July 31, 2017 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 31.07.2017, 19:57
DRILL The Romanian navy announced on Monday that troops from its Marine Corps infantry battalion 307 are taking part in the multinational exercise Platinum Lion 17.2, underway in Novo Selo, Bulgaria between July 31st and August 10th. The Romanian soldiers will be carrying out various shooting and patrol missions in the operation range together with troops from Bulgaria, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, the USA and Ukraine. According to a Navy communiqué the presence of the Romanian troops in the exercise contributes to strengthening bilateral cooperation with the USA as well as other NATO or non-NATO partners in the region. Also the professionalism the Romanian soldiers have shown in various multinational activities is strengthening Romania’s profile as a state promoting stability in the Black Sea region, the communiqué also says.
EMA The Romanian government has submitted to the European Commission its candidacy for the relocation to Bucharest of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) following Britain’s leaving the union. Romania proposed a location in northern Bucharest where the agency’s new premises will be stretching over 27 thousand square meters and will include a conference hall able to accommodate 720 participants. After assessing all the projects submitted, the European Commission is expected to make a decision during the General Affairs Council in November 2017.
PENSIONS Romanian Minister for Labor, Olguta Vasilescu, has said the government will this week issue an emergency order regarding special pensions. Right now, special pensions adjust in line with standing salaries, while the order changes the rules for pensions to adjust to inflation. She said the order is expected to come into effect by mid-September, with the new regulations applying only past that date. Minister Vasilescu also said that child rearing benefits would be set a ceiling of 1,800 Euro, the maximum practiced in Europe at present. PSD and ALDE leaders Liviu Dragnea and Calin Popescu Tariceanu respectively have announced following the coalition’s talks on Monday, that the special pensions law will be amended but there will be no pension-cuts. The two officials have explained the corrections are needed, because special pensions higher than the salaries will have a huge budget impact.
DEFENCE Romania’s Higher Defence Council (CSAT) will convene in Bucharest on Tuesday. High on the agenda of its proceedings headed by the country’s president Klaus Iohannis is the plan for equipping the Romanian armed forces in the period 2017-2026. The plan was withdrawn at the previous CSAT session on July 4th as it failed to include the commitment all the political parties assumed in 2015 namely that 2% of the country’s GDP be earmarked to defence beginning this year. Defence Minister Adrian Tutuianu last week briefed the president on a revised plan, which also includes the eight major programmes aimed at providing the armed forces with the necessary equipment.
MEASURES Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has established jointly with representatives of Spain’s embassy in Bucharest a series of measures on boosting bilateral cooperation with a view to preventing and fighting the exploitation of the Romanians working in Spain. Also attending the meeting the Romanian Minister for the Romanians all over the World Andrea Pastarnac has underlined the need for a pro-active approach to these issues and for making the Romanians associations in Spain join the efforts of the Romanian and Spanish authorities. At the Ministry level there will be a special direction specialized in providing information and prevention hints to the organisations in the Diaspora. The representatives of the Spanish embassy in Bucharest have voiced their regret for the situations in which the Romanian workers were exploited adding those were only isolated cases. They have also referred to how well the other Romanians in the country have integrated. The meeting in Bucharest takes place after the authorities in Spain and Italy have found dozens of Romanians exploited by their employers in these countries.
