March 1, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 01.03.2023, 13:55

Visit. Romanian
prime minister Nicolae Ciucă assured visiting Moldovan prime minister
Dorin Recean of Romania’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognised borders. We
are seeing more and more attempts to destabilise the Republic of Moldova, to
create artificial tensions and hostile narratives based on the intentional
dissemination of fake news, said prime minister Ciucă.
Dorin Recean said Bucharest is his country’s most important partner. Bucharest
has helped us enormously in overcoming the energy crisis. Bucharest remains our
advocate in all European institutions so that we can make fast progress on our
European path, the Moldovan prime minister added. This is his first official visit abroad since taking office.
Moldova’s president Maia Sandu was also on a visit to Bucharest last week.

Warning. The Romanian
authorities today resumed exercises for public warning in the event of an
emergency. Warning systems will be activated on the first Wednesday of every
month, as was the case before the pandemic. TV networks are running an
information campaign containing useful video explaining how people should react
in the event of an earthquake. Another source of information is a platform
entitled Fii pregatit managed by the
Department for Emergency Situations. The head of this department Raed Arafat
said these public warning activities are not meant to alarm the people, but to
prepare them.

EPPO. 121 cases opened last year by the European Public Prosecutor’s
Office targeted Romania, with the estimated damages standing at over 508
million euros, the institution said in its annual report published today. Also,
at the end of last year, Romania was involved in ten active cross-border
investigations. A number of persons were indicted in Romania who were involved
in five cases investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, with a
final court decision being issued in one case. Most offences investigated in
connection to Romania last year referred to non-procurement and procurement
expenditure fraud, non-VAT and VAT fraud, corruption and money laundering.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, in which 22 of the European Union’s
member states are taking part, including Romania, is an independent body
responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes
against the financial interests of the EU. It consists of 112 European
delegated prosecutors, including 11 from Romania.

Spring. Romania celebrates the
Mărțișor custom today to mark the first day of spring. Early 20th
century ethnologists found this ancient custom was practiced in the Romanian,
as well as the Bulgarian and Albanian communities in the Balkans. In rural
Romania, the Mărțișor was viewed as protection against disease and ill luck. A
silver coin with a wool or cotton red and white thread would be tied around
children’s wrists to protect them from disease. 12 days later, the coins would
be tied to a tree to ensure that the tree would yield fruit, or around the neck
of cattle to keep them healthy. Adopted by the urban world to become a fashion,
the Mărțișor today comes in all shapes and forms, including as a small piece of
jewelry to be worn as a broach or a necklace. The Mărțișor was inscribed in the
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017, following a joint
application from Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria and North
Macedonia.

Awards.
The production Against Time by the young Romanian student Alexandra Manda won
the Best Animal Award and the Best Original Song Award at the Cannes World Film
Festival – Remember the Future. Made as a graduation project, the film is about
the connection between mountain rescuers and avalanche dogs and the dangers
they face in their missions. Cannes World Film Festival – Remember the Future
aims to showcase the new generation of emerging talent in the world of cinema. (CM)