December 12, 2023
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 12.12.2023, 13:54
Summit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will participate, from Wednesday until Friday, in Brussels, in the EU Western Balkans Summit and in the European Council, in which context he will support the decisions regarding the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. According to the Presidential Administration, Klaus Iohannis will support the granting of candidate status for Georgia, as well as the opening of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the necessary progress is made to meet the accession criteria. He will also insist on accelerating the accession process of the Western Balkan states.
Moldova. The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, had a telephone conversation on Tuesday with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, majority Romanian), Dorin Recean, during which he reiterated the strong support of the Bucharest Government for Chisinaus European path. According to a Government press release, Prime Minister Ciolacu emphasized the active support that Romania is giving to the neighboring state for the start of the EU accession negotiation process, in the context of the European Council that will take place this week. The two prime ministers also discussed bilateral cooperation projects, especially in the fields of cross-border energy interconnections and the financial assistance that Romania provides for the development of the Republic of Moldova.
Budget. In 2024,Romanias budget deficit will stand below 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, lower than the one that will end this year. According to the Romanian Government, important additional sums will be granted next year to Education, Health, Transport and Investments. According to the 2024 draft budget, the salaries of budget employees and teachers, as well as pensions will increase. All these pay rise and budget allocation increases will be made without increasing taxes as well, says the Government. The heads of the governing coalition are counting on a future package of measures to increase collection and reduce tax evasion, as well as on the digitization of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.
Schengen. According to President Klaus Iohannis, Romanias accession to the Schengen Area would send a strong message of solidarity and unity from the European Union. The president has called for a positive decision in this regard as soon as possible. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu believes that some of Austrias conditions for accepting Romania in the area of free movement, starting with the airports, are not exaggerated. From the opposition, the Save Romania Union states that Romania deserves a full admission to Schengen and calls on the authorities to come up with a concrete plan to achieve this goal.
Awards. The Ministry of Education is organizing, today, an award ceremony for the students winners of this years international Olympiads, the teachers who trained them and the schools where they study. 138 students who obtained 164 medals, prizes and mentions at 28 international Olympiads and regional competitions will be awarded at the event hosted by the National Theater in Bucharest. They have won 6 gold medals with maximum score, 51 gold medals or first prizes, 55 silver medals/second prizes, 30 bronze medals/third prizes, and 22 honorary mentions or equivalent diplomas respectively.
Handball. Romanias national team ended their participation in the World Womens Handball Championship in Denmark, Norway and Sweden with a victory, defeating Poland 27-26, on Monday evening, in the last match of the third main group. Thus, Romania has finished in third place in the group and has not fulfilled its objective at this final tournament, namely the qualification for the quarter-finals. The Romanians ranked 12th in the final ranking of the competition and will very likely not participate in the 2024 Olympics. Romania is the only national team that has participated in all 26 editions of the Womens World Handball Championship. It has a world title (1962), two silver medals (1973, 2005) and one bronze medal (2015). At the previous edition, Romania ranked 13th. (MI)
