FARMERS An alliance of Romanian farmers, unhappy
\nwith the European Commission’s decision not to extend the ban on grain imports
\nfrom Ukraine, asks the Romanian government to suspend imports of several
\nUkrainian agrifood products. The government, which has already promised
\nsubsidies for the Diesel fuel used in farming works, announced that before
\ntaking further measures it was waiting for Kyiv to make public on Monday a plan
\nregarding efficient export control to prevent the disruption of the Romanian
\ngrain market. Depending on that plan, Bucharest will take adequate steps to
\nsupport Romanian farmers. The EC decided
\nnot to extend its ban on Ukrainian grain imports, in exchange for certain
\ncommitments from Kyiv. Poland, Slovakia and
\nHungary have introduced unilateral restrictions, while Bulgaria announced it
\ndid not want the embargo on Ukrainian grain imports extended. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PENSIONS A new
\nversion of the special pension law, comprising the amendments requested by the
\nConstitutional Court, will be endorsed by the end of September, said the
\ninterim Chamber of Deputies speaker, Alfred Simonis. He added the law covers
\nall categories of special pensions, but because the special benefits paid to
\nmagistrates and other categories cannot be scrapped, as it happened in the case
\nof MPs, taxation will be introduced, which the Court has accepted. Also,
\nSimonis said, ceilings must be introduced for each particular profession, so as
\nto eliminate special pensions of EUR 8,000 or even EUR 14,000 a month. The
\nConstitutional Court last month sent back to Parliament the new draft pension
\nlaw, on grounds that pension benefits currently being paid cannot be readjusted
\nto different principles than the ones in the law under which they have been
\ngranted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
SCHENGEN Austria’s opposition to Romania’s Schengen
\naccession is not targeted against Bucharest, but against this freedom of
\nmovement system, said the Austrian minister for the EU, Karoline Edtstadler. The
\nstatement comes after Bucharest warned it would sue Vienna over its veto to
\nRomania’s accession. Karoline Edtstadler told the media she understood the
\nposition of Romanian authorities, but added Austria cannot close its eyes to an
\nalready flawed system. She explained the EU should ensure efficient protection of its external
\nborders before envisioning a Europe without internal
\nborders. In
\nan interview to Austrian mass media, Romania’s PM
\nMarcel Ciolacu said that in case of further opposition from Austria, Romania
\nwill have to take the matter to court and demand compensation for the losses
\nincurred because of its failure to join the Schengen area.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
NATO NATO’s secretary general
\nJens Stoltenberg has warned that we must not expect a swift end to the war in
\nUkraine, in an interview published on Sunday, as Kyiv carries on its
\ncounteroffensive against Russian forces, AFP reports. The war began in February 2022, when
\nRussian troops invaded Ukraine. As for Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, Jens Stoltenberg promised
\nthat sooner or later, Ukraine will be a NATO member. In July’s NATO summit in
\nVilnius, Alliance leaders agreed that Kyiv may join NATO once
\ncertain conditions are fulfilled, with the US and Germany emphasising that
\nthese conditions include reforms to protect democracy and the rule of law. In
\nmid-June the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive to push out the Russian
\ntroops from the south and east of the country, but so far only a limited number
\nof localities have been freed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team play their second
\nWorld Cup match in Bordeaux (France) today, against defending champions, South
\nAfrica. A week ago Romania lost to Ireland 82-8 (33-8). Romania’s
\nrugby team is next to play against Scotland on September 30 and against Tonga on
\nOctober 8, in Lille. The 2023 Rugby World Cup
\nends on October 28. The competition has been held every 4 years since 1987, when
\nthe first edition of the World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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