November 6, 2013 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of Romanian and international news.
Bogdan Matei, 06.11.2013, 19:14
PROTESTS IN EDUCATION-Trade unionists from the Romanian education system have warned they might freeze the school year if their claims are not met by the government. On Wednesday, they staged a rally in Bucharest, demanding, among others, that 6% of the GDP be allocated to education, and junior teachers receive a 50% pay rise. The protesters say they will not be satisfied with a minimal increase in their salaries. Trade union leaders have announced they might organise a referendum, among the teaching staff, on whether to call an all out strike during the elections for the European Parliament, scheduled for next May, or before the end of the school year, in June.
ENERGY– Speaking at an energy conference in Bucharest, Mariana Gheorghe, the head of OMV Petrom, a major Romanian energy company, said that drilling for natural gas in the Black Sea will cost almost one billion dollars. In 2012, the Romanian company, which has a controlling share held by the OMV Austrian corporation, as well Exxon Mobil, started drilling in the Black Sea perimeter concessioned to Petrom. The potential yield of the area is between 42 and 84 billion cubic meters of gas, with a potential to feed Romania’s demand for 6 years. Romania right now imports 25% of the quantity it consumes from Russia.
VISIT-Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean on Wednesday attended the official opening of Romania’s Honorary Consulate in Liechtenstein. He underlined the role of the Consulate in boosting two way trade exchanges and promoting Romanian companies and products in the principality. Corlatean held talks with his counterpart there, Aurelia Frick, to whom he thanked for the funds granted to Romania under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area, for the 2009-2014 period. On Thursday, minister Corlatean will visit Switzerland and is due to have talks with his Swiss counterpart, Didier Burkhalter on ways to boost bilateral economic cooperation. The agenda of the talks will also cover issues of topical international interest.
MINORITIES-The minister delegate for the Romanians Around the World, Cristian David, on Wednesday reiterated Bucharest’s support for the Macedo-Romanian community living in Albania. During a meeting with representatives of the Macedo-Romanians’ League in that country, the official analysed ways for Romania to further support the community’s efforts to preserve its identity. They include scholarships granted by the Romanian state, developing cultural projects and boosting dialogue with the Albanian authorities to assure a full observance of that ethnic minority’s rights, according to European norms and standards. The Macedo-Romanians are making up a Romance language speaking community, spread in the Balkan states, whose idiom is considered to be a dialect of the Romanian language.
POLL-A poll made public in Chishinaw on Wednesday shows that, if a referendum on the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the EU is held right now in that country, only 46% of the respondents would be in favour of it. Over 20% of the respondents would vote against their country’s accession to the EU. In turn, 42% of the Moldovan respondents would vote for Moldova’s joining the Customs Union, controlled by Russia. However, their number has diminished considerably, as compared to a similar poll conducted in April, when 51% would have voted for their country’s accession to that structure. Only 18% of the Moldovan voters would stand for their country’s accession to NATO, whereas a third of them are opposed to it. In another move, Moldova is Europe’s poorest nation, shows the annual report drafted by GfK experts, quoted by news agencies in Chishinaw. In terms of the purchasing power, the Republic of Moldova ranks on the last position, among 42 countries included in the classification.
MIDDLE EAST-US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday reiterated that the United States considers “illegitimate” the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories. He held separate talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, three months after peace negotiations resumed between the two sides. Kerry, who is on a Middle East tour, had previously visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The next legs of the tour will be Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Morocco.
NEW YORK — Democrat Bill de Blasio is the new mayor of New York, winning by a landslide. His predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, held three terms, first as a Republican, then as an independent. De Blasio is the first Democrat elected after 1989, and promises fundamental changes. He ran on promises to erect 200,000 subsidized homes, and to raise taxes on citizens with income over half a million dollars.
