June 28, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Elena Enache, 28.06.2024, 13:55
EU – Attending the European Council meeting in Brussels, the Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, emphasized, during the talks on the EU’s Strategic Agenda for the period 2024-2029, that the document must mirror the joint commitment to continue efforts towards a stronger, more resilient and more influential EU. The Romanian head of state emphasized that the new Agenda must highlight the advancement of the enlargement policy, the unity of the Union in terms of support for Ukraine and the importance of cooperation between the EU and NATO. Also in Brussels, the European leaders decided on the top positions in the EU institutions. Ursula von der Leyen was nominated for the presidency of the Commission, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for the position of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, while former Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, will take over the presidency of the European Council.
US ELECTIONS – The Republican Donald Trump’s campaign team claims his victory in Thursday night’s first televised election debate with his contender, the Democratic President Joe Biden. Biden believes, however, that he ‘did well’, while the reactions to his performance are divided even in the democratic camp. The American and international media notes that the debate between the two candidates to the US presidency has been marked by personal attacks, hesitations by Biden and lies told by Trump. Abortion rights, migration, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the assault on the Capitol in January 2021 and the country’s economy were the main topics covered.
LAW – Penalties for slavery and human trafficking can no longer be suspended prison sentences in Romania, under the new law promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis. The document, which takes effect this week, also provides for harsher penalties for such crimes, with sentences going as high as 15 years in prison. In addition, the production, storage, exposure, promotion and distribution of pornographic materials with minors, is punished with 3 to 10 years behind bars.
OSCE – Bucharest hosts, as of Saturday, the 31st annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The theme of the summit is the parliamentary perspective on the role of the OSCE in the current security climate. The participants – parliamentarians from over 50 member states of the Organization – will adopt the Bucharest Declaration, a document that will include the resolutions of the general committees and the additional ones initiated by members of the Assembly. Among them will be a resolution regarding the worsening of the human rights situation in the Russian-speaking breakaway region of Trans-Dniester, in the Republic of Moldova. Russia and Belarus have been excluded from the meeting in Bucharest.
WEST BANK – The Israeli War Cabinet has legalized five settler outposts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a move likely to further strain the situation in the region and complicate Israel’s relationship with the United States. Israel considers that most Jewish settlements in the West Bank are legal and that only a few, established without approval, are illegal. The international community, however, sees all colonies as illegal. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating by the day. On the other hand, France, Germany, Canada and the United States have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon, amid fears of conflict expansion in the Middle East.
POLL – The first round of the snap elections for the appointment of representatives in the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French Parliament, will take place on Sunday. The almost 49 million people with the right to vote will choose between a nationalist-populist right, at the top of the electorate’s preferences, a left wing which is struggling to remain united and a pro-Macron majority unprepared to give up the government. The second round is scheduled for July 7. We remind you that President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly on June 9, after his party’s failure in the European elections. (EE)
