February 18, 2016 UPDATE
Government's integrated package to fight poverty, under public debate / Foreign doctors have come to Romania to assist in finding the cause of infection in babies
Newsroom, 18.02.2016, 12:15
EU leaders met on Thursday in Brussels for a two-day crucial summit, trying to reach a compromise to keep Britain in the European Union. Britains demands include changes in the field of social protection, political integration and financial regulations. Among others, London wishes to introduce a 4-year ban on in-work benefits for foreign workers and limit the level of benefits to those payable in the migrants country of origin unless their children reside in the UK. Romania is represented at the summit by president Klaus Iohannis, who says his country stands for finding a suitable solution that meets Britains expectations and keeps it in the European Union. At the same time, he said this solution must be in keeping with the EU treaties, respecting the Unions fundamental values and principles and the European legislation. The EU summit will also tackle migration and the distribution of refugees among member states.
A group of doctors from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control travelled to Romania on Thursday to help find the cause of an infection that developed in a number of children from Arges county, in the south. Romania has activated the European common support mechanism more than a week after the first cases of infants with serious digestive infections, followed by major complications, were reported. The authorities say they will expand the epidemiological inquiry in Arges to test the animals in the areas where the children live. Three infants have died and three others are in intensive care. Meanwhile, the case has reached Parliament, with the Social Democratic Party saying it might call for a no-confidence vote against the health minister Patriciu Achimas Cadariu.
The Romanian government has launched a public debate on its proposed integrated package to fight poverty, which entails 47 different measures for all age categories. The programme aims to provide assistance for the following four years to more than 1 million Romanians living under the poverty line, many of whom are children and old people. The measures include raising employment levels for people between the age of 20 and 64 from 66% in 2014 to 70% in 2020 and reducing by at least 580,000 the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by 2020. The anti-poverty package also entails a series of measures to help families such as: home improvement loans, preventing the separation of children from their families and incentives for day workers. All these goals are in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Illegal migration was the biggest challenge for Romania and the European Union in 2015, said the head of the Romanian General Immigration Inspectorate Viorel Vasile in a review of the inspectorates activity last year. He says 43% of the asylum applications registered in Romania come from Syrian nationals. 2,300 controls were carried out in 2015, with expatriation orders being issued for more than 2,000 foreign citizens. 189 of them were escorted out of the country, while 258 were taken into public custody. Currently, there are 104,000 foreign citizens in Romania.
The humanitarian aid that Romania has pledged to offer the neighbouring Republic of Moldova stands at 3.7 million euros, the Government’s spokesman, Dan Suciu, announced on Thursday. The aid will consist in food for vulnerable people and heavy fuel oil to supplement Moldovas reserves in case its natural gas supply is disconnected. The announcement was made one day after the Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti’s visit to Bucharest.
