October 28, 2022

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Newsroom, 28.10.2022, 13:55

POPULATION Between July 2021 and July 2022, Romania lost over
100,000 residents, according to data released today by the National Statistics
Institute. From over 22
million people with permanent residence in Romania, the number dropped to 21.9
million. The urban and female population make up a majority, accounting for 56.2%, and 51.2% of the total,
respectively. The average age was 42.1 years
old, 0.1 years more than on July 1, 2021. Population ageing is also
significant, as the proportion of old people has increased and the share of
youth aged up to 14 has decreased slightly. The NSI data refers to individuals
with Romanian citizenship and permanent residence in Romania, and it may
include migrants as well. According to the Institute, in 2060 Romania may have between 16.3
million inhabitants, in an optimistic scenario, and 12.5 million, in a
pessimistic scenario.

SOCIAL The government of Romania will simplify procedures for the
migrants who work in Romania. A bill discussed in today’s Cabinet meeting
stipulates a reduction in the number of documents required when migrants seek
to change jobs. The government also intends to increase the number of
education units in which students can receive hot meals from 350 to 450. And,
under a separate emergency order, the government plans to create the legal
framework for pensions valid in all EU member states. Based on EU standards,
this kind of pension will primarily benefit citizens with employment contracts
in several EU countries and who want a customised pension product with
identical operation standards in all member states. The government is also
working on a bill allowing Romania to pull out of an international convention
on scientific information exchange, signed in Moscow in 1969.

SCHENGEN PM
Nicolae Ciucă was on an official working visit to Brussels, where he was
promised full support for Romania’s Schengen accession. Positive signals were
also received with respect to the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification
Mechanism. The Romanian PM discussed the topics with the president of the
European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, while the justice minister Cătălin
Predoiu, who accompanied him to Brussels, had talks with the EC vice-president
Vera Jourova and with the EU commissioner for justice, Didier Reynders.
Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession may be included in the agenda of
the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting of December 8-9, 2022.

PENSIONS
Pensions in the Romanian public system may be raised as of January 1, 2023,
with authorities planning the increase to be at least 10%. One of the
obstacles, namely the pension expenditure ceiling stipulated under the National
Recovery and Resilience Plan, would be replaced by an indicator related to
budget capacity and other financial discipline criteria, the PM Nicolae Ciucă
announced in Brussels. He had talks in this respect with the European
Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, with technical details to be defined
by experts.

UKRAINE The International Atomic Energy
Agency is set to visit 2 Ukrainian sites this week at Kyiv’s request, as the
Russian president Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of destroying evidence that it
was preparing a dirty bomb. Previously, Putin had requested an IAEA mission as
soon as possible. According to him, Ukraine is planning to use radioactive
weapons and to claim subsequently that Russia had launched a nuclear attack. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is sending Ukraine a new military and aid
package amounting to USD 275 mln, to help efforts to drive Russian forces away
from key areas in the south of the country. On the other hand, the US defence
secretary Lloyd
Austin Thursday warned Vladimir Putin that a nuclear attack would prompt a significant
response from the international community. The US official said Russia using
this type of weapons or even speaking about it was dangerous and irresponsible.
Meanwhile, clashes continue in Ukraine, with Russian forces launching over 30
drones in the past couple of days, and the Ukrainian Army destroying 23 of them,
according to Kyiv. Since February, Russia has launched 4,500 missile attacks
and over 8,000 air raids over Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. (AMP)