December 15, 2024
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 15.12.2024, 20:00
INCIDENT – The Romanian Foreign Ministry conducted its own inquiry after a Romanian citizen was detained on the territory of the self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia, a Georgian territory current under Russian occupation, whose independence is not currently recognized by the international community. The Romanian national was arrested by security services in the pro-Russian separatist region, and was accused of having tried to film military objectives on this territory. Local authorities claim the Romanian citizen had been forced to make the recordings by Ukrainian military spies, who told him this was the only way he could leave Abkhazia. Romanian authorities are in permanent contact with the citizen’s family and are making efforts to provide consular assistance.
GOVERNMENT – President Klaus Iohannis is expected to convene the new Parliament on December 20. The New Parliament will comprise 7 political parties. The Social-Democratic Party (PSD) will have 122 seats, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) 91, the National Liberal Party (PNL) 71, the Save Romania Union (USR) 59, the SOS Romania Party 40, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) 32 and the Young People’s Party (POT) 31. The group of national minorities will be represented by 19 MPs. The youngest members of Parliament are aged 34 and are members of USR and AUR, while PSD is at the opposite pole, with the largest number of MPs aged 65 and over. The Social-Democrats and the Liberals have the largest number of women MPs. On Friday, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will each set up special committees to validate the new mandates.
LEGISLATION – Current deputies and senators are expected to end their mandate by the end of next week. The Chamber of Deputies is set to adopt a new Forestry Code, a milestone in the Recovery and Resilience plan and a government priority that needs to be adopted by the end of 2024. Among other things, the law stipulates seizing all vehicles involved in illegal logging, the construction of green belts around large cities, the right to pre-emption and quality raw materials at affordable prices for furniture manufacturers, introducing video surveillance on forestry roads and a ban on root cutting in protected areas. On the other hand, the Senate is expected to vote on projects that introduce penalties for public office aggregation or a reduction in the number of maximum terms held by heads of secrete services. The current legislature ends its mandate on December 20, when the new Parliament is set to convene in its first sitting.
UKRAINE – Romania is a valuable partner of Ukraine, both in terms of the prospective reconstruction of the country, as well as the war effort, Kyiv informs. The opening of new border crossing points is a point in case, the head of the Ukrainian State Agency for Infrastructure Reconstruction and Development, Serhii Sukhomlyn has said. Five new border checkpoints have been opened, while another six are currently being discussed. The Ukrainian official said the new border crossings are of great help to Ukrainian exporters, and that Romania is a valuable partner not just for its assistance in rebuilding infrastructure, but also owing to the military assistance it provides to Ukraine in the conflict against the invading Russian forces.
TIMIȘOARA – The city of Timișoara (west) on Sunday celebrates 35 years since the anti-communist revolution of 1989. Under the motto “35 years of freedom”, the municipality is organizing a large number of commemorative events celebrating the martyrs of the revolution, as well as the moment when Timișoara became the first city in Romania to be declared free of communism. Religious services, wreath-laying ceremonies, exhibitions, film screenings and concerts are all on the agenda. On Monday, the authorities will officially inaugurate the Freedom Portal, a light installation reproducing sounds from the revolution, followed by the traditional march titled “Heroes never die”. Tuesday is an official mourning day, while festivities are expected to end on December 20 with the concert “Rock for revolution”. (VP)
