March 25, 2023

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.03.2023, 13:50

Rating. Fitch Ratings has reconfirmed Romania’s Long-Term
Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ and changed the outlook
from negative to stable. the Ministry of
Finance announced on Saturday. This is the first positive change in Romania’s
rating outlook operated by the agency since April 2020. Fitch’s decision
represents a signal of confidence in the prospects for economic growth, based
on the continuation of government programs and the support of Romania’s development
opportunities, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said. According to the Ministry of Finance, the
decision is supported by the
stabilization of the public debt and the implementation of policies aimed at
ensuring a gradual fiscal consolidation. Fitch mentions both the economic
resilience demonstrated by Romania in 2022, and the political stability that
made it possible to address the crisis generated by the war in Ukraine and the
energy crisis, says the Ministry of Finance. According to Fitch, Romania’s
economy will register an increase of 2.3% in 2023 and 3% in 2024, given that
the country will benefit from important European funds both from the
Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and from the Recovery and Resilience
Mechanism. The main factors that could lead to the improvement of the country
rating or the outlook are the firm stabilization of the share of public debt in
the GDP in the medium term and the reduction of the fiscal deficit, the
Ministry of Finance has also said.

Earth Hour. Millions of people, institutions and companies will turn
off their lights for one hour, today, the last Saturday in March, on the
occasion of the biggest environmental event in history – Earth Hour. According
to the Romanian Ministry of the Environment, this year the World Wildlife Fund
(#WWF) is launching the challenge for everybody to give Earth one hour every
month. The Ministry of the Environment warns that biodiversity is being lost at
an unprecedented rate, and the world economy is dependent on nature. The Earth
Hour event was organized for the first time on March 31, 2007 in Sydney, when 2
million people and more than 2,100 companies turned off their lights for an
hour, thus demonstrating concern for one of the biggest current issues: the extremely
rapid climate change. The Ministry of the Environment in Bucharest joins
institutions from more than 8,000 cities in 195 countries that participate, on
Saturday, from 20:30, in Romania, in the 17th edition of Earth Hour. To mark
this event, the interior, exterior and festive lighting of the Palace of Parliament
in Bucharest will be turned off between 20:30 and 21:30.

Summer time. On Sunday
morning, clocks are set forward by one hour in Romania to mark the beginning of
summer time. Thus, 3 a.m. becomes 4 a.m., making this Sunday the shortest in
the year. During the daylight saving time, the difference between Romania’s
official time and GMT will be of 3 hours. According to the National Railway
Company, the change will not affect the trains’ timetables.

Protest. Policemen and military pensioners in Romania have
protested today at the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior. Their main claims
concern the urgent and full application of the Framework Law on wages, decent
wages and the application of the Law on state military pensions, in the form
originally voted, to ensure the stability and predictability of this pension
system that exists in all the NATO and EU member states. The trade unionists
also demand increases in the amount of salaries in payment, higher additional
allocations for food and equipment, as well
as a higher bonus for neuropsychic overload. On Friday, the unions in the field organized a
protest meeting and a march to signal the existing problems in the public
defense and national security system.

Football. Today, the Romanian national football team meets Andorra
away from home, in the debut match of the EURO 2024
preliminaries, a tournament hosted by Germany. In group I, of which Romania is
a part, the matches Belarus – Switzerland and Israel – Kosovo are still being
played today. On March 28, the national team will face Belarus in Bucharest.
The top two finishers in each of the 10 preliminary groups qualify, with the
final three places to be decided in March 2024, following the Nations League
play-offs. (MI)