May 14, 2023 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 14.05.2023, 19:17
Commemoration — The wounds caused by communism will never be fully healed, and our duty is to cultivate, every day, the respect for democratic values, as well as for the historical truth, and to educate the younger generations in this sense. This message was conveyed on Sunday by the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă on the occasion of the National Remembrance Day of Martyrs of Communist Prisons. “75 years ago, on the night of May 14/15, 1948, the communist authorities launched a vast repressive operation, marking the beginning of a long series of horrors. For almost half a century, Romania was in the darkness of totalitarianism, all the strongholds of democracy being destroyed, one by one” the prime minister said in his message. According to him, all this ordeal ended in December 1989, through blood sacrifice, when Romanians won the fight for freedom and democracy.
Jobs – The number of jobs held in public institutions and authorities in Romania was, in March 2023, 1,277,054, 470 more compared to the previous month, 63.88% of which were in the central public administration, according to data published on the Finance Ministrys website. Out of the total of 815,788 employees in the central public administration, 600,805 worked in institutions fully financed from the state budget (plus 76 employees compared to February 2023). The largest number of occupied positions was recorded in the Education Ministry, respectively 295,367, the Interior Ministry – 125,184, the Defense Ministry – 71,989, the Finance Ministry – 24,695 and the Health Ministry – 18,202. In March, 461,266 people worked in the local public administration (plus 136), of whom 281,482 in institutions fully financed from local budgets (plus 434) and 179,784 in institutions fully or partially financed from own revenues (minus 166). The coalition government adopted, on Friday, the Emergency Ordinance on the reduction of public expenses, which, among other measures, stipulates, this year, the suspension of contests or exams for filling vacant or temporarily vacant positions, with the exception of unique jobs.
Mission – A maritime vessel and two port surveillance and control sloops of the Romanian Coast Guard will participate, for two months, in the Mediterranean Sea, in an international Frontex mission to save human lives in danger. According to a Border Police General Inspectorate’s press release, submitted to the media on Sunday, they will carry out individual patrol, surveillance, search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea, at the external maritime border of the European Union. The main objective of the joint operation, called THEMIS, is to support the Italian authorities in the surveillance and control of the Union’s maritime borders, as well as in the search and rescue of persons in distress at sea.
Football – The national football team of Belarus will play in Hungary, behind closed doors, the June matches against Israel and Kosovo, from Group I of the EURO 2024 preliminaries, a group which also includes Romania – the Hungarian football federation announced, after UEFA ordered Belarus to play on neutral ground. Unlike Russia, excluded from UEFA competitions after the invasion of Ukraine, its ally Belarus was not suspended by the European football forum. Belarus started the EURO 2024 preliminaries with two defeats, against Switzerland (0-5, a match that took place in Serbia) and against Romania (1-2 in Bucharest). Winner of the match in Andora too, score 2-0, Romania is ranked 2nd in the group, after Switzerland, which has a better goal difference. The two top-ranking teams in each group qualify for the final tournament in Germany. Romania has participated in five editions of the European Championship, with the best performance being the quarter-final at EURO 2000.
Berlin – The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Sunday in Berlin that Ukraine and its Western supporters could make Russias defeat in the war in Ukraine “irreversible” as early as this year. He was received by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during his first visit to Germany since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Berlin for its help and solidarity following Germanys announcement that it will supply Kiev with weaponry worth nearly three billion dollars. In turn, Olaf Scholz said that the new package is a strong indication of support for the fight against the Russian invasion, support that will continue as long as necessary. The Defense Ministry in Berlin specified that the aid will include anti-aircraft defense systems, battle tanks, infantry vehicles, artillery ammunition and hundreds of reconnaissance aerial vehicles. This is the largest package of weapons provided by Germany to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces, since the start of the war by Russia. (LS)
