A roundup of local and international news.
Economy. Romania saw a record-high GDP increase last year, from 240 billion euros in 2021 to nearly 290 in 2022, according to the National Strategy and Forecast Commission. For this year, however, the institution estimates a slowdown of economic growth from 4.9% in 2022 to 2.8%. The inflation rate is also expected to drop significantly by the end of this year, from 16.4% in 2022 to 8%, and consumption growth is also predicted to drop to 2.4%, compared to 4.6% last year. The figures in the winter forecast, made public on Thursday, are not different from those in the autumn report, published in October.
NATO. The foreign ministers of France and The Netherlands, Catherine Colonna and Wopke Hoekstra, on Friday travelled to Cincu, in central Romania, together with their Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu, to visit the training centre where French and Dutch troops are stationed as part of a NATO battlegroup. The visit again demonstrates the very good cooperation between Romanian and both of these states at a bilateral, European and NATO level, as well as the efficient three-party interaction between Bucharest, Paris and The Hague, said the Romanian minister. At a joint press conference held by the three foreign ministers, the Dutch official said his country would support Romania with respect to Schengen accession and spoke about the country's remarkable progress in this regard; while the French minister spoke about the challenges faced by Europe and about intensifying support for Ukraine. The foreign officials also held talks with president Klaus Iohannis and prime minister Nicolae Ciucă.
Holocaust. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has reiterated the commitment of the Bucharest administration to keep alive the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and to remain firmly attached to the fundamental democratic values. He said Romania has made important steps towards combating extremism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and hatred by adopting modern legislation, while the remembrance of the Holocaust is passed down to the younger generations. The Romanian education minister Ligia Deca said that beginning next autumn, Jewish history and the Holocaust will be taught in high school as an independent subject. She explained that the move was part of a national strategy to prevent and combat anti-Semitism and to educate children in the spirit of dignity and tolerance. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked every year on January 27, under a resolution endorsed by the United Nations in 2005.
Mines. The Chief of Staff of the Romanian Naval Forces urged navigators in the Black Sea or near the coast to notify the authorities if they spot suspicious floating objects. The call was launched as sea storms are expected in the coming days and after the discovery of a sea mine on the Romanian beach on Thursday. Navy divers said it was the first time this type of mine was washed ashore the Romanian coast. The device in question was a YaM-type blast mine used by both Ukrainian and Russian navies and the fifth to be discovered since the start of the war in Ukraine in the area of responsibility of the Romanian Navy. (CM)
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