July 25, 2023
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 25.07.2023, 14:00
WEATHER – Romania is, for 48 hours, under red, orange and yellow code alerts for extreme temperatures, persistent heat waves and high thermal discomfort. The southern half of the country is the most affected. Six counties in the south, including the capital Bucharest, are currently under a red code alert for heat. According to meteorologists, the heat wave will continue to intensify. It is hot in all the plain and plateau areas, and the temperature-humidity index (ITU) exceeds the critical threshold of 80 units. Maximum temperatures range from 30 to 42 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 35 degrees.
SECURITY – The Bucharest authorities have announced that there is no direct military threat, at present, to Romania’s national territory or territorial waters. The announcement was made after Russia had attacked with drones two Ukrainian ports on the Danube, Reni and Ismail, near the border with Romania. The Russian attack was strongly condemned by the President of Romania, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Senate.
AGRICULTURE – The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Florin-Ionuţ Barbu, has today participated in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels, where topics of major interest to Romanian farmers have been discussed. According to a press release by the Romanian Agriculture Ministry, the meetings agenda includes topics such as the market situation in the context of Russias war of aggression against Ukraine, food security and affordability of food prices, sustainable use of pesticides and new genomic techniques. The Romanian official will offer the Council information on the effects of the war in Ukraine, of the unfavorable weather conditions and of the high production prices that burden Romanian farmers. At the same time, Poland will inform participants, on behalf of Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, on the impact of Ukrainian imports on their agricultural markets, as a result of Russias aggression against Ukraine.
FINANCE – The ruling coalition in Bucharest has failed to reach an agreement on the package of fiscal measures to reduce the budget deficit. On Monday, coalition leaders approved a proposal by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu regarding the elimination of 200,000 unoccupied jobs within the public system and one proposal by Liberal leader, Nicolae Ciucă, regarding expenditure cuts in all ministries. Solutions to combating tax evasion and improving the collection of revenues to the state budget were also discussed. Among the proposals aimed at reducing the deficit and bringing more money to the budget are the increase in the minimum salary of construction workers, in parallel with the elimination of their exemption from the payment of the healthcare contribution, eliminating the reduced VAT rate of 5%, which currently applies to some products and services, the increase in the tax on dividends and a higher tax for small companies with a turnover of over 500,000 euros. According to the finance minister, Romania should have a budget deficit of maximum 5%, or it risks losing the European funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
SWIMMING — Romanian swimmer David Popovici (18 years old) is today competing for the title in the 200m freestyle event of the World Swimming Championships held in Fukuoka (Japan). On Monday he qualified to the final with the best time (1min44sec70/100) of the semifinals. In 2022, David Popovici won the gold medals at the World Championships in Budapest, but also at the European Championships in Rome, in the 100m and 200m freestyle events. He also set a new world record at the European Championships in Rome, in the 100m freestyle event, with a time of 46 sec 86/100. In Fukuoka, David Popovici will also compete in the 100 meters freestyle.
ATHENS — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, voiced his gratitude for the presence of the 130 Romanian firefighters in Greece, on the island of Rhodes, heavily affected by wildfires. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated a crisis cell to ease the evacuation of foreign tourists from the areas affected by wildfires. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced there is no data on the number of Romanian citizens evacuated from the risk areas, the Greek authorities having as priority the safe evacuation of all affected people. The Greek Weather Institute announced temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius in some regions for Tuesday and Wednesday, while as of Thursday temperatures are expected to return to normal values. (EE)
