February 6, 2025

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 06.02.2025, 13:55

BUDGET Parliament endorsed on Wednesday evening the draft laws on the state budget and the social security budget for 2025. The budget is based on a 2.5% economic growth forecast and a budget deficit of 7% of GDP. According to the finance minister Tánczos Barna, the conditions are thus met to support development through record-large investment, to ensure the payment of salaries and pensions, to protect vulnerable citizens, and to restore balance in the country’s finances.

GOVERNMENT The coalition government in Bucharest convenes today for the first time after this year’s state budget law has been endorsed. The Cabinet’s agenda includes several investment projects concerning the green transition, worth approx. EUR 18 mln. This year’s priorities under the “Anghel Saligny” Local Development Programme are also being discussed, and a formula for calculating national minimum gross wages based on inflation and labor productivity is to be approved, in line with the relevant European Directive. Since the beginning of the year, minimum gross wages in Romania have stood at approx. EUR 810, and the new formula should ensure predictability in employees’ incomes.

RESTRUCTURING Over 400 administrative posts in Parliament are to be scrapped, after Romania’s Chamber of Deputies approved the reorganisation of its staff on Wednesday. Personnel cuts will be made from the Chamber Speaker’s office and the Permanent Bureau members’ offices, and from various departments and directorates in the institution. According to the Chamber leaders, 240 fewer posts will result in annual savings of about EUR 7 mln. Recently, the Senate also decided to cut almost 200 positions, despite employee protests. The government speaks about the need to lower spending in order to contain the budget deficit, while the opposition complains about a lack of transparency and violation of legal provisions.

PRESIDENT The Young People’s Party (POT), a new entry in the Romanian Parliament, Wednesday evening filed a third request to remove the country’s acting president, Klaus Iohannis, from office. The move comes after the opposition failed to get the previous requests on Parliament’s agenda due to procedural flaws. If all legal procedures are met this time, Parliament will convene for a vote in a joint plenary meeting of the two Chambers. On December 21 last year, president Klaus Iohannis’ second and last five-year presidential term under the Constitution was due to come to an end, but after the presidential elections were cancelled his term was extended until a new head of state is elected.

ELECTIONS The Minister Delegate in charge of European Affairs Benjamin Haddad is on a two-day visit to Bucharest, to express his country’s solidarity with Romania, which is subject to foreign interference, reads a news release issued by the French foreign ministry. The French governmental agency in charge of protection against foreign digital interference, VIGINUM, said in a report quoted by the Radio Romania correspondent in Paris that such moves disrupted the smooth conduct of the presidential elections in Romania at the end of last year. We have more after the news.

The Romanian Government Scholarships Program is now open for applications. Each year, the Romanian Government, through the Ministerul Afacerilor Externe/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania, provides a number of scholarships to citizens from non-EU countries, with good results in education. Applicants can choose from any of the following three study cycles in accredited higher education institutions in Romania: Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or PhD. Scholarships are NOT awarded in the fields of medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy. The eligibility criteria, documents and detailed information can be found on the Study in Romania platform, using the Apply for MFA Scholarships button https://studyinromania.gov.ro/

Applications are to be submitted ONLY through the Study in Romania platform at https://scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro/

Applications are accepted between 29 January and 12 March, 2025, with the selection results announced around 30 June 2025.