August 14, 2023 UPDATE

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Radio România, 14.08.2023, 19:22

Government – The Romanian government is working on finalizing two laws aimed at reducing the budget deficit. According to a draft law made public recently, the owners of luxury cars would have to pay a tax. Those who work in the IT field, now exempt from taxation, will have to pay the tax, if their salary exceeds 10,000 lei (about 2,000 Euros) per month. Those working in constructions and agriculture will have to pay health insurance contributions, from now on. Finally, state employees who have a monthly gross salary of over 10,000 lei will no longer receive holiday vouchers. SMEs with incomes up to 300,000 lei will pay a tax of 1%, and those that exceed this income will pay a tax of 3%. Regarding the emergency ordinance that will reduce the state apparatus, the government is analyzing the possibility of abolishing 200,000 unfilled positions, merging some public institutions and reducing the number of state secretaries, the number of management positions, the number of members in the boards of administrators and of members of local authorities offices. Some of the measures mentioned in the press are already publicly contested by state employees and the business environment.

Mini-holiday – This is the busiest period on the Romanian Black Sea coast resorts this summer as many Romanians are on a mini-holiday occasioned by the Christian celebration of the Assumption of Mary also called the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. Over 120 thousand tourists are estimated to be spending this mini-holiday in Romanias seaside resorts. From the resort of Mamaia to Vama Veche, musical events, theatre performances and open-air recitals are attracting tourists as well as the demonstrative military drills due on August 15th which also marks the Navy Day in Romania. After a break of four years, people will be able to witness from the shores of the cities of Constanta and Mangalia a series of military exercises involving the participation of Romanias naval forces followed by a parade of its warships. The Romanian seamen will participate in a series of games and contests, which will be followed by fireworks at night. Numerous events are already underway on the Romanian Black Sea coast, and are likely to continue for the entire week. Standing out among them is the Festival of the ancient cities of Dobrogea at Tropaeum Traiani in Adamclisi, southern Romania.

Conviction – The former Social Democratic finance minister, Darius Vâlcov, who was definitively convicted by the Romanian justice system and fled to Italy, was brought to the country on Monday afternoon, under escort, by an airline flight. He is to serve a 6-year sentence in a penitentiary. The extradition took place after the Court of Cassation in Rome issued a final sentence in this regard. Vâlcov is the first famous fugitive that the Romanian authorities manage to bring from Italy. Several Romanians convicted by the countrys courts, mostly in corruption cases, found refuge there to escape prison.

Exercise – About 250 servicemen from France and Luxembourg and 65 pieces of military equipment from the NATO Battle Group stationed in Romania are involved as of Monday until August 18th in a military drill entitled DEPLOYEX, which is taking place in the shooting range at Babadag, south-eastern Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry has announced. The exercise is meant to test the rapid deployment of troops and military gear and contributes to improving the level of interoperability of the forces making up the NATO Battle Group, being a sequel of the training programs earlier staged in Cincu, central Romania. The NATO battle group contributes to increasing Romanias military cooperation with the rotating participant countries, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and implicitly to strengthening the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank, a Defense Ministry communiqué writes. Cooperation with the strategic partners and the existence on the national territory of relevant war structures contribute to raising the of defense and deterrence capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region, the ministry also shows.

Ice cream – Romania is the ninth producer of ice cream in the European Union, with a production of 35 million liters in 2022, according to data published on Monday by Eurostat. Germany ranks first, with a production of 620 million liters, followed by France and Italy. Besides being the largest producer of ice cream in 2022, Germany produced, on average, the cheapest ice cream in the EU, at a price of 1.5 Euros per liter. At the opposite pole, the most expensive ice cream was made in Austria, with an average price of 7 Euros per liter. The member countries produced a quantity of 3.2 billion liters of ice cream last year, increasing by 5% compared to 2021.