A look at the week's main events
Romania's president Klaus Iohannis in Prague
Romania's president Klaus Iohannis this week attended the informal meeting of the European Council in Prague, which had high on its agenda, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and other economy issues. A day before, Iohannis had attended the first meeting of the European Political Community also in Prague. "Held at a key moment for the European continent, in the context of the illegal and unjustified war the Russian Federation is waging on Ukraine, the European Political Community's summit has offered the opportunity of a political dialogue on several issues such as support for Ukraine, a reaction to the latest Russian escalation in this war, energy security, the situation in the field of energy, climate change and the latest economic developments. This new dialogue platform has been intended to facilitate views exchanges on issues of maximum concern against the latest geopolitical background so that joint action ways can be defined," a communiqué of the presidential administration in Bucharest says. With an overwhelming majority, leaders of the 44 attending countries have condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and have reiterated their unity and solidarity against Moscow's aggression.
The European Parliament debated upon Romania's accession to Schengen
During a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, MEPs discussed Romania and Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen passport-free travel area. The Romanian MEPs pleaded for the 2 countries' inclusion as soon as possible, given that they have met all technical requirements since as far back as 2011. Only a few other MEPs, from Italian far-right parties, opposed the Schengen area enlargement, for fear of massive migration. Most of the speakers in the European Parliament agreed however that Romania and Bulgaria must joint Schengen.
Justice laws debated by senators
Justice laws have been debated upon by senators and a final voting in the decision-making chamber is expected next week. The three laws, on the functioning of the country's Higher Council of Magistrates, on legal organization and the statute of the magistrates must be quickly endorsed this autumn, the country's Justice Minister, Catalian Predoiu says. He explains that Romania's compliance with the provisions of the Mechanism of Cooperation and Verification and implicitly Romania's Schengen accession are hinging on the aforementioned laws. The country's former Justice Minister from the opposition USR Stelian Ion has called on senators to postpone voting until the Venice Commission has made its point. According to Senate president Alina Gorghiu, Romania needs to endorse the aforementioned laws to score a good result in the Justice report and if there are recommendations from the Venice Commission in December amendments will be made without any hesitation.
A new education minister
Romania's Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, says he will back Ligia Deca, the country's new Education Minister to implement a presidential project entitled "Educated Romania", so that the new education laws may be submitted to Parliament approval by the end of the month. A former presidential adviser, Ligia Deca was sworn in as the country's new Education Minister on Monday. She was proposed by the National Liberal Party and has replaced Sorin Cimpeanu, who stepped down last week amid accusations of plagiarism.
BNR has again raised the key interest rate
Romania's Central Bank (BNR) has again raised the key interest rate in an attempt to keep prices at bay. This has been the seventh rise this year and the interest rate is now around 6.25% being the highest in the past 12 years. According to the vice-president of the Association of Investment Professionals in Romania, financial analyst Adrian Codirlaşu, in making this move the BNR is actually anticipating the rising inflation rate. Pundits expect the annual inflation rate to continue its upward trend towards the end of the year but at a visibly lower pace, due to anticipated price hikes in natural gas, electricity and food products against the background of the war in Ukraine and the prolonged drought in Europe this summer. According to BNR the annual inflation rate stood at 15.32% in August.
A case of espionage concerning Romania's mineral reserves
Prosecutors with the Direction of Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, also known as DIICOT, have indicted four people, Romanian and foreign nationals, in an espionage file against the Serbian company NIS Petrol controlled by the Russian giant Gazprom. The investigators have carried out searches in Bucharest and Timisoara, western Romania, as well as at the houses of several employees, seizing documents and data storage devices. The four have been charged with divulging secret and classified information and with illegal information transfer concerning Romania's mineral reserves, sources with the DIICOT have announced. In 2009, Gazprom became the main shareholder of the Serbian company NIS under an agreement signed by the governments of Belgrade and Moscow.
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