THE WEEK IN REVIEW

July 11-15 2022

Leyla Cheamil, 16.07.2022, 13:00

Romania agrees for Ukrainian grain transit the Bystroe canal

Romania agreed for ships under Ukrainian flag laden with grain to transit the Chilia and Bystroe canals. The latter having been built by Ukraine was a bone of contention between Bucharest and Kiev, because it crosses the middle of the Danube Delta, and violates some international conventions for environmental protection. As shown in a press release from the Foreign Ministry, the decision by the Romanian authorities comes against efforts to support Ukraine in reducing the consequences of the premeditated, illegal, and unjustified aggression by the Russian Federation. The document specifies that this agreement is of an exceptional nature, considering the importance of diversifying and making more fluid transport corridors for exports of Ukrainian grain. The Foreign Ministry also pointed out that Romania is maintaining its position on the projects to make navigable the Bystroe canal, as well as on the need for applicable international law to be observed, including environmental regulation.

The Romanian executive passed the bill on ratifying protocols for Finland and Sweden to join NATO

The government in Bucharest on Wednesday passed the bill on ratifying protocols for Finland and Sweden to join NATO, according to their spokesperson, Dan Carbunaru. According to him, Romania is among the first states that have initiated these national procedures for admitting Finland and Sweden into the North Atlantic alliance. Carbunaru said that this procedure confirms, on the one hand, the success of the alliance as a security organization, as well as the open door policy that allowed the consolidation, strengthening, and expanding its capacity to supply its members the strongest security guarantees. The two Scandinavian countries applied in May to join against the war in Ukraine. According to experts, this will make the alliance stronger, because the Baltic Sea will be almost completely surrounded by NATO members, and the border with Russia will be longer. The two states kept their neutrality for decades, against the background of almost constant peace in Europe after WWII.

The EC upped its expectations regarding the growth of the Romanian economy

Thanks to a surprising growth of 5.2% in the first quarter, the EC has decided to up its expectations on the evolution of the Romanian economy this year, from 2.6%, as estimated in March, to 3.9%, according to economic forecasts issued on Thursday. The community executive revised downward its expectations referring to the evolution of the Romanian economy for 2023, from 3.6% to 2.9%, in the context in which the world and EU economies are expected to slow its growth. According to the EC, private consumption and investments will be the main engines for growth both this year and next year, while net exports would act as a break on the GDP, while deepening trade deficits. The executive also upped its expectations for inflation this year in Romania, from 8.9% to 11.1%, so that in 2023, inflation would go down to 7.2%, a more modest decline from the prognosis this spring. Back then, the community executive was expecting a rate of inflation of 5.3% in 2023.

COVID cases on the rise in Romania

The number of COVID cases is on the rise in Romania. This week, thousands of cases have been recorded daily. The result is that the authorities have reverted to the daily reporting of infections. For a month, the tallies were reported only once a week. Experts opine that the new Omicron subvariant, which has generated a new wave of infections internationally, and was also identified in Romania, reduces to a large extent the protection offered by the vaccine, but it is generally not seen to produce severe forms of the disease. Health Minister Alexandru Rafila recommends a resumption of health protection measures, wearing masks, and avoiding crowds. As for vaccination, he recommends a resumption of anti-COVID boosters in autumn, when a new variant is expected to emerge. The Ministry of Health underlined that the present vaccine is no longer effective against the new Omicron strains.

EC report on the rule of law in Romania

In a report on Wednesday, the EC recommends that Romania take measures to answer concerns that are still lingering regarding the investigation and prosecution of crimes in the judiciary, and to make sure that the review of judicial law consolidates guarantees on the independence of the system, including a reform in the disciplinary rules for magistrates. The EC specified that the section for investigation of crimes in the judicial system has been removed, but that there are still concerns regarding the prosecution of such crimes. At the same time, they recommend a more effective public consultation before passing bills, better transparency in the financing of political parties, as well as an improvement of norms and mechanisms for consolidation of editorial independence for news outlets. In terms of the press, the Commission points out that there is not enough transparency with regard to the publication of paid content from political parties outside of election campaigns, and that journalistic access to information leaves to be desired. Brussels also says that there are still worries on the functioning and budgeting of the National Audiovisual Council, and points out that Romania has to yet applied the 2018 modifications on the directive regarding audiovisual media services.