Radio România Internațional

Tag: MEETING

January 23, 2024

CELEBRATION On January 24 Romanians
will celebrate 165 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities,
Moldavia and Wallachia, under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Military and
religious ceremonies will be held in major cities across the country, as well as performances,
exhibitions, events in museums and other cultural institutions. In Focşani, in
the south-east, a large-scale celebration will be held, including a military
parade and the traditional Union Round Dance in the town’s central square. The
city of Iaşi, in the north-east, will host a ceremony at the statue of ruler Alexandru
Ioan Cuza and a military parade. In Bucharest, the George Enescu Philharmonic
Orchestra will give a special concert. In January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was
elected ruler both in Moldavia, and in Wallachia, and under the 1866
Constitution, the United Principalities started using the official name of
Romania.

VISIT Moldova’s deputy PM and minister of foreign affairs and European integration, Nicu Popescu, is on a working visit in
Bucharest today, where he is to have talks with his Romanian counterpart,
Luminiţa Odobescu, and other officials, MOLDPRES
news agency reports. The 2 foreign ministers will discuss means to develop and
consolidate the bilateral partnership, and the next steps in Moldova’s EU
accession negotiations. The European Council recommended the start of EU
accession negotiations with Ukraine and the R. of Moldova in December.

DIPLOMACY The president
of Romania Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday, at the annual meeting with the
ambassadors accredited to Bucharest, that Romania will continue to
stand by Ukraine. Iohannis emphasised that due to Bucharest’s efforts over 33
million tonnes of Ukrainian grains, accounting for more than 60% of the
products carried through the EU’s Solidarity Corridors, transited Romania. Klaus
Iohannis added that Romania will stand by Moldova and Ukraine in their
negotiations for EU accession, and emphasised that it is crucial for the 2
countries to continue to receive financial support and know-how for the
consolidation of their public institutions and economy. As for the situation in
the Middle East, he voiced support for a two-state solution, in line both with
the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and with Israel’s right
to security. In this context, president Iohannis mentioned that Romania conducted
a very difficult operation providing assistance and support to the Romanian
citizens in that region. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the
Romanian authorities involved in the evacuation of the Romanian nationals
there, as well as to thank our partners in Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan for
their support, Klaus Iohannis added.

UKRAINE
The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu stated in Brussels on Monday
that EU member countries must use all means to help Ukraine in its war
against Russia. Attending a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, she
emphasised that Ukraine must remain a priority on the EU agenda. It is
important for us to maintain pressure over Russia, and Romania supports a new
set of sanctions against Russia, the Romanian official added. Meanwhile, the
conflict carries on, with Russia attacking Kyiv and Kharkov with missiles this
morning. Stay tuned for more after the news.

VIETNAM Over 2,000 Vietnamese nationals are legally
employed in Romania, said the president of Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and
Industry Mihai Daraban at the Romania-Vietnam Economic Forum held in Bucharest
in the presence of Vietnam’s PM, Pham Minh Chính. Daraban called on
decision-makers in both countries to create a predictable environment for
employment, because the Romanian economy needs more workforce.

NATO Turkey’s
Parliament is today discussing the ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO, said
the private tv station CNN Turk, quoted by France Presse. The foreign policy
committee in the Turkish Parliament last month endorsed the ratification, but a
vote in a plenary session is also necessary before the protocol may be signed
by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO
countries yet to ratify Sweden’s NATO accession. Ankara cited Stockholm’s lack
of cooperation in extraditing to Turkey a number of individuals suspected of
ties with terrorist organisations, especially in the Kurdish region, while
Budapest says Swedish politicians have made a habit of criticising Viktor
Orban’s conservative regime, AFP reports.

ISRAEL The
Israeli Army announced today that 24 Israeli troops were killed in the Gaza
Strip clashes in the last 24 hours, making it the worst daily toll for the
Israeli Army since the start of the war against Hamas, Reuters reports. Last
week, Israel launched an offensive to capture the town of Khan Yunis, which
Israel says is now the main stronghold of the Hamas terrorists responsible for
the October 7 attack in the south of Israel in which 1,200 people were killed.
Some 26,000 people died in Gaza since the start of Israel’s military
operations, the healthcare authorities in Gaza announced. (AMP)

23 January 2024
January 4, 2024 UPDATE

Meeting – The Romanian government met Thursday in the first session of 2024. The government members adopted, among other things, an initiative to optimize the process of issuing passports. The elaborated draft law, which will be sent to Parliament for debate and approval, makes concise and clear the role of the General Directorate of Passports in relation to attesting the quality of Romanian citizenship, in cooperation with other institutions. In order to optimize the process of issuing travel documents, they consider giving the General Directorate of Passports the possibility to verify the collection of the amount representing the value of simple passports, and to return the amount respectively, in situations where it was not paid properly or the related service was not provided. Another draft law adopted on Thursday stipulates that disputes resulting from contracts of mandate concluded by state companies in Romania must be settled in the country. The move transposes European Union norms into the law on international judicial cooperation in criminal and criminal procedure matters. Also on Thursday, the Government adopted a modification of the funding from the state budget of the earthquakes and landslides natural risk mapping.

Missiles – NATO has announced its decision to support a group of member countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain to purchase up to 1,000 Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. According to NATO, the European production will be increased to cover the growing demand, being also aimed at strengthening the European Sky Shield. The contract stands at 5.5 billion dollars and the cost of each Patriot missile is around 4 million dollars. The contract also covers the maintenance of the Patriot defense systems. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has underlined that raising the ammunition production is essential for the security of the allied countries and Ukraine.

Agreement — A person’s period of work and their rights to pension have mutually been recognized by Romania and the United States, after the law ratifying the agreement on the issue was promulgated by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis. Under the new agreement, it will be possible to capitalize on the periods worked both in Romania and the United States, in order to open the pension right on the principle of accumulation, with the proportional granting of the pension by each state, depending on the contribution periods completed. The document also provides for the export of pensions, a major facility regarding the mobility of pensioners in the two countries and maintaining their access to the pension rights being paid. The bill also includes provisions for the posted workers who have been exempted from paying health and social security contributions to the country where they were sent to work.

Priorities – Solving the problem of resident physicians who passed the specialty exam at the end of 2023 was mentioned as a priority for the beginning of the year by Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. At the start of the first Government meeting in 2024, the Prime Minister recalled that there are approximately 4,500 doctors in which the Romanian state has invested hundreds of millions of Euros and stated that the government must ensure that they remain in Romania. Ciolacu asked the Ministries of Health and Development to update the lists of vacant positions and to come up with memoranda for organizing contests to fill these vacancies, and he also asked the Finance Ministry to cooperate so that this should happen as soon as possible. According to the data of the European Statistical Office, Romania had 350 active physicians per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. The ranking was led by Greece with 629 physicians per 100,000 inhabitants, and the lowest rate was recorded in France with 318 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants. All in all, in 2021, there were 1.82 million doctors in the European Union.

Chisinau – Almost 81% of the primary and secondary school children in the Republic of Moldova are taught in Romanian, according to data recently published by the National Bureau of Statistics in Chisinau. Besides this percentage, 19% are taught in Russian and 0.1% study in English. In the 2023-2024 school year, over 1,200 general primary and secondary education institutions operate in the Republic of Moldova, of which almost 900 are in rural areas. Statistical data also show that the number of students studying in public schools decreased this school year compared to the previous one, and more and more students are studying in private schools. Also, last year, the number of secondary school graduates decreased by almost 5%, and that of high school graduates increased by 4%. (LS)

4 January 2024
November 29, 2023

PENSIONS Romania’s former MPs may keep their special
pensions, and Parliament is only allowed to eliminate these benefits in the
future, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday. On June 26,
Parliament voted in favour of scrapping special pensions for Senators and Deputies,
an obligation undertaken by Romania under its National Recovery and Resilience
Plan. Close to 850 former MPs benefited from special pensions in May this year.

INVESTIGATION The Senate of
Romania is to decide on Wednesday whether to approve the request of the
National Anti-Corruption Directorate to commence prosecution against the former
PM Florin Cîţu for complicity to abuse of office in an investigation
concerning the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. Florin Cîţu said he would
request his fellow Liberal Party members to lift his parliamentary immunity. Previously,
president Klaus Iohannis forwarded to the Justice Ministry the prosecution
requests concerning 2 former health ministers from Save Romania Union, Vlad
Voiculescu and Ioana Mihăilă, and notified the General Prosecutor’s Office in
this respect. The 2 are probed into for abuse of office in relation to the
procurement of vaccines.

CORRUPTION The mayor of the city of Baia Mare (north-west),
Cătălin Cherecheş, who fled the country after being sentenced to 5
years in prison in a corruption case, was apprehended in Germany, the Romanian
Police announced. He was identified and taken into custody by the police in Bavaria based on the information provided by the Romanian
authorities. Sources close to the investigation say the former mayor was aided
by an aunt and was attempting to leave Germany when he was caught. Cherecheş
had left the country on Friday, using the ID of a family member, and the procedures
for returning him to the country are under way.

NATURAL GAS Europe
has taken major steps in terms of preparations for winter. Following the energy
crisis in the post-pandemic period and the start of the Russian invasion in
Ukraine, EU member states have replaced Russian natural gas with liquefied gas
from the US and natural gas from Norway, and have unprecedented stocks. Reuters
reports that in mid-November oil stocks were 12 million barrels above the season
average of the past 10 years. Natural gas stocks are also at record-high
levels, after consumption in the industrial sector dropped by around 13%. Average
prices, adjusted to inflation, were around EUR 48 per megawatt hour, down from
EUR 223 in August 2022, and analysts expect the downward trend will continue
next year. Bucharest says Romania will not have problems with the supply of
natural gas if temperatures remain normal this winter. The Romanian energy
minister Sebastin Burduja said all gas storage facilities are full and the
government has emergency supply plans in place if necessary.

NATO The Romanian
diplomacy chief Luminita Odobescu takes part in a 2-day meeting of NATO foreign
ministers, held in Brussels. The meeting takes place in a complicated security
context, with
an impact on multiple geographic areas of interest, including the continuing
Russian aggression against Ukraine, the military conflict between Israel and
Hamas and tensions in the Western Balkans. The meeting also has special
political importance in terms of the preparations for the 2024 Summit in
Washington. Luminita Odobescu will highlight the strategic importance of the
Black Sea for the Euro-Atlantic security and will plead for a more structured
approach to the region, in line with the decisions taken by NATO in Madrid and
Vilnius. The NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg hailed Germany’s boosting
its support for Ukraine by EUR 8 bln and the additional EUR 2 bln provided by
the Netherlands. He also mentioned the set-up of a training centre for Ukrainian
F-16 aircraft pilots. (AMP)

29 November 2023
November 21, 2023 UPDATE

Investments — The European Commission has approved the modification of Romanias National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Ministry of Investments and European Projects announced on Tuesday in Bucharest. According to the line minister, Adrian Câciu, the modified form no longer includes the limitation of 9.4% of the gross domestic product for the expenses of the public pension system. The elimination of this ceiling was also announced by the PM Marcel Ciolacu. On the other hand, Romanias modified plan attaches great importance to the green transition, allocating over 44% of the funds, compared to 41% in the original plan, for measures that support climate objectives. Also, the allocation of funds for the country’s digital transition increases from 20.5% to 21.8%. At the beginning of December, the revised form of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will be approved at the meeting of European finance ministers, and then a new implementation decision will be issued by the Council of the European Union.

Israel — The Romanian senators and deputies watched on Tuesday, during a joint plenary session, a film made available by the Israeli armed forces regarding the attacks of the Hamas group on October 7. The images were unedited and several parliamentarians left the room, declaring themselves shocked by the atrocities committed against the civilian population in Israel. At the end of the meeting, which was secret, without access for the media, the Israeli ambassador in Bucharest, Reuven Azar, declared that his country had the duty to eradicate all the military capabilities of the Hamas group and to ensure that this terrorist organization will no longer represent a future threat. He once again thanked the Romanian Parliament, which was the first in the world to unanimously adopt a resolution condemning Hamas and reiterating support for Israels right to defend itself.

Tour — Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, is on an official visit to Senegal, the last stage of his African tour. He visited, in Dakar, the Senegalese Association for the Protection of Children with Mental Deficiencies, which will receive support from Romania. On Wednesday, President Iohannis will go to the island of Gorée, a UNESCO heritage site and former outpost of the slave trade, where he will meet with local officials. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, the presidents official talks with his counterpart, Macky Sall, will take place on Thursday, when a series of official documents will be signed. Also on Thursday, Iohannis will participate in the inauguration of the United Nations House in Senegal and in the opening of an exhibition of traditional masks. He will also have a meeting with former students from Senegal who studied in Romania. The previous stages of the ten-day African tour of the Romanian presidential couple were Kenya, Tanzania and Cape Verde.

Gaudeamus – The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, begins in Bucharest on Wednesday. The event marks 95 years since Radio Romania’s first broadcast, 30 editions of the Gaudeamus Book Fair in Bucharest and over 140 national and local editions. Some 200 participants will organize more than 500 events as part of this years fair, which will come to an end on November 26. (LS, AMP)

21 November 2023
November 21, 2023

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis today starts an official visit to Senegal, the last stage of his African tour. The agenda includes, among other things, a visit to the Senegalese association for the protection of children with mental disabilities, based in Dakar, a visit to the UNESCO Heritage-listed island of Gorée on Wednesday, and official talks with Senegals president Macky Sall on Thursday. President Iohannis African tour also included visits to Kenya, Tanzania and Cabo Verde.

BUDGET The leaders of the Social Democratic Party and of the National Liberal Party in Romanias ruling coalition are holding talks today on the 2024 state budget law, which should be endorsed by December 10. According to government sources, the PM Marcel Ciolacu intends to adjust the method of earmarking ministry budgets, with appropriations granted based on programmes and projects. The participants will also discuss the replacement of the directors of agencies subordinated to the finance ministry, except for the Fiscal Administration Agency, and the reorganisation of these agencies in order to improve their operation. Also today, a meeting is scheduled between government officials, trade unions and employers associations. The head of the Romanian SME Association, Florin Jianu, says unions are expected to demand an increase of minimum wages as of January 1, 2024, but he says the business environment is unable to cope with a new increase after the one operated in October.

ISRAEL The Senate and Chamber of Deputies are holding a secret meeting today, focusing on recent developments and the situation in Israel. The joint meeting was suggested by the MP representing the Jewish community in Romania, Silviu Vexler. Journalists are denied access to the meeting, and audio and video recording or live posts are prohibited.

FAIR The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, begins in Bucharest on Wednesday. The event marks 95 years since the first broadcast of Radio Romania, 30 editions of the Gaudeamus Book Fair in Bucharest and over 140 national and local editions. Some 200 participants will organise more than 500 events as part of this years fair, which will come to an end on November 26. (AMP)

21 November 2023
November 5, 2023 UPDATE

Cash payments — Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday is to have a working meeting with the representatives of the members of the Executive Council of the Romanian Association of Banks, according to the agenda announced by the Government. On Friday, the PM announced that he would convene a meeting at the Government headquarters with specialists from the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Romania, as well as with representatives of small entrepreneurs, banks and civil society, ‘to make a decision on the issue of cash’. Ciolacu stated that it is ‘intolerable’ to ‘artificially’ increase bank commissions and that ‘the banks greed cannot be fueled by the debate on cash’. As of this month, cash payments to companies and individuals are reduced in Romania, according to a measure included in the package of fiscal-budgetary measures assumed by the Government in Parliament. The decision would be intended to combat tax evasion. On the other hand, some banks have notified their customers that they want to increase the commissions for deposits and withdrawals at the counters.

PSD – The National Political Council of the Social Democratic Party – PSD (number one in the government coalition in Bucharest) meets on Monday to establish its electoral strategy, in the run up to the 2024 elections. On Friday, in a meeting of the extended leadership of the National Liberal Party – PNL (junior partner in the coalition), the liberals decided not to have joint lists with the current social-democratic governing partners, but to go on their own lists to next years polls, with the avowed target of winning them all. Next year, elections for the European and national Parliaments, local and presidential elections are scheduled in Romania.

Mini-football — The Romanian team won the Minifootball World Cup for the first time, on Saturday evening, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates), after a dramatic victory in the final against Kazakhstan, score 12-11, in the penalty shootout. Romania, which played its third consecutive world semifinal, had two World Cup bronze medals from three participations, in the USA (2015) and Australia (2019). The world champion trophy was the only major title missing from the national team’s showcase. The national team was, in the past, six times European champion (2010-2015) and runner-up in the last two editions of the EMF EURO (2018 and 2022).

Handball — Romania’s mens national handball team was defeated by the French team with the score 40-21, on Saturday evening, in Toulouse, in a friendly match played in the run up to their participation in next years European Championship in Germany. The final tournament is scheduled for January 10-28, 2024, and Romania is part of Group B, alongside Spain, Austria and Croatia. The two top-ranking teams in the group qualify for the next stage. Romania had not qualified for a European Championship since 1996.

Gaza – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, discussed, on Sunday, in Ramallah, with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, at a time when the international community fears an expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas in the West Bank, AFP and Reuters report. It is the first visit of the US secretary of state to the West Bank since the beginning of the war on October 7, after the bloody attack on the Israeli territory by the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, followed by the harsh response of the Jewish state. Antony Blinkens unannounced visit to Ramallah comes in the context of his Middle East tour, which also included Israel and Jordan. The BBC reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that its forces had entered populated areas of Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported heavy gunfire and fierce ground fighting on the outskirts. At the same time, the Israeli army announced that it is reopening, on Sunday, a corridor for civilians in the north of Gaza, for their movement to the south. The United Nations warns that 1.5 million people have been displaced in the area since the beginning of the conflict, and half of them take shelter in its camps. (LS)

5 November 2023
October 29, 2023

GOVERNMENT PM Marcel Ciolacu announced that
preparations have started for drafting the 2024 public budget. The government
will analyse the projects and programmes that went well, as well as the
investment applications for next year. On the other hand, the PM dismissed the
idea of other fiscal changes in addition to the ones for which his Cabinet has
taken responsibility before Parliament. The law on measures to ensure Romania’s
long-term financial sustainability, promulgated by president Klaus
Iohannis on Thursday, introduces
new taxes and tax raises and cuts off tax facilities.Some of the measures take effect
on November 1, while the others will be enforced as of January 1. Marcel
Ciolacu also estimated that the new pensions law will be endorsed in Parliament
by the end of next month and will take effect on January 1, 2024.

VISIT
The European Commission vice-president for Values and Transparency, Věra
Jourová, will be on an official visit to Romania on Monday, when she will have
meetings with president Klaus Iohannis, PM Marcel Ciolacu and other Cabinet
members. According to the European Commission, the EU official will discuss the
rule of law and reforms in the judiciary, Romania’s goals in the digital
decade, the digitisation projects included in the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan, as well as AI and fighting disinformation.

ISRAEL
Israel has moved to the second stage of the war against Hamas, namely the land
operation in Gaza Strip, the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced. In a
televised address, he warned that this was going to be a long and difficult
war, aimed at freeing the hostages taken by the Palestinian terrorist group and
at destroying the military and leadership capabilities of Hamas. An Israeli
tactics expert described Israel’s current operation as modular, with
alternating attacks from 4 directions (water, air, land, and virtual). So far
the Israeli Army resorted to air strikes to hit Palestinian territory, after
the Hamas attacks of October 7 killed over 1,400 people in Israel. In turn, Hamas
says the Israeli retaliatory strikes killed over 8,000 people. According to an
Israeli army spokesman, the number of hostages held by Hamas was updated at 130.
The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, voiced his surprise at the escalation
of Israel’s military attack on the Gaza Strip after the UN General Assembly issued
a resolution calling for immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Guterres said that
in spite of this international consensus, the bombing has reached unprecedented
levels. Pro-Palestinian rallies were organised on Saturday in many cities in
the world.

PEACE
The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attending a meeting in Malta,
called for a global model based on his 10-point plan for peace with Russia, Reuters
reports. An official list of the participants in the meeting is not yet
available, but attending were officials for European, South-American, Arab,
African and Asian countries. The plan includes clauses concerning the
restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the pull-out of Russian troops,
protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear security and the release of all
prisoners. The co-chairs of the meeting, Ukraine and Malta, issued a joint
declaration that mentions the participants’ commitment to just and sustainable
peace, based on the UN Charter. The parties will take steps to arrange for a
possible peace summit at a later date.

DST On Saturday night, Romania switched to winter time, setting
clocks back one hour from 4 AM to 3 AM. Sunday is thus 25-hour long. Daylight
saving time, first suggested by the scientist Benjamin Franklin in 1784, is
currently used in 70 countries. The concept has come under debate in recent
years, with the EU asking member states to end seasonal clock changes and
choose either winter time or summer time, but a decision in this respect is yet
to be made. (AMP)

29 October 2023
October 28, 2023 UPDATE

ISRAEL
Romania and other countries are
making joint efforts to help the over 3,000 people in Gaza with dual
citizenship, including Romanian nationals, to leave that region, PM Marcel
Ciolacu said. He explained that the situation was not easy to handle, and added
that 260 applications have been received from Romanian nationals who want to
leave Gaza, but many Palestinians are trying to do the same. What matters is
for the situation not to spiral out of control, he also said. The
Israeli army Saturday announced it entered the north of
Gaza Strip and expanded military operations in the Palestinian enclave, while
stepping up attacks against Hamas. The
army once again asked the locals still in the north of Gaza Strip to move
immediately to the south, explaining that the north is currently a battlefield.
According to Israeli army estimates, some 700,000 people have already left the
area, and the UN says out of the almost 2.2 million people in Gaza Strip, around
1.4 million have been relocated since the conflict began. In fresh talks with the Israeli defence minister, the Pentagon chief
Lloyd Austin called
for the protection of civilians during the operation. On Friday night, the UN
General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. The
resolution is not compulsory, but it has political weight. Israel and the US
voted against, while Romania abstained.

DIPLOMACY
The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Friday had a telephone
conversation with the British foreign secretary James Cleverly, to discuss the
security situation in Israel and Gaza Strip, focusing on the need to ensure
close coordination in order to avoid regional spill-over. According to the
Romanian foreign ministry, the 2 officials emphasised the importance of
continued humanitarian aid to the population in Gaza and of the immediate and
unconditional release of all hostages.The
Romanian diplomacy chief also discussed with her Qatari counterpart, Sheikh
Mohammed Al Thani, given that Qatar is a mediator in the Hamas hostage crisis.
Odobescu appreciated Qatar’s diplomatic efforts to mitigate the humanitarian
crisis, and spoke about the aid Romania has decided to send there.

AMBASSADOR The Black Sea region plays an important
role for NATO, and Romania is a very close partner for the USA, the US
Ambassador to Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec reiterated. In an interview to Radio
Romania, the US official said that Romania, which is located next to the
conflict in Ukraine, has faced problems like the Ukrainian refugee crisis and
the transport of grains via Romanian sea ports, and in this context the
security and defence relations between the 2 countries have become even closer.
We have tripled the number of US troops in Romania, so now we have over 3,000 American
troops here and we are working with our Romanian partners with respect to
defence and deterrence, to safeguard every piece of NATO territory, Kathleen
Kavalec pointed out.

POPULATION The population of Romania on July 1 was
approx. 21.9 million, down 0.3% since the corresponding month of last year. Almost
3 million of them are currently living abroad. Romania is also facing
population ageing, with 125 elderly citizens for each 100 youth. The average
age is 42.4 years, 0.3 years more than on July 1, 2022. The number of citizens
in urban communities is nearly 3 million higher than the number of rural
inhabitants, however urban population dropped by 0.8% over the past year while
the rural population grew by 0.3%.

UKRAINE Ukraine is seeking international support for its peace plan,
in a 2-day meeting held as of today in Malta. As many as 50 countries are
taking part, but Russia is not among them. According to AFP, this is the 3rd
meeting of this kind, and organisers hope it would result in a joint
declaration. The 10-point plan proposed by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr
Zelenskyy includes, among other things, the pull out of Russian troops from the
occupied Ukrainian territories, including Donbas, part of which is under
separatist control since 2014, and Crimea, occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014.
Last year, Moscow annexed 4 Ukrainian regions, partly occupied by its troops
after the large-scale invasion of February 24.

DST
On Saturday night, Romania switches to winter time, setting clocks back one
hour from 4 AM to 3 AM. Sunday will thus be 25-hour long. Daylight saving time,
first suggested by the scientist Benjamin Franklin in 1784, is currently used
in 70 countries. The concept has come under debate in recent years, with the EU
asking member states to end seasonal clock changes and choose either winter
time or summer time, but a decision in this respect is yet to be made. (AMP)

28 October 2023
October 19, 2023

Deficit — Romanias budget deficit is to decrease to 5.7% of the GDP, following the application of the law on fiscal-budgetary measures for which the Government has recently assumed responsibility and which was declared constitutional on Wednesday. The PM Marcel Ciolacu stated that the new deficit target could be assumed through a budget rectification in the next period. Next week, the government representatives will have a meeting with the social partners, to set the level of the minimum salary in constructions and agriculture, so that these sectors’ employees should not be affected by the payment of the health contribution, from October 1, as provided by the current law. PM Ciolacu criticized the opposition Save Romania Union-USR because when they were in the government coalition, they included fiscal reform measures in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which they now contest. On the other hand, USR considers the decision of the Constitutional Court unfair and says that the law is an attack on the incomes of citizens who work honestly in Romania. USR also announced that they will file a simple motion against the finance minister.

Schengen — The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said that the good results obtained by Romania and Bulgaria in the management of pilot projects on migration are an additional argument in favor of the two states joining the European Border Free Area – Schengen. The statement was made before todays meeting in Luxembourg of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU, which will also address the subject of Romania’s and Bulgarias accession to Schengen. Previously, the European Commission publicly announced that both countries had reported progress, also thanks to the new migration and asylum programs that they are running. We recall that, at the end of last year, a unanimous decision failed to be adopted in relation to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area, due to the opposition of Austria and the Netherlands. Austria justified its position claiming that Romania is part of the Balkan route of illegal migration, an accusation rejected by the Romanian authorities and officially dismantled by the European institutions. In turn, the Netherlands said that it supported Romanias accession, but not Bulgarias, although the two are analyzed in a joint file.

Festival — Iasi, in the east of Romania, hosts the 11th edition of FILIT — the Iasi International Festival of Literature and Translation which started on Wednesday, an event attended by guests from 25 countries. This years event takes place under the high patronage of the European Commissions representation in Romania and the National Commission of Romania for UNESCO. Writers, translators, editors, festival organizers, literary critics, booksellers, book distributors, managers and journalists are attending FILIT. Until October 22, various events are scheduled such as literary meetings with stars of the world literary scene, white nights of poetry and music, workshops and professional round tables, concerts and readings.

Israel — The US president, Joe Biden, reiterated, on Wednesday, in Israel, the US commitment to the security of its main ally in the region and confirmed the Israeli version of the explosion at a hospital in Gaza, where hundreds of people died. The Hamas terrorist organization has accused Israel of having bombed the hospital, while the Israeli military have provided evidence that the explosion was caused by a missile mistakenly fired by the Islamic Jihad, the other armed group in Gaza. After the meeting with the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden called for the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, following the bloody attack launched by Hamas on Israeli territory on October 7. In the meantime, Israel announced that it hit the targets of the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, and Radio Romania’s correspondent reports that the Israeli army is preparing to face a new front in the north of the country. The defense minister Yoav Galant said that Hezbollah is 10 times stronger than Hamas. As regard the humanitarian aid, Israel approved the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, from Egypt, through the Rafah border-crossing point. The aid will have to consist of 100 trucks per day and will have to be secured, the UN said. On the other hand, the British PM Rishi Sunak told Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whom he met in Israel on Thursday, that Britain stands in solidarity with his country, adding that it is also important to provide humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu was also in Israel, where he had talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and with the representatives of the Romanian community, affected by the deterioration of the security situation in the area.

Protests — Protests against Israel and the US have been reported in various parts of the world. At least one hundred protesters occupied, on Wednesday, a building of the US Congress, to ask the officials and the Joe Biden administration to press for a cease fire in the Gaza Strip. In Greece, approximately 10,000 people gathered in downtown Athens, in solidarity with the Palestinians. In Istanbul (Turkey), a crowd carrying pro-Palestinian flags and placards gathered in front of the Israeli consulate, then forced their way inside the consulate after breaking through a police barricade. Incidents also took place at the US embassies in Lebanon and Iraq, at the Israeli embassy in Jordan and at the French embassy in Iran.

Meeting – In the first joint meeting of the governments of Romania and Ukraine, in Kyiv, the prime ministers of the two countries, Marcel Ciolacu and Denis Şmîhal, established the mechanism for the import of Ukrainian grains on Romanian territory, with measures to protect the local farmers. On the other hand, the Ukrainian government adopted a document recognizing that the Romanian minority in Ukraine speaks Romanian and not the so-called Moldovan language, which in fact does not exist. (LS)

19 October 2023
October 18, 2023

GOVERNMENT The first joint meeting of the Romanian and Ukrainian governments takes place in Kyiv today. The agenda includes the development of
infrastructure in the border region, economic cooperation and regional security.
The main topic is a mechanism allowing Ukraine to export grains to Romania. First
of all, the grain quality must be similar to that of grains in Romania and the
EU, and secondly, only the Romanian farmers who prove they no longer have grain
stocks will be authorised to import from Ukraine. Another topic is the ethnic
minorities in Ukraine, with Bucharest requesting that their rights be the same
as the rights enjoyed by minorities in Romania. The Romanian government
believes Ukraine should no longer recognise the Moldovan language, arguing that
in fact it does not exist. Marcel Ciolacu is accompanied by the minister of
defence, Angel Tâlvăr, the minister of public health, Alexandru Rafila, the
economy minister, Radu Oprea, the agriculture minister, Florin Barbu and the
secretary of state with the interior ministry, Raed Arafat. The Romanian PM
will have talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, and with the
chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. Marcel Ciolacu is also
scheduled to meet the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in
Bucharest last week.

BUDGET The Constitutional Court dismissed the
notification filed by Save Romania Union and the Force of the Right in
opposition in Romania with respect to the bill on fiscal and
budget-related measures for which the Government has undertaken responsibility
before Parliament. The Constitutional Court president, Marian Enache, said the
Cabinet’s responsibility concerned a sole and unified purpose, namely to
increase revenues to the public budget and to cut down on expenditure, and that
the responsibility procedure was in line with the requirements of the
Constitutional Court and its case law. Marian Enache also says the Court’s
decision was made on a majority of votes. After the decision of the
Constitutional Court, the bill may be signed into law by the president of
Romania, Klaus Iohannis.

GAZA
The Romanian foreign ministry voices shock and deep sadness at the news of the
blast and loss of innocent lives on Tuesday night at
the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. In a message issued on Wednesday, the
ministry emphasises that all civilians and civilian infrastructure must be
protected at all times, and that responsibility must be
clearly identified. Hundreds of people were killed or wounded
in a missile strike on the hospital in Gaza, for which Israel and the
Palestinians blame each other. The Israeli army denies that its forces were
responsible for the attack, and blames the incident on a failed launch of a
missile from Gaza by the Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group, which
in turn denies the allegations. The attack was condemned by the international
community, with several Arab leaders accusing Israel of war crimes. The US leader Joe Biden, who is on a solidarity
visit to Israel today, has voiced regret and anger at the event. Jordan has
cancelled a summit in which Joe Biden was to discuss the war with King Abdullah II, with
Mahmoud Abbas and the president of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On the other hand, the UN secretary general
Antonio Guterres will be in Cairo on Thursday, for talks with Abdel Fattah al-focusing
on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The talks take place as Egypt calls on Israel to allow aid
shipments to that territory. On Tuesday,
the US authorised its non-essential embassy staff to leave Beirut, as security
worsens in Lebanon as well, in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas.

ALERT Belgium,
France, Italy and Spain have raised their terrorist alert levels to a maximum, following
attacks in western Europe over the past few days. On Monday 2 Swedish nationals
were killed in Brussels by a Tunisian illegal migrant, later on identified and
shot by the Belgian police. The Islamic State group
claimed the attack and said it targeted Sweden because of its affiliation to
the global coalition against Jihad movements. On Tuesday, Versailles palace
in Paris was evacuated and stayed closed for the day after a new bomb alert,
just as it happened with the Louvre Museum on Saturday. The president of France
Emmanuel Macron said Islamic terrorism is rising once again and that all
European countries are vulnerable to this threat. Over 100 people have been
arrested over the past week in France under anti-Semitism charges and for
terrorism support. On Tuesday, EU leaders, including the president of Romania
Klaus Iohannis, discussed the conflict between Israel and Hamas which killed more
than 4,000 people in the last 10 days, and agreed to do whatever they can to
avoid a regional escalation of the conflict. (AMP)

18 October 2023
October 16, 2023 UPDATE

Pensions – In Bucharest, the draft law on special pensions, granted to magistrates and other public system employees, was adopted on Monday by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. The document had previously been approved by the Senate plenum, as the first chamber notified, with the changes requested by the Constitutional Court – CCR. Compared to the form that passed the Senate, no substantive amendments were introduced. Thus, the taxation thresholds of up to 20% for the non-contributory part were kept, as well as the annual increase, by four months, of the retirement age up to 60 years. The law provides, among other things, that magistrates will have a pension of 80% of the average gross monthly allowances and increments collected in the last four years of activity. The plenum of the Chamber of Deputies adopted only proposals related to the legislative technique and rejected all the amendments proposed by the opposition Save Romania Union – USR and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR. The USR leader, Cătălin Drula, said that this law actually maintains special pensions, and the Liberal Party deputy, Florin Roman, stated that the adoption of the oppositions amendments would have made the law unconstitutional. The Social Democratic Party – PSD claims that the law respects both the decisions of the CCR and the requests of the European Commission, while AUR considers the new form unacceptable, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR condemns the non-compliance with the contribution principle.

Meeting – The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called an extraordinary online meeting of all heads of state or government in the European Union for Tuesday, in the context of the Middle East situation. In a statement published on Monday, Charles Michel once again condemned the actions of Hamas, which he considers terrorist, and demands the immediate release of the hostages. The head of the European Council said that Israel has the right to defend itself, within the limits of international law and respecting humanitarian principles. He believes that this conflict can create tensions including on the European continent and can amplify extremism in the European Union. The extraordinary council meeting, he added, will address the issue from the point of view of ensuring assistance to the affected civilians, the impact of civilian migration to the states in the area and avoiding the escalation of the conflict by involving all regional actors. Charles Michel believes that the solution is peace based on the existence of two states: Israel and Palestine.

Repatriation — The Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stated that the Romanian authorities are in contact with almost every Romanian citizen in the Gaza Strip. He says that, at present, there are no reasons for concern about their lives, but everyone hopes that they will arrive in Romania as soon as possible. About 350 Romanians with dual citizenship are supposed to be in the Palestinian enclave, controlled by the terrorist organization Hamas and bombed intensively by the Israeli army.

Israel – The Israeli army asked Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip again, on Monday, to move to the south of the territory. It is estimated that one million people have already left their homes in the northern area controlled by the terrorist movement Hamas. The situation of these people is very difficult, humanitarian agencies point out, and they are asking for the sending of strictly necessary aid to the Gaza Strip The Israeli army announced that the number of people abducted by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip is 199. The bombing continued on both sides. On the northern border of Israel, following the frequent fire exchanges with the Hezbollah organization, a measure was taken to evacuate 28 Israeli towns in the immediate vicinity of the border with Lebanon and a 2 km wide strip was established which was declared a closed military area.

Football – The Romanian national football team became the leader of the EURO 2024 Qualifying Group I after defeating Andorra, 4-0, on Sunday evening, in Bucharest. The Romanian footballers achieved their clearest victory of this qualifying campaign. In another match from Group I, Switzerland drew the match with Belarus 3-3 at home. We remind you that Israels matches have been postponed. Romania is to play its last games in the group in November, with Israel, away from home, and with Switzerland on home ground. Kosovo is also part of Group I. (LS)

16 October 2023
October 9, 2023

WAR Clashes were still reported on Monday between the
Israeli army and Palestinian fighters infiltrated in the south of the country
from Gaza, after Israel reportedly hit over 500 targets of Hamas and the
Islamic Jihad organisations during the night. The Israeli defence forces have
full control over the southern part of the country, attacked by the Palestinian
Hamas forces, an Israeli military spokesman said on Monday, quoted by AFP and
Reuters. This is the 3rd day of violent clashes that have so far
killed around 1,200 people, over 700 of whom Israelis and at least 493
Palestinians, EFE reported on Monday. Israel’s security cabinet declared war following the attacks of the Palestinian
organisation Hamas, allowing the government to undertake significant military
activities, the PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday.

ISRAEL On Monday 96 Romanian nationals were repatriated from Israel, via
Jordan, on a Tarom flight, the foreign ministry announced. Another 245 Romanian citizens were repatriated on Sunday, including 2 pilgrim
groups. The foreign ministry reiterates its recommendation that Romanian
nationals should reschedule their planned trips to Israel and monitor the Travel
Alerts section on its home page. Meanwhile, a mobile consular team from the
Romanian embassy in Israel and from Romania’s representation office in Ramallah is at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv
to provide assistance to the Romanians there. A unit from the ministry’s emergency
response team has also been deployed to Israel, to help in the repatriation
efforts.

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis is on a visit to Portugal,
where he is scheduled to have talks today with PM António Costa, with the president
of the Assembly of the Republic Augusto Santos Silva, and with Portuguese MPs.
On Saturday, Iohannis had a meeting with his Portuguese counterpat, Marcelo
Rebelo de Sousa, discussing the war in neighbouring Ukraine, in which context
he reiterated thanks for Portugal’s substantial contribution to the defence and
deterrence posture on NATO’s eastern flank. The presence on Portuguese troops
in Romania is a strong signal of Portugal’s solidarity and support to
strengthening Romania’s security, president Iohannis said. On the other hand,
the president of Portugal said his country was supporting Romania’s Schengen
and OECD accession.

MEETING PM Marcel Ciolacu said today in Varna, Bulgaria, that during the
Romania – Bulgaria – Greece trilateral meeting the 3 countries agreed to
implement a joint action plan aimed at significant development in trilateral
cooperation in sectors such as transports, energy, trade and security. In the
presence of EC officials, of the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Bulgarian
PM Nikolay Denkov, we have reiterated Romania’s ambition of quickly becoming a
Schengen member state and an influential economic player in the region, Marcel
Ciolacu said. The Romanian official also added that Romania, in a partnership
with Bulgaria and Greece, may have a greater influence in the EU, promoting its
central role in the reconstruction of Ukraine and its willingness to see the
Republic of Moldova and Western Balkans countries joining the European bloc as
soon as possible.

HOLOCAUST Romania marks today the National Holocaust Remembrance Day. On
October 9, 1941, the deportation of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina to
Transdniester started. The Holocaust was recognised by the Romanian authorities
in 2004, based on the conclusions reached by a commission headed by Nobel prize
winner Elie Wiesel. The Jews and Roma who died during the Holocaust were
commemorated in Bucharest, while Timişoara is hosting a concert organised by
the local Jewish community.

SWIMMING The Romanian athlete David Popovici, the defending European
champion in the 100 and 200m freestyle races, won all the 4 short course competitions
in which he took part this weekend in Nyon (Switzerland). On Sunday he finished
the 100m and 50m freestyle events in the first position, with 47.22s and 21.83s
respectively, after on Saturday he had won the 400 and 200m freestyle races. The
competition in Switzerland is training opportunity ahead of the European short
course championships scheduled in December in Otopeni, near Bucharest. (AMP)

9 October 2023
Conclusions of the IMF mission in Romania

The recently adopted fiscal package is a step in the right direction but further adjustment is need, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation that assessed, until Wednesday, the state of the Romanian economy said in a press release. IMF experts have forecast a 2.3% economic growth for Romania this year and a budget deficit of 6% of the GDP and recommended the Romanian authorities to implement additional reforms accounting for 2% of the GDP. To this end, key measures to be considered are the elimination of remaining exemptions, privileges and loopholes, further VAT streamlining, implementing the reformed property tax and using tax policy to promote the efficient use of energy and, more broadly, foster the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

According to the international experts, the new tax package improves policy design in some areas. It broadens the tax base and improves revenues by limiting exemptions for workers in the agricultural, construction, food processing and IT sectors, and by limiting the number of goods subject to reduced VAT rates. The new fiscal package will improve public finances in 2024 and beyond by about 1 percent of GDP, resulting in a deficit of just above 5 percent of GDP, in 2024. However, fiscal deficits will need to fall below 3 percent of GDP, as agreed with the European Commission, to stabilize public debt over the medium term, help secure necessary market financing at lower interest rates, and support ongoing disbursement of EU funds. According to the IMF experts, increasing the predictability of expenditure with salaries and pensions is welcome, but the Governments decision to control the price of food products is not the right strategy to lower the prices.

Moreover, the head of the IMF mission, Jan Kees Martijn, warned that it could be challenging to implement fiscal consolidation and the next steps under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) during a year with multiple elections such as 2024. He also said that additional taxes for banks put increase the burden on companies and could impact their financial results.

Among the measures recommended by the IMF mission, is also improvement in administration and a good planning of fiscal policy, which should be communicated in a clear manner, so as to offer predictability to both companies and the population. Also needed is, according to the international experts, new investment and budget allocations to education and healthcare, to bring them to EU level.

On their last day in Bucharest, the IMF experts met with the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu. He said the IMF recommendations, which are similar to those of the World Bank and the European Commission are already taken into account. At present, the Government focuses on reducing budget spending and fighting tax evasion and the bill for which it took responsibility in Parliament creates the general framework for the fiscal reform the Government wants to conduct. Marcel Ciolacu estimates that Romania will have one of the biggest economic growth rates in the EU this year and that the measures taken will help the country overcome the difficult situation experienced lately. (EE)

5 October 2023
August 28, 2023

Crevedia – All fuel and LPG stations in Romania are being checked as of Monday and the activity of those that pose risks to public safety will be suspended, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced. He added that legislative changes were being considered to regulate this area, changes which could be approved this week. The decisions come after Saturday evenings devastating chain blasts at an LPG station in Crevedia (south), that were followed by a fire. Two people lost their lives and around 60, mostly firefighters, as well as gendarmes and policemen, were injured. The interior minister Cătălin Predoiu has given assurances that all those found guilty will be held accountable. Investigations by the General Prosecutors Office and the military and anti-corruption prosecutors are currently under way.

Festival – Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, the artistic director of the George Enescu Festival, dedicated, on Sunday evening, Rhapsody no. 2 by George Enescu to those who need comfort following the Crevedia tragedy. The work was included in the program of the first evening of the festival, that has now reached its 26th edition which will take place under the motto Generosity through music. Until September 24, over 3,500 guest artists will take to the Bucharest stages for 90 concerts. Among the important orchestras that will participate in this years edition are the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the National Orchestra of France, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. First-class international conductors will go on stage during the festival such as Cristian Măcelaru, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Wilson Hermanto, Paavo Jarvi, Delyana Lazarova, Lawrence Foster and Vladimir Jurowski.

Visit – The Ministers of Labor, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, of Finance, Marcel Boloş and of European funds, Adrian Câciu, have a scheduled visit to Brussels today and tomorrow. The Labor Minister will present to European officials the new changes that must be made to the law on special pensions and that are required by the Constitutional Court. Simona Bucura-Oprescu will also mention the governments intention to tax with 15% the part that exceeds the net average salary from special pensions. In their turn, the ministers of finance and European funds will present the governments intention to exceed the assumed threshold of 4.4% on this years budget deficit. The two ministers will also present the elements of the package of laws for which the government wants to take responsibility before Parliament and which refer to the reform of the state administration, fiscal equity and the effective fight against tax dodging.

Meeting – The Foreign Ministry organizes, between August 29-30, the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, under the theme A firm foreign policy of Romania: managing challenges and maximizing opportunities. This years edition takes place in physical format, after the last three took place online. The special guests of the FM Luminiţa Odobescu will be her counterparts from Chile, Alberto van Klaveren Stork, and Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis. The main theme of the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy focuses on the reiteration of foreign policy priorities, in the sense of managing challenges and in the perspective of capitalizing on the opportunities generated by the current international environment. In the context of the most serious security challenge on NATOs Eastern Flank, the theme of security, cohesion and connectivity is the subject of a plenary session. The agenda of the meeting also includes the contribution of Romanian diplomacy to the consolidation of the European project, economic development strategies, the organization, abroad, of the three rounds of elections in 2024, with focus on the smooth running of elections in the diaspora, the role of Romanian missions in the promotion of cultural diplomacy and scientific cooperation.

Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea is taking on, today, for the first time, Kayla Day (USA), in the inaugural round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, which starts at the Flushing Meadows arenas in New York. Four other Romanian players are on the main draw and will play on Tuesday. Irina Begu will face the German Tamara Korpatsch, whom she defeated in their only confrontation, last year, in Lausanne. Ana Bogdan will have a difficult match against the American Sofia Kenin, former Grand Slam champion. The two are tied in head-to-head matches, 1-1. Patricia Ţig will be up against the Canadian player Rebecca Marino, and Gabriela Ruse, coming from the qualifications, will play against the powerful player from the Czech Republic, Karolina Pliskova. (LS)

28 August 2023
August 21, 2023

Meeting – The Romanian Prime Minister,
Marcel Ciolacu, is today participating, in Athens, in a working meeting of the
heads of state and government from South-Eastern Europe and the Western
Balkans, organized by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According
to a Government communiqué, the talks will focus on the development of regional
cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, as well as on the challenges posed by the
developments of the conflict in Ukraine on the states participating in the
Athens dialogue. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, are attending the
meeting, along with heads of state and government from the region.

Ukraine-The Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky says he hopes other countries will join Denmark and the Netherlands, countries
which have decided to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets. The Ukrainian leader
made the statements at a military air base in Denmark, where he met with the
Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen. Denmark and the Netherlands will send
Ukraine 61 F-16s. It was agreed that the planes would be transferred to the
Ukrainian Air Force in close cooperation with the US and other partners, when
the conditions for such a transfer are met. Conditions include, but are not
limited to, successfully selected, tested and trained Ukrainian F-16 personnel
as well as the necessary authorizations, infrastructure and logistics.
Ukrainian pilot training will take place in several NATO countries, including
Romania.

Athletics-The Romanian athlete Alina
Rotaru-Kottmann won the bronze medal in the long jump event at the World
Athletics Championships in Budapest, with 6.88 meters, in the final held on
Sunday. This is the best performance in her sports career so far. Alina
Rotaru-Kottmann had already met the entry standards for athletics events at next
year’s Paris Olympics. Also on Sunday, Andrea Miklos qualified for the
semi-finals of the 400 m event. The semi-finals take place today. Romania is
participating with 16 athletes, nine women and seven men, in the World
Athletics Championships in Budapest. For
this competition the Romanian Athletics Federation has set the goal of
qualifying in three finals.

Baccalaureate – In Romania, the baccalaureate exam
continues, today, with the written exam in the mother tongue language and
literature for the national minorities. The first results will be announced on
August 25, and appeals can be submitted on the same day. The results will be
published on August 29. 34,000 candidates registered for the autumn session, of
whom 22,600 finished high school this summer.

ARC – The ARC Camps Program,
initiated by the Department for Romanians Everywhere and intended for Romanian
students and young people everywhere, continues until August 28, in 6 leisure
centers in Romania. Students and young people from Romania and another 24
countries of the world participate, including Albania, Austria, the United Arab
Emirates, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova,
Serbia, Spain, Ukraine. ‘We build bridges, build connections and embrace our
cultural diversity’ this is the message that the Department sends to the
children and teachers on summer vacation this year in the ARC camps. The camps
are meant to show Romanian children outside the borders what authentic Romania
is like. The project aims at facilitating interaction and dialogue between
young people from historical communities and young people from the Diaspora,
including through workshops to deepen knowledge of culture, history, geography
and arts.

Festival – The George Enescu Festival, the largest classical music
festival in Romania and one of the most important of its kind in Europe, is
coming to Timișoara, the European capital of culture in 2023. Great ensembles
of the world such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Fine Arts Quartet, Camerata
Bern, Manchester Camerata and the Romanian Chamber Orchestra will give
exceptional concerts between September 3 and 20. The first edition of the
festival was held in 1958. (LS)

21 August 2023