Romania’s president expected to receive Emperor Otto Prize
Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis is expected to receive the Emperor Otto Prize at a ceremony in the German city of Magdeburg on Wednesday, October 14, for his efforts in the European unification process while a laudation speech will be delivered by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. The City of Magdeburg awards the prize to commemorate achievements of Otto the Great, and in recognition of people who served the European unification process with particular focus on states in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The Emperor Otto Prize was awarded for the first time in 2005 to mark the 1200th aniiversary of the city.
Romania’s exports down by 15 percent
Romania’s exports fell by 15 percent in eight months to nearly € 39 million while the country’s imports hit about €50 million,11 percent lower as compared to the same period last year, according to figures issued by the country’s National Statistics Institute (INS) on Monday. Romania;s trade gap widened by 5.1 percent on the year to an estimated €9,9 billion ($11.7 billion) in the first seven months of 2020. Exports fell by 16.2 percent while imports were down by 12.2 percent between January and July. In July alone, Romania’s exports fell by 5,1 percent on a year while imports decreased 9.9 percent. Romania’s trade deficit widened by an annual rate of 14 percent to €17.20 billion in 2019..
Romania expected to support EU sanctions on Russia
Romania will support EU’s sanctions against the Russian Federation for poisoning Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. The announcement was made by Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu before a meeting on Monday in Luxembourg of EU foreign ministers. Romania is also expected to support renewed sanctions against the former Soviet Republic of Belarus, the Romanian minister said. before the meeting. Agenda of the EU foreign ministers’ summit in Luxembourg includes issues concerning sanctions against Russia, ways of ending the Nagorno-Karabach conflict, a dialogue between Pristina (Kosovo) and Belgrade, relations with Caribbean and South-American countries, current crisis in Venezuela and an action plan against human rights abuses for 2020 – 2024.
Alexandru Danga
