April 20, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 20.04.2023, 19:20

Aid. The Romanian government on Thursday approved an
order to provide emergency aid to cereal growers affected by a rise in cheaper
imports from Ukraine. The support will compensate for the expenses incurred by
cereal producers to store the wheat produced in 2022 and still in storage on 1st
February 2023. The aid scheme is worth a total of around 20 million euros, half
from the European Union and half from the government. On Wednesday, Romania
decided to continue to allow the transit of grains from Ukraine, but introduced
additional control measures to protect local farmers. The decision was
announced after talks between Romanian agriculture minister Petre Daea with his
Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Solskyi.
Also on Wednesday, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der
Leyen announced that integrated measures would be taken and promised further
financial aid of 100 million euros for farmers in a number of countries
affected by the facilities offered to Ukrainian cereal producers.

Visit. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis continues his
South American tour in Chile and Argentia. In the first leg of the tour, in
Brazil, he met his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and signed a joint declaration on the
development of bilateral relations. President Iohannis said it was necessary
for efforts to continue to encourage business people from the two countries to
embark on joint projects and to boost mutual investments. He added that Brazil
is an old friend of Romania and its biggest trading partner in Latin America
and that the 95th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations was
celebrated this year. Iohannis also visited the state of Rio de Janeiro, where
he had talks with the local officials, especially about the environment.

Expulsion. The
Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly Romanian-speaking) has expelled a
Russian diplomat who was accompanying the president of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov as he tried to enter the
country. The diplomat, who has been declared persona non grata, and another
employee of the Russian embassy were accused of inappropriate behavior towards
the border police, who did not allow the Tatarstan leader to enter the Republic
of Moldova. Tatarstan is an autonomous Russian republic and its president is a
supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Moldova’s prime Minister Dorin Recean said
those who help kill children and women in Ukraine are not welcome in the
Republic of Moldova and that the Moldovan authorities would not accept that
their country could be associated with the atrocities of the war in Ukraine.

Festival. The Sibiu
Ballet Theatre was invited to participate in the third edition of the Poznan
International Dance Theatre Festival, organised by the Polish Dance Theatre.
The Sibiu company will stage their latest contemporary dance production
entitled One way ticket, the work of choreographer Sandra Mavhima,
holding two performances, first in Poznan on April 25 for the general public
and again the next day for guests only. The show is a choreographic essay about
the challenges faced by Eastern Europeans emigrating to the West in search of a
better life. This year’s edition of the festival, held under the motto The
borders of nature. The borders of culture, brings together different genres
and interpretations of the concept of border. The line-up also features
performers and dance companies from Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Fair. Polifest, the biggest
educational fair in the field of engineering, and organised by the Polytechnic
University in Bucharest, has got under way. It brings together more than 1,800
researchers, teachers, students and alumni, as well as pupils with a passion
for this field. The participants have access to scientific conferences,
workshops, exhibitions of equipment and new technology and presentations of
educational offers and employment opportunities. More than 70 different
companies and research institutes are taking part. (CM)