January 19, 2023 UPDATE
A news update
Newsroom, 19.01.2023, 19:59
Talks — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday had a telephone conversation with his Bulgarian counterpart, Rumen Radev, the discussion mainly focusing on the subject of the accession of the two states to the Schengen area and on ways to overcome the deadlock reached in the Justice and Home Affairs Council last December. The two dignitaries reconfirmed their firm determination to continue their close cooperation in order to achieve the common goal of accession this year. They also talked about deepening cooperation in the field of internal affairs, in order to identify European solutions for the continuation of the fight against illegal migration and the efficient protection of the European Union external borders.
Davos – Romanias Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, attends the two-day World Economic Forum hosted by Davos, Switzerland. The Romanian foreign minister will present Romanias position and role regarding security and geopolitical developments. Minister Aurescu will hold bilateral talks with government and other high-ranking officials attending the event. On Friday, Bogdan Aurescu will give a speech as part of the debate entitled A New Helsinki for the World. In his speech, Bogdan Aurescu will address the need to consolidate global dialogue in terms of security.
Health – Almost 140,000 respiratory infections were registered during the past week in Romania, which represents an increase of more than a third compared to the previous interval, according to data published on Thursday by the National Institute of Public Health. The number of flu cases also increased, over 5,000 cases were diagnosed between January 9-15, compared to approximately 4,600 cases in the first week of the year. Since the beginning of the current flu season, 50 cases of simultaneous infection have been confirmed, with the flu virus and SARS-CoV-2 or flu virus with syncytial virus. Also one patient was reported as being infected with all three at the same time. There were 27 deaths in people confirmed with the flu virus, of whom four had co-infections.
Schengen — Romanias President Klaus Iohannis decided to send Ambassador Emil Hurezeanu back to Vienna. He had been called to Bucharest for consultations on December 9, 2022, one day after the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in which Austria opposed Romanias accession to the Schengen area. The president made the decision on Thursday, after being called on the phone by his Austrian counterpart, Alexander van der Bellen. The head of the Romanian state thanked him for the publicly expressed support in favor of the countrys accession to Schengen and showed that the numerous messages of support from the political, economic and social environments in Austria are clear signs that Romanias place is in the free travel area and that a solution will be identified. Klaus Iohannis expressed his hope that the Austrian government will change its current position, so that the objective of Romanias accession to Schengen should be reached this year.
Ukraine – The Border Police General Inspectorate informs that on Wednesday, 58,538 people, of whom 7,684 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania through the border points. According to a statement sent to the media on Thursday, starting on February 10, 2022, two weeks before the Russian army invaded their country, 3,348,365 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most of them continued their way to western European countries, but about 100 thousand, chose to stay in Romania, the Romanian authorities announced. (LS)
