February 12, 2024 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 12.02.2024, 19:49

Elections. The
Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, in the ruling coalition,
on Monday failed to reach an agreement on a proposal to hold local elections at
the same time as elections for the European Parliament, on June 9. The
coalition is also considering the possibility of holding the parliamentary
elections on the same date as one of the presidential elections rounds. Prime
Minister Marcel Ciolacu wants a clear timetable for the ballots scheduled for
2024, when all types of elections are taking place. The parties in the opposition
are against the proposals, saying the move would benefit the ruling parties. Both
the alliance between the Save Romania Union, the Force of the Right and the
People’s Movement Party and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians said holding
two types of elections on the same date is undemocratic and unconstitutional.

Hospitals. 18
hospitals from Bucharest and around the country were impacted by a cyber attack
on their IT services provider. The National Directorate for Cyber Security said
the attackers encrypted the hospitals’ data and requested ransom. The cyber
attack was confirmed by the health ministry. Security measures, including
limiting the use of the Internet and saving data on external devices, were
taken in all hospitals using this type of information system, called Hipocrate,
which links medical activities in hospitals to the Insurance House.

Salaries. The
average net salary in Romania in December 2023 rose to around 1,000 euros, up
by 6.6% compared to November 2023, according to the National Institute for Statistics.
The highest salary increases were recorded in coke-making area and the
manufacturing of products obtained from the processing of crude oil, namely
more than 2,500 euros, while the lowest increases were reported in the
hospitality sector, with over 560 euros. Fluctuations in annual revenues are
mainly related to the distribution of annual and holiday bonuses, particularly
in the reference months (December and March or April).

Defence. The
president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has called a meeting of the Supreme Defence
Council for February 21, according to a statement from the president’s office.
The agenda includes the latest security developments in the Black Sea region in
the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the progress made in
the area of defence planning, especially with respect to army modernisation
programmes and efforts to mobilise more military staff, as well as staff
retention. The meeting is also expected to discuss a report on the activity of
the Cyber-Security Operative Council in 2023 and the 2023 activity report of
the Supreme Defence Council and tackle topical international issues.

Finland. Romania’s president Klaus iohannis
congratulated his new Finnish counterpart Alexander
Stubb on winning the second round of the presidential elections on Sunday.
Iohannis said he was looking forward to work together with Stubb and develop
the close European partnership between Romania and Finland and to defend the
two countries’ Euro-Atlantic values. With 51.5% of the votes, Stubb, a former
Conservative prime minister, defeated his rival, the former foreign minister of
the Green League Pekka Haavisto, who got 48.4% of the
votes. The new president will take over on 1st March. These were the
first presidential elections since Finland’s entry into NATO, last year. (CM)