December 13, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.12.2022, 13:56

Budget — The Romanian Parliament has today resumed debates on the state budget in the committees, and the debate on the state insurance budget for 2023 is also scheduled. Yesterday, after a day of marathon debates, a large part of the budget allocations at the proposed level were approved by the government. Among others, the Ministry of Transport, the Presidential Administration, the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, The Intelligence Service – SRI, the Foreign Intelligence Service- SIE and the Protection and Guard Service – SPP received approval. Defense will benefit from record sums, 2.5% of the GDP, which will allow the continuation of the programs to equip the Army with Patriot and HIMARS systems. The government estimates that the Gross Domestic Product will increase next year by almost 3%, to over 1,550 billion lei, although economic growth will slow down. However, they count on a better collection of taxes, on the decrease of inflation and unemployment. So the deficit should also decrease to 4.4 % of the GDP.

Schengen – The European Parliament will debate, today, the situation created by the vote against Romanias accession to the Schengen area given by Austria in the JHA Council, a topic added to the agenda on Monday by the vote of the largest political groups in the EP. On Monday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu met in Brussels with Austria’s Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, at the request of the Austrian side. On the occasion, minister Aurescu stated that Bucharest would use all available ways to unblock the situation and added that it was necessary to find a constructive solution. The Romanian minister showed, once again, that the information from the Austrian side regarding a possible involvement of Romania in the flow of illegal migration to Austria did not correspond in any way to the statistics compiled by the European agencies dealing with the borders. The Austrian side mentioned that it approved the work plan proposed by the European Commission regarding the management of migration, which it considers a first step. In Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Monday evening, during his first public appearance after Romania was denied Schengen accession, that the negative vote given by Vienna was undeserved and incomprehensible.

Conference – In Paris, today, two events are taking place in support of Ukraine: an international conference with the participation of official representatives from Kyiv and friendly countries and an economic forum of French companies that want to get involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The two conferences, organized at the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, have distinct objectives. The first, entitled “Solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, wants to respond to the urgent needs of the population this winter: restoring electricity, heat and water supply, food supply and access to health care, after much of the civil infrastructure of the country was destroyed or heavily damaged by the Russian bombings. Officials from 50 countries, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, have confirmed their presence. Ukraine will be represented by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will via video connection. The second conference will bring together the heads of nearly five hundred French companies interested in investing in the long term and contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine after the end of the war.

Survey – Romanians currently have three main reasons for concern – inflation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost of medical services – according to a survey conducted last month by a management consulting company. In addition, most Romanians expect the prices of basic products to increase throughout the next year. Compared to other European countries, only the British are more worried than the Romanians about the price increases. The citizens of Italy, Spain, France and Germany are less worried about this aspect, the survey shows.

Football – The first semi-final at the World Cup in Qatar will be played this evening by Argentina and Croatia. The French national team, the defending world champion, will face the Moroccan team in the semifinals of the World Cup 2022, on Wednesday, at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor.

Meeting – The President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, declared in Bucharest that Romania must be part of the Schengen Area, but he also mentioned that Austria is subject to great migratory pressures, which affects the citizens of this country. This migratory pressure does not occur because of Romania, however, the Swiss official stated, during a press conference held alongside the president Klaus Iohannis. The evolution of the war in Ukraine, humanitarian aid measures for the Ukrainian population and refugees, the consequence of the conflict in terms of energy, as well as in terms of global food security, were on the agenda of the discussions between the two officials. Switzerland calls for strict compliance with the Geneva Convention and supports the efforts of the international community to document and punish war crimes, Ignazio Cassis emphasized on this occasion. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă also had a meeting with the president of the Swiss Confederation, together with whom he evaluated the security situation on the eastern front, the support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the economic cooperation with an emphasis on stimulating investments and identifying new areas of collaboration. Nicolae Ciucă conveyed congratulations to the Swiss official and assured him of Romanias support for the Swiss Confederation when it will first hold the mandate of non-permanent member in the UN Security Council for the period 2023-2024. The Romanian-Swiss Framework Agreement was also signed in Bucharest, which will operationalize the second Swiss financial contribution to reduce economic and social disparities in the EU. President Ignazio Cassis was also the guest of Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. The visit was attended by representatives of the federal authorities from Bern and the Swiss ambassador, HE Mr. Arthur Mattli. After the meeting of her Majesty Margareta and the Prince Consort with President Ignazio Cassis, the distinguished guest signed the Golden Book of the Elisabeta Palace, opened in 1937.

Boycott – The companies subordinated to the Romanian Transport Ministry announced their intention to move their money from the accounts at BCR, owned by the Austrian group Erste. Minister Sorin Gindeanu claims that the numerous companies under his command have found better conditions at CEC Bank. The start was given by the National Road Infrastructure Administration Company, which had account activity at BCR worth at least 12 billion lei (the equivalent of about 2.5 billion Euros) annually. Other companies, such as the Romanian Railways, the Port of Constanţa (south-east, on the Black Sea) or the Bucharest Airport Company will do the same. “I think its a good move, with better conditions,” Grindeanu said, adding that he doesnt have accounts in Austrian banks. After Austria opposed Romanias accession to the Schengen Area, the National Federation of Trade Unions in the Food Industry, Sindalimenta, also decided to close the bank account at BCR. Farmers, unions and businessmen have announced that they will boycott Austrian companies, including OMV Petrom gas stations. (LS)