VISIT The international community has a
duty to support Ukraine, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis and his Chilean
counterpart Gabriel Boric said in Santiago de
Chile. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, president Boric condemned
the war and expressed his country’s solidarity with Ukraine. Mr. Iohannis announced that the first Romanian language department in Latin
America will be established this year at Universidad de Chile. During the
visit, a memorandum was signed concerning cooperation in emergency situations,
such as earthquakes and wildfires. Previously, president Iohannis was in
Brazil, and the last stage of his south-American tour is Argentina.
SPENDING Romanian authorities are looking at a plan to
reduce public spending, which will be endorsed by the government in an
emergency order next week, after the
measures have been approved in a meeting of the ruling coalition made up of the
Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Both the Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă and the Social
Democratic finance minister, Adrian Câciu, promised that salaries and
investments would not be cut, nor would additional taxes and charges be
introduced. In the last government meeting, held a few days ago, PM Ciucă called
on large-scale taxpayers to meet their obligations to the budget, and urged fiscal
authorities to ensure tax collection.
REFUGEES Nearly 266,000 Romanian and foreign
citizens Saturday crossed in and out of Romania, the border police announced.
According to a news release issued on Sunday, out of the over 112,000 people
who entered Romania, 8,784 were Ukrainian nationals. Since February
10, 2022, two weeks before the start of the Russian invasion of that country,
more than 4 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most of them
transited the country en route to Western Europe,
but over 100,000 have chosen to stay here. The government of Romania decided
that private citizens that host Ukrainian refugees will only be refunded
accommodation and meal expenses until the end of this month. As of May 1, the
people coming into Romania from Ukraine will receive directly a fixed amount to
cover immediate accommodation and food expenses for 4 months. The money will be
paid from the funds of emergency inspectorates. After this 4-month period,
financial aid will only be provided for accommodation, until the end of this
year, and the refugees are encouraged to enrol with Romanian employment
agencies in order to benefit from the same rights and benefits as Romanian
nationals.
EDUCATION Trade unions in the public education sector intend to step
up protests primarily concerning staff salaries, after the Government announced
plans to cut down budget spending, including a freeze on salaries and hiring in
the public sector. Major trade union federations in the sector threaten that
the current school year might be ended sooner than scheduled, as they are
considering an all-out strike as of May 22. Next Tuesday and Wednesday, they
will be picketing the government headquarters, and on May 10 a protest rally is
scheduled in Bucharest. The education minister, Ligia Deca, said she was
confident solutions would be found to avoid a strike.
HOLIDAY Christians Sunday celebrated St. George, who is also
the patron saint of the Romanian Land Forces. According to tradition, St.
George was a high-ranking soldier in the Roman Army under Emperor Diocletian, who
was tortured and sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith.
St George is one of the most venerated saints in Christianity, and a large
number of settlements have claimed him as a patron saint. Over 1 million
Romanians bear his name.
COIN The National Bank of Romania Monday releases a celebratory
silver coin on the occasion of the 90th birthday anniversary of the
great poet Nichita Stănescu. The coins will be accompanied by authenticity
certificates and presentation leaflets in Romanian, English and French. The 5,000
coins will be sold for EUR 90 per piece.
SPORTS The Romanian athlete Denis Florin Mihai won the
bronze in the 55 kg Greco-Roman wrestling category at the European championships
held in Zagreb, Croatia, after defeating Bulgaria’s Stefan Hristov Grigorov. Before
the last day of the competition, Romania had won a total of 5 medals, including
2 gold ones, for Andreea Beatrice Ana, in the 55 kg and Alexandra Nicoleta
Anghel in the 72 kg categories, and 3 bronze ones, won by Cătălina Axente in
the 76 kilo, Kriszta Tunde Incze in the 65 kg category, and Denis Florin Mihai.
At the previous edition, hosted by Budapest, Hungary, Romania won 4 medals, including
one gold (Andreea Ana – 55 kg), one silver (Nicu Ojog – 97 kg Greco-Roman), and
two bronze (Alina Vuc -55 kg and Kriszta Incze – 65 kg). (AMP)