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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are now official candidates for joining the European Union, after the leaders of the 27 EU member states ruled on that decision at the European Council meeting in Brussels. The third applicant country, Georgia, was encouraged to keep up reforms in order to gain this status at some point in the future. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis was present on Thursday and Friday in the Belgian capital, attending the meeting of leaders of EU and West Balkan countries, as well as the European Council meeting and the extended format Euro Summit. While there, he stated:

Daniela Budu, 25.06.2022, 18:54

Romanian participation in decisive European decisions

“I believe that, taking this step, we can say that the paradigm of the EU enlargement, the expansion policy, got a new push. I believe that Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia got a push in turn, and I am convinced that everyone will join very serious efforts to put into practice the reforms, procedures, and projects that are surely still necessary to take the next steps.”

Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelensky saluted what he called a unique and historic moment. Moldovan president Maia Sandu also called this moment historic, while warning her fellow citizens that they are faced with an arduous task ahead. In fact, European states had showed their support for Ukraine since early this week, when the latter was given the status of participating partner in the I3M Initiative. This is a political and economic platform formed by 12 EU states situated between the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea, and the Black Sea. Meeting in Riga, Latvia, European leaders, among them Romanias president, decided to form a new type of partnership, which would include other CEE states, even ones that are not part of the EU. Klaus Iohannis announced that Romania would host next year the I3M initiative, and that taking over the organization of the event would bring back to the Black Sea the decision making center of the Initiative.

Romanian fuel prices dropping

After intense debates within the ruling government coalition in Romania, the executive resorted to its only option that has support during these trying times — a mechanism for compensating for fuel prices. PM Nicolae Ciuca announced that, starting on July 1, the price of fuel would drop by half a leu, about 10 Eurocents, in order to help drivers cope with prices at the pump. The compensation package is worth a total of 2 billion Euro, about 400 million Euro. Here is what the prime minister explained:

“This measure involves both the responsibility of the government, as well as the responsibility of companies in the oil industry. Half of this amount will be footed by the state, through a mechanism that will be implemented between the distributors and the line ministries. The mechanism through which we ensure the stability of fuel prices will be applied for a period of three months. This subsidy will be reflected on each receipt issued at pumping stations.”

This measure is similar with discounts applied by other EU states, such as France and Spain. The Social Democratic Party, which has supported from the start setting a ceiling on fuel price,s believes that this solution of a discount worked for only a few weeks in other countries, after which prices bounced back. They say that prices will rise again, and announced that they would make another proposal for setting a maximum price, or a ceiling on profit margins. The opposition party USR criticized the decision, saying that prices will continue to rise, and that the discount will soon be moot. PM Nicolae Ciua announced that, after the three months, the government would look into a new set of measures. Compensating for fuel prices is part of a series of measures announced by the coalition government to help households and industries face the two figure inflation. Last month, the government in Bucharest passed measures worth 1.1 billion Euro, including single payments towards disadvantaged pensioners. In April, the executive announced grants, vouchers, and subsidies worth 3.5 billion Euro for low-income households and key industries. The government also set a ceiling on gas and electricity prices for households and other customers up until 2023.

David Popovici is a double world champion

Meeting on Thursday, the Bucharest government announced that it would use reserve funding to set aside 1 million lei, about 200,000 Euro, for David Popovici, the young swimmer, only 17 years of age, who has set new world records. This week, Popovici set a new first in Romanian swimming — he became a double world champion at the world swimming championships in Budapest. After winning on Tuesday the top title in the 200 m event, the Romanian had a decisive win on Wednesday in the 100 m finals, with 47 seconds 58. This is a historic time obtained by David Popovici in the event that is considered at the top of the discipline. It has been 49 years since a swimmer has won both the 100 and 200 m event at the same world championship. In addition, he holds world records in the junior category for both those events. Here is David talking about it:

“This was not a competition that we prepared too intensely for, but this makes me even more optimistic for what may happen in the near future, but I would lie if I said that I was not in good shape, in a good competition shape. I was, I just didnt know it, and I believe it is a good thing that I am able to continue to surprise myself.”

Three major competitions lie ahead of David Popovici: the European championships held in Romania, the European Championships in Rome, Italy, and the world junior championships in Lima, Peru.