Debt – Romania’s government debt rose, in July, to 876.288 billion lei, from 860.331 billion lei in the previous month, according to data published by the Finance Ministry. As a percentage of the GDP, the government debt rose to 52% from 51.1% in June. Most of this debt was represented by government bonds. The Romanian government approved, on Wednesday, an emergency ordinance which establishes the increase in the public debt ceiling, according to the European Union’s methodology, to the level of 53% of the gross domestic product for the end of 2024. According to the government, this change aims to ensure flexibility in attracting the financial resources necessary to implement the financing plan of 2024, to pre-finance the needs in the year 2025, as well as to maintain the foreign currency reserve at the disposal of the State Treasury at a comfortable level.
Moldova – The pro-European President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, accused, on Sunday, during an electoral debate, her opponent in the second round of the presidential election, the pro-Russian Alexandr Stoianoglo, of being just a ‘Trojan horse’, a man through whom others want to rule the country’. In reply, Stoianoglo, who is supported by the Socialist Party from the Republic of Moldova, said that he is a ‘firm supporter of the country’s European integration’ and that he wants ‘the transformation of Moldova into an active provider of peace and security in the region’. The electoral debate took place without a moderator, because the journalist proposed to be moderator by the Stoianoglo camp was accused of not being honest and impartial. In the first round of the presidential election, the incumbent president obtained 43% of the votes, while Stoianoglo took 26%. The second round of the presidential election will take place on November 3. A week ago, together with the first round of the presidential election, there was also a referendum for EU integration, which was validated and in which the pro-accession voters were 12 thousand more. Maia Sandu pointed an accusatory finger to the meddling in the electoral process of some criminal groups that would have acted alongside foreign forces hostile to the interests of the country. Moscow denied any interference in the elections and referendum.
Georgia – Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, won the parliamentary elections against a pro-European opposition coalition that refused to concede defeat, the Central Electoral Committee announced on Sunday morning, according to AFP and Dpa. The Georgian Dream, a conservative and nationalist party led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, allegedly obtained 54% of the votes, compared to 37.58% for the pro-European coalition, according to the counting carried out in over 99% of the constituencies. The pro-European opposition coalition did not recognize the preliminary results and announced the organization of protests. The opposition accuses the Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, of pro-Russian authoritarian drift and Georgia’s distancing from the EU and NATO, which it intends to join. Brussels has warned that Georgia’s chances of joining the EU will depend on the elections held in the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, which has enshrined this aspiration in its constitution. Georgia was rocked, in May, by protests against a law on ‘foreign influence’, after the model of the Russian legislation on ‘foreign agents’ used to crush civil society, AFP reports.
Winter time – Romania switched to winter time on Saturday night to Sunday. The clocks were set back by one hour, so that Sunday will have 25 hours and will be the longest of the year. Changing the time twice a year is based on the idea of saving energy, by aligning the interval of human activity with that of natural light. Although this is the most important argument for changing the time, there are studies that suggest that the energy savings are minor, and citizens are more and more complaining about negative health effects. The EC and EP tried to abandon this system as early as 2021, but the member countries did not agree on which of the systems should be kept.
Sofia – Voters in Bulgaria vote on Sunday in new round of early parliamentary elections, the seventh legislative elections in the last three and a half years, press agencies report. The new election became necessary because no party managed to form a government after the early legislative elections held on June 9. Polls show that the pro-Western center-right alliance GERB-SDS, led by the former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, will emerge as the strongest political force in these elections. It is anticipated, however, that the Bulgarian parliament will remain fragmented, and building a coalition will be difficult even after these elections. (LS)
