FOR TWENTY SIX YEARS ’S ONLY ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY

NO: 6378 WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 13 2017 SINCE 1991 • WWW.NINEOCLOCK.RO • PRICE: RON 4.5 Castling at Gov’t. takes over Defence portfolio, Gheorghe Simon takes over Economy Ministry by Georgiana Vlad NINE O’CLOCK DefMin Fifor, EcoMin Simon take oath of office Social Democratic Party (PSD) President announced on Tuesday that Mihai Fifor will New Defence Minister Mihai Fifor and Economy Ministers Gheorghe Simon on Tuesday were sworn in take over the Defence portfolio, while Lower House office before President . Attending the swearing-in ceremony were Prime Minister Mihai member Gheorghe Simon will replace him at the helm of the Economy Ministry. Dragnea stated he informed Tudose, Deputy Prime Ministers Sevil Shhaideh and , Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies President Klaus Iohannis about the two nominations as Liviu Dragnea and Senate Chairman Calin Popescu-Tariceanu. Also present were presidential advisers Ion early as Monday evening, the Head of State agreeing “in Oprisor and Cosmin Marinescu. principle” with the new changes taking place within the Tudose Government. ciple, agreed with these nominations. Of course, he’ll hands today,” Liviu Dragnea stated. The announce- “I was with Premier , I called the analyse them only after the paperwork officially arrives, ment concerning the nominations was made after President, I informed him what our nominees will be but last evening he didn’t have a reaction of rejection or PSD’s National Standing Bureau (NSB) meeting. today and, of course, he agreed. The President, in prin- disagreement. Of course, the decision will be in his continued on page 2 Senate celebrates INSIDE: 20 years of strategic Politics partnership between : All of the PSD Romania and the leaders’ lies visible on budget United States adjustment; it’s paradoxical

NINE O’CLOCK for revenues to drop during a At a plenary session on period of growth g Tuesday, the Senate passed, 97 to Page 3 nil, a declaration marking the 20th anniversary of the Strategic Economy Partnership between Romania Second generation of Duster and the US, in the presence of for- officially mer presidents Emil presented by Dacia Renault Constantinescu and Traian at 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show

Basescu. g The draft of the declaration Page 5 was adopted by the Senate "two Events decades after the launch of the Radu Paltineanu, first Strategic Partnership between Romanian to cross Americas by Romania and the US on July 11, bicycle 1997, and on the threshold of a g century from the affirmation of Page 8 the right of the peoples in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to IN THIS ISSUE autonomous development by President Woodrow Wilson in the Politics & News 2, 3, 6, 7 Fourteen Points statement pre- Economy 4, 5 sented to the American Congress on January 8, 1918." Events 8 In its declaration, the Senate celebrates 20 years of strategic EDITORIAL By Catalin Bogdan partnership between Romania Gov't requests state companies to and the United States, reaffirming Nationalist duo transfer to budget dividends not its determination to further strengthen bilateral relations on Ruling power leader Liviu as a man of the people, far from the allocated to future projects the main pillars - security, econo- Dragnea and Opposition leader arrogance of the city dweller or of NINE O’CLOCK and Conpet to transfer in advance my, democracy and the rule of Ludovic Orban met at the grave of the intellectual. This populist calcu- The Government has request- to the state budget several hun- law, education and culture - while Avram Iancu, in the Apuseni lus – we can also suspect the influ- ed that all state-owned companies recognising the historic impor- dred million lei in the form of div- Mountains. Military leader of the ence of a skilled “spin doctor” such transfer in advance the amounts tance of the partnership for the as Vasile Dancu, the secret aide of idends, the prime minister Moti in 1848-1849, during the bat- in the form of dividends not allo- democratic development of tles with Hungarian revolutionaries, many Social Democratic leaders – explained: "Dividends are defi- cated for future projects, Prime Romania in the sense of its Euro- today Avram Iancu is a symbol of also fits in with the current alliance nitely given to shareholders. So no Minister Mihai Tudose said on Atlantic engagement and integra- Romanian nationalism. with the Coalition for Family, tradi- one has robbed them, no one took tion. tionalist and implicitly xenophobic Tuesday. Consequently, numerous leaders them what they were not entitled have paid their respects to him in the – it’s not by chance that the outlook Quizzed, at the end of the last quarter of century, in the search of accepting refugees, no matter how Social Democratic Party's (PSD) to. We took them now because we for political legitimacy. Liviu few of them, is extremely unpopular National Political Bureau (BPN), needed them now. We want to Dragnea likes to wear traditional in Romania. about the fact that the Energy start some very big projects. clothing as often as possible, posing Continued on Page 7 Ministry had requested Romgaz continued on page 3