GOVERNMENT — The Bucharest Government’s agenda this week includes two emergency orders on cutting public spending and reforming the fiscal system. According to a draft order, the government is considering tax increases and the elimination of certain tax facilities, as well as the cancelling of 200,000 public sector positions that are currently vacant and a reduction of expenditure in ministries. Also, public servants whose net salaries exceed 2000 euros a month will no longer receive holiday vouchers.
CELEBRATION – Orthodox Christians and Catholic believers on Tuesday marked the Dormition of Virgin Mary, also known as the Assumption of Virgin Mary, the oldest religious holiday dedicated to the Mother of Jesus. The term “Dormition“ or “falling asleep” is a reminder that Mary’s death was a gentle and holy passage from earthly life into heaven. It is a day of celebration for the reunion of Mother and her Son rather than one of mourning and loss. The Dormition or the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, marked every year on the 15th of August, is a public holiday in Romania.
NAVY DAY – The Romanian Naval Forces contribute significantly to the improvement of the regional, European and Euro-Atlantic security, and the missions carried out with our allies and partners from NATO and the European Union in order to make the territorial waters and those of the world safer, fully prove this fact, Romania President Klaus Iohannis said Tuesday in Constanta (south-east), where the Navy Day celebrations where held. The Romanian Naval Forces have had and will continue to have a significant contribution to the security of Romania and our partners in the North-Atlantic area, said in turn Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who also attended the ceremonies alongside other high-ranking officials.
EXERCISE – About 250 servicemen from France and Luxembourg and 65 pieces of military equipment from the NATO Battle Group stationed in Romania are involved as of Monday until August 18th in a military drill entitled DEPLOYEX, which is taking place in the shooting range at Babadag, south-eastern Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry has announced. The exercise is meant to test the rapid deployment of troops and military gear and contributes to improving the level of interoperability of the forces making up the NATO Battle Group, being a sequel of the training programs earlier staged in Cincu, central Romania. The NATO battle group contributes to increasing Romanias military cooperation with the rotating participant countries, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and implicitly to strengthening the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank, a Defense Ministry communiqué writes. Cooperation with the strategic partners and the existence on the national territory of relevant war structures contribute to raising the of defense and deterrence capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region, the ministry also shows.
MISSION – Two aircraft of the Romanian Air Force transported 20 Romanian firefighters and three special vehicles to the island of Corsica, France, on a mission to put out wildfires, the Romanian Ministry of Defense has announced. The Romanian firefighters thus answered the request for support by the French authorities through the CECIS (Common Emergency Communication and Information System) a dedicated information portal of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as a result of the situation created by the extension of wildfires in recent days. The Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union coordinates the response to natural and man-made disasters at the EU level, allowing the provision of coordinated, effective and rapid assistance in support of the affected populations.
CHISINAU – Dozens of Russian diplomats and employees in administrative positions with the Russian embassy and consulate and the Russian culture center in Chisinau, as well as members of their families, left the Republic of Moldova on Monday. Last month, the small state neighboring Romania and Ukraine ordered the reduction of the number of Russian diplomats and technical personnel on its territory, to 25 from 80, to establish parity with Moldovas embassy in Moscow. The decision was taken amid concerns about alleged Russian attempts to destabilize Moldova. (EE)