April 18, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 18.04.2024, 13:55
Summit – President Klaus Iohannis said that he wanted to solve as quickly as possible the problems that the Romanian citizens still have at the airports of some European countries, despite the fact that Romania entered Schengen with air borders. The statement was made before the European summit in Brussels, where a report requested by the Council mentions the need for the total integration of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area, as a measure that will boost the single market. The Council’s agenda includes the situation in Ukraine, a country that needs more military aid and is facing problems in the energy infrastructure, following the Russian bombings. The European leaders will also discuss the tense situation in the Middle East, generated by the crisis in Gaza and the tensions between Israel and Iran.
Eurobarometer – Romania is among the top countries in the European Union where the voting intention in this year’s European Parliament elections has increased. According to the most recent Eurobarometer survey, the voting intention reached 74%, after it increased by 19% compared to the elections five years ago. The data show that Romanians continue to have a positive image of the European Parliament. A little more than half of Romanians say that for them personally it is important to vote in the European elections, 40% say that the vote has an average importance, while only 5% say that the election has low importance for them. At the same time, Romanians are more optimistic than the EU average that their standard of living will increase in the next five years, and equally more optimistic than the EU average that the state of the country’s economy will be better in a year’s time.
Abu Dhabi – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is paying a working visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday and Friday. An important objective of this visit is the consolidation of the economic component, with an emphasis on attracting Emirati investments. The Prime Minister is to meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, with other senior Emirati officials, with representatives of relevant companies in the United Arab Emirates, as well as with members of the Romanian community there. The agenda of the visit also includes a plenary meeting of the delegations, during which there will be an exchange of bilateral documents in areas of common interest. The PM Ciolacu stated that he wanted to strengthen cooperation relations with the United Arab Emirates, from a political and economic perspective. ‘Romania continues to attract Emirati investors in the air infrastructure, the modernization and expansion of Otopeni Airport being a viable project of our collaboration’, said Marcel Ciolacu. He added that projects in the fields of digitization, energy and agriculture also correspond to Romania’s interests. In the first part of his tour in the Persian Gulf area, Marcel Ciolacu had discussions, on Wednesday, in Qatar, on economic topics. He stated that he wanted Romania to become the entry gate of this state’s investments in the European Union.
Strike – The employees’ trade union of the National Office of the Trade Register (SAONRC) goes on a Japanese-style strike on Thursday, across Romania, requesting the Romanian Government to take urgent actions to increase salaries by 15%. According to trade unionists, the National Office of the Trade Register is the public institution with the lowest salary level in the judiciary. The union accuses salary inequities and discrimination of the Office employees compared to other categories of employees in the justice domain. The Japanese-style strike will last until April 22. Between April 23-25, rallies will take place at the national level in all counties, and on April 26 a rally will take place at the headquarters of the Justice Ministry. As of August, the collective labor conflict will be started, announced the National Office of the Trade Register trade unionists. (LS)
