April 14, 2022

A round up of local and international news.

Newsroom, 14.04.2022, 13:55

Gas. The offshore bill regulating the
exploitation of natural gas in the Black Sea will be submitted in Parliament
this week, said the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu. The
amendment of the bill was sped up by the ruling coalition after a final version
was agreed by its members, the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic
Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Under the bill,
the state is to benefit from 60% of the profits generated by the exploitation
of natural gas, with the rest of 40% going to private companies. The current
legislation provides for progressive taxation, ranging from 30 to 70%, on
additional returns obtained from the rise in gas prices, with companies being
obliged to sell 50% of their natural gas production on the Bucharest Stock
Exchange.

Visit. Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu
is today travelling to North Macedonia on an official visit at the invitation
of his counterpart Bujar Osmani. Aurescu will also have talks with president
Stevo Pendarovski and the speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly Talat Xhaferi.
Talks are aimed at consolidating bilateral relations, with emphasis on expanding
and diversifying political dialogue and economic cooperation. The Romanian
official is expected to underline the importance of cooperation to preserve the
cultural and linguistic identity of kindred minorities, given their role as a bridge
in the relationship between Romania and North Macedonia. Aurescu will also
reiterate Romania’s firm and principled support for North Macedonia’s European
path. Talks will also look at the two countries’ collaboration within NATO and
the prospect of a common approach, within this alliance, of current strategic
challenges.

Ukraine visit. The speakers of the two chambers
of the Romanian Parliament will travel to Kyiv at the invitation of the chair
of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. The speaker of the Romanian
Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu will travel to Kyiv on 27th April
and he is expected to visit several areas affected by the war, including sites
of atrocities committed by the Russian army. He may also address the Ukrainian
Parliament. The Senate speaker Florin Cîţu has not announced a date for his
trip, but said he will visit areas affected by the war and will discuss with
Ukrainian officials about Romania’s involvement in Ukraine’s reconstruction
plans.

Human rights. Romania still has problems with
discrimination and corruption, according to the US State Department’s Country
Reports on Human Practices for 2021. Despite some prosecutions, corrupt
practices and misuse of public funds remained widespread in Romania, the report
says. Also, while the judiciary took steps to punish officials who committed
abuses, the authorities did not have effective mechanisms to do so, with the result that many of the cases ended in
acquittals. With respect to the media, some reporters throughout the country
continued to be harassed, sued, or threatened by authorities they investigated
or by their proxies. Other problems identified in the report are the widespread
use of bribery in the public sector, especially in health care, and anti-Semitic
incidents.

Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia continue
to prepare for the great battle expected in Donbas, the main objective of the
Russian forces after they had to withdraw from around Kyiv. Ukraine continues
to call for deliveries of heavy weapons from the West, which it sees as vital
as this stage of the conflict. The United States for the first time decided to
deliver such weapons as part of a military support package announced by
president Joe Biden worth 800 million dollars. The European Union also
announced plans to provide further 500 million euros in humanitarian aid to
Ukraine, on top of the 1 billion provided earlier. In another development, the
Russian defence ministry announced that its Moska guided missile cruiser was
seriously damaged after a fire caused a munitions explosion, but that its crew
had been evacuated. The Russian authorities did not state the location and
cause of the incident, but the governor of the Odessa region said the ship was
hit by two Ukrainian missiles.

Geopark. Buzău Land, in the south-eastern part
of Romania, has become a UNESCO global geopark, being recognised as a unified
geographical area with natural and cultural values of international
significance. This is the second area in Romania to win this status after Haţeg
Land, in the west of the country. The official ceremony to award the geopark
title will be held online on 21st April. Of the 16 areas that
applied to be designated global geoparks this year, eight have been validated,
which takes the total number of geoparks to 177, from 46 countries. The biggest
attractions in Buzău are the muddy volcanoes, the salt domes, the sandstone
concretions, the eternal flames, the cave settlements and the region’s deep-red
amber deposits. (CM)