April 23, 2023

VISIT The international community has a duty to support Ukraine, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis and his Chilean counterpart Gabriel Boric said in Santiago de Chile. According to Radio Romania's correspondent, president Boric condemned the war and expressed his country's solidarity with Ukraine. Mr. Iohannis announced that the first Romanian language chair in Latin America will be established this year at Universidad de Chile. During the visit, a memorandum was signed concerning cooperation in emergency situations, such as earthquakes and wildfires. Previously, president Iohannis was in Brazil, and from Chile he is next to go to Argentina.

SPENDING Romanian authorities are looking at a plan to reduce public spending, which will be endorsed by the government in an emergency order next week, after the measures have been approved in a meeting of the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Both the Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă and the Social Democratic finance minister, Adrian Câciu, promised that salaries and investments would not be cut, nor would additional taxes and charges be introduced. In the last government meeting, held a few days ago, PM Ciucă called on large-scale taxpayers to meet their obligations to the budget, and urged fiscal authorities to ensure tax collection.

REFUGEES Nearly 266,000 Romanian and foreign citizens Saturday crossed in and out of Romania, the border police announced. According to a news release issued on Sunday, out of the over 112,000 people who entered Romania, 8,784 were Ukrainian nationals. Since February 10, 2022, two weeks before the start of the Russian invasion of that country, more than 4 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most of them transited the country en route to Western Europe, but over 100,000 have chosen to stay here. The government of Romania decided that private citizens that host Ukrainian refugees will only be refunded accommodation and meal expenses until the end of this month. As of May 1, the people coming into Romania from Ukraine will receive directly a fixed amount to cover immediate accommodation and food expenses for 4 months. The money will be paid from the funds of emergency inspectorates. After this 4-month period, financial aid will only be provided for accommodation, until the end of this year, and the refugees are encouraged to enrol with Romanian employment agencies in order to benefit from the same rights and benefits as Romanian nationals.

HOLIDAY Christians are celebrating St. George today, who is also the patron saint of the Romanian Land Forces. According to tradition, St. George was a high-ranking soldier in the Roman Army under Emperor Diocletian, who was tortured and sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. St George is one of the most venerated saints in Christianity, and a large number of settlements have claimed him as a patron saint. Over 1 million Romanians bear his name.

SPORTS The Romanian athlete Denis Florin Mihai won the bronze in the 55 kg Greco-Roman wrestling category at the European championships held in Zagreb, Croatia, after defeating Bulgaria's Stefan Hristov Grigorov. Before the last day of the competition, Romania had won a total of 5 medals, including 2 gold ones, for Andreea Beatrice Ana, in the 55 kg and Alexandra Nicoleta Anghel in the 72 kg categories, and 3 bronze ones, won by Cătălina Axente in the 76 kilo, Kriszta Tunde Incze in the 65 kg category, and Denis Florin Mihai. At the previous edition, hosted by Budapest, Hungary, Romania won 4 medals, including one gold (Andreea Ana - 55 kg), one silver (Nicu Ojog - 97 kg Greco-Roman), and two bronze (Alina Vuc -55 kg and Kriszta Incze - 65 kg). (AMP)