ENERGY The government of Romania passed a bill lifting the
obligation for owners of more than one house to submit sworn statements in
order to benefit from energy price caps. On the other hand, the government also
decided that the 10 Eurocent governmental discount on fuel prices will no
longer be applied as of January 1, 2023. PM Nicolae Ciucă promised that the
authorities are prepared to reintroduce this measure in the future, should
prices go up beyond citizens’ spending power.
FOREIGN POLICY In 2023, ‘Romania’s foreign ministry will continue to
give special attention to Romania’s Schengen accession and to joining the
Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCDE)’. The announcement
was made by the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu in a Report on Romania’s
diplomatic activity released on Thursday. As far as 2022 is concerned, the
Report says the year was marked at both a regional and a global level by the
war of aggression launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The
report also covers the outcomes of the NATO Summit in Madrid in June 2022, and Bucharest’s
successful hosting of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers and of the Munich
Leaders Meeting in November 2022.
COVID The
European Commission organises today a meeting of healthcare officials to
discuss a coordinated EU approach of the surge in Covid cases in China, AFP
reports. After China loosened its strict zero-tolerance rules earlier this
month, which triggered an explosion of cases in the country, states around the
world are worried that new variants of the virus would spread from there. Italy
has already on Wednesday introduced compulsory testing for incoming travellers
from China, a measure also adopted by other countries, including the US and Japan.
UKRAINE Ukraine suffered
‘massive’ attacks involving over 120 Russian missiles on Thursday morning in
several cities including the capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian Army and Presidency announced.
Air raid alerts sounded across the country. According to Ukraine’s head of
intelligence services, the war is currently at a deadlock, as neither Ukraine
nor Russia are able to make significant progress. In an interview to the BBC, Kyrylo
Budanov said Russia was at a dead end, suffering significant losses, but he
admitted that Ukraine lacks the resources to move forward. He added that Kyiv
was waiting for more advanced weapons. Ever since October, Russia has been regularly
hitting Ukraine’s energy and other critical infrastructure. Kremlin warned that
there will be no New Year ceasefire in Ukraine.
SOLIDARITY
In the Republic of Moldova, neighbouring both Romania and Ukraine, lights will
be turned off in the government’s and other public buildings, in solidarity
with the millions of people in Ukraine left without electricity, water supply and
heating. Last week, the Rome Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House, the European
Parliament and the Wembley went dark in solidarity with Ukraine. In Bucharest, the
City Hall discontinued holiday lighting for one hour during the winter solstice
night.
HANDBALL Romania’s
men’s handball team takes on Algeria today in the 3rd place playoff
of the Carpaţi Trophy, a competition
traditionally hosted by Romania and taking place this year in Oradea. On Wednesday, Romania lost to Slovakia, 31-30, and
Algeria was defeated by Egypt 38-27. The trophy
final pits Egypt against Slovakia. (AMP)