September 25, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 25.09.2024, 20:00
UN – Romania advocates for an expanded Security Council, in which transparency and accountability are the norm, and not the exception, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Wednesday, in New York, where he delivered a speech before the UN General Assembly. He also said that Romania gave a strong and multidimensional support to Ukraine and its people and is committed to maintaining it for as long as needed and that Bucharest fully supports the peace initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Romanian head of state highlighted the crucial role played by Romania in facilitating grain exports from Ukraine through its ports on the Danube and the Black Sea. At the same time, President Iohannis spoke about the conflict in the Gaza Strip and called for an end to hostilities, voicing his support for the two-state solution, within safe and recognized borders. Klaus Iohannis participated in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The central theme of the meeting was “Unity in diversity for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for everyone, everywhere”.
LOAN – The Romanian Finance Minister, Marcel Boloş and the Director of the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Michael Miller, signed, on Wednesday, in Bucharest, the agreement for a foreign military financing direct loan in the amount of $920 million . The loan will help accelerate Romania’s military modernization effort, including through purchases of U.S.-made defense equipment, such as Abrams tanks, and through the co-production of ammunition, the U.S. embassy said in a press release. Michael Miller emphasized the importance of Romania on the Eastern Flank and the commitment of the US to continue this cooperation. Romania is also a security provider and not only a security consumer within the NATO alliance, said the US ambassador to Romania, Kathleen Kavalec, who attended the signing ceremony, alongside Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
DECISIONS – The Bucharest government took, in Wednesday’s meeting, several decisions aimed at supporting families affected by the recent flash floods in the east of the country. Among these measures is the granting of approx. 3,000 euros for the purchase of construction materials, household appliances and fuel. The government has also decided that each family or single person affected by the floods will receive an emergency aid of 10,000 lei. At the same time, 347 families and single people in difficult situations, from other areas of the country, will receive support.
SALARIES – The average gross salary per month in 2023 in Romania was 7,042 lei, up 15% compared to the previous year, according to data made public on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics. This means an average net salary of 4,412 lei per month, an increase of 611 lei. The highest salaries were reported in sectors like IT&C, financial intermediation and insurance and in the production and supply of electricity and heating sector. At the opposite pole, average net earnings below the average were received by people working in hotels, restaurants, real estate transactions, water distribution, sanitation and waste management.
ELECTION – The Central Election Committee in Chisinau has approved the participation of 11 candidates in the election for the presidential seat of the ex-Soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. According to experts, the incumbent president, Maia Sandu, who is running for another term in office, is the odds-on favorite. Her main opponents are the former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo, backed by the socialists and the former mayor of the district of Balti, Renato Usatîi, leader of a political group entitled Our Party. The presidential elections are due on 20th October and a referendum on amending the Constitution so that the country may join the EU, is due concurrently. Most of the 14 parties running in the election are backing the idea of European integration. The socialists, however, are boycotting the referendum while the communists and one party belonging to the political bloc of oligarch Ilan Shor have declared themselves against the country’s EU accession.
DANUBE – The rising level of the Danube waters shouldn’t cause any problems whatsoever, the Romanian hydrologists believe. According to their estimates, the river’s maximum level would be lower than initially believed. The river’s waters are expected to reach their peak of eight thousand cubic meters per second on September 30th, but this level shouldn’t create any problems for the authorities who can handle it easily, is the conclusion of the representatives of all the central and local institutions in charge of the emergency situations. Thousands of sandbags have been made ready and part of them have already been deployed.
