June 17, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 17.06.2022, 20:00

EU – The European Commission has recommended Member States to grant EU
candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, European Commission
president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Friday. Romania’s president,
Klaus Iohannis, hailed the Commission’s decision, saying this is a well-deserved
step forward for the citizens of the two states. We will continue to actively
support Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia in their efforts to become
members of the European Union family, Iohannis wrote on Friday on social
media. On Thursday, during his visit to Kyiv, France’s president, Emmanuel
Macron, said France, alongside Germany, Italy and Romania, supports the idea of
immediately granting candidate status to Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine’s
president, Volodymyr Zelensky, described the visit of the leaders of France,
Germany, Italy and Romania as a historical moment. Ukraine enjoys the support
of four strong European states, Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine is closer to
the EU than ever. On the other hand, the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign
Ministry, Maria Zakharova, reacted to the Commission’s decision, accusing the
EU of manipulating Ukraine with respect to EU accession.

VISIT – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday said NATO has the
capacity of dealing with any threats and provocations, current or prospective. The
head of state met King Philippe of Belgium at the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase in Constanța
County. President Iohannis thanked Belgium for the important contribution of
its military to NATO missions in Romania. Together
we are stronger and more efficient in our common effort to consolidate the
security of Euro-Atlantic space and of our citizens, the president said. In
turn, the King of Belgium expressed hope the war in Ukraine would end soon,
pointing out that the West’s support will continue even after the war is over. NATO
was quick to respond, it brought troops and equipment on the Eastern Flank.
Your presence here, militaries from seven NATO countries, far away from your countries,
at times having to deal with difficult circumstances, proves that NATO
solidarity is being tested in critical moments, King Philippe said. On
Wednesday, France’s president Emmanuel Macron also visited the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase in Constanța
County. On this occassion, president Klaus Iohannis said the two countries are
bound by excellent ties. Cooperation between Romania and France in the field of
security has gone up significantly in recent months, amidst the Russian
invasion of Ukraine, the Romanian president said, again expressing gratitude for the presence of
French troops in Romania and for France taking command of the NATO battlegroup
in our country.

TAXATION – The National Fiscal Administration (ANAF) will perform
additional controls starting July 1 to examine the financial statements of
people suspected of tax evasion. The administration chief, Lucian Heiuș, said Friday that ANAF has identified a 20-billion-EUR
difference between the estimated and declared income in the case of 560
thousand people. Lucian Heiuș said the number
of teams inspecting financial statements will increase from 22 at present to
100, while the number of inspectors will be further supplemented started next
year.

REFUGEES – The Romanian Border Police has
announced that 100,644 people entered Romania on Thursday, of whom 9,766 are
Ukrainian citizens. Of these, 5,557 crossed the border into Romania from
Ukraine and 1,156 from Moldova. Since February 24 until Thursday, some
1,221,710 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea on Friday
advanced to the semifinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Birmingham after
defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia (WTA 92), score 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Also on Friday,
Simona Halep ousted Katie Boulter of the United Kingdom, 6-4, 6-1. On Thursday,
Gabriela Ruse was knocked out by eighth-seed Shuai Zhang of China, 6-2, 2-6,
7-5. (VP)