September 9, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 09.09.2022, 20:00

QUEEN The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in
English history, brought her eldest son Charles to the throne. He will reign
as King Charles III. The protocol for proclaiming a new monarch provides for
the speedy convening of an Accession Council made up of high-ranking
politicians, bishops of the Anglican Church, together with secular
representatives of the Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, aged 96,
at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She is to be brought to London, at Westminster
Hall, and the public will have a few days to say goodbye. The funerals will
take place at Westminster Abbey, the church where British kings are crowned.
The BBC notes that the last funeral of a monarch at Westminster Abbey took
place in the 18th century. After the funeral, to be attended by heads of state
and government from around the world, the Queen will be taken to Windsor Castle
and buried in the Saint George Chapel within its premises. The president of Romania, Klaus
Iohannis, sent a condolence message to King Charles III. He will be officially
proclaimed king in a ceremony to be held on Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced.

DEFICIT Romania’s trade balance deficit in the first 7 months of this year
increased by almost EUR 5.9 billion, to EUR 18.77 billion, as exports rose by
23.9% and imports increased by 29%, according to data provided by the National Statistics
Institute, made public on Friday. Between January and July 2022, exports totalled
EUR 52.67 billion, and imports EUR 71.44 billion. On the other hand, net
investments in the national economy totalled EUR 11 billion in the first 6
months of this year, down 0.8% compared to the similar period in 2021, NSI data
show.

ENERGY The Romanian Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, attended a special
meeting of the EU Energy Council in Brussels on Friday, in the context of
EU-wide discussions over the rise in energy prices. At the meeting, Romania
supported measures such as capping Russian natural gas prices, a platform for
the joint purchase of natural gas by the EU, and access to credit lines for
companies with the European Central Bank, the Energy Ministry said. Romania
also emphasised the importance of activating the EU Energy Platform for the
joint procurement of natural gas, so as to ensure fair distribution of the
additional gas and LNG procured by the Union. While in Brussels, Virgil Popescu
had a bilateral meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart. Hristov Rossen. The two
discussed the importance of regional cooperation for the joint purchase of
natural gas, as well as for ensuring increased energy stability in the region.
In another move, in Bucharest, energy operators have called on the Government
to reconsider the order issued last week, which provides for capping and
compensation of gas and electricity bills, as well as for over taxation of
companies in the field. The Association of Energy Suppliers warns that the
document was developed without consulting the participants in the field, thus
jeopardizing the security of gas and electricity supply to consumers.

COHESION The Romanian Government has adopted measures concerning one-third
of the cohesion fund, amounting to EUR 16 billion, the Minister for Investment
and European Projects, Marcel Bolos, has announced. He has explained that the
money can be used to access and develop investment projects in transport
infrastructure, health, water supply and waste management. Under the cohesion
policy, Romania has a EUR 43 billion budget until December 31st, 2029, the
minister has stated. The projects mainly focus on the building of 600 km of motorway
and 3 regional emergency hospitals, in Craiova, Iasi and Cluj-Napoca.

AID The European Commission has approved a EUR 4 bln aid scheme for
Romania, in order to support businesses in all sectors in the context of the
invasion of Ukraine by Russia. According to the EC, Romania’s aid scheme is
necessary, adequate and proportionate to remedy a serious disruption to a
member state’s economy, in accordance with EU state aid rules. Under this
measure, the aid will take the form of guarantees for loans, with a maximum
budget of EUR 3.6 billion, with the balance to be provided in direct grants.
Support under the scheme will be granted until 31 December 2022 at the latest.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis players Sorana Cîrstea and Irina Begu, ranking
37 and 42 in the world, respectively, take part in the first edition of Ţiriac
Foundation Trophy, held between the 10th and 18th
September in Bucharest. The 2 players received wild cards from the organisers,
and their current world rankings makes them seed no 1 and 2 in the tournament
hosted by the Romanian capital city. Ţiriac Foundation Trophy is a WTA 125 tournament
organised by the Romanian Tennis Federation and supported by the Ţiriac
Foundation and the Sports Ministry. The main draw includes 32 players, and the
doubles competition involves another 16. They compete for USD 115,000 in total
prize money and 160 points in the WTA ranking. (AMP)