December 7, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 07.12.2022, 19:29

JHA — The Romanian Justice Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, will participate, in Brussels, between December 7-14, in the works of the Justice and Home Affairs Council and of the General Affairs Council (CAG) of the European Union. According to JHAC communique, on the sidelines and in the period between the two councils, the Justice Minister will have a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts from other member states and EU officials, in Brussels and Luxembourg. Within the JAH Council, minister Predoiu will present Romanias position regarding the legal instruments and European policies in the field of Justice on the Councils agenda. We remind you that the Home Affairs section of the JHA Council is to decide on the admission of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia to the free movement Schengen Area.

Schengen — Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă welcomed, on Wednesday, the completion by the Parliament in The Hague of the procedure for approving the position of the Government of the Netherlands in favor of Romanias accession to Schengen. ‘We appreciate the recent cooperation with our Dutch partners and we consider that this result is a clear recognition of Romanias preparation,’ the Romanian Prime Minister Ciucă wrote on the Governments Twitter account on Wednesday. In turn, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, welcomed the favorable result of the vote, as a result of the close and intense political dialogue with the Dutch partners. Austria remains the only EU state that opposes the entry of Romania and Bulgaria.

Statistics — The Gross Domestic Product of the European Union grew by 0.4%, and that of the Eurozone by 0.3%, in the third quarter of 2022, as compared to the previous three months, and Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and Romania had the more significant advance – shows the data published on Wednesday by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat). The economy grew by 2.3% in Ireland and by 1.3% in Cyprus, Malta and Romania. The most significant decline was recorded in Estonia (minus 1.8%), Latvia (minus 1.7%) and Slovenia (minus 1.4%). Among the EU member states, the most significant annual advance of the economy was recorded in Ireland (10.6%), Croatia (5.5%), Cyprus (5.4%), Malta (5.2%), Portugal (4.9%) and Romania (4.7%), the only decreases being in Estonia (minus 2.3%) and Latvia (minus 0.4%).

CAP – The European Commission on Wednesday approved the strategic plans of Romania and Bulgaria within the Common Agricultural Policy. Almost 15 billion Euros will be made available for Romania. Bucharest’s plan aims at improving farmers means of subsistence and their competitiveness. Besides the support for income, over one billion Euros will be allocated to investments in farms and processing units. Romania uses about 40% of its budget for rural development, to encourage ecological practices in areas of high natural value, in order to protect biodiversity. About 11 thousand hectares of land will be subject to such practices. In order to maintain the attractiveness of rural areas in Romania, the plan will support the creation of over 12 thousand jobs, with financing for enterprises and infrastructure.

Gaudeamus — Wednesday saw the opening in Bucharest of the 29th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair organized by Radio Romania. Until Sunday, 200 participants will offer the public a varied range of editorial products, on different supports, suitable for all ages and fields of interest, music and educational games. More than 600 editorial events and related projects were announced. For the first time, two spaces dedicated to interactive activities for the youngest visitors have been set up within the fair. All stands will also be found in virtual format on the gaudeamus.ro website. The honorary president of this years edition is the writer Ana Blandiana.

Agreement – The governments of Romania and the State of Kuwait signed an agreement on cooperation in the military field, the Romanian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. The agreement will provide the legal framework for cooperation between the two sides in areas of mutual interest such as military training and education, information exchange, military history and geography, and cultural activities. According to the Defense Ministry, during the visit of the delegation from Kuwait, discussions regarding the bilateral political-military dialogue took place. Against this background, the discussions focused on bilateral cooperation, the approach to the security situation in the Black Sea area and the Middle East and the efforts of the two countries to ensure stability at the regional level, the Defense Ministry mentions. (LS)