Radio Romania International

BUDGET
The finance ministry has made public the draft state budget of Romania for next
year. The document is based on an estimated GDP growth of 2.8%, an 8% inflation
rate, a growing number of employees and a declining 2.7% unemployment rate. The
ministries set to receive less money include the energy, justice and public
healthcare, whereas the defence, development, transport and education
ministries will receive substantially higher budget appropriations. The ruling
coalition made up of the Social Democrats, and Liberals and the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania intends to endorse the draft budget tomorrow
and send it to Parliament the next day, for discussion next week. 

SECURITY Romania has constantly worked to
identify solutions to enhance security at the Black Sea, the Romanian foreign
minister Bogdan Aurescu said in Ankara on Tuesday, when he had
a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mervlut Cavusoglu. The two officials
discussed the best avenues for cooperation, both at bilateral level and within
the NATO framework. They finalised and agreed on the text of the political
declaration setting up the Romania - Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation
Council, organised as a regular meeting of the two countries' governments and
focusing on strategic areas of mutual interest, which will be launched in 2023.
Another topic approached in the meeting was cooperation in the energy sector,
recognised by both officials as a priority, particularly in light of the recent
challenges. An agreement was reached to strengthen joint efforts to ensure the
security of Romania's energy supplies by transiting Turkish territory. Also,
the multidimensional effects of the war in Ukraine have been analysed, with
special attention paid to the refugee crisis and food security.

JUSTICE The Romanian justice minister Cătălin Predoiu will
take part in the meetings of the Justice and Home Affair Council and General
Affairs Council of the European Union, between December 7th and 14th.
According to a JHA Council news release, on the sidelines of the two meetings the
justice minister will also have meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg with
counterparts from other member countries and EU officials. At the JHA Council
Mr. Predoiu will present Romania's position with respect to the EU judicial
instruments and policies in the judiciary currently on the Council's agenda. The
home affairs section of the Council is scheduled to make a decision regarding
the accession of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia to the Schengen area. ECONOMY The GDP of the European Union saw a 0.4% growth and
that of the Euro-zone a 0.3% increase in the 3rd quarter of this
year compared to the previous quarter, with the most substantial growth rates
reported for Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and Romania, according to data released on
Wednesday by Eurostat. The economic growth rate in Ireland was 2.3%, and in
Cyprus, Malta and Romania 1.3%. The most substantial decline is reported for Estonia
(negative 1.8%), Latvia (negative 1.7%) and Slovenia (negative 1.4%). Among EU
member countries, the most significant annual growth rate is reported for
Ireland (10.6%), Croatia (5.5%), Cyprus (5.4%), Malta (5.2%), Portugal (4.9%) and
Romania (4.7%), the only negative rates being reported for Estonia (negative 2.3%)
and Latvia (negative 0.4%). OIL Global oil
prices dropped to the lowest level this year, in spite of the estimates of some
international experts that expected the EU and G7 ban on Russian crude and the
cap on crude prices to trigger market turbulence. In Romania, the lowest petrol
price is EUR 1.3, and diesel is sold for EUR 1.54. On the other hand,
neighbouring Hungary is facing a fuel crisis caused, according to AFP, by the
price cap introduced by Viktor Orbán's government a year ago. The fuel shortage
comes in the context of a 30% decrease in imports as foreign companies cut down
their sales to Hungary as a result of the price cap, the country's association
of independent petrol stations said.

GAUDEAMUS The 29th
edition of the 'Gaudeamus' Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, kicked off in
Bucharest today. Until Sunday, 200 participants will be exhibiting releases in
various formats, addressing all age brackets and fields of interests, as well as music and educational games. 600 events have been announced in addition to
various related projects. As a novelty, 2 areas have been arranged within the
Fair, for interactive activities targeting the youngest visitors. Pavilions are
also available online on gaudeamus.ro. The honorary president of this year's
edition is the writer Ana Blandiana.

FOOTBALL In the FIFA
World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, in the round of 16, Portugal smashed Switzerland
6-1, while Morocco scored a surprising win against Spain 3-0 on penalties. In the
quarter-finals on Friday, the Netherlands will be up against Argentina, and
Croatia takes on Brazil, while on Saturday England will be facing defending
champions France and Morocco will take on Portugal. The semis are scheduled for
December 13 and 14, and the final on December 18. (AMP)

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