July 17, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 17.07.2024, 19:52
Talks. President Klaus Iohannis will attend on Thursday the fourth meeting of the European Political Community hosted by Blenheim palace in Oxfordshire, the UK, the president’s office said on Wednesday. Talks will focus on issues such as security in Europe, support for Ukraine, the challenges related to migration, protecting democracy and promoting energy security. The president is expected to raise topical issues relating to the continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the context of Russia’s war of aggression. Iohannis will also attend a working group on energy and connectivity, where he will emphasise the need for a “balanced approach between the green transition and ensuring energy security at European level and the important role played by the Black Sea in ensuring regional energy interconnection”, the statement from the president’s office also reads. Over 40 heads of state and government, as well as senior EU and NATO officials are also attending the meeting.
Inflation. The annual inflation rate in the European Union stood at 2.6% in June, down from 2.7% in May, and Romania, which for five months was the country with the highest inflation in the EU, was overtaken by Belgium last month, according to the data published today by Eurostat. In June, the EU member states with the lowest annual inflation rates were Finland (0.5%), Italy (0.9%) and Lithuania (1%). At the opposite end, the EU member countries with the highest inflation rates were Belgium (5.4%), Romania (5.3%), Spain and Hungary (both with 3.6%). In the case of Romania, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) has previously informed that the annual inflation rate dropped, in June 2024, to 4.94%, from 5.12% in May. The National Bank of Romania (BNR) has revised upwards, to 4.9%, from 4.7% previously, the inflation forecast for the end of this year.
Funding. Romania received funding for three infrastructure projects worth almost 260 million euros under the Connecting Europe Facility, said MEP and former transport commissioner Adina Vălean in a statement. Fast Danube 2 is one of these projects, and will be earmarked over 195 million euros to improve navigation conditions on the common Romanian-Bulgarian section of the river. A further 45 million euros will fund the rehabilitation of the Valea Călugărească-Buzău railway. According to Vălean, Romania, alongside the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, will receive almost 14 million euros to improve the infrastructure at the Galaţi, Giurgiuleşti and Reni border crossings. The European Commission has selected 134 transport projects from 408 applications, most of which are railway and navigable water projects, the statement also reads.
Weather. Yellow, orange and red code warnings for heat and intense thermal discomfort have been issued for the southern half of the country on Thursday. Temperatures will hit 41 degrees Celsius and the temperature-humidity index will exceed the critical threshold of 80 units. In the afternoon, the weather will become unstable, and rain showers are expected, accompanied by thunderstorms and gust of wind in the mountains, mainly in the centre, north-east. The amount of precipitation may exceed 20-40 litres per sq and hailstorms are also expected. The highs of the day will be between 27 and 41 degrees Celsius and the lows between 17 and 27 degrees.
