August 11, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 11.08.2022, 13:55

Drought. In Romania,
wheat crops are affected by drought on an area of ​​over 180,000 hectares,
while the total affected agricultural area has extended to almost 330,000
hectares in two thirds of Romania’s counties, according to the data provided by
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The relevant minister, Petre
Daea, has announced that this year’s wheat production is 15% – 18% lower than
that recorded in 2021. According to the minister, however, there is enough
wheat to cover Romania’s internal needs, meaning 2.5 – 3 million tons, and to
even ensure a surplus for export.

Inflation. The annual inflation rate in Romania dropped to 14.96% in July this year, from 15.1% in June, the National Institute of Statistics has announced. Natural gas, oil, potatoes and fuel are at the top of the price hikes in July, followed by energy, plane tickets, flour and sorghum. Telephone services are the only ones that got slightly cheaper. According to the data presented on Tuesday by the governor of the Central Bank, Mugur Isărescu, the National Bank of Romania revised the inflation forecast for the end of this year to 13.9% and estimates an inflation of 7.5% for the end of next year.

Ukraine. Prime Minister
Nicolae Ciucă has stated that the Government of Romania has no data to justify
the concern regarding the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in
neighboring Ukraine. He says that the authorities in Bucharest constantly
monitor data related to the environment, and the state institutions have taken
all measures to inform and protect the population in good time. The UN Security
Council is convening urgently today to discuss the situation of the plant in
Zaporizhzhya, which Kiev and Moscow accuse each other of having bombed. At
least 14 people died from the bombings on Tuesday night in the area around the
nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe. The G7 group of the
most industrialized countries accused Moscow of endangering the Ukrainian
region around the plant, occupied by Russian troops.

Embargo. The European embargo on Russian coal has come into force, four months after it was adopted as part of the fifth package of sanctions against Moscow, at a time when the EU is facing strong tensions over its energy supply, France Presse reports. It is the first EU sanction to hit the Russian energy sector. Until last year, the EU would import 45% of its coal from Russia for 4 billion euros a year, and countries such as Germany and Poland, which used it for electricity production, were particularly dependent on it. In the context in which the annual European consumption of coal, a polluting fossil fuel, fell from 1,200 to 427 million tons between 1990 and 2020, the closure of numerous mines on the continent contributed to the increase of Europeans’ dependence on imports.

Refugees. The number of
Ukrainian citizens with employment contracts in Romania has reached almost
6,500, according to the Minister of Labor, Marius Budai. More than 4,000
contracts were registered after the start of the war. Most are in the
manufacturing industry, followed by construction, hotels, restaurants and
commerce. More than a quarter of Ukrainians, over 1,200, opted for jobs in
Bucharest. On the other hand, the Border Police announced that, on Wednesday,
about 13,500 Ukrainian citizens crossed the border into Romania. Since February
10, before the conflict, until August 9, almost 1.9 million refugees entered
the country, but most of them only transited Romania to other European
countries.

Motorway. Works are
starting for the construction of the A7 Motorway, which will connect the cities
of Ploieşti, in the south of Romania, and Paşcani, in the east. It is the
largest investment of this kind financed by the NRRP in the European Union. A
Romaian – Bulgarian joint venture is starting today the organization of the
construction site on lot 2 of the 28 km- long Ploiesti-Buzau section, which
should be ready in 20 months. Starting August 22, an Italian builder will be
working on the first lot, out of a total of 13. Dubbed the Moldavian Motorway, A7
will measure almost 440 kilometers.

Rowing. Romania participates
with 11 crews and 39 athletes in the European Rowing Championships in Munich.
Among the tricolor athletes present at the competition in Germany are the
Olympic champions Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș, who will compete in the
double sculls event. At the previous edition of the European Rowing
Championships, Romania won six medals, two gold and four silver. Recently, at
the Canoe Sprint World Championships in
Halifax (Canada), Romanian Cătălin Chirilă became world champion in the canoe
single 1,000-meter event and world vice-champion in the 500-meter race. In
another development, the European Swimming Championships start today in Rome. 11 Romanian athletes will participate in
swimming, diving and high diving events. In swimming, David Popovici, double
world champion, is announced as the big favorite in the 100 m and 200 m
freestyle races. (MI)