WAR IN UKRAINE – The European Commission is today
\ndiscussing the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which might include a
\nspaced-out embargo on oil imports. Yesterday’s meeting of the EU Energy Ministers
\nunderlined, however, the lack of consensus regarding sanctions on Russian
\nenergy imports. Whereas Germany seems willing to curb its reliance on oil
\nimports from the Russian Federation, Hungary again has opposed the move.
\nEarlier today, Slovakia announced it will try to obtain an exemption from any
\nembargo on Russian oil agreed at EU level. Meanwhile, American and British
\nofficials believe Russia is preparing to officially declare war on Ukraine in
\norder to mobilize its reserve army, in an attempt to conquer the east and south
\nof Ukraine. At the same time, the US ambassador to the OSCE, quoted by our
\nWashington correspondent, says Russia is ready to annex new Ukrainian
\nterritories. <\/p>\n
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NATURAL GAS – The Romanian state-owned company Romgaz is expected
\nto complete the deal allowing the American company ExxonMobil to exploit the
\nnatural gas deposits in the Black Sea, in the Neptune Deep offshore field. Some
\n100 billion cubic meters of gas are expected to be extracted from the area,
\nwhile exploitation rights are owned by ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom in equal
\nshares. Romgaz will pay over $1 billion for today’s contract. Before extraction
\nworks can start, investors expect Romanian authorities to modify the offshore
\nlaw, which the Senate’s special committees started debating today. The main
\nmodifications to the document adopted four years ago have to do with lowering
\nexploitation taxes for deposits in the Black Sea as well as on land, as well as
\nwith the elimination of restrictions on prices, all part of a legal framework
\nto ensure predictability. The Romanian state and state-owned enterprises will
\nbe given priority to buy the resulting output, while 60% of the profit will go
\nto the state. Additionally, companies will be able to deduct 40% of their
\ninvestment, compared to 30% under the current legislation. <\/p>\n
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FORECAST – The National Strategy and Forecast Company
\ndowngraded to 2.9% the economic growth forecast for this year, compared to 4.3%
\npreviously. The Commission says the overlapping shocks generated by the energy
\nprice hikes which impacted global supply chains) are amplifying the risks and
\neconomic uncertainty, also impacting the short-term evolution of the business
\nsector. The forecast is in line with the estimates presented by international
\nfinancial institutions, which significantly lowered their forecast regarding
\nRomania’s economic growth in 2022. The IMF recently estimated a growth of 2.2%
\nfor 2020, down from 4.8% originally, while the World Bank estimated Romania’s
\nGDP growth to stand at 1.9% this year. <\/p>\n
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EUROBAROMETER
\n– Three quarters of young Romanians
\nfeel optimistic about the future of the European Union, while half of them
\nbelieve things are headed in the right direction for the EU, according to a
\nEurobarometer published on Monday. According to the survey, young Romanians
\nhave greater support for European policies compared to other age categories and
\nare content with their lives. Their main concerns are related to the education
\nsystem, the economy, unemployment, housing, the environment and climate
\nchange. <\/p>\n
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RWB – Romania can boast of a diverse, relatively
\npluralistic media landscape that produces hard-hitting public interest
\ninvestigations. Pressure from owners, lack of transparency in financing or
\nmarket difficulties, however, hamper the reliability of the information, reads
\nthe 2022 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters without Borders.
\nRomania ranks 56th, down by 8 positions compared to the previous
\nyear. Norway remains top of the world press freedom index for the sixth
\nconsecutive year, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The lowest-placed countries
\nin terms of press freedom are China, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Iran, Eritrea and
\nNorth Korea. In a message released today to mark World Press Freedom Day,
\nRomania’s Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciuc\u0103, expressed
\nconfidence there is no democracy without press freedom, whereas journalists
\nshould be allowed to do their job. <\/p>\n
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COLECTIV – The Bucharest Court of Appeal earlier today
\npostponed for the fifth time a final sentence in the court case investigating
\nthe Colectiv nightclub fire of October 30, 2015, when 64 people were killed and
\nanother 200 were injured. During a rock concert hosted by the club that night,
\nthe pyrotechnics show ignited the foam covering the ceiling and walls of the
\novercrowded venue. Part of the people were killed on the spot, while other died
\nto the burns, the deadly mix of fumes or in the stampede near the exit. The
\ncourt of first instance handed down sentences between 3 and 11 years in prison
\nto district 4 mayor at the time, Cristian Popescu Piedone, cityhall workers,
\nclub owners, firefighters, pyrotechnicians as well as representatives of the
\npyrotechnics company. <\/p>\n
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CCR – The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are today
\nconvening in a joint plenary sitting to appoint two new Constitutional Court
\n(CCR) judges, one of them expected to replace the current president of CCR,
\nValer Dorneanu. The mandates of the two judges expire in June, and under the
\nlaw, the new judges must be designated at least a month in advance. CCR
\ncomprises nine judges, appointed for a mandate of nine years. Of these, three
\nare appointed by the Chamber of Deputies, three by the Senate and three by the
\npresident of Romania. The Court replaces a third of its judges every three
\nyears. <\/p>\n
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GOPO AWARDS – A new Gopo Awards Gala will take place this evening
\nin Bucharest, celebrating the best-performing cinema projects in the last year.
\nSome 900 guests are expected to attend. 19 features launched in cinemas or
\nstreaming platforms in 2021 have been nominated in 20 categories. This year’s
\nedition also celebrates solidarity. Film enthusiasts from around the world are
\ninvited to take part in a fund-raising campaign titled United through Film.
\nAll proceeds will go to Ukrainian filmmakers with the help of the International
\nCoalition for Filmmakers at Risk. (VP) <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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