August 26, 2022

LAWS Draft laws on the reform of Romania's education system could be submitted to the government in early September - Education Minister Sorin Campeanu has announced. The minister says that upon public debates over the documents, almost 15 hundred amendments, which are to be assessed by experts with the ministry. We recall that representatives of the teaching staff, students, parents and society have called for the extension of the period of debates, but the ministry turned down the proposal.

EO The government in Bucharest has endorsed an emergency ordinance providing for a 30 Euros pay rise for state employees starting August 1st, Labour Minister Marius Budai has announced adding that the raise is only one fourth of the level stipulated in Law 153 for the year 2022 and it accounts for 2 billion lei of the state budget. According to Budai, almost one million out of the 1.2 million state employees will benefit from the new ordinance. The medical personnel and several other categories had already benefitted the aforementioned pay rise.

TRADE Romania's exports of drinks have increased by 52 % in the first five months of 2022 up to 108 million Euros, the National Institute for Statistics has announced. Between January and May this year Romania's imports of beverages grew by 45% up to 251 million Euros, which resulted in a trade deficit of 143 million Euros. According to papers in Bucharest, the most sought-after drink is the Romanian version of the French cognac. The demand for this product has significantly increased on markets in Europe, the USA and Japan.

FOOTBALL Romania's football champions CFR Cluj qualified for the groups of Europa Conference League after a 1-0 home win on Thursday against Slovenian side NK Maribor in the play-offs. The first game in Slovenia ended in a goaless draw. FCSB, runner up in the Romanian championship, have also qualified after a 3-1 away win against their Norwegian opponents. Another Romanian side Universitatea Craiova was eliminated in the play-offs by the Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva during the penalty shootout. Lots will be drawn for the competition's next stage today in Nyon, France.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player, seventh seeded Simona Halep, will be up against an opponent from the qualifying round of the US Open, the year's last Grand Slam tournament. Halep last year made it to the round of 16 of the aforementioned competition, her best performance being in 2015, when she played in the semifinals. Another tennis player from Romania, Irina Begu, will be up against Elise Mertens of Belgium who has so far won all head-to-head matches. Sorana Cirstea, also from Romania will be up against Laura Siegemund of Germany while Gabriela Ruse will be playing Daria Saville of Australia. Another Romanian player Jaqueline Cristian will be up against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

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