January 1, 2023 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 01.01.2023, 19:19

DAY
Orthodox believers, who are a majority in Romania, on January 1 celebrated St.
Basil the Great. 600 thousand Romanians are presently named after St. Basil who
lived in the 4th century and used to be a bishop in Caesarea, a city
in modern-day Turkey. During the 9 years of his mandate as a bishop, St. Basil proved
to be a great theologian, a defender of the Orthodox faith, a good organizer of
the monastic life and the social activity inside the church. It was the first
bishop who built hospitals and asylums for the poor and the underprivileged.

TENNIS Romanian
tennis player Gabriela Ruse has managed to qualify for the main draw of the WTA
250 tournament in Auckland, New Zealand after a 6-4, 6-1 win against Moyuka
Uchijima of Japan in the last qualifying round. The Romanian will next take on
Erin Routliffe of New Zealand. Ruse will be also playing in the competition’s
doubles together with Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic. The
Romanian-Czech pair will be up against Paige Mary Hourigan of New Zealand and
Sachia Vickery of the USA.

WELFARE On January 1
the pension point in Romania increased by 12.5% up to 360 euros. The minimum
wages are also expected to increase up to 375 euros and the lowest wages in the
construction sector will go up to about 800 euros. Starting January 1st, state
employees will get a 10% pay rise and the benefits for children are to be
adjusted to the inflation rate. At the same time the 10 eurocent fuel subsidy
has been eliminated although the government pledges to reintroduce it if price
hikes are going to exceed the purchasing power. Authorities in Bucharest have
maintained the measures of capping and subsidizing electricity and natural gas.

MAE Carrying on the moves for
Romania’s accession to Schengen and the OECD as well as supporting the Republic
of Moldova’s EU accession are some of the priorities of the Romanian diplomacy
in 2023, says the yearly report of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MAE). Romania will continue to support the creation of a mechanism for holding
responsible those who committed the aggression in the illegal war Russia is
presently waging on Ukraine. As for the country’s NATO membership, the Ministry
says it will promote Romania’s strategic priorities inside the alliance
including at the upcoming NATO summit in July in Vilnius where the Romanian
ministry is expected to be pleading for the consolidation of the NATO
deterrence and defence posture on its eastern flank in view of defending
national security and in the Black Sea area, as an area of strategic importance
for the Euro-Atlantic security. The report also mentions the moves to get
Romania into the Visa Waiver programme. As for the states in the region, the
ministry says that Romania will continue to actively provide multidimensional
assistance and support to the neighboring Ukraine and support the European and
Euro-Atlantic orientation of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.

EU On January 1st
Sweden took over from the Czech Republic the presidency of the EU Council and
for six months will be playing a key-role of leader and mediator inside the
bloc. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has reviewed some of the main
issues, which are to be addressed such as the war in Ukraine, the fight against
climate change and Europe’s competitiveness. Sweden’s priorities are focusing
on a ‘greener, safer and more free Europe’, Kristersson says. Ulf Kristersson
and his cabinet are quite unknown on the European stage as his conservative
government came to power more than nine months ago after it had replaced the
Social-Democrats led by Magdalena Andersson.

(bill)