October 30, 2023 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 30.10.2023, 20:46

MOTION The
Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Monday debated a simple motion to censor
Finance Minister Marcel Bolos, part of the Social Democratic- National Liberal
coalition cabinet. The opposition parties USR and Force of the Right, which
introduced the motion, believe he is responsible for increased taxation, as an
effect of applying fiscal measures that the government took responsibility for
in Parliament recently. The signatories also say that the main reason for the
budget deficit is the explosion in state spending, and draw attention to the
fact that measures taken by the government would not resolve the situation. USR
MP Claudiu Nasui, former minister of the economy, said that the new taxes hurt
small businesses, which will be forced to reduce their workforce, and bring up
prices for goods and services, which will have an immediate impact on the
population. In reply, Marcel Bolos said that Romania is at a crossroads, and
that concrete and sustainable measures are needed to overcome this hurdle. The Finance
Minister said that, absent this, there is a risk of losing access to European
funds. The vote for this simple motion is set for Tuesday.

VISIT The vice president of the European Commission for Values and
Transparency, Vera Jourova, held talks in Bucharest on Monday with the Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis. High on the agenda were the rule of law, the reforms
in justice, Romania’s accession to Schengen, the support for Ukraine and the
situation in the Middle East. She earlier met Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu
with whom she talked about the recommendations in the report on the rule of
law, the pension law, measures for the right way of assuring human resources,
proposed measures for digitization, AI and fighting online crime. In an
interview to the national radio station, Jourova said Romania is doing well
with the legal system, but there are new laws, which must be implemented so
that citizens may have access to a well prepared judicial system.

ISRAEL The Israeli army has
announced that it struck targets in Syria and Lebanon, in response to rocket
fire coming from these countries. In another development, new rocket attacks
launched from the Gaza Strip targeted, today, the south of Israel, the most affected
being the city of Netivot, where a residential block was hit, writes The Times
of Israel, noting that there were no victims. Palestinians in the north of Gaza
also said there had been intense air and artillery strikes as Israeli troops,
backed by tanks, launched a ground assault on the enclave. The Israeli military
say they have hit more than 600 targets in recent days, killing dozens of
terrorists and continuing to expand its ground operations in Gaza. After the
attacks of the Islamist group Hamas on October 7, more than 1,400 people have
been killed in Israel. On the other hand, Hamas authorities in Gaza say that
the toll of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes has exceeded 8,300.

HANDBALL The Romanian women’s
handball champions, CSM Bucharest, secured a 29-24 away win against Buducnost
Podgorica of Montenegro in the Champions League’s Group A, on Sunday. The Romanians
obtained their third victory in this European season. After six stages, the
Romanian champions are in the 4th position with 6 points, in a group
dominated by Gyor Audi of Hungary. In the competition’s next stage, CSM, on
their home turf will be up against the Hungarian side Debrecen, on November 11.
On Saturday, in the competition’s Group B, vice-champions Rapid Bucharest outperformed
Krim Ljubljana from Slovenia, 27-22. In the next round, they will be playing at
home the Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand, on November 12.

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