November 25, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 25.11.2023, 19:00
Kyiv. Romania has assumed a role of utmost importance in ensuring the transit of Ukrainian grain to international markets and remains in solidarity with this country, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Saturday, in an online intervention at the Kyiv Summit on world food security. More than 60% of the total Ukrainian exports of agricultural products were made through the transport corridors in Romania, the head of the Bucharest government also said, and in the next period an increase in the transport capacity is targeted, with the direct support of the international partners and European Union. Ciolacu condemned in the strongest terms the illegal and unjustified attacks by Russia in Ukraine, which constitute war crimes, as well as the Russian bombings near the border with Romania, which affect the infrastructure necessary for the transport of grain to international markets.
Abuse of office. The legal committee of the Romanian Senate must react by Wednesday to the National Anticorruption Directorates request for the prosecution of the former Liberal PM, Senator Florin Cîțu. He is accused of abuses of office with regard to the procurement of anti-Covid vaccines during the pandemic.. Former Health Ministers Vlad Voiculescu and Ioana Mihăilă, members of the Save Romania Union, are also accused of abuse of office, and president Klaus Iohannis needs to green-light the lifting of their immunity. Prosecutors say the three purchased 52 million doses more than necessary, causing a prejudice of 1 bln EUR. The vaccines were purchased at a very difficult time during the pandemic, dominated by uncertainty regarding the evolution of the virus, the availability of mass-production of vaccines and the need for re-vaccination, Vlad Voiculescu explained. The former Health Minister blamed Florin Cîțu for taking the final decision, and in turn the former Liberal Prime Minister said every decision made during his mandate was in good faith and in compliance with the law. The President of the Save Romania Union, Catalin Drula, claims that the case against Vlad Voiculescu is an alarming evidence of how state institutions are used against the political opposition, given that elections are due next year. In turn, the Liberal Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu criticizes the accusations brought by the leader of SRU.
Gaza. Following complex efforts by the Inter-institutional Crisis Cell, through the Romanian Embassy in Cairo and the Romanian Representative Office in Ramallah, 12 Romanian citizens and their family members, evacuated from the Gaza Strip, were brought to Romania on Friday, on board a flight operated by the national company Tarom. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues dialogue with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities with a view to facilitating the return of the other Romanian citizens and their families in Gaza who have requested support in this regard, in keeping with the developments on the ground and the agreement of the parties involved. On Thursday, the Romanian Government approved the normative act on the basis of which financial aid is granted to Romanian citizens evacuated from the Gaza Strip. The 249 people, Romanian citizens and their families, will receive, starting next month, financial aid for food, accommodation and other needs. For food, each person, alone or from a family, will receive the sum of 600 lei, the equivalent of 120 euros. Families with up to five members will receive another 2,000 lei (around 400 euros) for accommodation, and those with more than five members will receive 3,000 lei (600 euros) for accommodation. This financial aid will be granted for four months.
Vehicles. The Romanian state offers the biggest subsidies in the European Union for the purchase of electric and hybrid cars, the state secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, Bogdan Balanişcu, said on Friday. These are vouchers that can reach over 10,000 euros, benefiting those Romanian citizens who want to buy an electric car. It is a way to remove 250 thousand cars from the street and to stop the pollution that these old cars create, the official explained. According to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, approximately 8,000 vehicles with zero CO2 emissions were registered in Romania in the first semester of 2023. This past summer, there were some 33 thousand electric vehicles and 154 thousand hybrid vehicles registered in Romania.
Gaudeamus. Despite the bad weather, visitors came in large numbers to the Gaudeamus Radio Romania Fair on Saturday. In the central pavilion at Romexpo, in Bucharest, the public was attracted by the editorial offer, by the significant price reductions, but also by the events of the day. At the Radio Romania stand, in the square, a comic strip workshop took place, in the presence of the writer Ana Blandiana. There were also two launches of audio books for children. The volume “Once upon a time on the radio (1928-1938)” by Monica Ghita – Stoica, journalist at Radio Romania International, was also presented. The book is addressed to students and philologists, journalists, sociologists, as well as the general public who wants to know where Romania was placed, between 1928 and 1938, with regard to international radio communication. The 30th edition of the Gaudeamus Radio Romania International Book Fair, the longest-running event of its kind in the country, will close its doors on Sunday. (MI)
