September 3, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 03.09.2022, 20:56

DECREE – Romania’s Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, wrote on
social media that the Government’s emergency decree capping energy prices does
not breach European legislation. Romania’s National Energy Regulatory Authority
(ANRE) had previously warned that the decree might trigger infringement
procedures against Romania at EU level. Minister Popescu said that Romania is
constantly consulting with Brussels in every piece of legislation adopted in
this field, and that the decree will be presented on September 9 at the
emergency meeting of EU Energy Ministers in Prague. Virgil Popescu recalled
that European institutions also want to put an end to the conflicting interests
and greed of those who speculate the delicate context. Among other things, the
decree stipulates that any intermediaries who oversell energy across the
distribution chain will receive fines of up to 5% of their turnover.

SCHOOL YEAR – Nearly 3 million school and pre-school children
start a new school year on Monday. The structure of the new year will comprise
5 modules, separated by 5 mini-holidays. A number of changes will be operated
starting this year. Mid-term exams will no longer be compulsory, while the
average grade for the secondary cycle of education in Romania, (grades 5-8)
will be discarded as a criterion for enrolling in high-schools. At the end of
the school year, pupils can no longer be expelled, and parents are no longer
allowed to raise money for presenting teaching staff with gifts. Referring to
some of the unsolved issues ahead of the new school year, Education Minister
Sorin Cîmpeanu recognized that many schools lack fire safety permits.

COVID-19 – The number of COVID-19 cases continues to drop in
Romania. A little over 1,800 new cases of infection were reported in the last
24 hours, by 600 less than Friday. 15 people have died during the same
interval. Most cases – 290 – were reported in the capital-city Bucharest. Over
2,200 patients are being treated for COVID, 176 in intensive care.

BORDER CROSSING -
Some 317 thousand people entered or left Romania on Friday via all border
crossing points. Some 11,000 Ukrainians entered Romania, down by 5.46% compared
to the previous day. Therefore, starting February 10, two weeks before the war
had started, some 2.1 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.

GAZPROM – European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni,
on Saturday said the European Union is ready to respond if Russia doesn’t
resume deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline, the BBC reports. Commissioner
Gentiloni has called on Moscow to honor its contractual agreements. Gazprom
announced that the Nord Stream pipeline would be shut down pending the repair
of a faulty turbine. The announcement risks spiking concern among EU Member
States, who are trying to avert an energy crisis in the coming winter and who
accuse Moscow of using natural gas as a weapon to take revenge for the
sanctions the West has imposed on Russia in response to the latter’s invasion
of Ukraine.

REȘIȚA – Reșița in Western
Romania is the first Romanian city to join the Learning Cities UNESCO global
network, giving it a unique opportunity to access large-scale education
projects, the Romanian Education Ministry announced. According to UNESCO
Director General, Audrey Azoulay, the selected cities are remarkable examples
whereby lifelong learning can become reality at local level. The list of new
members includes 77 cities from 44 countries. Reșița is one of the five cities selected
from Southeastern Europe, alongside Lasko and Ptuj of Slovenia, and Ljubljana
and Trnava of Slovakia.

SWIMMING – Romanian swimmer Rebecca Diaconescu on Friday qualified
to the 50m backstroke final at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima,
Peru. Romania’s track record includes 5 medals so far: gold in the men’s 4x100m
freestyle event (David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma,
Patrick Sebastian Dinu), gold in the 200m freestyle event (David Popovici,
silver in the 400m freestyle event (Vlad Stancu), silver in the mixed 4×100
freestyle event (David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu,
Bianca Costea) and bronze in the 800m freestyle event (Vlad Stancu). (VP)