November 7, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 07.11.2023, 19:58

REVIEW – The Romanian Labor Ministry has announced that all persons in Ilfov county, who own disability certificates will undergo medical reevaluation, after irregularities were found in 1,400 of the 1,700 medical files checked. Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu said that prosecutors have been notified in this respect and that members of the Ilfov county evaluation committee have been dismissed. The topic was discussed in the ruling coalition, and its leaders decided to verify how disability certificates are issued nationwide. Some 800,000 people own disability certificates and receive financial aid in Romania, which puts the country at the top of the list in Europe, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

RESIGNATION – Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa submitted his resignation on Tuesday, after an investigation was opened into how his majority Socialist administration has been handling lithium mining and hydrogen projects in the country. Costa announced his decision in a televised news conference after a meeting with the country’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and specified that his conscience was clear. Previously, prosecutors had named the Portuguese infrastructure minister, Joao Galamba, as a formal suspect.

CASH PAYMENTS — The Social Democrat PM Marcel Ciolacu and the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca decided on Tuesday, after talks in the ruling coalition, to bring a number of changes to the measure regarding cash payments, aimed to protect the business environment and the citizens. One of them is that all current cash payment limits will be maintained for both natural persons and legal entities, with only two exceptions. Marcel Ciolacu reminded that Romania is the country with the highest tax evasion in the European Union, in total amount of 160 billion lei, accounting for 10% of the country’s GDP.

ROMANIANS IN GAZA – 103 Romanians and members of their families in Gaza were given permission to cross the Rafah border into Egypt, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced. Romanian authorities remain in contact with Egyptian and Israeli authorities with a view to bringing home the remaining Romanian citizens in Gaza, who have asked for assistance.

VISIT — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday will pay an official visit to Belgium. He will be received by King Philippe and will have political consultations with the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, the Presidential Administration has announced. Political and diplomatic cooperation and European affairs will be on the agenda of talks, in the context of Belgium holding the presidency of the EU Council, in the first semester of 2024. Economic relations, boosting trade and investment and sectoral cooperation will also be addressed. Iohannis will visit the Belgian Nuclear Research Center, in the city of Mol, which collaborates with relevant Romanian institutions. On this occasion, he will meet with a team of Romanian researchers working at the center. (EE)