Radio România Internațional

Tag: checkpoints

August 16, 2023 UPDATE

SECURITY Romanias security has been consolidated and the efforts to strengthen NATO structures on national territory, especially the NATO battle group established in 2022, will carry on, said President Klaus Iohannis, who attended the Navy Day ceremonies in Constanta on Tuesday. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu promised that the government would earmark the resources required for equipping and modernising the Romanian Naval Forces. Security at the Black Sea ensures the stability of the entire region and turns Romania into an important security provider, the speaker of the Senate, Nicolae Ciucă, also said.

ECONOMY The EU economy grew 0.5% and the Eurozone economy went up 0.6% in Q2 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022, with Ireland and Romania reporting the most significant growth rates, according to preliminary data released on Wednesday by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat). Among the EU member countries for which data are available, the highest growth rates in April-June 2023 are reported in Ireland (2.8%), Romania (2.7%), Cyprus and Portugal (2.3%), while the most important negative rates were in Estonia (-3%), Sweden (-2.4%), Hungary (-2.3%) and Poland (-1.3%). Across the ocean, the US GDP went up 0.6% compared to the previous 3 months and 2.6% against the corresponding quarter last year.

BACCALAUREATE Nearly 34,000 high school graduates in Romania, sitting the second session of this years Baccalaureate exam, Wednesday had the Romanian language and literature test, with papers graded digitally for the first time. The tests are scanned and uploaded on a platform, where they are assigned for grading to teachers in any part of the country except for the county where the student went to high school. The two tests in students major subjects are scheduled for August 17th and 18th. In order to pass the exam, candidates need an overall grade of at least 6 in their written tests. In the first Baccalaureate session, 75% of the candidates passed the exam.

TRAFFIC Over 2.2 million Romanians and foreigners crossed Romanias borders during the Assumption of Mary holiday period, up 24% compared to the corresponding period of last year, the Romanian Border Police announced. The most crowded checkpoints were those on the Hungarian and Bulgarian borders, and those in airports. During the same period, border police issued fines totalling over EUR 60,000 and seized assets of over EUR 600,000. More than 100 Romanian nationals were denied exit and 90 foreign nationals were not allowed to enter the country for various reasons.

UKRAINE The Romanian Defence Ministry strongly condemns the repeated strikes by Russian armed forces targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine and regions inhabited by civilians in that country. The statement comes after on Wednesday morning the Danube River ports in Izmail and Reni, near the border with Romania, were hit by drone strikes. The war of aggression started by Russia against Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law, says the Defence Ministry, also adding that it has enhanced the monitoring of Romanias national territory and its maritime and airspace, jointly with NATO forces, to strengthen defence on the entire eastern flank and to deter possible aggressions against NATO member countries. (AMP)

16 August 2023
August 4, 2023 UPDATE

DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu has
officially confirmed that a tour of Africa is being prepared for Romania’s
President Klaus Iohannis. Romania aims to bring ties with Sub-Saharan
Africa to a higher level, adapted to the new Romanian and African realities and
the new strategic interest of each partner. This revival will be done by
pursuing common values and interests, mainly in political and economic terms,
said the Romanian official.

DANUBE Naval traffic is very intense at the exit from the Danube to
the Black Sea, after Russia attacked the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail. Romania’s River Administration of the Lower Danube in Galati
decided to only allow vessels to go out to sea and only then to sail in the
opposite direction. Since Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement that allowed
the safe export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea, the Danube has been used
as an export route for agricultural products from Ukraine.

NATURAL GAS PM Marcel Ciolacu says the Black Sea natural gas
extraction project Neptun Deep is a strategic one, which will turn Romania into
the largest natural gas producer in the European Union. The Domino and Pelican
Sud development plans were confirmed by the National Agency for Mineral
Resources, a post on the Government’s Facebook account reads. According to the
government, OMV Petrom and Romgaz will invest up to EUR 4 bln at this stage of
the project, which will generate an output of around 100 billion cubic metres
of natural gas, beginning in 2027.

HOSPITALS Electrical systems in around 300 hospitals in Romania have
been checked, and the estimated budget for revamping them is over EUR 140 mln,
the healthcare minister Alexandru Rafila announced. He said the money would
come from EU funds under regional programmes, and that the electrical and fire
safety systems in 21 hospitals have been completely reconstructed. Rafila also
announced a programme called Good and safe meals for patients, for the revamping
of kitchen and catering units in more than 250 public healthcare institutions,
with a budget of roughly EUR 450 mln.

FIREFIGHTERS PM Marcel Ciolacu congratulated the Romanian rescuers
who Friday completed their mission in Greece, for their altruism, courage and
efforts, and wished good luck to the Romanian fire-fighters that will replace
them in helping the Greek authorities and population struggling with extensive
wildfires. Romania and Europe stand by the Greek nation in need of support,
and we hope that together we will bring things to normal as soon as possible,
Marcel Ciolacu said. On Friday Romania deployed a new wildfire specialist unit
to Greece. Ninety Romanian fire-fighters replaced their colleagues who took
part in a similar mission in the past 2 weeks, under the EU Civil Protection
Mechanism.

BORDERS The Border Police Inspectorate announced that measures to reduce
traffic congestion at checkpoints on the Romanian-Hungarian and
Romanian-Bulgarian borders continue this weekend. The institution announced
that personnel will be increased to the maximum capacity allowed by the
existing infrastructure, and mobile check units will be used. Around 3,800 border
police will be working every day at checkpoints around the country. The border
police also recommend the use of the Trafic On-line app on www.politiadefrontiera.ro,
to check out live estimates on waiting times. (AMP)

4 August 2023
December 18, 2021

VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă will be on a visit to
Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, for talks with senior EU and NATO officials. According
to the Government, on Monday the Romanian PM will have a working dinner with
the president of the European Council Charles Michael. On Tuesday, Ciucă will
have meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der
Leyen and with other EC members. The PM will also have a meeting with the
secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO headquarters.

BUDGET The
government of Romania passed a number of measures on which the 2022 public
budget is based. An emergency order freezing the salaries of public officials and
other public sector staff, with 2 exceptions, was endorsed by the Cabinet with
amendments compared to the version subject to public debate. The bill also
includes other measures, such as a low VAT rate only for the purchase of a
family’s first home. The new tax provisions, alongside the new Ceilings Act,
are the foundation of next year’s state budget, and are designed to reduce
expenditure and maintain the public deficit below 6.2% of GDP.

ANTI-CORRUPTION The government approved the 2021-2025 National
Anti-Corruption Strategy, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu announced. He pointed
out that the document is a political commitment to support all institutions
involved in fighting corruption, and also a first goal met out of the ones
included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the judicial sector. Predoiu
added that the Strategy is correlated with international instruments to which
Romania is affiliated, such as GRECO and the Cooperation and Verification
Mechanism. The CVM was introduced in January 2007, upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU accession, to support the 2
countries in overcoming deficiencies in judicial reform and in fighting
corruption.

BORDER Romanian border checkpoints are getting crowded these days,
as many Romanians living abroad are coming home for Christmas. Queuing is
reported at the checkpoints on Romania’s western borders, as apart from travel
documents the digital Covid certificates and the PCR tests must be checked. Crowding
was also reported on the Otopeni International Airport, near Bucharest. Hundreds
of people waited for a long time for the authorities to check their documents. On
Monday, an additional digital form will be introduced, to trace travellers. In order
to streamline border crossing, at the checkpoint in Giurgiu (south), the number
of border police will be increased by 20%.

MINORITIES Romania
celebrates on December 18 the Day of Ethnic Minorities. The president Klaus
Iohannis said on this occasion that ethnic minorities make an essential
contribution to social cohesion and that only together can a modern Romania be
built, with no place for racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Protecting cultural
heritage, including that of national minorities, is a priority for the Culture
Ministry, which treasures the culture of minorities as an element contributing
in the shaping of Romanian culture as we know it today, reads a news release
issued by the institution. As many as 18 ethnic minorities are officially
recognised in Romania at present, namely Hungarian, Rroma,
German, Ukrainian, Russian, Lipovan, Jewish, Turk, Tatar, Armenian, Bulgarian,
Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovakian, Polish, Greek, Albanian and Italian.

COVID 733 new COVID-19 cases and 64 related fatalities were
reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the authorities announced on
Saturday. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced
on the other hand that the number of people requesting their first doses of anti
Sars-CoV-2 vaccine is on the decrease. He detailed that the number of people
who get their first vaccine doses drops by 15-25% from one week to the next. Valeriu Gheorghiţă also said that Romania
might receive Pfizer vaccine children doses next month, and the vaccination of
children aged 5 to 11 may begin in the second half of January. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

18 December 2021
December 29, 2019 UPDATE

VISIT PM Ludovic Orban will be on a working visit to EU and NATO institutions in Brussels between January 7th and 9th, the Government announced on Sunday. The Romanian PM will have meetings with the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The agenda also includes talks with the president of the European Council Charles Michel and with the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli.

PENSIONS The Romanian public pension system is in imminent danger, given that the number of employed contributors has dropped significantly, and people need to be encouraged to save money in privately-managed pension funds, which ensure more safety, transparency and traceability, the Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru said in an interview to AGERPRES news agency. She also warned that there is a trend across Europe to increase the retirement age, but she did not suggest that the Government plans to take any measures in this respect in the current term in office. The Labour Minister also expressed concern with the budgetary impact of the planned 40% pension raise as of September 2020, as decided by the previous, Social Democratic cabinet dismissed in October, but said that as long as she is the labour minister the law will be complied with.

CUSTOMS The customs offices on the Romanian – Moldovan border will be revamped and upgraded as part of a EU-funded project. Included in the project are the check points in Albiţa, Sculeni and Giurgiuleşti, which are seen as strategic points for the Unions security policy. The programme has a 36-month deadline for implementation, a total budget of 10 million euros, and is designed to enhance institutional and operational efficiency in customs offices by modernising the infrastructure and streamlining the transit of goods and persons. A number of 347 customs workers will also be trained to use special equipment to fight cross-border organised crime.

FINANCIAL Most analysts in CFA Romania Association expect the national currency to depreciate in the next 12 months, to 4.8663 leu for the euro, with an average inflation rate of 3.52%, according to data in the Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator for November. CFA Romania is an organisation of chartered financial analysts certified by the CFA Institute (USA). At present CFA Romania has over 240 members. The Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator was launched by CFA Romania in May 2011 and is designed to measure the financial analysts expectations regarding Romanias economy for the coming 12 months.

BORDER Nearly 900,000 people came into Romania during the Christmas period, and 655,000 left the country, the Romanian Border Police announced on Sunday. The highest numbers were reported on the Hungarian border, in the west of the country. On the other hand, Romanian border police have caught Middle Eastern citizens attempting to illegally cross the border into Hungary. They were coming from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, had applied for asylum in Romania, and were trying to get to Hungary and further west illegally.

UKRAINE The Ukrainian governmental forces and the pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine Sunday completed a prisoner exchange, thanks to which all people taken captive in the 5-year conflict were able to return home, Reuters reports. The operation took place in the breakaway Donbass region. According to Kiev, a total of 76 Ukrainian prisoners were freed. Since 2014, over 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict in east Ukraine, with occasional clashes still reported in spite of the ceasefire. The prisoner exchange agreement was reached in a summit in Paris this month by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukraines president Volodimir Zelenskiy. The French-German brokered deal also includes a number of measures such as consolidation of the cease-fire, massive prisoner swaps by the end of December and new troop pull-outs from the 3 zones by the end of March 2020.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

29 December 2019
December 29, 2019

VISIT PM Ludovic Orban will be on a working visit to EU and NATO institutions in Brussels between January 7th and 9th, the Government announced today. The Romanian PM will have meetings with the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The agenda also includes talks with the president of the European Council Charles Michel and with the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli.

PENSIONS The Romanian public pension system is in imminent danger, given that the number of employed contributors has dropped significantly, and people need to be encouraged to save money in privately-managed pension funds, which ensure more safety, transparency and traceability, the Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru said in an interview to AGERPRES news agency. She also warned that there is a trend across Europe to increase the retirement age, but she did not suggest that the Government plans to take any measures in this respect in the current term in office. The Labour Minister also expressed concern with the budgetary impact of the planned 40% pension raise as of September 2020, as decided by the previous, Social Democratic cabinet dismissed in October, but said that as long as she is the labour minister the law will be complied with.

CUSTOMS The customs offices on the Romanian – Moldovan border will be revamped and upgraded as part of a EU-funded project. Included in the project are the check points in Albiţa, Sculeni and Giurgiuleşti, which are seen as strategic points for the Unions security policy. The programme has a 36-month deadline for implementation, a total budget of 10 million euros, and is designed to enhance institutional and operational efficiency in customs offices by modernising the infrastructure and streamlining the transit of goods and persons. A number of 347 customs workers will also be trained to use special equipment to fight cross-border organised crime.

FINANCIAL Most analysts in CFA Romania Association expect the national currency to depreciate in the next 12 months, to 4.8663 leu for the euro, with an average inflation rate of 3.52%, according to data in the Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator for November. CFA Romania is an organisation of chartered financial analysts certified by the CFA Institute (USA). At present CFA Romania has over 240 members. The Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator was launched by CFA Romania in May 2011 and is designed to measure the financial analysts expectations regarding Romanias economy for the coming 12 months.

UKRAINE The Ukrainian governmental forces and the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have initiated a prisoner exchange, thanks to which all people taken captive in the conflict 5 years ago should be able to return home, Russian news agencies report. The prisoner exchange agreement was reached in Paris this month by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukraines president Volodimir Zelenskiy, in the first Ukraine peace summit since 2016. The French-German brokered deal includes a number of measures such as consolidation of the cease-fire, massive prisoner swaps by the end of December, new troop pull-outs from the 3 zones by the end of March 2020. The conflict between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists—backed by Moscow, according to the West and to Kiev—dates back to 2014 and has left behind over 13,000 dead and nearly 1.5 million displaced. The peace agreements signed in Minsk in 2015 allowed for a substantial decrease in violence. This September Moscow and Kiev also swapped an important number of prisoners.

HANDBALL Romanias mens handball team is playing today against North Macedonia in the Carpati Trophy final. In their first match with French top league Saint Raphaels coach Rareş Fortuneanu as a manager, Romania defeated Netherlands on Saturday, 27-25. In the first match of the competition, North Macedonia outplayed Algeria 25-24. Netherlands and Algeria will face each other for the 3rd place. The games are part of the preparations for the first stage of the 2021 Egypt World Championships qualifiers, in which 32 teams are taking part. Next month, in the preliminary tournament in Italy, Romania will play against the host country, Georgia and Kosovo.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

29 December 2019
April 22, 2019 UPDATE

UKRAINE EU officials sent their congratulations to the winner of the presidential elections in Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, noting that the vote emphasised commitment to democratic values in this country at war, situated on the borders of the Union. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, also congratulated Volodimir Zelenski. Iohannis voiced his confidence that through dialogue and joint efforts, the two presidents will be able to contribute to consolidating and diversifying the relations between the two countries, in support of Ukraines territorial integrity, security and modernisation. These developments will benefit all the citizens of Ukraine, including the Romanian minority, reads the message sent by President Iohannis. In turn, the Russian PM Dmitri Medvedev said that Moscow has an opportunity to improve relations with Ukraine with this new presidency, although he added he does not want to have “illusions in this respect. The television actor Volodimir Zelenski Sunday won the presidential election in Ukraine by a landslide, defeating the outgoing president Petro Poroshenko.

TERRORISM The government of Sri Lanka ordered a state of emergency beginning Monday at midnight, for public security reasons. The announcement comes in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed nearly 300 and wounded another 500 people. According to a government spokesperson, the attacks were coordinated with the help of an international terrorist organisation. The victims include 37 foreign tourists. The police announced that 24 people have been arrested. Within a few hours on Sunday, several blasts were reported in 3 churches and 4 luxury hotels in this Indian Ocean island. Schools and universities will stay closed, and Stock Exchange operations suspended. The airport will also remain closed. The international community, Romania included, has condemned the attacks in Sri Lanka.

BORDER The relevant authorities in Romania and the Republic of Moldova have put together an action plan to streamline border crossing during the Easter holiday. The plan includes increased personnel in checkpoints, the use of all lanes and coordination with local Border Police units. The Romanian Border Police also called on the corresponding institutions in Bulgaria and Hungary to increase the staff in checkpoints, if necessary. The Romanians working abroad are coming home for Easter, and checkpoints are rather crowded these days. More than 4,000 border police will be on duty every day to ensure efficient checks on national borders during this period.

IMMUNISATION Over 82,000 measles cases were reported in Europe, physicians warned during the World Immunisation Week which started on Monday. Of the 72 deaths caused by this disease in Europe, 62 were in Romania. Experts have once again warned that immunisation saves millions of lives every year and is recognised as the most efficient healthcare intervention. Last week, over 100 cases of measles were confirmed in 12 counties in Romania and in Bucharest, according to the latest data made public by the National Centre for Transmittable Disease Monitoring and Control. The largest number of cases was among unvaccinated children.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 April 2019
April 20, 2019

EASTER Catholic and Protestant Christians are preparing today for the Easter holiday, while Orthodox and Greek-Catholics are getting ready for Palm Sunday. Tonight Roman-Catholic churches are holding the Easter Vigil, the religious service that celebrates the Resurrection of Christ. Also today, on the eve of Palm Sunday, Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers in many parts of Romania organise religious processions to commemorate Christs arrival in Jerusalem prior to the Crucifixion.

HOLIDAYS In Romania, over 10,000 police and 8,000 gendarmes will be deployed on the Orthodox Palm Sunday and Catholic Easter Sunday, to ensure the safety of the citizens taking part in the events related to these holidays. Traffic police and over 300 radar units will also be on duty, to prevent accidents and to ensure smooth road traffic. Meanwhile, many Romanians working abroad are beginning their Easter visits home, and checkpoints are getting increasingly crowded. Over 4,000 border police will work every day to ensure efficient border controls during this period. The Romanian Border Police has also called on the authorities of Bulgaria, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova to increase the number of staff available in checkpoints, if necessary.

RESHUFFLING President Klaus Iohannis will announce early next week his decision on the new nominations in the Dancila Cabinet. The Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, has nominated the deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Eugen Nicolicea to replace Tudorel Toader as justice minister. The Social Democrats withdrew their political support for Toader after he refused to pass new controversial changes in the criminal codes, and consequently Tudorel Toader stepped down. The Prime Minister also forwarded to the Presidency the resignations of Rovana Plumb as Minister for European Funds and of Natalia Intotero as Minister for Romanians Abroad. The 2 are running for the European Parliament in the upcoming elections. Nominated to replace them are Deputy Oana Florea, for the Ministry for European Funds, and Senator Liviu Brăiloiu for the ministry in charge of the diaspora. The President has hinted that he disapproves of these proposals. In his opinion, this government reshuffling strengthens what he called “the Social Democrats siege of the judiciary.

DIPLOMACY Regional and international security and the contribution to the fulfilment of NATOs goals were the main topics approached by the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu in a meeting with his counterparts from Poland and Turkey in Ankara. The ministers reconfirmed the need for constant efforts in order to efficiently respond to all challenges, wherever they may come from, and to implement the measures regarding the Black Sea region. The participants also agreed to hold meetings with the main representatives of the 3 countries military industries. Teodor Meleşcanu also mentioned the support provided by Romania to its eastern partners—Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine—and to the Western Balkans states. He also said that Romania aims to support these countries in advancing their relations with NATO and the EU.

CULTURE As part of the 2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, the French Film Festival kicks off today in 10 cities in Romania. Launched in November 2018, in France, the cultural dialogue between the 2 countries continues in Romania with scores of theatre shows, dance performances, concerts, film screenings, literature-related events, exhibitions and debates held in over 30 towns and cities. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, pointed out that this was an important landmark in the arts and cultural life in Romania and France. The event strengthens the economic, scientific, cultural and social ties between the 2 states. The official closing of the 2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, which overlaps the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will be on July 14, Frances National Day.

TENNIS Romanias Simona Halep (2 WTA) is playing today in Rouen against Kristina Mladenovic (66 WTA) in the first round of the Fed Cup semi-finals between Romania and France. In the second match of the day, Mihaela Buzărnescu (30 WTA) will take on Caroline Garcia (21 WTA). Three other matches are scheduled on Sunday: Caroline Garcia vs. Simona Halep, Kristina Mladenovic vs. Mihaela Buzărnescu and Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs. Irina Begu / Monica Niculescu. For the second time in history, 46 years apart, Romania is playing a Fed Cup semi-final. Frances performance in this competition is much better: the French tennis players were twice champions, in 1997 and 2003, finalists in 2004, 2005 and 2016, and semi-finalists several times, including last year. Should Romania get past France this weekend, it will play the final in November against the winner of the match pitting Australia against Belarus.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

20 April 2019
April 14, 2017 UPDATE

ANTI-CORRUPTION – The Romanian authorities are to initiate the extradition procedure for former Deputy Sebastian Ghita, apprehended in Belgrade almost 4 months since he disappeared. When he was caught he presented false ID, allegedly issued by an EU state. Sebastian Ghita went missing on December 21, 2016 and was subject to a national warrant after breaching the terms of the restrictions imposed on him pending trial. On January 10, the court issued a European arrest warrant against him and he was also placed on the Interpol wanted list. Ghita is tried in two corruption cases and prosecuted in two others.

EASTER PREPARATIONS – Over 50,000 police, gendarmes, border police, fire-fighters and other Interior Ministry employees will ensure public safety and order these days. Special attention will be paid to crowded areas, tourist resorts and churches. According to the Ministry, an average 1,500 road traffic police will be present every day on public roads, in order to prevent serious accidents and to ensure smooth traffic. Nearly 5,200 fire fighters will be on duty daily, while 1,300 emergency intervention teams and ambulances will be on stand-by to provide first aid. The General Aviation Inspectorate also has available 7 helicopters.

BORDER CHECKS – Romanian check points are getting crowded, because of a new European regulation tightening border checks, which took effect last week, and because of increased traffic ahead of the Easter holidays, the General Border Police Inspectorate reports. The most crowded is the Siret checkpoint on the Ukrainian border in the north-east, where waiting times reach 10 hours for trucks to get out of the country and 2 to enter Romania. Queues are also reported at checkpoints in the east, on the Moldovan border, in the south, on the Bulgarian border, and in the west, on the Hungarian border. The authorities expect further queuing, because Hungary has introduced traffic restrictions for trucks during the Easter holidays.

ILLEGAL MIGRATION – 38 Iraqi and Pakistani citizens have been caught in the past 24 hours trying to enter Romania illegally from Serbia. The Border Police announced in a news release that several groups of people, including underage children, were found traveling from Serbia to six border localities in the counties of Caras-Severin, in the south-west, and Timis, in the west. According to the news release, all of them are being probed into for illegal border crossing, and the investigations are conducted jointly with the Serb authorities.

R. OF MOLDOVA – The Republic of Moldova will be an observer in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev announced on Friday at the summit of the organisation, held in Bishkek. Atambayev said all the members of the EAEU, namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, had agreed in principle with the request of the Moldovan President Igor Dodon. He added that this did not mean the Republic of Moldova was necessarily to become a member of the organisation. Igor Dodon believes his countrys EU Association Agreement does not prevent the signature of other agreements that would benefit the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Moldovas pro-Western Government headed by PM Pavel Filip supports the countrys EU accession, whereas the President of the Republic, the pro-Russian Socialist Igor Dodon, wants the agreements signed with Brussels cancelled and his country to steer towards the Eurasian Union.

US AIR STRIKE – The IS groups propaganda agency, Amaq, Friday denied the jihadist group having suffered losses after Thursdays American bombing in Afghanistan, in which Afghan authorities say at least 36 jihadists died, AFP reports. Washington used the largest non-nuclear bomb ever launched by the US, to target grottoes and tunnels in the east of that country, where terrorists were believed to be hiding. This was the second air strike by the Pentagon in a week, after bombing the Shairat Airport in Syria. The US Army has another 19 such bombs in its arsenal, which are worth over 300 million USD.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

14 April 2017