August 22, 2023 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 22.08.2023, 19:17
Strike – Trade unionists with Romanias Fiscal Administration organized a token strike on Tuesday morning, also picketing the headquarters of the Finance Ministry in order to protest the measures proposed by the Romanian government to cut budget expenditures. Trade union leader Dorin Modure said that some of the claims refer to maintaining the employees incomes and a proper statute. He said there were several abortive attempts at negotiating with the government and he does not rule out the idea of an all-out strike, unless the protesters claims are met.
Fires – The Romanian firefighters sent to Greece successfully completed, on Tuesday, the mission of extinguishing the fire in the town of Alexandroupolis. Later they were sent to the Dadia area for another intervention. Here they are acting on a front of over three kilometers, shows a press release from the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations. Romania has deployed in Greece a specialized national module for extinguishing forest fires, consisting of 56 firefighters, ten fire-fighting trucks, a first response and command vehicle and a bus. The firefighters were deployed following the request for international assistance from Athens. In Bucharest, the Romanian Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning which says that there is a high risk of fires in several Greek tourist areas, such as Attica, the Peloponnese, Mount Athos, the Ionian islands of Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Lefkada and the northern islands of Samothraki and Thassos.
Brancusi – The famous sculpture “The Kiss” by the great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi has arrived in Bucharest, where it stays for ten days. The work, which is part of the collection of the Art Museum in Craiova, southern Romania, is on display at the Art Safari Love exhibition in downtown Bucharest where it can be admired until August 30th. This masterpiece was made in 1907 and was presented to the public in 1910 during the Young Artists exhibition in Bucharest. The Kiss is an internationally acknowledged masterpiece, being considered the first modern sculpture of the 20th century. The sculpture is the first in a series that the artist worked on for more than 40 years.
Drugs – People who drive without a license or are convicted by the court for causing fatal accidents as a result of not complying with traffic rules will have the legal right to drive again only after 5 years from ending the sentence, according to a draft law that is awaiting the final vote in the Chamber Deputies of the Romanian Parliament. Senator Robert Cazanciuc stated that this provision, already approved by the Senate, aims at tightening the Anastasia Law, in force from July 10, 2023. The law in question was initiated by Cazanciuc in memory of a 4-year-old girl killed by a woman who was driving without having a license and establishes that no drunk, drugged or unlicensed driver who causes a fatal accident can escape jail anymore. At present, the legislation stipuates that the license can be obtained by these drivers six months after the end of their sentence. The bill is again making headlines after, over the weekend, a 19-year-old driver, under the influence of drugs, hit a group of young people with his car, killing two and injuring three. The driver had been stopped by the police just a few hours before and, although drugs were found on him, he was allowed to leave. Moreover, it has not been tested for drugs either. As a result of the indignation produced in the public space, the Judicial Inspectorate officials announced that they will verify, at the national level, the files in which investigations are carried out for the possession of forbidden substances and crimes committed under their influence.
Athens – At the informal meeting held in Athens by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on the community blocs enlargement towards the Western Balkans,the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has presented Romanias support for Ukraine, as well as the challenges the Romanian farmers are facing against the background of the situation caused by the Ukrainian grain exports and has proposed the setting up of a European mechanism to manage these exports. He has also briefed the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on the situation at Romanias borders, adding that the country needs additional financial support in order to step up the process of streamlining its infrastructure. Ciolacu has also requested the European official to step up joint efforts for Romanias Schengen accession. In Athens, the Romanian official also had talks with his Greek counterpart as well as with president Zelenski whom he assured of Romanias support for Ukraine until its final victory and afterwards for the countrys reconstruction. (LS)
