January 28, 2019 UPDATE

Government to present 2019 draft budget on Tuesday

Newsroom, 28.01.2019, 20:07

BUDGET – In Bucharest, the 2019 draft budged will be presented by the Government on Tuesday, Darius Valcov, the adviser of PM Viorica Dancila has said. According to Valcov, more money than last year will be allotted to education and healthcare. Romanias consolidated budget at the end of last year registered a deficit of 2.88% of the GDP, just like in the previous year, according to data published on Monday by the Finance Ministry. Budget revenues were by 17.2% higher than in 2017. Budget expenditure was by 16.8% higher than in 2017, due in particular to staff expenditure, which was by 23.7% higher than in the previous year.

FLU – In Romania, 47 people have died from the flu this winter, Romanian authorities have announced. Some 3 million pupils have resumed school on Monday, after on Friday all classes were suspended, over the flu scare. Education Minister Ecaterina Andronescu has announced that classes will not be suspended this week, as it is the last in the first semester of the school year. Authorities will soon decide whether to declare flu epidemic at national level, given the alarming increase in the number of cases across the country.

EU COUNCIL — The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Petre Daea, attended in Monday in Brussels the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the first during the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The main topic on the agenda was the Common Agricultural Policy 2020. Protecting farmers in the community area and encouraging the production of vegetable proteins are priorities of the next Common Agricultural Policy that Romania also supports. Also, under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, the Commission has proposed to allow the use of certain grape varieties that had been banned a few years ago.

DATA PRIVACY – The National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing organized on Monday in Bucharest, on the European Data Privacy Day, the conference titled “Ensuring the Observance of the GDPR”. The event was held under the auspices of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The European Data Privacy Day is celebrated on January 28th by all the countries members of the Council of Europe and celebrates the adoption in 1981, in Strasbourg, of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. 43 European states have joined the international convention, as wells as countries from other continents. Tiberiu Gandu, the Executive Director of the National Association of Telecommunications and Internet Providers, has stated that, in terms of personal data protection, the EU has the strongest regulation in the world.

TALKS – Romania wants to actively participate in the consolidation of the European project and plans to make things advance in the economic, financial and fiscal sectors, to the member countries’ benefit. The statement was made on Monday by the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici during a meeting he had in Bucharest with his Norwegian counterpart, Siv Jensen. The two officials also talked about the priorities of Romania’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in the economic and financial sectors.

WEATHER – Weather in Romania is getting warmer, after days of extreme phenomena affecting the capital Bucharest and 20 counties. According to the latest report, presented on Monday by the Interior Ministry, some 8,000 fire-fighters, police officers and gendarmes were deployed across the country to intervene in extreme situations. Some 2,200 trees and 44 electricity poles fell and damaged 360 vehicles. According to a communiqué issued by the Energy Ministry, some 22,000 households are still without electricity, especially in the south and east of the country. Traffic has been resumed and is now normal on all motorways and national roads.

MOLDOVA – The Moldovan branch of Amnesty International on Monday voiced concern over the high risk of violation of the electoral law and the international conventions that the Republic of Moldova is a party to, Radio Chisinau reports. According to an Amnesty International release, several candidates have reported cases of police failing to intervene in cases of harassment and aggression perpetrated by alleged sympathizers of their opponents political parties. The announcement was made given that parliamentary elections are due in the Republic of Moldova on February 24th.

TENNIS – The Japanese Naomi Osaka, who has recently won the Australian Open, is the new number one in the WTA rankings. The Romanian Simona Halep has stepped down to the third place. Osaka, aged 21, is the first Asian player to become leader in the tennis professional circuit. Second in the rankings comes the Check player Petra Kvitova, a finalist in the Australian Open, with 700 more points that Halep. Romania still has 6 players in the top 100. In the mens rankings, the Romanian Marius Copil has gone up to the 56th position, the best in his career. (Translated by Elena Enache)