November 15, 2024 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 15.11.2024, 20:15

A roundup of local and international news.

FORECAST – The European Commission revised downwards the economic growth forecast for Romania for this year. According to the forecast, the economic advance will be only 1.4% and not 3.3%, as estimated in spring. In terms of investments, Brussels estimates that Romania occupies the third position in the EU for 2024, the second in 2025 and the first in 2026. However, Romania registers the highest inflation in 2024, the second in 2025 and, again, the first position in 2026. The budget deficit places the country once more in the first negative place in all three years. The European Commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, said that the European GDP will register an advance of only 0.9% this year, 1.5% in 2025 and 1.8% in 2026. According to him, inflation is 2.6% and it will be reduced to 2% in two years. The European Executive specifies that the deficit reduction measures, which the Bucharest government presented to Brussels on October 25, were not included in the forecasts for Romania, because the fiscal plan is unclear.

VISIT – The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis is on an official visit to Germany as of today, at the invitation of his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Romanian official will also have meetings with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the president of the Bundestag. Talks will focus on consolidating the Romanian-German cooperation at political, economic and security level, including on strengthening the deterrence posture on NATO’s Eastern flank and the trans-Atlantic relationship. Other topics include continuing support for Ukraine and for the stabilisation and development of the Republic of Moldova. Germany is Romania’s main trade partner and the second-largest investor in the Romanian economy.

ENERGY – The Romanian Ministry of Energy announced on Friday the signing of the contract for the development of units 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, with an association of American, Canadian and Italian companies. Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja, who is at the UN Climate Change Conference COP 29 in Baku, wrote in an online post that this is the most important project for the Romanian energy sector in recent decades. He said that in 2031-2032, when the works will be completed, Romania will cover more than 30% of its energy needs from nuclear production alone. Burduja specified that the two new reactors will bring an increase in annual production by over 11,000 Megawatts per hour for at least 30 years of operation, more than 19,000 well-paid jobs and the avoidance of at least 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

FLOODS – The number of Romanian nationals who died in the recent floods in the region of Valencia, Spain, has reached 9. The information has been confirmed by the Romanian foreign ministry. According to a special task force set up by the Spanish government to centralise data on the floods in Valencia on 29 October, of the total number of victims 26 were foreign nationals, and the largest number of these were Romanians. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Spain faced new floods caused by heavy rainfalls. The city of Málaga (south) was flooded, and so were smaller towns and villages on the peninsula. Thousands of people were evacuated.

MINES– The European Commission has approved an aid worth 790 million euros that the Romanian state will grant to cover the exceptional costs generated by the closing down of four coal mines, namely Lonea, Lupeni, Livezeni and Vulcan, located in the Jiu Valley, in western Romania, which are seen as uncompetitive. The EC said that this measure will help Romania gradually eliminate coal production by 2032, in keeping with the commitments assumed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the so-called just transition to an economy without polluting emissions. The money will be directed to the Valea Jiului Energy Complex, which manages the four mines, and the Paroşeni Power Plant. The funds will cover the social costs for the workers who have lost or will lose their jobs, but also those related to the safety and rehabilitation works needed to close down the four mines.