THE WEEK IN REVIEW

January 22-26, 2024

Roxana Vasile, 27.01.2024, 14:00

Social tensions in a quadruple election year

The protests of Romanian farmers and transporters in recent days – a millstone around the neck of politicians in power this year with four rounds of elections – led the PSD-PNL coalition Government to take support measures, in response to the demands. The measures were announced on Thursday: animal breeders will be granted subsidies that will reach them by the end of June. At the same time, the state will cover, this year, a quarter of farmers’ diesel costs. And, also for farmers, more precisely for those affected by the drought in 2023 and the trade in cheap grain from Ukraine, the executive has adopted an emergency ordinance that allows them to suspend payment of loan installments to the banks, until they recover economically. In support of truck drivers, the legal framework was modified, so that they are no longer fined for the expiry of the vignette, if the waiting times in customs are long. On the other hand, the government accepted a salary increase in the healthcare system, but new negotiations on the percentage will follow. The unions, which have threatened a general strike, are demanding a 20% increase, while the executive would lean towards 15%. Following discussions between Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and union leaders, it was decided to adjust staffing schemes and unlock positions in the system according to needs. The assessment of what is needed will be done next week, at a new meeting to which managers of hospitals and county hospital centers, the leadership of the National Health Insurance House, and representatives of ministries with attributions in the field will be invited.

Drugs in the focus

The countries of the European Union should focus on the fight against drug trafficking in ports thanks to a better integrated base at the international level, the Romanian Minister of the Interior, Cătălin Predoiu, said on Thursday, in Brussels, at the informal Council of Justice and Internal Affairs. Traffickers work in networks. And we should organize ourselves the same way. – pointed out the official, who, the day before, participated, in Antwerp, Belgium, in the creation of the European Alliance of Ports, through which the Commission, the member states, and private partners try to fight against the drug trade. In the EU, almost 70% of drug seizures are made in ports, and the huge port of Antwerp is the main entry point for cocaine from Latin America to the European continent. However, Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, pointed out that Successes obtained against criminals in one port will only direct them to other ports. Romania and the Port of Constanţa, on the Black Sea, are partners in this project – the European Alliance of Ports. Bucharest has taken important measures against drug trafficking and intends to continue on the same path, Cătălin Predoiu told his counterparts from the European Union, promising that Romania will be in the front line of this fight.

Resignation at a high level in the Republic of Moldova

A day after visiting Bucharest, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, announced his resignation on Wednesday. He stated that he had fulfilled the objective set when he was appointed, but that he needed a break. Among the achievements of the more than two years of his term, Nicu Popescu highlighted a certain visibility of the Republic of Moldova at the international level, and the dynamism of relations with foreign partners, obtaining the status of candidate country for joining the European Union in June 2022, and, the subsequent opening of negotiations in December 2023. This was despite the Russian aggression in neighboring Ukraine, which affected the Republic economically and energetically, as well as Moscow’s destabilization attempts. Following the resignation of Nicu Popescu, the current Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will be divided into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of European Integration. The foreign affairs portfolio will be taken over by Mihai Popşoi, now the Vice-President of the parliament. He already had a first telephone conversation with the head of diplomacy from Bucharest, Luminiţa Odobescu, who invited him to visit Romania. As for Nicu Popescu, he could become the chief negotiator of the Republic of Moldova for its accession to the European Union.

Day of the Union of the Romanian Principalities

Romanians marked, on January 24, the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859. Made under the leadership of ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the act of political will 165 years ago by the principalities of Moldova and Wallachia to unite represented the first stage in the creation of the Romanian modern unitary state. And, this year, on the occasion of the Union of the Principalities, military and religious ceremonies, shows, and exhibitions took place in the country’s major cities. In Bucharest, in a speech, President Klaus Iohannis declared that the anniversary of the Union of Principalities is not only a retrospective moment, but also an opportunity to project a better future for the nation. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stated that, 165 years after the Romanians united their efforts and laid the foundations of the national, unitary and democratic state, Romania entered a new stage of its modernization, which will allow it to develop and grow to its true potential.