September 3, 2022 UPDATE

DECREE - Romania's Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, wrote on social media that the Government's emergency decree capping energy prices does not breach European legislation. Romania's National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) had previously warned that the decree might trigger infringement procedures against Romania at EU level. Minister Popescu said that Romania is constantly consulting with Brussels in every piece of legislation adopted in this field, and that the decree will be presented on September 9 at the emergency meeting of EU Energy Ministers in Prague. Virgil Popescu recalled that European institutions also want to put an end to the conflicting interests and greed of those who speculate the delicate context. Among other things, the decree stipulates that any intermediaries who oversell energy across the distribution chain will receive fines of up to 5% of their turnover.

SCHOOL YEAR - Nearly 3 million school and pre-school children start a new school year on Monday. The structure of the new year will comprise 5 modules, separated by 5 mini-holidays. A number of changes will be operated starting this year. Mid-term exams will no longer be compulsory, while the average grade for the secondary cycle of education in Romania, (grades 5-8) will be discarded as a criterion for enrolling in high-schools. At the end of the school year, pupils can no longer be expelled, and parents are no longer allowed to raise money for presenting teaching staff with gifts. Referring to some of the unsolved issues ahead of the new school year, Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu recognized that many schools lack fire safety permits.

COVID-19 - The number of COVID-19 cases continues to drop in Romania. A little over 1,800 new cases of infection were reported in the last 24 hours, by 600 less than Friday. 15 people have died during the same interval. Most cases - 290 - were reported in the capital-city Bucharest. Over 2,200 patients are being treated for COVID, 176 in intensive care.

BORDER CROSSING - Some 317 thousand people entered or left Romania on Friday via all border crossing points. Some 11,000 Ukrainians entered Romania, down by 5.46% compared to the previous day. Therefore, starting February 10, two weeks before the war had started, some 2.1 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.

GAZPROM - European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, on Saturday said the European Union is ready to respond if Russia doesn't resume deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline, the BBC reports. Commissioner Gentiloni has called on Moscow to honor its contractual agreements. Gazprom announced that the Nord Stream pipeline would be shut down pending the repair of a faulty turbine. The announcement risks spiking concern among EU Member States, who are trying to avert an energy crisis in the coming winter and who accuse Moscow of using natural gas as a weapon to take revenge for the sanctions the West has imposed on Russia in response to the latter's invasion of Ukraine.

REȘIȚA - Reșița in Western Romania is the first Romanian city to join the "Learning Cities" UNESCO global network, giving it a unique opportunity to access large-scale education projects, the Romanian Education Ministry announced. According to UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay, the selected cities are remarkable examples whereby lifelong learning can become reality at local level. The list of new members includes 77 cities from 44 countries. Reșița is one of the five cities selected from Southeastern Europe, alongside Lasko and Ptuj of Slovenia, and Ljubljana and Trnava of Slovakia.

SWIMMING - Romanian swimmer Rebecca Diaconescu on Friday qualified to the 50m backstroke final at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru. Romania's track record includes 5 medals so far: gold in the men's 4x100m freestyle event (David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma, Patrick Sebastian Dinu), gold in the 200m freestyle event (David Popovici, silver in the 400m freestyle event (Vlad Stancu), silver in the mixed 4x100 freestyle event (David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu, Bianca Costea) and bronze in the 800m freestyle event (Vlad Stancu). (VP)