USAID, with bipartisan Congressional support, is supporting new locally-driven initiatives in Central Europe with the goal of strengthening democratic institutions, civil society, and independent media, which are all pillars of resilient democratic societies. These programs will be implemented by a coalition of partners with deep knowledge of the region, experience in providing tailored support to local communities, and a commitment to internationally-recognized best practices to support democracy. Local ownership is the key to the USAID programming in Central Europe which was recently launched. USAID will work with local and diverse organizations, putting local stakeholders in charge of the process to identify needs, design and implement solutions, and monitor results. In Central Europe, USAID is proud to support local partners in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to: Increase the capacity of civil society to strengthen democratic principles and empower citizens to protect fundamental freedoms. Strengthen the competitiveness, financial independence, and sustainability of the independent media sector. Build the watchdog skills of civil society and media to enhance rule of law observance, combat corruption, and increase access to justice. Increase civic engagement through collective action of citizens to strengthen democratic systems. The Biden-Harris Administration has made clear that bolstering democracy in the United States and around the world is essential to meeting the unprecedented challenges of our time. USAID activities in Central Europe are rooted in our shared democratic commitments to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and adherence to the rule of law enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and Charter of Paris for a New Europe, to which the U.S., Central European, and other countries committed as participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (Source: Public Diplomacy – Press Office, U.S. Embassy-Bucharest )
Romania’s prime minister Ilie Bolojan reportedly opposes the idea of further prolonging the price-capping mechanism introduced in August 2023 and repeatedly extended so far, according to Ziarul Financiar. Ambiguous statements over the weekend indicated an incipient conflict among the ruling coalition’s...
Several thousand civil servants rallied in Bucharest on September 15 to oppose government reform plans that would reduce public administration staff, Radio Romania Actualități reported. Protesters gathered in Victoriei Square before marching to the Palace of Parliament,...
A memorandum establishing a new stock exchange in the Republic of Moldova was signed on September 15 in Chișinău, with the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) set to play a key role as shareholder and technology partner, according to Bursa.ro. The new Moldovan exchange will run...
The “service pensions”, also known as special pensions, paid to civilians (military not included in the report), cost the state budget and the state social insurance budget a total of RON 2.2 billion in 2024, over 22% more than in 2023,
The Czech company Tesla has officially announced to the government and local authorities that it is abandoning the project to build the energy storage factory in Brăila, an investment of EUR 90 million that was also to receive state aid, according to
Romanian households' purchasing power has deteriorated in July, both as a result of slower nominal advance (+5.2% y/y, the weakest in four years) but also because of a sharp rise in inflation (7.68% y/y) following the VAT rate hike, according to data published by the statistics office INS. The average net wage dropped by 3.0% […]
