August 8, 2023

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Newsroom, 08.08.2023, 13:54

PENSIONS The
Romanian MPs are expected to interrupt their summer holidays and resume
activity in order to amend the special pensions law, after some provisions have
been deemed as unconstitutional, the country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu,
has said. Ciolacu told a private TV channel the requests made by the
constitutional judges would be subjected to talks in Brussels between the
Romanian authorities and the European Commission representatives. Ciolacu has pledged
to fly to Brussels this month to renegotiate several provisions in the
country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience as well as the budget target
of 4.4%. The government in Bucharest would rather the European Executive accepted
a target of 5% of the GDP. The Prime Minister has explained that in the absence
of a plan on curbing budget expenses and raising incomes, the budget would
exceed 6.2%, which might prompt the EU to cut its funds for Romania.

PILOTS 100 Romanian pilots, who in the past four months defended the NATO air
space over Lithuania, are coming back home. There were many situations in which
Russian Sukhoi warplanes were flying dangerously close to the NATO airspace and
the Romanian pilots were sent to intercept those planes. The Romanians worked
together with their colleagues from Portugal and NATO is permanently deploying air-force
personnel and aircraft to that country as Lithuania doesn’t have its own
fighter jets. Moreover, the area is notorious for the bold attempts of the
Russian pilots to violate the NATO airspace. 16 years ago Romanian pilots were
also involved in air policing missions in Lithuania on their upgraded MIG-21
Lancers.

SUPPORT
Romania is ready to offer specialized assistance and support to the National
Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking
country, Romania’s National Defence Minister, Angel Tilvar, said in Chisinau
during the talks he held on Monday with his Moldovan counterpart, Anatolie
Nosatîi.
The Moldovan servicemen have recently received from Romania Kevlar helmets,
bullet-proof vests and all-terrain vehicles. The donation is part of Romania’s
ongoing efforts to support the upgrading and streamlining of the defence
structures in the neighbouring state. According to a press release by the
Defence Ministry in Bucharest, the two officials have also tackled aspects concerning
the latest developments in the regional security caused by the aggression war
Russia is presently waging on Ukraine, with emphasis on the situations caused
by the latest bombing of Ukraine’s ports on the Danube close to the borders
with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

TENNIS Romanian
tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, started off on the right foot at the WTA 1000
tournament in Montreal, Canada with 2.800.000 dollars in prize money. The
Romanian secured a two-set win 6-4, 7-6, against Varvara Gracheva of France in
a match, which took place on Monday. In the second round Cirstea will be
playing the winner of the match pitching Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic
against Anastasia Potapova. If she won, the Romanian might play in the round of
16 against top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, who plays Karolina Pliskova of the
Czech Republic in the second round.

FESTIVAL The
24th edition of the international festival Enescu and the World’s
Music kicks off today in the resort of Sinaia, southern Romania. Concerts are
being held at the local casino, the city museum, the George Enescu Memorial,
the Dimitrie Ghica park and the Catholic church. According to the organizers,
this festival has been devoted to the young people and young orchestras and
mainly to the winners of national and international contests. The event is also
devoted to the famous Romanian artists who are involved in the process of
training the young generation of musicians, as part of this Romanian project.
The festival is due to end on August 31.

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