December 21, 2023 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 21.12.2023, 19:54

December 1989 — On Thursday, Bucharest venued events commemorating the heroes who died for freedom in the anti-communist uprising 34 years ago. December 21, 1989 is considered the first day of the uprising in Bucharest, after the failed rally called by the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, followed by the setting up of barricades in the center of the city and the bloody repression of the anti-communist demonstrators. Launched a week before, in Timisoara (west) and extedned to other big cities, the Uprising culminated in Bucharest, on December 22, with the escape of Ceausescu from the headquarters of the central committee of the Communist party. Captured and tried summarily, Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were shot on December 25. Romania was the only communist country in Europe where the regime change was accompanied by a bloodshed. Over a thousand people were killed in December 1989. Young people must know that the freedom they have today was paid for with the lives of thousands of heroes, the PM Marcel Ciolacu said, emphasizing that the Romanian Revolution of December 1989 was the moment when the ideal of freedom defeated the terror strongly established among the population.

Wind energy — The Romanian government approved, in Thursdays session, a draft law on the development of investments in the field of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea. According to the law the Energy Ministry is the authority in the field of offshore wind farms. “The adoption of a legislative framework for starting the exploitation of Romanias offshore wind resources is a vital step in ensuring Romanias energy independence and resilience, being, at the same time, something that Romania assumed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan”, shows a press release of the Energy Ministry which also writes that the World Bank data show that Romania has an offshore wind potential of 76 GW of installed power, being a favorable environment for the development of this type of renewable energy. Through this project, Romania is making progress in achieving the desired transition and decarbonization of the energy system, as well as in consolidating its status as a regional leader in the field of energy – the release states.

Statistics – Romania ranks 1st in the EU in terms of the number of deaths from preventable and treatable causes, shows the EU State of Health report for 2023. In 2020, 358 preventable deaths per 100,000 inhabitants were registered in Romania, almost double the EU average (180 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) and 235 deaths from treatable causes per 100,000 inhabitants, 2.5 times higher than the EU average of 92 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Expenditure for healthcare per capita in Romania remains the lowest in the EU countries, while numerous categories are exempted from the payment of health insurance. Romania allocates only 6.5% of the GDP to health. Life expectancy at birth in Romania, increasing until 2019 to 75.3 years, decreased by almost 3 years to 72.8 years between 2019 and 2021, currently being the third lowest in the European Union and by 5.4 years lower than the EU average.

Ukraine – The European Commission has allocated over 65 million Euros so that four member states can provide support to people fleeing the war started by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The money is made available to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania and comes from the Community Fund for Asylum, Migration and Integration. The money can be used, for example, to help Ukrainian refugees move from collective accommodation to private housing, for language and vocational training, and to access medical services. Currently, the European Union hosts over four million Ukrainians who benefit from temporary protection. (LS)