After several days of negotiations, the
government and the representatives of trade unions and employers’ associations
in Romania agreed to raise the minimum monthly wage to around 276 euros
starting on May 1st 2016, a trade union leader has been quoted as
saying. A final decision in this respect is expected tomorrow after the
government’s last meeting of the year. With a gross minimum monthly wage of 230
euros a month, Romania is in the last but one place in the European Union,
followed only by Bulgaria. Luxembourg has the highest minimum wage, with more
than 1,900 euros a month, while in Germany and France the minimum wage exceeds
1,470 euros, according to Eurostat.
One prime minister,
4 former ministers and 20 current and former MPs from across the political
spectrum are among the persons indicted for corruption in Romania in 2015, says
the National Anticorruption Directorate. According to preliminary estimates,
2015 saw the largest number of dignitaries prosecuted compared with previous
years. The conviction rate in anticorruption cases has remained at 90%.
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said recently that 2016 must be a year of
change through a renewal of ideas, practices and politicians, something that
cannot be achieved without eradicating corruption.
Two persons suspected of planning terrorist
attacks in Brussels on New Year’s Eve have been arrested by the Belgian
authorities. The terrorist threat level has been raised to 3. Germany and
Austria are also on alert, following an announcement by the Austrian police on
Saturday that it received a warning from a friendly foreign secret service
about possible attacks in several European capitals in the period between
Christmas and New Year’s. Moscow’s Red Square, a traditional place for New
Year’s Eve celebrations, will this year be closed to the public on the evening
of the 31st of December for fear of terrorist attacks.
67 journalists have
been killed in the world in 2015 because of their profession, according to a
report published by the Reporters without Borders non-governmental
organisation. The most dangerous countries for journalists are Iraq and Syria,
where 9 journalists were killed in each of them, followed by France, where 8
journalists were killed in February in an attack on the Charlie Hebdo
publication. 27 bloggers and 7 media contributors were also assassinated,
according to Reporters without Borders. The organisation says a total of 110
persons were killed in 2015, a figure which also includes suspicious deaths,
compared with 66 in 2014. Reporters without Borders also deplores the fact that
the circumstances in which many reporters were killed are still not clear.
Romania is among the top 16 up-and-coming travel
destinations in 2016 in a classification made by the CNN together with travel
experts. Central Romania, we find from the station’s website, is engulfed in
the soaring Carpathian mountain range, filled with green groves and ski and
hiking trails for adventure-heads. The website also mentions the Danube Delta,
in the south-east of the country, which is home to many protected species and
which can be explored by boat. The city of Cluj Napoca, in the west, is
described as a hotly-tipped future art scene. Other top destinations in
Romania recommended by the CNN are Transylvania’s vast and varied landscapes,
where tourists can also visit the Bran Castle, linked to Bram Stoker’s
fictitious character Dracula.
Temperatures are
dropping in Romania, not exceeding 8 degrees Celsius today. Snow has been
reported in the mountains. After some wonderful weather around Christmas, with
15 degrees Celsius, the weather will start to cool, dropping to minus 10 around
New Year’s. Temperatures will stay low until January 3rd, especially
at night and in the morning, in the centre, north and some areas in the south.
(Translated by: C. Mateescu)