March 27, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 27.03.2023, 20:31

PENSIONS – The draft law on reducing expenditure with the special pensions will be debated by the Romanian Senates committees on Tuesday. Adopting the law is a condition included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, on which depends the disbursement of the third trench. Meanwhile, the ruling coalition in Bucharest has considered a number of modifications, in keeping with the European Commissions requests. The center-right opposition asked PM Nicolae Ciuca on Monday to come before Parliament and give explanations regarding the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the special pensions.

VISIT – The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, had talks on Monday in Bucharest with the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian official said they exchanged views on Romanias accession to the Schengen area and the countrys role in securing the EUs external border. Iohannis presented the steps taken by Romania for the rapid implementation of the measures regarding migration, agreed on jointly in February. In turn, Charles Michel said he supported Romanias efforts to join Schengen and that a decision in this respect should be taken as soon as possible. He voiced confidence that the EU would be safer if Romania, which met all accession criteria, joined Schengen. On Tuesday Charles Michel will travel to the neighboring Republic of Moldova. The visit takes place after last week’s summit in Brussels, when European leaders reiterated their support for the Republic of Moldova, for its security and European path.

MOLDOVA – Romania will support Moldovas sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu said Monday. He also said that “speaking Romanian in the Republic of Moldova means being a Westerner and adopting the European values. Ciolacu, alongside the interim president of the Romanian Senate, Alina Gorghiu, travelled to the neighboring Republic of Moldova to participate in the cultural events dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia – an eastern province that had been, until that moment, under the occupation of the tsarist empire – with the Kingdom of Romania, on March 27, 1918. In 1940, Bessarabia, as well as the north of Bukovina and Herța Land, were re-annexed by Stalins Soviet Union, following an ultimatum. The current Republic of Moldova, independent since 1991, was established on part of the eastern Romanian territories occupied by Moscow. In Bucharest, the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said, on the occasion of the Day of Bessarabias Union with Romania that history teaches us that military aggression, illegitimate domination and discrimination of nations cannot last. Proof thereof is the aspirations of the peoples, including the Romanian people, to live freely, in a dignified, united and democratic way.

DRILLS – A joint military exercise of the local army alongside soldiers from Romania, the US and Britain started on Monday in the Republic of Moldova. The exercise aims at increasing the level of interoperability among participating contingents. The military of the four countries are conducting advanced combat shooting and also parachute and training exercises, with a focus on specific missions.

LIBRARY – The National Museum of Romanian Literature (MNLR), in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Carol I Central University Library in Bucharest, organized on Monday, the first edition of the Day of European Authors. This is an initiative of the European Commission, which is meant to strengthen the relationship between the book and education sectors, aspiring to reconnect European citizens, especially the young generation, to reading and to help them discover European literature, and Europes linguistic and cultural diversity. The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, officially launched this initiative in Sofia, together with the renowned Bulgarian writer Georgi Bardarov, the winner of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2021. The National Museum of Romanian Literature invites the public to a meeting with two of Romanias highly appreciated authors, recognized at the European level through numerous awards, the writer and journalist Gabriela Adameșteanu and the Franco-Romanian writer, poet and playwright Matei Vişniec, to discuss the diversity of European literature and the status of the European author. (EE)