July 18, 2024

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.07.2024, 13:55

Meeting – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, today, in the fourth meeting of the European Political Community, which is taking place in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. According to a Presidential Administration press release, the program of the meeting includes a plenary session and working groups, and the discussions focus on topics such as security in Europe, support for Ukraine, challenges related to migration, protecting democracy and promoting energy security. During the debates, President Iohannis will address current issues regarding the continuation of support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in the context of Russia’s war of aggression. On the sidelines of the plenary session, an informal meeting of the Coordination Group for the Republic of Moldova is scheduled. The members of the group, which includes the leaders from Romania, France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, the EU, alongside the Republic of Moldova, will discuss aspects related to Chişinău’s resilience in dealing with multiple current threats.

EP – Today, the European Parliament is voting on a proposal for Ursula von der Leyen to obtain a new mandate as President of the European Commission. To be re-elected, Ursula von der Leyen (65) needs the votes of at least 361 of the 720 MEPs. On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) announced that it found irregularities related to the transparency of the contracts concluded by the European Commission for the purchase of anti-COVID-19 vaccines, a case that directly targets Ursula von der Leyen. Also on Wednesday, the new European Parliament voted its first resolution, aimed at financial, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine, to help it repel Russia’s attacks.

Football – The winner of the Romanian Football Cup, Corvinul Hunedoara (from center-western Romania), plays, today, in Sibiu (center) against the Hungarian team Paksi FC in the decisive leg of the first preliminary round of the Europa League. In the first match, Corvinul, returning to the European cups after a break of 42 years, won, away from home, 4-0 against the vice-champion Hungary. If it passes Paksi FC, Corvinul Hunedoara will play in the second preliminary round of the Europa League with the Croatian team HNK Rijeka. The other Romanian teams participating in the European competitions are the Romanian football champions, FCSB (Bucharest), CFR Cluj (from north-western Romania) and Universitatea Craiova (south-western Romania).

Campaign – The Romanian government has today launched the campaign “We qualify Romania”, whose objective, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said, is to allow Romanians access to the “Visa Waiver” program. The PM claims that there is “a huge opportunity” and urged all Romanians who have valid B1 or B2 visas and those who had such a visa to apply for its renewal. The Romanian government has committed to meeting the accession criteria by the end of the American fiscal year, which ends on September 30. The renewal of the visa for the United States costs the same as a normal visa, i.e. 185 dollars (approx. 840 lei). Romania can enter the “Visa Waiver” program in 2025 if the visa refusal rate is below 3%. Over the past three years, it has fallen from 17% in 2021 to 8% last year. The “Visa Waiver” is a US government program that allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days for tourism, business, or transit through the US territory without a visa.

Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian plays, today, against the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, in the round of 16 of the WTA 250 tournament in Palermo (Italy), with total prizes up for grabs worth over 230,000 Euros. Jaqueline Cristian has qualified for the round of 16 after defeating the Argentinean Julia Riera in two sets, 6-3, 6-2, on Tuesday. The Romanian Irina Begu has also qualified for the quarter-finals of the Palermo tournament, after defeating the Dutch Arantxa Rus, seed no. 5, score 6-2, 7-5. (LS)