Radio România Internațional

Tag: Ciuca

February 9, 2023

Brussels – President Klaus Iohannis represents Romania, in Brussels, in the extraordinary meeting of the European Council. Russias war against Ukraine, the economic situation in the European Union and migration are the three important topics to be discussed, this weekend, by the leaders of the 27 member states. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, during the Council meeting, the commitment of the European Union and its member countries to support Ukraine at all levels will be reiterated as well as the commitment to continue to hold the Russian Federation responsible for the invasion of the neighboring country. At the same time, the European leaders will analyze the best solutions at European level to ensure the competitiveness of the Unions economy in the short and long term.

Earthquake — The death toll of the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday continues to rise, exceeding 16,000 dead on Thursday, and the chances of survival for the people trapped under the rubble are diminishing. The bad weather and cold are complicating the rescuers task, given that the first 72 hours are crucial to find survivors, according to the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik. Twitter has become inaccessible to Turkeys main mobile telephony providers amid growing online criticism of the authorities handling of the tragedy. “We had difficulties at the beginning with the airports and on the roads, but we are better today and tomorrow we will be even better” – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the eve, apparently to defuse the population’s anger over the slow reaction of his regime. In power since 2003 and a candidate for a new mandate in the May presidential election, Erdogan also announced the distribution of 10,000 Turkish liras (the equivalent of about 494 Euros) to each family affected by the earthquake.

Rescue — Romania has sent a second search and rescue team to those areas from Turkey devastated by strong earthquakes at the beginning of the week. Currently, there are almost 120 Romanian rescuers on the ground, accompanied by specially trained dogs, equipment and transport vehicles. Bucharest decided to send humanitarian aid also to Syria, which was seriously affected by earthquakes as well. On the other hand, 26 Romanian citizens who requested support to return home were repatriated. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, there are no Romanian citizens among the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey.

OECD – Romanias accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the next step on the countrys way to modernization, development and prosperity — the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said Thursday, in Bucharest, at a conference organized by the Government on the benefits that member countries of this Organization have. This event marked one year since the start of Romanias accession process to the OECD. “Romanias accession to the OECD has become a major foreign policy objective and a strategic objective of the country, after accession to the European Union and NATO” – Nicolae Ciucă stated, recalling that the Organization has under its umbrella states that represent over 70% of world trade and approximately 90% of the capital investments value. Regarding the current economic situation in Romania, the prime minister recalled that, in 2022, the Gross Domestic Product increased by almost 50 billion Euros as compared to the previous year, i.e. 4.9%, which is a significant increase.

EU summit — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, in Brussels, in the plenum of the European Parliament, that the defense of the Ukrainian territory against the Russian invasion also represented the defense of Europe. “We are defending ourselves against the most anti-European force of the modern world,” he said. Zelensky also expressed his belief that his country would join the EU after winning the war against Russia. At the same time, he thanked the European Parliament for the help Ukraine receives from the EU to defend itself against the Russian invasion. Today, Zelensky is participating, in Brussels, in a summit of the EU heads of state and government. He is on a surprise tour of Europe and left his country for the second time since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, after a first trip to Washington in December. The Ukrainian president on Monday first visited Great Britain, the biggest contributor, after the United States, in terms of military aid to Ukraine, then he went to France, where he met with president Macron and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. In London and Paris, Zelensky called for fighter jets “as soon as possible” to reject the Russian offensive. (LS)

9 February 2023
February 5, 2023 UPDATE

Cairo – The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, met, on Sunday, in Cairo, with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The talks focused on topics such as bilateral cooperation in the economic and social fields, as well as the impact of the Russian military aggression on Ukraine. The Egyptian president thanked, on this occasion, for the support provided by Romania for the evacuation from Ukraine of the more than one thousand repatriated Egyptian students last year, as well as for facilitating the export of Ukrainian grains to Egypt. Nicolae Ciucă highlighted the need to support Romanian farmers through access to the production of fertilizers from Egypt necessary for agricultural crops. At the same time, the two agreed to increase Romanian farmers grain exports to the Egyptian market. On Sunday, the Romanian Prime Minister also participated in the Egypt-Romania Business Forum, as well as in the signing ceremony of several bilateral documents. On Saturday, Nicolae Ciucă discussed with his Egyptian counterpart, Mostafa Madbouly, about the intensification of bilateral relations, both at the political, commercial and economic levels. He also had a meeting with the representatives of the Romanian community in Egypt and with Egyptian citizens who studied in Romania.

EU – Starting on February 5, the European Union has completely suspended imports of Russian refined oil products, such as gasoline, diesel and fuel oil, in the context of the war in Ukraine. Until now, the embargo targeted crude oil. Also as of February 5, another European measure came into force, taken together with the allied states, the G7 group of highly industrialized states as well as Australia. The measure is about limiting the price of Russian oil products transported by sea. European limits provide a maximum of 100 dollars per barrel for expensive products, such as diesel and gasoline, and a maximum of 45 dollars per barrel for less refined ones, such as fuel oil. These measures come after a previous cap at 60 dollars per barrel of Russian crude oil imposed on December 5. Beyond this ceiling, Western companies were prohibited from providing maritime services to Russia, given that the G7 countries provide for approximately 90% of the global transport.

Gas – In Romania, the natural gas stock in deposits is currently 1.880 billion cubic meters, i.e. 61% of the their capacity. According to Depogaz, the main underground natural gas storage operator in Romania, the country has no problem in securing natural gas for the cold season, this stock being by 780 million cubic meters higher than last year. The latest statistics show that Romania has the fastest emptying rate of stored gas deposits in the EU.

Weather – In Romania, the National Meteorological Administration has issued a cold weather alert valid in all regions, until Friday, as well as Yellow Code Alerts for snow and blizzard, for areas in 27 counties, valid until Monday evening. According to meteorologists, in the Southern and Eastern Carpathians, it will snow locally and temporarily, and the wind speed will increase at 60 – 70 km/h, and at altitudes above 1,700 m, the gusts will exceed 80 – 90 km /h. Until Friday, the weather will be cold in all regions, with mostly negative highs. It will be frosty at night and in the morning in the intra-Carpathian regions, as well as on smaller areas and in the rest of the territory. The minimum temperatures will range between -14 and -4 degrees, and between -20 and -18 degrees C in isolated areas.

Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse reached the last qualifications round of the tennis tournament in Abu Dhabi. That happened following the abandonment of the Czech Tereza Martincova, at the score of 6-3, 3-0 for Gabriela Ruse. The Romanian Sorana Cîrstea entered the main singles draw directly and will play in the first round against the Ukrainian Marta Kostiuk. The winner will face the Swiss Belinda Bencic, the second seed, in the round of 16. Monica Niculescu will play in the doubles, where she pairs with the Japanese Miyu Kato, the opponents in the first round being Ulrikke Eikeri (Norway) and Alexa Guarachi (Chile). (LS)

5 February 2023
February 5, 2023

Cairo – The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, met, on Sunday, in Cairo, with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The talks focused on topics such as bilateral cooperation in the economic and social fields, as well as the impact of the Russian military aggression on Ukraine. The Egyptian president thanked, on this occasion, for the support provided by Romania for the evacuation from Ukraine of the more than one thousand repatriated Egyptian students last year, as well as for facilitating the export of Ukrainian grain to Egypt. In this context, Nicolae Ciucă highlighted the need to support Romanian farmers through access to the production of fertilizers from Egypt necessary for agricultural crops. At the same time, the two agreed to increase Romanian farmers grain exports to the Egyptian market. On Sunday, the Romanian Prime Minister also participated in the Egypt-Romania Business Forum, as well as in the signing ceremony of several bilateral documents. On Saturday, Nicolae Ciucă discussed with his Egyptian counterpart, Mostafa Madbouly, about the intensification of bilateral relations, both at the political, commercial and economic levels. He also had a meeting with representatives of the Romanian community in Egypt and with Egyptian citizens who studied in Romania.

EU – The European Union totally suspended, as of Sunday, imports of Russian refined oil products, such as gasoline, diesel or fuel oil, in the context of the war in Ukraine. Another European measure, taken together with the allied states, the G7 group of highly industrialized states and Australia also enters into force on Sunday. The measure is about limiting the price of Russian oil products transported by sea. European limits provide a maximum of 100 dollars per barrel for expensive products, such as diesel oil and gasoline, and a maximum of 45 dollars per barrel for less refined ones, such as fuel oil. These measures come after a previous capping at 60 dollars per barrel of Russian crude oil imposed on December 5. Beyond this ceiling, Western companies were prohibited from providing maritime services to Russia, given that the G7 countries provide approximately 90% of the global transport.

Weather – Romania is under a cold wave alert. Meteorologists have issued two yellow code alerts for bad weather valid until Monday evening. The first alert targets the Southern and Eastern Carpathians, where it will still snow locally and temporarily, and the wind will intensify with speeds reaching 60 – 70 km/h, and at altitudes above 1,700 m, the gusts will exceed 80 – 90 km/h. The other yellow code alert targets counties in the east and southeast of the country, where there will be temporary stronger winds. In the last 24 hours, firefighters intervened in several localities in 18 counties and in the city of Bucharest, to cope with the effects of snow, blizzard and strong winds, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) announced on Sunday. In several counties there are still problems with the supply of electricity. Firefighters intervened to get several vehicles unstuck from the snow, to clear dozens of trees and several electricity poles that fell and damaged several cars. Several national and county roads in the southeast, east and west were blocked by snow. The highs of the day are generally between minus 6 and 1 degree Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 2 degrees C.

Kyiv – Ukraine was the target of numerous Russian bombings on Saturday, with Kyiv claiming at the same time that it managed to counter an attack on Bahmut, a city in the east that the Ukrainian president called a fortress, AFP reports. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry the Russian forces are concentrating their efforts in eastern Ukraine. In the south of the Zaporizhzhia province (south), shells fell on some civil infrastructures located on the territories of dozens of localities. Also, the bombings continued in Kherson, an important city also in the south, captured and then abandoned by the Russians. The United States on Friday announced a new 2.2 billion dollar military aid package for Ukraine, which includes missiles that will practically double the range of the Ukrainian strike force against the Russians, AFP and Reuters report. Moreover, Portugal announced on Saturday that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. Also on Saturday, Canada sent the first Leopard 2 tank of those it promised to Ukraine, the Minister Defense Anita Anand announced. At the end of last month, Canada announced the decision to deliver four German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. (LS)

5 February 2023
04.02.2023

Embargo – Les Etats membres du G7 et l’Australie ont décidé d’adhérer à la décision de l’UE de plafonner le prix des produits pétroliers russes transportés via la mer afin de limiter la capacité de la Russie d’obtenir des revenus censés financer la guerre, mais aussi pour éviter une pénurie de tels produits. Bruxelles a annoncé samedi d’avoir décider ce plafonnement à 100 dollars le baril pour les produits plus chers et pour ceux raffinés, tels le mazout, à 45 dollars le baril. Le plafonnement a été annoncé alors que dimanche un embargo européen devrait entrer en vigueur visant justement ces produits. L’UE et le G7 ont imposé auparavant un prix maximal aussi pour le pétrole brut acheminé par la mer.

Ukraine – L’Ukraine a reçu la promesse de recevoir des armes occidentales de plus longue portée, une aide militaire sur laquelle compte son président Volodymyr Zelensky pour mettre fin a l’agression brutale de la Russie. Plus la portée de nos armes est longue et plus nos troupes sont mobiles, plus tôt l’agression brutale de la Russie prendra fin, a réagi vendredi soir M. Zelensky apres que les Etats-Unis se sont engagés a livrer des roquettes de plus longue portée. La nouvelle aide militaire américaine, d’un montant de 2,2 milliards de dollars inclut a cet égard des roquettes qui pourraient quasiment doubler la portée de la force de frappe ukrainienne, selon le Pentagone. Il s’agit en particulier de bombes GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb), des engins de petit diametre, tirés du sol pouvant atteindre une cible située a 150 km de distance et donc menacer des positions russes derriere les lignes de front. Selon le correspondent de la Radio Publique roumaine en Ukraine, le président Ukrainien, Volodymyr Zelensky, a demandé à l’UE de s’assurer que les actions adoptées contre la Russie étaient conçues afin d’empêcher Moscou de reconstruire sa capacité militaire. Au sujet d’une potentielle adhésion de la son pays à l’UE, il a réitéré que l’objectif était de démarrer les négociations dès cette année. Et même si de nouvelles réformes étaient nécessaires, l’Ukraine avance dans son objectif de devenir membre de l’UE, a également dit Ursula von der Leyen, présidente de la Commission européenne qui s’est déclarée profondémment impressionnée par les réformes que le président Zelensky a effectuées dans un délais particulièrement réduit.

Accident – L’ambassade de Roumanie à Ljubljana est constamment en contact avec les ressortissants roumains impliqués dans l’accident de car produit vendredi sur une autoroute en Slovénie. Trois Roumains ont été tués et quatre autres ont été blessés dans cet accident. Un des blessés a déjà quitté l’hôpital alors que les autres sont toujours hospitalisés. Au total, 29 ressortissants roumains se trouvaient dans le car qui se dirigeait vers l’Italie. 22 d’entre eux ont été hébergés en Slovénie jusqu’à l’arrivée d’un autre car de la même compagnie de transport. Entre temps, selon l’enquête des autorités slovènes, le chauffeur se serait endormi au volant, provoquant ainsi l’accident.

Visite – Le chef du gouvernement de Bucarest, Nicolae Ciuca fait ces samedi et dimanche une visite en Egypte. Aujourd’hui le premier ministre roumain rencontrera son homologue égyptien Mostafa Madbouly puis les représentants de la communauté roumaine d’Egypte et avec des citoyens Egyptiens ayant étudié en Roumanie. Dimanche, le premier ministre roumain doit rencontrer le président de l’Egypte, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, et le ministre du pétrole et des ressourtces minérales de ce pays, Tarek El Molla, pour analyser différents projets énergétiques. Les deux premiers ministres participeront aussi au Forum des affaires Egypte – Roumanie, ainsi qu’à la cérémonie de signature de mémorandums bilatéraux.

Cancer – A l’occasion de la journée mondiale de la lutte contre le Cancer, ce soir plusieurs dizaines de sites importants de Roumanie seront éclairés en orange. Le cancer est la deuxième cause majeure de décès au monde et la principale cause de décès parmi les enfants et les adolescents. 10 millions de personnes meurent annuellement du cancer – soit plus que les décès des suites du VIH, de la malaria et de la tuberculose. Dans le monde, quelque 300 mille nouveaux cas de cancer parmi les enfants âgés de 0 à 19 ans sont rapportés chaque année. L’OMS estime qu’à l’horizon 2035 le nombre mondial de cas de cancer pourrait doubler et environ 40% de la population de la Terre se confrontera à cette maladie, à un moment de la vie. Grâce à la prévention, à la détection du cancer dans une phase initiale et par le traitement, quelques 3,7 millions de vies humaines, enfants et adultes pourraient être sauvées. En Roumanie, le taux de mortalité des suites du cancer sont de 48% supérieures à la moyenne de l’Union européenne parmi les personnes âgées de 15 à 64 ans, avertissent les représentants de la Fédération de l’Association des malades de cancer dans un communiqué.

Météo – Une alerte code jaune aux chutes de neige est en vigueur jusqu’à dimanche dans l’après-midi sur le nord-ouest, le centre et en montagne, où des chutes de neige et des tempêtes de neige sont attendues. La vitesse du vent sera particulièrement élevée en haute montagne, à plus de 1 800 mètres d’altitude, dont sur les domaines skiables en haute montagne, les remontées mécaniques pourraient ne pas fonctionner. A commencer par ce dimanche, les températures devraient chuter à travers le pays, mais actuellement les maxima vont de -1 à 9 degrés. 5 degrés et un ciel couvert à Bucarest.

4 February 2023
Romania continues to support Ukraine

Romania has always been and will continue to be an “area of safety and comfort” for the waves of refugees coming from the neighboring Ukraine – Nicolae Ciucă, head of the government in Bucharest has pledged. He recalled that shortly after the invasion of the Russian troops on February 24th, Romania assumed the role of a trustworthy European and international partner in resolving this crisis, the severest in Europe after WWll.

According to a report on the efforts and achievements in providing humanitarian assistance to refugees, on observing the rights of children and other vulnerable categories in 2022, issued by the Department for Social Responsibility and Vulnerable Groups, “Romania was the first EU country to have implemented a national plan of measures on medium and long term for the inclusion and protection of refugees and has proposed for the European countries a model of leadership and coordination at political level in the field of refugee integration.”

The aforementioned report says that “over 3 million Ukrainian nationals have crossed our borders in the past 12 months, out of whom, over 2.5 million have benefitted from direct support from the Romanian government and its partners, support that consisted in free transport, food, clothes, free medical and social assistance, access to the labour market, long-term accommodation, access to education in Romanian schools and the temporary protection guarantee” offered by the Romanian state.

Prime Minister Ciucă has also said that “Romania has also provided the most important international support corridors for Ukraine by making available its rail, road, river and maritime infrastructures for the Ukrainian exports mainly for the countrys grain exports.

Decision-makers in Bucharest have also referred to the enlarged partnership with the UN agencies, local authorities, civil society and private environment, which helped them provide an effective and coherent answer to the crisis affecting the neighboring country. “We have reached the stage when we must have an approach focusing on temporary integration or on medium and long-term measures, which may enable the Ukrainian refugees to lead an independent life in our country with access to the labour market and their children to benefit from education and social life” – the Prime Minister went on to say.

Most of the 3.3 million Ukrainian citizens who crossed into Romania have continued their trip to countries in Western Europe and, according to the authorities, only 100 thousand decided to remain here. Under the decisions recently made by the authorities in Bucharest, the Ukrainian refugees who cross into our country through the border checkpoints with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova will this year also benefit from five days of free railway transportation in Romania since the moment of their entry.

(bill)

16 January 2023
December 23, 2022 UPDATE

TRAFFIC The Romanians working
abroad are coming back these days to spend Christmas at home. Traffic jams have
already been reported on two main roads in the country’s west starting at the
border checkpoints of Bors and Nadlac, the main entrance points into Romania
from Hungary. In spite of the authorities’ sustained efforts to speed up
checking procedures, long queues have been reported at the aforementioned
checkpoints.

MESSAGE The Romanian embassy in Mexico has conveyed a message to
the Foreign Ministry in that country to voice dissatisfaction over the fact
that several Romanians were banned access to that country. The message
underlines the need for such decision to be firmly grounded and applied under
the strict observance of the rights of the Romanian citizens. The diplomatic
intervention comes after the Romanian embassy received requests for consular assistance
from several Romanian nationals on December 19th and 20th
who were denied the right to enter the country. According to the Mexican
authorities the interdictions were based on some inaccuracies in the documents
produced by the Romanians.

LAW The
Romanian foreign ministry has taken note of Ukraine’s Parliament adoption on 13th
December of the law on national ethnic minorities in Ukraine aimed at
complementing the Ukrainian legislation on the protection of members of
national ethnic minorities. The Romanian foreign office regrets that this law
was passed without consulting the Venice Commission, whose opinion would have
contributed to ensuring a comprehensive and clear text from the point of view
of European legal standards in the field. The Romanian foreign ministry says
the law maintains a number of provisions that may have a negative impact, when
viewed in relation to the European standards. Among others, the law contains no
provision on the use of the mother tongue in courts, and maintains the lack of
clarity with respect to the concrete application of the provisions relating to
the use of the minorities’ mother tongue in the administration in the areas
traditionally inhabited by persons belonging to ethnic minorities. The Romanian
side has constantly invoked in its contacts with the Ukrainian side the promise
made by the Ukrainian president that ethnic Romanians in Ukraine would enjoy
the same treatment as that enjoyed by ethnic Ukrainians in Romania.

POLICE The Romanian interior ministry has announced special measures to
maintain public order around Christmas and New Year’s. More than 24,000 members
of the police, gendarmerie, border police and fire services as well as other
departments will be mobilised every day. The traffic police will use 290 radar
detectors and alcohol devices to detect alcohol consumption and the intake of
other substances banned when driving. As the authorities are expecting a new
wave of tourists in the mountain resorts in Prahova Valley, in south-central
Romania, special mountain gendarmerie troops are also on stand-by.

VISIT The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă and
the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu on Friday attended
alongside South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo a Romania-South Korea
business roundtable. This was the last day of the two Romanian officials’ trip
to South Korea. On Thursday, during talks with the management of the companies
Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem, they talked about major projects in key
economic sectors like transports, the defence industry and communications and
IT. Also on Thursday, Ciucă and Ciolacu visited the port of Busan, which ranks
second in the world in terms of cargo handled. According to Radio Romania’s
correspondent, emphasis was placed during talks held with the president of the
Busan port authority Kang Joon-suk on the need for cooperation between Busan
and the Romanian port of Constanţa.

(bill)

23 December 2022
December 21, 2022

COMMEMORATION Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has today laid wreaths of flowers
at a monument in memory of the victims of the Romanian anti-communist
revolution of 1989 in Bucharest. ‘Let’s
keep alive the memory of the heroes of the December 1989 revolution and carry
on the ideals they fought for!’ the president wrote in a Facebook message.
‘To the martyrs of the Romanian
Revolution and to all those who suffered during the communist dictatorship we
owe the liberty we enjoy today and we must thank them through our taking care
of Romania and for the consolidation of the democratic process’ – Prime
Minister Nicolae Ciuca says in a message. In another development, the Belgian
ambassador to Romania, Philippe Benoit, the ambassador of Britain Andrew Noble
and the director of the French Institute Julien Chiappone-Lucchesi on Tuesday
participated in the inauguration of a new monument in the memory of three
foreign journalists who lost their lives in the 1989 anti-communist revolution
in Romania, Danny Huwe of Belgium, Jean-Louis Calderon of France and the
British Ian Henry Parry. We recall that the anti-communist revolution started
in Timisoara, western Romania on December 16th 1989, and a couple of
days later expanded to Bucharest and to other major cities across the country.
One thousand people were killed and roughly three thousand wounded in the only
east-European country in which the change of regime ended up in bloodshed.

VISIT Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is being received today in
Washington by his US counterpart Joe Biden and is expected to hold a speech
before Congress, the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has
announced. The visit will underscore the United States’ steadfast commitment
to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes, including through the provision
of economic, humanitarian and military assistance the White House official
added. According to experts, the US has already granted 50 billion dollars to
support Ukraine’s war efforts out of which 20 billion in military equipment and
assistance. Biden and Zelensky have constantly talked on the phone in the past
10 months but have never met face to face since the beginning of the Russian
invasion. This is also Zelensky’s first visit abroad since the beginning of the
conflict on February 24th.

TALKS Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the president of the Chamber
of Deputies in Bucharest, Marcel Ciolacu are paying a three-day visit to South
Korea. The two are heading a delegation of ministers and MPs who will be
holding talks with the local officials over energy, investment, education and
the defence industry. During the talks he had with the president of Korea’s
National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo, Prime Minister Ciuca has referred to ways of
strengthening Romanian-Korean cooperation. ‘We are determined to strengthen
Romanian-Korean cooperation, capitalize on the entire economic potential and
foster investment in the field of energy’ Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca writes
on the government’s Twitter page. During his visit, the head of the Romanian
government will be having talks with his South-Korean counterpart Han Duck-soo
and together with Ciolacu will be meeting representatives of the Romanian
community in South Korea. The Romanian officials on Thursday will be visiting
two companies and a day later the demilitarized zone separating the country
from the communist North.

MEDICINES Romania is presently facing a shortage of anti-inflammatory drugs used
in the treatment of respiratory infections mainly in children. The shortage is
the result of a growing consumption against the background of the rising number
of infections in the present cold season after two years in which the measures
imposed by the pandemic had limited the spread of these viruses. The country’s
health Minister Alexandru Rafila says that in order to improve the situation he
is considering a limited export of the aforementioned drugs.

(bill)

21 December 2022
21.12.2022

Révolution – Le président roumain, Klaus Iohannis a déposé ce matin une couronne de fleurs à la croix en bois érigée sur la place de l’Université dans le centre de Bucarest à la mémoire des victimes de la Révolution anticommuniste roumaine de décembre 1989. « Gardons vivante la mémoire des héros de la révolution de décembre 1989 et de porter ensuite les idéaux pour lesquels nous avons lutté ! » a écrit le chef de l’Etat sur Facebook. « Aux martyrs de la Révolution roumaine et à tous ceux qui ont eu à souffrir durant la période de la dictature communiste nous devons la liberté dont nous bénéficions aujourd’hui et c’est à eux que nous devons remercier par le soin que nous portons à la Roumanie et à la consolidation du processus démocratique » a également déclaré dans un message le premier ministre Nicolae Ciucă. Par ailleurs, l’ambassadeur de la Belgique en Roumanie, Philippe Benoit, du Royaume Uni Andrew Noble, et le directeur de l’Institut français, Julien Chiappone-Lucchesi, ont participé mardi près de la Capitale au dévoilement d’un nouveau monument qui commémore les trois journalistes étrangers tués durant la révolution de 1989 – le belge Danny Huwe, le français Jean-Louis Calderon et le britannique Ian Henry Parry. Rappelons-le que la révolution anticommuniste roumaine s’est déclenchée à Timisoara, dans l’ouest de la Roumanie pour se répandre ensuite à travers le pays et culminer à Bucarest le 22 décembre, par la chute du régime communiste de Nicolae Ceausescu. Au total, plus de 1 000 personnes ont péri, et près de 3000 ont été blessées. La Roumanie est le seul pays d’Europe de l’Est où le changement de régime s’est fait par la violence.

Séoul – Le premier ministre roumain, Nicolae Ciucă, et le président de la Chambre des Députés de Bucarest, Marcel Ciolacu entament une visite de trois jours en Corée du Sud. Les deux responsables sont accompagnés de plusieurs ministres et élus nationaux. L’énergie, les investissements, l’éducation et l’industrie de défense seront les sujets à l’ordre du jour des rencontres avec les responsables sud-coréens. Dans le cadre d’une réunion avec le président de l’Assemblée nationale de la République de Corée, Kim Jin-pyo, le premier ministre Ciuca a évoqué la consolidation de la coopération bilatérale. « Nous sommes déterminés à consolider la coopération roumano-coréenne, de mettre en valeur tout le potentiel économique et à encourager les investissements dans le secteur énergétique », a twitté Nicolae Ciuca sur la page du Gouvernement roumain. Dans le cadre de sa visite, le chef de l’exécutif de Bucarest devra rencontrer son homologue sud-coréen, Han Duck-soo, et aux côtés du président de la Chambre des députés, Marcel Ciolacu, ont à l’agenda une réunion avec des représentants de la communauté roumaine de la Corée du Sud. Jeudi, les responsables roumains visiteront deux entreprises coréennes avant de se rendre vendredi dans la zone démilitarisée qui sépare la Corée du sud de la Corée du Nord.

Zelensky – Le président ukrainien Volodymyr Zelensky, qui n’a pas quitté son pays depuis l’invasion par la Russie le 24 février, sera reçu mercredi à la Maison Blanche par Joe Biden avant de s’adresser au Congres américain, lors d’une visite déjà historique, selon l’AFP. Cette visite souligne que les Etats-Unis soutiendront l’Ukraine « aussi longtemps qu’il le faudra », a déclaré Karine Jean-Pierre, porte-parole de l’exécutif américain, dans un communiqué officialisant l’événement. Ce déplacement, qui sera assorti de l’annonce d’une nouvelle aide américaine qualifiée de « significative » à l’Ukraine, comprenant notamment un système antiaérien Patriot, sonne comme un défi a Vladimir Poutine. Le Kremlin a ainsi mis en garde mercredi contre de nouvelles livraisons d’armes américaines à l’Ukraine, qui n’auront pour effet que d’ « aggraver » le conflit. Les Etats-Unis, de loin les premiers donateurs à Kiev, ont fourni selon des estimations d’experts déjà près de 50 milliards de dollars d’aide au pays en guerre, dont 20 milliards en armement et assistance militaire. Sur le terrain, les combats se poursuivaient mercredi, l’état-major ukrainien rapportant des attaques et bombardements russes dans l’est et le nord-est. Au moins trois personnes ont été tuées et 14 blessées dans des frappes sur les régions de Donetsk et de Kherson, selon les autorités locales.

Médicaments – La Roumanie est confrontée en ce moment à une pénurie dans les pharmacies de médicaments anti-inflammatoires et anti-fièvre utilisés dans les cas des maladies respiratoires surtout pour les enfants. C’est la conséquence d’une augmentation de la consommation engendrée par le nombre élevé de malades cet hiver, après deux ans pendant lesquels les restrictions liées à la pandémie ont limité la circulation de tous les virus. Le ministre de la Santé, Alexandru Rafila, a déclaré que pour améliorer la situation il envisageait la restriction temporaire de l’export de certaines catégories de médicaments. Plus de détails après le journal.

Rasinari – L’Organisation mondiale du tourisme a choisi la Commune de Rasinari dans le centre de la Roumanie parmi les meilleures destinations rurales au monde. Elle se retrouve sur une liste de 32 localités de 18 Etats au monde. Selon le maire de la commune, Rasinari est sise aux pieds des montagnes, où l’air est pur, il y a des forêts de sapins, des gîtes ruraux et des itinéraires touristiques organisées. « Quiconque y arrive, a des choses à voir et à faire », affirme encore l’édile. La cérémonie de remise des prix « Best Tourisme Villages » aura lieu au mois de février, étant une reconnaissance de l’engagement pour l’innovation et la soutenabilité dans tous les aspects : économique, social et environnemental, précise encore l’OMS.

Météo – Températures légèrement à la hausse en Roumanie avec des maxima allant généralement de 4 à 12 degrés, un peu plus élevées à l’extérieur de l’arc des Carpates. Ciel variable, couvert sur l’extrême nord et nord-ouest, où des pluies sont possibles. Ciel couvert aussi à Bucarest où le mercure des thermomètres indique – 2 degrés.

21 December 2022
December 15, 2022

SUMMIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is today attending
the summit of the heads of state and government from the EU countries in
Brussels. Iohannis has announced that he will include Romania’s Schengen
accession in the agenda of the European Council proceedings but according to
him, a positive result in this respect is possible only if Romania solves the
issues, which made Austria to veto its accession during the last week’s Justice
and Home Affairs Council. We recall that Austria and the Netherlands voted
against the Schengen entry of Romania and Bulgaria respectively. Iohannis has
also added that Romania will not challenge the Austrian vote in the European
Court of Justice.

PROTESTS The Federation of the Free Trade Unions in
Romania’s education system is continuing the protests it kicked off last week.
The employees have denounced the latest pay cuts and the authorities’ refusal
to pay extra hours. Protesters are also calling for a pay rise that should
offset inflation. Trade unionists have planned protests in front of prefect
offices in several cities across Romania, such as Galati and Vaslui. In another
development, police officers and employees of the penitentiaries in Romania are
protesting in Bucharest denouncing the authorities’ refusal to pay outstanding salaries
and provide proper equipment for the good functioning of their activity. They
are also calling for pay and pension rises.

VISIT Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca is today paying
a working visit to Paris to attend the special proceedings of the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, devoted to Romania. An initial
memorandum on Romania’s OECD accession, one of the country’s strategic
objectives, is expected to be forwarded on this occasion. We recall that Bucharest
received a roadmap in June this year. According to the Romanian coordinator for
OECD accession, Luca Niculescu, there is still more to be done but Romania does
not start from scratch because in the past years several Romanian ministries
and institutions have participated in activities of the aforementioned
organization and got used to them. The OECD is one of the world’s most
important economic and trade organizations, comprising 38 developed countries,
which boast roughly 70% of the global output and trade.

ANRE The board of the National Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE) is
today meeting representatives of Romania’s electricity providers to brief them
on the implementation of the new law on capping electricity prices due to come
into effect on January 1st next year. According to the providers, almost
9 million Romanians should apply for capped prices whereas ANRE says their
number is much lower. The institution says that every customer can
automatically benefit from capped energy prices for a single household unless
they exceed the consumption levels provided by the law.

FOOTBALL The football selection of France, the world defending
champion, on Wednesday night qualified for the finals of the FIFA World Cup in
Qatar after a 2-0 win against the revelation of this edition, Morocco. On
Sunday France will be playing Argentina for the third world title after those
it reaped in 1998 and 2018, respectively. Croatia will be playing Morocco for
the third or the fourth place in the competition’s standings.

(bill)

15 December 2022
December 3, 2022 UPDATE

Meeting — During his two-day working visit to Greece, where he participated in the meeting of the leaders of the European Peoples Party, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis had talks with his Greek counterpart, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Talks focused on the diversification of energy, road and railway interconnection projects in the Balkans, Romanias actions in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian refugees as well as the bilateral and European measures and actions, through the Solidarity Corridors, meant to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grains, in order to prevent food crises in vulnerable third countries. The Greek officials reiterated, during the talks, Greece’s full support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area.

Disability — ‘People with disabilities have the same rights as anyone else and they should not be affected because of their special needs’ – the Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, said Saturday in a message on the International Day of People with Disabilities. He mentioned that the Government had a special project through which people in this category benefit from support worth 5,000 Euros to purchase assistive devices and technologies, other than those financed by the Social Health Insurance Fund. At the same time, in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) almost 197 million Euros are provided for projects related, among other things, to the creation and modernization of the social infrastructure for people with disabilities and to the integration of inactive people and disadvantaged workers into the labor market.

Schengen – The Netherlands is getting closer to a vote in favor of admitting Romania and Croatia to the free movement Schengen Area, but not Bulgaria, which it believes does not meet the necessary conditions for the time being. A final decision will be made by the Government, after the debates in Parliament – the Dutch press announces. On the other hand, Sweden no longer opposes Romanias entry into the area of free movement of people and goods. A vote on this topic was given in the Commission for European Affairs of the Swedish Parliament, based on a proposal made by the Executive. In Bucharest, the decision was welcomed by the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and the Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. The only country that seems, at present, to have objections is Austria. The decision regarding the admittance of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria into Schengen would be made at the meeting of the European Ministers of Interior and Justice on December 8, a unanimous vote being needed.

Gaudeamus — The 29th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, will take place in Bucharest, from Wednesday to Sunday. 200 participants will offer the public an extremely varied range of editorial products, on different supports, suitable for all ages and fields of interest, music and educational games. More than 600 editorial events and related projects have been announced. All stands will also be found in virtual format on the gaudeamus.ro website. Radio Romanias Gaudeamus book fair is financed by the Ministry of Culture.

G7 — The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andrii Iermak, said that the price ceiling for Russian oil agreed upon by the G7 countries, together with Australia, should be reduced to 30 dollars per barrel to hit the Russian economy hard. The G7 countries and Australia, as well as the EU countries, decided to cap the price at 60 dollars per barrel. The measure, aimed at reducing Russias income in the context of the war against Ukraine, is complementary to the European embargo on Russian oil imported by sea that comes into force on Monday. More specifically, through this capping measure, the EU forbids European companies involved in the delivery of Russian oil by sea (transportation, insurance, etc.) to offer their services, if the delivered oil exceeds the threshold of 60 dollars per barrel. The price of Russian oil is currently around 65 dollars per barrel, so this measure will have, at least for now, a limited impact on Russian oil exports. Moscow has already warned that it will not deliver oil to the countries that impose price caps.

Export – Romania started, on Saturday, the export of gas to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) through the Iaşi-Ungheni pipeline, the Transgaz representatives said. According to them, it is the first time that gas is transported from Romania to the Republic of Moldova through this pipeline. On November 22, Chişinău officials stated that Gazprom would reduce natural gas deliveries to the Republic of Moldova by 56.5% from December 1, accusing that only a part of the amount of gas that Russia delivers to this country through the pipelines that cross Ukraine actually reaches the Republic of Moldova. (LS)

3 December 2022
December 3, 2022

Meeting — The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, continues on Saturday his two-day working visit to Greece. He participates in the meeting of the leaders of the European Peoples Party. On Friday, Klaus Iohannis had discussions with his Greek counterpart, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who reiterated her countrys full support for Romanias accession to the Schengen Area. President Iohannis also discussed with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about the diversification of energy, road and railway interconnection projects in the Balkan area. At the same time, Klaus Iohannis spoke about Romanias actions in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian refugees. Bilateral and European measures and actions were discussed, through the Solidarity Corridors, meant to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grains, in order to prevent food crises in vulnerable third countries.

Special needs — ‘People with disabilities have the same rights as anyone else and they should not be affected because of their special needs’ – the Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, said Saturday in a message on the International Day of People with Disabilities. He mentions that the Government has a special project through which people in this category benefit from support worth 5,000 Euros to purchase assistive devices and technologies, other than those financed by the Social Health Insurance Fund. At the same time, in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) almost 197 million Euros are provided for projects related, among other things, to the creation and modernization of the social infrastructure for people with disabilities and to the integration of inactive people and disadvantaged workers into the labor market.

Schengen – The Netherlands is getting closer to a vote in favor of admitting Romania and Croatia to the free movement Schengen Area, but not Bulgaria, which it believes does not meet the necessary conditions for the time being. A final decision will be made by the Government, after the debates in the Parliament next week – the Dutch press announces. On the other hand, Sweden no longer opposes Romanias entry into the area of free movement of people and goods. A vote on this topic was given in the Commission for European Affairs of the Swedish Parliament, based on a proposal made by the Executive. In Bucharest, the decision was welcomed by the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and the Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. The only country that seems, at present, to have objections is Austria. The decision regarding the admittance of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria into Schengen would be made at the meeting of the European Ministers of Interior and Justice on December 8, a unanimous vote being needed.

Gaudeamus — Next week, the 29th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, will take place in Bucharest. From Wednesday to Sunday, 200 participants will offer the public an extremely varied range of editorial products, on different supports, suitable for all ages and fields of interest, music and educational games. More than 600 editorial events and related projects have been announced. All stands will also be found in virtual format on the gaudeamus.ro website. Radio Romanias Gaudeamus book fair is financed by the Ministry of Culture.

G7 – The G7 countries, together with Australia, agreed on Friday to cap the price of Russian oil at 60 dollars per barrel, after an agreement in this sense was previously reached by the 27 EU countries. The measure, whose objective is to reduce Russias income in the context of the war against Ukraine, is complementary to the European embargo on Russian oil imported by sea that comes into force on Monday. More specifically, through this capping measure, the EU forbids European companies involved in the delivery of Russian oil by sea (transportation, insurance, etc.) to offer their services, if the delivered oil exceeds the threshold of 60 dollars per barrel. The price of Russian oil is currently around 65 dollars per barrel, so this measure will have, at least for now, a limited impact on Russian oil exports. Moscow has already warned that it will not deliver oil to the countries that impose price caps. (LS)

3 December 2022
Un nouveau poste-frontière entre la Roumanie et l’Ukraine

La Roumanie a inauguré jeudi un nouveau poste frontière routier avec l’Ukraine, à Vicovu de Sus dans le département de Suceava, dans le nord-est. A présent trois autres postes-frontières sont ouverts dans le nord du pays : Siret, Sighetul Marmației et Halmeu. « L’ouverture d’un nouveau poste-frontière avec l’Ukraine atteste les relations et la solidarité entre les deux Etats » a affirmé le premier ministre roumain Nicolae Ciucă, qui a participé aux côtés de son homologue ukrainien Denîs Smîhal, à cet événement.

Le nouveau poste-frontière de Vicovu de Sus côté roumain et Krasnoilsk côté ukrainien est le premier à ouvrir depuis 1999 et contribuera à rendre plus facile le transit des personnes et des marchandises entre l’Ukraine et la Roumanie, mais aussi vers les Etats de l’UE, a déclaré le responsable roumain. Il a précisé qu’actuellement l’Ukraine a besoin plus que jamais de la solidarité de la communauté européenne, une communauté qui croit dans la liberté et le droit souverain de chaque Etat de décider de son propre avenir. Nicolae Ciucă : « La mobilité des personnes et des marchandises a une importance vitale pour l’Ukraine à ce moment. Nous pouvons affirmer qu’à l’heure actuelle par le biais de l’infrastructure roumaine : ferroviaire, routière, portuaire, à Costanta et Galati, plus de 6,5 millions de tonnes de blé ukrainiens ont pu être exportées. Il y a toujours des plans pour pouvoir inaugurer davantage de postes-frontière et au niveau de l’Union Européenne il existe aussi de tels plans qui intègrent et à l’intérieur desquels il faut nous inscrire afin de pouvoir développer d’une manière cohérente de telles facilités. ».

Pour sa part, le premier ministre ukrainien a remercié à la Roumanie pour l’aide qu’elle accorde à son pays et souligné l’importance de l’inauguration de ce nouveau poste-frontière. Il a précisé que son inauguration était prévue dès 2012 aux termes d’un accord intergouvernemental et que sept autres postes-frontières entre la Roumanie et l’Ukraine étaient envisagés. Denîs Smîhal : « Notre réunion d’aujourd’hui, l’inauguration de ce point de passage de la frontière constitue un rapprochement entre nos deux Etats et confirme notre chemin vers l’intégration européenne. Nous nous sommes rencontrés durant une période très difficile pour l’Ukraine, période durant laquelle l’agresseur détruit toute l’infrastructure critique de l’Ukraine, notamment à l’approche de l’hiver. Nous sommes reconnaissants au côté roumain pour l’appui à l’intégrité territoriale et à la souveraineté de l’Ukraine. »

L’inauguration du poste-frontière de Vicovu de Sus intervient dans le contexte de l’intensification des bombardements russes et des avertissements relatifs à une possible évacuation de la capitale ukrainienne, Kiev. Le transit par les postes-frontière depuis l’Ukraine vers la Roumanie a été difficile d-s le début de l’invasion russe le 24 février. A l’époque, les réfugiés ont dû attendre même trois jours pour pouvoir passer la frontière en Roumanie via la poste-frontière de Siret.

11 November 2022
November 10, 2022

PROTESTS The latest price hikes have triggered a wave of protests around Europe.
Traffic has been hindered in the French capital and its surroundings as workers
in the local railway and underground infrastructures have gone on strike.
Belgium on Wednesday was affected by a national strike while in Britain
thousands of nurses have decided to cease work asking for pay rises. In Greece,
thousands have gathered in front of the Parliament building where protesters
have clashed with riot police. In most of the fields activity has been
interrupted while the road and maritime transport has ceased. TV and radio broadcasts
have also been interrupted.

LAW The ruling coalition in Bucharest has reached an
agreement on capping and subsidizing energy prices the next year. A solution to
this issue has been delayed for a couple of months now. Under the new
legislation, household consumers with consumption below 100 kW/h will pay 0.68
RON per kW and those below 255 kW 0.80 RON. Households with consumption higher
than 255 kW will be paying 1.3 RON per kW. Major economic consumers will pay
the same price while small and medium-sized businesses in the food pharmaceutical
industry, community services and churches will pay one RON per kilowatt/hour.
The Executive is expected to issue a new ordinance on the issue to be applied
next year.

HANDBALL Romania’s national handball side on Wednesday qualified for the main
groups of the European Championship – EHF EURO 2022 after a 31-23 win against
North Macedonia in Group C. Our handballers, who lost their first two matches
against France and the Netherlands, have managed to qualify for the
competition’s next stage after securing a win in the second half of the game. The
European Championship – EHF EURO 2022 is underway in Slovenia, North Macedonia
and Montenegro over November 4-20. Romania has participated in all these
editions with the exception of 2006, the best result being the bronze medal
they got in 2010. In the previous edition in 2010, Romania ranked 12th.

BORDER Romania has been actively supporting us in the fight
against the aggressor, Romania supports the idea of setting up an international
tribunal and is supporting our future – Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal
said in the opening of the border checkpoint in Vicovul de Sus, Romania and
Krasnoilsk, Ukraine. Our citizens will come back through these border
checkpoints and the consistent humanitarian aids from the EU countries are coming
to our people also through these border checkpoints. According to him another
seven checkpoints are planned to open at the common border. In these special
moments Ukraine is going through, tragic moments after the Russian aggression,
we need to show solidarity and unity – Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca
has said. According to him the mobility of people and goods has become of vital
relevance as the illegal, planned and unprovoked aggression of the Russian
Federation is having disastrous effects upon the Ukrainian citizens and the
government in Kyiv. The aforementioned border checkpoint is the first between
Ukraine and an EU member after the beginning of the Russian invasion.

TALKS Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will be
attending the fifth edition of the Peace Forum in Paris due on Friday and
Saturday at the Brongniart palace. According to the presidential
administration, the debates during the forum will be focusing on major topics
on the international agenda such as geo-political conflicts with global
consequences, the aggravation of the climate change, the succession of the
Covid-19 pandemic waves and increasing social gaps. On Friday Iohannis is to
participate in a panel entitled Present and future – how to manage the effects
of the multiple crisis over the population. On this occasion, Iohannis will be
referring to the effects of the aggression war the Russian Federation is waging
on Ukraine.

(bill)

10 November 2022
November 5, 2022 UPDATE

WAR Iran has for the first time
admitted to have delivered drones to Moscow, but added that happened before the
war in Ukraine, Reuters and AFP report. Russia later used those drones in the
conflict against power plants and other elements of civilian infrastructure.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has denied that Teheran
continues to supply drones to Moscow adding that Iran is not going to remain
indifferent to the issue if proved that Moscow had used those drones in the
war. Kyiv claims that Moscow has already used about 400 Iranian drones against
its population and that Moscow had ordered roughly 2,000. In response the EU
has announced fresh sanctions against Teheran. In September, Kyiv decided to
reduce its diplomatic relations with Teheran because of its alleged arms
deliveries to its enemy.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby side won
their test game against Chile 30-23 in Bucharest on Saturday. This has been the
first match played by ‘the Oaks’ in a series of three scheduled this autumn.
Their next test-match will be on November 13th against Uruguay in
Bucharest. The Oaks are also to take on Samoa also in Bucharest on November 19th.

THEATRE Romania will be hosting its
National Theatre Festival over the 5th and 13th of
November with in-person attendance after two years of pandemic, when the event was
held online. Over 60 performances have been made available by state-owned and
private theatre companies from Romania and abroad. The motto of the festival’s
edition this year is ‘Fragile borders. Fluid histories’ and it also includes an
on-air section comprising a selection of radio drama shows.

LAW A government ordinance on capping firewood prices is to be amended next
week, so that it may offer real protection to those using this material for
heating, Environment Minister Tanczos Barna has told Radio Romania. He explains
the law, which has already been endorsed by the Senate is going to be amended
in the Chamber of Deputies so that firewood become available on the market as
soon as possible. According to Barna, several alternatives are presently being
considered, including that of granting vouchers to the have-nots. A couple of
days ago, Prime Minister Ciuca admitted the 80-euro capping per cubic meter of
firewood, a measure implemented in mid-October, failed to yield the desired
result. The opposition USR has drawn attention to the fact that the law has
already caused irregularities on the firewood market and urgent amendments are
needed. At the same time the USR makes an appeal to the main ruling parties to
overcome disputes on capping energy prices and focus on the risks concerning
the winter supplies.

OPERATION The Europol on Friday announced the
apprehension of 382 people in late-October during an ample sting operation
involving the participation of police forces from 28 countries against traffic
networks mainly operating in the Balkans and southeastern Europe. According to
a Europol communiqué, the EMPACT operation, which also involved Romania,
focused on firearms, drugs and human trafficking. Most of the arrests have been
operated among migrant smugglers. 16 thousand police officers in the EU
countries have participated in the operation; they have been backed by their
colleagues in non-EU countries, which are part of the so-called crime network
also known as ‘the Balkans Route’.

(bill)

5 November 2022
Romanian PM Ciucǎ in Brussels

Romania’s accession to the passport-free travel area
was the central topic of the talks that Romania’s PM Nicolae Ciucă had in
Brussels on Wednesday with high-ranking EU and Belgian officials.

In fact, the theme was approached in all the
discussions with the president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, the
European Commission chief Ursula von de Leyen, and with Belgium’s PM Alexander
De Croo.

In his meeting with the president of the European
Commission, PM Ciucă highlighted the very good conclusions of the recent EU
assessment mission, which in his opinion confirms that Romania is prepared to
join Schengen.

Alexander De Croo praised the efforts of the Romanian
authorities and said one last step needed to be taken, an important one for all
citizens. As for Nicolae Ciucă, he pointed out that Romania took all the
necessary measures to reach its goal. He emphasised that Romania made efforts
to meet all technical requirements and standards and that naturally, if
necessary, the Romanian authorities were open to clarifying any points based on
the Commission’s existing approaches and bilaterally, with any EU member
country interested in finding out more than the Commission’s report mentions.

At the NATO headquarters, PM Ciucă had talks with the
Alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg. The latter reiterated that
Romania was a valuable Ally, which made important contributions to NATO’s
security, and that NATO is ready to protect both Romania, and all its other
members, in the context of the recent developments in Ukraine, whereby Russia
has turned the Black Sea region into a war zone. Jens
Stoltenberg also praised Romania’s efforts to support the French-led NATO
battle group in Romania, which comprises troops from the Netherlands and
Belgium as well.

Romania will continue to make active and responsible
contributions to promoting Euro-Atlantic security and stability, and the
consolidation of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture is essential, PM Nicolae
Ciucă said in his turn. Given the dynamic nature of these developments and
Russia’s unpredictability, he went on to say, NATO needs to closely monitor the
situation at the Black Sea. This war has unfortunately highlighted what Romania
has been arguing for a long time, namely the strategic relevance of the Black
Sea to NATO, to the Alliance’s major security interests.

Apart from Schengen-related matters and the EU’s
response to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, PM Nicolae Ciucă’s talks
with Brussels officials also tackled the strengthening of the Union’s
neighbourhood policies and the energy security. (AMP)

27 October 2022