June 3, 2024 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 03.06.2024, 20:00
ELECTIONS This is the last week of campaign ahead of the European Parliament and local elections slated for this Sunday. Some 19 million Romanians are expected to go to the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. 915 stations have been set up abroad, twice as many as for the European Parliament elections five years ago. Polling stations will open at 7 AM and close at 10 PM, one hour later compared to previous rounds of election. Polling station presidents can opt to extend the voting process until midnight, if there are still people queuing in the station. According to the Permanent Election Authority, the total number of candidates for the local and European Parliament elections is close to 208,000. For the first time, voter turnout updates will be provided in real time on election day, for each separate ballot, on the website of the Permanent Election Authority. Romania will also host presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in December.
DEFENCE ‘The EU’s strategic approach to the Black Sea region must include support for the countries in the region, which are facing hybrid threats and the spill-over of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,’ the Romanian defence minister, Angel Tîlvăr, said on Monday at a meeting with the interim chief of the European Commission representation in Romania, Mara Roman. According to the defence ministry, Angel Tilvar highlighted the support provided by Romania to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova. The participants emphasised the increasingly important role played by the European Commission in supporting EU member states in the defence and security area, and the need to further develop the relations between the EU and NATO.
BANKING The foreign currency reserves of the National Bank of Romania reached a new all-time record, over EUR 65 bln at the end of May, up 4.1% compared to the previous month. According to the central bank, Romania’s international reserves (foreign currency plus gold) are currently around EUR 72.2 bln, 3.5% more than in April. The National Bank also announced that the payments for the public debt due in June amount to nearly EUR 148 mln.
FLOODS The bodies of the two Romanians reported missing at the end of last week following flash floods and rising river levels have been found in Italy. The bodies of two of the three missing Romanian young people who drowned on Friday in Natisone River, were found in the province of Udine (northeast). Searches for the third missing person continue. The young people were bathing in Natisone despite the ban, when water levels suddenly rose. Following the information sent by the Italian authorities, the Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of the deceased were Romanian nationals, and conveyed its condolences to the bereaved families. Consular office representatives are constantly in touch with the local authorities in order to obtain information regarding the search operations for the third missing person, as well as with the families of the deceased citizens, and are ready to provide consular assistance depending on requests and in line with their attributes. The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced Romanian citizens can request consular assistance by calling the numbers of Romania’s consular office in Trieste.
DIPLOMACY Romania is and will remain a supporter of Montenegro’s EU accession efforts, the Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu said in Bucharest on Monday, as part of a joint statement with her counterpart from Montenegro, Filip Ivanovic. The Romanian official added that the Western Balkans were a region of strategic importance, and political and security developments there have a direct impact on the security and prosperity of Europe as a whole. In this context, the two officials signed an Action Plan for cooperation between Romania’s and Montenegro’s foreign ministries in 2024-2025. ‘Montenegro and Romania have long-established friendship relations and are committed to further developing them,” Filip Ivanovic said in turn, adding that this commitment translated in the Action Plan for cooperation and thanking Romania for its support.
FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team is playing Bulgaria on Tuesday and Liechtenstein on Friday, June 7, in two friendly matches ahead of the European Championship due to kick off on June 14 in Germany. Bucharest will host both matches. Romania was drawn in Group E alongside Ukraine, Belgium and Slovakia. The national team will play Ukraine on June 17 in Munich, Belgium on June 22 in Cologne, and finally Slovakia on June 26, in Frankfurt. Romania last took part in a European Championship in 2016 in France. (AMP)
