GOVERNMENT The Romanian government convened in a special session on Thursday in Timisoara, western Romania, where it endorsed, among other things, a series of infrastructure projects with regional impact. One of these projects is the construction of a stadium with a capacity of 30 thousand seats, an investment estimated at 167 million Euros, the locals have been expecting for years. The cabinet has also endorsed the opening of the international border checkpoint in Beba Veche for the international traffic of people and goods. A decision has also been approved so that pensioners may get their pensions before the Orthodox Easter.
EU Thursday was the last day of work for the present European Legislature. In a speech before Parliament in Strasbourg, its president, Roberta Metsola has voiced satisfaction for the laws, which were endorsed during the five year mandate, of the debates hosted by the aforementioned institution and for the way in which the present members of the Legislature dealt with all the challenges, such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. She wished all those running for a fresh term in office, strength, patience, and success and to do everything they can so that Europe may come closer to the citizens. Europeans will vote for their Parliament in early June. Romania will hold elections for the European Parliament on 9 June.
TAROM Romania’s main air carrier TAROM will receive aid from the European Commission until the end of the month and then enter a stage of economic reorganization, the Romanian Transport Minister, Sorin Grindeanu has said. He reiterated the desire of the Bucharest administration to save the company, which has been facing financial difficulties for 15 years. Grindeanu said that with this European aid, TAROM will enter a period of reorganization aimed at placing the company on “solid economic principles”. He said that an operator the size of TAROM usually has between 500 and 600 employees, of which over 90% are seafarers, while TAROM has double the number of employees, which is not sustainable. In this respect, Grindeanu stated that although the objective is to attract investors, the possibility of making 50% of the employees redundant is not excluded.
TALKS Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, in addition to challenges to security in the area, also led to the disruption of global markets and supply chains, said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at the meeting he had on Thursday in Bucharest with Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships. The Head of Government presented Romania’s steps to develop connectivity to the Black Sea, as part of the EU’s strategy to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide. From this perspective, the Romanian sea and Danube ports play an important role in rendering the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor effective, added the Romanian Prime Minister. The European Commissioner is in Bucharest to discuss Romania’s role in promoting sustainable development worldwide against the background of the current difficult geopolitical context.
DECLARATION Leaders of 18 countries, including Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday signed a joint declaration calling for the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip. ”We are asking for the immediate release of all the hostages Hamas has held for 200 days. Some of our citizens are among these hostages. The fate of the hostages and the civil population of Gaza, which are protected by international law, is an international concern”, says the document. Most of the signatories are European states, other countries are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, the United States and Thailand.
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