January 26, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 26.01.2023, 19:44

Growth. Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has announced that,
according to data from the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, the
Gross Domestic Product in 2022 increased by 49 billion euros compared to 2021.
He added that, regarding the economy, the forecast for 2022 is also favorable,
with an increase of 2.8%. The Prime Minister has also appreciated the role that foreign investments played
in the Romanian economy last year and the effective absorption of European
funds. Nicolae Ciucă highlighted the importance of dialogue with the
entrepreneurial environment in the country and supporting Romanian capital. The
Prime Minister has announced that farmers will have more than 100 million euros
available under the state aid scheme for reducing the excise duty on diesel
fuel used in agriculture. In turn, the
Minister of Finance, Adrian Câciu, has stated that Romania has changed the type
of economic engine, moving from a ‘slow’ one from the period of the COVID-19
pandemic, to a sustainable one, based on economic incentives.

Aid. This year, the state will
grant aid worth 1,400 lei for the payment of energy, heat, gas or wood bills to
certain vulnerable categories in Romania: pensioners, people with disabilities
who have low incomes, beneficiaries of social aid and families receiving
support allowance. There is only one condition: the net income of a family
member should not exceed 2,000 lei (approx. 410 Euros). This aid will be
granted as of February, by means of energy cards, which will be printed and
distributed through the Romanian Post, based on lists submitted by the Ministry
of Labor and Social Solidarity. According to the authorities, there are
approximately four million beneficiaries of these cards.

Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities have announced the intention to
open new crossing points on the border with Romania, in the Chernivtsi region,
to facilitate the transport of goods and the movement of people, after the latest
traffic jams. According to the Ukrainian authorities, in addition to the
Dyakivtsi-Rackovets crossing point, which will be put into use in the coming
period, two more new customs points are being prepared: the one between Sepit
and Izvoarele Sucevei and another between Rusca and Ulma. They have not been
operating since 2010. The traffic through the Siret border crossing, which had
recorded unprecedented values, is much smoother than at the end of last year,
when there were queues of over 40 kilometers on the Ukrainian side, but there
are still problems due to power cuts
caused by the situation in neighboring Ukraine.

Military. Less than 20 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, the
Leclerc tanks, the main means of attack of the French battle group deployed in
Romania, have arrived at the Smârdan shooting ground in Galati (south-east).
The place is hosting an extensive training exercise, for which approximately
600 French soldiers have been mobilized, with 200 combat vehicles. The
Smârdan exercise is the largest currently carried out by NATO on the eastern
border of the EU. On Friday, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan
Aurescu, and his counterparts from France and the Netherlands, Catherine
Colonna and Wopke Hoekstra respectively, will visit the Getica National
Training Center in Cincu (center). According to the MFA, the program of the
ministers’ visit will include interactions with military personnel, especially
French and Dutch, and visits to several military facilities jointly used by the
allied troops deployed in Romania.

Ukraine. Now that the United States and Germany have pledged to send
advanced tanks to Ukraine, their rapid delivery in sufficient numbers is vital
for defense against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, thanking the allies for their decision. The United
States and Germany announced on Wednesday that they would send Abrams and
Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The decision, long awaited in Kyiv, would help the
Ukrainian army in a potential spring counteroffensive against the Russian
forces in the occupied territories. Moscow said that sending tanks to Ukraine would
be a dangerous provocation.

Infections. In Romania, last week the number of cases
of respiratory infections decreased to a quarter the number recorded the
previous week, down to 103 thousand. This number is, however, 21% higher than
the weekly average between 2015 and 2020. The National Institute of Public
Health announced that over 4,500 cases of influenza were registered, most of
them in Bucharest. Since the start of the winter season, 36 people have died
from the flu, and nearly 1.5 million have gotten flu shots. Some hospitals are
still overcrowded, even though the number of cases has decreased. (MI)