December 4, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 04.12.2024, 13:57
Parliament. The pro-European parties in Romania’s new Parliament, namely the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, are today due to hold a first round of talks on the future government. The four are likely to account for more than 55% of the number of seats in Parliament. The other three parties in Parliament, considered sovereignist, namely the Save Romania Union, SOS and POT, are expected to hold 37% of the number of seats. The exact figures will be known at the end of the week after the finalisation of the procedure to redistribute the seats that were not won by any of the candidates, according to the president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă. The new Parliament will begin work on 20th December, when the four-year mandate of the current Parliament comes to an end.
NATO. NATO membership gives Romania the strongest security guarantees it ever had, said the Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu on Tuesday in Brussels, in an address at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. She recalled that over 5,000 NATO soldiers are currently stationed in Romania for deterrence and to strengthen defence, and a positive consequence of the presence of the foreign troops is a boost in the local economy in the area where they are based. Luminiţa Odobescu also said that NATO membership consolidates Romania’s credibility at an international level, including on the financial markets. The NATO-Ukraine Council is also held on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
Stock exchange. The Bucharest Stock Exchange again opened in red trading today for the third day in a row after Sunday’s parliamentary elections. The main BET index, which shows the performance of the 20 most liquid companies, saw a depreciation of 2.84%. The index showing the performance of financial investment societies also dropped, and that referring to energy and utility companies depreciated by almost 3%. Economic analysts say investors are worried about the country’s political future and expect this period of uncertainty to continue. According to information from the market, since after the first round of the presidential elections on 24th November until now, the value of the Bucharest Stock Exchange shares has decreased on average by almost 10%. Romania will see on Sunday the second round of the presidential elections.
Book fair. Between 4th and 8th December, Bucharest is hosting the Gaudeamus 2024 Book Fair organised by Radio Romania. The honorary president of this year’s edition is the writer Mircea Cărtărescu, one of the best-known and most celebrated Romanian contemporary writers and recipient of many national and international awards. Over 200 exhibitors are taking part in this year’s fair, and the line-up brings together hundreds of editorial events. Tens of thousands of titles are presented, many for the first time.
