February 19, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 19.02.2025, 13:55
MEETING Romania will be represented by the interim president Ilie Bolojan today, in the second meeting on Ukraine hosted by France, political sources told AGERPRES. The countries invited to take part are Norway, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Romania, Sweden and Belgium. On Monday, leaders from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark met in Paris, at the invitation of president Emmanuel Macron, alongside the leaders of the European Union and the NATO Secretary General, to discuss the latest developments related to Ukraine, in the context of the peace initiatives launched by the new American administration. ‘Romania, in its dual capacity as the EU member country with the longest border with Ukraine and the country that has consistently and from the very beginning provided multidimensional, humanitarian, economic and military support to its neighbour, has a direct interest in carrying on the collective European and Euro-Atlantic support for Ukraine, in response to the brutal and illegal war of aggression by the Russian Federation,’ stated the Romanian foreign ministry. On the other hand, president Bolojan Tuesday told the ambassadors accredited to Bucharest that Romania believes in the future of the EU and remains a pro-Atlantic state and a responsible ally.
ELECTIONS The ruling coalition in Bucharest convenes today to complete the steps to set up an electoral alliance comprising the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, which will back the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu in the presidential elections due in May. Asked whether he would withdraw from the presidential race in favor of the interim president Ilie Bolojan, Crin Antonescu ruled out this possibility. The new alliance is to be registered with the Central Electoral Bureau on Thursday. The 5 supreme court judges who will be part of the Bureau will also be designated by a drawing of lots at that time.
BRANCUSI Every year on February 19 the National Day of Constantin Brâncuși is celebrated in Romania. The Romanian Cultural Institute organises in the coming period, both in the country and abroad, events marking the 149th birthday anniversary of the great Romanian sculptor. In 2024, the monumental ensemble “The Path of Heroes”, created by Constantin Brâncuși in Târgu Jiu, was included on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. That same year, an important exhibition devoted to the Romanian artist was organised at the Pompidou Center in Paris. Most of his works belong to the Pompidou Center, as a legacy left to the French state, but many other famous works by Brancuși are hosted by major museums in the world.
FOOTBALL Romanian football champions FCSB will play on Thursday evening at home against the Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki in the decisive leg of the play-offs for the round of 16 of the Europa League. In the first leg against the Greek team coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu, FCSB won 2-1 away from home last week.
WEATHER At the 2 Bucharest airports, “Henri Coandă” and Băneasa, flights may experience delays due to the need to de-ice aircraft. According to the Bucharest Airports National Company, no flights have been canceled because of the weather conditions, the runways and taxiways are operational, and planes are landing and taking off safely. The roads in 12 counties, especially in southern and central Romania, as well as in the capital city Bucharest, have been affected by heavy snowfalls in recent days, and dozens of collisions and skids have occurred, as some roads are partly covered with snow. According to meteorologists, as the sky clears, temperatures will drop more and more by the end of this week and at the beginning of next week, possibly reaching minus 15 degrees Celsius, including in Bucharest. (AMP)
