January 19, 2017 UPDATE
Romanian Foreign Ministry hails election of Antonio Tajani as President of the EP/ Inauguration Ceremony of Donald Trump/ IMF mission to Bucharest
Newsroom, 19.01.2017, 19:42
EP — The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Thursday hailed the election of the Italian Conservative Antonio Tajani as President of the European Parliament. The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, said that Tajani’s long and dedicated experience as a supporter of the common European interests was a great advantage. Also minister Meleşcanu alongside the Minister Delegate for European affairs, Ana Birchall, expressed Romania’s full availability to have a dialogue with the new European Parliament President. Antonio Tajani, 63, a candidate of the European People’s Party Group in the EP, was elected for a term in office of two and a half years. He was the spokesman for the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and a European Commissioner for Industry between 2010- 2014.
WASHINGTON — The Speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, talked in Washington with the president of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ed Royce, about the Romanian-American relations. According to a social network post, the American official underlined the seriousness which Romania proved in various difficult circumstances. In turn, Liviu Dragnea, reiterated Romania’s commitment to its Strategic Partnership with the US as well as the Romanian Government’s pledge to develop bilateral political and economic relations. Liviu Dragnea said Romania would continue to be a pillar of trust in the trans-Atlantic relations. He is in the US to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the US President Donald Trump. He received the invitation to attend the ceremony together with the PM Sorin Grindeanu from one of the two vice-presidents of the committee on inaugural ceremonies.
Gfk STUDY — Romania’s purchasing power stands at one third of the European average, reveals a study made by the Gfk marketing company in more than 100 countries. With an average purchasing power of 4,181 euros, Romanians are ranked 33 in the classification, same as in 2015, standing way below the average purchasing power of 13,672 euros reported in the 42 European countries analyzed. The inhabitants of Bucharest have the biggest purchasing power in Romania, of 6,288 euros per capita, with 50% more than the country average value, an amount that places Bucharesters almost at the same level with the Poles who are ranked 29th in Europe. The first ten countries in Europe in terms of the purchasing power are Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Germany and Great Britain.
EU-MOLDOVA — The European Commission on Thursday praised the economic benefits of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the Republic of Moldova, which is part of the Association Agreement signed in 2014. According to an EC communiqué, in 2015, European imports from the Republic of Moldova increased by 5%. The EU is the main economic partner of the Republic of Moldova, absorbing around 62% of its exports, more than Russia (12%) and Belarus (6.7%), show data provided by the EC. The Association Agreement is the basis for the EU-Moldova bilateral relation and provides the legal framework for political and trade relations, the EC communiqué also writes. On Tuesday, in Moscow, the new Moldovan President, pro-Russian Socialist Igor Dodon, said he wanted to renegotiate the Association Agreement with the EU and talked about a possible cancellation of the agreement.
IMF MISSION — An IMF delegation headed by the head of the IMF mission to Romania, Reza Baqir, had a first meeting in Bucharest with the Romanian Finance Minister Viorel Ştefan. The main topic under discussion was the 2017 budget. The IMF mission will continue with technical talks with experts, including from the national bank. The IMF delegation is in Bucharest for one week for a first meeting with the members of the new government. At present Romania does not have a running agreement with IMF. (translation by Lacramioara Simion)
