Romanian and Ukrainian agriculture ministers met in Bucharest to discuss the transit of Ukrainian grain
Agriculture ministers from Romania and Ukraine met in Bucharest on Friday to discuss the grain situation in the neighbouring country. Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea presented to his Ukrainian counterpart the serious situation faced by Romanian farmers and informed him about the measures taken by Romania in relation to the transit of Ukrainian grain. „We have come up with two measures, namely to carry out this time technical quality control directly at customs, and the second thing we have proposed is to monitor on Romanian territory the shipments that have other destinations”, Petre Daea said. However, Romania and Ukraine will consult weekly on expected grain volumes, seeking to limit imports, Petre Daea said after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Solsky, in the capital, Bucharest. Romania is the only one of five central and eastern European states that has stopped short of banning imports of Ukrainian grains, while tightening controls at border checkpoints. In the meantime, Romanian farmers affected by cheap cereal imports from Ukraine will receive 10 million euros in aid from the budget, in addition to another 10 million euros granted so far by the European Commission.
Romanian Government seeks to reduce fiscal deficit
The Romanian government is trying to solve the problem of collecting money from the budget without affecting investments or reducing the income of employees. It is still looking for the best solutions, which is why the executive postponed Thursday for a second time to discuss the ministries’ proposals to cut budgets. These proposals will be validated in a coalition meeting and are expected to be approved next week by an emergency ordinance. According to Finance Minister Adrian Câciu, a draft emergency ordinance on streamlining public spending will be presented next week, along with other fiscal-budgetary measures that should not be perceived as austerity measures. The reduction in budget spending is aimed at keeping within the deficit limits at the end of the year and should not scare anyone, says Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, adding that investments and salaries will not be affected and people will not lose their jobs, because the measures envisaged by the executive are aimed at spending public money more wisely. „All these measures have come about since we have noticed that there is a deficit in the collection of money, and the deficit belongs mainly to the big taxpayers. I publicly call on taxpayers to pay their debts to the state and at the same time I charge state institutions to make sure that they fulfil their service tasks and ensure the collection of these revenues,” said Prime Minister Ciucă.
Border police prevent more than 50 migrants trying to leave Romania illegally
Romanian Customs and Border authorities discovered 58 migrants from various countries trying to leave the country in the last 24 hours, hidden in three lorries, at the Nădlac 2 border crossing point. The drivers of the three lorries are a Romanian, a Bulgarian and a Pole and were carrying, according to their documents, automotive machinery, polycarbonate sheets and shoes for companies in the Netherlands, Germany and Hungary. Investigations established that the migrants were from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, some of them having entered Romania legally, others being asylum seekers. The drivers of the three trucks are being investigated for smuggling migrants and the foreigners hidden in the trucks are being investigated for attempted border crossing.
Magda Baciu – RADOR
