May 31, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 31.05.2022, 20:00

WAR IN UKRAINE –Russian forces are advancing in
eastern Ukraine, with heavy clashes with the Ukrainian army taking place in the
center of Severodonetsk. Together with Lysychansk, from which it is only
separated by a river, Severodonetsk is one of the last Ukrainian strongholds in
the Donbas mining region, which Russia claims is at the moment the only target
of its so-called special military operation. Ukraine’s president
Volodymyr Zelensky admitted the Ukrainian army is in difficulty in this region.
The Ukrainian forces say, however, that they have regained ground in the south,
especially in the Kherson area, near Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian troops have withdrawn
from the village of Mykolaivka, in the Kherson region. The city of Kherson was
occupied by the Russian troops as early as the beginning of March, soon after
the launch of the Russian invasion on February 24, and commentators say
retaking the city would have a symbolic, as well as a strategic, importance.

SANCTIONS – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, said on the
sidelines of the EU Council Summit in Brussels that risks in the Black Sea
region are escalating, and concerted efforts are needed to provide assistance
and an adequate response to the consequences of the war in Ukraine. The
president expressed concern with developments on the ground, both in terms of
security as well as humanitarian assistance in eastern and southern Ukraine,
highlighting the humanitarian support and facilitating grains exports via the
port of Constanța and other ports on the Danube. President Iohannis pointed out the
importance of supporting the EU accession of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia by
sending out a strong message of political
solidarity. EU leaders agreed in Brussels to block a large part of Russian oil
imports. The last-minute compromise deal will, for the time being, only affect
deliveries by sea but not those by pipeline, which Hungary opposed. European
Council president Charles Michel said, however, that the agreement cuts off a
big source of financing for the Russian war machine. The measure is part of a
sixth package of sanctions against Russia since the start of the latter’s
invasion of Ukraine.

PNRR – The Romanian Ministry for Investment and European Projects has
submitted to the European Commission the first funding request worth 3 billion
EUR under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). 2 billion EUR is
non-refundable financial aid, while approximately 1 billion will consist of
loans. The document includes the 21 milestones for the 4th quarter
of last year. The next funding request
will be submitted in the third quarter of 2022 and will comprise the milestones
and targets related to the first two quarters of this year.

CENSUS – Romania’s
population and housing census entered its final phase on Tuesday, with census
workers expected to conduct field interviews until July 17. The census will
cover everyone, irrespective of citizenship, who was registered as having their
residence in Romania on December 1, 2021, meaning they had been living here for
at least one year. Census refusal may lead to fines between 200 and 600 EUR,
with persons preventing access to residential compounds facing fines between
300 and 1,000 EUR. According to the National Institute for Statistics, during
the self-enumeration phase that ended on May 27, 11 million forms were
recorded, 8.9 million of which were valid, which accounts for 46.8% of the
population eligible for survey on December 1, 2021.

RESIGNATION – Dacian Cioloș, former president of USR in
opposition, has resigned from the party along with four other MEPs. In a post
on Facebok, Cioloș announced it was a difficult decision he took in order to
start a new project. Dacian Cioloș wants to found a new party called REPER that
will be part of Renew Europe in the European Parliament. We recall Dacian
Cioloș stepped down as USR president in January, a few months after winning the
internal election. At the time, Cioloș claimed certain party leaders were
trying to block his projects. (CM & VP)