CONVENTION Romanian Social Democrats convene today to elect their new leadership and to appoint their candidate in the forthcoming presidential election. The party leader, PM Marcel Ciolacu, seeks a new term in office, backed by a team of 21 candidates. Ciolacu has also announced he will be running for president of Romania, and is to be validated by the party congress today. Another topic on today’s agenda is the election campaign, and the Social Democratic spokesman, Lucian Romaşcanu, said the party is able to mobilise so that in December Romania may have a Social Democratic president. The party last won a presidential race in 2000. The first round of the election is scheduled on November 24, and the second on December 8th.
UKRAINE The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, sent a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Ukraine’s Independence Day. According to the Romanian presidency, Iohannis voiced his appreciation for the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces and civilians in defending their country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to provide constant, predictable and multidimensional support to Ukraine until its victory and further on in its reconstruction and European integration process. Iohannis emphasized that the security cooperation agreement signed by the 2 countries in July, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, proves that Romania’s support is not circumstantial, but long-standing, predictable and transparent. On Ukraine’s Independence Day, the Cotroceni Palace in Bucureşti, the headquarters of the Romanian presidency, will be lit tonight in Ukraine’s national colours.
CROPS The European Union’s maize output will be smaller because of the drought and extreme heat in Romania, whose crops will be 30% lower. Estimates for the EU’s maize output were cut from 63 million tonnes, as reported last year, to 60-61 million tonnes, which is still above the level in 2022, when the drought affected the entire continent. Romania’s output is expected to drop from around 11 million tonnes last year to less than 8 million this autumn. In France, favourable humidity levels kept maize crops in a generally good condition, and the increase of the areas under crops should ensure higher output, namely over 14 million tonnes. In Poland, smaller areas under maize crops may lead to a 13% drop in output, while in Germany the crops are estimated to be 2% lower.
PENSIONS The National Liberal Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition in Romania, proposes new amendments to the Pensions Law, so as to address the situation of pensioners whose benefits have been cut down in the latest revision. The Liberal leader and Senate speaker Nicolae Ciucă said the law should not have retrospective effect, and confirmed that the pensioners whose benefits have been cut down on paper will not benefit from cost-of-living adjustments for several years, although they will not be paid smaller amounts. According to official data, over 700,000 pensioners have received decisions by which their benefits have been cut down. These include workers in hazardous conditions, such as coal miners, engine drivers and nuclear industry personnel, who were able to stop working before the standard retirement age. Also at a disadvantage are people with disabilities, where the revised benefits are smaller by as much as 60%, for instance for the visually impaired. Hundreds of people are already asking for explanations from the authorities. They have until September 1 to appeal the decisions, and may even take the matter to court.
SCHOOLS Students in secondary schools and high schools in Romania with final grades above 9.50 will receive merits scholarships, under the new School Regulations recently published in the Official Journal. Merit and resilience scholarships will be granted to at least 30% of the students in each class, including in professional and dual education units. Merit scholarships for 5th graders will be granted based on the average grades in the first two modules of the current school year. For 9th-graders, scholarships will be granted based on the high school admission results, which should be above 9.50. Scholarships in public secondary schools and high schools are financed by the education ministry, except for those in military high schools, which will be funded by the defence ministry. For the new academic year, the merit scholarship minimum amount is nearly EUR 90. This amount may be increased by school boards, depending on the budget earmarked by the local authorities. (AMP)
