Protests. Farmers and the agriculture
\nminister Florin Barbu reached an agreement during talks on Saturday. Farmers,
\nwho have staged protests in recent days, demanded higher subsidies and agreed
\non legislative changes allowing them to drive agricultural machinery using their
\ncar driving permits. Transporters have also staged protests on the Bucharest
\nring road and across the country. At a meeting with prime minister Marcel
\nCiolacu on Friday, they presented a list of 40 demands, including concrete
\nsolutions to the problems faced, mainly the rising cost of insurance policies
\nand of fuel. Farmers have also called on the government to help them cope with the
\nunfair competition posed by grain imports from Ukraine, saying they are yet to
\nreceive their state subsidies and that they have debts to the banks. The
\ngovernment has proposed a timetable for talks, which are due to continue. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Defence. Romania’s contribution to
\nthe US’s shaping of its Black Sea strategy will be a priority in the coming
\nperiod, said the Romanian defence minister Angel T\u00eelv\u0103r during talks with the
\nUS ambassador in Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec. According to a defence ministry
\nstatement, the two officials discussed the main aspects of bilateral political
\nand military cooperation this year, with an emphasis on the impact of Russia’s
\nwar of aggression against Ukraine. Romania is ranked 47th in the
\nworld’s most powerful armies, according to the Global Firepower ranking, a good
\nposition at regional level. Romania is led by Poland, but is ahead of Hungary
\nand Serbia. Ukraine is in the top 20 of most powerful armies in the world this
\nyear. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Award. The president of the Republic
\nof Moldova on Saturday received the Timi\u015foara for European values award from
\nthis city in western Romania. Maia Sandu is the first recipient of this
\ndistinction which is to honour international public figures who promote or
\ndefend European values. In her speech before several hundred people, Maia Sandu
\nsaid the award represents not so much a personal recognition, but the
\nappreciation for how the citizens of Moldova are defending their right to live
\nin peace, freedom and democracy. She emphasised that Russia’s aggression
\nagainst Ukraine showed that democracy can be fragile and that European and
\nhuman values can be trampled on. She also reiterated that Moldova is determined
\nto pursue its European path. The jury recognises the immense efforts the
\nrecipient made to put Moldova on course for Europe. Just like Moldova needs the
\nEuropean Union, so Europe needs Moldova, said the mayor of Timi\u015foara Dominic
\nFritz in his speech. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Interest rate. The National Bank of
\nRomania has decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at 7% per
\nyear, as it expects the inflationist pressure to remain high, especially in the
\nfirst part of the year. The key interest rate, which influences all types of
\nfinancial contracts, has been unchanged for the last year. The interest rate
\nlevels at which commercial banks can borrow from the National Bank or which
\nthey receive for their National Bank deposits have also been maintained.
\nAccording to the latest assessments, the annual inflation rate is to go up in
\nthe first month of the year, as a result of the increase in and introduction of
\nindirect taxes and duties from January aimed at consolidating the budget, but
\nwill again start to go down gradually, albeit at a slower pace than expected in
\nthe previous forecast. (CM)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of local and international news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-612093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n