June 18, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.06.2022, 20:00

MOLDOVA – A joint session of the Romanian and Moldovan Parliaments
was held on Saturday in Chișinău. This is the first time such an event takes
place. Romanian and Moldovan MPs conveyed a joint message in support of Moldova
being granted EU candidate status. Attending the meeting was Moldova’s
president, Maia Sandu, who expressed hope Moldova should be granted EU
candidate status. In response to Friday’s recommendation issued by the European
Commission, president Sandu says the candidate status will represent a
long-expected result, and that Chișinău will rely on Bucharest’s support while
moving forward. The future of the Republic of Moldova is in the great European
family, and Romania is and will be Moldova’s most trusted partner, the speaker
of the Romanian Senate, Florin Cîțu, said in turn. The speaker of the Romanian
Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, also said Romania and the Republic of
Moldova must work together to ensure better living standards for their
citizens. At the end of the session, the president of the Moldovan Parliament,
Igor Grosu, and the speakers of two chambers of the Romanian Parliament signed
a joint declaration reiterating the full support of all political parties in
Romania for the development, democratic consolidation and European integration
of the Republic of Moldova. The document also condemns the illegal, unprovoked and
unwarranted aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

AUR – The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) in opposition
has condemned the actions of Moldovan authorities regarding the party leader,
George Simion, who is also the leader of the AUR parliamentary group. George
Simion was detained on Chișinău airport while trying to enter Moldova together
with a delegation of the Romanian Parliament. Simion was detained after being
banned during the mandate of the former pro-Russian president, Igor Dodon,
accused of endangering Moldovan statehood. The ban was not lifted by the
current pro-European administration. Simion was included on the list of the
Romanian delegation and was not informed beforehand regarding the ban
preventing him from entering the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
Described as a turbulent populist by the Bucharest media, Simion has always
advocated the unification of Romania and Moldova.

WAR IN UKRAINE – The Russian Army has strengthened its position on Snake
Island in the Black Sea, occupied at the start of the war, where it installed
additional defense systems. This suggests the Russians are unwilling to give up
this strategic point, despite the threats posed by the new Caesar and HIMARS
artillery and missile systems received by the Ukrainian forces. Western
military experts believe the latest open-source satellite footage of the small
island off the Ukrainian and Romanian coast reveals anti-air systems installed
by the Russians both on land as well as on nearby ships. The West has provided
Ukraine with more mobile artillery systems, which in theory should allow them
to hit Snake Island. Experts say the island has both a military and an economic
strategic value, since whoever controls the island controls the traffic of
civilian watercraft in the Black Sea. A former territory of Romania, annexed by
the USSR and taken over by Ukraine in 1991, Snake Island is located in an area
rich in oil and natural gas.

DEATH -
Actor Valentin Uritescu, one of the most popular actors of the last decades,
has passed away aged 81. Over the course of his long career, he generally
played supporting roles in scores of films and theatre plays. Five years ago he
was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the Gopo Awards Gala. He released
a memoirs collection entitled Take care of your good side. Memoirs.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis players Sorana Cîrstea and Simona Halep are on Sunday competing
in the semi-finals of the WTA 250 tournament in Birmingham, totaling some 250
thousand dollars in prizes. In the first semi-final, Cîrstea will take on Shuai
Zhang of China, the competition’s eighth seed. In the second semi-final, Simona
Halep will go up against Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil. Originally slated for
Saturday, the two matches were postponed due to heavy rain. (VP)