November 28, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.11.2019, 20:12

ELECTION
– The Constitutional Court of Romania on Thursday validated the result of
Sunday’s presidential runoff. Also on Thursday, the Central Electoral Bureau
announced the final results, according to which the incumbent president Klaus
Iohannis, supported by the National Liberal Party, won the election with 66% of
the votes, double the result of his contender, the former Social Democratic PM
Viorica Dancila. The turnout was 54.46% of the registered voters, accounting
for approximately 10 million people. 994.077 Romanians living abroad went to
the polls, of whom 94% voted for Klaus Iohannis.

ECONOMY- Romanian economics experts
warn about the budget risks entailed by the increase in pensions, stipulated by
the laws in force. One of its effects might be a higher trade deficit, of up to
6.5% by 2022. Central Bank chief economist Valentin Lazea believes that the
enforcement of the pension law should be postponed and that an increase in
fiscal revenues should not necessarily be followed by an increase in taxes and
duties. On the other hand, PM Ludovic Orban has said that next year’s budget
should be drawn up by taking into account a 40% increase in pensions, and that
any intervention, through emergency decrees, in this sensitive field
is out of the question.

NATO – The NATO member countries
have agreed to allow the US to reduce its contribution to the Alliance’s
budget, several officials announced on Thursday, quoted by FP. At the 2018
summit, the US president Donald Trump had asked for the reduction of his
country’s contribution, accounting for some 22% of NATO’s direct funding. The
29 NATO member countries pledged in 2014 to increase their defense expenses to
2% of their GDPs by 2024. Eight of them have already done that, namely the US,
Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Great Britain, Romania and Poland.

REPORT – Life expectancy in
Romania is among the lowest in the EU and, although it has increased since
2000, it is still below the European average by six years. The high number of
deaths caused by treatable causes is an indication of the fact that the
approach to risk factors must be changed and the efficiency of medical care
increased. Moreover, the underfunding of the health-care system in Romania
undermines the country’s capacity to meet the actual needs of the population,
shows a report issued by the European Commission and made public on Thursday.

CLIMATE EMERGENCY – The European
lawmakers have issued a resolution declaring an EU-wide climate emergency. The climate declaration
was passed on Thursday in Strasbourg during a European Parliament
(EP) debate on the upcoming United Nations’ COP25 climate summit that kicks
off on December 2 in Madrid. They also urged the European Commission
to make sure all relevant legislative and budgetary proposals are fully
aligned with the 1.5-degrees-Celsius (2.7-degrees-Fahrenheit) target
limit on global warming. Also, the resolution calls on the EU to cut emissions
by 55% by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050.

EARTHQUAKE – Rescuers from several
countries are making huge efforts to find survivors of the earthquake which hit
Albania, killing 40 people and injuring more than 650. Chances of finding survivors,
however, are dropping by the hour. Tuesday’s earthquake
was the strongest to hit Albania in decades. The quake struck 34km (21
miles) north-west of the capital, and the latest aftershock had a magnitude of
5.6 on the Richter scale. Help has come from many countries, including Italy,
Greece, France and Romania. The Romanian Defense Ministry has sent two planes
carrying 50 rescuers. Both president Klaus Iohannis and the Foreign Ministry
have sent messages of condolence to the grieving families.