The Week in Review 1-7.07.2013

Click here, for a review of the headline grabbing events over the past week.

Roxana Vasile, 06.07.2013, 12:03

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta visited China

Early this week, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta visited China on the last leg of an Asian tour that also took him to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Beijing, Victor Ponta held talks with President Xi Junping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang and proposed that bilateral relation be raised at the level of a strategic partnership. The Romanian Prime Minister said Romania enjoys a geographical position that can help China in the latter’s efforts to develop ties with Central and East European countries.

According to Ponta, Romania is the doorway to a larger market, just like the Black Sea and the countries in the area can be a prospective corridor for Chinese products. From this point of view, the river Danube can be considered, with the participation of Chinese companies, a segment of a new 21st century silk road entering Europe through the European Union’s south-eastern gate. Victor Ponta has invited Chinese business people to invest in Romania and has announced a series of projects.

Victor Ponta: “It has been agreed to develop the activity in Romania of the two major telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE and thus basically turn Romania into a regional European centre for these two companies. We can also make progress as far as energy investment is concerned. A Chinese project worth one billion dollars is already being developed in Rovinari. We have also presented a project on the third and fourth units of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant.”

The main request of the Romanian side was for the Chinese authorities to step up verification procedures with a view to opening the Chinese market for Romanian foodstuffs and produce, particularly meat and Romanian wines”.

The number of people living in Romania has decreased by over 1.5 million

In October 2011, Romania’s stable population stood at 20,121,641, which is over 1.5 million people less than when the previous census was conducted. This is the final result of a 2011 census made public by the National Institute of Statistics on Thursday.

The president of this institution, Tudorel Andrei, has further details: “Migration has contributed to the largest extent to the decrease in population. 77% of this decrease was caused by migration abroad. Additionally, we are all aware of the fact that, during this period, even though life expectancy has increased, the birth rate has decreased considerably.”

Other data show people living in an urban environment account for some 54% of the total population. The census also indicates that women form the majority, accounting for 51% of the population, over half of them being married. Most Romanians, over 55%, are in the 25-64 age bracket.

The data made public by the National Institute of Statistics have brought back into focus the issue of the validity of a referendum held last summer, when the centre-left coalition in power unsuccessfully tried to impeach the centre-right head of state, Traian Basescu. At the time, the referendum was declared invalid because the turnout was below 50%.

Romanian high school graduates took the baccalaureate exam

With the test on Friday, July 5th, the baccalaureate exam came to an end for the approximately 190,000 high school graduates in Romania. At the weekend, however, they will be waiting impatiently for the results due to be made public on Monday. It will be the moment of truth for students, teachers and the authorities alike, given the bad results registered in recent years, with 2011 seeing the lowest grades in the last 20 years.

To blame for these results are lack of interest from teachers and students, and the shortcomings of the education system. However, many say the fact that video cameras and surveillance systems have been installed in the exam rooms, thus making it difficult for children to cheat.

This year, scandals about attempts to bribe teachers have again made the headlines. The most resounding case is that of a headmaster of a high school in Bucharest, who has been taken into custody this week, after she allegedly asked money from the students taking the baccalaureate exam in exchange for influence in the opinion of the members of the evaluation commission.

Prices went up in Romania on July 1st

July 1st brought along gas price hikes in Romania by 8% for home consumers and 3% for industrial consumers. Traffic fines have also increased, while Romanians living in several cities and towns across Romania will pay more for their water and sewerage bills. As if trying to cushion the effect of these price hikes, the government has increased the gross monthly salary to 800 lei, the equivalent of less than 200 euros. Over 600,000 employees in both the state and private sectors will benefit from this increase.

Romania and the situation in Egypt

The Romanian Foreign Ministry is closely watching the latest developments in Egypt and calls on the parties involved to show restraint and avoid the escalation of violence. In reaction to the events in Egypt over the past few days, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has expressed hope that the rule of law will be restored as soon as possible and the process of democratic transition will be resumed. Romania has expressed regret over the loss of human lives in the recent wave of violence and has reiterated the need to observe fundamental human rights and civil liberties.