THE WEEK IN REVIEW
July 24-28, 2023
Corina Cristea, 29.07.2023, 14:04
Romania – heat wave and storms
Romania faced extreme weather phenomena this week, Wednesday being the most difficult: while the south, southeast and east of the country were under red, orange and yellow heat wave warnings, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, in some counties from other regions there were code red alerts for showers, hail, and storms. The bad weather also caused casualties: on Transalpina, in the center of the country, a woman died after a tree uprooted by strong gusts fell on the car she was in, and in Botoşani (northeast), two brothers died in an open field struck by lightning. In Harghita county (center), railway traffic was blocked after several trees fell on a railway. The storm also damaged the roof of the swimming pool in the county seat, Miercurea Ciuc municipality. The day before, the roof of the Oradea University Library had been blown away, and photovoltaic panels were scattered onto the sidewalks. Tens of thousands of consumers were left without electricity. Several localities in Iasi County (east) were left without drinking water, and the Port of Constanţa (southeast, on the Black Sea) was closed due to strong winds. Rescuers also intervened in Tulcea county, also from the southeast, to evacuate people stuck in cars after a flood that covered the road. More Romanian firefighters are helping, these days, to put out the fires in Greece.
Russian attack near Romania
The war unleashed by the Russians in Ukraine came, this week, very close to Romania. For the first time since the beginning of the confrontation, Russia attacked, on Monday, at dawn, two Ukrainian ports on the Danube, destroying grain silos and injuring several people. One of the attacked ports, Reni, is very close to Romania, about 20 km, and the Bucharest authorities strongly condemned Moscow for attacking the Danube ports. The attacks come as the Danube is one of the alternative routes for the transport of grain from Ukraine, after Russia withdrew from the agreement that allowed for the safe navigation of ships loaded with Ukrainian agricultural products on the Black Sea. In Bucharest, the Ministry of Defense gave assurances that, at this moment, there is no direct military threat to the national territory or the territorial waters of Romania. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, declared that Romania, as a member of NATO and the European Union, has the most important and solid security guarantees in its entire history. She had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, together with whom she condemned Moscows recent attacks on Ukrainian civilians and river and maritime infrastructure, as well as the cynical way in which the Russian Federation affects global food security.
Financial data regarding Romania
Romanias budget deficit reached 2.34% of the Gross Domestic Product in the middle of this year, which represents an increase of over half a percent compared to the similar period in 2022. Revenues were 12% higher, but expenses had an advance of 16.5 percent. According to the data presented by the Ministry of Finance, a significant positive evolution is recorded in the category of investments, where the increase is over 56%. The deficit target for the end of this year is 4.4%, and the Executive is preparing a fiscal package to reach it. Some tax increases and the elimination of some benefits were discussed as proposals, as well as the abolition of more than 200,000 unoccupied budget positions, in parallel with the reduction of expenses in the ministries. The elimination of several exceptions from the payment of the health contribution in sectors such as IT, construction, and agriculture is taken into account, but also the maintenance of only two VAT rates, one of 9% and another of 19%.
The national plan to prevent and combat cancer in Romania
The Bucharest executive has adopted the National Plan to prevent and combat cancer in Romania, which will be applied in stages over the next 5 years. The new program favors patients quick access to preventive measures, diagnosis, and treatment and, last but not least, to palliative services. The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, declared that investments will be made in the field of oncology, and the services that patients will benefit from will be settled in full, including advanced radiotherapy. The government will also develop a fund for innovation, the main beneficiaries being oncology patients. On the other hand, the representatives of the Federation of Associations of Cancer Patients criticized the lack of methodological rules for the application of this plan, without which, they say, it is not known how long it will take from diagnosis to when actual treatment begins. In this context, they stated that they intend to take the Ministry of Health to court.
Medals for Romania at the Fukuoka World Swimming Championships
Romanian athletes Constantin Popovici and Cătălin Petru Preda won, on Thursday, the first medals, gold and silver, for the Romanian delegation at the 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka (Japan), after they placed first in the high dive competition (27 meters). Popovici, 34 years old, became Romanias first world high dive champion. At the competition in Japan, Romanian swimmer David Popovici (18 years old), world champion in 2022 in the 100 and 200 m freestyle event, did not manage to get any medal.
