July 31, 2018

Traffic on 2 new segments of A10 motorway was opened on Monday night

Newsroom, 31.07.2018, 12:56

MOTORWAY – Traffic on the 3rd and 4th segments of A10 Motorway, connecting the towns of Sebeș and Turda, in central Romania, was opened on Monday night, 4 years after the works began. The 2 segments total 27 km. The entire motorway will be around 70 km long. The costs of the project amount to roughly 40 million euros, with 75% of the amount coming from the EU under the European Regional Development Fund, and 25% from the state budget.

SWINE FEVER – Romanian pig farmers having lost animals because of the African swine fever outbreak have so far received compensations of nearly 28,000 euros, the relevant authorities have announced. The compensations are granted both for the animals slaughtered in view of containing the swine fever hotbeds, and for collateral damages. In order to prevent the disease from spreading, restrictions have been introduced in certain areas regarding the transport of pork products, and citizens have been informed of relevant prevention measures. Since the beginning of the year, 440 African swine fever hotbeds have been identified in Romania, both in large farms and individual households.

WORKERS – Over the past few years Romanian companies in hospitality, catering, light industry, agriculture and constructions have hired workers from outside the EU. Most of them come from countries with living standards below those in Romania, like the Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Romanian employers have resorted to this strategy for various reasons, including the migration of domestic workers to more developed countries in western Europe, a drop in birth rates, labour mobility requirements and the inability of the national education system to adjust to the needs of the local labour market.

SHEEP FARMING – Romania, the 4th largest sheep and goat breeding country in the EU, last year imported mutton and lamb worth 3.5 million euros, from countries as far away as New Zealand. According to data made public by the National Statistics Institute, last year 11.5 million sheep and goats were bred in Romania, of which some 10 million sheep. Romania exported live stock worth over 180 million euros and sheep and goat meat amounting to more than 35 million euros. Sheep farming relies extensively on exports, because Romanians are not regular consumers of lamb and mutton.

GREECE – The Greek authorities made public the latest toll of the wildfires that ravaged several towns and villages near the capital city Athens last week: 92 dead, 25 missing and 28 unidentified burnt bodies. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, 4 foreign citizens are among the victims. On Monday the PM of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, visited the villages of Mati and Rafina. An investigation is under way, looking into the causes of the tragedy.

ASYLUM – 900 people applied for protection from the Romanian state in the first half of the year, 55% fewer than in the corresponding period of last year. According to the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the largest number of asylum seekers come from countries like Iraq, Syria and Iran, and the largest number of applications have been submitted to the centres in Bucharest and in Timişoara (in the west). Close to 950 other people have been included in an integration programme.

MIGRATION – The US president Donald Trump praised the Italian PM Giuseppe Contes firm stance on migration, during a meeting with the Italian official at the White House on Monday. Trump added that many other countries in Europe and the world should do the same. Giuseppe Conte is heading a right-wing government whose Interior Minister has taken a tough position regarding immigrants. According to the Italian government, the people rescued from the Mediterranean should no longer be brought into Italian ports.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)