July 25, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 25.07.2022, 20:00

DROUGHT Drought has affected
106,389 hectares of land in Romania, according to figures published by the
agriculture ministry. The southern counties of Teleorman, Olt and Dolj have run
out of water for irrigation because of the significant drop in the Danube’s
river flow, agriculture minister Petre Daea announced on social media. Waters
have retreated so much that they no longer reach the pumping stations feeding
the irrigation system, with part of the Danube’s bed now looking like sandy
beach. In the areas where irrigation was used, the state of the crops is good.
Daea said the authorities are speeding up investment works to rehabilitate the
national irrigation network and to bring Danube water closer to pumping
stations. The minister recently said there is no reason yet to declare a state
of disaster over the drought.

TALKS
The Romanian state secretary for strategic affairs, Iulian Fota, Monday had
talks in Bucharest with the US deputy under-secretary for national security Kelli
Ann Burriesci, who is on a regional tour in Europe. The US official was later
received by the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu. Talks focused on Romania’s
participation in the Visa Waiver Program
and on means to strengthen bilateral cooperation to this end. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated
that including Romania in the Visa Waiver
program is a top political goal for Bucharest and a topic of particular
interest to the Romanian public. He also
highlighted the importance of the successful implementation of a joint
awareness raising campaign and voiced Romania’s willingness to work together
with the US to help reduce the visa rejection rate.

COVID-19 In Romania,
the number of coronavirus infections is on the rise. Nearly 5,000 new cases
were reported on Monday for the last 24 hours, most of these in Bucharest,
Cluj, Ilfov, Constanta and Brasov counties. Around 3,400 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised,
204 of them in intensive care. Most of the patients in critical condition are
unvaccinated. Five COVID-related deaths have also been reported.

CORRUPTION Lucian
Duţă, the former chief of Romania’s National Health Insurance Agency (CNAS), Monday
received a final 6-year prison sentence. He was charged by the National
Anti-Corruption Directorate for receiving EUR 6.3 million in bribe in exchange
for awarding a public service contract to 2 software companies. The Bucharest Court
of Appeals upheld the ruling pronounced by the court of first instance in
November 2020, and the court’s decision to seize the EUR 6.3 million from Lucian
Duţă.

ENERGY More than
3,500 MW of renewable energy will be installed in Romania in the coming period,
both solar, using photovoltaic panels, and wind-generated, according to data
provided by a consultancy firm in the field. Almost 700 such projects have been
submitted on the platform made available by the energy ministry to receive
funding under the recovery and resilience plan. The secretary general of the
employers’ association in the field of renewable energy Mihai Verşescu said
investment is needed in this sector, but that business people are reluctant because
of frequent legislative changes. He emphasised that while funding sources are
available, legislation is needed to ensure predictability.

EMPLOYMENT Five out
of ten Romanian employees changed their jobs in the last two years, according
to a poll published by an online recruitment platform. Many job applicants look
for less stressful jobs and more benefits. Four out of ten people who change
their jobs were driven by higher pay, 27% because they had lost their jobs a
result of a wave of redundancies, and 3% because their employers did not agree
to their working remotely. 35% of respondents said they are currently looking
and applying for new jobs and only 21% are completely satisfied with their
current jobs. In conclusion, Romanians seeking new employment want better pay,
the possibility to work from home, more additional benefits besides their wages
and the possibility to relocate abroad.

TENNIS The Romanian
tennis player Irina Begu won the WTA 250 tournament in Palermo, Italy, worth
200,000 US dollars in prize money. In Sunday’s final, she defeated Italy’s
Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. This is Begu’s fifth WTA title,
having also won in Tashkent in 2012, Seoul in 2015, Florianopolis in 2016 and
Bucharest in 2017. Begu also played the finals in Budapest, Marbella, Moscow
and Cleveland. She is 31 years old and is ranked 45th in the world. Until now,
Irina Spârlea had been the only Romanian player to win the singles title in
Palermo, in 1994 and 1995. (CM, AMP)