September 6, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 06.09.2022, 19:44

Motion.
The first simple no-confidence motion in Parliament’s new session was debated
on Tuesday. The motion was filed by the Save Romania Union against the Liberal
energy minister Virgil Popescu, whom the signatories blame for the very high
gas and electricity bills. The motion also criticises the compensation and cap scheme
adopted recently, saying it generated panic and uncertainty among consumers and
critical companies. The final vote on the motion is scheduled for Wednesday.
Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, in government, said
his MPs will not vote for the motion, describing it as hypocritical.

Corruption.
The Bucharest Tribunal has sentenced the former treasurer of the Social
Democratic Party Mircea Draghici to six years in prison for embezzlement and
for using to his own benefit the subsidies received by the party from the
state. According to prosecutors, between April 2017 and May 2018, Draghici, who
was managing the funds and assets of the Social Democratic Party, used over 110
thousand euros from the party’s bank accounts to pay for the transport and
accommodation to exotic tourist spots for himself and several other persons.
Draghici had previously been indicted for similar crimes and received a final
sentence of five years behind bars. He is currently serving time in prison.

Diplomacy. Romania wishes to be part of the dialogue
and the solutions related to Ukraine’s reconstruction, said prime minister Nicolae
Ciucă at the opening of the annual meeting of the Romanian diplomatic service
held in Bucharest. We are fully ready to take an active part in this process.
The way in which we have assisted the victims of the war waged on Ukraine’s
territory says something about our humaneness and sense of responsibility, he said.
He believes Romania must coordinate even better with its partners with whom it
shares the same values and goals and to give more dynamism to the community of
democracies not only in Europe, but also in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The
prime minister also emphasised that Romania will continue to firmly support the
European choice of partners such as the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia
and the countries in the Western Balkans. The annual meeting of the Romanian
diplomatic service, whose topic this year is the
response to the changing geostrategic situation, is taking place until 8th
September in hybrid format. The heads of Romania’s diplomatic missions and
consular offices abroad are attending online, while the foreign ministers of
Poland and Portugal, Zbigniew Rau and Joao Gomes
Cravinho, respectively, are attending in person.

Eurobarometer.
This summer’s eurobarometer published on Tuesday by the European Commission
indicates increasing confidence of EU citizens in and continuous strong support
for the European Union’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. An
overwhelming majority of Europeans back investments in renewable energy and
efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources. The approval rating of
the euro has reached the highest level in history. Europeans are, however,
increasingly worried about the economic situation in the Union and in their own
countries. Conducted in June and July this year, the eurobarometer shows that
67% of Romanian respondents are optimistic about the future of the European
Union, which accounts for an 8% increase compared with a similar survey
conducted in January and February this year, before Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.

Award. Culture
minister Lucian Romaşcanu congratulated writer Mircea Cărtărescu on winning the
2022 FIL Prize for Romance Language Literature, saying the award is
recognition of Romania as a cultural space with an international importance. Cărtărescu
was chosen from among 80 candidates in seven different languages, being praised
by the jury for his imaginative and overflowing prose that combines
fantastic and realistic elements. The 150,000 dollar prize will be awarded on
26th November at the opening of the 36th edition of the Guadalajara
International Book Fair, which is considered the biggest book fair in the
Spanish-speaking world. The first Romanian language writer to win the FIL award
was Norman Manea in 2016. (CM)