May 14, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 14.05.2024, 13:55
FRIENDSHIP DAY. The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Romania are gathering today, in a joint solemn session devoted to the celebration of the Day of Friendship and Solidarity between Romania and the State of Israel, established by law on April 10. On May 14 of each year, the Presidential Administration, Parliament and Government will take the necessary measures to raise the flag of the State of Israel, alongside that of Romania. On the occasion of the National Day of Friendship and Solidarity between Romania and the State of Israel, diplomatic, political, cultural, social and artistic activities can be organized. Also, historical materials and materials promoting the Romanian-Israeli bilateral relations can be disseminated via mass media.
ECOFIN. The Romanian Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, is participating, today, in the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which is taking place in Brussels. The Council will try to reach a political agreement on a proposal for a faster and safer withholding tax procedure (FASTER). This initiative aims to contribute to the fight against tax abuse and to the completion of the EU capital markets union by encouraging cross-border investments. The Council will also try to reach a political agreement on the legislative package on value added tax (VAT) in the digital age. At the same time, the ministers will carry out an exchange of opinions regarding the current situation of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
STRATEGY. Romania has launched a Strategy to combat human trafficking, given that hundreds of Romanians, half of whom are children or young people, are identified annually as victims of this phenomenon. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Strategy against human trafficking is built on four pillars: prevention, punishment, protection and partnership. The authorities claim that the ways of intervention have been identified, there are partnerships and the necessary resources will be allocated to combat this scourge. More on this after the news.
PROTEST. Employees in Romania bear almost half of the costs of services that are addressed to the general population, say the representatives of the National Trade Union Bloc, who organized, on Monday, in Bucharest, a protest against labor taxation in Romania. The protesters blame the state’s aggressive taxation of work as the cause of a hostile labor market, with the lowest employment rate in the EU in 2023. A Bloc delegation participated in discussions with representatives of the Ministry of Finance. The trade unionists demanded measures to reduce taxation on labor, given that the tax burden on employees is 42.5%.
INFLATION. In Romania, the annual inflation rate dropped in April to 5.9%, from 6.61% in March, as food goods rose in price by 2.07%, non-food by 7. 17%, and services by 10.05%, according to the data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics. The National Bank of Romania revised downwards, to 4.7%, the inflation forecast for the end of this year, from 4.8% in November, and anticipates that it will reach 3.5% at the end of 2025, according to the data presented in February.
KYIV. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv this morning for a surprise visit that should reassure Ukrainians of the US’s continued support and promise for a flow of weapons at a time when Russia is carrying out an offensive in the Kharkiv region (northeast), Frane Presse reports. It is Blinken’s fourth visit to Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and it comes a few weeks after the US Congress voted to unblock a massive financial package for Ukraine worth 61 billion dollars. Since then, the United States has released about $1.4 billion in military aid, mostly Patriot and NASAMS anti-aircraft systems and artillery ammunition.
CANNES. The 77th edition of the Cannes film festival opens today amid rumors of potentially explosive #MeToo allegations and a possible strike by festival workers that could disrupt the event, press agencies report. The big films presented at the premiere include ‘Megalopolis’, by the American director Francis Ford Coppola and ‘Kinds of Kindness’, in which Emma Stone – who had a recent success with ‘Poor Things’ – teams up again with the Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos. Two Romanian films were also selected at the festival: the feature film “Three kilometers to the end of the world”, directed by Emanuel Pârvu, and the documentary “Nasty”, by Tudor Giurgiu, dedicated to the great Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase. In the first evening, the famous American actress, Meryl Streep, will appear on the red carpet, receiving an honorary “Palme d’or” trophy for her impressive career. (MI)
