September 15, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

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Newsroom, 15.09.2023, 20:00

CVM. The European Commission has officially lifted the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for Bulgaria and Romania. CVM was introduced upon the two countries EU accession in 2007, as a measure to help them reform their justice systems and combat corruption and organized crime. President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Romania and Bulgaria for the significant progress reported since their accession, and pointed out that the rule of law is one of the fundamental EU values, a field in which both Romania and Bulgaria have implemented major reforms. In turn, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis said the lifting of CVM is a great achievement for Romania. “We can conclude Romania has changed, it is a rules-based democracy with a functional judiciary”, the president added.

Schengen. In an interview to the Austrian publication Der Standard, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said Romania will refer Austrias opposition to Romanias Schengen accession to the European Union Court of Justice. The Romanian official said losses due to the repeated postponements stand at 2% of the GDP, something which Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu had said earlier this week. Romania says it will seek justice in court should Austria again oppose Romanias Schengen accession at the upcoming informal meetings in October and December. We recall that in December 2022, Austria again vetoed the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting, invoking the high flows of illegal immigrants passing through the two countries.

Plan. The Romanian Government has updated its emergency plan on securing natural gas supplies. The document falls in line with European regulations and was drafted following consultations with the main market players. Measures to cap and subsidize natural gas bills will remain in effect until spring next year. The current legislation stipulates that state aid will remain in place until 2025. On the other hand, according to the Energy Ministry, the government is also considering the growing influence of prosumers in covering nationwide consumption.

Ukraine. Romania intends to double its transit capacity for grain from Ukraine, through the Black Sea port of Constanta, to four million tons, said the Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu. He stated that the goal was achievable, at a meeting in Constanta with officials from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, the European Commission and the United States. On the other hand, Romanian farmers request the extension of the ban on the import of Ukrainian grains. They claim, in a letter addressed to the authorities, that the measure is necessary to limit the losses of agricultural producers and to avoid reducing Romanias competitiveness as an exporter on the grain market. Farmers also want the allocation from the European budget of at least 30 euros per ton to compensate for the increase in transport tariffs.

Moldova. Moldova belongs in Europe, in the family of Western democracies, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said on the sidelines of a meeting he had in Chișinău with Moldovas Prime Minister, Dorin Recean. Mircea Geoană hailed the Moldovan authorities plea for “extended interoperability with NATO”, underlining that the military alliance is the strongest structure of its kind in the world. The NATO official denied the existence of Russian military risks facing the Republic of Moldova, but pointed out this country is fighting a hybrid war triggered by the Russian Federation.

Tennis. The Romanian team is led by the Taiwan team with a score of 2-0, in the first round of World Group I of the Davis Cup. Tennis player Nicholas David Ionel was defeated by Chun-Hsin Tseng, 6-3, 6-0, and Marius Copil lost to Yu Hsiou Hsu 7-6, 7-5. The matches are hosted by the Black Sea resort of Mamaia, in the south-east. The doubles match and the last singles matches are scheduled for Saturday. The day will be opened by the pairs Marius Copil / Victor Cornea and Yu Hsiou Hsu / Tsung-Hao Huang. The singles matches will oppose Ionel and Hsu, respectively Copil and Tseng. Romania and Taiwan have never met before in the Davis Cup. In February, in the World Group I play-off, Romania beat Thailand 3-2 away from home, and Taiwan beat Mexico 3-1, also away.