July 13, 2023

A roundup of news from Romania and the world

Newsroom, 13.07.2023, 13:55

Resignation — The Romanian Labor Minister Marius Budai has resigned today against the backdrop of the scandal regarding the care centers for the elderly. The Romanian authorities continue checks at residential social centers throughout the country. More than 1,500 centers have been controlled so far, and 15 nursing homes for the elderly, the disabled and children have been closed. The activity of another 26 has been suspended. The authorities issued 60 fines worth almost 800,000 lei (the equivalent of about 160 thousand Euros). A nursing home that was operating illegally was identified and a criminal case was also opened for abuse of office, fraud, false declarations, unlawful practicing of a profession and tax evasion in the case of a commercial company that owns three nursing homes. On the other hand, the Bucharest Court of Appeal will judge on July 20 the appeals made by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) regarding the placement under house arrest, under judicial control or the failure to take any measures in the case of the 20 defendants detained last week in the investigation regarding the nursing homes for the elderly and the people with disabilities from Ilfov county (south, near Bucharest), where the so-called beneficiaries were beaten, insulted, starved, subjected to forced labor and deprived of minimum hygiene conditions.

Schengen — The European Parliament reconfirmed its support for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area. Through a resolution adopted on Wednesday, with a large majority, the MEPs ask the Council of the European Union to approve the candidacy of the two states by the end of this year. The document shows that Romania and Bulgaria meet all the criteria to join the free travel area and that the exercise of the right of veto, “without having presented any justification of a legal nature related to the accession criteria”, fuels anti-European sentiment and harms the economy. The European Parliament emphasizes that Romanians and Bulgarians are discriminated against, because they face delays, bureaucratic difficulties and additional costs when traveling or doing business abroad, in comparison with the Schengen Area citizens. The European Parliament also asks the Commission to estimate the financial losses, lost gains and environmental damage that Romania and Bulgaria have incurred, since June 2011, due to not being members of the Schengen area and to analyze the possible compensation mechanisms.

Statistics — The Border Police General Inspectorate (IGPR) informs that on Wednesday, 123,649 people entered Romania through the border points, of whom 16,483 were Ukrainian citizens. According to a press release issued on Thursday, starting on February 10, 2022, two weeks before the Russian army invaded their country, 4,998,837 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania. The number of Ukrainian citizens who took up employment in Romania after the start of the war reached a new record last month – said the Romanian Labor Minister, Marius Budai. According to him, at the national level, 6,810 employment contracts were concluded for Ukrainian citizens, the highest level since February 24, 2022 until now. All in all, the minister said, 7,972 active contracts of Ukrainian citizens are registered, of which 6,810 were concluded after the start of the Russian invasion. Most Ukrainians employed in Romania, 1,452, work in the manufacturing industry, and 1,181 in the construction industry. Another 737 are employed in the trade domain. From the point of view of the areas in which they chose to work, the most (2,770) found work in Bucharest, and 418 in Timiş county (west).

Football — Romanias football champions, Farul Constanţa (southeast), defeated, on Wednesday evening, at home, 1-0, Sheriff Tiraspol from the Republic of Moldova, in the first leg of the first preliminary round of the Champions League. The return match takes place next week, in Tiraspol. The qualified team will play in the next round with the winner of the two-legged tie between Maccabi Haifa (Israel) and Hamrun Spartans (Malta). In the first match, the Israelis won 4-0. We remind you that three Romanian teams are participating in the Conference League. In the 2nd preliminary round, the former champions CFR Cluj (north-west) will meet Adana Demirspor, from Turkey. The winner of Romania’s Cup and Supercup, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe (center) will play against CSKA Sofia from Bulgaria, and the runner-up FCSB (Bucharest) with CSKA 1948 Sofia. The first leg takes place on July 27, and the return leg a week later.

Inflation – The annual inflation rate slightly decreased in Romania in June 2023, to 10.3%, from 10.64% in May, in the context in which the prices food stuffs rose by 17.88%, of non-foods by 4.84%, and of services by 11.5%, according to data published on Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics. In June compared to May, the inflation rate was 0.4%. The National Bank of Romania (BNR) revised upward to 7.1% the inflation forecast for the end of this year and maintained the estimate of 4.2% for the end of 2024, according to data presented in May by Governor Mugur Isărescu. (LS)