December 1, 2016

Romanians mark the National Day on December 1/ OPEC oil barrel price skyrockets/ Eurostat consumption expenses

Newsroom, 01.12.2016, 12:00

NATIONAL DAY – Romania’s National Day is marked each year on December 1 by all Romanian citizens in the country and abroad as well as in the theaters of operations where Romanian military are participating in international missions. Military parades have been organized in several cities of Romania and the authorities have prepared concerts, traditional public meals and fireworks shows. The most important parade was held in Bucharest with the participation of more than 3 thousand military and experts with the National Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Intelligence Service. Also parading were military technology and tens of aircrafts among which the multirole F-16Fighiting Falcon, the latest acquisition of the Romanian Air Forces. This year the parade held in Bucharest paid homage to the heroes killed in WWI in the context in which Romania marked in 2016 100 years since it entered the War. Military detachments from Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Slovakia, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Spain and the US have participated, for the first time, in the National Day parade. The National Day is also being celebrated abroad through various cultural events organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute Representations in cooperation with Romania’s diplomatic missions.

MESSAGES ON DECEMBER 1 – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has congratulated all Romanians on the occasion of the National Day. According to him the significance of this day should inspire all Romanians to be united in order to be able to fulfill their ideals. In turn, the PM Dacian Cioloş conveyed a message in which he referred to the Great Union of 1918, which he considered a miracle of history. Romanians also received messages of congratulation on the National Day from the US authorities and the President Barack Obama, through the agency of the American Secretary of State John Kerry. The message highlights the importance of the bilateral Strategic Partnership, the fact that Romania remains a trustworthy ally within NATO, which contributes significantly to international peace and security. Also the US State Department hails Romania’s commitment to the values of democracy and hopes the December 11 parliamentary elections will be free and fair.

OPEC — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced Wednesday in Vienna the first cut in production since the financial crises of 2008, with the price of the oil barrel skyrocketing by 8%, to reach 50 dollars, writes the Financial Times. The 13 member states of the cartel will reduce production by almost 4.5% or 1.2 million barrels per day to reach 32.5 million barrels per day. Production targets are to be set for each of the member states. Analysts expect Saudi Arabia to operate the most significant cut in production alongside its allies in the Gulf area. In exchange Iran is to freeze production to almost 3.8 million barrels per day. As of mid 2014 the oil barrel price has been halved due to overproduction.

RETURN GUIDE – The Department of Policies for the Relation with the Romanians in the Diaspora within the Romanian Foreign Ministry has drafted and published a “Return Guide” for the Romanians living outside Romania. The document was drawn up based on the questions asked by those Romanians who intend to return home and includes basic information and useful contacts that could make their reintegration in Romania easier. According to estimates made by the Foreign Ministry, between 3.5 and 4 million Romanians are now living abroad.

EUROSTAT – In 2015 households in Romania allotted almost 22% of their total consumption expenses for their homes, water supply, electricity, gas and other fuels as compared to 21% in 2005, show the latest data made public by the European Statistical Office. At the level of the EU, families allotted a quarter of the money for consumption to these expenses, the total sum of 2 thousand billion euros accounting for the largest category of household expenses in the member states. (translation by L. Simion)