March 7, 2024
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Newsroom, 07.03.2024, 13:55
CONGRESS The congress of the European People’s Party continues in Bucharest today, when the party’s nominee for president of the European Commission is to be chosen. On Tuesday the party’s Political Assembly validated Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for a new term in office. On Thursday, president Klaus Iohannis and other EU heads of state and government are scheduled to address the Congress. Over 2,000 delegates from more than 40 countries, including the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Parliament, presidents and prime ministers, party presidents and European commissioners in the EPP have convened in Bucharest for the congress. The main goals of the event are the selection of the EPP president and decisions on the party’s main policy documents and election platforms. The meeting is hosted by the National Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition in Romania, jointly with the EPP. Bucharest last hosted an EPP congress in October 2012.
MEETING The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis has a meeting scheduled today with Austria’s federal chancellor, Karl Nehammer, the Romanian Presidency announced. According to Agerpres, the two officials are expected to discuss Romania’s full Schengen accession. The European People’s Party unanimously adopted, during its congress in Bucharest on Wednesday, a manifesto demanding Romania’s accession to the Schengen area as soon as possible, after the Austrian delegation of the People’s Party, in power, renounced voting against. According to the manifesto, “we need full accession to Schengen for Bulgaria and Romania, by lifting as soon as possible not only the air and maritime checks, but also the checks at the land borders”.
ELECTIONS The government of Romania is to analyse today a draft emergency order on merging the local elections and the elections for the European Parliament on June 9. According to an INSCOP poll commissioned by News.ro, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, in power in Romania and running on joint lists of candidates, would get 43.7% of the votes. Next in the poll come the nationalist party AUR with little over 20%, and the United Right Alliance, also in Opposition, with 13.7%. As for the local elections, the poll indicates the Social Democrats would get 30.6% of the county and local council seats, the Liberals 25.6%, AUR 17.4%, and the United Right Alliance 9.8%. With respect to merging the two elections, the poll suggests over 57% of citizens are in favour of the idea. More than one-third of the interviewees are in favour of joint candidate lists for the Social Democrats and the Liberals in the European elections and separate lists for the local elections, while 51.3% disagree with the decision. Romania’s presidential elections are scheduled in September, and the general elections are due in December.
MOLDOVA France and the Republic of Moldova are set to sign economic and defence cooperation agreements today. The documents will be signed in Paris by president Emmanuel Macron and president Maia Sandu. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, Macron and the French foreign ministry have repeatedly voiced concern with Russia’s threats against Ukraine’s neighbour, Moldova. A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry, Christophe Lemoine, said Moldova was facing “increasingly aggressive attempts at destabilization” by Russia. This agreement is aimed at supporting the modernization of Moldova’s armed forces, and our support will not be limited to defence. We have mobilized the international community by creating the support platform co-chaired by France, Germany and Romania, launched shortly after the start of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, when Moldova was highly vulnerable to the aftermath of the war, the French official also said.
MINES A sea dredger, a PUMA Naval helicopter and a team of combat divers with the Romanian Naval Forces specialising in the clearing and disposal of explosives are today inspecting the southern part of the Romanian sea coast, to detect a suspected naval mine, the Romanian Defence Ministry announced. A floating item was spotted in the region by the Coast Guard, which requested the intervention of the Naval Forces, in line with relevant national procedures. According to the defence ministry, since the start of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, 95 naval mines have been destroyed in the Black Sea, and this one is the 6th mine disposal mission during this period. (AMP)
