October 3, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 03.10.2022, 20:00

WAR IN UKRAINE – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, as
well as the presidents of seven other members of NATO from Central and Eastern
Europe, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro,
Poland and Slovakia on Monday signed a
joint statement reaffirming their support for the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Ukraine. We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit
decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership, the Romanian president also
tweeted.

EDUCATION – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, on
Monday said the education laws should stipulate clear provisions for the
prevention and punishment of plagiarism, which he described as a toxic
phenomenon in the education system. Attending the opening of the academic year
at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest, the
president pointed out that obtaining an academic degree is an honor
exclusively based on real merit. An educated Romania must be fair, without
exception, Klaus Iohannis said. Some 500 thousand students on Monday started a
new academic year. Also on Monday, Ligia Deca was sworn in as the new Education
Minister, replacing outgoing minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, who resigned in the wake of a plagiarism scandal. Ligia Deca was
nominated by the National Liberal Party after previously serving as
presidential adviser. Deca was in charge of coordinating Educated Romania, a project
that will be treated as a top priority during her mandate.

CAR INDUSTRY – Although the world car industry was
strongly hit by the global semiconductor chip shortage, with losses to
companies in the field amounting to 100 billion EUR, the car manufacturing
industry in Romania saw a growth rate of over 15%, while car sales grew by 5%
in the first 8 months of the year compared with the same period in 2021,
according to a study published on Monday. With chip supply chains still at
threat, state support should remain high for this sector, which makes up more
than 25% of GDP, the study also writes. Romania is home to two big car
manufacturing plants: the Ford factory in Craiova, in the south-west, and the
Dacia-Renault factory in Mioveni, in the south of the country.

ENERGY – The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest is
expected to finalize this week debates on the government emergency decree in the
field of energy. The draft law was previously adopted by the Senate with
certain amendments. Therefore, in the current form, the list of social
categories that benefit from capped prices for electricity and natural gas
until August, 2023 includes families with a maximum of three children, places
of worship officially sanctioned in Romania and medicine manufacturers. The list
of legal entities that benefit from capped prices also includes SMEs, public
utility services and economic operators in the food industry. On the other
hand, this week Romanian MPs are expected to cast their votes on the final law in
the justice law package, more specifically the one regulating the status of
magistrates. USR in opposition has called on the ruling coalition to suspend
the debate of these draft laws until December pending the publication of the opinion
of the Venice Commission, according to a timetable published on Monday.

GAS – Romania has reached 87% natural gas storage capacity,
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said on Monday. The
Romanian Prime Minister said Romania will be able to provide assistance to the
Republic of Moldova in case the Russian energy giant Gazprom suspends gas
deliveries to this country. Romania will be able to deliver as much as 5
million cubic meters per day, the Romanian official added.

NOBEL – Swedish paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo on Monday was
awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2022. The 67-year-old
researcher was rewarded for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct
hominins and human evolution. Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine was scooped by Americans Ardem Pataputian and David Julius for their
discoveries of thermal and mechanical transducers. The Nobel Prizes in Physics
and Chemistry will be announced on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, while
the recipients of the Nobel Prizes in Literature and Peace will be made public
on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The final prize in economy will be
announced next week. Each Nobel Prize is accompanied by a 10-million Swedish
Krona (the equivalent of some 920 thousand EUR). (VP)