Visit – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is visiting Brussels, accompanied by the Minister of Investments and European Projects and the Finance Minister. He will discuss with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, including about Romania’s portfolio in the future community executive. Ciolacu said that his option is Victor Negrescu, who is currently the vice-president of the European Parliament. Marcel Ciolacu and Ursula von der Leyen will also discuss the implementation stage of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The Romanian prime minister might also present the general principles that he wants to put into practice to reduce the budget deficit.
Drought – The drought has seriously affected cereal production in Romania, especially in the south of the country. The authorities say that an area of approximately 2 million hectares is affected. According to some estimates, approximately 40% of the wheat, corn, rape and sunflower crops are allegedly compromised. It is the fourth year of drought in the last five years, and the losses of farmers are piling up. They put their hopes in the compensation that they can receive from the state. The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Florin Barbu, has recently declared that this year farmers will receive 200 Euros worth of aid per hectare for crops affected by the drought. He added that a unique mechanism in Europe was drawn up by which Romania should ensure 7 million hectares against the drought.
NATO – NATO is strengthening Romania’s defense capacity with the LANZA air defense radar moved from Italy, including the technical team. Located in Tulcea county (southeast), the radar offers a unique capability to NATO’s command and control center, which provides both passive and active radar detection. This state-of-the-art radar is designed for detection, tracking and surveillance in advanced conditions. It is used to provide comprehensive situational awareness and improve the operational capabilities of various platforms, including military ships and submarines. Mobile active radars are highly effective and provide additional protection over airborne and static command and control platforms as they improve interoperability through alliances and partnerships and strengthen NATO’s air and space power readiness.
Program – The Romanian government has decided to continue the program “Hot meals in schools”, for the almost 1.9 million children who go to kindergarten or school. They will receive fruits, vegetables, dairy and bakery products, and the local authorities and directors of the education units will be responsible for the smooth running of the program. Moreover, they will be taught why it is important to eat healthy food, through educational actions. Also during Wednesday’s meeting, the Government set the timetable for the parliamentary elections, scheduled for December 1. The election campaign will start on November 1 and end on November 30. Romanians in the country will vote between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. For the Romanian citizens in the Diaspora, the vote will begin on November 30, at 7:00 a.m. and will end on December 1, at 9:00 p.m..
Washington – The American Democrats officially confirmed Kamala Harris as their candidate for the November 5 presidential election, on Tuesday evening in Chicago, during the party’s national convention. The delegations from all the states and U.S. territories once again cast their votes for Harris, accompanied by music, lighting effects, short speeches and much cheering in the event hall, after she had already been officially elected in an online roll call earlier this month. Vice President Kamala Harris (60 years old) is the second woman nominated by the Democratic Party for the presidential election since its creation in 1828 and could become, if elected, the first female president in US history. She replaces the current US president, Joe Biden (81 years old), who gave up his candidacy for a second term. The Republican counter-candidate in the presidential election is the former president, the billionaire Donald Trump (78 years old).
Air show – The biggest air show in Romania will take place on Saturday, August 31 at the Băneasa Airport near Bucharest. More than 100 civil and military aircraft and more than 150 pilots and paratroopers from 13 countries will participate. The event will mark the 20th anniversary of Romania’s accession to NATO. The pilots of the Romanian Air Force will perform demonstrations with F-16 and IAR-99 Şoim and STANDARD aircraft, among others, as well as with Spartan and Hercules transport aircraft. Special guests this year are the aerial acrobats from the Baltic Bees, the Latvian jet team with a unique in the world style of piloting, performing artistic maneuvers of maximum difficulty. The famous Lithuanian pilot Jurgis Kairys, a multiple world champion in aerobatics, is not missing this year either. (LS)
