November 25, 2022
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 25.11.2022, 14:08
SUMMIT — A regional summit on the consolidation of NATO’s eastern flank and on supporting Ukraine and Moldova is held today in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, which is a European Cultural capital this year. Attending are the presidents of Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, the Romanian head of state, Klaus Iohannis, who is paying an official visit to Lithuania, will take part in the symposium The Idea of Europe” and will deliver a speech within the presidential panel. The three presidents will assess the options of assisting Ukraine and the measure to support grain exports from this war-torn country. They will also discuss energy security, alternative gas supplies and the economic situation of the Republic of Moldova.
SALARIES — The Bucharest Government has announced it reached an accord with the social partners as regards increasing the gross minimum wages from approximately EUR 510 at present to nearly EUR 600 as of January 1. A total of 2.2 million employees will receive some additional money. Also, in constructions the minimum wage will be around EUR 800. People working in this sector, considered of national importance, are exempted from the 10% tax and pay a smaller contribution to the insurance fund. Around 23% of employees in Romania, that is over 2 million people, receive the minimum wage at present.
ARREST — In Romania, the Department for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) announced that it arrested one person in an advanced phase of self-radicalisation, who has systematically accessed and promoted, via the internet, propaganda materials specific to a terrorist organisation active in the Middle East. That person is accused, among others, of instigating to and planning a terror attack. Judicial sources announced that the person is a woman, Liliana Florentina Gadea, who had already received a suspended sentence in Romania for similar deeds.
MOLDOVA – The Russian ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Oleg Vasnetsov, was summoned at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Chisinau, in protest at the bombing, by Moscow, of the Ukrainian civil infrastructure, which left most of the neighbouring Moldova without electricity for a few hours. According to Radio Chisinau, upon leaving the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Vasnetsov told journalists that bilateral ties have been discussed as well as the events in Ukraine. Previously, Moldovan Minister Nicu Popescu wrote on Twitter that Russia’s brutal bombing of Ukraine continues to have dramatic consequences for Moldova, such as massive power outages across the country, including the capital Chisinau.
NATO – A meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held in Bucharest on November 29-30, 2022. The country will thus become the European and Euro-Atlantic diplomatic capital, said the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu. In a video message, released before the event, he said that the NATO countries’ foreign ministers meeting will once again demonstrate allied unity and solidarity and seek solutions to counter the effects of Russias brutal war against Ukraine. The conference will be hosted by Bogdan Aurescu together with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. Also in Bucharest, next week, the G7 foreign ministers will discuss how they can help Ukraine secure its energy resources for the winter, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock announced.
HANDBALL — The Romanian men’s handball team, Dinamo Bucharest defeated on home turf the Polish side Orlen Wisla Plock, 32-27, in a Group A match of the Champions League. This is the third victory in Group A for the Romanians, whose coach is the Spanish Xavi Pascual. Dinamo will play the away leg on December 1st.(EE)
