June 30, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 30.06.2024, 20:00
OSCE PA – The 31st session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe continues in Bucharest. Until Wednesday, MPs from over 50 states will be discussing the war in Ukraine. Participants have called for peace, stability and the observance of international regulations. Artificial intelligence, climate change, combating drug and human trafficking as well as migration are other topics high on the agenda for talks.
TALKS – The government has announced talks with political parties on Monday and Tuesday regarding the timetable for the presidential and parliamentary elections due this year. On Friday, Social-Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he will invite party leaders to discuss the presidential election timetable, arguing that „shenanigans” on this topic affect trust between partners and must thus cease. The ruling coalition partners PSD and PNL failed to reach an agreement on the date of the presidential election. The Liberals want the election to take place towards the end of the year, in November-December, while the Social-Democrats insist the original period, September, be maintained. We recall local and European Parliament elections were held on June 9.
PRICE HIKES – July 1 will bring new price hikes, experts say. The excise duty for fuel will go up, which will spell an additional 0.43 RON increase for gas and 0.4 RON for Diesel. Prices for fuel have already gone up in certain filling stations. Gas currently sells for 6.99 up to 7.06 RON, while Diesel prices vary between 7.13 RON and 7.19 RON per liter. Also starting July 1, natural gas bills are also expected to go up, after the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) adopted an average 19% increase in distribution costs. Meanwhile, the national minimum wage will go up from 3,300 to 3,700 RON on Monday, spelling a net increase of approximately 57 EUR.
FITS – Seven outstanding personalities from the world of arts were awarded stars on the Walk of Fame in Sibiu, on the last day of the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu (FITS) on Sunday. Among them, French actress Isabelle Adjani, American actor John Malkovich and Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, the recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature. One of the biggest and most important theater and performing arts festivals in the world, the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu opened on June 21, and brought to the public 830 related events, involving 5,000 artists from 82 countries. This year’s edition also included an extensive French presence, marking 100 years of existence for the French Institute in Romania, as well as an extensive Polish contribution, including a preview of the 2024-2025 Romania-Poland Cultural Season.
MESSAGE – Romanian Orthodox Church Patriarch Daniel on Sunday conveyed a message in response to the election of a new Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in neighboring Bulgaria, expressing confidence the high hierarch will help defend and promote Christian values in the modern world. Aged 52, Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin, was elected Patriarch of Bulgaria, succeeding the charismatic Neophyte, who passed away in March. A member of the EU and NATO, Bulgaria is close to Moscow in historical, cultural and religious terms. Relations with Russia have been strained since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Over two thirds of Bulgaria’s population is Orthodox.
WIMBLEDON – Romanian tennis players enrolled in the women’s singles at Wimbledon will take on tough opponents in the opening round. Gabriela Ruse (152 WTA) will take on Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan (4 WTA), the 2022 champion. Jaqueline Cristian (62 WTA) will go up against Bianca Andreescu of Canada (165 WTA). Anca Alexia Todoni (141 WTA), who has qualified to the main draw for the first time in her career, will play Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy (41 WTA). Irina Begu (127 WTA) will take on Lin Zhu of China (60 WTA). Ana Bogdan (50 WTA) will play Cristina Bucșa of Spain (63 WTA). Sorana Cîrstea (29 WTA and seeded 29th) will play Sonay Kartal of Great Britain (295 WTA). Romanian-born British player Emma Răducanu (168 WTA), the beneficiary of a wild card, will play Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia (22 WTA and seeded 22nd). (VP)
