January 12, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 12.01.2024, 13:55

EU. Romania has a real chance to
occupy an important position at European level, says the country’s prime
minister Marcel Ciolacu, referring to the scenario in which president Klaus
Iohannis may take over the presidency of the European Council following the
resignation of Charles Michel. According to the Romanian media, Iohannis has a
chance to occupy this top European position as EU leaders are trying to prevent
Hungary’s Viktor Orban from taking over. If Iohannis steps down before the end
of his term, the Senate speaker, a position currently held by the Liberal
leader Nicolae Ciucă, is to serve as interim. Romania will this year see
presidential, as well as parliamentary, European and local elections.

Bank. The managing board of the
National Bank of Romania is today holding its first monetary policy meeting
this year, having kept the interest rate at 7% throughout last year. According
to analysts, the central bank may agree on a first cut in interest rate given
the slowdown of the economic growth rate and a drastic reduction in lending. The
governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isărescu earlier suggested that
talks on a possible reduction in the reference interest rate may begin when the
inflation rate drops below 7%. In December, the latter went down to 6.61% from
6.72% in November. The National Bank forecast indicates an annual 7.5%
inflation rate at the end of 2023.

Healthcare. Following pressure from the
health care sector, the government has decided to unblock over 7,600 jobs in medical
facilities faced with staff shortages. 2,500 are for physicians and 365 for
ambulance staff. Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said the budget of the health ministry
is 40% bigger than last year. He emphasised that every new job must translate
into better services for patients.

Football. The Romanian international
Radu Drăguşin signed up with the
London side Tottenham Hotspur until 2030. He was transferred from the Italian Serie
A team Genoa for 30 million euros, thus becoming the most expensive Romanian
football player in history. According to the BBC, Drăguşin is the second player
recruited by Tottenham this winter, after the German
striker Timo Werner, who came from RB Leipzig. (CM)