September 12, 2023
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 12.09.2023, 13:55
Welfare. Some 2 million vulnerable households n Romania will benefit from fresh financial aid starting this week. Its the second installment, worth 140 euro, for the payment of bills for electricity, heat, gas and other fuels that can be used to heat homes. The first tranche was disbursed at the beginning of the year. In total, the amount received in 2023 by a family with financial problems is 1,400 lei, from European funds. In another move, starting next month, pensioners with incomes lower or equal to 3,000 lei (aprox 600 Euro) will benefit from the second installment of the aid granted by the state. Moreover, this year, the Romanian citizens belonging to vulnerable categories are getting from the state social cards, which means 50 euro every two months for food and warm meals. According to the Labour Minister, this measure benefits approximately 2.5 million people.
NATO. The Deputy Secretary General of NATO, the Romanian Mircea Geoană, has stated that there are no indications that the Russian Federation intends to attack a member state of the Alliance, but the concern of the Romanian citizens who live near the Danube border with Ukraine is understandable. ” My message, as a Romanian, is to try to have faith in the fact that the North Atlantic Alliance has all the measures in place to ensure the protection of the entire allied space, including Romania”, Geoană also said. He welcomed the USs decision to add air policing missions in the Black Sea area. In another development, a joint military exercise is taking place, until Friday, in the Black Sea and the Danube Delta. 227 soldiers, of which 164 Romanians and 63 foreigners, are participating in the multinational exercise Sea Breeze, organized by the United States of America for the first time in Romania. The exercises contribute to increasing stability in the Black Sea region and ensuring freedom of navigation, as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Deficit. Romanias trade balance deficit, for the first seven months of 2023, stood at 15.6 billion euros, 17% lower than the same period last year. According to the National Institute of Statistics, during this period, Romanias exports totaled 55 billion euros, 4.6% higher than the similar period of the previous year. At the same time, between January 1 and July 31, 2023, Romania imported goods worth 70 billion euros, down 1.1% compared to the similar period in 2022.
Poetry. The 13th International Poetry Festival started in Bucharest on Monday. For one week, the event, appreciated by specialists as one of the most watched in Europe, brings together over 170 poets from 27 countries on four continents. The program includes meetings with poets, translators and editors, public readings, debates, round tables, colloquiums, poetry marathons or performances, but also theater shows, film screenings and concerts, exhibitions and events dedicated to professionals. As part of the International Poetry Festival, a well-known and popular project is also organized – the National Poetry Book Fair, which brings to the fore the latest and most important volumes of poetry.
Festival. Vladimir Jurowski, one of the most well-known and appreciated conductors in the world, returns to Bucharest with the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra to perform two concerts, on Wednesday and Thursday, as part of the George Enescu International Festival. Vladimir Jurowski has been actively involved in promoting and supporting the musical legacy of the greatest Romanian composer, George Enescu, since 2005, when he came to the Enescu Festival for the first time with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 2017 and 2021, he was the artistic director of the Festival, being an enthusiastic promoter of Enescus music worldwide. We remind you that, this year, at the 26th edition of the George Enescu Festival, over 3,500 artists have been invited to the stages in Bucharest, in 90 concerts held over 29 days (27 August – 24 September).
Sports. The Romanian national football team plays, this evening, at home, against Kosovo, in Group I of the EURO 2024 preliminaries. On Saturday, also at home, the tricolors ended in a tie with the Israeli national team, 1-1. In another move, the Romanian national mens volleyball team was defeated by France, the reigning Olympic champion, with 3-0, on Monday evening, in Varna (Bulgaria), in the quarter-finals of the European Mens Volleyball Championship – CEV EuroVolley 2023. Thus, France got revenge after Romanias surprise victory in the group stage, with a score of 3-1. Romania has not been among the top eight volleyball teams of the continent for 40 years, after finishing in 8th place in 1983. At the previous edition of the European Championship in which they participated, in 2019, the Romanian volleyball players ranked 21st The record of the tricolors includes a European title in 1963, two silver medals (1955, 1958) and two bronze medals (1971, 1977). (MI)
