ELECTIONS – The PSD-PNL ruling coalition has today reached consensus on the exact dates of the presidential and parliamentary elections following the talks Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had earlier this week with political parties. Thus, the first round of the presidential election will be held on November 24, with the second round slated for December 8. The parliamentary election has been scheduled for December 1. Originally, the Social-Democrats and the Liberals agreed to organize the presidential election in September, but the latter changed their mind. We recall local and European Parliament elections were held on June 9.
FOURTH OF JULY – Romanian-American friendship is stronger than ever, evidence of which is the Strategic Partnership between the two states, the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said in a message marking the national day of the United States. “Happy Independence Day to the United States of America and the American people”, the president wrote on X. On Wednesday, the head of state attended a reception organized by the American Embassy in Bucharest. In her opening remarks, US Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec referred to the long-lasting friendship between the two countries and the nearly 30 years of strategic partnership, built on shared democratic values, trade relations, strong interpersonal relations and security and defense cooperation. “As NATO allies and partners, our commitment to Romania is unwavering and essential to protecting our shared values and way of life”, Ambassador Kavalec added. The theme for this year’s reception was the world of film and cooperation between the two states’ film industries.
SURVEY – Europeans continue to stand with Ukraine and its efforts to fight off the Russian invasion, are overall in favor of supplying weapons but oppose the deployment of troops to the former, a European Foreign Affairs Council survey reads. 20,000 Europeans were interviewed as part of the survey, the majority arguing the war in Ukraine will end through a negotiated truce, and Ukraine will not prevail on the battlefield. Ukrainians and Estonians interviewed believe, however, that the Ukrainian army will be victorious. Most Ukrainians oppose the idea of Ukraine conceding Russian-held territories in exchange for NATO accession. Additionally, nearly half of Ukrainians fear the United States could negotiate directly with Russia without Kyiv’s consent should Donald Trump get re-elected at the White House this autumn.
WHITE HOUSE – US president Joe Biden has no intention of withdrawing his candidacy for a second term at the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has told journalists. Meanwhile, Americans continue to ponder Joe Biden’s mental health after his disastrous performance in last week’s debate against Republican Donald Trump. The Democrat president stays in the race, Jean-Pierre told a briefing. Aged 81, president Biden on Friday will give an exclusive interview to ABC News, and the White House promised the president will hold a press conference next week to show he’s able to speak freely with no teleprompter. According to a survey published on Tuesday by the CNN, 75% of Americans believe the Democratic Party would have bigger chances of winning the November election were they to replace Biden as their candidate.
QUALIFIERS – Romanian football champions and Cup winners FCSB and Corvinul Hunedoara are tonight playing in the Romanian Supercup. Both teams are this month competing in European interclub competitions. In the first preliminary round of Champions League, FCSB will play AC Virtus 1964 of San Marino. In the first preliminary round of Europa League, Corvinul Hunedoara will take on Hungarian vice-champions Paksi FC. In the second preliminary round of UEFA Conference League, CFR Cluj will play FC Neman Grodno of Belarus, while Universitatea Craiova will play the winner of the match pitting PFC Botev Plovdiv of Bulgaria against Maribor of Slovenia. (VP)
