The salaries of local elected officials in Romania are increasing. On Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies, as a decision-making body, adopted the draft law providing for salary increases for mayors, vice-mayors, presidents and vice-presidents of county councils. The other dignitaries were excluded from the categories targeted by this measure, initially adopted by the Senate, as the first Parliament Chamber notified. The decision caused heated discussions between the power and opposition camps. During the debates, the National Liberal Party - PNL, the Social Democratic Party - PSD and Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania - UDMR (in the governing coalition), as well as the representatives of the minorities, argued that the local elected officials should benefit from higher salaries so as not to be discriminated against. Liberal deputy Florin Roman said that justice is needed for mayors. He stated that, through the introduced amendments, a discriminatory measure ‘that says that
After
a private visit to Romania that triggered the protest of the
authorities in Bucharest, Hungary s president Katalin Novak on
Wednesday made an official trip, the first at this level in the last
12 years. She met president Klaus Iohannis, prime minister Nicolae
Ciucă, the speakers of Parliament and the leaders of the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Talks focused on Romania s
accession to the Schengen area, the situation of the ethnic
Hungarians in Romania, the assistance to Ukrainian refugees, energy
and the energy dependence.
Klaus
Iohannis said the Romanian authorities are fully open to working with
the neighbouring state and reiterated the need for dialogue in
resolving matters of bilateral interest and for avoiding unilateral
approaches that cannot lead to sustainable solutions. He pointed out
that it is essential for projects of interest to be carried out in
Romania only based on an agreement, to not be discriminatory based o
Almost
3 million pupils and pre-school children went back to school in
Romania on Monday. With experts fearing the reopening of schools may
trigger a new Covid wave, the health ministry has reiterated
recommendations regarding wearing face masks in enclosed and busy
spaces. Teachers are to identify the sick children and send them to
the school s medical room. Parents and teachers must also report
each case of contamination with the novel coronavirus to the school
management. Doctors recommend washing hands as often as possible and
daily disinfection of the surfaces and objects children come into
contact with most frequently. The education ministry has also
introduced some new elements which have not been welcomed by
teachers, pupils and parents. Instead of two semesters, there will
now be five teaching modules separated by five holidays. End-of-term
tests and term averages for each subject are eliminated, being
replaced by an average mark for the entire year in ea
The ruling coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania is planning to adopt a regulation next week to introduce an additional tax for energy producers, intermediaries and suppliers. The coalition's leaders have already asked the finance ministry and the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority to make the necessary simulations and present them as soon as possible so that by 1st September, the government may come up with a regulation that establishes the exact conditions and amount of the surtax. Energy minister and Liberal Party member Virgil Popescu, who has often come under criticism for how he has handled the crisis, says the very high profits in the energy field must be eliminated. As an example, he cited the intermediaries, who buy cheap energy from producers and sell it at a high cost to consumers. Virgil Popescu:
"We're considering surtaxing the entire production chain,
An NGO in Serbia linked to a political party allied to Hungary's ruling Fidesz party won a no-bid contract with the postal service of Serbia to distribute ballots to eligible voters there for Hungary's April parliamentary elections.