December 30, 2015 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 30.12.2015, 12:15
The Romanian government approved on Wednesday, in its last session of 2015, the increase in the minimum wages as of May 2016. Over 1.1 million people will benefit from the increase in the minimum wages that will reach 1,250 lei which is around 275 euros. According to Labour Ministry officials, the salary increase will have a positive impact on economic growth by stimulating employment and reducing work under the table. Also the move will have an important social impact, as it will boost living standards and reduce social gaps.
The Romanian PM Dacian Cioloş will pay an official visit to Berlin on January 7. During the visit he will meet with the German chancellor Angela Merkel. The two officials will talk, among other things, about strengthening bilateral relations and the migrants’ wave in Europe. The agenda of the Romanian PM’s visit also includes meetings with the members of the Romanian community in Germany and with representatives of the Romanian-German economic forum. The delegation that will accompany the Romanian PM to Germany also includes the Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu, government sources pointed out.
Global economic growth will be ‘tricky’ in 2016, International Monetary Fund director Christine Lagarde told the German daily Handelsblatt on Wednesday. The IMF official believes the financial sector is still weak in many states, with financial risks growing on emerging markets. Christine Lagarde went on to say that waning productivity, the aging population and the effects of the global financial crisis are obstacles in the way of economic growth, affecting medium-term economic forecasts.
Over 1 million asylum seekers and migrants reached Europe by sea in 2015, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has announced. Of these over 80% reached Greece, mostly on Lesbos Island. The massive flow of migrants has prompted heated debates within the EU, some Member States raising walls and reintroducing border controls. The EU last week agreed to supplement the staff of the European agency dealing with the protection of its external borders — FRONTEX in Greece, where more and more migrants arrive every day, seeking a way into Europe. This is the most severe migrant crisis facing Europe after the Second World War.
The Prime Minister designate of the Republic of Moldova, Ion Sturza, will present his governing programme and the structure of his Cabinet on January 2 in Parliament, and will seek Parliament’s vote of confidence on January 4. Following consultations with parliamentary parties, Ion Sturza obtained the support of Democratic MPs only, accounting for 19 of the total 101 seats in Parliament. On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court of Modlova ruled that the decree of president Nicolae Timofti to appoint Ion Sturza as the country’s new Prime Minister observed the Constitution. 14 former communist MPs, now members of the Democratic Party, had notified the court, claiming that Nicolae Timofti hadn’t consulted their party when appointing Ion Sturza and that the candidate he backed hadn’t been agreed by a parliamentary majority.
