October 19, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 19.10.2023, 20:00

Deficit. Romania’s budget
deficit is to decrease to 5.7% of the GDP, following the application of the law
on fiscal-budgetary measures for which the Government has recently assumed
responsibility and which was declared constitutional on Wednesday. The PM
Marcel Ciolacu stated that the new deficit target could be assumed through a
budget adjustment in the next period. Next week, the government representatives
will have a meeting with the stakeholders, to set the level of the minimum
salary in constructions and agriculture, so that these sectors’ employees
should not be affected by the payment of the health contribution, from October
1, as provided by the current law. PM Ciolacu criticized the opposition Save
Romania Union-USR because when they were in the government coalition, they
included fiscal reform measures in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan,
which they are now opposing. On the other hand, USR considers the decision of
the Constitutional Court unfair and says that the law is an attack on the
incomes of citizens who work honestly in Romania. USR has also announced that
they will file a simple motion against the finance minister.

Green economy. The transformation of Romania’s economy into a green and digital one is a
long-term process, which requires a strong national plan and to be assumed by
all political, business and civic forces, states Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu
in a message conveyed to the participants of the second edition of the
Climate Change Summit. According to him, mitigating the effects of
climate change in the short, medium and long term is a priority for the current
cabinet, aiming at the same time to increase the resilience and sustainability
of the energy and agricultural system, improving the management of water and
mineral resources. He also states that both through the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan, as well as other European and national financial instruments,
and in collaboration with the private sector, solutions for the future will be
developed, so that Romania in 2030 will be better prepared to face the climate
challenges.

Schengen. The Justice and
Home Affairs Council, organized by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the
European Union, took place in Luxembourg on Thursday, which also addressed
issues regarding the Schengen Area. A central point of the intervention of the
Romanian delegation was the presentation of the excellent results of the Pilot
Project agreed by Romania with the European Commission in March 2023, which was
implemented at the border with Serbia in the last 6 months. Among the concrete
results of this project are an updated, more effective national legislation in
matters of asylum and return, participation in the Frontex Joint Reintegration
Services Program, an IT system for managing return cases aligned with the IT
system of the Frontex Agency, equipment and efficient border control systems.
The European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Ylva Johansson, was impressed
by the success of the project, emphasizing that, through the excellent results
of the measures implemented by Romania, it is a model for all member states.
She also appreciated that the Romanian authorities have been implementing, in
advance, the provisions of the new Pact on migration and asylum. A number of
member states actively intervened in favor of the accession of Romania and Bulgaria
to the Schengen Area, and the Spanish Presidency reconfirmed that the
completion of the process is its priority. We recall you that, at the end of
last year, a unanimous decision regarding Romania’s entry into the Schengen
area could not be adopted, due to Austria’s opposition. The Netherlands opposed
Bulgaria’s accession.

Israel.
Israel has announced that it hit Hezbollah
targets in Lebanon, and the Radio Romania correspondent reports that the
Israeli army is preparing to face a new front in the north of the country.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant has stated that Hezbollah is 10 times stronger
than Hamas. In humanitarian terms, Israel approved the entry of aid into the
Gaza Strip, from Egypt, through the Rafah crossing. In another move, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whom he met in Israel on Thursday, that Britain
stands in solidarity with his country, adding that it is also important to
provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. In Cairo, Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II called for an immediate end
to the conflict in Gaza, accusing Israel of applying collective punishment. The
European Parliament adopted a resolution by which it strongly condemns the
brutal attacks by Hamas, calls for the immediate release of all hostages,
recognizes Israel’s right to self-defense, but emphasizes that any of its
actions must strictly respect international humanitarian law. Meanwhile, the
Israeli forces have continued to launch rockets towards the Gaza Strip and
announced the liquidation of several Hamas leaders.

Missing. Israeli
authorities announced the disappearance of a person with dual citizenship,
Israeli and Romanian, residing in Israel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Bucharest said on Thursday. Until this moment, the Embassy of Romania in
Tel Aviv and the Consulate General of Romania in Haifa have not received
requests for consular support regarding the disappearance or death of other
Romanian citizens in the State of Israel, and they are constantly maintaining
contact with the Israeli authorities, says the MFA. According to the
Israeli authorities, so far, four citizens with dual Israeli-Romanian
citizenship have died and two are missing.

Festival. The city of Iasi, in
eastern Romania, is hosting the 11th edition of FILIT – the Iasi International
Festival of Literature and Translation which started on Wednesday, an event
attended by guests from 25 countries. This year’s event takes place under the
high patronage of the European Commission’s representation in Romania and the
National Commission of Romania for UNESCO. Writers,
translators, editors, festival organizers, literary critics, booksellers, book
distributors, managers and journalists are attending FILIT. Until October 22,
various events are scheduled, such as literary meetings with prestigious
writers, white nights of poetry and music, workshops and professional round
tables, concerts and readings. (MI)