March 4, 2024

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 04.03.2024, 13:23

Motion. The simple motion against the Romanian Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, will be debated, today, by the Chamber of Deputies, and will be voted on Tuesday. In the text of the motion entitled ‘Minister Boloş – the inventor and guardian of the tax on sickness must go’, it is stated that the adoption of the document represents an ‘act of responsibility towards the citizens and an essential measure for the gradual restoration of trust in the state’. The initiators of the motion argue that “Marcel Boloş must leave, urgently, the Government of Romania”. Save Romania Union and Forza Dreptei MPs accuse the Minister of Finance of “taking 500,000 euros from the sick  every day” – from parents with sick children, women with high-risk pregnancies and who gave birth this year. The initiators of the motion also argue that the health system needs additional money, but not from the sick, and the PNL-PSD Finance Ministers have in recent years reduced funding sources such as the percentage of the work insurance contribution to the state budget.

Budget.  The Bucharest government is going to adopt this week a new normative act on cutting budget spending. The general consolidated budget deficit in January of this year stood at 0.45% – around 8 billion lei (approx. 1.6 billion euros), almost double compared to January 2023. The Executive is also working on a draft emergency ordinance regarding the merging of local elections with the European Parliament elections on June 9. The text of the emergency ordinance states that the organization of local and European parliamentary elections on the same day will save money to the state budget and stimulate a greater number of citizens to participate in the European parliamentary elections, since more voters usually turn out for the local ones . The presidential elections are scheduled for September, and the parliamentary elections will take place in December.

Moldova. The Republic of Moldova belongs to the EU, and Romania remains its main partner in this endeavor, said the Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Nicolae Ciuca, who paid a visit to Chisinau. At the meeting with the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, he stressed that Moscow’s hybrid war had not fulfilled its goals in Moldova and that’s a victory and good news for Bucharest as well. Ciuca also met with the President of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu. The officials discussed topics regarding inter-parliamentary cooperation, cooperation in the energy field and means of speeding up infrastructure projects.

Solidarity. On Sunday, Romania and Poland celebrated, for the first time, the Romanian – Polish Solidarity Day. According to the two countries’ foreign ministries, this solidarity can be seen  not only in the intense political – diplomatic dialogue, but also in the military and economic fields, in education and culture. The Romanian – Poland 2024-2025 cultural season will further enrich the friendship between the two peoples, a joint statement also reads.

JHA. The EU ministers of internal affairs and justice are participating, today and Tuesday, in Brussels, in the Justice and Home Affairs Council  (JHA). The agenda of talks includes topics such as the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, the security situation in the context of the conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and a legislative proposal regarding the fight against the illegal introduction of migrants. Today, the European interior ministers are discussing the general situation in the Schengen area of ​​free movement and the evaluation of the EU legislative act establishing Frontex (the EU Border and Coast Guard Regulation). Another important point is the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. The second day of the meeting will focus on the justice component, the agenda including, among other things, a recently approved directive on the minimum standards for preventing and combating the illegal introduction of migrants. In the context of constant debates on issues related to the rule of law, the European justice ministers will also discuss the resistance of the judicial systems to the threats represented by organized crime. The priorities of the Belgian presidency of the EU Council include the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.

Earthquake. Today Romania commemorates 47 years since the strongest earthquake ever hitting the country, on March 4, 1977. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was in the Vrancea Mountains (eastern Romania). It lasted 56 seconds. More than 1,500 people, mostly from the capital, lost their lives then, and around 11,000 were injured. 32 high- or medium-rise buildings collapsed in Bucharest and almost 33,000 homes were affected nationally. The earthquake was felt throughout Eastern Europe, but also in Russia, in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. After the earthquake, a state of emergency was declared on the territory of Romania, and more than 30,000 firefighters and soldiers were mobilized. According to the authorities, if an earthquake of the same magnitude were to occur today, it would cause more than 42,000 deaths. Bucharest would suffer the most, as it has around 2,400 buildings in seismic risk classes, most of them in the city center.

Handball. The Romanian women’s national handball team defeated the Croatian team, yesterday, in Koprivnica, 25-23, in Group 1 of the 2024 European Championship  preliminaries. Romania has thus qualified and taken first place in the group, with 8 points, followed by Croatia, and Greece, each with 4 points. In the last matches, due in April, Romania will take on  Bosnia-Herzegovina away from home and Greece on home turf. The first two teams in each group qualify for the final tournament, as well as the four best third-placed teams. The European Women’s Handball Championship will take place between November 28 and December 15 in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. (MI)