November 29, 2017
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 29.11.2017, 13:32
JUSTICE – The special parliamentary committee in charge of drafting the new justice laws in Romania is supposed to present today the final report on the future status of judges and prosecutors. On Tuesday, the committee decided that the magistrates will be held accountable for their legal errors, disciplinarily and also in terms of civil and criminal liability. Once completed, the report will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for debate.
MINIMUM SALARY – The Romanian Government is supposed to decide today the increase in the minimum gross salary from 1450 to 1900 lei, the equivalent of some 410 Euro. According to specialists, the measure would stimulate employment and discourage illegal work. Romania is currently faced with a serious shortage of workers, especially in construction, agriculture, IT and health-care. Maintaining the current level of penalty point under the totting up system is also on the agenda of the Executive. As the value of this point is calculated depending on the minimum salary, maintaining its current level has been proposed to prevent traffic fines from growing excessively.
INVESTMENT – The European Commissioner Corina Cretu has approved two new investment projects in road and water infrastructure, worth some 252 million Euros. 76 million Euro from the European Regional Development Fund will be invested in works on the European road E 79, which will link Romania to Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece. Also, some 176 million Euro from the Cohesion Fund will be invested in water management and distribution infrastructure in urban areas in Vrancea County, in the east.
DEFENSE – The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has hailed Romanias decision to allocate 2% of the GDP to defense. In a speech in Washington on the American – European relations, Tillerson recalled the request made by the US to all its NATO-member European allies to spend more on defense. Also, Tillerson reasserted the USs commitment to dealing with Russias aggression against its neighbors, and called on Europe to do more for their own security. He gave assurances that the US would not hesitate to activate art. 5 of the NATO Treaty, in case of aggression against a member state. Next week, Rex Tillerson will attend a NATO meeting in Brussels and an OSCE meeting in Vienna.
MINI-VACATION – Thursday is the first day of a 4-day mini-vacation, occasioned by the celebration of Saint Andrew, Romanias patron saint, and Romanias National Day on December 1st. Romanians have chosen to spend this extended weekend in the country, mostly in resorts on Prahova Valley, in Bucovina, in the north and in spas. The average budget allocated for such trips is approximately 170 Euro per person. On the other hand, the Romanians who have chosen to go abroad will spend on average 320 Euro per person. On December 1st, Romanias National Day, the main event on the celebration agenda is the military parade in Bucharest, which will be attended by some 3500 military staff, fighter planes and military vehicles.
CANADA – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has today recalled that, as of December 1st, Romanian citizens will be able to travel to Canada visa free, for periods of maximum 6 months, for tourist purposes. Those who intend to travel by plane will have to first get an Electronic Travel Authorization – eTA. The others will only have to have a valid passport. The Romanian Foreign Ministry hails the decision made by the Canadian authorities to liberalize the visa-regime for the Romanian citizens, the outcome of years of diplomatic cooperation, also with the participation of the European Commission.
NORTH KOREA – North Korea has announced the successful testing of a new type of inter-continental missile, which can hit any part of the US territory. The test, carried out after a two-month break, has been condemned by the US, Japanese and South-Korean authorities, as well as by the European Union. The UN Security Council has called an emergency session to discuss new sanctions against Pyongyang.
HANDBALL – As of December 1st, Germany will be hosting the World Womens Handball Championship. Romania is part of Group A, alongside France, Spain, Slovenia, Angola and Paraguay. On December 2nd, in their first match, the Romanian squad will take on the team of Paraguay. At the previous World Championship, in 2015, Romania won bronze. The Romanian team is the only team to have participated in all the 22 editions of the World Championship held so far. (translation by Mihaela Ignatescu)
