December 17, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 17.12.2021, 13:55

Mourning. A day of mourning is
observed today in memory of the people killed 32 years ago in Timişoara, the
city that sparked the Romanian anti-communist revolution. Commemoration events
include religious services, laying of flowers and special exhibitions. 17th
December is when army and security forces opened fire against the people
protesting against the regime in Timişoara. More than 60 people were killed
that evening, and several hundreds were wounded. 17th December is
considered the darkest day in Timişoara’s contemporary history.

Budget. Prime minister Nicolae Ciucă today presented the
main economic measures his government is preparing for next year, such as a
budget deficit target of 6.2%, lower VAT for heating costs and certain forms of
housing, and a consistent budget for investment and supporting business. The
government decided in its Wednesday meeting to increase pensions and child
allowances and is today planning to adopt a number of emergency orders to help
build next year’s budget and sustain these increases. One such move refers to a
freeze on most public sector salaries and management allowances. The government
also wants to set a 5% VAT level for deliveries of thermal energy for the
population, schools, hospitals and other public institutions, in order to
offset the rise in energy costs. Another emergency order refers to the approval
of mechanisms for the use of European funds worth around 50 billion euros and part of the
2021-2027 financial framework.

EU. EU leaders who met for the winter summit in Brussels called for a
boost in vaccination levels amid concerns over the Omicron variant. Romania was
represented at the meeting by its president, Klaus Iohannis. EU leaders also
discussed the rise in energy costs and the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the Romanian president’s office, the meeting of the European Council
was followed by the Euro
summit in extended format, where EU leaders adopted a declaration reiterating
the EU’s commitment to provide vigorous, rapid and coordinated response for
post-pandemic economic recovery.

Poll. 61% of Romanians hope 2022 will be better in terms of jobs, with
69% saying 2021 was harder than the first pandemic year in terms of personal
and professional challenges, according to a survey conducted by BestJobs online
recruitment platform. Six in ten respondents are considering changing their job
for higher pay or are expecting a promotion or pay rise from their current job.
26% of Romanian employees say 2021 was better than 2020, with 25% saying this
improvement was recorded on a private level, 17% on a professional and 15% on
both. The BestJobs survey was conducted between 20th November and 10th
December using a sample of 1,041 Internet users. BestJobs is one of the biggest
online recruitment platforms in Romania. (CM)