December 9, 2023
A roundup of news from Romania and the world
Newsroom, 09.12.2023, 13:55
Ukraine — The Romanian FM, Luminiţa Odobescu, reiterated, on Friday, Romanias support for opening accession negotiations between the EU and Ukraine, a topic which, along with the launch of a similar action for the Republic of Moldova, will dominate the European summit scheduled, in one week, in Brussels. During the discussions in Bucharest, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Ştefanișina thanked Romania for the constructive dialogue related to the prospects of accession and pointed out that her country made enormous efforts to overcome the obstacles in the way of reforms. The deputy prime minister also recalled that the Ukrainian parliament adopted, on Friday, the amendments to the National Minorities Law, in order to implement the latest recommendations of the European institutions. On November 8, 2023, the European Commission positively assessed Ukraines reforms in the field of rule of law and fighting corruption, but asked Kyiv to make rapid improvements to the law on the use of national minorities languages in the education system and the public space, according to the Venice Commissions recommendations. The decision to launch accession negotiations requires unanimity from the 27 member states, but is threatened by the opposition of the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.
Timişoara – 80,000 people have so far visited the Brâncusi Exhibition, open at the National Art Museum in Timişoara (western Romania) until January 28, 2024. According to the authorities, it is the most successful event of the European Capital of Culture program and represents the debut of major artistic projects. Timişoara officially ended the European Capital of Culture program with a festive gala held on Friday evening at the Palace of Culture. “Timişoara 2023 has shown that we can imagine a creative and prosperous future of solidarity, not just for our city, but for the entire Europe”, said the mayor of the city, Dominic Fritz. “A future of Europe where our unity is built on diversity, not uniformity. A future of Europe in which we lead from cross-border regions, not just from the capitals. Investments in culture are not a luxury, but the very foundation on which we build” Dominic Fritz went to say. The events that mark the end of the Timişoara European Capital of Culture program continue tonight with a concert by Katie Melua and an aerial acrobatics show, and on Sunday Jessie J and Roisin Murphy, international stars with thousands of fans around the world, will take the stage.
Swimming – At the European Short Course Swimming Championships Otopeni 2023, Andrei Ungur won, on Friday evening, the first medal for Romania, bronze in the 100m backstroke. Today, David Popovici is participating in the final of the 200 m freestyle, in which he qualified with the best time. Romania is participating in the European Championships with a team of 21 athletes (7 girls and 14 boys), selected based on the performance shown at the National Short Course Championships from November 9-12, also held in Otopeni. At the previous edition of the European short course championship, which took place in Kazan (Russia), in 2021, David Popovici won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle, and Robert Glința won silver in the 100 m backstroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke. At the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Popovici won silver in the 200m freestyle.
Tel Aviv – Fighting has intensified in Gaza, with Israeli forces launching strikes across the GAza Strip. The deathtoll in Gaza reached almost 17,500, according to the Palestinians. In Ramallah, in the West Bank, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, called for an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace, guaranteed by the great powers. A cease-fire was also requested by a resolution put to a vote in the UN Security Council, but it was blocked by a veto by the US, while 13 countries voted in favor and Great Britain abstained. On the other hand, Washington is putting pressure on Israel to take measures to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza and supports the idea of shorter-term ceasefires. Pressure for a ceasefire is also building in Israel, where the families of hostages still in Hamas hands fear that they might be killed during the clashes. (LS)
