November 27, 2024

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 27.11.2024, 13:55

ELECTION The Constitutional Court of Romania is expected to validate the results of the first round of the presidential election by November 28, with the campaign for the second round due to begin on November 29. The Central Electoral Bureau Tuesday presented the final results of Sunday’s ballot. According to them, the non-affiliated candidate Călin Georgescu won the first election round with 22.94% of the votes. Second came the Save Romania Union leader, Elena Lasconi, with 19.18%, followed by the president of the Social Democratic Party, PM Marcel Ciolacu, with 19.15%. Ranking below them are the head of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, with 13.86%, the president of the National Liberal Party, Nicolae Ciuca with 8.79% and the former NATO deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană, who ran independently and was voted for by 6.32% of the voters. The other candidates got less than 5% each.

EU The European Parliament is today voting on the new European Commission team, headed for her second term in office by Ursula von der Leyen. Romania’s nomination, Roxana Mînzatu, has been designated for a vice-president post in the new Commission, in charge with people, skills and preparedness. Von Der Leyen wants a different structure for the Commission, with 6 vice-presidents and 20 commissioners. The new body is to take office on December 1. Also today, the EP is to vote on the bloc’s budget for next year, which will be 6% higher than in 2024, namely almost EUR 199.5 billion in commitments and EUR 155 billion in total payments.

MOLDOVA The European Parliament prepares a EUR 1.8 bln financial package for the Republic of Moldova. Convening in a plenary meeting in Strasbourg, MEPs agreed that the result of Moldova’s referendum on EU integration compels the Union to take measures to support the country. The Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan explained that, among other things, the EP will look into ways to adjust the grant-to-loan ratio. In turn, Victor Negrescu, a vice-president of the EP, said the goal was for the final vote on this package to take place in May 2025. He also said steps are being taken to open an EP office in Moldova’s capital city, to provide consultancy and support in transposing the EU legislation into national law. Meanwhile, Chişinău yesterday hosted the 10^th Forum on European Integration, attended by Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu. Moldova submitted its official EU accession application on March 4 2022, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, and in June 2022 the European Council acknowledged Moldova as on accession candidate country.

SALARIES Gross minimum wages in Romania will be raised as of January 1 from approx. EUR 743 to roughly EUR 814, according to negotiations between the government, employers’ associations and trade unions. The bill drafted by the labour ministry has been subject to public review and might be approved by the government in today’s meeting. Romania may thus come in line with a European directive under which workers have the right to fair wages, able to ensure decent living standards. Gross minimum wages should range between 47% and 52% of the national gross average salaries, and a number of criteria should be taken into account, such as spending power, salary increase rates and national productivity rates.

FOOTBALL Romanian football champions FCSB play on Thursday on home turf against Olympiakos Piraeus, in the 5^th round of Europa League. FCSB rank 8^th, with 9 points (3 wins and a defeat) while Olympiakos, the defending Conference League champions, rank 11^th, with 7 points. The Romanian team is also to play in the current Europa League season against Hoffenheim (December 12, away from home), Qarabag (January 23, away from home) and Manchester United (January 30, on home turf). The top 8 teams qualify in the 8^th-finals, while the teams ranking 9^th to 24^th will take part in playoffs for the 8^th-finals. (AMP)