Radio România Internațional

Tag: public sector salaries

  • December 28, 2023

    December 28, 2023

    SCHENGEN – The Interior
    Ministry has reached a political consensus with its counterparts in Vienna and
    Sofia for the partial extension of the Schengen Area to include air and
    maritime borders with Romania and Bulgaria starting March 2024. Negotiations
    are expected to continue in 2024 for the two countries’ full Schengen
    accession. On Tuesday and Wednesday, diplomatic talks were held at the level of
    the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries, with the participation of
    diplomatic missions to the EU, regarding a Justice and Home Affairs Council
    resolution that would make this political agreement legally binding. Talks will
    continue today. A positive decision on the two countries’ Schengen accession
    requires a unanimous vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council. We recall
    that last year the decision was postponed due to lack of unanimity in the
    Justice and Home Affairs Council regarding the Schengen accession of Romania
    and Bulgaria, due to opposition voiced by Austria and the Netherlands.




    GOVERNMENT – On its last
    session of 2023, the government is examining a draft decree on cutting public
    spending starting January 1, 2024. The number one measure is excluding all
    public sector employees who this year benefited from salary increases from the
    5% increase in salaries to be operated next year. The targeted institutions are
    the Finance Ministry, the national health insurance agencies, but also Education
    Ministry employees, whose salaries will go up 20% next year. The government
    wants to use the savings to increase low salaries in the public sector. Imports
    of sugar and flour from Ukraine are also on today’s agenda. The government this
    year passed an emergency decree setting clear terms under which Romanian
    companies can buy grain from Ukraine. The government wants to pass a new decree
    setting similar terms for the purchase of flour and sugar from neighboring
    Ukraine. Also today the government wants to adopt an emergency decree for the
    gradual introduction of new electronic ID cards, which will replace older ones
    that don’t comply with EU security standards.




    WAR IN GAZA – Israel is
    expanding its ground offensive to include Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza,
    warning the war against Hamas will last for months. Powerful bombings were
    reported in the camps of Bureij, Maghazi and Nuseirat, where dozens of people
    were killed in strikes in recent days. Heavy fighting is also continuing to the
    south, in the city of Khan Younis, whereas in the north, the IDF continues to
    uncover tunnel shafts used by Hamas. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent
    in Israel, the tunnels discovered yesterday were blown up by Israeli military
    engineers. Meanwhile, 22 of the 129 people still held hostage by Hamaz in Gaza
    have been executed, a spokesman of the Israeli government has announced. Hamas
    captured approximately 240 people in the October 7 surprise attack, which
    killed 1,200 people. Following a ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the
    United States, Hamas released 110 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians
    held in Israeli prisons.




    WAR IN UKRAINE – The United States
    has announced the disbursement of an additional 250 mln USD in military aid for
    Ukraine. International media writes this will be the last military aid package
    for Ukraine before a new vote in Congress, where the Republican majority has
    shown reluctance towards the initiatives of the Biden administration, which has
    promised Ukraine over 61 bln USD. It is imperative that Congress act swiftly,
    as soon as possible, to advance our national security interests by helping
    Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Said. This aid package includes
    air defense munitions, other components for air defense systems, additional
    ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, 155mm and 105mm
    artillery ammunition, anti-armor munitions, and over 15 million rounds of
    ammunition, according to a US Department of State release. Thank you for your
    help. We will win, the former head of the Ukrainian presidential administration,
    Andrii Yermak wrote on X. (VP)



  • The Week in Review 24-30.04.2016

    The Week in Review 24-30.04.2016

    Local Elections in Romania

    May 1 is the deadline for challenging the candidacies for the June 5 local elections in Romania. Political parties, election alliances, ethnic minority organisations and independent runners had until Tuesday to submit their candidacies. After May 4 the lists of candidates will remain final, and the election campaign is scheduled to start on May 6 and end on June 4. This is for the third time in post-communist Romania that elections are organised by a Cabinet of non-affiliated experts, after the governments headed by Theodor Stolojan in 1991-1992 and Mugur Isarescu in 1999-2000.

    Augustin Lazar – the New Prosecutor General of Romania


    President Klaus Iohannis approved the appointment of Augustin Lazar as Prosecutor General of Romania. Previously endorsed by the Higher Council of Magistrates, the nomination had been sent to the head of state by the Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna. Augustin Lazar said his priorities included fighting crime in vulnerable fields, curbing corruption in local administration, furthering investigations into money laundering, tax evasion and crimes against humanity, as well as the investigation into the circumstances of the anti-communist Revolution of 1989.

    Talks at the Labour Ministry


    The Romanian Labour Ministry this week had talks with trade union representatives regarding a new government order on salaries in the public sector. The new line minister, Dragos Pislaru, said the authorities were working on several versions of the document, whose core principle is to do away with imbalances in the system. The representatives of major union federations demanded that all public sector salaries be raised, instead of only the smaller ones, as the Government intends, and warned that otherwise protests would be organised. According to Pislaru, the order might be finalised by May 15. The text will be subject to public debate for two weeks, and might be passed by the Government on June 1. Six months before general elections is the deadline by which any government order can be endorsed in Romania.

    US Fighters in Bucharest


    US F-22 Raptor fighter jets, considered the most advanced in the world and invincible in air-to-air combat missions, have landed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base close to the city of Constanta, in South- Eastern Romania, for the first time in South-Eastern Europe, as part of the Operation Atlantic Resolve. The operation was drawn up by the USA after the conflict had broken out in Ukraine in 2014, with a view to protecting the states on NATOs Eastern flank. F22 Raptor aircraft are fifth-generation, all-weather stealth aircraft, with a speed that can reach two times the speed of sound. Such an aircraft costs 143 million dollars, has a range of 3,000 km and the capacity of fighting even anti-aircraft defence systems. On a visit to Bucharest, where he met with president Klaus Iohannis and Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc, the NATO deputy secretary general Alexander Vershbow commended Romanias active role within the Alliance, pinpointing the significant participation of the Romanian armed forces in the efforts to prevent and combat security risks and challenges. On the day when the two American F-22 Raptor fighter jets landed in Romania, US president Barrack Obama insisted in Hanover on the need for NATO to support its front-line allies, namely Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries, which are the most exposed to the tensions generated by Russia.




    6 months since the Colectiv tragedy



    Half a year since the devastating fire at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, the case has finally reached the court. 139 people, 11 hospitals and 5 institutions have claimed damages in the case. The owners of the club and representatives of the company that organised the fire show, more precisely the owner, the manager and the employee who set up the fireworks show, are charged with manslaughter and bodily harm arising out of negligence. They are also accused of failing to take the necessary health and safety measures. Also on trial are two legal entities, the firm that owns the club and the fireworks company. According to prosecutors, the fire extinguishers had long expired and the materials used to renovate the club were not fireproof. The fire burnt at temperatures of up to 900 degrees centigrade and reached the ceiling in 33 seconds. 64 people died in the fire, and over 100 were injured.