May 12, 2022
A selection of local and international news.
Newsroom, 12.05.2022, 13:59
POLL — One in two Romanians has considered moving to another country after the start of the war in Ukraine, and the first options would be Germany, France and Britain, according to data made public by a recruitment platform. 12% of respondents are waiting to see how things unfold and 11% believe the war will not affect us. Another 26% say they will not leave the country irrespective of what happens next. The main reasons for moving abroad are the wish to change the scenery and the country where they work (38%), enhance personal and family safety (24%), the chance to earn more (21%), more opportunities for professional development (14%) and the wish to work in a safer environment, unaffected by war (4%).
INFLATION – The Romanian Central Bank has revised upwards its inflation forecast, to 12.5% for end-2022 and 6.7% for end-2023, the bank’s governor, Mugur Isarescu, has announced today. In February, the Central Bank estimated inflation would stand at 9.6% at the end of 2022 and at 3.2% at the end of 2023. Inflationist pressure triggered by production costs is expected to go down gradually. However, its effects will continue to be felt for around 12 months. Romania sees the highest annual inflation rate in the last 18 years – nearly 14%, way above the Central Banks estimates.
NATO – Finlands president Sauli Niinistö and prime minister Sanna Marin have today called for the country to apply for NATO membership “without delay”. The candidacy will be formally announced on Sunday, France Presse reports. Sweden has said it will announce a similar decision on the same day. “NATO membership would strengthen Finlands security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance” the two officials said in a joint press release. Having been submitted to a forced form of neutrality by Moscow during the Cold War, Finland joined the EU and NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme, but remained outside of the alliance. The decision to join NATO comes against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares a 1,300-km border with Russia.
COLLECTIVE — The Bucharest Court of Appeal is expected to give its ruling in the ’Collective’ case, the Bucharest club in which 64 people died and almost 200 were injured, almost seven years ago, after a fire broke out. The ruling has been postponed a number of times. In the first instance, the district mayor Cristian Popescu Piedone, the three club owners, the pyrotechnicians and the administrators of the company that provided the pyrotechnic material, the firemen from the Emergency Situations Inspectorate and employees of the City Hall received sentences of 4 to 13 years in prison.
LAW – The Romanian Senate has adopted amendments to the offshore law, which green lights gas exploitation in the Black Sea. Representatives of the governing coalition, who proposed it, say the law is a much more balanced version of the one passed four years ago. Tax changes have now been introduced in favour of the companies concerned, and dependence on Russian gas would be significantly reduced in a few years’ time. According to estimates, around 80 billion cubic metres of gas are in the Neptun Deep perimeter alone. The national state-owned company Romgaz – the largest gas producer in Romania – and the Austrians from OMV will extract gas from the Black Sea in the coming years. (EE)
