THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Southeast European coordination

Europe is living through the most complicated times since WWII, said Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the end of the meeting of NATO allied state premiers from Southeast Europe. According to him, the choice made by Moscow to start the war against Ukraine has gravely affected the security climate in the Black Sea region and in Southeast Europe. He emphasized that we need better defense, for a better deterrence, and enhanced resilience of society and infrastructure, and a better security. The meeting of prime ministers from Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Montenegro took place a few days away from the NATO summit in Brussels. The four mainly discussed the troops that they would contribute to the deployment on Romanian and Bulgarian territory of two NATO action groups, as agreed at the summit. Energy supply was a major topic at the security meeting, and PM Ciuca thanked the government in Sofia for its commitment to finalize the pipeline between Greece and Bulgaria, which will benefit Romania as well.

 The European commissioner in charge of the economy visits Bucharest

Romania could register a strong economic growth this year, around 4%, but the war in Ukraine could negatively affect this growth. This was the opinion expressed in Bucharest by the European commissioner in charge of the economy, Paolo Gentiloni. He remarked that the effects of the conflict are being felt in inflation, which went up to 6.2% in the EU, and is getting close to 8% in Romania. This trend is not expected to reverse, at least in the short term. The plans for recovery and resilience, financed by the Commission, are tools whose utility is even more visible than when they were introduced, in times of peace. They are extremely important now, because they are engines for growth in a difficult situation, said the commissioner. He reminded the Romanian authorities that this national fund worth over 29 billion Euro is a unique opportunity, which the country cannot miss because of the war. This was stated in spite of the fact that all 24 targets and goalpoasts in the national plan for recovery and resilience for the first quarter of this year were met by the government.

European jobs official visits Romania

Romania faced a massive influx of refugees from Ukraine, and the way it handled it was remarkable, said the commissioner in charge of labor in the EU, Nicolas Schmit. He assured Romania and the countries handling the Ukrainian crisis of support from the EC, and that this support would not affect the aid accorded to vulnerable groups facing poverty and social exclusion. At the Ministry of Labor, talks focused on the refugee problem, on social reforms part of the Mechanism for Recovery and Resilience, the labor and competency deficit in Romania, the reform of the public job occupancy service, and the public pension system. The European commissioner commented favorably on the low rate of unemployment, and the quality of social dialog. He also emphasized the fact that investments are necessary in education, in order to raise the level of training for the labor force.

 Strategies to combat poverty

The government in Bucharest passed the National Strategy for Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction 2022-2027. Its purpose is to reduce the number of people exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least 7% by 2027, as compared to 2020. According to Eurostat data published last year, the percentage of the relevant population in 2019 accounted for almost a third of the population of Romania, bordering on 6 million people. The national strategy is based on measures to combat poverty, the right to social assistance, access to public services, the opportunity to social and economic participation by vulnerable groups in terms of human rights, as well as measures for recovery and resilience in the social service system, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic or other special situations.

 Changes in education

The new school year will look differently in Romania. The present system of yearly quarters will be replaced by five teaching modules, separated by smaller breaks. Classes would start earlier, on September 5, and would conclude on June 16. Line minister Sorin Cimpeanu said that the decision was made after expert consultations, as well as talks with teachers, parents, and students. It all started out of the need to alternate 6 to 8 week modules of teaching with breaks, as required by modern pedagogy, said the minister. He added that the pre-university teaching system would be revised by eliminating term papers.

 New national trainer debuts without a victory

The Romanian national soccer team tied 2-2 against Israel away from home in its second game under the leadership of its new coach, Edward Iordanescu. Four days before, the flag team had lost facing Greece, nil to one. Both games were friendly. The difficult tests will come in June, at the official qualifiers for the Nations League. Romania is part of Group 3 in League B, joined by Bosnia, Finland, and Montenegro. (CC)