August 29, 2022 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 29.08.2022, 20:00
SCHENGEN – President Klaus Iohannis has thanked
Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for his country’s support for Romania’s
Schengen accession efforts. I hail today’s announcement in Prague made by
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding Germany’s support for Romania’s
Schengen accession – a strategic objective for my country, which has fulfilled
all technical accession criteria, president Iohannis wrote on social media.
Similar messages were conveyed by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and Foreign Minister
Bogdan Aurescu. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said Bulgaria,
Croatia and Romania have complied with Schengen accession criteria, Reuters
reports. In his address, Olaf Scholz noted that Schengen is one the EU’s
greatest achievements, which must be protected and developed. This means
filling up the gaps – Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria have met all technical
criteria. I will take action to make sure they become full members, the German
Chancellor said.
EXAM – The average grade for the secondary cycle
of education in Romania, (grades 5-8) will be discarded as a criterion for
enrolling in high-schools starting the 2022-2023 school year. Education
Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu says students will be ranked based on the average of
the national evaluation exams, taken at the end of the secondary cycle.
Minister Cîmpeanu stated the measure was adopted on the sidelines of the Social
Dialogue Committee meeting. For the first time, 5th graders will
receive social and tuition scholarships from the start of the school year on
September 5. Sorin Cîmpeanu recalled that an additional 60 million EUR has been
added to the scholarship budget this year, which previously totaled over 200
million EUR.
ENERGY – The Romanian energy minister
Virgil Popescu says that the very high profits in the field must be eliminated.
He has announced that the Government is considering an additional tax of the
entire energy production, intermediation and supply chain. The leaders of the
governing coalition have asked the Finance Ministry and the Romanian Energy
Regulatory Authority to make the necessary simulations and present them in the
following days, so that, by September 1, the government should be able to
establish, through an emergency decree, the method and amount of
over-taxation.
IAEA – The mission of the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency) at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
(NPP) is the toughest in the history of the organization due to fighting on the
ground, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. The statement follows
another previous announcement made by the IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi,
who said he would pay a visit to the Zaporozhzhia NPP. G7 countries have
expressed deep concern with the high risk of a nuclear incident at the
biggest nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, calling for guarantees that IAEA
experts are granted full and unrestricted access to the plant. The plant was
disconnected from the power grid on Thursday for the first time in its history,
as a result of shelling. In recent weeks, Russia and Ukraine have been blaming
each other for the shelling targeting this Russian-held objective.
ORIENT EXPRESS – The famous Orient Express, one of
Europe’s best-known rail services, has returned to Romania after a three-year
break owing to the COVID pandemic. On Tuesday, the train will depart for
Istanbul. Totaling 15 cars and driven by two engines to ensure the necessary
power and electrical stability, the train left Paris on August 26 and is
expected to reach Romania on September 3 on its way back. A ticket costs 17,500
pounds for a six-day trip for longer stopovers in Budapest, Bucharest and
Sinaia. (LS & VP)
