May 3, 2023

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Newsroom, 03.05.2023, 13:55

BANK The foreign currency reserves of the
National Bank of Romania were in excess of EUR 53 bln at the end of April, up 0.21%
compared to the previous month. The gold reserves stay at 103.6 tonnes. High
forex reserves ensure investor confidence, analysts explain, adding that this
was mostly due to EU fund receipts.

UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment rate in Romania dropped slightly, from
5.5% in February to 5.4% in March, but unemployment among youth remains high,
at 22.2%, the National Statistics Institute reports. The number of people
between the ages of 15 and 74 receiving unemployment benefits in March was over
453,000, a decrease compared both to the previous month of this year and to the
corresponding period in 2022. Among men, the rate was 5.8%, whereas the
proportion of unemployed women was 5%. For adults aged 25 to 74, the
unemployment rate stood at 4.4%.

CORONATION Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of
Romania, and the Prince Consort, will take part on Saturday in the coronation
of King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
the Royal House of Romania announced today in a Facebook post. In the 157 years of existence of the Royal House of
Romania, the connection with the British royal family has been steady, based on
admiration, respect and affection, both in its official dimension, representing
the two nations, and in its private, family aspect, reads the post. The Royal
House adds that this reliable relationship has spanned the 19th, 20th
and 21st centuries and five generations.

PRESS The World Press Freedom
Day celebrated on the 3rd of May occasioned the opening of a special
exhibition at the National Romanian Literature Museum in Bucharest. The event
was organized jointly with the Romanian Union of Professional Journalists. The
exhibition, which opens a series of events devoted to journalists in all fields,
is intended as a starting point for a future Museum of Romanian Press. The World
Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, and is
designed to highlight the importance of and the need for freedom of expression.

EDUCATION A draft law regulating higher education in Romania was
approved by the specialist committee in the Chamber of Deputies, with a number
of amendments. Among other things, grants and training programmes will be
offered every year to Romanians from abroad who wish to study in Romania. Welfare
grants may be received concurrently with other types of grants, should student
meet relevant criteria. As for salaries, higher education institutions may
increase salaries within their approved budgets. Fines have also been
introduced, ranging from EUR 20,000 to 40,000, for those who sell BA, MA or
doctoral theses online, in violation of intellectual property rights. The new
laws on the undergraduate and higher education sectors will most likely be
subject to voting in the Chamber of Deputies next week. The Senate is then to take
its final vote.

GRAINS The European Commission
announced exceptional and temporary preventive measures on imports of
a limited number of products from Ukraine. They concern only 4 products-wheat, maize,
rapeseed and sunflower seed-and are designed to alleviate logistical
bottlenecks concerning these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and
Slovakia. Meanwhile, Romania will receive an additional EUR 30 bln
to support farmers affected by the cheap grains imports from Ukraine. (AMP)