August 4, 2023
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 04.08.2023, 13:55
Tour. The Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu has officially confirmed that a tour of Africa is being prepared for Romanias President Klaus Iohannis. “Romania aims to bring ties with Sub-Saharan Africa to a higher level, adapted to the new Romanian and African realities and the new strategic interest of each partner. This revival will be done by pursuing common values and interests, mainly in political and economic terms, of multilateral and international cooperation. The political reconnection to the African space is done through the development and diversification of bilateral relations with African states, including through the revitalization of high-level visits both in Romania and on the African continent”, said the Romanian official.
Traffic. Naval traffic is very intense at the exit from the Danube to the Black Sea, after Russia attacked the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail. In this situation, the Romanian officials of the River Administration of the Lower Danube in Galati decided, on Thursday, to only allow vessels to go out to sea and only then to sail in the opposite direction. The measure is in force also today. After Russias withdrawal from the agreement that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea, the Danube is used as an export route for agricultural products from Ukraine. The grains are loaded on barges that pass through the territorial waters of Romania to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanța.Neptun Deep. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu says the Neptun Deep project, which involves the extraction of gas from the Black Sea, is a strategic one, and Romania will become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union. The development plan for the Domino and Pelican South deposits in the Neptun Deep perimeter has been confirmed by the National Agency for Mineral Resources, according to a post on the Governments Facebook page. According to the cited source, OMV Petrom and Romgaz will invest up to 4 billion euros in this stage of project development, which will generate a production of about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The first quantities of gas from the Black Sea would be extracted in 2027.
Reform. The emergency ordinance regarding the public administration reform would come into force in Romania starting September 1, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has stated. A more flexible state is needed, it is essential to reduce costs and merge institutions whose activities overlap, said the prime minister, who asked the Ministry of Finance to finalize as soon as possible the normative act that must substantially reduce expenses in the budget system. The Prime Minister said that he will not give up on this reform, regardless of pressure. The trade unionists, however, demand that the Government abandon the draft ordinance and start consultations with the stakeholders. They argue that the solution is not to cut employees means of subsistence, namely meal vouchers or food allowances, but rather to significantly reduce the overburdened central government apparatus, to implement the referendum decision to reduce the number of parliamentarians or even to cut public subsidies for political parties . The trade union confederations warn that, in its current form, the normative act will drastically reduce incomes in the budget sector and will trigger large-scale social conflicts.
Firefighters. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu congratulated the Romanian rescuers who completed their mission in Greece on Friday for their “altruism, courage and efforts”. He wished success to the Romanian firefighters who are replacing them to continue the mission of helping the population and the authorities to put out the fires in other countries. “Romania and Europe stand in solidarity with the Greek people, who are in need of support, and we hope that, together, we can return things to normal as soon as possible!”, stated Marcel Ciolacu. On Friday, Romania sent to Greece a new specialized module for extinguishing forest fires, in the context of the massive vegetation fires that the Greek state has been faced with recently. 90 Romanian firefighters from the Inspectorates for Emergency Situations replaced their colleagues who participated in a similar mission in the last two weeks, within the European Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union.
Football. The Romanian teams Farul Constanța, FCSB and Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe have qualified for the third preliminary round of the UEFA Conference League. CFR Cluj missed the goal, being eliminated by the Turkish team Adana Demirspor. The Romanian champion Farul Constanta got past the Armenian team Urartu with a double 3-2, at home and away, and is going to take on FC Flora Tallinn from Estonia. The winner of the Romanian Cup, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe, won last night 4-0 and got 6-0 on aggregate against ŢSKA Sofia of Bulgaria. Sepsi is now preparing for the two matches against FC Aktobe from Kazakhstan. The vice-champion FCSB defeated the Bulgarian team ŢSKA 1948 3-2 (1-0) and will play against the vice-champion of Denmark, FC Nordsjaelland. The matches in the third preliminary round for the Conference League will be played on August 10 and 17. (MI)
