December 8, 2022

Romania's bid to join Schengen rejected and other local and international news.

Newsroom, 08.12.2022, 16:30

Schengen. The EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council has rejected Romania’s
and Bulgaria’s bid to join the free-movement Schengen area with two
votes against, from Austria and The Netherlands, with the latter only
opposing Bulgaria’s entry. Austria said it feared an increase in
illegal migration. Croatia, which also applied to join Schengen,
received the green light and will become part of the Schengen area on
1st January 2023.

Refugees.
The Border Police said almost 65,500 people crossed the border into Romania on
Wednesday, including more than 7,300 Ukrainians, down 1.2% compared with the
previous day. Since 10th February 2022, two weeks before the Russian
army invaded Ukraine, more than 3 million Ukrainians have crossed the border
into neighbouring Romania. Most of them have continued their journey to
countries in western Europe, but over 80,000 have chosen to stay, according to
official figures.

Farmers. Romanian farmers will benefit from around 16 billion euros
under the strategic plan for 2023-2027 approved on Wednesday by the European
Commission. Some 10 billion euros account for direct payments and sectoral
interventions, while 6 billion will be allocated to rural development.
Romania’s agriculture minister Petre Daea said the plan also includes an
instrument to support farmers who suffered losses as a result of natural disasters,
with 400 million euros being earmarked to this end.

Budget.
The state and social security budgets for next year are on the agenda of
today’s meeting of the Romanian government, before being submitted to
Parliament on Friday to be debated and voted on. The ministries of defence,
development, transport and education are to receive more money, while the budgets
of the ministries for energy, justice and healthcare will be reduced. The
budget bill also provides for a 10% increase in public sector salaries, a 12.5%
increase in pensions and for raising the minimum monthly wage to 3,000 lei, the
equivalent of around 600 euros. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians, a
nationalist party in opposition, said it would propose amendments to the budget
bills, criticising the fact that while defence and the special services are
earmarked generous budgets, education has the smallest budget in recent
history.

Fair. The 29th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair organised by
Radio Romania is under way in Bucharest until Sunday. The event brings together
200 participants and a variety of editorial products on different formats, for
all ages and areas of interest, including music and educational games. The
line-up features 600 different events and related projects. As a first, the
fair also has special areas dedicated to interactive activities for young
visitors. All stands are also available online on the gaudeamus.ro website. The
fair’s honorary president this year is poet Ana Blandiana.

Handball.
The Romanian men’s handball champions Dinamo Bucharest are tonight facing the
Croatian side RK Zagreb at home in a new Champions League Group A match. Dinamo
are currently ranked fourth in their group with nine points from 8 matches
played. PSG of France top the group with 14 points, followed by Veszprem of
Hungary with 13 points and Magdeburg of Germany with 10 points. According to
the sports media in Bucharest, if they win tonight, Dinamo will most likely go
into play-offs for a place in the quarterfinals. (CM)