ENERGY Romania will secure its energy independence in 2027 and will even become a provider of security in the region, including for
the neighbouring Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, said the president of the
National Energy Regulatory Authority, Dumitru Chiriţă.
He added that over the past few years Bucharest invested EUR 3 bln in natural
gas and electricity transport and distribution systems. On the other hand,
investments in production operations only amounted to EUR 30 mln, but this will
change as massive funding will be channelled in this sector. According to the Authority, new production
units will be operational in 3-4 years’ time, with a combined output of over 10,000
MW, and investors are quite interested in the projects, some of which are
funded from loans and others from private sources.
BUDGET The
government of Romania Thursday approved this year’s second public budget
adjustment, with approx. EUR 100 million in additional funding. According to
the government, the budget adjustment covers compulsory spending, operating
expenses and social assistance expenses. According to the finance minister
Adrian Câciu, the budget deficit is reduced from 5.84% to 5.74%. A majority of
funds will be earmarked for the finance, labour, agriculture and economy
ministries. Also, under the new budget, the energy, transport, public
healthcare and interior ministries are set to lose part of their funding.
DEFENCE The
Romanian defence minister Angel Tîlvăr took part this week in a meeting of
South Eastern European defence ministers, held in Sofia under the Bulgarian
presidency of the initiative. The participants analysed the progress in the
projects organised by this initiative and approved a number of documents
concerning the planning of SEDM operations. Angel Tîlvăr reiterated Romania’s
commitment to contribute even more actively to the implementation of the
initiative’s projects. On the sidelines of the meeting in Sofia, the Romanian
official had bilateral meetings with his Moldovan, Bulgarian and Georgian
counterparts.
UKRAINE
Over 10 million Ukrainians were left without electricity, especially in the
Kyiv region, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. Several
Ukrainian cities, including the capital, were hit by Russian attacks on
Thursday, concurrently with the first snow in a country affected by blackouts,
where temperatures may drop to negative 10°C, AFP reports. The resumed shelling
targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure constantly deprives millions of
Ukrainians of electricity and water supplies.
MISSILE The
missile launched by North Korea on Friday had enough range to hit the US, and a
range capability of 15,000 km, said Japan’s defence minister Yasukazu Hamada,
quoted by Reuters. The intercontinental ballistic missile reached an altitude
of 6,000 km and landed roughly 200 km west of a Japanese island. Over the past
2 months North Korea has tested over 50 missiles, most of them in the
short-range class. Medium and long-range missiles are a direct threat to the US,
as they are designed to carry nuclear warheads to the US mainland, the BBC says.
FOOTBALL
Romania’s national football team lost 2-1 a friendly game played last night in
Cluj-Napoca against Slovenia. On Saturday, Romania is to play another friendly
against the Republic of Moldova, in Chişinău. Romania has failed to qualify to
the Qatar World Cup and is training for the Euro 2024. The national team will
play in Group I against Switzerland, Israel, Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra. Meanwhile,
Romania’s Under-20 football team was defeated by Italy, 2-1, in a friendly
match hosted by the Romanian city of Arad. (AMP)