October 16, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 16.10.2022, 19:16

Gas. Romania
has 2.801 billion cubic metres of gas in storage, amounting to a filling level
of 90.9% of its entire storage capacity, said the national operator Transgaz.
The 80% minimum mandatory level of gas in storage facilities established under
a European Commission regulation was reached by Romania on 17th
September. The president of the European Commission Ursula
von der Leyen said in September that the European Union’s joint storage levels
were at 84%. Our friends in the Baltics have worked hard to end their
dependency on Russia. They have invested in renewable energy, in LNG terminals,
and in interconnectors. This costs a lot. But dependency on Russian fossil
fuels comes at a much higher price. We have to get rid of this
dependency all over Europe. Therefore we agreed on joint
storage. We are at 84% now: we are overshooting our target, said von der Leyen
in her state of the union address in September.

EU. Romanian
foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is attending a meeting of his EU counterparts
on Monday in Luxembourg. Talks will focus on ways to counteract the effects of
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro
Kuleba expected to take part by video conference. The meeting comes amid a
recent escalation of the conflict following Russia’s illegal annexation of four
occupied regions of Ukraine and a new series of attacks on Ukrainian cities and
civilian targets. Minister Aurescu is expected to welcome the adoption of the 8th
package of sanctions against Russia and the boost in military support for
Ukraine. He will also reiterate that his country would continue to provide multidimensional
support for Ukraine. The EU foreign ministers will also look at the future of
the European Union’s relationship with China.

Motion. The
Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest is debating on Monday a simple no-confidence
motion against the Liberal interior minister Lucian Bode filed by 55 opposition
MPs from the Save Romania Union and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians. The motion will be
put to the vote on Wednesday. Initially set a few days ago, the debate was
rescheduled at the minister’s request. The signatories demand the minister’s
resignation due to his lack of reform, also accusing him of helping his friend,
president Klaus Iohannis, sell 600 BMW cars to the Romanian Police for 32,000
euros without VAT in a tender they say was set up so as to ensure the right
bidder wins.

Handball.
The Romanian women’s handball vice-champions CSM Bucharest on Sunday defeated
the Czech side DHK Banik Most 40-25 in a Champions League Group A match. CSM
haven’t lost any of their matches played so far, with four wins and a draw.
They top the group together with the German side Bietigheim, a place which would ensure their
qualification straight to the competition’s quarterfinals. On
Saturday, in Group B, the Romanian champions CS Rapid Bucharest drew 30-all against
Buducnost Podgorica in an away match in Montenegro. Still undefeated after five
legs, with three wins and two draws, Rapid are in the top position in their
group. Bucharest is the only European capital with two clubs in the group stage
of the most important club-level competition in European women’s handball. (CM)