January 16, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 16.01.2023, 19:46

Employment.
Romania has 6.7 million registered employment contracts , the highest level in
the last 10 years and 16% more than last year. Its employment numbers are also
the highest in the last decade, with 5.8 million employees, said labour
minister Marius Budăi. The processing industry and trade employ the most
people, over one million, followed by constructions, transport and storage,
each of which employs around 500,000 people.

Flu. The wave of respiratory infections could starting peaking in Romania from
this week, with experts estimating the highest number of cases to be reached by
10th February, after which they are expecting a downward trend. Over
100,000 cases of respiratory infection, flu and pneumonia were recorded in the
first week of the year, according to the health ministry. The number is much
higher than the figure from the previous week and almost double compared with pre-pandemic
levels. In recent days, doctors have also reported more cases of co-infection
with both flu and Covid-19.

Talks. Romanian foreign minister
Bogdan Aurescu on Monday had a telephone conversation with his Portuguese
counterpart Joao Gomez Cravinho in which they appreciated the excellent
cooperation between Romania and Portugal in all areas. Aurescu thanked for
Portugal’s constant and active support for Romania’s bid to join the Schengen
area, and the Portuguese minister reiterated his country’s firm and active support.
The two officials also discussed the security situation in the region in the
context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Romanian minister thanked Portugal for
its substantial involvement in efforts to strengthen the defence and deterrence
posture on NATO’s eastern flank, with Portuguese military deployed to this end
in Romania.

NATO. NATO will relocate some of its aircraft to Romania from its air base
near Aachen, in Germany, to be closer to the war started by Russia in Ukraine. Three
surveillance aircraft are due to arrive in Bucharest on Tuesday to support NATO’s
enhanced presence in the region and monitor Russian military activity. Also, at
the Otopeni base, near Bucharest, 180 soldiers will be deployed to operate the
planes. The spokeswoman for the Alliance Oana Lungescu said the planes can
detect aircraft from a distance of hundreds of kilometres, being a key
instrument for NATO’s deterrence and defence posture.

Aid. Ukraine and the European Union on Monday signed a memorandum on
the allocation of macro-financial assistance worth 18 billion euros in 2023 -
announced the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denis Shmyhal. He also said that
Ukraine expects to receive a first instalment of three billion euros this week.

Energy.
Romanians used almost 10% less energy in the first 11 months of 2022, according
to data published by the National Institute for Statistics. Industrial
consumption also dropped by 6%, although not because of a reduction in economic
output, which may indicate better energy efficiency. Romania still had to
import a lot of energy, oil and other primary sources, especially with
hydropower production diminishing by 20% because of drought. The output of
thermal and nuclear power stations also dropped, while the amount of wind and
solar generated electricity increased. (CM)