Current affairs report Romania

17 August 22 August 2016

Politics

Only 35% of Romanians have confidence in the local justice system, a

13 percentage point decrease compared with last year, according to the most recent
edition of the Eurobarometer. This is the biggest drop recorded by a European institution
in such a short time. Meanwhile, 72% of Romanian respondents said they trusted the
Army, 4 pp down compared with last year, and some half of them had confidence in the
Police. Only 24% of Romanians have confidence in the Government, a 1 pp increase
compared with the previous study. Sources: Mediafax, Romania-Insider

The Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos launched a harsh attack against the former
Victor Ponta government on the absorption of EU funds, saying that the actual
absorption for the 2014-2020 programme began only in May 2016. His statement was
made after several representatives of the former government criticized the Ciolos
cabinet for the low EU funds absorption. The Prime Minister said that Romanias EU
funds absorption rate for the current programme amounts to 1%, while the European
average stands at around 1.5%. Sources: Adevarul, Romania-Insider
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The Minister of the EU Funds Cristian Ghinea announced that EU funds

amounting to EUR 2.9 billion of the 2007-2013 programme entered into
Romania since the beginning of the year, which represents a 20% increase
compared with the same period in 2015. The authorities intend to close the 20072013 financial framework with an absorption rate of 80 percent. Sources:
Agerpres, Romania Journal

Euractiv.com published on August 18 an article quoting two independent sources saying

that the US has started transferring over 20 nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey
to Romania, following the worsening relations between Washington and Ankara. The
article was largely picked up by the local media outlets, but the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense denied that there are any plans in this
direction. The US Department for Defense declined to comment on the topic. Sources:
Romania Libera, Euractiv

The Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism DIICOT has
prosecuted three British journalists who broadcasted an investigation about
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alleged illegal Romanian arms dealers, aired by Sky News on August 7. The
prosecutors concluded that the story was fabricated by the journalists. The reporters
have been charged with spreading false information that may affect Romanias national
security, misleading European authorities, and initiating an organized crime group.
Sources: News.ro, Romania-Insider

Around 6,000 Romanians living abroad were enrolled in the electoral registry by
August 16, in order to vote in the parliamentary elections in December, according to
data released by the Permanent Electoral Authority. Nearly 4,800 persons choose to
vote by correspondence. The citizens living abroad have to submit a request to the
Romanias consular offices in order to be enrolled in the electoral registry. Source:
Hotnews

Economy

Romania has climbed up six positions in the Global Innovation Index drafted by
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), ranking 48th out of 128
countries in this years edition. However, Romania is still behind other countries in the
region, such as Czech Republic (27th), Hungary (33rd) or Poland (39th). On a scale from 0
to 100, Romania obtained a score of 37.9 points. Source: Romania-Insider

Romania recorded the third largest growth (6.9%) in construction work in the
European Union in June compared to the same month in 2015. At EU level,
construction work recorded an annual decline of 0.6% in June. Source: Romania-Insider

The local companies had 21,300 jobs available at the middle of August, according
to data releases by the National Agency for Workforce Occupancy. Most of the
workplaces available at the national level are for unqualified workers. Sources: Ziarul
Financiar, Business-Review

The contents of this material are proprietary to Golin Public Relations S.A. and are intended solely for
the use of its clients and their affiliates and each of their affiliates employees, directors and
representatives. The contents of this material may not be reproduced, disclosed, distributed or
otherwise used without the express permission of an authorized representative of Golin. Any other use
is expressly prohibited.