July 26, 2023 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 26.07.2023, 20:00

HEAT Wednesday was a new day with extreme heat in Romania. The capital
city Bucharest and several counties in the south and south-east were subject to
a code red alert for temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and a
temperature-humidity index above the critical 80 units. Code orange and yellow
alerts were also in place elsewhere in the country. On Tuesday the extreme
temperatures disrupted railway traffic and caused road traffic restrictions. On
the other hand, violent storms were reported in the west, north and centre of
the country, where substantial damages were reported. On
Thursday, the temperature is expected to drop significantly, to highs between
19 and 28 degrees Celsius.

PROTEST Romanian construction workers Wednesday picketed the government
headquarters to protest the Cabinet’s decision to scrap the tax facilities
granted to the employees in this sector. The head of the National Trade Union
Bloc (BNS), Dumitru Costin, said the proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code
affect not only the construction sector, but other categories of employees as
well. The BNS and the Familia General Federation of Trade Unions came up with a
set of measures to avoid the scrapping of tax facilities as of September 1,
including a new collective bargaining agreement for the sector and a gradual
elimination of the fiscal facility, in keeping with the roadmap agreed on under
the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as of 2025. They also suggest adjustments
to budget appropriations for the investment projects funded by the government
or from EU funds, as well as a salary policy for this sector for the
forthcoming years able to ensure balanced salaries, especially in the private
sector.

MEETING The Romanian
foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Wednesday had talks with her French
counterpart, Catherine Colonna, about the security situation at the Black Sea.
In a Twitter post, Odobescu described the dialogue as very good. Bilateral
cooperation was reconfirmed on this occasion. We have emphasised our joint
support for Ukraine and the R. of Moldova, as well as our determination to
consolidate security and resilience at the Black Sea, the Romanian diplomacy
chief said in her post.

DIPLOMACY The foreign
minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, Wednesday requested a
limitation on the number of Russian diplomats accredited to Chişinău. He said
the country has been for several years the target of hostile policies on
Russia’s part, and that some of them were completed via the Russian Embassy
there. Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry
for explanations, after a media report revealed that the Russian diplomatic
mission had installed high-performance espionage and interception equipment on
its rooftop. The media in Chişinău mentioned 28 satellite dishes and telecoms
devices, while individuals tied to Russian intelligence services were seen on
the buildings. The authorities in Chisinau decided that the two countries’
embassies would have equal numbers of diplomatic personnel, specifically 10 diplomatic
positions and 15 administrative, technical and support posts, Moldpres reports.
Consequently, the staff of Russia’s embassy in Chişinău will be reduced from 84
to 25.

NATO The NATO
secretary general Jens Stoltenberg convened a first NATO – Ukraine Council
meeting at ambassador level on Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv. The meeting
focused on consultations on recent developments, with participants discussing
the transport of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, the NATO spokesperson Oana
Lungescu said. Ukraine’s request came after Russia terminated the so-called
grains deal and started attacking the Ukrainian port infrastructure. Also on
Wednesday, the head of the press office for the southern Ukrainian defence
command, Natalia Humeniuk, said Russia was already using Shahed-type drones
assembled in Russia.

SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici Wednesday qualified into
the final of the 100m freestyle race at the World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan). Popovici, the defending world champion in
this event, also holds the world record, set last year at the European
Championships in Rome. The 100m freestyle final is scheduled for Thursday. On
Tuesday, Popovici, also a former world champion in the 200m freestyle event,
finished the competition’s final on the 4th place. (AMP)