LAWS – The Romanian government will
assume responsibility before Parliament for a law package concerning the reform
of the state apparatus, the measures aimed at attaining fiscal balance and
avoiding tax evasion. Wasting public money along with fiscal and tax evasion is
preventing the country’s development, Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu
has said. The Romanian official will go to Brussels next week for a new round
of talks with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, over
changing the budget deficit target, and according to some government sources,
talks will also be focusing on the fiscal measures package. The opposition has
announced its intention to table no-confidence votes against the PSD-PNL Government.
DRUG ABUSE – Romania’s Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu has called on the Prosecutor General
Alex Florența to intensify the line
ministry’s activity combating the illegal drug abuse. Gorghiu says this
requires a joint effort, recalling the latest investigations conducted by the
Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Constanța or
Cluj-Napoca, in the wake of which a number of cocaine or cannabis dealers were
apprehended. Some 4,700 investigations were completed in 2023, although the anti-drug department comprises only 14
prosecutors, according to Ministry figures. They have to work on a total of
7,000 such investigations, of which 2,700 were started in the first half of the
year.
EDUCATION
– The Education Ministry has launched for debate a draft emergency decree for
the introduction of Holocaust Studies in school curricula starting the new
school year. Among other thing, the draft decree also seeks to equate four-year
BA degrees with MA decrees and provide accommodation subsidies to students
choosing to stay in accommodation units other than dorms.
UNTOLD -
The UNTOLD Festival in Cluj Napoca is now number six in a standing published by
the British publication DJ Mag based on the votes of festival fans. The
standing ranks a hundred festivals, and UNTOLD ranks among the top three in
Europe, along with Tomorrowland in Belgium and Gastonbury in Great Britain. The
eighth edition of UNTOLD was visited by 420 thousand fans this year and
featured such artists and bands as Imagine Dragons, David Guetta or Steve Aoki.
The Neversea Festival in Constanța
is also included in the standing, raking 41.
FOOTBALL
– Romania’s football champions, Farul Constanța, on Thursday night secured a 2-1 home win against Finnish side
HJK Helsinki in the play-offs of Europa Conference League. In the same stage of
the competition, the winners of Romania’s Cup, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, ended in
a two-all draw their game against Norwegian side Bodoe/Glimt. The decisive
matches for qualifying in the groups of Europe’s third football competition are
to take place on August 31.
ROWING -
Romanian athlete Cătălin Chirilă won
gold in the 500m single canoe race on Friday at the 2023 ICF Canoe
Sprint World Championships hosted by Duisburg, Germany. Chirilă was followed by
Conrad Scheibner of Germany and Serghei Tarnovschi of the Republic of Moldova.
This is a personal best for Chirilă in
the 500m race, after last year he had grabbed silver at the World Championships
in Dartmouth, Canada. Cătălin Chirilă will compete on Saturday in the 1000m
race, where he qualified with the second-best result. The competition counts
for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the top six athletes will qualify directly.
Cătălin Chirilă is the defending world champion in this event. (DB + VP)