October 13, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 13.10.2022, 20:00

AIR DEFENCE Germany and 14 other NATO member states, Romania
included, Thursday agreed on a common initiative regarding the acquisition of
air and missile defence systems, after the war in Ukraine exposed weaknesses in
this respect. The initiative, spearheaded by Germany, is called European Sky
Shield, and the 15 NATO signatories intend to procure, in a first stage, medium-range
defence systems such as the US-manufactured Patriot, already used by several
NATO countries, including Romania. In a subsequent stage, they may purchase the
Israeli-American Arrow 3 system, able to intercept and destroy longer-range
threats. The initiative comes as the war in Ukraine shows that NATO states
themselves need more equipment to secure their air space. Apart from Germany
and Romania, the countries that signed the initiative are Belgium, Bulgaria,
Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway,
Slovakia, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom.

ELECTRICITY The Republic of Moldova will be able to import 100 MW of
electricity from Romania as of Friday, the Romanian energy minister Virgil
Popescu announced. The president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, thanked Romania, after
Ukraine was forced to suspend electricity deliveries following Russia’s strikes
on its energy infrastructure earlier this week. In related news, Romania will
transfer over EUR 25 mln for Moldova to start implementing projects in
strategic sectors like education and public utilities. The funds are part of a
EUR 100 mln non-reimbursable aid package stipulated in a bilateral technical
and financial assistance agreement.

REFUGEES The
number of Ukrainian refugees coming to Romania from Western Europe is on the
rise, the International Organization for Migration reports. Lower living costs
and proximity to Ukraine are some of the reasons, the report also states.
According to the Romanian Border Police, some 70,000 people entered Romania on
Wednesday, of whom 9,000 were Ukrainian nationals, accounting for a 15%
increase compared to the previous day. Over 2.5 million Ukrainians have entered
Romania since February 10.

SCHENGEN In principle, the Netherlands does not oppose Romania’s
Schengen accession, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday
during a visit to Brașov, central Romania. The Dutch official pointed out,
however, that any discussion on this matter will factor in Romania’s fulfilment
of all accession criteria. President Klaus Iohannis expressed confidence Romania
will join the travel-free area, whereas Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă in turn
said that Schengen accession will spell numerous benefits for Romania’s
economy.

UKRAINE Romania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu,
hailed the UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s illegal
annexation of Ukrainian territories. 143 UN members voted in favour, including
Romania. Meanwhile, Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine on Thursday. Drone
strikes targeted critical infrastructure in Kyiv, while the city of Mykolaiv
was hit by shelling, authorities say. In recent weeks Ukraine has been the
target of air strikes carried out by Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. Tehran
denies having delivered such drones to Russia, while Moscow refused to comment.
The Kremlin has also intensified its attacks on civilian targets in response to
the Crimea bridge attack, which Moscow claims is the work of Ukrainian
intelligence. Described as war crimes by a number of Western countries, the
shelling continues despite significant losses sustained by the Russian army.
Bombing focused particularly on residential areas and civilian infrastructure,
damaging 30% of the country’s energy infrastructure. In Brussels, over 50
countries promised to provide military assistance to Ukraine, including air defence
systems. (V.P, A.M.P.)