July 5, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 05.07.2024, 20:00
ELECTIONS – Ruling coalition parties PSD and PNL decided that the first round of the presidential election will take place on November 24, with the second round slated for December 8. In addition, coalition leaders decided that the parliamentary election will take place, for the first time, on December 1, the National Day of Romania. The government decision regarding the election timetable was adopted during Thursday’s government session. This week, opposition parties took part in consultations launched by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The presidential election was supposed to take place on September 15, following an original agreement reached by PSD and PNL, but the Liberals later disagreed with this date. So far, the two parties have not announced their presidential candidates.
CENTRAL BANK – The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania on Friday decided to reduce the monetary policy interest rate from 7% to 6.75% per year starting July 8. At the same time, the Central Bank decided to lower the interest rate for Lombard loans from 8.00% to 7.75% per year, as well as the interest rate for deposits from 6.00% to 5.75% per year. The Bank decided to maintain the mandatory minimum reserve rates for liabilities in national and foreign currencies of credit institutions at the current levels. The monetary policy rate was unchanged since January last year, when the Bank increased the interest rate from 6.75% to 7% per year. According to the Central Bank, the annual inflation rate accelerated its decline in the first two months of the second quarter of 2024, dropping to 5.12% in May, below the forecast level.
TRILATERAL – On the sidelines of the Romania – Republic of Moldova – Ukraine Trilateral meeting in Chișinău, the foreign ministers of the three states signed a joint resolution presenting their common vision with respect to the current security context. The meeting represented a new opportunity of expressing support for Ukraine, for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, in the context of the war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu said. The common goal remains to ensure international support for comprehensive, just and sustainable peace, the Moldovan Foreign Minister said in turn. In addition, the three officials also signed a memorandum on combating disinformation and foreign interference.
SCHENGEN – Hungary, the country that currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, claims that it does not understand Austria’s continuous opposition to the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Since the two countries have fulfilled all requirements and tests in recent years, Hungary will call on the Council to greenlight their Schengen accession this year, the Hungarian Interior Minister told a press briefing attended by journalists from all over Europe. The Budapest official also said that, over the course of his mandate, Hungary will advocate its own vision on border defense as the key solution to the issue of illegal migration.
ELECTIONS IN THE UK – Labor Party leader Keir Starmer is the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was formally appointed to form a new government by King Charles III on Friday, following his party’s landslide victory in Thursday’s parliamentary election. A former human rights solicitor, Starmer entered politics only nine years ago. He thus becomes the third prime minister in less than two years of Charles’ reign, after Conservative leaders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Keir Starmer will lead the country after 14 years of Conservative rule and a number of crises, including austerity measures, Brexit, the pandemic, rampant price hikes and successive government changes. Prime Minister Starmer seeks to re-launch economic growth, restore public services, strengthen employee rights, reduce immigration and bring Britain closer to the European Union, without however referring to Brexit, a topic he refrained from approaching in the election campaign. The Labor Party grabbed 412 mandates, well above the threshold of 326 that ensures the absolute majority needed to form a government. With only 121 mandates compared to the 365 secured five years ago, the Conservative Party recorded its worst election score since the start of 20th century. (VP)
