GOVERNMENT – The Government has today
\npassed a decree increasing the national minimum wage to 660 EUR starting
\nOctober 1. Some 1.8 million public sector employees will benefit from this
\nmeasure. The government thus seeks to stimulate employment, boost purchasing
\npower and curb undeclared work. Other social categories whose income is
\ncalculated on the value of the minimum wage, such as people with disabilities,
\nor self-employed people, will also benefit from this measure. On the other
\nhand, the Government did not approve the decree increasing wages in the fields
\nof construction, agriculture and the food industry to 900 EUR, after
\ndiscovering these wages might go down as these employees have to contribute to
\nthe national health insurance scheme. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
MIGRATION – EU Interior Ministers are
\ntoday meeting in Brussels to discuss migration and asylum. The meeting is held
\nat a time when Europe faces high flows of migrants crossing the Central
\nMediterranean to reach southern Italy. Participants will be briefed regarding progress
\non legislative debates addressing the reform of European legislation in the
\nfield of asylum procedures. Additionally, ministers will exchange views
\nregarding the external dimension of migration, including cooperation with
\nnon-EU partners with a view to managing migration-related pressure. One
\nprovision included in the migration and asylum pact, presented by the European
\nCommission in September 2020, refers to the mandatory solidarity system at EU
\nlevel in case of a massive flow of migrants on the borders of a member state.
\nThe document is currently blocked due to disagreement voiced by Hungary,
\nPoland, Austria and the Czech Republic. Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands
\nhave abstained from voting the law, which prevents reaching the necessary majority
\nfor adopting it. European Parliament president Roberta Metsola has recently
\ncalled on member states to reach a compromise solution in this matter. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
FORUM – The Euro-Atlantic Resilience
\nCenter (E-ARC) in Bucharest is hosting the second edition of the Euro-Atlantic
\nResilience Forum on Thursday and Friday, attended by Romanian and foreign
\nexperts as well as EU and NATO officials. According to organizers, this year’s
\ntheme is Resilience at Sea and its Impact on Land, seeking to answer security
\nchallenges impacting the maritime sector with significant consequences, which
\nin most cases require concerted and global action. Each panel will be held
\nsimultaneously in Bucharest, New York, Brussels, Washington, Kyiv, Ljubljana
\nand Lublin. E-ARC is a center of excellence in the field of resilience, a
\npartner of NATO and the EU, which acts to the benefit of these organizations
\nand member or partner states. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
CONFERENCE – Senate Speaker Nicolae
\nCiuc\u0103 is attending the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, representing
\nthe 46 members of the Council of Europe, an event hosted by Dublin, Ireland.
\nNicolae Ciuc\u0103 said the meeting will address such topics as the fallout from
\nRussia’s war in Ukraine, the role of national Parliaments in the reconstruction
\nof Ukraine, challenges to democracy in times of instability and equality and
\ndiversity in public representation. According to the Romanian official,
\nRussia’s unprovoked and unwarranted aggression against Ukraine has led to
\nprofound changes in European geopolitics, particularly in the fields of
\neconomy, energy and trade. The Black Sea has become an area of increased
\ninterest to the world’s superpowers, and Romania finds itself in a strategic
\nposition of being the only member of both the EU and NATO that has land and maritime
\nborders with Ukraine, Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 also pointed out. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
DEFENSE – Romania’s Defense Staff
\nhosted a videoconference attended by representatives of public authorities from
\nsoutheastern Romania, in the context of Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian ports on
\nthe Danube River. According to a Defense Ministry Release, the event sought to
\nstreamline cross-institutional cooperation. The agenda included an overview of
\nsecurity issues, the army’s public communication processes, initiatives to
\nprepare the local population, the economy and territory in case of attacks, as
\nwell as the legal responsibilities of various national defense institutions. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(VP)<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[116229,116227,116228,116226,31408],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-611878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-defense-conference","tag-euro-atlantic-resilience-forum","tag-european-conference-of-presidents-of-parliament","tag-migration-issues","tag-national-minimum-wage"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n