July 29, 2022

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Newsroom, 29.07.2022, 13:55

VISIT The president of the R. of Moldova, Maia Sandu, is today on an
official visit in Romania, at the invitation of her counterpart Klaus Iohannis.
At the press conference following the official meeting, the Romanian president
said the talks were solid and focused on many topics of bilateral interest,
taking into account the long-lasting and sincere connections between the 2
countries. He congratulated Maia Sandu on Moldova’s EU accession candidate
status granted at the European Council meeting on June 23-24. This is a historic
achievement, a landmark in the history of the country, Klaus Iohannis said, and
added that Romania will continue to support Moldova through all the means available
to it. Mr. Iohannis also pointed out that the 2 presidents agreed to take
decisive steps in terms of inter-connecting the electricity networks of their
countries, and discussed the potential of the Iaşi-Ungheni-Chişinău pipeline
as a vital element of Moldova’s energy security. In
turn, the
president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, said Bucharest stood by Chisinau over the
years, and Romania’s voice ‘resounded strongly’ in Brussels in support of
Moldova’s EU candidate status. Maia Sandu voiced her confidence that the
Moldovan-Romanian partnership will contribute to overcoming the difficulties
entailed by the war in Ukraine.

ANTHEM Every year on July 29 Romania celebrates National Anthem Day.
According to the defence ministry, ceremonies are held today in all military
units across the country. In Bucharest, a religious service was held in front
of the National Military Palace, while in Râmnicu Vâlcea local authorities
organized events devoted to the song Awaken Thee, Romanian!, which was first
performed officially in this town 174 years ago. National Anthem Day was
proclaimed by Parliament in 1998. The song was written by Anton Pann, on lyrics
by the poet Andrei Mureşanu. The message of the National Anthem has a strong
impact, and calls for national unity, courage, dignity and responsibility,
president Klaus Iohannis said in a news release. In turn, PM Nicolae Ciucă said
the anthem, national colours and the coat of arms define the identity of the
Romanian nation and signify the strong connection between the past, present and
future.

FESTIVAL Sighişoara,
in central Romania, is hosting this weekend the 28th edition of the
first medieval festival in Romania. The Sighişoara citadel will be the stage of
theatre performances, music and dance shows, improvisation, arts and crafts
demonstrations. While the previous edition was attended by some 11,000
visitors, the organisers hope 16,000 people will take part this year. A
spectacular fireworks show is planned for the closing ceremony on Sunday night.
Sighisoara is the only inhabited medieval citadel in south-eastern Europe.

FOOTBALL All the Romanian football teams taking part in the European
Conference League qualifiers have moved into the 3rd preliminary
round. On Thursday Universitatea Craiova defeated the Albanian side
Vllaznia 3-0 on home turf, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. In the 3rd
preliminary round, Craiova will play against the Ukrainian team Zaria Luhansk. In
Bucharest, FCSB defeated Saburtalo (Georgia) 4-2, and is next to take on the
Slovakian team Dunajská Streda. The Romanian Cup winners Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe had
the most difficult match on Thursday, against Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia, and
lost 2-0, away from home, after having won 3-1 in the first leg. In the penalty
shootouts, the Slovenians missed twice, and Sepsi moved forward in the
competition. Their next opponent is Djurgården (Sweden). And on Wednesday, CFR Cluj drew 1-1 away from home
against Inter Club d’Escaldes, of Andorra, after 3-0 at home, and are pitted
next against Belarusian champions Shahtior Soligorsk. (AMP)