November 4, 2013 UPDATE
A roundup of news from Romania
România Internațional, 04.11.2013, 20:16
Stand-by accord Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta announced on Monday that his government has successfully completed negotiations on the 2014 budget with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Commission. The talks agreed on a 2% deficit of the GDP and a 2.1% economic growth rate. Romania previously signed a new precautionary type agreement with these institutions under which it pledged, among others, to increase the minimum wage to 200 euros, increase pensions by 3.7%, reduce the social security contribution by 5%, increase by 25% returns on natural resources with the exception of oil and gas and also increase excises in keeping with the inflation rate.
Protests Education trade unions continued their protests in Bucharest. They picketed the Parliament Palace, asking MPs to allot 6% of the GDP to the education system. Protesters also called for the amendment of the education law, the adoption of a special law on salaries in public education, and the elimination of bureaucracy and political influences from the education sector. They said that unless their demands are met, they may even go as far as freezing the school year.
Missile defence Elements of the anti-missile shield, including intercepting missiles, will be brought to the Deveselu military base in southern Romania in 2014, the Romanian state secretary with the Foreign Ministry Bogdan Aurescu has announced. He also said that intercepting missile tests will not be carried out in Romania. Romania agreed to the installation of this facility, where some 200 American troops and experts will be stationed, as part of the American anti-missile shield in Europe. The Deveselu base will be operational as of 2015.
Romanian citizenship The Romanian government has simplified procedures for awarding Romanian citizenship to citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The oath of allegiance can now be taken at any Romanian representative mission in Moldova. Formerly, this procedure could only be carried out in Bucharest. Over 450,000 Moldovan citizens have applied for Romanian citizenship in the last 20 years, of whom 320,000 have already received their Romanian passports. According to opinion polls, most Moldovan nationals apply for Romanian citizenship for economic reasons, as they believe that holding a Romanian passport helps them travel to the European Union without a visa.
Anniversary stamps The National Bank of Romania, Romfilatelia and the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation on Monday launched a new stamp issue entitled “Romania’s Golden Tape Library” to mark the 85th anniversary of public radio in this country. An anniversary medal entitled “85 years. The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation” was also launched on this occasion.
Tennis Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, aged 22, has ended the WTA season with a victory in the Tournament of Champions in Sofia, with 750,000 US dollars in prize money. In Sunday’s final she defeated Australian Samantha Stosur, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Halep got 375 WTA points and 270,000 US dollars. Halep, who has won five other tournaments this year, goes up to the 11th position in the WTA rankings, her highest so far.
