August 3, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 03.08.2023, 20:24

NEPTUN DEEP – The final development plan for the development of the Domino and
Pelican South gas reservoirs in the Neptun Deep perimeter in the Black Sea has
been confirmed by the National Agency for Mineral Resources, OMV Petrom and
Romgaz, the two companies exploiting natural gas in the area have announced.
Neptun Deep thus enters the development phase, which consists of handing out
contracts, carrying out foray activating and building the necessary
exploitation infrastructure. The two companies will invest some 4 bln EUR in
the current phase, which will generate a production of some 100 bln cubic
meters of natural gas. Production is expected to start in 2027.

GOVERNMENT – In Thursday’s session, the Romanian
Government adopted the financing contract with the European Investment Bank for
the support of the A7 Ploieşti (south) – Paşcani (northeast) highway project,
worth 600 million euros. It is estimated that the work will be ready in 2025,
one year earlier than the deadline assumed under the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan. Also, the executive adopted the program for schools by means
of which students will receive milk, vegetables and fresh fruit at school.
Funded by European money, it will continue for the next six years, the main
goal being to teach children healthy eating habits. Also on Thursday, a draft
decision was discussed regarding the establishment of the national registry for
the collection of information on all types of cancer, in order to monitor the
incidence at the national level, for the evaluation and control of the impact
of the disease and the development of public health policies.

EVACUATION – The four Romanian
citizens in Niger, who requested support for evacuation were picked up by two
flights organized by the French authorities and arrived safely in Paris, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed. The ministry says there are currently
no other requests for consular assistance and protection. According to the data
available at the moment, there are another 20 Romanians on the territory of
Niger who carry out their activities within the framework of two EU economic
and military cooperation missions, and their evacuation procedures are managed
by each mission separately. In order to avoid special situations in which
Romanian citizens could find themselves, the MAE reminds that a travel warning
has been issued for Niger. The United States has ordered the partial evacuation
of its embassy in Niger following last week’s coup. Hundreds of foreign
citizens have already been evacuated from the country, and the French embassy
was attacked by protesters on Sunday.

TOURISTS – Arrivals in accommodation units across
Romania, including apartments and individual rooms, went up by 17% in the first
half of the year compared to the similar period of 2022. According to the
National Statistics Institute, Romanian tourists accounted for 83% of total
arrivals, compared to 16% represented by foreign tourists. Broken down in
counties, most tourists arrived in the capital Bucharest and in Brașov and
Constanța counties. At the same time, Institute data indicates that most
tourists arrived from Germany, Italy and Israel.

FIRES – A
Romanian unit specializing in putting out wildfires was deployed to France and
is now fully operational. The unit is expected to intervene in the region of
Velaux, close to Marseille. According to a release issued by the General
Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), the unit comprises 40
firefighters, 3 fire trucks, a minibus and a bus for evacuation operations. The
unit was deployed at the request of French firefighters, who will assist and
oversee the operations of Romanian rescuers

UNTOLD – The 8th edition of the UNTOLD
Festival, one of the largest in Europe, started on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca
(north-west Romania) and brings, for four days, on its eight stages, over 250
top Romanian and international artists. The theme of this year’s edition is
“Phoenix Light”, inspired by the legend of the Phoenix bird. The epicenter of
the festival is the Cluj Arena stadium, where the main stage is set up. One of
the best DJs in the world, Brazilian Alok, was chosen to officiate the opening
ceremony. More than 400 thousand spectators are expected to attend UNTOLD.
Among them are also music enthusiasts from Argentina, Germany, the USA or Great
Britain, to enjoy artists such as Armin Van Buuren, Goran, David Guetta or
Imagine Dragons. The organizers have taken special measures to ensure the
safety of all participants. (MI + VP)