January 13, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 13.01.2024, 13:12

Protests. Government and public
institutions officials are meeting the representatives of transporters and
farmers to discuss their demands, said the government in a statement. To
continue dialogue with the transporters and farmers who are staging protests on
the Bucharest ring road and across the country, the Romanian government has
provided their representatives with a timetable for talks. The government is thus
demonstrating its readiness to find concrete solutions to the legitimate issues
raised by transporters and farmers, the statement also reads. At a meeting
with prime minister Marcel Ciolacu on Friday, protesters presented a list of 40
demands, including concrete solutions to the problems faced, mainly the rising
cost of insurance policies and of fuel. Farmers have called on the government
to help them cope with the unfair competition posed by the grain imports from
Ukraine, saying their are yet to receive their state subsidies and that they
have debts to the banks.

Defence. Romania’s contribution to
the US’s shaping of its Black Sea strategy will be a priority in the coming
period, said the Romanian defence minister Angel Tîlvăr during talks with the
US ambassador in Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec. According to a defence ministry
statement, the two officials discussed the main aspects of bilateral political
and military cooperation this year, with an emphasis on the impact of Russia’s
war of aggression against Ukraine. Romania is ranked 47th in the
world’s most powerful armies, according to the Global Firepower ranking, a good
position at regional level. Romania is led by Poland, but is ahead of Hungary
and Serbia. Ukraine is in the top 20 of most powerful armies in the world this
year.

Interest rate. The National Bank of
Romania has decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at 7% per
year, as it expects the inflationist pressure to remain high, especially in the
first part of the year. The key interest rate, which influences all types of
financial contracts, has been unchanged for the last year. The interest rate
levels at which commercial banks can borrow from the National Bank or which
they receive for their National Bank deposits have also been maintained.
According to the latest assessments, the annual inflation rate is to go up in
the first month of the year, as a result of the increase in and introduction of
indirect taxes and duties from January aimed at consolidating the budget, but
will again start to go down gradually, albeit a slower pace than expected in
the previous forecast.

Handball. The Romanian men’s
handball side lost to Austria 31-24 on Friday evening in Manheim, in their
first Group B match at the European Championship in Germany. Romania will next
play Spain on Sunday, followed by Croatia on Wednesday. Spain, the winners of
two European titles, in 2018 and 2020, finished second in 2022. Austria
defeated Romania in both qualifying matches, 36-32 and 35-30, while Croatia
were European vice-champions in 2020. Romania last qualified for a European men’s
handball championship in 1996, when they finished in 9th place. The
two best ranked sides in each group will advance to the next stage. (CM)