Talks between Romanian PM and US State Dept. official
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and a US State Dept. ofiicial hold talks at Victoria Palace in the capital Bucharest on Monday. Dereck J. Hogan is an American diplomat who served as US Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova. He currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at DOS’ Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Talks between Mr. Ciucă and Mr. Hogan focused on technical support of Romania as candidate to the US Visa Waiver Programme. The US official is expected to attend a meeting as part of the Romania – US Strategic Dialogue. Romania has pledged to reduce its US visa rejection rate from 10% to 3% , which would make the country eligible for inclusion on the US Visa Waiver list. Romania is one of the three EU nations not currently included on the list, alongside Cyprus and Bulgaria, despite lobbying for years to secure inclusion.
Romania’s inflation rate on the rise
Romania’s inflation rate jumped to 15.52 percent in February 2023 from 15.07 in the previous month, according to data issued by the country’s National Statistics Institute (INS). Main upward pressure came from non-food products and services while costs slightly eased for food products. On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up by 0.98 percent after a 0.34 percent rise in January. Romania’s annual inflation rate fell to 15.07 percent in January 2023 from 16.37 percent in the previous month, below market expectations of 15.8 percent. This was the lowest figure since last July, mainly due to a slowdown in costs of non-food products.
Romania’s anticorruption watchdog may get a new boss
Marius – Ionuț Voineag may become the new head of Romania’s anticorruption watchdog, the DNA (National Anticorruption Directorate). The proposal was recently put forward by Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu and Mr. Voineag is expected to attend a hearing before the country’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) on Tuesday. Mr. Voineag, who is currently deputy head of a department at General Prosecutor’s Office, wil follow Crin Bologa, the former DNA chief who announced his retirement last month.
Alexandru Danga
