October 7, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 07.10.2023, 13:53

ATTACK- Romania has firmly condemned the rocket attacks against
Israel. We stand in full solidarity with Israel in these terrible times.
Our thoughts go to the families of the victims and to those who are attacked,
the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, wrote on Twitter. The Romanian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs emphasized in a press release, the sovereign right of the state
of Israel to self-defense. The Israeli army declared a state of war following
massive attacks from the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of rockets were fired, ending a
truce in place since the end of the five-day war in May. The leader of the
armed wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas had previously announced the
launch of an operation against Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, convened the country’s Security Cabinet.

VISIT
– Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is on an official visit to Portugal until
Monday, at the invitation of his counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The two
officials met earlier today in Lisbon. The field of defense is one of the key
components of bilateral cooperation, with the aim of strengthening allied
defense on NATO’s eastern flank, Portugal’s participation with a contingent of
land forces in the multinational NATO brigade in Romania being a result of this
cooperation, the Presidential Administration said. On the sidelines of the
state visit, bilateral documents will be signed in the field of energy,
investment and trade. Prior to his visit to Portugal, President Klaus Iohannis
participated, on Friday, in Spain, at an informal summit of the European
Council. In a joint statement, the leaders of the 27 EU member states committed
themselves to a strong, dynamic, competitive and cohesive Europe in a changing
world.

BUDGET
– This autumn’s budget revision will take place after the Constitutional Court
rules on the fiscal-budgetary measures for which the Government has recently
assumed responsibility, PM Marceal Ciolacu said. He specified that the budget
revision is urgent, because the Ministry of Transport, in particular, needs
large funds for the co-financing of infrastructure projects, given that the
Executive’s priority is to absorb more than 95% of the European funds. The
Romanian PSD-PNL ruling coalition assumed responsibility, in Parliament, for a
thorough fiscal-budgetary reform, with the purpose of reducing budget spending
and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the country’s finances. A part of
the opposition is against the new measures and notified the Constitutional
Court.

PILGRIMAGE – The annual
religious pilgrimage to the relics of Saint Parascheva, the largest pilgrimage
in Romania, has started this morning in Iasi, eastern Romania. The feast of St.
Parascheva is celebrated every year on October 14. People go to pray at the
Metropolitan Cathedral in Iaşi days in advance. The coffin carrying the Saint’s
relics has been taken out of the Metropolitan Cathedral early this morning and
placed on a large table decorated with flowers in the cathedral’s courtyard.
Tens of thousands of believers from Romania and abroad will pass by the coffin
and pray.

GAS
– Romania’s gas stocks have reached 99% the Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja
has announced. He specified that, under normal conditions, the country should
get through winter relying only on Romanian gas. Burduja also said that
Bucharest can support the neighboring Republic of Moldova in this respect. (EE)