June 6, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 06.06.2023, 13:55

B9. Romanian president Klaus
Iohannis is attending the Bucharest Nine Summit in Bratislava, which he is
co-chairing together with the presidents of Slovakia, Zuzana
Caputova, and Poland, Andrzej Duda. The meeting is also attended by NATO
secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. According to a statement from the Romanian president’s
office, the meeting, which takes place about a month before the NATO summit in
Vilnius, will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views with regard to
the priorities on the allied agenda and the major objectives, with emphasis on
the consolidation of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture on the eastern flank
and boosting cooperation with Ukraine. Talks will look at the progress made in
implementing the allied decisions taken at the NATO summit in Madrid, including
with respect to defence investment and spending commitments and the support
given to Ukraine to help with its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Special attention will be given to the vulnerable partners
in the region, such as the ex-Soviet, majority Romanian-speaking Republic of
Moldova, which is facing growing security challenges, the statement also reads.

Visit. On the fifth and final day of his private visit to Romania, the
British monarch King Charles III is travelling to Viscri, a village in the
south of Transylvania where he bought his first house in 2006. The house has
been transformed into a small museum dedicated to his passion for botany.
Earlier, Charles visited the village of Valea Zălanului, where he spent Sunday
in the middle of nature visiting a number of picturesque attractions in the
area. He was met by the locals with flowers. On Friday, when he arrived in
Romania, Charles paid a courtesy visit to president Klaus Iohannis. This is the
first visit by a British monarch to Romania, as well as King Charles’ first
foreign trip since his coronation last month.

Exercise. 5,000 Romanian and 2,700
American soldiers, as well as 2,300 allied and officers from other allied and
partner nations are taking part in the biggest NATO exercise in Romania, in the
Black Sea region, and entitled Saber Guardian 23. The exercise is meant to
ensure better collaboration between the troops in the event of rapid
intervention missions. Exercises include wet gap crossings of the Danube river,
parachute jumps and drills specific to infantry and artillery attacks. The
Saber Guardian exercise is part of the Defender Europe
23, a U.S. European Command directed multinational
exercise.

Strike. The teachers’ strike has
entered its third week, while national evaluation exams and the baccalaureate
are due to begin, involving 325,000 8th and 12th year
graduates. The government says it has met all of the protesters’ demands, while
the latter’s trade unions say the government’s latest offer does not meet their
expectations. Education minister Ligia Deca has called on teachers to return to
classrooms and explained that following the pay rise offered by the government,
the average salary in education would reach a gross sum of 1,700 euros. The
representatives of the education ministry, of pupils, parents and trade unions
met today to find solutions with regard to holding exams at the scheduled
dates. The education minister said there are no plans yet for rescheduling
exams or extending the school year.

Protests. Protests in the health sector are
also expected this week. The two biggest trade union federations in the sector
have different calendars for actions, but they have many joint demands, mainly
connected to salaries and the payment of bonuses and extra hours. The members
of Sanitas federation are going on a token strike on Wednesday, while those of
Solidaritatea sanitara are preparing a demonstration followed by a rally on
Thursday in Bucharest. Health minister Alexandru Rafila said last week he
wasn’t expecting healthcare workers to go on a general strike because the
negotiations on the future salary law have gone well so far and the salary gaps
between different categories of workers would be gradually addressed. (CM)