3 August, 2018

Romanian government agrees to increase in non-EU foreign workforce numbers./ 5.2 million tourist arrivals reported in Romania in first part of year.

Newsroom, 03.08.2018, 13:00

Foreign workers. The government in Bucharest has
agreed to increase the number of non-EU foreign workers in Romania by an
additional 8,000, following the request of several businesses. The number of
work permits issued this year has already increased by 50%. According to the
General Immigration Inspectorate, 4,395 work and posting permits had been
issued until July, mostly for workers from Vietnam, Turkey, Nepal, Serbia, Sri
Lanka, China and the Republic of Moldova. 17,000 non-EU foreign workers are
currently employed in Romania, mainly in areas such as the restaurant business,
the building of ships and floating structures, trade and constructions.

Tourism. Tourist structures in Romania have reported more than 5.2 million
arrivals in the first six months of the year, up more than 4% compared with the
same time last year. According to the National Institute for Statistics,
Romanian tourists account for almost 76% of the number of arrivals. Among
foreign tourists, the largest number of arrivals came from Germany, Israel and
Italy. The border authorities have reported over 5.1 million entries from
foreign visitors, 7% more than last year. Most foreign visitors to Romania come
from countries in Europe. The largest number of entries are from Bulgaria,
Hungary and Italy.

Virus. Romanian farmers will be able
to replace the losses caused by African swine fever, said the agriculture
minister in Bucharest Petre Daea. According to the animal and food safety body,
the number of hotbeds in Romania has reached 545. Almost 60,000 sick pigs have
been culled so far. The authorities have called on the population to allow the
culling of sick animals and respect prevention measures. The farmers affected
have received compensations. Payments of around 32,000 euros have been made so
far. The African swine fever virus cannot be transmitted to humans, but its
social and economic impact is significant. The virus has been spreading fast
since the beginning of June.

Wheat. Cairo, the world’s biggest
wheat importer, on Thursday bought 240,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia and
Romania at a tender held by the General Authority for Supply Commodities in
Cairo, the body responsible for strategic grain purchases on behalf of the
Egyptian state. Russia is to supply 180,000 tonnes of wheat and Romania 60,000.
The deliveries will be made between the 11th and the 20th
of September. The confusion over Egypt’s policy regarding ergot, a type of
fungus found in grain, last year caused turbulence on the global wheat markets.
Eventually, the Egyptian government abandoned its zero tolerance policy for
imports of wheat containing ergot.

Festival. Untold, the biggest
electronic music festival in Romania, got under way last night in the
Transylvanian city of Cluj Napoca. The opening was attended by tens of
thousands of people and saw fireworks displays and laser shows. The festival’s
10 different stages are hosting 250 acts over the course of four days. The main
stage is twice as big as last year, measuring 80 metres in length and 31 metres
in height. The line-up features acts such as The Chainsmokers, Armin van
Buuren, Tiesto, Tujamo and Afrojack. For the first time, the concerts are
broadcast live on YouTube. More than 1,100 gendarme and police forces, fire-fighters
and medical staff have been deployed and dozens of surveillance cameras have
been put in place.

Football. The Romanian
vice-champions FCSB on Thursday defeated the Slovenian side NK Rudar Velenje 4-nil in the decisive leg of the Europa League second
preliminary round and are advancing to the next round. The Romanian side also
won the first leg at home, 2-nil. They will meet the Croatian side Hajduk Split
in the third round. Also on Thursday, Viitorul Constanta were eliminated by the
Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem after losing 1-3 away. They drew 2-all in the first
leg. The Romanian champions CFR Cluj, who were eliminated by the Swedish side
Malmo FF in the Champions League second preliminary round, will also play in
the Europa League third round, where they will face the Armenian side
Alashkert. The winner of the Romanian Cup CSU Craiova also
play in the third round against the German side RB
Leipzig.