The Week in Review: July 29-August 4

The main headlines in Romania this week.

România Internațional, 04.08.2018, 13:23

Government report on budget adjustment

Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica
Dancila on Thursday presented details regarding the first budget adjustment
this year, which was a positive one. In the first seven months of the year
revenues to the state budget were by 1.3 billion euros higher than the original
estimates. Viorica Dancila says the adjustment was aimed at securing funds for
the payment of pensions and salaries until the end of the year, supporting
investment projects and the business sector. Additional funds will be earmarked
to local authorities, healthcare, education, agriculture, transports, the
Interior Ministry and the National Financial Administration Agency. Budget cuts
were operated at the level of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Romanian
Foreign Intelligence Service, the Presidency, the Environment Ministry, the Foreign
Ministry and the Energy Ministry. The Prime Minister explained the
aforementioned institutions failed to spend their allotted funds, and have thus
seen their budgets slashed. The adjustment decreed will be adopted in the
second half of the month. Viorica Dancila guaranteed Romania would meet its set
budget deficit target of 3% of the GDP.

Authorities take action to eradicate the African swine fever virus

In the space of a single week the
number of African swine fever virus hotbeds has grown by 100, exceeding 500, of
which most have been identified in local households, only 3 being flagged in
pig farms. Some 50,000 pigs have been slaughtered, as there is no vaccine or
treatment for this disease. This is an aggressive, explosive evolution, says the
president of the National Sanitary-Veterinary and Food Safety Authority,
Geronimo Branescu, who said the affected owners will receive 2 euros per
kilogram in compensation. The first payments to the affected farmers have
already been made, their total value standing at 30,000 euros. Compensations
will be paid both for the animals slaughtered and for collateral damage. On
Friday, Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea said the African swine fever
virus will not affect pig production, as farmers are more than capable to
offset their loses. The African swine fever virus is not transmittable to
humans, although it has a devastating economic and social impact. The virus has
been spreading quickly since early June.

British Defence Secretary visits Romania

Romania’s role at NATO level is key
to European security, particularly amidst rising tension in the region, for
instance the conflict in Ukraine, British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson
said in Bucharest on Thursday following talks with his Romanian counterpart,
Mihai Fifor. The Romanian official called for support for the operationalisation
of the army corps NATO command, which Romania announced at the recent NATO
summit it wanted to host. Security in the Black Sea area also ranked high on
the agenda of talks, with a focus on Russia’s active measures. The Romanian
official spoke of Moscow’s intention to militarize the Black Sea by deploying
additional military units in the area and new military capabilities.

Gavin Williamson said his country
will provide military support to the NATO Brigade in Craiova, and gave
assurances that Great Britain will continue to contribute to consolidating
European security post-Brexit. Also on Thursday the two officials visited
Airbase 57 in Mihail Kogalniceanu, south-eastern Romania, where they met with
the flying and technical crews servicing the four Typhoon aircraft of the Royal
Air Force, as well as the Romanian personnel on the ground. The presence of our
British partners in Romania sends a strong message of solidarity at NATO level,
Minister Fifor told the press. A British brigade comprising 160 military is
taking part in air policing missions under NATO command at the airbase in
Mihail Kogalniceanu until the end of the month.

Government agrees to increase the number of foreign workers on the
Romanian labour market

At the request of several companies,
the Government has agreed to issue an additional 8,000 work permits for non-EU
citizens. This year alone the number of work permits for foreign nationals has
doubled. According to data made public by the General Inspectorate for
Immigration in Romania, 4,395 permits were issued until July, most of which for
citizens from Vietnam, Turkey, Nepal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, China and the Republic
of Moldova. Some 17,000 non-EU citizens currently work in Romania in such
sectors as hospitality, the building of ships and floating platforms, trade and
constructions.

Romania’s nomination for the 2019 Oscar Awards

Radu Jude’s film I Don’t Care if We Go Down in
History as Barbarians is Romania’s entry to the 2019 Oscars in the foreign film
category. The film is a behind-the-scenes look at a historical reconstruction
of the battle of Odessa in WWII as a street performance. This is Radu Jude’s
sixth feature length movie, and was dubbed by international critics as a smart
alarm signal regarding populism, a challenging, sarcastic and crucial look into
the past and the present, and a daring comedy drama. I Don’t Care if We Go Down
in History as Barbarians is Radu Jude’s second film submitted by Romania for
the Oscars. The first was Aferim!, which was selected in 2016.