October 5, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 05.10.2023, 19:55
Summit. Additional anti-drone defense systems will be brought to Romania, in the context of Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube, President Klaus Iohannis announced at the summit of the European Political Community that started on Thursday in Granada, Spain. He said the strikes on Ukrainian ports are war crimes because only civilian infrastructures are targeted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a discussion with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez about military aid and EU enlargement. Sánchez has announced that a decision will be made on Friday regarding the establishment of a new strategy for the European Union regarding its enlargement from 27 to 35 members. He stressed that the enlargement of the EU must be done after a strong reform of the way it functions and how decisions are made in the community block. Related to this topic, the President of Romania stated that it is very important for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to take rapid steps towards European integration, but he termed as “unrealistic” the setting of deadlines for accession. In turn, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has stated that her country has high hopes that accession negotiations will begin in December, after the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding that they begin before the end of the year.
Accident. A Romanian family of four, the parents and two children, residing in Germany, are among the victims of the road accident involving a bus near Venice, which left 21 dead and 15 wounded. The vehicle fell off a bridge and caught fire. All the dead have been identified and the municipality decreed three days of mourning on Wednesday. The family was spending their holiday in Mestre. The real cause of the accident remains unknown. The prosecutors office in Venice has opened an investigation into the accident.
Government. The Romanian government approved on Thursday the emergency ordinance that regulates the betting and gambling industry. Thus, betting companies must be based in Romania. Also, in order to protect players or people at risk, alcohol will no longer be sold in gambling spaces, and slot machine games will no longer be allowed in bars. Other aspects concern advertising and publicity for gambling, while the annual licensing fees will rise considerably. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has stated that huge profits of such companies ending up outside the country must stop. “Its not normal for the betting industry to have so much power,” he said. The executives attention is also focused on a mechanism to protect Romanian farmers and national production from grain imports from Ukraine, after the lifting of restrictions by the European Commission. Ciolacu stated that the mechanism agreed with all the parties involved will allow the import only on the basis of an authorization for limited quantities of grain and will apply only to Romanian farmers and processors who demonstrate that they need to replenish their stocks.
Central Bank. The National Bank of Romania has maintained the monetary policy interest rate at 7% per year, a value set in January 2023. The Board has also kept unchanged the interest rate at which commercial banks can borrow from the Central Bank and the one they receive when keeping their money in deposits established at the central bank. According to current assessments, the annual inflation rate will continue to decrease until the end of the current year. Starting from 2024, inflation will be influenced by the existence of major risks arising from the new fiscal-budgetary measures adopted by the government and the degree of absorption of European funds, but also by the war in Ukraine and economic developments below expectations in Europe.
Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court of Romania decided, on Thursday, that the law prohibiting the aggregation of pension and salary is unconstitutional. The Court ruled that the published provisions regarding the prohibition of combining the pension with the salary contravene the fundamental right to work, guaranteed by the Constitution. On June 29, the High Court of Cassation and Justice notified the Constitutional Court regarding the amendments to the law on service pensions and to the law on the aggregation of the pension with the salary. Both laws were endorsed by Parliament on June 28. The law is now going back to Parliament.
Nobel. Norwegian writer Jon Fosse was awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for “his innovative plays and prose that give voice to the unsayable,” the Nobel Committee announced. Last year, the award went to French author Annie Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”. The 2023 Nobel season will continue with the awarding of the Peace Prize on October 6. The Riksbank Sveriges Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel will be announced on October 9. (MI)
