The privatization of the Oltchim chemical works caused a media storm, and will be a major test for the Bucharest government. The employees are picketing, demanding the company pays them their salaries and put them back to work. It is worth mentioning that Oltchim’s debts stand at 700 million Euros and the government hopes the privatization of the petrochemical works is carried through. The tender was won by businessman Dan Diaconescu, who offered 45 million euro for 55% of company stock, and the deadline for payment is October 1st. The government announced that if the tender doesn’t go through, it would put up a rescue fund worth 40 million Euro. The government is also due to speed up the privatization of two more major state companies, CFR Marfa, the freight division of the National Romanian Railways Company, and TAROM, the national airline. According to the authorities, CFR Marfa has debts worth 50 million Euro. It employs about 11,000 people, and covers about 50% of rail transportation in the country, with assets worth about 1.5 billion Euro. TAROM is another state company with big losses. The authorities expect from the future managers a strategy for the sale of 20% of company stock.

The government grants higher childcare benefits.

There are good news for Romanian parents from the Romanian Parliament, which voted on Tuesday to increase childcare benefits from 75 to 85% of the revenue in the last 12 months, as of October 1st. The Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body in this case. Parents who take maternity leave will receive 85% of their regular earning, not to exceed 3,400 lei, if they choose to stay at home one year, and a maximum of 1,200 lei if they decide to take a two year break. They are also granted a 500 lei incentive if they take a two year maternal leave, but choose to resume work earlier.

Romania’s Higher Defense Council green lighted the purchase of fighter jets from Portugal.

Romania’s Higher Defense Council has agreed to purchase multi-role aircraft from Portugal, specifically 12 second hand jets. The government in Bucharest is to pay 600 million dollars for the fighters and the logistic support. The F16s, which are now at their operational half-life, are to reach the country by 2016, time enough to train the pilots.

The Romanian Foreign Minister spoke in the UN General Assembly.

Security in the Middle East and the North of Africa is a top priority for the international community. Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean told the UN General Assembly that Romania is concerned by the developments in Syria, and emphasized the progress made by the Peace Process in the Middle East in the last year. He condemned the recent attack against the US embassy in Libya. Referring to Syria, he indicated that the events in that country are contaminating the entire region. At the same time, Titus Corlatean said that the large number of Syrian refugees in Jordan are facing a dire situation, which Romania wants to alleviate by granting Jordan aid worth 100,000 Euro.

4G mobile telephony is introduced in Romania.

Romanian mobile telephony providers are fast moving, keeping ahead of other countries in their performance. One of the steps they are taking is adopting 4G technology, which guarantees faster speed and better network performance. The Romanian state will cash in over 680 million Euro in license fees from mobile providers from the biggest radio band tender in Romania ever. As a result, 700 villages not yet covered by mobile service will have priority of coverage.

The Romanian car maker Dacia introduced the new Logan and Sandero models at the auto salon in Paris.

The Paris auto salon was the venue for the launch of the new Dacia models, the Logan, Sandero and Sandero Stepway. Dacia is owned by French group Renault. The new Logan was introduced eight years from the launch of a new generation, together with the new Sandero, which is the second most preferred Romanian brand after the Duster. Logan is trying to attract new customers with its German inspired design, with a new navigation system and a new engine. The Sandero comes with a new design and a more attractive interior.

And Romania premieres its first radio orchestra festival, RadiRo.

Bucharest is host to a unique musical event in Romania, the RadiRo International Radio Orchestra Festival. Music lovers from all over the world gathered for this event, produced by Radio Romania, bringing together national radio orchestras from all over the world. Among them there are the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, the Italian RAI Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which celebrated its 80th year of existence in the 2010-2011 season. The artistic director of the festival, famous conductor and pianist Christian Zacharias, believes that the festival could be a symbol of unifying Europe, given how well these orchestras worked together to bring the audience the best of classical music.