May 29, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 29.05.2023, 20:00
Bill. Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă announced, on Monday, the amendments assumed by the governing coalition to the special pension bill, currently under debate in Parliament. “Each citizens pension must reflect the importance of their lifes work and contribution to the public system,” the head of government said. He stressed that a series of inequities will be corrected and the necessary reforms will be made for Romania to benefit from the European funds available through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Ciuca explained that the standard retirement age of some categories (diplomats, court auxiliary staff, military personnel) will be correlated with the public pension system in order to eliminate exceptions. This will be done in stages, until 2035. The Romanian Prime Minister also said that the number of beneficiaries of service pensions is being reduced and no service pension will exceed the income obtained during the period of activity. For pensions in payment, a tax is being considered.
Protest. Employees of the Romanian Railways national company (CFR) protested at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport in Bucharest on Monday, dissatisfied with the fact that the Government is late in approving the budgets of the railway companies, and the salaries of tens of thousands of people cannot be increased. In order to ensure the increase in the salaries of the companys employees, the Government must find at least one billion lei. The salary increases, which, according to the law, should apply as of July 1, would mean an income increase of 40-45%. Otherwise, the CFR employees threaten a general strike. The President of the Federation of Railway Transporters Unions, Maxim Rodrigo, warned that it will be the strongest protest of all time. In response, the Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, has stated that the salaries at the Railway Company must increase according to the law, but the ministry is looking for solutions to find money in the budget, one option being supplementation by means of budget adjustment.
Election. Romanias president, Klaus Iohannis, has congratulated his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for having won another term in office. In a Twitter post, Iohannis says he is looking forward to the continuation of the tight cooperation based on the strategic partnership between the two countries. Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for the past 20 years, on Sunday emerged as winner in the second round of the presidential election in that country with 52.1% of the votes as compared to 47.9% mustered by his lay opponent Kemal Kilicdarolu supported by an election alliance of six parties ranging from the nationalist right to the liberal left. The Islam and the appeal to the Ottoman legacy have been reinvigorated during Erdogans rule. The opposition says though that his regime has become more and more authoritarian particularly after the attempted coup in 2016. Erdogan has in the past years promoted a tougher rhetoric against Turkeys Western partners as well as a series of controversial economic policies. The announcement of his victory has led to a new devaluation of the countrys national currency, the lira.
Exercise. The Centre for Battle Training in Smardan, south-eastern Romania, is hosting a major international exercise entitled Saber Guardian 23. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the countrys Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr and the Chief of Staff, General Daniel Petrescu. The exercise, which is to take place until June 9th, is the largest and most complex multinational training activity with the participation of a record number of forces and technical equipment. It has brought together roughly 10 thousand servicemen, half of them from Romania and the rest from 13 NATO and partner countries. Saber Guardian 23 continues the series of drills started in 2013, which are taking place twice a year with a view to stepping up interoperability within a wide range of missions.
Election. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday the surprise calling of early legislative elections in Spain on July 23, a day after the left suffered a clear defeat to the conservatives in a double municipal and regional election. The Peoples Party got almost 6.9 million votes (31%) compared to just over 6.1 million for Sanchezs Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) (28%). The Radio Romania correspondent in Madrid reports that all major Spanish cities, including the capital, now have a mayor and a majority in councils made up of right-wing representatives. A big surprise is Seville, which has never had a right-wing leadership and where the electorate flipped. Prime Minister since 2018, Sanchez approached this election with several shortcomings: the wear and tear of power, the rise of inflation – even if it is much lower in Spain than in most countries of the European Union – and a severe decrease in the purchasing power. (MI)
