September 12, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 12.09.2022, 13:55

GRAIN EXPORTS – France’s Transport
Minister, Clement Beaune, has today announced the signing of an agreement with
Romanian authorities designed to boost the export of grain from Ukraine to
developing countries, particularly in the Mediterranean. According to Reuters,
France is expected to help enhance the efficiency of the port of Galați, modernize
border crossing points in northern Romania, max out the effective use of grain
silos in the port of Constanța and boost the operability of this port and on
the Sulina Canal. Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister has recently estimated his
country’s grain exports could go up to 6.5 tons in October, which is double the
volume reported in July after the gradual opening of Ukrainian ports in the
Black Sea, based on the agreement signed in Istanbul. Russia’s president,
Vladimir Putin, has recently criticized the fact that only a small part of
Ukrainian grain will be exported to poor countries based on this agreement,
accounting for 2 of the 87 cargo ships that transported as much as 60 thousand
tons of grain. However, analysts with the British Defense Ministry have
disproved Putin’s statement, citing data centralized by the UN, according to
which approximately 30% of Ukraine’s grain exports have reached low- and
middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

SESSION – The European Parliament
starts a new session today in Strasbourg. European Commission president, Ursula
von der Leyen, will deliver her state of the union address, presenting the
impact of the Commission’s activity in the last year and future plans for the
community bloc, particularly those related to solidarity with Ukraine,
sanctions against Russia, energy security and curbing the EU’s reliance on
Russian fossil fuel, as well as the latest energy price hikes. President Von
der Leyen will also address the Green Deal and green transition, digitization,
the EU’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for future pandemics,
as well as the Next Generation EU recovery plan.

ENERGY – The European Commission is
this week expected to present the set of proposals agreed upon in Friday’s
meeting of EU Energy Ministers, designed to combat the energy crisis. The
package might include a cap on energy prices and taxing the excess profits of
fossil fuel companies and redistributing the revenues to state-aid schemes.
Romania’s Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, says Romania supports a balanced
approach towards all Member States. Capping natural gas prices at community
level would significantly curb volatility on the EU energy market, the Romanian
official said.

KING CHARLES – King Charles III this
morning appeared in the British Parliament, where the House of Commons and the
House of Lords met in a joint sitting to present condolences to the new
monarch. The King is today expected to attend a sitting of Scottish Parliament
as well. The coffin of her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was in Edinburgh
yesterday, and today it will be moved to from Throne Room in Holyroodhouse
Palace, the official residence of the royal family in the Scottish
capital-city, to Saint John’s Cathedral, as part of somber journey through the
Scottish countryside. Attending will be the new king and other members of the
royal family. The coffin will remain at Saint John’s until tomorrow, allowing
locals to pay their last respects. Tomorrow, the coffin will arrive at Buckingham
Palace in London. The state funeral will take place on September 19 at
Westminster Abbey. Meanwhile, people from all across Britain continue to lay
floral tributes at the residences of the royal family from all across the
country.

INFLATION – Romania’s annual inflation
rate went up to 15.32% in August from 14.96% in July. According to data
published by the National Statistics Institute on Monday, foodstuffs prices
went up by 18.22%, while those for non-food products also went up by 15.98%.
Prices for services increased by 8.26%. The Central Bank has increased its inflation
forecast for 2022 to 13.9%, estimating an inflation rate of 7.5% for 2023. The
Central Bank expects the deflation trend to temporarily stop in the second
quarter of 2023, once the current state-aid schemes targeting the energy sector
end. The Central Bank expects an inflation rate of 2.3% for June 2024. (VP)