September 7, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 07.09.2023, 20:00

DRONE – NATO does not have
any indication that the drone debris found on the Romanian territory was caused
by an intentional attack launched by Moscow, the Alliance’s Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg said before the European Parliament on Thursday adding that
they are waiting for the outcome of an ongoing investigation, Reuters
reports. The North-Atlantic Alliance had
previously voiced its strong solidarity with Romania, after being informed on
the incident close to this country’s border with Ukraine. We are going to
closely monitor the situation and keep in touch with our ally, Romania, NATO
says. According to Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, provided the drone is
confirmed as belonging to Russia, the incident is tantamount to a severe
violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania. A day
before, the Romanian official had said no parts of a drone or any other device
have reached Romania.

INVESTMENT – On the sidelines
of the 3SI business forum, Romania presented two projects worth over 200 mln
EUR, including a high-performing AI computer, Minister for Research, Innovation
and Digitization, Bogdan Ivan has said. The Romanian official said the
Government on Friday will pass a decree that will simplify public procurement
in the field of IT. More specifically, the decree will eliminate 50% of
bureaucracy in terms of public procurement to make sure the over 1 bln EUR for
the government cloud will arrive in time, Minister Ivan pointed out. We recall
Romania pledged under the National Recovery and Resilience plan to render the
government cloud 70% operational by the end of 2024 and 100% by 2026.

ENERGY – Also on the
sidelines of 3SI Business Forum, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said Romania
is a regional leader in terms of energy stability. The Romanian official said
Romania’s gas reserves exceeded 88% on September 1, a target Romania pledged to
achieve at EU level. Appreciation came both from Brussels and the Republic of
Moldova, a country facing severe difficulties in terms of its energy reserves.
Minister Burduja said that the national energy company Transgaz has taken over
Moldovatransgaz, which operates the energy transport grid in the Republic of
Moldova, something that will help Chișinău break with Moscow’s influence and
interference.

TRANSPORT – On the sidelines
of the 3SI Business Forum, Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu has presented an
update on the implementation of two pan-European transport projects – Via
Carpathia and Rail-2-Sea. Via Carpathia will link Lithuania to Greece and will
consist of three corridors built in Romania, totaling 1,700 kilometers of
motorways and express roads. At present, project completion stands at 35%.
Rail-2-Sea will link the rail systems of Gdańsk in Poland to Constanța,
Romania, and provides for the building of four rail tracks in Romania.
Completion stands at 30%. Moldova’s Minister of Infrastructure and Regional
Development, Andrei Spînu, called that both Moldova and Ukraine be made part of
these road and rail projects. Additionally, US General James Jones, former
supreme commander of allied forces in Europe, highlighted the importance of
transport infrastructure in the current security context, arguing it is key to
ensure the swift movement of NATO forces on the Alliance’s eastern flank.

GRECO – The Group of
States against Corruption (GRECO) have recommended Romania to streamline its
efforts to promote integrity and prevent corruption in the central government and
law enforcement agencies. In a report published today in Strasbourg, GRECO
recognizes progress reported by Romania in developing an institutional and
legal framework to combat corruption and investigate the integrity of
government officials. The report hails the adoption by Bucharest of legislation
regulating incompatibilities and conflicts of interests, as well as the coming
into force, in December 2022, of a new law on the protection of whistleblowers.
GRECO however calls on Bucharest to strengthen measures to prevent and combat
top-level corruption in top executive
functions such as the President, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers,
Ministers, Secretaries and Undersecretaries of State, Presidential Advisers,
State Advisers, State Councilors and Ministerial Advisers, and in staff members
of the Police and the Gendarmerie. GRECO has issued a number of 26 such
recommendations. Romanian authorities are expected to report back to GRECO on
the implementation of its recommendations by 31 December 2024, so it can assess
the country´s level of compliance. (DB & VP)