April 29, 2025

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 29.04.2025, 13:55

SUMMIT – Convened in Warsaw, the leaders of the Three Seas Initiative are today taking stock of the 10 years since the establishment of this platform for dialogue and cooperation between countries in central and eastern EU and setting the directions for the next decade, in a complex regional context. Romania is represented by its interim president, Ilie Bolojan. They are analyzing how investments can be boosted and strategic interconnection projects in the fields of energy, transport and IT can be implemented, with a view to economic development and reducing the gaps with the western part of the Union. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest, Romania is particularly interested in two transport projects, one railway and the other road, through a north-south highway that would connect the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean. A Three Seas Initiative Business Forum is also held, a platform for strengthening economic relations and business cooperation. On the sidelines of the summit, on Monday, the Romanian Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, had a meeting with the US Energy Secretary Christopher Allen Wright, reaffirming, on this occasion, the joint commitment to developing strategic projects that will lead to the transformation of Romania into a strong, resilient and sustainable regional energy hub, in strategic partnership with the US.

DEFENSE – The US State Department has approved the sale of a MIM-104 Patriot missile system to Romania, the US Embassy in Bucharest announced, indicating that this missile system will replace the one that Romania supplied to Ukraine in September 2024. According to the cited source, the MIM-104 Patriot system includes a radar set and two launch stations. ‘Patriot can detect and shoot down a wide range of ballistic and airborne missile threats, and this acquisition will strengthen Romania’s ability to deter aggression in the Black Sea region, the US Embassy in Bucharest said. With an estimated cost of 262 million dollars, the system will be purchased through grants from a group of NATO donors. Washington appreciates the continued support that Romania has provided to Ukraine, including the donation of a Patriot system to support the defense of this country, said the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec, who also said that Romania’s commitment to integrated air defense strengthens the protection of Romanian territory and the NATO alliance, making America and its allies safer.

DRONES – In Romania, there was another air alert in the Danube Delta, after a Russian drone attack in Ukraine, near the border. Shortly before midnight, the residents of Sulina heard loud explosions and, for the first time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, received several RO-ALERT messages. Residents of three other communes in the area also received warning messages. One of the drones reportedly entered briefly Romanian territory. Two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force and two Eurofighters of the Italian Air Force, in air police combat service, took off successively from the 86th Borcea Air Base and the 57th Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base and carried out surveillance and protection missions of Romania’s airspace, said the Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Constantin Spînu. Military units are conducting research in the area today, and MApN forces continue airspace surveillance missions, the Ministry of Defense also said.

VETERANS’ DAY – The Romanian Ministry of National Defense is organizing military and religious ceremonies today in Bucharest and across the country at the heroes’ monuments, on the occasion of War Veterans Day. Marked annually on April 29, War Veterans Day was established in 2007, in recognition of the heroism shown by Romanians who fought in World War II and in memory of the day when King Carol I signed the decree establishing the title of war veteran for former fighters in the War of Independence. In World War II, Romania reported over 900 thousand dead, missing, prisoner, wounded and disabled soldiers. The Romanian Army continued to fight even after the liberation of Northern Transylvania, significantly contributing to the liberation of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. (…) “We have a duty to keep their memory alive and to make them known to new generations, as examples of devotion to the values ​​that unite us”, the interim president, Ilie Bolojan, said in a message on the occasion of War Veterans Day.

DEFENSE – The Romanian Minister of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, held talks in Brussels with several European officials. According to a press release by the ministry, Angel Tîlvăr discussed with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, the common vision regarding the need to strengthen the EU’s role as a strategic actor in the Eastern Neighborhood. The minister stressed that Romania is in favor of further support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, and emphasised the importance of maintaining a clear European perspective for these states, as well as for the countries in the Western Balkans. During the discussions with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Angel Tîlvăr voiced appreciation at the EP’s solid commitment to strengthening the common foreign and security policy, as well as to the constant support given to Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the countries in the Western Balkans. Among other things, the minister recalled Romania’s efforts within the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy, through active participation in EU missions and operations. Another topic addressed was the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic and EU security, in the context of multiple threats. The talks with the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, focused on strengthening Romania’s defence preparedness and intensifying European industrial cooperation. (EE)