November 23, 2013 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 23.11.2013, 19:18
PARLIAMENT – The specialised committees in the Parliament of Romania finalised the 2014 budget bill, which will be discussed next week by the joint finance and budget committees. The bill may be subject to voting in Parliament in mid-December. The only budget portion not yet discussed is the one for European affairs, which will be analysed on Sunday. Certain fields, such as social security, agriculture, defence and culture have received additional funding. The draft social security budget will enable a 3.75% increase in pension benefits and a raise of national minimum wages.
TRADE UNIONS – In Romania, the members of the Sanitas Trade Union Federation will go on a warning strike on Monday morning, for two hours, to raise awareness on several demands. The announcement was made after a meeting today with Healthcare Minister Eugen Nicolaescu, who said there is no legal justification for a strike. According to the Sanitas Federation, only emergencies will be attended during the strike. The National Council of the Sanitas Federation decided in mid-November to organise a token strike on November the 25th, followed by an indefinite general strike starting on November 28th. The public healthcare employees demand, among others, the allotment of 6% of the GDP for this field.
CULTURE – The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, initiated and organised by Radio Romania, continues in Bucharest. Casa Radio Publishers Saturday launched an album called “Radio Stories 1928-1945.” The volume and CD occasion a journey into the history of the Radio Broadcasting Corporation, starting from the first broadcast on November 1st, 1928 until the end of World War 2. Visitors are invited to donate books, in a project entitled “Books are coming home.” The donations will reach Romanian-language schools in the Timoc Valley region in Serbia. The Gaudeamus International Fair is the most important event of this kind in Romania. This 20th edition, which comes to an end on Sunday, brings together 400 exhibitors and more than 600 events.
IRAN TALKS – The foreign ministers of six world powers (France, the UK, USA, Russia, China and Germany) as well as representatives of Iran are gathering in Geneva today for negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal. According to a news release issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday, the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov believes there are good chances for an agreement with Tehran. In turn, the head of the Iranian delegation, Abbas Araghchi, has said there are still two or three diverging topics to be discussed by Iran and the six powers. The negotiations are based on a draft agreement stipulating a gradual reduction of the Iranian nuclear programme, in return for a loosening of sanctions imposed on this country. The proposal has been rejected by Israel, while Iran claims its nuclear programme has civilian goals and that it is its right to enrich uranium.
LATVIA TRAGEDY – Latvia’s government ordered a three-day national mourning starting on Saturday for the more than 50 people who died when the roof of a supermarket collapsed in the capital city Riga. The causes of the tragedy are still unknown. This is the worst tragedy in this Baltic country since it proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Latvia, a EU member since 2004 and scheduled to join the Eurozone on January 1 next year, just celebrated Independence Day on November 18th, amid preparations for becoming a European capital of culture in 2014.
