June 2, 2023

A roundup of local and international news

Newsroom, 02.06.2023, 13:55

Strike — The Romanian Education Minister, Ligia Deca, emphasized, on Friday, that all salaries in the education system will increase. She said that, through an emergency ordinance, a gross sum worth 1,000 lei (about 200 Euros) per month will be granted for the teaching and auxiliary teaching staff and, respectively, 400 lei (about 80 Euros) per month for the non-teaching staff. On Thursday, after the last round of negotiations with the government, the union leaders announced that the all-out strike in the Romanian education system would continue after Tuesday, when the mini-vacation ends. They again rejected the increases proposed by the Government, increases transposed in an emergency ordinance adopted on the same day. President Klaus Iohannis, who had shown readiness to negotiate a political agreement aimed at ending the strike, believes that the government has given the education system employees everything they asked for and that they no longer have reasons to protest.

Visit — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis receives King Charles III today. The two will have face-to-face talks, and then a meeting with the state authorities, the civil society representatives and the Diplomatic Corps. The British ambassador to Bucharest, Andrew Noble, told AGERPRES news agency that the visit of the new monarch is private and that he will meet with President Iohannis as a courtesy gesture. It is the first time that a British monarch visits Romania. On May 6, Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He became king last September after the death of his mother Elizabeth II. As Crown Prince, Charles visited Romania several times, the first time in 1998, and declared himself an admirer of the country and especially of Transylvania, the historical province that bears the traces of the cultural heritage of the ethnic Germans who came to these parts 8 centuries ago. Charles got involved in preserving the Romanian cultural heritage, buying and restoring old houses in the countryside, which he saved from destruction. In 2015, the Prince of Wales Romania Foundation was launched, a charitable organization that supports the preservation of architectural heritage, agriculture and sustainable development in Romania. In 2017, the Presidency granted him the National Order “Star of Romania” in the rank of Grand Cross, in sign of “appreciation for his activity in Romania and for promoting the country’s image in the world”.

Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu meets, today, the Czech Karolina Muchova, in the third round at Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. The Romanian player defeated Muchova this spring in Madrid. Begu remained the only representative of Romania in the singles competition on the Parisian clay court. In the womens doubles, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk qualified for the second round on Thursday, after defeating the Russian pair Ana Blinkova/Varvara Graceva, in three sets. Ruse and Kostiuk will face Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium)/Shelby Rogers (USA) in the second round.

Football – The former Romanian football champions, CFR Cluj (north-west) qualified for the Europa Conference League, after defeating FC U Craiova with a score of 1-0, after extra time, on Thursday evening. The CFR Cluj players will play in the third continental competition alongside the 2ndplaced team in the championship, FCSB (Bucharest) and the winner of Romania’s Cup, Sepsi Sf. Gheorghe. The title holder, Farul Constanta (southeast), will play in the Champions League.

Moldova — On June 1, the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) was the host of the second summit of the European Political Community. The meeting was attended by 48 heads of state and government, who discussed security and peace, the development of economic and social infrastructure in Europe and resilience in the face of the threats caused by the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the European officials reiterated their support for the Republic of Moldova in order to achieve the commitments assumed as a candidate state for EU accession. The European Political Community is a new political coordination platform, which aims to promote political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest and to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent. The idea of ​​the initiative of a European political community belongs to the French President Emmanuel Macron, who, on May 9, 2022, presented this project to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, in full debates on the launch of Ukraines accession process. Five months later, the first summit of the European Political Community took place in Prague.

Debt -The US Congress has approved a deal to lift the countrys borrowing limit, days before the worlds largest economy is due to default on its debt, the BBC reports. The bipartisan measure sped through the Senate, a day after it was approved by the US House of Representatives. President Joe Biden has said he will enact the measure into law. This will save the US from defaulting on its debt of more than 31 billion dollars, something considered catastrophic. The country is forecast to overshoot its current debt ceiling on Monday 5 June, according to the BBC.

Project – The European program “Rendez-vous aux jardins” (“Meetings in the Gardens”) that has now reached the 20thedition, being organized by the French Ministry of Culture and coordinated, in Romania, by the National Heritage Institute is taking place between June 2 and 4,. “Rendez-vous aux jardins” is an event organized on the first weekend of June since 2003, following the European Heritage Days model, and aims to capitalize on the cultural and natural assets of each country. The project takes place in more than 2,300 parks and gardens in Europe, which open their gates to the public, some of which are exceptionally accessible, and which offer various activities for visitors of all ages. (LS)