March 30, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 30.03.2024, 14:13
Schengen. Romanian seaports and international airports join the Schengen Area on Sunday, March 31. At sea, the controls are not eliminated, but they are simplified. At the airports, people who choose to fly to or from Schengen member states, after undergoing the security control, will go directly to the boarding gate, without stopping at the Border Police counters to have their travel documents checked. However, police checks are possible to establish the legal status of some passengers, in order to prevent cross-border crimes and illegal migration. To symbolically mark the moment of Romania’s entry into Schengen by air and sea, new departure terminals were inaugurated, on Friday, at the airports of Iasi (east) and Timisoara (west). Present at the event in Timişoara, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu expressed his confidence that, by the end of the year, Romania would have also joined Schengen area on land, the most important component of the area of free movement of people and goods. Austria is the only country in the EU that still opposes this approach. Currently, 27 European states are full members of the Schengen Agreement, and Romania and Bulgaria become, as of March 31, members with partial rights.
Central Bank. The reference index for consumer loans in Romania has dropped to 5.9% per year, from 5.97%, the level published three months ago, according to data provided by the National Bank of Romania. It is the first important drop in this index in the last 12 months, which will lead, starting April, to lower rates for mortgage loans contracted on the basis of this index for almost 500,000 Romanians. A second decrease will occur in July, down to 5.84%. Also, the Central Bank has announced, the three-month ROBOR index, according to which the cost of consumer loans in national currency with variable interest is calculated, had slightly increased on Friday from 6.05% to 6.06% per year.
Summer time. Tonight, Romania will start observing the daylight saving time, so clocks will go forward one hour, 3 am becoming 4 am. Sunday will be the shortest day this year. With the transition to summer time, the difference between the official time of Romania and UTC will be of three hours. Daylight saving time is observed until October 27. The member states of the European Union were supposed to decide by 2021 whether they wanted to permanently adopt summer time or winter time. However, the discussion is still open.
Easter. Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday. In Romania, approximately 1,300,000 people are preparing for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, three days after crucifixion. In a pastoral letter, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Bucharest, Aurel Percă, states that, unfortunately, the song of Easter joy proclaimed by the Church contrasts with the cries that come from so many painful situations, increasingly frequent in the world, such as wars , injustice, inequality and poverty. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, also posted a message reading that in the spirit of solidarity and compassion, we should direct our thoughts and prayers to those who are suffering. This year, Easter for Roman Catholics and Protestants is five weeks before that for Orthodox, Greek Catholics and Neo-Protestants, who will celebrate it on May 5. In 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017, the Resurrection was celebrated on the same day by all Christians, regardless of denomination. Next time that all Christians will celebrate Easter on the same day is 2025.
Moldova. An employee of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Moscow was declared persona non grata on the territory of the Russian Federation and is to return home. Moscow’s decision comes as a response to a similar measure taken last week by the Chisinau authorities. The Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Russia, Lilian Darii, was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was handed a note of protest and was informed of the decision taken. The Moldovan authorities have announced that they will continue to take all the necessary measures to prevent Russia’s attempts to interfere in the state’s internal affairs.
Drugs. In the last two weeks, Romanian police officers specialized in fighting organized crime have carried out almost 300 searches and discovered and seized, among other things, approximately 28 kg of cannabis, over 5 kg of cocaine and over 13 kg of other drugs. According to a press release of the Romanian Police, 132 arrest warrants and 78 preventive arrest warrants were issued. In the case of 21 people, the measure of judicial control was taken. (MI)
