September 20, 2024

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 20.09.2024, 13:55

Budget. The Bucharest government has prepared the first budget adjustment
this year. Health, education and transport have received additional funding. According to the draft ordinance published on the website of the Ministry of Finance, most of the money will go to transport – almost 5.5 billion lei (about 1.1 billion euros), but also to health, internal affairs and investments – over 3 billion lei each. The social insurance budget has also been increased to ensure money for the pensions that got higher as of September 1. There are also authorizing entities that will have smaller budgets: the General Secretariat of the Government, the Ministry of the Economy, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Special Telecommunications Service. According to the draft, the deficit will increase to almost 7%, two percent more compared to the forecasts made at the beginning of the year, and the economic growth was revised downwards, to 2.8% compared to 3.4% as previously estimated .

Elections. The former Deputy General Secretary of NATO, Mircea Geoană, would have a minimal lead over the left-wing Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the first round of the presidential elections that will take place this autumn in Romania, according to an opinion poll conducted by the INSCOP Research institute. Mircea Geoana (66 years old), former president of the Social Democratic Party, who lost the presidential elections in 2009 and who is now running as an independent, would get 21.4% of the votes in the first round, and the current leader of the Social Democrats, Marcel Ciolacu (56), 20.3%. Elena Lasconi, leader of the centre-right opposition Save Romania Union (USR) would rank third, with 14.2% of the votes, and the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă would come in sixth place, after two ultra-nationalist candidates. Eleven candidates have so far announced their plans to run for president and replace Klaus Iohannis, who ends his second and final term in December. Although the president’s role is largely ceremonial, his prerogatives include appointing the prime minister after elections, appointing judges and prosecutors, and sending bills back to parliament for reconsideration. The presidential elections will take place in two rounds, on November 24 and December 8, respectively, with parliamentary elections in between. 1,102 people participated in the September survey, which has a margin of error of 3%.

Defense. Romania is directly interested in having industrial capacities on its territory that can ensure the production of modern military equipment – this is one of the conclusions of the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT), convened in Bucharest on Thursday. At the same time, the recent developments on the front in Ukraine were analyzed and the National Plan for the Implementation of the Civil Pact in the field of Common Security and Defence Policy was approved. The CSAT meeting comes after the organization, this week, in Bucharest, of the meeting of the Defence Ministers in the B9 format, who signed a Joint Declaration stressing the importance of strengthening the Defence industry and the existence of a common air defence system, and reiterated their support for Ukraine.

Aid. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a 10 billion euro aid from the EU Cohesion Fund for Central European countries, including Romania, affected by floods. ‘This is an emergency response’ – she stated, after a meeting with the heads of government from Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia. “For me it was (…) heartbreaking to see the destruction and devastation” caused by storm Boris – said the head of the Community Executive. Since last week, strong winds, exceptionally heavy rainfall and flooding have killed at least 24 people in the region: seven each in Romania and Poland, and five each in Austria and the Czech Republic.

Nokian Tyres. Partnership with the private sector is the sure way for Romania’s development, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said today during a working visit to the Nokian Tyres factory in Oradea (west), which was inaugurated on Thursday. Relocated from Russia to Romania, the factory is an example of a success that brings together an investor of international calibre, local authorities and the Government of Romania, which strongly supported such an investment, he added. Nokian Tyres is the world’s first tyre factory with zero carbon dioxide emissions. As of 2025, the 550 employees will produce here six million car tyres annually, including for large SUVs. The factory, with a constructed area of 10 hectares, uses energy that comes only from renewable sources and all the technological steam is obtained without fossil fuels. The Finnish investment in Oradea, estimated at 650 million euros, to which the Government contributed with a state aid of 100 million euros, is one of the most valuable made in Romania in recent years.

Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is on a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to discuss European support, winter defense preparations and progress on G7 loans. On Thursday, the head of the community executive announced a new aid, worth 160 million euros, for the energy system of Ukraine, affected by Russia’s continuous bombing. Ukraine needs a capacity of 17 Gigawatts for the winter period, but a large part of the energy infrastructure was destroyed by the Russian strikes. The EU is currently helping Ukraine to repair these plants and is supplying Kyiv with various components: turbines, generators and transformers. The Union also supports the connection of networks and the delivery of energy to Ukraine, the two types of actions ensuring 25% of Ukraine’s wintertime needs. (MI)