June 19, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 19.06.2023, 19:49

Exams. More
than 160,000 8th year graduates on Monday began the national
evaluation exams with the written test in the Romanian language and literature.
On Wednesday, pupils will take the mathematics exam, while pupils of ethnic
minority groups will take their mother tongue test on Thursday. As of this year,
the national evaluation results alone will be taken into account for admission
to high school. The registration period for the national evaluation and the
baccalaureate exams has been extended this year, because of teachers’ general
strike. The protest lasted three weeks and was suspended after the government
met their salary demands.

Pensions. The
first meeting of the two-party government coalition took place on Monday,
between the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. A timetable
was agreed for passing a bill on the elimination of special pensions. The bill
is important under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, on which the
granting of European funds depends. According to the timetable, Parliament
would meet on 26th June to pass the bill eliminating special
pensions for MPs; the following week, the Chamber of Deputies would also pass
the bill on the elimination of special pensions for other categories, which has
already been adopted by the Senate. Also on Monday, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu,
the speaker of the Senate Nicolae
Ciucă and the governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isărescu discussed
an action plan to meet the 4.4% deficit target, reduce the inflation rate to 8%
and ensure investments worth 250 billion lei.

Markets. Central
and eastern Europe, including Romania, will benefit from the relocation of
production activities from remote markets, such as those in Asia, closer to
consumers, according to a report by a real estate consultancy firm. The reasons
for this are mainly the significantly lower costs compared with western Europe,
especially with respect to labour. The key sectors that have chosen this area
of Europe are car industry, electric and electronic equipment and products, as
well as consumer goods and textiles.

Museum. The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest passed a bill
on the establishment of a National Museum of Roma History and Culture.
Combating racism and discrimination will be among the museum’s goals and it
will be subordinated to the National Agency for the Roma. Creating the museum
is a gesture of reparation in respect of the ethnic Roma community, said Cătălin
Manea, an MP with the Group of Ethnic Minorities. He recalled that the Roma
slavery in Romania lasted for half a millennium, from 1385 until 1856.

Festival. The 27th edition of the Grand Prix Nova
Radio Drama Festival has got under way in Bucharest. Organised by Radio Romania
under the High Patronage of Her Majesty Margareta, the Custodian of the Crown
of Romania, the festival brings together 27 productions from 12 different countries,
divided into three sections, and aimed at promoting innovation in radio drama. (CM)