June 13, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 13.06.2023, 14:06

EDUCATION — Romanian pupils have returned to school today, after three weeks of general strike in education. The unions and the Government reached an agreement on Monday. In keeping witrh two emergency orders issued by the Government, teachers salaries will go up by around 260 euros as of this month, and that of the non-teaching staff by some 80 euros. Also, from 1st January next year, salaries will further grow based on the new salary law for public sector employees, in two stages. A bonus of some 300 euros for teachers and 100 euros for the non-teaching staff will be granted from 2023 until 2027. Also the basic salary of a beginner teacher is the national average salary. Some education employees are, however, unhappy with the decision to suspend the strike.

GOVERNMENT – Romanian parliamentary parties are today holding consultations with President Klaus Iohannis to nomination the candidate for the position of prime minister. On Monday, the PNL leader, Nicolae Ciucă, resigned his position as head of the Government in keeping with a rotation agreement with the PSD for the position of PM. This morning, Nicolae Ciuca was elected speaker of the Senate, while the PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, will be at the helm of the Government. Meanwhile, negotiations continue for the government make-up and the portfolios of the future Executive. The Liberals and the Social Democrats are holding separate meetings today, to decide who will be part of the Executive. They want the new Cabinet to be installed quickly, which would most likely happen on Thursday. From the opposition, USR criticizes the political rotation and says the change of prime ministers will not solve the citizens problems.

INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in Romania went down to 10,64% in May, from 11,23% in April, the National Institute of Statistics announced on Tuesday. According to the INS, the price of food stuff went up by almost 19%, of non-foods by about 5%, and of services by about 11%. We remind you that last month, the National Bank of Romania revised upward, to 7,1%, the inflation forecast for the end of the year and maintained the 4,2% estimate for end-2024. NAVY – The “King Ferdinand” frigate, the Romanian Navy’s flagship, will return to the Military Port of Constanta on June 16, after taking part for six weeks in an operation in the Mediterranean Sea, Romanian Naval Forces General Staff announced. The mission of the Romanian marines consisted in ensuring compliance with the arms embargo imposed on Libya by the United Nations Organization and in combating the illicit trade in petroleum products, drug and human trafficking, by monitoring maritime traffic, verifying more than 160 commercial ships and conducting presentation visits of the operation in nine of them. The “King Ferdinand” frigate also carried out joint actions with partner ships from the IRINI Operation naval group in Italy, Germany and Greece.

DEATH – Italy has lost one of the most influential people in its history, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi died on Monday at the age of 86. The news of the death of Berlusconi, the one who was three times the head of the Italian government, made headlines around the world. Hundreds of former and current political leaders conveyed messages of condolence. The White House said that Berlusconi “worked closely with several US administrations on advancing the bilateral relationship”, while French President Emmanuel Macron praised the memory of a “major figure of contemporary Italy”. The president of the European Peoples Party, Manfred Weber, and the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, also sent condolence messages, just like Hungarian Prime Minister, Victor Orban and Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Even Pope Francis, still in hospital, sent a telegram of condolences. Silvio Berlusconi will have a state funeral on Wednesday, at the Milan Cathedral. June 14 was declared a day of national mourning in Italy.

WEATHER– Romanian hydrologists have extended, until Wednesday, the Code yellow and Code orange alerts for flooding, valid for rivers in 17 counties in the center and west of the country. The torrential rain on Monday night affected several localities in the south and south-west of Romania. The red code alert instituted by meteorologists for this region was lifted this morning, and dozens of intervention teams were sent to evacuate water from peoples households, after several streams of water burst their banks. At the same time, hectares of agricultural land were flooded. The most affected counties are Caraş-Severin, Vâlcea, Hunedoara and Mehedinţi. On Monday, the the heavy rainfall also caused flooding in Timiş (west) and Alba (center) counties. (EE)