June 22, 2023

Click here for a roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 22.06.2023, 13:55

AID In today’s
Cabinet meeting, the government is to pass a resolution concerning emergency
aid granted to the citizens affected by extreme weather conditions this year. The
emergency aid totals EUR 1.4 million. Households in the centre, south-west and
south of the country have been hit by heavy rainfalls and other extreme weather
conditions this month, requiring the intervention of military firefighters.

VISIT Economic cooperation and handling the crises
caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine were the main topics on the agenda of the
talks held in Chişinău on Wednesday by the PM of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, and
of Moldova, Dorin Recean. The latter thanked Bucharest for the support given to
Moldova in its EU accession efforts, and mentioned that bilateral relations are
consolidated through the construction of roads, bridges and energy networks. During
his visit to Chișinău, Marcel Ciolacu was accompanied by the Senate speaker
Nicolae Ciucă.

NATURAL GAS The manager of OMV Petrom, Christina Verchere, Thursday
said that in 2027 the first amounts of natural gas would be extracted through
the Neptun Deep project, turning Romania into the largest natural gas producer
in the EU. The statements were made at the government’s headquarters in
Bucharest, where OMV Petrom and Romgaz made an announcement concerning the
development of Neptun Deep, the largest natural gas project in the Romanian
part of the Black Sea. Spanning 2 decades, the project is expected to generate
a gas output 30 times higher than the annual demand, which covers 4.3 million
households. The estimated revenues to the Romanian state will be around EUR 20
bln. Neptun Deep is a major step for our 2030 strategy, aimed at supporting
Romania’s and the region’s energy transition, the OMV Petrom executive added.

INVESTMENT The European Investment Bank Thursday announced new
funding for Romania. The total EUR 675 mln will go into transport, urban
development and small enterprises. EUR 600 mln will be earmarked for the
transport sector, to add to the EU recovery and resilience funding. The EIB
Group and Romania mark 30 years of partnership, with over EUR 17 bln granted by
the bank in more than 170 financing projects since the start of its operations
in the country. Given the progress of Romania’s economy over the past 30 years,
I am proud that the EIB Group was able to help, providing financing for better schools,
hospitals, public infrastructure, universities and transport, and supporting
climate action and small enterprises, said the EIB vice-president, Lilyana
Pavlova, in an event in Bucharest. In turn, Marjut Falkstedt, chief executive
of the European Investment Fund, emphasised that so far the EIF provided
financial support to more than 56,000 Romanian enterprises.

MAYOR The former
mayor of Bucharest’s districts 4 and 5, Cristian Popescu-Piedone, was released
from prison on Wednesday, after the supreme court admitted his appeal for
cancellation. The former mayor has served 1 year out of a 4-year prison
sentence for abuse of office in the Colectiv investigation. He is now entitled
to resume his office as mayor of district 5. The High Court of Cassation
however dismissed the appeals of the other individuals sentenced in the same
case. The head of the Colectiv Association, Eugen Iancu, said the release of
the ex-mayor was not surprising, given that the officials who authorised the
operation of the Colectiv night club had also been freed. Justice in Romania is
an overpaid embarrassment, Iancu said. On the night of 30 October 2015, 64 youth
died in a fire during a rock concert in the Colectiv night club. After legal
proceedings spanning several years, prison sentences were given to mayor
Piedone, the club owners, the firefighters who inspected the club without
taking the required fire safety measures and the pyrotechnicians in charge of
the fireworks during the show.

UKRAINE The US will provide USD 1.3 million worth of
additional aid for the Ukrainian economy, particularly its essential
infrastructure, the US State Secretary Antony Blinken announced at the
International Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. In turn, the European
Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, promised the bloc would create a
EUR 50 bln fund for Kyiv in the next 4 years. Scores of high-ranking
politicians and business people from around the world take part in the
conference. Romania is represented by its new foreign minister, Luminiţa
Odobescu.

FOOTBALL Romania lost 3-0 to Spain in Bucharest on Wednesday night, in the Under-21
European football championships that the country is hosting jointly with Georgia. Romania plays in B, alongside
Spain, Ukraine and Croatia. The final tournament takes place between 21 June
and 8 July and brings together 16 teams, divided into 4 groups. Two of them
play in Romania, in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, and the other 2 in Georgia. Romania
is also hosting 2 quarter-finals and a semi-final. The top 3 ranking teams in
the tournament qualify into the Olympic Games due in Paris next year. (AMP)