September 17, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 17.09.2024, 20:02
EUROPEAN COMMISSION – The EC president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled the new college of commissioners. Romania’s nominee for one of the 27 European Commissioner posts, the former minister for EU funding and incumbent MEP Roxana Mînzatu, was appointed Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness and will also be the new Commissioner for Skills, Education, Quality Jobs and Social Rights. In Bucharest, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu hailed the fact that Romania obtains for the first time since joining the EU the position of Commission vice-president, and also the fact that Roxana Mînzatu will coordinate a major portfolio with a budget of 235 billion euros – a fifth of the Union’s budget. The team proposed by Ursula von der Leyen will next be interviewed by the European Parliament. Given the length of the procedures, the new commission might begin their term in office later than scheduled, possibly as late as December.
COOPERATION – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies passed the draft law on the Romania – Moldova cooperation agreement in the military field. According to the document, the two states will support each other in all aspects regarding the preparation and participation in multinational missions and operations under the auspices of the UN, OSCE, NATO or the EU. Deputy Daniel Gheorghe said that the Chisinau administration must give up the neutrality that keeps it captive in the ex-Soviet space, and that the agreement with Romania is a step towards standardization with the North Atlantic area.
FLOODS – The government of Romania approved direct financial aid for the victims of the recent floods in the east of the country, which left 7 people dead and nearly 6,500 homes damaged. People are still accommodated in the temporary sites arranged by the local authorities, and interior ministry personnel are helped by emergency inspectorate staff from other counties, who have brought over intervention vehicles and large capacity pumps to take out the water and mud from the flooded houses. Meanwhile, water and food supplies are being distributed to the victims, both from the state reserve and from private citizens and companies that have donated clothes, footwear, blankets and mattresses. The Red Cross also dispatched trucks with water and food to the area.
DIPLOMACY – Romania will continue to stand by the Republic of Moldova on a bilateral level, on a European level in the negotiations for EU accession, but also in concrete aspects related to economic development, infrastructure consolidation and, above all, energy security, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu said Tuesday in Chisinau. The head of Romanian diplomacy co-chaired the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Partnership Platform for the Republic of Moldova. She said that the Platform was created with the goal of supporting both financially and sectorally the Republic of Moldova, seriously affected by the consequences of the war waged by Russia in Ukraine. In this context, a Joint Declaration of the Foreign Ministers of Romania, France, Germany and the Republic of Moldova was adopted, reconfirming the important role of this cooperation format and the joint commitment to support the Republic of Moldova in the European integration process, as well as in the efforts for economic development and consolidation of resilience. In Chisinau, the head of the Romanian diplomacy was received, along with the other ministers, by the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu.
FUGITIVES – The Constitutional Court of Romania postponed, for Thursday, the discussions on the notification lodged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice with respect to the so-called Fugitives Act. The law endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies in November 2023 stipulates that citizens subject to a final court sentence who fail to turn themselves in within 7 days to be incarcerated are to be declared fugitives and receive a further 6 month to 3 year sentence. The supreme court believes the law comes against the right to fair trial and individual freedom. Sorin Oprescu, a former mayor of Bucharest, and Alina Bica, a former chief of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism Offences, are some of the high-profile officials who managed to leave the country in order to escape a prison sentence. Italy and Greece are the countries preferred by the fugitives.
CLIMATE – Romania plans to be carbon neutral by 2045, as opposed to its previous target, 2050, according to a new version of the National Integrated Plan on Energy and Climate Change. Bucharest also intends to cover 38% of the country’s total energy demand from renewable sources by 2030. The energy ministry announced on Tuesday additional policies and measures to increase the share of renewable energy, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially and to implement innovating solutions in all economic sectors. The revised plan includes measures to cut emissions in essential sectors such as energy, transport, housing and industry, and aims to implement advanced technologies such as the use of renewable hydrogen.
ENESCU – The 19th edition of the “George Enescu” International Classical Music Competition takes place in Bucharest until September 27, under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidency. Enrolled in this year’s competition are a record 667 musicians aged 13 to 35. The “George Enescu” International Competition, initiated in 1958, is one of the most important events of this kind in the world, providing a platform for rising musicians to prove their skills. Over the years, the competition has consolidated Romania’s standing in the global cultural arena, and is the only competition in the country affiliated to the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is one of the co-producers of the event.
