March 13, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 13.03.2022, 20:00

VISIT The Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid thanked Romania, during a
visit to Bucharest on Sunday, for the assistance given to Ukrainian refugees,
especially Israelis, and praised the long-lasting Israeli-Romanian friendship.
He called on the Russian Federation to resolve the conflict with Ukraine
through negotiations. We will do everything in our power to reach a solution
for peace. We are working together with our allies-the US and European
partners-to try to end this tragedy as soon as possible, the Israeli foreign
minister said. In turn, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu reiterated
Romania’s commitment to providing continuing assistance for the evacuation of
Israeli citizens and Jewish people from Ukraine. The severe multidimensional
crisis caused by Russia’s illegal military aggression against Ukraine is not
just a regional problem, not only a European problem, but has effects on a
global scale, Bogdan Aurescu said. During his meeting with the Israeli
official, the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucǎ firmly condemned Russia’s unprovoked,
unjustified and illegal aggression in Ukraine, and praised the EU’s and NATO’s
strong and unified response to consolidate the eastern flank and to guarantee
security.

CONSULTATIONS The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is having political
consultations in Bucharest on Monday with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di
Maio. The visit takes place in the context of Russia’s illegal military
aggression in Ukraine and of Italy’s interest in supporting the management of
the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Bogdan Aurescu and Luigi Di Maio will discuss
means to manage the multiple effects of the Russian invasion, on efforts to
stop the conflict, on sanctions against Russia and on consolidating NATO’s
eastern flank. On the other hand, the 2 foreign ministers will discuss means to
develop and deepen the Romanian-Italian consolidated strategic partnership and
the bilateral and sectoral economic cooperation.

FOODSTUFF The agriculture minister Adrian Chesnoiu once again promised on
Sunday that Romania does not run the risk of a foodstuff crisis. In a meeting with
representatives of retail chains and Romanian sunflower oil producers, he said
Romania produces enough food to cover the national demand. He also recommended
that people refrain from buying more than they need, so that everybody may have
access to basic food stuffs. The statements come after substantial amounts of
sunflower oil were purchased in recent days for fear that shops would run out
of this product. Speculations on the topic are fuelled by the fact that
war-affected Ukraine is the world’s biggest sunflower seed exporter. Romanian
authorities promised that Romania has sufficient foodstuff stocks, including
sunflower oil. Just days before, for fear of skyrocketing fuel prices,
unprecedented queuing was reported in petrol stations. The previous weekend,
foreign currency was heavily purchased in Romania, amid rumours that the
national currency would plummet. Romanian authorities warned once again that
such fake news is designed to create panic among people.

CENSUS Beginning on March 14, for 4 months, data will be collected for a
population and household census in Romania. The operation is conducted every 10
years and is necessary for the production of official national and European
statistics. The census was originally scheduled to take place last year, but
was postponed over the COVID-19 pandemic. This year brings a novelty, in that
self-census options are available. Self-census is done online, based on a
simple procedure, according to the authorities. Citizens are to fill in an
online pre-registration form at www.recensamantromania.ro, followed by the
questionnaires for each member of the household. Those who do not want or
cannot fill in those forms will be assisted by census operators in door-to-door
visits.

REFUGEES The Romanian transport ministry launched an app for the Ukrainian
refugees. The app includes information in Ukrainian, English and Romanian on
the green transport corridors in Romania, covering areas like the road, railway
and air network, customs, train stations, petrol stations and airports. Ukrainian
refugees may travel free of charge in Romania, based on a government resolution
in this respect. Moreover, the emergency number 112 and the special children
emergency number, 119, are available for calls in Ukrainian as well. Additional
measures were taken in border checkpoints to prevent human trafficking. As of
Friday, another online platform has also been available, centralising
assistance offers for displaced Ukrainians. On Saturday, several cities in
Romania saw various solidarity actions with Ukraine. In Bucharest, the National
Arena hosted a charity concert for refugees, with over 35 Romanian and foreign
artists taking part, which raised some EUR 800,000. Solidarity events were also
organised in Constanţa, Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Piatra Neamţ and Roman. Around 400,000
Ukrainian nationals have entered Romania since the start of the Russian
invasion. Many of them have already left for Western Europe.

UKRAINE Russian shelling continued in Ukraine on Sunday. NATO expects the
fighting and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to get worse in the coming days.
The Alliance’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has once again called on
Vladimir Putin to stop the war, to pull out all troops and accept
diplomacy. In Vatican, Pope Francis voiced on Sunday his harshest
condemnation yet of the war in Ukraine, saying that the unacceptable
armed aggression must end. Pope Francis added that bombing hospitals and
other civilian targets is barbaric and has no valid strategic reason.

COVID-19 1,626 new SARS-CoV-2 infection cases were reported in Romania for
the past 24 hours. According to the health ministry, 26 related deaths were
also registered on Sunday, 5 of them from a previous date. Over 3,700 patients
are hospitalised, 580 of whom are in intensive care. On March 9th Romania
lifted all Covid-related restrictions, and no more rules are in place to
prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (A.M.P.)