August 23, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 23.08.2024, 13:55
Brussels – The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu discussed, on Thursday, in Brussels, with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the future European Commissioner from Romania, about the state of fulfillment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, as well as about a new agreement on Romania’s deficit, which should extend over 7 years. Regarding the position of European commissioner, Marcel Ciolacu announced that he proposed Victor Negrescu, the current vice-president of the European Parliament. During the meeting, they tackled Romania’s accession to Schengen also with land borders, with the Prime Minister stressing that Ursula von der Leyen is the “biggest” supporter of this cause.
Defense – The Chief of the Defense Staff, General Gheorghiţă Vlad, met on Thursday, in Bucharest, with his counterpart from the French Republic, General Thierry Burkhard, who is on an official visit to Romania. The talks between the two focused on the regional security situation, the fulfillment of the conditions for achieving, in 2025, the final operational capacity of the NATO Battle Group, and the responsibilities of the Hexagon structures deployed in Romania in order to strengthen the allied deterrence and defense posture respectively. General Gheorghiţă Vlad emphasized that, in the last two years, the excellent cooperation relations between the two armies to ensure collective defense were also reflected in the increased interoperability between structures and in terms of infrastructure development for training and quartering. The visit schedule included the meeting, in the facilities of the Getica National Joint Training Center in Cincu (centre), of the two heads of Defense with soldiers from the NATO Battle Group. The role of the framework nation of the NATO Battle Group was assumed by France.
Washington – The Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party’s nomination as a candidate for the US presidency, within the Democratic National Convention. She told supporters that the country has a chance to overcome resentment, cynicism and division. Harris promised tax cuts for the middle class. As regards abortions, she accused her opponent, the former Republican President Donald Trump, of wanting to introduce a national ban. About foreign policy, Harris said that dictators around the world support Trump, the BBC reports.
Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse managed to reach the main singles draw of the US Open Grand Slam tournament, which starts on Monday, at the Flushing Meadows arenas in New York, after defeating Alexandra Eala from the Philippines in 3 sets. Ruse will face Julia Grabher from Austria in the inaugural round. She is the third Romanian to reach the main singles draw at the US Open, after Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristian entered directly the singles draw, thanks to the ranking. Cristian will play against the Russian Daria Kasatkina, the 12th seed, while Ana Bogdan will meet the Dutch Arantxa Rus in the first round.
Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, ended in a draw 1-all the away match with the Austrian team LASK Linz, on Thursday evening, in the first leg of the Europa League play-off. The second leg will be played on August 29, in Bucharest. The vice-champion CFR Cluj (north-west) defeated the Cypriot team FC Pafos 1-0 on home ground, in the first leg of the Conference League football play-off. The decisive second leg will take place in Limassol, on August 29. (LS)
