25 October, 2019

Army Day is celebrated today in Romania, with various events held across the country and abroad.

Newsroom, 25.10.2019, 14:00

Army Day.
Army Day is celebrated today in Romania, with various events being held in
garrisons across the country and at memorial sites. Special activities are also
held in the theatres of operations abroad where Romanian military are deployed.
Flowers will be laid at memorial sites celebrating Romanian soldiers in
Austria, Bosnia and Hertegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of
Moldova and Hungary. On the 25th of October 1944, the Romanian Army
freed northern Transylvania from under Horthyst occupation and continued to
fight on the territories of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria alongside the
allied troops, contributing to the great victory of May 9th 1945
that marked the end of WWII. Romania’s strategic priority is and will remain a
strong transatlantic relationship and today the army is a professional
institution worthy of its past and its heroes, president Klaus Iohannis said on
Friday. Acting prime minister Viorica Dancila also said that the high
professional level and human quality of the Romanian soldiers have an essential
contribution to consolidating the country’s defence capacity and its
international reputation as a provider of security.

Exercise. Around 1,400 Romanian and
foreign military are taking part in the Scorpions Legacy 2019 multinational exercise
held between the 25th of October and the 8th of November
in Cincu, in Brasov county, in the centre, the press office of the
Multinational Brigade South-East in Craiova said in a statement. The exercise
is meant to train the staff of this brigade and of the affiliated units in
Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal using computer-assisted command exercises, on the
ground training and tactical exercises. The Multinational Brigade South-East in
Craiova, southern Romania ensures command of forces deployed in the
south-eastern region of the NATO borders, playing an important role in the
Alliance’s collective defence.

Culture statistics. The prices of
cultural services in Romania have seen the biggest drop in the European Union
in the last decade, according to figures published by Eurostat. The prices of cultural
services such as cinema, museums, theatres and libraries went up in the EU by
1.7% a year on average between 2010 and 2018, but there are three states where
these prices went down: Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania, which has seen a 1.5%
drop per year. The Eurostat report also shows that the price of newspapers and
periodicals has gone up by 34% in Europe, and that the price of books has grown
by 9%. Looking at how much people spend on cultural goods and services, Sweden
is in the first position in the European Union in terms of household expenditure,
with 5%, while Romania is the last place with 1.8%.

Laser. A
conference dedicated to the most powerful laser in the world, which is located
in Magurele, near Bucharest, known as the Extreme
Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics project (ELI-NP) was held at the Hudson
Institute in Washington, DC. The participants included members of the American
scientific community, the US Department of Energy and the Department of State,
as well as guests from Romania who are involved in the project in Magurele.
Romanian ambassador to the US George Cristian Maior said the laser project in
Magurele expands and consolidates the Romanian-American strategic partnership
in an area in which both countries have the necessary expertise and potential
to collaborate. The project was initiated in 2015 and its aim was to build the
biggest laser in the world. According to experts, the project paves the way for
countless opportunities in the field of scientific research.

Football. The Romanian football
champions CFR Cluj won an important victory on Thursday, when they defeated the
French side Rennes 1-nil in the Europa League Group E. In the other group
match, Celtic Glasgow defeated Lazio Rome 2-1 at home. CFR now rank second in
the group with 6 points. Celtic are in the first place with 7 points, Lazio are
in third with 3 points, while Rennes are in the last place with 1 point.