March 29, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of the main local and international news
Newsroom, 29.03.2024, 20:44
GRAIN Romania’s grain output went up by 9 percent last year, up to 21 million tons mainly due to the more productive types sowed, the National Institute for Statistics said. The growth has been influenced by the 11% increase in the wheat production, which accounts for 47% of the total grain production. Data shows that Romania ranks fourth in Europe in terms of wheat production after France, Germany and Poland.
DST Romania will this weekend implement the Daylight Saving Time DST and will set clocks forward by one hour. So, three AM becomes four AM and Sunday becomes the shortest day of the year. The change takes place a couple of days after the Spring equinox on March 20th, when days are equal with nights. Thanks to the DST, Romania will have a three hours advance against the GMT as compared to only two in winter. DST is expected to last a little under seven months, nearly 65% of the year covering the seasons of spring, summer and half of autumn. The EU members were supposed to announce their decision to permanently adopt the summer or winter time until 2021. However, discussions on the issue still continue.
SCHENGEN As of March 31st, air and maritime checks on Schengen borders will be lifted for Romania and Bulgaria. This means that documents will no longer be checked. In Romania, border policemen can still make unannounced checks, based on a risk analysis. The preparations taking place on 17 airports and four maritime ports in Romania have come to an end. Also, to prepare for 31st March, some big airports in Romania, such as the ones in Iasi and Timisoara, have opened new terminals. Initiated in 1985 as an intergovernmental project between five states – France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – and after seven waves of expansion, the Schengen area is currently the largest free movement area in the world. With the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, it expands to 4.5 million square km and a population of 450 million.
NATO From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, across the Atlantic and the Adriatic, NATO is more united and more capable than ever, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Friday in a message on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the largest wave of expansion in the Alliance’s history. On behalf of the United States, Blinken congratulated Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their accession to NATO. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has also said that Romania will remain deeply involved in the process of permanent adaptation of NATO, so that the Alliance becomes stronger, more resilient and better prepared for the future. In the 20 years of NATO membership, Romania has become an important pillar and has consolidated its position within the alliance, respecting its security commitments in the Black Sea area, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said. NATO was established in 1949 as a security alliance between the United States, Canada and 10 West European countries. Sweden is the youngest member, as it has joined NATO this year. There are currently 32 states making up the Alliance.
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