September 16, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 16.09.2023, 19:07

Grains. The European
Commission has decided not to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine, in
exchange for some commitments assumed by Kyiv. Until September 18, the
Ukrainian side must present an action plan with effective measures to control
grain shipments. According to this plan, the Bucharest Government claims that
it will take the appropriate decisions to protect local farmers. Farmers want
the Government to make a unilateral decision and extend the restriction for the
entire duration of the war, even if Brussels has a contrary position. If the
authorities do not extend the ban, as decided by Poland, the Romanian farmers
threaten to block the customs in the west of the country, as well as the Black
Sea port of Constanţa (southeast). Among
the five countries that initially requested the introduction of this ban, only
Bulgaria has announced that it does not want to extend the embargo imposed on
wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower imports from Ukraine.

Schengen.
Austria’s opposition to Romania’s accession to the Schengen
Area is not directed against Bucharest, but against this system of free
movement – said the Austrian Minister of European Affairs, Karoline Edtstadler.
The reaction comes at the request of the media, after the Bucharest government
warned that it would sue Vienna if it kept opposing Romania’s accession.
Edtstadler has stated that she understands the position of the Romanian
authorities, but stressed that one cannot turn a blind eye to an already
defective system. She says that the European Union should ensure a protection
of the external borders that works. In an interview that appeared in the
Austrian media on Friday, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu says that, in
the event of a new opposition, he will have to appeal this decision at the
European Court to demand compensation for the losses caused by Romania’s
failing to join the Schengen Area.

Ukraine. The Russian
anti-aircraft defense shot down two Ukrainian drones over the regions of Kaluga
and Tver, in the west of the country , the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the so-called authorities installed by Moscow in
the annexed Crimea stated that they intended to sell about 100 Ukrainian
properties, previously nationalized, including one belonging to
President Volodymyr Zelensky. The president of the Crimean pseudo-parliament,
Vladimir Konstantinov, claims that the nationalized properties will be sold
soon and that the authorities have already organized the first
eight auctions for the assets of Ukrainian businesspeople. The sales contracts
amounted to more than 815 million rubles (equivalent to about 8.51 million US
dollars).

Mourning.
In the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly
Romanian-speaking), Saturday was a day of national mourning, in memory of the
first president of this state, Mircea Snegur, who died on September 13. He was
an active supporter of the national revival movement and had an essential role
in promoting the independence, freedom and sovereignty of the Republic of
Moldova – reads a press release from the Presidency in Chisinau. Snegur was
born in 1940, in the old Romanian county of Soroca (east). He was a doctor in
agricultural sciences and an activist of the single communist party. President
of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the republic, in August 1989 he
agreed to support the bills that gave the Romanian language the status of an
official language and decided to return to the Latin script and the Romanian
tricolor flag, a fact that amplified his popularity. On August 27, 1991, Mircea
Snegur was one of the protagonists of the great national assembly in Chisinau,
where the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from the Soviet
Union. He was head of state between 1991 and 1996.

Libya. An
aircraft of the Romanian Air Force took off, on Saturday, bound for Benghazi,
Libya, to transport the first installment of the aid that Romania sends as free
international assistance to that country, affected by catastrophic floods.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of National Defense, the
Air Force has planned six flights on this route, in which a total of 55 tons of
goods will be transported, consisting of food products and shelter items. The
flights are carried out under the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European
Union, based on the Decision of the National Committee for Emergency
Situations.

Rugby. The national rugby
team of Romania meets, on Sunday, September 17, in the second match they are
playing at the World Cup in France, the holder of the trophy, South Africa. The
match takes place in Bordeaux (west). A week ago, also in Bordeaux, in the
first match of the World Cup, Romania was defeated by the Irish team, with a
score of 82-8 (33-8). The Romanian rugby players will take on Scotland on
September 30 and Tonga on October 8, both in Lille (north).

Tennis. Cezar Cretu
brought the Romanian men’s tennis team the point of honor in the match against
Taiwan, won by the Asians 3-1, on Saturday, in the first round of the Davis Cup
World Group, in Mamaia (southeast). He defeated Tung-Lin Wu 6-4, 6-4 in a
straight game. Also on Saturday, in the doubles match, the Victor Cornea/Cezar
Creţu pair was defeated by the Yu Hsiou Hsu/Tsung-Hao Huang couple 6-1, 6-4,
ensuring Taiwan’s victory. On Friday, in the first singles match, Nicholas
David Ionel was defeated by Chun-Hsin Tseng, 6-3, 6-0, and Marius Copil was
defeated in the second by Yu Hsiou Hsu with a score of 7- 6, 7-5. At the
beginning of next year, Romania will play a play-off to stay in World Group I
of the Davis Cup. (MI)