November 14, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 14.11.2024, 13:55
GDP. Romania’s gross domestic product did not change in the third quarter of this year, against the previous quarter, while compared to the same quarter in 2023, the GDP decreased by 0.2%, according to data published on Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics. In the latest ‘World Economic Outlook’ report, published recently, the International Monetary Fund has revised downwards to 1.9% the estimates regarding the growth of the Romanian economy this year, from 2.8% as forecast in April. In Bucharest, in September, the National Strategy and Forecast Commission changed the economic growth forecast for this year down to 2.8%, from 3.4% previously.
Salaries. In Bucharest, the law on raising the minimum wage to half of the average earnings in the country has been promulgated and will come into on the first day of next year. The increases will be operated according to a formula based on clear economic indicators, and in a first stage, the amount of the minimum gross salary will be 4050 lei (approx. 800 euros), according to a government-employer-union agreement. This is an increase between 47 and 52% of the average gross earnings at the national level, according to a calculation formula developed by specialists from the Ministry of Labor, based on criteria such as purchasing power, wage growth rate and labor productivity at national level. 1,800,000 people would benefit from these wage increases.
Visit. On Wednesday, in London, the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu discussed security issues and bilateral economic cooperation with his British counterpart, Keir Starmer. Previously, he participated in an Economic Forum where the Romanian fields of interest for British investors were presented and he met with representatives of the Romanian diaspora. The Romanian community in Great Britain is estimated at over 1.2 million people. Marcel Ciolacu’s two-day visit was the first in the last 17 years by a Romanian prime minister to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. More on this after the news.
Constitution. The new Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, amended by the October 20 referendum, was published on Wednesday in the Official Gazette of Chisinau. In the new form, the Fundamental Law of the Republic of Moldova provides that integration into the European Union is a strategic objective of the country, the European course is irreversible, and the identity of the people of the Republic of Moldova is European, Radio Chisinau reports. The new version of the Constitution also includes the fact that Romanian is the official state language in the Republic of Moldova. The October 20 referendum passed with a fragile majority: 50.38% of the voters said “Yes” to amending the Constitution to include the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU, and the difference compared to the “No” option was 11,400 votes.
F-35. As a decision-making body, the Bucharest Senate approved the draft law regarding Romania’s purchase of 32 F-35 fighter jets from the USA. The F-35 aircraft has very advanced technological performance features, the STEALTH one in particular, which ensures a reduced radar signature. The 32 F-35 planes would gradually replace, starting from 2030, the second-hand F-16 planes bought by Romania in the last decade. Later, Bucharest would buy another 16 F-35 planes, with the final goal being to constitute 3 complete squadrons of fighter planes. According to the American company Lockheed Martin, more than 1,060 F-35s have been built so far and have accumulated more than 940,000 flight hours. More than 2,600 pilots and 17,000 technicians have already been trained in the world. 19 countries, most of them NATO members, are involved in the program.
Ukraine. The Russian invasion army claimed, on Thursday, the seizing of another village near the city of Kurakhove, in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces “continued to advance deep into the enemy’s defensive lines and liberated the town of Voznesenka”, in the Donetsk region – claims the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, in its daily war report, quoted by international news agencies. Also on Thursday, the Russians announced that they had reached the outskirts of the city of Kupiansk, in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv (northeast). In another move, the Ukrainian military reported the shooting down of 21 of the 59 drones launched by the enemy. According to the source, another 38 Russian drones have been lost from the radars.
Tennis. Today, in Malaga, in Spain, the Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan will face Ena Shibahara in the first singles match of the meeting between Romania and Japan, in the Billie Jean King Cup women’s competition. In the second singles match, Jaqueline Cristian will take on Moyuka Uchijima. The doubles match will be announced on the day of the match. The Romania – Japan match was confirmed for Thursday after a thorough on-site inspection by the technical and security teams. The match between the teams of Spain and Poland, which was supposed to open the competition on Wednesday, was postponed until Friday because of a bad weather alert, which was lifted today. The Romanian team participates in the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup 2024, which takes place between November 14-20, in Malaga. The winner of the first round will play in the quarterfinals against Italy, last year’s finalist. (MI)
