December 15, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 15.12.2023, 19:06

EU. The enlargement of the European
Union, the revision of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework, support for
Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, security and defence, migration and
the future EU Strategic Agenda were on the agenda of the European Council, also
attended by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis. He congratulated
the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on the start of EU accession negotiations
and said that the European Council’s decision on Thursday was a ‘historic’
one. He gave assurances that Bucharest would continue to support the two neighbouring
states. The European Council decided to start EU accession negotiations with
Ukraine and Moldova, at the European Commission’s proposal. Also, the Council
decided to grant candidate status to Georgia, and gave a positive evaluation
report to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Schengen.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro
Sanchez said on Friday that he would like to see Romania and Bulgaria join
Schengen by the end of 2023. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said, also in
Brussels, that the issue remained complicated and that more negotiations are
still needed in this respect. He had informal talks at the invitation of the
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen with Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer
and the Bulgarian prime minister Nikolai Denkov. The Netherlands said on Friday
it is no longer opposed to Bulgaria’s entering the Schengen free movement area.
In this context, Austria is the only country still opposed to the entry of
Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen, despite the two states’ meeting the technical
requirements. Austria has stood over the past year against the Schengen
enlargement, invoking the arrival of many unregistered migrants in central
Europe.

EU funding.
Romania on Friday sent to Brussels its third request for payment under the
National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu
said at the meeting of the Interministerial Coordination Committee of the NRRP.
This has a total value of 2.7 billion euros, of which the pre-financing already
received was deducted, and covers 74 targets and milestones of the 3rd and 4th
quarters of 2022.

Middle East.
Romania joins the international community in supporting Israel’s efforts
to free the hostages kidnapped by Hamas, said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. He
met, in Bucharest, the Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, and members of
the families of Israeli citizens of Romanian origin who were held hostage in
the Gaza Strip. Ciolacu reiterated, at the meeting, that de-escalation is
a viable solution for restoring security in the region.

Survey. Half of
the population of the European Union aged between 16 and 74 has at least basic
digital skills, according to a report published on Friday by the European
statistical office, Eurostat. The lowest percentage is recorded in Romania, at
almost a third. Bulgaria and Poland are doing slightly better, but they are
also under the European average. The Netherlands and Finland have the highest
percentage, with over 80%, followed by Denmark with 70%. The digital skills
indicator is one of the key performance factors informing the European Union’s
vision on electronic transformation. The 2030 target is for 80% of European
citizens aged between 16 and 74 to have at least basic digital skills.