VISIT – Over
\nJanuary 7 – 9, the Romanian prime-minister Ludovic Orban will pay a working
\nvisit to Brussels. According to a communiqu\u00e9 issued by the Romanian Government,
\nMr. Orban will meet with the EC President Ursula von der Leyen and the NATO
\nSecretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Also, he will meet with the president of
\nthe European Council, Charles Michel, and the European Parliament President
\nDavid Sassoli.<\/p>\n
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SALARIES – As of
\nJanuary 1st, the minimum gross salary in Romania stands at approximately 467
\nEuro per month, which is higher than in 2019. The adjustment must be made
\nwithin 20 working days since the enforcement of the measure. The Labour
\nInspectorate has drawn attention to the fact that, according to the
\nGovernment’s decision, the minimum gross salary at country level is established
\nat the aforementioned amount for a normal work schedule, without including
\nbonuses and other incentives.<\/p>\n
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WORK PERMITS – This
\nyear, the General Immigration Inspectorate can issue work permits for 30,000
\nnew foreign workers. According to a press release, the number of work permits
\nset for 2020 is similar to that of 2019, when 10,000 permits were added to the
\ninitial 20,000. Last year, employers requested permits for some 750
\noccupational positions, from machine operators to management staff. Most
\nforeign workers in Romania are from Vietnam, Nepal, India, the Republic of
\nMoldova and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
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EXCISE DUTIES -
\nExcise duties on fuels have increased by 7%, which significantly reduces the
\neffects of the elimination of the additional excise duty promulgated by the
\npresident the day before. Besides alcoholic beverages and tobacco, the list on
\nthe Finance Ministry’s website includes the excise duties for petrol and
\ndiesel, which are by 24.5 and 22.4 Euro higher per one thousand liters than in
\nthe normative act published in the Official Journal on December 30th.<\/p>\n
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EU COUNCIL – On January
\n1st, Croatia took over, for the first time, the presidency of the
\nCouncil of the EU. Brexit is top of the list of pressing issues that Croatia
\nwill have to deal with. In 2013 Croatia became the 28th country that joined the
\nEU and now has to manage the first exit of a member state, as the UK is to
\nleave the Union on January 31st. Another issue on the agenda is EU’s
\nenlargement towards the East, against the background of France’s standing
\nagainst accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. The EU and the
\nsix candidates from the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo,
\nMontenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) are to attend an important summit in
\nZagreb, in May this year. We recall that Romania held for the first time the
\nrotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2019.<\/p>\n
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NORTH KOREA – The
\nNorth-Korean leader Kim Jong-un has stated that his country is abandoning the
\nmoratoriums on intercontinental nuclear and ballistic tests. The state news
\nagency has quoted the leader as saying that the North-Korean state will
\ncontinue to develop an anti-nuclear system and will soon introduce a new
\nstrategic weapon. President Kim believes that the US formulates demands that
\nrun counter to North Korea’s fundamental interests and has stressed teh fact
\nthat his country is ready to continue to live under international sanctions in
\norder to maintain its nuclear capability. However, he has left open a door for
\ndialogue, saying that Pyong Yang’s new nuclear development plans will depend on
\nthe American’s future attitude. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said
\nthat he hopes the North Korean state will choose peace and prosperity to war.<\/p>\n
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NEW YEAR – More
\nthan 90,000 people took part in the biggest New Year’s party in Bucharest,
\nDisco Night Fever, organized by the Bucharest municipality. The traditional
\nopen-air party was inspired by the energy and exuberance of the disco movement.
\nDomestic and international starts entertained the audience for more than 6
\nhours with hits that influenced entire generations. At midnight, the passing
\ninto the new year was marked by an impressive fireworks show. <\/p>\n
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SPORTS – 2020 is
\ngoing to be an important year for sports lovers in Romania, which will take
\npart in at least two major events. Euro 2020 will have four matches in
\nBucharest (on June 14, 18, 22 and 29), and at the Summer Olympic Games, Romania
\nwill include the football team, for the first time in 56 years. As regards
\nfootball clubs, on February 20th and 27th, CFR will take on Seville, Spain, in
\nthe Europa League. Tennis will also hold a central spot, as everybody expects
\nSimona Halep to win another Grand Slam tournament. In handball, Romania will be
\nrepresented in the Champions Leagues by both the women’s and men’s squads,
\nnamely CSM Bucharest and SCM Ramnicu Valcea, and Dinamo Bucharest respectively.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n