March 9, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 09.03.2023, 19:55
Environment. The Romanian government will double the funds for environmental programs that include photovoltaic panel installation projects, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă announced on Thursday. He stated that the funding is worth 2 billion euros and that the number of beneficiaries could reach 80,000. The Minister of the Environment, Tánczos Barna, explained that not only individuals will be supported in the installation of photovoltaic panels, but also those units that provide social assistance to vulnerable people. With regard to the car-scrapping program, the intention is to remove from traffic, in collaboration with the local authorities, 100 thousand vehicles older than 15 years, with the final target being a quarter of a million scrapped. Two new programs will also be implemented, financed from the environmental fund, for the development of waste management systems.
Bills. The bills on Education are being analyzed by the Bucharest Government, in order to establish the final form that will be submitted for Parliament approval. The debates in Parliament, however, are very likely to get heated. The Government believes that the new laws will help reduce school dropout, improve the countrys education system and help young people adapt to the labour market requirements. The opposition, however, has criticised the amendments announced by the line minister Ligia Deca, describing the bills as faulty, superficially made and prone to creating imbalances. The bills have also been criticized by all those involved in the educational process, students, teachers and parents. “History of Communism” will be included in the curriculum, the Education Minister announced at the beginning of the government session. All children will thus have the opportunity to learn about the sacrifices made in the past to have a democratic society today, said Ligia Deca.
Energy. The Italian electricity and gas provider Enel on Thursday announced the transfer of its operations in Romania towards Public Power Corp (PPC) of Greece, in exchange for 1.26 billion euros as part of a plan focusing on green energy production and cutting debts. Enel has made public its intention to focus on countries with growth potential like Italy, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Chile and Columbia. The Enel-PPC deal is expected to complete in the third quarter of this year. The Italian group has been a major player on Romanias energy market since 2005 and currently boasts 3 million customers in three major regions of this country.
Schengen. Interior Minister Lucian Bode pleaded on Thursday, in Brussels, for Romanias accession to the Schengen Area this year. Beyond the advantages to Romania, the level of security at the borders of the Union will also increase, and the new figures presented by the European Commission show that the migration along the Western Balkans corridor has already decreased by almost half compared to last year. Lucian Bode says that a signal was given that accession could be a priority on the agenda of the future European presidency, which will be held by Spain in the second part of the year. He has stated that several interior ministers have reaffirmed their support for the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria in the European area of free movement.
Talks. Defence Ministers from EU member countries on Wednesday convened in Stockholm for talks over a two-billion euro plan of providing howitzer shells to Ukraine so that the country will improve its fighting capabilities against Russia. A final decision on the aforementioned project is expected during a similar conference due on March 20th. According to press agencies, Ukraine has cautioned that the quantity is not enough to make the difference in the war against Russia. Ukraines Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who also attended the conference in Stockholm, says that his country needs at least one million 155mm artillery shells, which would cost 4 billion euros, double than the plan presented in Stockholm. The total EU support for Ukraine presently stands at 12 billion euros.
COVID-19. The number of COVID-19 infections is on the rise in Romania and according to the latest reports, the figures doubled last week as compared to February. Physicians believe though that the present situation should not create concern, whereas experts say that the real number of infections could be higher than officially announced. At the same time, the number of respiratory infections is dropping under 100 thousand cases confirmed in late February. (MI)
