October 3, 2022 UPDATE

WAR IN UKRAINE - Romania's president, Klaus Iohannis, as well as the presidents of seven other members of NATO from Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland and Slovakia  on Monday signed a joint statement reaffirming their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine's future membership, the Romanian president also tweeted.

EDUCATION - Romania's president, Klaus Iohannis, on Monday said the education laws should stipulate clear provisions for the prevention and punishment of plagiarism, which he described as a "toxic phenomenon in the education system". Attending the opening of the academic year at the "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest, the president pointed out that "obtaining an academic degree is an honor exclusively based on real merit. An educated Romania must be fair, without exception", Klaus Iohannis said. Some 500 thousand students on Monday started a new academic year. Also on Monday, Ligia Deca was sworn in as the new Education Minister, replacing outgoing minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, who resigned in the wake of a plagiarism scandal. Ligia Deca was nominated by the National Liberal Party after previously serving as presidential adviser. Deca was in charge of coordinating "Educated Romania", a project that will be treated as a top priority during her mandate.

CAR INDUSTRY - Although the world car industry was strongly hit by the global semiconductor chip shortage, with losses to companies in the field amounting to 100 billion EUR, the car manufacturing industry in Romania saw a growth rate of over 15%, while car sales grew by 5% in the first 8 months of the year compared with the same period in 2021, according to a study published on Monday. With chip supply chains still at threat, state support should remain high for this sector, which makes up more than 25% of GDP, the study also writes. Romania is home to two big car manufacturing plants: the Ford factory in Craiova, in the south-west, and the Dacia-Renault factory in Mioveni, in the south of the country.

ENERGY - The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest is expected to finalize this week debates on the government emergency decree in the field of energy. The draft law was previously adopted by the Senate with certain amendments. Therefore, in the current form, the list of social categories that benefit from capped prices for electricity and natural gas until August, 2023 includes families with a maximum of three children, places of worship officially sanctioned in Romania and medicine manufacturers. The list of legal entities that benefit from capped prices also includes SMEs, public utility services and economic operators in the food industry. On the other hand, this week Romanian MPs are expected to cast their votes on the final law in the justice law package, more specifically the one regulating the status of magistrates. USR in opposition has called on the ruling coalition to suspend the debate of these draft laws until December pending the publication of the opinion of the Venice Commission, according to a timetable published on Monday.

GAS - Romania has reached 87% natural gas storage capacity, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said on Monday. The Romanian Prime Minister said Romania will be able to provide assistance to the Republic of Moldova in case the Russian energy giant Gazprom suspends gas deliveries to this country. Romania will be able to deliver as much as 5 million cubic meters per day, the Romanian official added.

NOBEL - Swedish paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo on Monday was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2022. The 67-year-old researcher was rewarded for "his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution". Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was scooped by Americans Ardem Pataputian and David Julius for their discoveries of thermal and mechanical transducers. The Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry will be announced on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, while the recipients of the Nobel Prizes in Literature and Peace will be made public on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The final prize in economy will be announced next week. Each Nobel Prize is accompanied by a 10-million Swedish Krona (the equivalent of some 920 thousand EUR). (VP)