April 18, 2022
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 18.04.2022, 13:55
Investment. Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has reiterated today that in a crisis situation, such as the one Romania is going through, the only solution is investments, and the role of the Government is to support them through public policies aimed at ensuring stability and economic development. In an interview with Radio Romania, he stressed that in order to ensure stability, the business environment needs to be supported by government policies. The Prime Minister pointed out that the international financial institutions confirm that the Executives solutions have been the right ones. The head of government has also stated that in 2022, Romania has the largest investment budget in the last 30 years – 88 billion lei (about 18 billion euros). A large amount of European money will also be attracted, which provides an opportunity to grow the economy and create new jobs.
Offshore law. This week, the Romanian Senate is debating, following an emergency procedure, the amendments to the Offshore Law. The bill regulates the exploitation of natural gas in the Black Sea. According to the law in its current form, in the event of an energy crisis, Romania has priority in ensuring its gas supply. The document assumed by the leaders of the ruling National Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania stipulates that 60% of the revenues obtained by exploiting gas from the Romanian maritime perimeter will return to the state, and 40% go to investors. Romania will also have a pre-emption right to buy the extracted gas, and the surplus will be exported. The bill establishes the same fiscal framework for onshore, deep-sea oil perimeters.
BNR. The National Bank of Romania (BNR) is hosting doors open days to celebrate its 142nd anniversary. The public, therefore, can visit the Old Palace in Bucharest, as well as local branches and agencies. In Bucharest, visitors can watch the BNR permanent exhibition, including a gold ingot from the Central Banks reserve, and two temporary exhibitions titled “100 Years ince the Birth of King Michael I ( 1921-2017)” and “Ecaterina Teodoroiu, the WWI Heroine”. The exhibition devoted to King Michael I includes the kings marshal uniforms, folk costumes, military artifacts, coins, medals, documents and banknotes. The other exhibition, devote to Ecaterina Teodoroiu, was occasioned by the launch, on December 1st, 2021, of the 20 RON banknote, which has the heroines face on it.
Ukraine. Ukraine has completed the EU accession questionnaire and expects to receive the candidate status at the European Council meeting scheduled for June 23-24. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned in a video message that Russia is preparing a major offensive in eastern Ukraine. Anyone in Europe and America can already see that Russia is openly using energy to destabilize Western societies. Russia must not win the bet on the chaos created in the energy market, said Volodymyr Zelensky. He also criticized delays in arms deliveries to his country. The Ukrainian army reported new airstrikes by Russian forces on the port city of Mariupol on Sunday, following the expiration of a Russian ultimatum for the local fighters to surrender to the Russian forces besieging the city. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in Mariupol, which has been under siege for several weeks. In the Lugansk region, residents were urged to evacuate immediately. Russian forces are concentrated in the area, trying to capture Lugansk and Donetsk. Russian President Vladimir Putin fully acknowledged that the two eastern regions were independent of Ukraine just before the invasion.
Refugees. 87,531 people, including 6,750 Ukrainian citizens, crossed Romanias border crossing points on sunday. Since the onset of the crisis in Ukraine, more than 737,000 Ukrainians have entered Romania, most of them transiting to other countries. On the other hand, almost 40% of all Ukrainian refugees who, after the start of the war, found work in Romania are in the manufacturing industry, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. In second place is the construction field, followed by HORECA. Also, there are Ukrainian refugees in Romania that carry out wholesale, administrative and support services. About a quarter of all Ukrainian refugees who found a job in Romania were employed by companies in Bucharest. Since February 24, 1,891 Ukrainian citizens have been employed in Romania.
Passion week. Orthodox Christians, who are the majority in Romania, and Greek Catholics have entered the Holy Week, the last before the Easter holidays, in which they remember the Passion of the Lord. In churches, believers attend special evening masses, in which the last moments of the earthly life of Jesus Christ are commemorated, before His crucifixion and death on the cross. The most important are the Twelve Gospels on Holy Thursday and the service on Good Friday. (MI)
