September 11, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 11.09.2024, 19:55
Legislation. Romania needs to complement legislation on reaction to the entry into its airspace of hostile or unauthorised drones is the conclusion of a meeting of the Senate’s defence committee with representatives of the defence ministry, said the committee chair Nicoleta Pauliuc. She added that talks focused on the need to urgently pass new legislation that allows the defence ministry to fulfil its missions. “There is no risk of us not being able to fulfil our missions, our airspace is defended given that we are in NATO”, said explained. The defence ministry spokesman Constantin Spînu gave assurances that Romania’s airspace is well defended at the moment. However, the legislation in the field needs to be improved. The package of laws on national security will soon be adopted by the government and later sent to Parliament, he added. The debate was sparked after a number of Russian drones have this year ended up illegally in the Romanian airspace, in the context of the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Inflation. The annual inflation rate in Romania dropped in August to 5.1% from 5.42% in July, amid a rise in the price of food products by 4.25%, of non-food products by 4.35%, and of services by 8.60%, according to data published on Wednesday by the National Institute for Statistics. The National Bank of Romania revised its inflation forecast for the end of the year down to 4%, from 4.9% previously, and expects it to reach 3.4% at the end of 2025, according to the data presented in August by the governor of the National Bank Mugur Isărescu.
Elections. The electoral period for the presidential election in Romania begins on Thursday with the establishment of the Central Electoral Bureau, according to the timetable approved by the Romanian Government. The Bureau’s members will be appointed through a drawing of lots, and a day later the president of the bureau will be elected by secret ballot. Next, candidacies must be submitted by October 5 at the latest and the election campaign will begin on October 25. Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad can vote by mail, and the deadline for submitting requests in this regard is September 24. The first round of the presidential election will take place on November 24, and the second on December 8. Romanians will also be voting on December 1, on the National Day, to elect their representatives in Parliament.
Energy. Half of the European Union’s electricity production this year came from renewable sources, according to a report published by the European Commission on Wednesday. Moreover, the Union managed to reduce its dependency on Russian gas considerably, and EU consumption dropped significantly amid measures to increase energy efficiency, the report also says. Gas reserves for the upcoming winter were ensured ahead of the deadline of 1st November and now account for 90% of storage capacity. In Romania, this level was almost 90% at its six storage facilities as early as August.
Olympics. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday at a ceremony to award Romanian athletes who won medals at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris that it is essential for sport to find its well-deserved place on the list of national priorities. He underlined that the medal won in Paris are the symbol of the regeneration of Romanian sport. In both the Olympic and Paralympic, Romania obtained a total of four gold, four silver and three bronze medals.
Music. The 12th edition of the Bucharest Music Film Festival event will take place between September 14 and 22 in George Enescu Square in the centre of Bucharest. According to the organizers, the latest edition introduces a new concept, providing the public with evening performances in a variety of musical genres, from classical to jazz, and from film music to pop fusion, bringing together hundreds of musicians and renowned orchestras. The event is organised by the Capital City Hall, through ARCUB – the Cultural Centre of the City of Bucharest and forms part of Bucharest Days, which celebrates 565 years since the city was first mentioned in historical documents.
