May 31, 2023 UPDATE

EDUCATION The government's new salary offer for teachers will be presented to unions in an expedited procedure, so as to allow teachers to decide on whether to continue the strike, the education union leaders announced at the end of Wednesday's negotiations. The government proposed a monthly gross EUR 200 payment to teaching staff and EUR 80 for non-teaching staff in the sector. An emergency order will also be passed, allowing entry-level teachers to have a starting salary equal to the national average gross wage. The all-out strike in Romanian undergraduate education has reached its 10th day. 

MOLDOVA The Republic of Moldova Thursday hosts the European Political Community Summit, attended by 50 heads of state and government. The European Commission is represented by its president Ursula von der Leyen and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The most important subjects on the agenda of the summit are security, stability and cooperation in Europe. Also attending will be the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. On Tuesday, the EU Council decided to double the macro-financial aid for the Republic of Moldova from EUR 150 to 295 million.

POLICE On Wednesday in Romania prison officers protested salary levels and the working conditions. Penitentiary police workers say they work extensive extra hours in order to make up for personnel shortages, and oppose the planned increase of retirement age in the sector. Trade union representatives had a meeting with the justice minister, who said the dialogue was constructive and promised that the rights of prison officers will be respected. Cătălin Predoiu added that in the following two years at most, up to 2,000 officers will be recruited in order to fill the vacancies in the penitentiary system.

CHAMPIONSHIP The 2023 World Rescue Championship takes place in Craiova, southern Romania, between June 1 and 4. This is the largest such event of the International Canine Federation, with more than 60 search and rescue dogs taking part, from 10 countries (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Italy, Japan, Romania, Slovenia, Ukraine and the Netherlands). The world's top 19 teams will compete in various sections, including surface search for missing persons, obedience and dexterity, and search for victims in the rubble. Craiova is the first city in the world to have organised five World Rescue Championships (2009, 2016, 2021, 2022, and 2023).

GRAIN EU agriculture ministers meeting in the AGRIFISH council have not managed to unblock 100 million euros worth of aid for farmers affected by Ukraine's export of cheap grain. Romania is one of the five countries that may benefit from the aid and it stands to receive around EUR 30 million. The European commissioner for agriculture Ianusz Wojciechowski gave assurances that the aid will be unblocked and the situation monitored. He said he was not in favour of using the EU budget to buy Ukrainian grain to be supplied to the world food programme because the cost would be three times that of the cereals themselves. He believes the money would be better used, in the long term, to improve the infrastructure, for example that of Romania, and said he would have talks in this regard with the European commissioner for transport and infrastructure Adina Vălean.

TENNIS The only Romanian athlete left in the Roland Garros competition, Irina Begu, Wednesday defeated Italy's Sara Errani, in 2 sets, 6 - 3, 6 - 0. On Tuesday, Sorana Cirstea was kicked out of the competition by another Italian player, Jasmine Paolini. Also on Tuesday, the Canadian athlete Bianca Andreescu won against Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) in 3 sets. (AMP)