December 15, 2022

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 15.12.2022, 13:55

SUMMIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is today attending
the summit of the heads of state and government from the EU countries in
Brussels. Iohannis has announced that he will include Romania’s Schengen
accession in the agenda of the European Council proceedings but according to
him, a positive result in this respect is possible only if Romania solves the
issues, which made Austria to veto its accession during the last week’s Justice
and Home Affairs Council. We recall that Austria and the Netherlands voted
against the Schengen entry of Romania and Bulgaria respectively. Iohannis has
also added that Romania will not challenge the Austrian vote in the European
Court of Justice.

PROTESTS The Federation of the Free Trade Unions in
Romania’s education system is continuing the protests it kicked off last week.
The employees have denounced the latest pay cuts and the authorities’ refusal
to pay extra hours. Protesters are also calling for a pay rise that should
offset inflation. Trade unionists have planned protests in front of prefect
offices in several cities across Romania, such as Galati and Vaslui. In another
development, police officers and employees of the penitentiaries in Romania are
protesting in Bucharest denouncing the authorities’ refusal to pay outstanding salaries
and provide proper equipment for the good functioning of their activity. They
are also calling for pay and pension rises.

VISIT Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca is today paying
a working visit to Paris to attend the special proceedings of the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, devoted to Romania. An initial
memorandum on Romania’s OECD accession, one of the country’s strategic
objectives, is expected to be forwarded on this occasion. We recall that Bucharest
received a roadmap in June this year. According to the Romanian coordinator for
OECD accession, Luca Niculescu, there is still more to be done but Romania does
not start from scratch because in the past years several Romanian ministries
and institutions have participated in activities of the aforementioned
organization and got used to them. The OECD is one of the world’s most
important economic and trade organizations, comprising 38 developed countries,
which boast roughly 70% of the global output and trade.

ANRE The board of the National Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE) is
today meeting representatives of Romania’s electricity providers to brief them
on the implementation of the new law on capping electricity prices due to come
into effect on January 1st next year. According to the providers, almost
9 million Romanians should apply for capped prices whereas ANRE says their
number is much lower. The institution says that every customer can
automatically benefit from capped energy prices for a single household unless
they exceed the consumption levels provided by the law.

FOOTBALL The football selection of France, the world defending
champion, on Wednesday night qualified for the finals of the FIFA World Cup in
Qatar after a 2-0 win against the revelation of this edition, Morocco. On
Sunday France will be playing Argentina for the third world title after those
it reaped in 1998 and 2018, respectively. Croatia will be playing Morocco for
the third or the fourth place in the competition’s standings.

(bill)