March 23, 2023
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 23.03.2023, 13:55
Brussels — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, on Thursday and Friday, in the spring meeting of the European Council and in the Euro Summit in an extended format, hosted by Brussels. According to the Presidential Administration, they will tackle the situation in Ukraine, especially food security and the reconstruction process, climate change and measures to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. “We must be united on the side of Ukraine, we must be in solidarity with Ukraine, we must help Ukraine with everything we can. It is very important that Ukraine has a strong position and that we can do many things”, said the Romanian president in a press conference before the start of the Council. There will be other extremely important topics, President Iohannis also said, related to the economy, the single market, competitiveness. They will discuss the best methods to prevent the deindustrialization of Europe and the energy issue, as well as the situation of the Republic of Moldova, which will receive substantial additional aid from the EU.
Chisinau – On a visit to Chisinau, accompanied by several ministers, the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă had talks with the President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu and with the Prime Minister Dorin Recean. The meetings focused on issues related to the accession of this state to the EU, the way in which the republics economy can develop, the path to democratic reforms and the situation in the area in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. The leader from Chisinau thanked Romania for the support provided for the population and the economy of the Republic of Moldova to get through the complicated winter, caused by an exponential increase in energy and gas costs, and through the acute lack of supply of these resources, in particular following the interruption of supply by Gazprom for several months. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă thanked, in turn, for the decision of the Moldovan Parliament to adapt the legislation in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court, respectively to grant the Romanian language the status of official language in the Republic of Moldova. Consolidating the security environment in the Republic of Moldova and ensuring the resources to combat any form of destabilization of this country is a priority for Romania, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă also said during the discussions with Dorin Recean. Romania is our advocate in all European institutions, therefore we can advance on our European path, said the Moldovan Prime Minister. During the meetings, the implementation stage of the support program for the Republic of Moldova presented, financed with 100 million Euros by the Government of Romania. In this sense, the Romanian Prime Minister announced the release of the first tranche worth 25 million Euros of this program.
London – The Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is on an official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the invitation of his counterpart, James Cleverly. The two officials will discuss bilateral strategic partnership relations, as well as international developments, with an emphasis on the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Republic of Moldova, the relations between the EU and the United Kingdom and cooperation within NATO. On Wednesday, minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Defense, Ben Wallace, with whom he discussed, among other things, bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and within the North Atlantic Alliance, with an emphasis on the stability and security of the Black Sea. On the sidelines of the visit, the heads of the Romanian and British diplomacies will sign the updated Joint Declaration of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and will open the first edition of the Romania – United Kingdom Bilateral Forum.
Protests – France is almost blocked today, on the ninth day of national mobilization against the pension reform. With a general strike in many areas and street demonstrations announced in almost 300 localities, the trade unions and the opposition want to force the French government to withdraw the law it has just adopted, which provides for the increase in the retirement age, from 62 to 64 years old. On Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron said that the reform was an unfortunate necessity to protect the pension system and that he accepted its unpopularity.
Film – The first feature film of the Romanian director Alexandru Belc – “Metronome” will be screened on Friday at the Muranów cinema in Warsaw. The film represents Romania at the Francophone Film Festival in Poland, which takes place between March 22 and 26 in Warsaw. Along with the Romanian film, the Festival includes eight other fiction films from Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Morocco, proposed by the French Institute in Poland, which is also the main organizer. At the most recent edition of the Cannes Film Festival, “Metronome” was awarded the Best Director Award in the “Un certain regard” section. (LS)
