September 20, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Warning: Trying to access array offset on null in /home/web/rri.ro/public/wp-content/themes/rri/template-parts/content.php on line 98
Newsroom, 20.09.2023, 13:55

UN – Romania has achieved 62% of its national targets with respect to the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said at a summit held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He also said Romania made significant progress in respect of the goals relating to environmental protection and curbing climate change. Iohannis pointed out that in the seven years left until 2030 the international community must intensify cooperation, for actions that generate results are not possible without unity, solidarity and strong multilateral involvement. He also said Romania is a partner “in building a sustainable society and economy.”

GOVERNMENT — Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is today holding talks with trade unions and employers’ associations on the new fiscal measures set to take effect in Romania. The bill is first to be passed by the PSD-PNL Government, and then the ruling coalition will take responsibility for it before Parliament, most likely next week. The document includes new fiscal measures aimed at strengthening the fight against tax evasion and cutting budget spending. The Opposition argues that the proposed measures will have a negative impact on the economy, on entrepreneurs and the liberal professions. Save Romania Union announced it was already discussing with other parliamentary parties the options for a no-confidence motion.

COURT – Romania is participating, today in The Hague, before the International Court of Justice, as an intervening state, in the pleadings in the case initiated by Ukraine against the Russian Federation regarding accusations of genocide. According to a press release of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, for reasons of efficiency and good administration of justice, considering the extremely close legal positions in this case and the very large number of interveners, Romania, together with Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden, will present a joint plea. The Ministry emphasizes that the participation in these procedures reflects the importance Romania gives to complying with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as the trust in the role of the International Court of Justice, the main judicial body of the UN.

MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies has today rejected the simple motion tabled by Save Romania Union and the Force of the Right, from the centre-right opposition, against the Social-Democratic Minister of Health Alexandru Rafila. The initiators are blaming Rafila, among other things, for the way he managed the health reforms and investment stipulated in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Rafila has rejected the allegations and has deemed the oppositions move as demagogical.

EXPLOSION – An explosion took place on Wednesday morning on a Togo-flagged ship in the Black Sea, near the Romanian port of Sulina. The Regional Port Authority said that, at the request of the ships captain, all 12 crew members were brought to Sulina safely and are undergoing medical investigations. Representatives of the Coast Guard and the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea also participated in the rescue operation of the l ships crew. “The cause of the explosion is unknown for the time being. Whether or not it was due to a mine remains to be established by the Ministry of Defense”, the port authority said. The Naval Forces General Staff decided to send to Sulina a military ship specialized in the detection of sea mines. Sulina is located close to Romanias border with Ukraine.

MEETING – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, discussed at the UN headquarters in New York, with his Kazakh counterpart, Kasîm-Jomart Tokaev, about boosting bilateral trade and cooperation in the energy sector. Iohannis wrote on X, the former Twitter, that he had fruitful talks with the leader of Romania’s largest economic partner in Central Asia. (EE)