April 6, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 06.04.2023, 19:47

Visit.
The former president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said on
Thursday in Bucharest that there were expectations that were not met by those
who are leading the European Union and criticised the fact that Romania did not
yet join the Schengen area. He also said Romania was in a difficult
neighbourhood. Juncker was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the
Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, as part as events held by this
institution to celebrate its 110th anniversary. Juncker, who was the
head of the European Commission between 2014 and 2019, also had talks with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis.

Security.
Regional security was one of the most important subjects discussed on Thursday
in Chişinău by the prime minister of the Republic of Moldova Dorin Recean and
his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki. War and the Russian propaganda are
common threats, said Morawiecki, adding that Poland will support the Moldovan
authorities to fight both. With respect to Moldova’s European Union membership,
he said a fast-track route is possible. According to Radio Chişinău, the two
prime ministers also signed an agreement in the field of energy security.

Protests. Romanian
farmers are planning a series of protests in several counties and in Bucharest
on Friday, dissatisfied with the solution found by the European Commission to
the problems and serious imbalances facing the Romanian agri-food sector,
against the background of market distortions caused by the armed conflict in
Ukraine. According to the farmers, the total elimination, since the middle of
last year, of customs duties on all goods from Ukraine has exported the effects
of the war, commercially speaking, to the neighbouring countries, creating an
involuntary dumping effect, for it encouraged Ukrainian farmers to sell
cheaper. The representatives of Romanian farmers point out that this measure
has not helped and will not help Ukrainian farmers to resume their production
cycle, while severely disrupting the market in Romania.

Book
fair. The Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair, organised for
the 22nd time in the heart of Transylvania, in the city of Cluj,
takes place from Thursday until Sunday. The event is hosted in 14 exhibition
pavilions, including over 60 stands that bring together publishing houses,
Romanian and foreign book distributors, producers and distributors of music and
games. The virtual stands of the participants can be found on www.gaudeamus.ro,
in the online version of the fair, so that the editorial novelties, special
offers and surprises prepared by the participants are also accessible to book
lovers who cannot visit the fair.

Football. Romania went up six places in the FIFA
men’s ranking to reach no. 46. Switzerland, Romania’s main adversary in their
Euro 2024 qualifying group, are on 12th place. The other teams in
the group are Israel, no. 78 in the FIFA ranking, Belarus, at no. 98, Kosovo,
at no. 107, and Andorra, at no. 153. World champions Argentina top the FIFA
ranking, followed by France, who lost the 2022 World Cup final, while the
former leader Brazil dropped to third place. (CM)