November 23, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 23.11.2022, 13:55

EU — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has hailed the conclusions of the European Commission’s report saying that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Romania is coming to an end. A stage has ended but efforts must further be made as reforms are vital, Iohannis said. In turn, PM Nicolae Ciuca said in a communiqué that the European Commission’s report encourages the government to continue on the path of supporting the independence of justice and the fight against corruption to the benefit of the Romanian society.

NATO – A meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held in Bucharest on November 29-30, 2022. The meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. Attending will also be the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden.

VISIT – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis is today paying an official visit to Latvia, to have talks with his counterpart Egils Levits, prime minister Krisjanis Karins and with Parliament speaker Edvards Smiltens. According to the Romanian Presidency, the visit marks 100 years of diplomatic ties between Romania and Latvia. President Iohannis will pay an official visit to Lithuania on Thursday. On Friday, he will take part in a summit with his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, and in the international symposium “The Idea of Europe”. Talks will focus on ways to boost bilateral relations, the European and international agenda and cooperation within NATO.

GOVERNMENTS — The Romanian and Spanish governments are today holding their first joint session, in Castellon de la Plana, Spain. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, development, labor, health and agriculture are participating. The meeting previews the 10th anniversary next year of the establishment of the Romanian-Spanish strategic partnership. Romania and Spain are engaged in substantial political dialogue and dynamic and diverse economic and sectoral cooperation and share similar approaches within the European Union and NATO, PM Ciuca said.

UKRAINE — The US and the European Union will offer Ukraine financial aid worth 4.5 billion dollars and 2.5 billion euros respectively, US Treasury Secretary Jenet Yellen and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen announced. The European official confirmed that Ukraine will receive in 2023 from Europe some 18 billion euros financial aid. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba insisted on the need for Europe to impose fresh sanctions on Moscow and called on European countries to increase weapon deliveries, air defence systems in particular.

SCHENGEN — The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) said that the European experts’ additional evaluation mission to Romania has reconfirmed that the country is meeting the criteria for accession to the Schengen area, including as regards its visa policy and data protection. MAE hailed in a release the mission’s report, voicing confidence that the results will be carefully analyzed by all European partners in the sense of acknowledging the added value Romania’s joining Schengen would bring. (EE)