March 26, 2022
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 26.03.2022, 13:50
Biden. US President Joe Biden reiterates in a speech he is to deliver in Poland today that the free world opposes Russias invasion of Ukraine and that there is unity among the major economies over the need to stop Vladimir Putin, the White House said. After three days of emergency meetings with the G7, European Council and NATO allies and a visit to the US troops stationed in Poland, Biden is meeting today with Polish President Andrzej Duda. In another move, the US says the Russian army has now set as a priority the Donbas area in the pro-separatist east of the country, in a possible attempt to increase its bargaining power in negotiations with Kiev and encircle Ukrainian troops on the Eastern Front.
Energy. EU leaders decided on Friday to give the European Commission the mandate to make joint purchases of gas, following the model of COVID-19 vaccine orders, in the context in which the war in Ukraine leads to rising energy prices, FP reports. The 27 members and the Commission will work together urgently on voluntary purchases of gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen, taking advantage of the EUs economic share to benefit from better prices, according to the conclusions drawn at the Brussels summit. The European Commission has begun negotiations with major producing countries (Norway, Qatar, Algeria) and on Friday announced an agreement with the United States to increase its supply of liquefied natural gas to the EU. The EUs procurement platform will also be open to the Western Balkan countries, as well as to the three countries associated with the EU through association agreements (Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia). At the meeting, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stressed the need for reducing energy dependence on Russia, diversifying the energy sources and routes, and finalizing the energy interconnections at EU level. The Bucharest leader also said that European optimization solutions should aim at separating electricity prices from gas prices, in order to avoid the contagion effect.
Refugees. The Romanian Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, has said that the number of requests for medical assistance from people coming from Ukraine is low. 80 refugees are currently hospitalized in Romania, Rafila said after the meeting convened by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on the measures that Romania is managing following the Russian military aggression in Ukraine. The Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, has announced that the number of Ukrainian students attending Romanian schools will be 1,140 at the beginning of next week, out of a total of almost 34,000 minors who have arrived in the country since the start of the conflict. He added that the second category, which is the most numerous, is that of Ukrainian students who want to continue schooling according to the Ukrainian curriculum, and for this they need logistical support, first of all, from the Romanian schools. More than 8,600 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Friday, according to the Border Police General Inspectorate. Their number is down 13% from the previous day. Since the outbreak of the war, almost 550,000 Ukrainian citizens have crossed Romanias borders.
Visit. Energy, international finance, growth and security developments in the Black Sea region are among the topics on the agenda of the meetings of the Romanian Senate delegation, led by Florin Cîţu, who began a working visit to the United States. One of the main objectives is Romanias accession to the “Visa Waiver” Program and for which efforts will be accelerated in the next period, including at the level of the American Congress, Florin Cîţu wrote on Facebook. He also has scheduled meetings with representatives of the business environment, and of the Romanian community.
Covid-19. 3,100 new cases of Sars-CoV-2 infections have been registered in Romania in the past 24 hours, 625 less than the day before. Also, 28 related deaths were reported, of which 6 from the prevous reporting period. 400 Covid-19 patients are currently in intensive care.
EarthHour. Institutions and companies in more than 190 countries will turn off the lights for one hour part of the annual Earth Hour event from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF International on the last Saturday in March each year. This action aims to raise consumer awareness of the problem of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere when producing electricity. In Bucharest, the lighting of official buildings, including the House of Parliament and the City Hall will also be turned off for an hour to mark the event.
Summertime. On Sunday morning, Romania passes to summer time. So, 3:00 a.m. becomes 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, March 27th will be the shortest day of the year. The introduction of daylight saving time was aimed at increasing the number of hours in which people enjoy natural sunlight. The national railway company, CFR Calatori has informed that this does not change the regular timetable. The difference between Romanias official time and GMT universal time will be three hours compared to two hours during winter time. (MI)
