. This is the conclusion of the joint meeting that the governments of the two countries had in Craiova, southern Romania. “We joined NATO and the EU together and we will join Shenghen together. Together we will develop the projects included in the Juncker plan and those funded from structural funds, and together we will show Serbia and the other countries in the region which is the model to follow”, said Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The Bulgarian Premier Boiko Borisov too believes that if they act together, the two countries can better promote their interests and objectives, both in the region and in Brussels. The talks in Craiova focused on the recent developments in the Western Balkans, the eastern partnership and the prospects of cooperation in strategic fields, including the Danube region strategy.

The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called on Bucharest to conduct a serious investigation following the recent statements made by the former president Ion Iliescu regarding the existence of a CIA centre in Romania. Anne Brasseur says in a communiqué posted on the Assembly’s web page that Romanian prosecutors should investigate into this matter and see who is responsible. In an interview published this week in the German weekly ‘Der Spiegel’, the former president of Romania Ion Iliescu says that he approved in principle the setting up of a CIA centre in Romania. He explained that the Romanian authorities did not interfere with the activities carried out by the US service and they had no idea what was going on at that centre. It was a gesture of good will that we made at the end of 2002, before Romania’s accession to NATO” Ion Iiescu also said for the German magazine, which has again brought to the forefront the issue of CIA’s secret prisons. Bucharest had denied the existence of such prisons in Romania.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry has hailed the recent decision made by the Canadian Government to include Romania among the countries for which the provisions of the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) will be applied in 2016. The Romanian citizens who in the past 10 years have had a Canadian visa or who have a short term residence visa for the US can enter Canada without needing a visa, following registration into the eTA system. The measure is similar to the one applied in the case of citizens who do not need a Canadian visa. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, this decision, which is a major step in the process of fully wavering visas for Canada, reconfirms the efforts made by Romanian and Canadian authorities to solve this issue.

Romania’s population is ageing and the phenomenon has become rather severe in the past year and it’s going to get worse, the National Statistics Institute has announced. Data shows that the number of people aged above 65 is 0.3% bigger than that of young people as compared to last year, when the ratio was the other way round. Moreover, the population domiciled in Romania has become smaller in the past 12 months. Also, the urban population and the female population are bigger, the statistics made public by the institute also show.

One of the richest business people in Romania, Ioan Niculae, has been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the case concerning the funding of the presidential election campaign of the Social Democrat candidate Mircea Geoana back in 2009. The former president of the Braila County Council, Gheorghe Bunea, was sentenced in the same case and got 3 years in prison. The decisions are final. As member of the Social Democratic Party, Gheorghe Bunea used his influence and authority to get 1 million Euros from Ioan Niculae, thus breaking the legal provisions regarding the funding of political parties. The money was to be used in the presidential election campaign held in late 2009. More on this after the news.

The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has today stated that Romania is not intimidated by Russia’s threats and NATO’s protecting the eastern flank is the result of the aggressiveness displayed by the Russian Federation, which has illegally occupied Crimea and supports the separatists in eastern Ukraine. According to the Romanian official, the NATO protection translates into reassurance and safety measures. The Russian Defence Minister’s spokesperson had stated on Thursday that Romania accepting to host on its soil heavy NATO armament, as the commander of the US European Command, Philip Breedlove, said in Bucharest, would be dangerous. He also said that such measures were in violation of the Russia- NATO founding treaty, and Moscow reserved the right to consider such decisions when drawing up its military plans. As a reaction to the statements made by the Russian official, the Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that Romania’s decisions are the best for both itself and its partners.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry hails the political agreement reached in Lausanne on the Iranian nuclear program, and terms it as a decisive step towards reaching a final solution, which would restore the international community’s trust in Teheran’s nuclear program. In Washington, Barack Obama termed the agreement in principle that restricts Iran’s nuclear program as ‘a historical agreement.’ On Thursday in Lausanne, Iran and the six world powers — the US, Great Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, reached a framework agreement on Teheran’s nuclear program. The final agreement should be signed by June 30th, and it would end disputes that have been lasting for 12 years now and which have brought along tough sanctions against Iran, in an attempt to prevent the latter from getting nuclear weapons. Over the phone with the US president Barack Obama, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu though has voiced his vehement opposition to the agreement, saying it is a serious danger, both to Israel and to the region and the entire world.

The US destroyer ‘Jason Dunham’, equipped with 4th generation guided missiles is attending in the Black Sea the operation ‘Atlantic Resolve’, the US fleet has announced, quoted by Agerpress. The presence of this vessel in the Black Sea proves the US’s commitment to acting closer to its allies, in order to enhance security and stability, and ensure the training and capability of the naval forces. Some 750 US tanks and thousands of soldiers have been deployed in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as part of the operation Atlantic Resolve, which is meant to discourage a potential Russian aggression. Concurrently with the exercises carried out at sea, the Alliance is also organizing drills and trainings in the member countries, including in Romania. The drills are aimed at consolidating security in the members states, against the background of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia, which has also displayed an impressive capability lately, has repeatedly voiced worries regarding the growing number of NATO exercises in eastern Europe. The Russian Defense Ministry has announced it wants to organize at least 4 thousand military applications in 2015.

The death toll of the terrorist attack on the Kenyan University in Garissa, committed by Somali islamists stands at 147, mostly students, France Presse reports. 80 students were wounded, and approximately 500 were liberated by the Kenyan forces. On Thursday morning, armed islamists entered the university campus and opened fire, launched explosives and took hostages, but only Christian students, not Muslim. At least four terrorists died during the operation carried out by the Kenyan security forces to resume control over the university. The attack has been claimed by a Sunni organization affiliated to Al-Qaida, active in Somalia and Kenya.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranked 3rd in the WTA classification, was defeated by the WTA leader Serena Williams, in three sets: 6-2, 406, 7-5, in the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Miami, Florida, with 5.4 million dollars in prize money. Halep lost after more than two hours, at the end of a balanced game. This is the second defeat for Halep this season, after the game she lost in the Australian Open quarters. This year the Romanian tennis player has won the Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells tournaments.

Champions Steaua Bucharest and Universitatea Cluj on May 31st will play the finals of Romania’s Cup in football. The match will be hosted by the National Arena in Bucharest. Steaua’s run in the build-up towards the finals included this past Thursday’s a 3-1 home win against Petrolul Ploiesti. In the first leg, Petrolul held Steaua to a 1-all draw. Universitatea Cluj reached the final securing a win against CFR, the other team from Cluj. Steaua have also qualified for the League Cup final, where they will be taking on Pandurii Targu Jiu, in the south-west.

Security challenges and cooperation between the US army and the armies of the central European countries, both at regional and NATO level, were high on the agenda of the conference of the US European Command and defence ministers from central Europe. Other issues on the agenda of the conference, attended by the Romanian Defence Minister Mircea Dusa, were means of responding to regional and global threats, but also the action plan for strengthening NATO’s operational capability.

On Thursday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest ruled that the former Social Democrat Finance Minister Darius Valcov be taken in temporary police custody for 23 days for influence peddling. According to prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Darius Valcov carried out financial operations that were incompatible with his office. Also, investigators say that he hid in his friends’ and collaborators’ homes money, gold and dozens of valuable paintings. Darius Valcov was already under house arrest for corruption, for acts he committed while mayor of the town of Slatina. Also under a High Court ruling, the Social Democrat mayor of the port town of Constanta, Radu Mazare, was arrested for 30 days. He is accused of having taken 9 million Euros in bribes.

Some 2000 sheep and cattle farmers on Thursday protested in front of the Romanian government building in Bucharest and, as a result, they were assured by the Agriculture Ministry that they would get the due subsidies before Easter. The protesters, affiliated to the Agrostar federation, are discontent with the fact that Romania does not have a national strategy for small and medium dairy farmers, who, they say, will be removed from the market as a result of the abolition of milk quotas as of April 1st, 2015. They are also worried about the danger of double taxation under both the producer license and the producer certificate. Agrostar, the largest trade union federation in agriculture has 45 thousand members, both agricultural producers and other employees in the sector and adjacent services.

Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between the six world powers Iran were resumed in Lausanne, after the 1st of April deadline to reach an agreement was exceeded, reads the international press. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that the parties agreed on all major issues, but western officials say there are still obvious disagreements. The US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany want to make sure Iran will not be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year. Tehran insists on having international sanctions lifted as a prerequisite for any agreement, claiming that its nuclear program is strictly civilian.

The unemployment rate across the EU in February registered an all-time low since September 2011. According to the Statistical Office of the European Union — Eurostat – the number of the unemployed dropped constantly, down to roughly 24 million people, that is 1.5 million less than in 2014. 21% of the unemployed are young people under 25. In February, the unemployment rate went down by 0.1 % as compared to January, standing at 9.8% across the European Union, and with a 11.3 % unemployment rate reported for the Euro zone. Among the EU member states, the highest unemployment rates were reported for Greece and Spain, while the lowest such figures were registered in Germany, Austria and Denmark. With a 6.5 % rate, Romania has maintained its position among the countries with a low unemployment rate. Fighting unemployment is a priority for the European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker. We recall the European Commission’s investment plan accounts for 300 billion Euros.

54 sailors are reported dead and 15 missing after a Russian fishing trawler sank off the Kamchatka peninsula. Over 60 people were rescued, many suffering from hypothermia after staying in freezing waters. The fishing trawler Dalniy Vostok had 132 people on board when it sank in the Sea of Okhotsk, without sending an SOS message. The ship’s crew were mainly Russian but there were also sailors from Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu. The cause of the accident is still unknown but, according to the BBC, drifting ice may have torn a hole in the vessel.

For the first time in her career, the world’s 3^rd best tennis player, the Romanian Simona Halep has got through to the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Miami, with 5.4 million dollars prize money at stake. On Thursday Halep secured a laid-back win against the American Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 7-5. On Friday, in the semi-finals, the 23-year old Halep will be taking on WTA leader Serena Williams who defeated the world’s number 27 player according to the WTA rankings, Germany’s Sabine Lisicki. In the other semi-final, Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro will play against Andrea Petkovic of Germany. Head-to-heads so far point to Serena Williams’ 4-1 advantage over Simona Halep. In the ongoing WTA season, the Romanian has only one defeat on the record sheet, at the Australian Open. Halep’s run has since been made of 15 consecutive wins, among which the titles she won in the Dubai and Indian Wells tournaments.