May 22, 2017 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 22.05.2017, 19:49

BSEC The head of diplomacy in Bucharest, Teodor Melescanu, reiterated in Istanbul on Monday, Romania’s support for the European progress of the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, as well as for Georgia and Ukraine under the implementation of the Association Agreements. Attending a meeting of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Melescanu has also reconfirmed Romania’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the neighboring Ukraine within the borders internationally recognized. On this occasion the participants have adopted a joint statement on the BSEC’s development prospects. The organisation at present boasts 12 member countries, Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

SALARIES The Unified Pay Scale bill, which provides for raising state employee salaries gradually until 2022 was put to a vote in the Senate in Bucharest on Monday. The Senate labor committee passed a number of amendments, among them raising by 25% the indemnities of local elected officials working on projects financed with European funds, and granting a 15% bonus to public servants in decentralized services under the Ministry of the Environment. The Unified Pay Scale bill raises state budget wages across the board. Dissatisfied with the solution proposed trade unions in the public administration have announced fresh protests for the next week all over Romania, including the capital Bucharest. According to trade union leaders 120 thousand employees are expected to attend the meetings.

TALKS Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall on Monday said in Brussels at the General Affairs Council (GAC) that for the authorities in Bucharest the key of the Brexit-related talks is protecting the rights of the Romanians in Britain. In his address, the delegate minister has reiterated Romania’s support for ongoing cooperation with the British side for the prevention of any forms of discrimination or abuse against the Romanian workers in the UK. According to the Romanian official, the EU needs to have a unitary voice during the talks. Romania also supports the European Commission’s approach for keeping a close relation with Britain, particularly in the fields of justice, domestic affairs, security and defence, Minister Birchall has also said.

HEARING Former Romanian MP Sebastian Ghita, currently under arrest in neighboring Serbia was heard in a videoconference on Monday by the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest. Last week during hearing by Serbia’s Supreme Court, he asked not to be extradited in order to avoid the political persecution he might allegedly face in Romania. A well-known businessman believed to be close to Romania’s former Social-Democratic Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Sebastian Ghita is presently under investigation in several corruption files. After an international search warrant had been issued in his name, Ghita was finally apprehended in Belgrade while trying to identify himself with a Slovene passport, a crime that can get him a jail sentence between six months and three years in non-EU Serbia.