Drought. Almost 340,000 hectares of agricultural land in 33 Romanian counties are affected by drought, according to the latest data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture. More than 182,000 hectares cultivated with wheat and triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye) and almost 27,000 hectares of barley, spelt and oats have been destroyed by drought. Over 30,000 hectares of rape and almost 60,000 hectares of corn are in the same situation.
Fires. Romania has sent dozens of firefighters and specific equipment to France to help put out the wildfires affecting the southwestern Gironde region. 77 Romanian firefighters and 17 pieces of equipment are on mission at the request of the French Government, through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has thanked Romania and the other countries that are helping to extinguish the fires in his country, describing the gesture as a demonstration of European solidarity
Budget. The budget adjustment bill published on the website of the Romanian Finance Ministry provides for revenues higher by almost 4.3 billion Euros but also for an increased budget deficit, by almost 538 million Euros The Ministries of Labor, Health, Energy, Agriculture and Transport will receive most of the money. The Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Special Telecommunications Service will have their budgets significantly reduced. The additional amounts allocated to the Labor Ministry are intended to cover welfare and compensation for energy bills to families with low incomes. The positive budget adjustment made by the Finance Ministry covers interest rate payments, secures the Government reserve fund available and state aid for some companies. As to the Energy Ministry, the extra money is intended for personnel expenses and the support scheme for compensating electricity and natural gas prices.
Housing. Romania ranks second among the European countries with the cheapest housing, after Bosnia and Herzegovina - according to a recent study carried out by the Deloitte Company. The ranking was made based on the average cost per square meter. In Romania it is 1,266 euros, calculated at the prices in the main cities. The most expensive homes are in Cluj-Napoca (north-west), followed by Bucharest and Brasov (centre). The study also shows that, at European level, the highest house prices are in Great Britain, with an average of over 4,900 euros per square meter, followed by Austria, France and Germany
Production. Romania had the strongest drop in industrial production in the European Union in June. The evolution comes in contrast to the general situation on the continent, where industrial production registered an increase beyond expectations, both in the euro area and at the level of the entire Union. The data for the month of June were published on Friday by the EUROSTAT Office. The countries with the strongest industrial production growth rate were Ireland (6.7%) and Malta. At the opposite pole, the states with the strongest decline, from one month to the next, are Romania, where this indicator decreased by 3.9 percent, and Belgium.
ROBOR. The Romanian Interbank Offered Rate, known as ROBOR, based on which the cost of loans with variable interest is calculated, has returned to a value below the threshold of 8% per year. The National Bank of Romania has announced that the index dropped to 7.98% on Friday, from 8.02% per year as reported the day before. At the beginning of 2022, the 3-month ROBOR index was 3.02% per year.
Covid. More than 5,700 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections have been registered in Romania in the past 24 hours, 750 less than the previous day, the Romanian Health Ministry announced on Friday. Most new cases have been reported in Bucharest, Cluj and Timis. 3,800 Covid patients are hospitalized, of whom 300 in intensive care. 20 related deaths were also reported in 24 hours.
Football. Three Romanian football teams qualified, on Thursday, at home, for the play-offs of the Europa Conference League and have chances to reach the groups stage. FCSB defeated the Slovak team FC DAC 1904 Dunajska Streda 1-0 in the second leg of the third preliminary round, after winning the first match 1-0. In the next stage, FCSB will meet Viking Stavanger (Norway). CFR Cluj defeated the Belarusian team Shahtior Soligorsk 1-0, after their first match ended in a draw, 0-0. The Romanian champions will play in the play-offs against NK Maribor from Slovenia. Universitatea Craiova defeated the Ukrainian team Zaria Lugansk 3-0, after winning 1-0 in the first match. In the next stage, U Craiova will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC from Israel. The fourth Romanian team from the Europa Conference League, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe, was eliminated by the Swedish team Djurgaardens IF.
Swimming. Romanian swimmer David Popovici has qualified for the final of the 100 m freestyle at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome, with a time of 46 sec / 98 hundredths, a new European record, established in the semi-finals on Friday evening. Popovici (17 years old), the defending world champion in the 100 and 200 m freestyle, had achieved a record of the European Championships with 47 sec / 20 hundredths. The final of the 100m freestyle race will take place on Saturday. The world record of the event is held by the Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho (46 sec / 91 hundredths), from 2009. Romania is represented in Rome by a delegation of 11 athletes. (MI)