June 28, 2024 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 28.06.2024, 20:00

LAW Penalties for slavery and human trafficking can no longer be suspended prison sentences in Romania, under a new law promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis. The document, which takes effect this week, also provides for harsher penalties for such crimes, with sentences going as high as 15 years in prison. In addition, the production, storage, exposure, promotion and distribution of child pornography is punished by 3 to 10 years imprisonment.

ELECTIONS The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu announced he would invite the leaders of all political parties for consultations next week on the calendar of the presidential election. The announcement comes after the Social Democrats and the Liberals in the ruling coalition failed to reach an agreement on a date for this election. The prime minister pointed out that the talks were necessary as the Liberal interior minister Cătălin Predoiu was not allowed by his own party to present in this Friday’s Cabinet meeting the resolution setting September 15 as the presidential election date, as previously decided by the coalition. Ciolacu mentioned that as head of government he cannot favour any party or coalition, and a consultation with all political parties in Romania was “the right approach.” He also indicated that he would not dismiss the interior minister, so as not to create a governmental crisis and instability in the country.

POVERTY As many as 4 million Romanians were affected by poverty last year, nearly 60,000 people fewer than in 2022, according to the National Statistics Institute. The institution also says that if pensions and other social transfers had not been made last year, nearly half of the country’s population would have been below the relative poverty threshold, especially the elderly. The highest poverty risks were reported in households with 3 or more children, followed by single-parent families. In terms of regions, the highest poverty rates were reported in the south-east, followed by the south-west (Oltenia), and the lowest in Bucharest and Ilfov County.

EU – Attending the European Council meeting in Brussels, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis emphasised, during the talks on the EU’s Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029, that the document must reflect the joint commitment to continue efforts towards a stronger, more resilient and more influential EU. The Romanian head of state said the new Agenda must highlight the advancement of the enlargement policy, the unity of the Union in terms of support for Ukraine and the importance of cooperation between the EU and NATO. Also in Brussels, the EU leaders decided on the top positions in the bloc’s institutions. Ursula von der Leyen was nominated for the presidency of the Commission, the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for the position of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, while former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will take over the presidency of the European Council.

OSCE Bucharest hosts, as of Saturday, the 31st annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The theme of the summit is the parliamentary perspective on the role of the OSCE in the current security climate. The participants, MPs from the over 50 OSCE member states, will adopt the Bucharest Declaration, a document that will include the resolutions of the general committees and additional ones initiated by members of the Assembly. Among them will be a resolution regarding the worsening of the human rights situation in the Russian-speaking breakaway region of Trans-Dniester, in the Republic of Moldova. Russia and Belarus have been excluded from the meeting in Bucharest.

WILDFIRES Eighty Romanian fire-fighters are going to France to help the local authorities there put out the wild fires that may occur this summer. The measure is designed to reduce response times in the case of wild fires, to make training more efficient and to improve cooperation among the participating forces. A first group of 40 fire-fighters and 8 engines has already left for France, the General Emergency Inspectorate announced. This assistance programme is financed by the European Union as a support measure for the French communities, following the wild fires reported in the past few years in that country.

AIRCRAFT Another 3 F-16 aircraft purchased by Romania from Norway reached the Câmpia Turzii air base in the centre of Romania, the defence ministry announced. The Romanian Air Forces have so far received 9 of the total 32 planes it has purchased, with the rest of them scheduled to reach the country by the end of next year.

POLL The first round of the snap elections for the appointment of representatives in the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French Parliament, takes place on Sunday. The almost 49 million eligible voters will choose between a nationalist-populist right, at the top of the electorate’s preferences, a left wing which is struggling to remain united, and a pro-Macron majority unprepared to give up the government. The second round is scheduled for July 7. President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly on June 9, after his party’s failure in the European elections. (EE, AMP)