July 31, 2015 UPDATE

A look at some of the main stories in Romania today

Newsroom, 31.07.2015, 12:15

The European Union will
give its full support to the new Moldovan government, said the head of the
European Union delegation to Chisinau, Pirkka Tapiola during talks with Moldova’s pro-western prime
minister Valeriu Strelet. The European official said the formation of a new
government in Chisinau on Thursday is important for ensuring stability and the
continuation of the reform process. The United States also welcomed the
formation a new government and said it was open to work with prime minister
Strelet and his cabinet. According to the US State Department, Washington
expects the government in Chisinau to implement quick reforms to the benefit of
the Moldovan citizens who voted for a prosperous future as part of Europe. In
Bucharest, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis sent his best wishes to the
cabinet led by Valeriu Stretet, who, Iohannis said, will have his most
important supporter in Romania to overcome Moldova’s economic difficulties and
stay on its European course. The Romanian foreign minitry reiterated
Bucharest’s firm and unconditional suport for Moldova’s complete and
irreversible integration into the European family.

Almost 68% of Romanians are in
favour of their country’s union with the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, an
ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population, according to an
opinion poll published on Friday. 17.5% of respondents say they are opposed to
the union, while 14.6% are undecided or did not answer. On the 12th
of July, thousands of Romanian and Moldovan citizens took part in a rally in
Bucharest to support the Union Declaration adopted a week earlier in Chisinau
by 30,000 people during a general assembly. The rallies were staged by
non-governmental organisations which say that only united can we face the
challenges of the future, have a better life in our country and enjoy a bigger
country, with no internal borders and obstacles and with a common and
prosperous future for all Romanians. Today’s Republic of Moldova was created
on large parts of eastern Romanian territories annexed by the former USSR in
1940, following an ultimatum.

The European Commission has
started two separate investigations to establish if the measures benefiting the
state-owned airports in Cluj Napoca and Targu Mures, in north-western Romania,
and the airlines using them, mainly the Hungarian company Wizz Air, comply with
EU state aid regulations. According to a press release by the European
Commission, cited by Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, the
investigations look into the marketing fees paid to Wizz Air by the Cluj Napoca
International Airpot and the low airport fees charged on airlines by the Targu
Mures Transylvania airport. The Commission will also investigate the subsidies
received by airports from local authorities, said the European competition
commissioner, Margrethe
Vestager.

By 2050, Romania
will see one of the highest population drops in the world, according to a
United Nations study published online. Romania’s population will drop from 19.5
million people today to 15.2 million in the next 35 years, which accounts for a
drop of 22%. According to the United Nations experts, the population will
decrease by over 15% in 48 different countries. The highest drop is expected in
Bulgaria, whose population is expected to decrease by 28%, followed by ten
other countries from eastern Europe. The study also shows that India will
become the world’s most populous country, overtaking China by almost 300,000
people. The world’s population will grow to 9.7 billion inhabitants by 2050.

In
Romania, drought has affected large farming areas and has damaged one third of
the basic crops and dozens of thousands of pastures. In the county of Galati
alone, in the south-east, over 80% of the surface area covered by farming land
was affected, which accounts for losses of almost 82 million euros. Also, the
level and the flow of the River Danube have dropped significantly and are soon
to reach alarming levels. Because of this, 60 vessels have been blocked for two
days between Zimnicea and Turnu Magurele, in the south. Forecasts say August
will be just as hot and dry.