STRIKE An all-out strike has been initiated today in Romanian public
\nundergraduate education. According to trade unions, taking part are over 150,000
\nteachers and 70,000 non-teaching staff, disgruntled with the government’s
\nsalary policies. A two-hour token strike in higher education is also scheduled
\nfor today. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
EDUCATION The new undergraduate and higher education bills are discussed and voted on as of today in the Senate, the
\ndecision-making parliamentary body in this respect.
\nAt the end of last week’s talks in the Senate’s committee on education, the
\nrepresentatives of students and parents said that over 90% of their requests were
\nanswered in the new legislation. In turn, the religious denominations welcomed
\nthe amendments to the new bills. With respect to the undergraduate education,
\nthe National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic
\nUnion of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in power, say the bill meets students’
\neducational needs, supports teachers’ career development and fosters quality and
\nequity in the education system. The draft law includes measures to enhance
\nsafety in schools and to ensure the access of children with special needs to
\nregular classes. The opposition, on the other hand, believes these important issues
\nnoted by civil society are not solved. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
VISIT The president of Germany, Frank-Walter
\nSteinmeier, will make an official visit to Romania on the 24th to 26th
\nMay, at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis. According
\nto the Romanian presidency, the visit is a major landmark for the excellent
\nRomanian-German relations. Talks will focus on extending and deepening
\nbilateral cooperation in political, security and economic areas. The Romanian
\npresidency also mentions that Germany is a reliable ally of Romania,
\ncontributing to the security in the region, and also the country’s main trade
\npartner and the second-largest foreign investor in the national economy. The
\ntwo heads of state will also exchange opinions on current security developments
\nand on consolidating the defence posture in NATO’s eastern flank. During
\nhis visit to Romania, the president of Germany will also travel to Sibiu
\n(centre) and Timisoara (west). <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign
\nminister Bogdan Aurescu takes part today in the meeting of the EU Foreign
\nAffairs Council in Brussels. The EU foreign ministers discuss measures to
\nmitigate the effects of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. According to the
\nRomanian foreign ministry, Bogdan Aurescu will reiterate Romania’s firm, multidimensional
\nand continuing support for Ukraine and will express hopes that an agreement
\nwill be reached as soon as possible on the 8th support package for
\nthe Ukrainian air forces under the EU Peace Facility. Minister Aurescu will
\nalso highlight the importance of keeping pressure on Russia by consolidating
\nsanctions, and will reiterate the idea of setting up a special international tribunal
\nfor the crime of aggression to prosecute Russian crimes of aggression during
\nthe war in Ukraine. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TECHNOLOGY Bucharest Tech
\nWeek, the largest technology and innovation trade fair in Central and Eastern
\nEurope, has begun in Bucharest today. The event brings together over 70 speakers,
\nnational and international tech experts, and 1,500 professionals from over 100
\ncompanies operating in various fields. The first 5 days are devoted to
\nconferences on innovation, HR, retail, Java and Software Architecture, under
\nthe heading Business Summits. The largest technology and innovation
\nexhibition, Tech Expo, will also be open to the public over the weekend of 26 May.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
GREECE The right-of-centre party headed by Greece’s incumbent PM,
\nKyriakos Mitsotakis, has won Sunday’s parliamentary election, but failed to get
\nabsolute majority. New Democracy won over 41% of the votes, and will have 146 seats
\nin parliament. Its left-of-centre rivals, Syriza party, won 21% of the votes
\nand 71 seats in parliament. The 3% threshold has been reached by 5 of the 36 parties
\nthat took part in the election. Kyriakos Mitsotakis ruled out a coalition
\ngovernment. Unless the winning parties manage to form a government, early
\nelections will be held on 25 June.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
FOOTBALL Farul Constan\u0163a
\nwon Romania’s football championships, after defeating FCSB 3-2, on home turf
\non Sunday night, in the 9th round of the Super League. Farul managed a spectacular come-back in the championship final,
\nafter FCSB had been leading 2-0. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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