May 12, 2022 UPDATE

NATO The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis hailed Finland's announcement regarding its intention to join NATO, and says Bucharest supported the decision. "Romania is a firm supporter of NATO's open door policy and stands ready to support Finland in the process of NATO accession. Together we are stronger!" Iohannis posted on Twitter on Thursday. The president of Finland Sauli Niinistö and PM  Sanna Marin Thursday spoke in favour of the country's joining NATO without delay, with the candidacy to be announced on Sunday, AFP reports. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the Alliance as a whole, the two officials said in a joint press release. Finland's accession will be a threat to Russia, the Kremlin said in response. Three in four Finnish citizens support the accession. A neutral state during the Cold War, Finland joined the EU and NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, but remained outside the alliance. The decision to join NATO comes against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares a 1,300-km border with Russia.

RULING The Bucharest Court of Appeals Thursday passed its final ruling on the "Colectiv" case, after several successive postponements. The former Bucharest District 4 Mayor Cristian Popescu-Piedone, currently the mayor of District 5 of the capital city, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for abuse of office. The club owners also received prison sentences ranging between 6 and 11 years, while the 2 firefighters with the Bucharest Inspectorate for Emergency Situations who inspected the Colectiv nightclub and disregarded the workplace security legislation were sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in prison, and 2 pyrotechnics workers will also serve 6 years and 10 months each. The manager of the fireworks company received a suspended sentence. The October 2015 fire in Colectiv killed 64 people and injured many others. It was the most serious accident in Romania since 1989. The tragedy forced the government at the time to step down.

INFLATION The Romanian Central Bank has updated its inflation forecast to 12.5% for end-2022 and 6.7% for end-2023, governor Mugur Isarescu announced on Thursday. In February, the Central Bank estimated inflation would stand at 9.6% at the end of 2022 and at 3.2% at the end of 2023. Inflationist pressure triggered by production costs is expected to go down gradually. However, its effects will continue to be felt for around 12 months. Romania sees the highest annual inflation rate in the last 18 years, nearly 14%, with the steepest price rises reported for natural gas (85%).

POLL One in two Romanians has considered moving to another country after the start of the war in Ukraine, and the first options would be Germany, France and Britain, according to data made public by a recruitment platform. 12% of respondents are waiting to see how things unfold and 11% believe the war will not affect us. Another 26% say they will not leave the country irrespective of what happens next. The main reasons for moving abroad are the wish to change the scenery and the country where they work (38%), personal and family safety (24%), better incomes (21%), more opportunities for professional development (14%) and the wish to work in a safer environment, unaffected by war (4%).

UKRAINE A first Russian soldier will be on trial in Ukraine for killing a civilian in the Sumy region. International teams of prosecutors and investigators continue to probe into war crimes committed by the Russian army, with more than 10,000 such cases pending. According to Radio Romania's special correspondent, investigators say the 21-year old Russian soldier killed a Ukrainian civilian who was walking his bike along the sidewalk. The soldier and other Russian troops were in a stolen car, after their unit had been destroyed by the Ukrainian forces. The prosecutor general of Ukraine, Iryna Venediktova, said there was enough evidence of his involvement in violation of the laws and customs of war, including premeditated murder, and that he was facing 10 to 15 years or life in prison. Experts from Poland, Lithuania and France help the teams of investigators, and the cases documented so far point to people being killed with no reason. Clashes continued on Thursday in the north-east and south-east of Ukraine, with both sides announcing local-scale advances.

NATURAL GAS The Romanian Senate passed amendments to the Offshore Act, which green lights gas exploitation in the Black Sea. The ruling coalition, which tabled the bill, says this is a much more balanced version of the one endorsed four years ago. Tax changes have now been introduced in favour of the companies concerned, and dependence on Russian gas would be significantly reduced in a few years' time. According to estimates, around 80 billion cubic metres of gas are in the Neptune Deep perimeter alone. The national state-owned company Romgaz-the largest gas producer in Romania-and the Austrian company OMV will extract gas from the Black Sea in the coming years. (A.M.P.)