2023-12-01 08:27:23
“We survive, but that’s not called living,” says Ioana Apreotesei, employed on the minimum wage in a town in the northeast of the country. “On payday, I am instantly left without half the money. They go on the phone bill, rent and utilities. I take food for another week, and 10 days before the holiday I run out of money”, she says. Ioana tells an unspoken truth – even if Iohannis, Ciucă or Isărescu told her that she lives in the best Romania of the last hundred years, Ioana would look at them with distrust.
People on the street in BucharestPhoto: Viorel Dudau | Dreamstime.com
Romania is doing well in the EU in many respects, without question. We have good economic growth rates (even if declining and accompanied by inflation among the highest in the EU). We have an Internet speed that places us at the top of the world.
Romania is doing well or very well in the EU in many respects
1. Volume of passenger car production: Romania ranks seventh in the EU, among the top passenger car producers. Production in 2020, the latest aggregate data, was almost 438,000 cars in Romania, more than in Hungary (433,000) or Poland (221,000). Germany, the largest European producer, produces 3.4 million cars annually.
2. Last year, compared to some Member States of the European Union, Romania ranked first in terms of the area cultivated with grain corn and second in terms of production, after France.
3. Internet speed: Romania ranks 1st in the EU. With a broadband internet download speed of around 200 mbps, Romania ranks first in the European Union in terms of this indicator. The European average is around 100 mpbs, less than half the download speed in Romania.
4. According to data provided by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), analyzed by Wines of Romania, wine production in Romania reached 4.4 million hectoliters in 2023, registering a 15% increase compared to the previous year and by 4% above the average of the last 5 years. This performance strengthens Romania’s position as the sixth largest wine producer in Europe.
5. In 2022, Romania was in fifth place in the European Union in the area cultivated with wheat, after France, Germany, Poland and Spain, and in fourth place in terms of production, after France, Germany and Poland.
But we also have chapters where we underperform, unfortunately. And not a few
Below, our place in the EU for the indicator “Share of people in a state of severe material and social deprivation”
Severe material and social deprivation refers to people who, due to lack of financial resources, cannot afford 7 of the 13 essential components for a decent life, such as:
– the ability to face unforeseen expenses;
– the ability to pay for one week of vacation per year;
– the ability to pay the rent, mortgage or utility bills on time, without arrears;
– eating meat, fish or the vegetarian equivalent at least once every two days;
– proper heating of the house;
– access to a car for personal use;
– replacement of used furniture;
– access to the internet at home for personal purposes;
– replacing old/worn clothes with new ones;
– owning two pairs of shoes (including a pair for any weather);
– spending a certain amount of money every week for your own well-being;
– regularly participating in leisure activities;
– meeting friends/family at home or elsewhere, at least once a month, to drink or eat together.
Almost one in three Romanians cannot afford to replace their old clothes with new ones
We see the malls full and people trying on and taking clothes. But this is happening in the Capital and in several large cities. In the rest of the country things are very different.
They say we are a people who like to hang out with friends and party. That’s how it will be, but by the way, on the numbers things seem to look different:
We are not brilliant when it comes to holidays either. Ioana Apreotesei has not been on leave for about 3 years. I mean, although he took his legal right not to go to work, he stayed at home, because he didn’t have money for hotels by the sea or in the mountains.
Romania remains a very rich country with huge disparities
That’s right, the elections that will follow next year represent the way through which Romanians in these categories can make their voices heard.
It is certain that Romania remains a very rich country with growing wage disparities, with low unemployment and a labor shortage that gives employers a lot of trouble.
“Romania has the highest income inequality in the EU and the highest inter-regional disparity. Even the European Commission noted that the gaps between Romania’s development areas have deepened over time, leading to the emergence of regional competitiveness poles, simultaneously with chronic poverty in some areas. Unfortunately, the lack of infrastructure to interconnect the historical provinces acts to perpetuate these gaps. This problem tends to become a concern even for national security”, said BNR Governor Mugur Isărescu at an economic event.
The main findings of a Eurobarometer survey (which look at education, income, social status and intergenerational mobility) show that less than half of Romanians believe that people have equal opportunities in life.
And we didn’t even get to talk about highways, corruption, infant mortality…
Photo source: Dreamstime
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