January 9, 2024 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 09.01.2024, 19:52

TALKS In a recent
phone call Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has assured his Ukrainian
counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky about the continuation of Romania’s staunch
support for Ukraine. Iohannis has again condemned the latest intensified Russian
attacks against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. The two heads of state have
also talked about the development of the bilateral relations and the priorities
for the year 2024 mainly the cross-border projects of mutual interest and the
common will to substantially advance in the process of establishing a Strategic
Partnership between the two countries. In another development, the Romanian president
has hailed the progress made by Ukraine who admitted there is no such thing as
the Moldovan language, a syntagm coined in the former Soviet Union and has underlined
the importance of observing the rights of the national minorities.

AWARD The
president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, will come to Romania late
this week to be given the ‘Timisoara for European Values’ award. Sandu is the
first recipient of the aforementioned award, which was established last year,
when the city of Timisoara, in western Romania, was designated the European
capital of culture. The aforementioned prize is awarded to high officials who
are known to have promoted or defended European values. According to mayor
Dominic Fritz, president Sandu has been nominated for the clear vision
regarding her country’s European accession and her commitment to reaching this
goal.

PLAN The
Romanian government should adopt a decision by the end of this month for the
implementation of the National Plan to combat school violence and drug use.
Students will attend health education courses and will be able to be tested
with the parents’ consent for drug use, according to the National School Safety
Plan. Compared to the measures applied so far, the document provides for the
establishment of action groups at the level of each pre-university education
unit, which will include specialists from the institutions that have undertaken
this program. The aim is to combat the trafficking and consumption of
psychoactive substances in schools, stop bullying, but also violent crimes. The
pre-university education law obliges school principals to report cases of
violence against students to the national number 119, and minors involved in
such acts, together with their parents, must attend counseling sessions. In
case of a refusal, the provision can be applied by court decision.

WINTER The
cold weather is expected to last for a couple of days in some regions of
Romania, mainly in the country’s north, east and center. The highs of the day
on Wednesday will be between -6 and +4 degrees, with a noon reading in
Bucharest of 3 degrees Celsius. The cold weather in the last couple of days has
affected the eastern regions of Romania, where several localities have been left
without electricity. Authorities have temporarily closed traffic on several
sections of the national road. Railway traffic has also been disrupted. In Iaşi
county (northeast), after the heavy snow and blizzard on Monday, authorities have
agreed to keep schools, high schools and kindergartens closed. Activity has also
been suspended in some educational centers across the country.

(bill)