January 13, 2023

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.01.2023, 13:56

RATE Romania’s annual inflation rate dropped to 16.4% in December from 16.8%
a month before against the background of the latest price hikes of more than
22% for food products of 14.95% for non-food products and of 9.78% for
services, the national institute for statistics has announced. In November last
year, the country’s central bank announced an inflation forecast of 16.3% for
the end of last year and a 16.3% inflation rate for the end of 2023. The bank’s
spokesman Dan Suciu announced yesterday that Romania was going to avoid
recession, in spite of a lower economic growth than last year. According to
him, a significant drop in the inflation rate has been forecast for the third
quarter of the year and Romania is expected to have a one-digit inflation rate
towards the end of 2023.

AID US humanitarian aid for Ukraine is for the first time going
to reach this country through the Romanian hub in Suceava, northern Romania -
the US embassy in Bucharest has announced. The aid consists of 30 trucks loaded
with clothes, blankets, personal hygiene products, diapers and emergency kits
gathered through a campaign launched in March 2022 in Utah. 40 tons of material
goods of a total value of roughly one million dollars as well as 4 million
dollars in cash have so far been raised through the aforementioned campaign.

DAY The Day of the Romanian Culture, marked on January 15th
every year, which coincides with the birthday of Romania’s national poet Mihai
Eminescu will this year see a series of on-line and off-line cultural events
staged all over the country. Several museums have offered free access to
visitors and have announced extended opening hours, while the National Opera in
Bucharest will be hosting a special concert. This series of events will kick
off today in several culture institutions of Romania. The National Library in
Bucharest is going to host a recital of music and poetry and the National
Museum of the Romanian Literature in Iasi, north-eastern Romania is staging an
online workshop entitled ‘Eminescu’s Time’, where students are invited to learn
more about Romania’s national poet.

FLU Between January 2-8 Romania reported 102,884 respiratory infections as
compared to 74,567 in the previous week, the National Public Health Institute
has announced. The present flu wave is also affecting children who require
hospital treatment for pneumonia. Authorities have confirmed 15 fatalities
caused by the flu. The growing number of infections has deepened the crisis
caused by the shortage of anti-flu medicines Romania is presently facing.

SCHENGEN Romania’s accession to Europe’s border-free area,
Schengen, is a top priority for Romania, the country’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan
Aurescu, said in Bucharest yesterday, when Sweden took over the half-yearly
rotating EU presidency. Romania relies on Sweden’s support as a mediator in
this respect. Sweden’s ambassador to Bucharest, Therese Hyden, says that the
Schengen file will be on the agenda of a formal EU meeting when Austria no
longer opposes Romania’s accession and the Netherlands the accession of
Bulgaria.

(bill)