June 12, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 12.06.2023, 19:44

GOVERNMENT – The Liberal Nicolae Ciucă on Monday announced his resignation from the position of prime minister. The plan for stepping down has been previously discussed with coalition members PNL, PSD and UDMR and with President Klaus Iohannis. According to a planned rotation, the leader of the Social Democratic Party is to take over as prime minister. Iohannis summoned parliamentary parties for consultations on Tuesday at Cotroceni Palace, with a view to nominating the candidate for the PM position. The coalition parties are yet to agree on the make-up of the new government. UDMR was offered the leadership of two ministries — Energy and Investment and European Funds, respectively — in exchange for the Environment and Development ministries but party leader Kelemen Hunor rejected the offer. PSD and PNL must also negotiate other important portfolios, such as Transports, which PSD want to keep, although the initial agreement was for this ministry to be taken over by the Liberals. Nicolae Ciucă was due to step down at the end of May but the move has been postponed a number of times over tensions generated by the teachers strike that has lasted more than three weeks.

STRIKE – Trade unions in education on Monday decided to call off the general strike in the undergraduate system. Trade union leaders made this decision after consulting with their regional colleagues. The decision was taken following the adoption of emergency orders by the Government, which regulate the salary increases and bonuses, as well as commitments, by the authorities, to include the new salary scheme into a law to be endorsed this fall. More than half of the employees’ local representatives who were in favor of the strike on May 22 have now agreed to call it off, trade union leaders said. The latter have warned, however, that protest actions can be resumed if the authorities do not implement the new decisions.

JOBS – The most popular jobs in Romania are those in areas resistant to crises, such as sales, accounting, engineering, IT and production, according to a survey conducted by a recruitment firm. People are also interested in jobs where salaries are explicitly stated in the hiring ad. According to the survey, construction, IT and telecommunications, as well as medicine, have attracted an increasing number of candidates in the last three years, being a solid and sustainable source of well-paid jobs.

NATO – The biggest NATO air defense exercise is under way as of Monday. Led by Germany, it aims to show the unity of NATO members in the face of potential threats, especially Russia, France Presse reports. Air Defender 23 is taking place until 23rd June and brings together around 250 military aircraft from 25 different NATO member and partner states, including Japan and Sweden, the latter a NATO candidate country. Up to 10,000 persons are taking part in this exercise meant to consolidate interoperability and protection against drones and cruise missiles in the event of an attack on cities, airports and ports on NATO territories. Romania participates in the exercise with a Spartan transport aircraft and a detachment of the Air Forces. The exercise was designed in 2018, partly in response to Russias annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, although it does not specifically target anyone, said Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief German Air Force. The maneuvers include operational and tactical preparation, mainly in Germany, as well as the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia.

BERLUSCONI – Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died Monday morning, aged 86. One of the most influential Italian politicians in recent decades, he led the Forza Italia party and served as prime minister three times, between 1994 and 1995, between 2001 and 2006 and between 2008 and 2011. He was also known as president of AC Milan football club, the winner of 5 Champions League titles. Berlusconi was also a wealthy media mogul. His final years in power were plagued by corruption allegations. In 2013, he was convicted for fraud and sentenced to community time. He returned to power as part of Giorgia Melonis coalition, but did not have a role in the government. A state funeral will be staged for Silvio Berlusconi. The ceremony will be held in two days at the Dome of Milan, while Wednesday will be declared a national day of mourning. (EE)