August 22, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of the latest local and world news
Newsroom, 22.08.2024, 20:38
TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, held talks in Brussels on Thursday with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the future European Commissioner from Romania and their portfolio as well as the completion of the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience. The talks agenda also included an accord on Romania’s deficit. Romania’s proposal was a seven year agreement because, according to the Prime Minister, the biggest investments are expected in 2025 and 2026. Ciolacu proposed Victor Negrescu, the incumbent vice-president of the European Parliament, for the position of EU Commissioner. The two officials tackled Romania’s Schengen accession also with its ground borders and Prime Minister Ciolacu underlined that Ursula von der Leyen is the ‘biggest supporter’ of this idea.
SALE The United States have approved the sale to Romania of missiles compatible with the F-16 jet fighters in order to increase the Romanian Air Forces’ defence capabilities. The purchase, which is estimated at 180 million dollars, is part of Romania’s efforts to streamline its air forces as the aforementioned missiles are also compatible with other NATO and US war planes, including the F-35 fighters. The US ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec, has congratulated Romania on this major purchase, which proves Bucharest’s firm commitment to security, defence and stability both at national and regional levels.
FLOW The Danube’s level at its entry into Romania continues to go down, a report of the Romanian Waters Administration says. The river’s level now is way below its annual average. Although hydrologists have forecast a slight increase in this level after August 25th, this will not be enough to solve the navigation issues created by the waters’ low level. Representatives of the Port Authorities have issued a series of alerts and are recommending that ships be loaded under their maximum capacity in order to avoid any collision with the sand dunes, which appeared from under the water. The low water level has also caused disruption in the ferryboat lines operating between Romania and Bulgaria.
ELECTIONS In its Wednesday meeting the government of Romania set the calendar for the parliamentary election scheduled for December 1. The Election campaign will begin on November 1 and end at 7 AM on November 30. The Romanians in the country will be able to vote between 7 AM and 9 PM. For the Romanian nationals in the Diaspora, the voting will begin on November 30 at 7 AM and end on December 1 at 9 PM. The legislative elections will take place between the 2 rounds of the presidential election. Romania organised local and European elections on June 9.
TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan has qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Cleveland (Ohio), after defeating Greet Minnen of Belgium 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. In the quarter-finals she is to play against Russia’s Anastasia Potapova. Another Romanian player, Gabriela Ruse, managed to reach the last qualifying round of the US Open main draw in New York. In the second qualifying round, Ruse defeated China’s Ye-Xin Ma 6-3, 6-3. And in the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey (Mexico), the Romanian-Chinese pair, Monica Niculescu / Hanyu Guo on Thursday qualified into the semi-finals of the doubles competition, after winning against Ulrikkec Eikeri of Norway) and Aldila Sutjiadi (Indonesia) 6-4, 5-7, 10-3.
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