1 July, 2017

Temperatures soar across Romania to reach as much as 44 °C. The public sector pay law comes into force.

Newsroom, 01.07.2017, 13:43

Heat wave. Temperatures will
soar today in Bucharest, which has been affected by a heat wave, to reach 42-44
degrees Celsius. Temperatures will be even higher in other areas. A red code
alert for extreme heat was issued on Saturday morning in 19 counties in the
south and east of the country and in the capital Bucharest. The alert is in
place until Saturday evening. The level of thermal discomfort is very high,
while the temperature/humidity ratio is much above normal levels. The
authorities have taken measures to alleviate the effects of the heat, such as
providing first-aid services and water. Heavy-duty vehicles are banned from
public roads affected by the heat wave and trains are running at low speed. The
weather will become unstable in the evening, especially in the north, centre,
north-east and in the mountains and storms, torrential rain, hail and
thunderstorms are expected.

Public sector salaries. The public sector pay
law came into force on the 1st of July, after being signed by
president Klaus Iohannis this week. The law will, however, be applied starting
next year. It provides for a gradual increase in public sector salaries within
the next five years, by more than 50% on average. The pension index also went
up by 9% on 1st of July. At the same time, however, the price of
electricity for domestic users went up by 8%, according to the liberalisation
timetable. A full liberalisation is expected on 1st of January 2018,
when the electricity price will be established by the stock market.

Government. Mihai
Tudose’s cabinet formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats on Friday discussed a first reading of a bill on the
creation of the Sovereign Development and Investment Fund. The purpose of the
new body, whose sole stake-holder will be the Romanian state, is to finance
profit-making investments in various economic sectors. According to prime
minister Tudose, the creation of the Fund is in agreement with the European
institutions, while the bill may reach Parliament in September. The approximate
value of the Fund is 10 billion euros. Similar sovereign funds already exist in
Norway, France, Italy and Poland.

Defence. The
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has called a meeting of the Country’s Supreme
Defence Council on Tuesday to discuss the army’s equipping plan for the
2016-2026 period. This year, Romania has allocated 2% of its GDP to defence
spending. The meeting on Tuesday will also look at the activity of the Romanian
Intelligence Service in 2016. According to the president’s office, the
Country’s Supreme Defence Council will also discuss about the number of troops
that may be made available by Romania for international missions and operations
in 2018.

Festival. In July, Bucharest is playing host to the
International Street Theatre Festival, which brings together hundreds of
participants from Romania, France, Columbia, Italy, Germany, Holland, Austria
and Spain. Every week-end from Friday to Sunday, the streets of Bucharest will
host performances on stilts, magic shows, street dance performances and living
statues. Acrobatics, light shows, juggling with torches and tango and cabaret
performances will be held in the evening.

Olympiad. Romania won two
gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze at the third edition of the Balkan Geography
Olympiad held between the 25th and the 30th of June in
Ruse, Slovenia. According to the education ministry in Bucharest, these results
put Romania in the first place in the nations’ standings. School children from
five different countries took part in this year’s Olympiad.

Wimbledon tennis. World
no. 2 Simona Halep of Romania will play Marina Erakovic of New Zealand on
Monday in the first round at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tournament of the
year. Last year, Halep reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and was a
semifinalist in 2014. Also in the first round of the women’s draw, Romania’s
Monica Niculescu, world no. 51, will face Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova;
Sorana Cirstea, world no. 62, plays Dutch player Kiki Bartens; while Irina
Begu, world no. 69, faces the British player Naomi Broady. Ana Bogdan, world
no. 114, who makes her Grand Slam debut, will face the Chinese player Ying-Ying
Duan. In the men’s draw, Romania’s Marius Copil, world no. 85, will face the
German player Peter Gojowczyk in the first round.