September 29, 2017
Click here for a round-up of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 29.09.2017, 13:56
PRESIDENCY — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, is today in Tallinn, Estonia, to attend an informal meeting of the European Council. According to the Presidential Administration, the head of state will also stand for paying importance to the digital strategy of the EU’s domestic market and for the need to ensure proper cyber security. The meeting has been preceded by an official lunch, during which French President, Emmanuel Macron, presented the other European leaders his plan of reforming the Union. Macron proposes to set up, in the following weeks, a so-called group for the reconstruction of Europe.
PROTESTS – The Romanian health federation “Solidaritatea Sanitara” (Solidarity for Health) on Friday continued to picket the Labor and Health Ministries, for the second day in a row. They announced that on October 4th, trade unions will gather for a large protest in Bucharest, before the Government headquarters. The rally is organized by the Cartel Alfa National Confederation. Trade unionists fear of massive drops in the incomes of most employees in the health-care sector, of up to 60%, as of January 1st 2018. Trade unions took to the streets after authorities announced that social fees would become employees’ responsibility. They say that transferring the responsibility of paying social contributions from employers to employees will lead to a drop in the net incomes, the dismantling of the unemployment fund and lower contributions to the pension fund. During Thursday’s meeting between representatives of the trade unionists and Health Ministry officials, the standpoint of the protesters was accepted by the authorities, the vice-president of the “Solidaritatea Sanitara” Federaiton, medical doctor Florin Chirculescu said. Employees of the Ambulance Service also joined the protests on Thursday, being discontent about the shortage of personnel and the poor technical condition of their old car fleet.
ENERGY — Electricity prices in Romania will increase by 0.75 Euros/ 100 kilowatts, on an average, as of October 1st,the National Energy Regulatory Authority, ANRE, has announced. ANRE also says gas prices may increase by 6% for domestic consumers, also as of October 1st.
MEETING — The leaders of the Social Democratic Party, the main ruling party in Romania, are today meeting in Sucevita, in the north-east for the monthly assessment of the activity carried out by the cabinet led by Mihai Tudose. The agenda of the meeting also includes several important projects, such as the pension law, the prevention law and the administrative Code. The party president, Liviu Dragnea, has ruled out a government reshuffle.
RESCUE — A Romanian ship has rescued from drowning 52 people, among which 19 children, in the Aegean Sea, the Coast Guard announced on Friday. Those rescued were coming from Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. The ship was on a patrol mission, as part of the Operation POSEIDON 2017 carried out by FRONTEX — the agency which secures the EU’s external borders. Since the start of the year, Romanain ships have contributed to the rescue of over 1,100 people from Greece’s territorial waters, the Coast Guard says.
FOOTBALL — Romania’s football vice-champion, FCSB (former Steaua Bucharest) has defeated the Swiss team of Lugano, 2-1, in the second match of Europe League Group G, played on Thursday, away from home. In the first match, the Bucharest –based team defeated the Czech team Viktoria Plzeň, 3-0. On Thursday, the Czech team defeated Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva, 3-1. FCSB ranks first in the group with 6 points, followed by Viktoria Plzen and Hapoel, with 3 points each. Lugano is last in the group with no point.
