NATO The
\npresident of Romania Klaus Iohannis hailed Finland’s announcement regarding its
\nintention to join NATO, and says Bucharest supported the decision. Romania is
\na firm supporter of NATO’s open door policy and stands ready to support Finland
\nin the process of NATO accession. Together we are stronger! Iohannis posted on
\nTwitter on Thursday. The president of Finland Sauli Niinist\u00f6 and PM Sanna Marin Thursday spoke in favour of the
\ncountry’s joining NATO without delay, with the candidacy to be announced on
\nSunday, AFP reports. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the Alliance
\nas a whole, the two officials said in a joint press release. Finland’s
\naccession will be a threat to Russia, the Kremlin said in response. Three in
\nfour Finnish citizens support the accession. A neutral state during the Cold
\nWar, Finland joined the EU and NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme, but
\nremained outside the alliance. The decision to join NATO comes against the
\nbackground of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares a 1,300-km border
\nwith Russia. <\/p>\n
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RULING The Bucharest Court of Appeals Thursday passed
\nits final ruling on the Colectiv case, after several successive
\npostponements. The former Bucharest District 4 Mayor Cristian Popescu-Piedone, currently
\nthe mayor of District 5 of the capital city, was sentenced to 4 years in prison
\nfor abuse of office. The club owners also received prison sentences ranging
\nbetween 6 and 11 years, while the 2 firefighters with the Bucharest
\nInspectorate for Emergency Situations who inspected the Colectiv nightclub and
\ndisregarded the workplace security legislation were sentenced to 8 years and 8
\nmonths in prison, and 2 pyrotechnics workers will also serve 6 years and 10 months
\neach. The manager of the fireworks company received a suspended sentence. The
\nOctober 2015 fire in Colectiv killed 64 people and injured many others. It
\nwas the most serious accident in Romania since 1989. The tragedy forced the
\ngovernment at the time to step down.<\/p>\n
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INFLATION The Romanian Central Bank has updated its
\ninflation forecast to 12.5% for end-2022 and 6.7% for end-2023, governor Mugur
\nIsarescu announced on Thursday. In February, the Central Bank estimated
\ninflation would stand at 9.6% at the end of 2022 and at 3.2% at the end of
\n2023. Inflationist pressure triggered by production costs is expected to go
\ndown gradually. However, its effects will continue to be felt for around 12
\nmonths. Romania sees the highest annual inflation rate in the last 18 years,
\nnearly 14%, with the steepest price rises reported for natural gas (85%).<\/p>\n
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\n
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POLL One in two Romanians has considered moving to
\nanother country after the start of the war in Ukraine, and the first options
\nwould be Germany, France and Britain, according to data made public by a
\nrecruitment platform. 12% of respondents are waiting to see how things unfold
\nand 11% believe the war will not affect us. Another 26% say they will not leave
\nthe country irrespective of what happens next. The main reasons for moving
\nabroad are the wish to change the scenery and the country where they work
\n(38%), personal and family safety (24%), better incomes (21%), more
\nopportunities for professional development (14%) and the wish to work in a
\nsafer environment, unaffected by war (4%).<\/p>\n
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\n
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UKRAINE A first Russian soldier will be on trial in
\nUkraine for killing a civilian in the Sumy region. International teams of
\nprosecutors and investigators continue to probe into war crimes committed by
\nthe Russian army, with more than 10,000 such cases pending. According to Radio
\nRomania’s special correspondent, investigators say the 21-year old Russian
\nsoldier killed a Ukrainian civilian who was walking his bike along the sidewalk.
\nThe soldier and other Russian troops were in a stolen car, after their unit had
\nbeen destroyed by the Ukrainian forces. The prosecutor general of Ukraine, Iryna
\nVenediktova, said there was enough evidence of his involvement in violation of
\nthe laws and customs of war, including premeditated murder, and that he was
\nfacing 10 to 15 years or life in prison. Experts from Poland, Lithuania and
\nFrance help the teams of investigators, and the cases documented so far point
\nto people being killed with no reason. Clashes continued on Thursday in the
\nnorth-east and south-east of Ukraine, with both sides announcing local-scale
\nadvances.<\/p>\n
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\n
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NATURAL GAS The Romanian Senate passed amendments to the Offshore
\nAct, which green lights gas exploitation in the Black Sea. The ruling
\ncoalition, which tabled the bill, says this is a much more balanced version of
\nthe one endorsed four years ago. Tax changes have now been introduced in favour
\nof the companies concerned, and dependence on Russian gas would be
\nsignificantly reduced in a few years’ time. According to estimates, around 80
\nbillion cubic metres of gas are in the Neptune Deep perimeter alone. The
\nnational state-owned company Romgaz-the largest gas producer in Romania-and the
\nAustrian company OMV will extract gas from the Black Sea in the coming years. (A.M.P.)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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