16 November, 2017

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis to attend social summit on fair jobs and growth in Gothenburg.

Newsroom, 16.11.2017, 13:39

Social summit. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis travels
to Gothenburg, in Sweden, on Friday to attend a social summit on fair jobs and
economic growth. The event brings together EU heads of state and government,
social partners and other key players. The summit consists of an introductory
meeting and three other meetings focusing on specific themes that will discuss
access to the labour market, the situation of the labour market and the
transition between jobs. The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is to give a
talk on the access to the labour market.

Protocol. The Romanian Department for Emergency
Situations and the US Federal Emergency Management Agency signed a protocol on
Wednesday in Brussels that lays the foundations of long-term collaboration. The
protocol provides, among others, for facilitating collaboration in case of
disasters, the exchange of expertise in the area of emergency training and the
organisation of seminars and conferences to train the professionals in the
field. The accord is valid for five years, but can be extended.

EU agency
relocation. The assessment made by the European Medicines Agency on its
possible relocation from London to Bucharest exceeds its responsibilities, says
the Romanian foreign ministry. The assessment made by the Agency, argues the
Romanian ministry, should have only covered a number of specific aspects to
facilitate a final assessment of the European Commission. The Romanian side is
also unhappy with the content of the Agency’s report. The winner of the bid to
host the European Medicines Agency after the UK leaves the European Union will
be announced on the 20th of November. Now based in London, the
European Medicines Agency is considered one of most important of the European
Union’s 40 specialised agencies. It employs 900 people and receives visits from
around 35,000 national regulation authorities and scientists every year given
its essential role in approving new medicines on the European market. Bucharest
has made a bid to host this agency along with other big cities in the EU.

Petition. More than 65,000 people have signed an online
petition against the government’s plans to switch the payment of social
security contributions from employers to employees. The petition has been
initiated by the National Trade Union Bloc, one of the biggest trade unions in
Romania. The Bloc says a number of trade union confederations on Wednesday
notified the Ombudsman about the government’s emergency order amending the tax
code. The government says the transfer of social security contributions will
not lead to a drop in employees’ net incomes. The tax code promoted by the
government has come under criticism from trade unions, the right-wing
opposition and the business community.

Dacia cars. The
sale in Europe of Dacia cars made by Renault in Romania saw a 20.3% growth in
October compared with the same month last year, while its market share grew
from 2.6 to 2.9%, according to statistical figures made public today by the European
Automobile Manufacturers’Association. In the first ten
months of the year, deliveries of Dacia cars saw an 11.3% increase in Europe.
The Dacia car factory was taken over by Renault in 1999. Relaunched in 2004
with the Logan model, Dacia has become an important player on the European car
market.

Travel warning. The Romanian foreign ministry has issued
a travel warning for Greece, where a state of emergency has been declared in
the wake of torrential rain and flash floods that severely hit the Symi island
and several mainland localities west of Athens. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras
declared national mourning in memory of the victims. 15 people were killed, but
there are fears the death toll may rise. According to the local authorities,
the scope of the disaster is unprecedented. Weather forecasts say there is
still a risk of heavy rain and hailstorm as the weather phenomenon known as
Eurydice sweeps across the region.