April 14, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 14.04.2022, 19:46

Gas. The offshore bill regulating the exploitation of natural gas in the Black Sea will be submitted to Romanias 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.

Macedonia. “Romania strongly supports Macedonias accession to the European Union”, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said in Skopje on Thursday, where he held political consultations with his counterpart, North Bujar Osmani. Aurescu has stated that North Macedonia “is completely ready” for negotiations, accession, and, against the background of Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has a strategic importance for the entire EU. Aurescu has also said that the negotiations for EU accession also mean reforms, and Romania is ready to provide North Macedonia with all the necessary support. At the same time, the Romanian official has criticized the crimes against humanity committed by Russian forces in Ukraine saying these acts must be investigated as soon as possible by international courts. Also, the Romanian minister congratulated the Skopje executive for aligning with the European measures against Moscow, which proves that “North Macedonias commitment to the European path is a real one”. In this context, Aurescu invited North Macedonia to join the NATO battle group that will be deployed in Romania, as well as the Euro-Atlantic Center for Resilience and the EU Cyber ​​Center in Bucharest. Also on Thursday, Bogdan Aurescu was received by President Stevo Pendarovski and had talks with the head of the Parliamentary Assembly, Talat Xhaferi.

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 Romanias involvement in Ukraines reconstruction plans.

Human rights. Romania still has problems with discrimination and corruption, according to the US State Departments 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 in 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 defense 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 recognized 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 regions deep-red amber deposits.

Covid-19. Some 1,500 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Romania on Thursday, in 24 thousands tests. Also, the authorities have announced 12 related deaths. 1800 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, 251 in intensive care units. The WHO has decided to maintain Covid-19 at the level of pandemic and an international health-care emergency. WHO experts say that the evolution of the pandemic is still unpredictable, and the mortality rate still high. (MI)