March 6, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 06.03.2023, 13:55

Japan-Romania. On
Monday, on the first day of his official visit to Japan, Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis had talks with the president of the House of Councillors
Hidehisa Otsuji and the speaker of the House of Representatives Hiroyuki Hosoda.
Talks focused on the Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership and the regional
security situation. The Japanese officials underlined that the Strategic
Partnership creates new opportunities for cooperation in the economic sector,
trade, research and innovation. With respect to the security situation, the
Japanese officials emphasised that Japan and Romania share the same vision and
approach and conveyed their appreciation of Romania’s sustained actions and
efforts to support Ukraine, both with the refugees and to facilitate the
transit of cereals. On Tuesday, president Iohannis is to be received by emperor
Naruhito. He will later also meet prime minister Fumio Kishida, together signing
a joint declaration on the establishment of the Romania-Japan Strategic
Partnership. On Wednesday, the Romanian president will meet local officials
from Kyoto. On Thursday and Friday, he will make a state visit to Singapore,
the first at this level in the last 20 years, where he will have talks with
president Halimah Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Danube Delta. Experts from Romania and Ukraine are
meeting today to discuss a plan for conducting measurements of the Bystroye
canal and Chilia branch in the Danube Delta, an activity due to begin on 15th
March and last ten days. European officials are also arriving in Bucharest
today to collect data from the Romanian and Ukrainian authorities. Bucharest
has voiced concerns that the Ukrainian side may have deepened the navigable
waterway in the Bystroye canal more than agreed, which would have a negative
impact on the Danube Delta ecosystems. Bystroye is not part of the European
transport network and deepening it would allow for the passing of high-tonnage
commercial ships. Under international treaties, the Sulina canal is the only one
to be used for the transport of maritime goods in the Danube Delta.

Motion. The Chamber of Deputies is today
debating a simple no-confidence motion against labour minister Marius Budăi
filed by the Save Romania Union and unaffiliated MPs from the Force of the
Right, with voting to be held on Tuesday. Minister Budăi is accused of not
drafting the right bill to eliminate special pensions and of intentionally
delaying getting rid of these privileges. The special pensions bill has been on
Parliament’s table for debate for some time, with the finance ministry yet to
present a report on the budget impact. Also today, finance minister Adrian Câciu
is expected in Parliament to explain why the country’s budget deficit reached
record-high levels and financing costs are among the highest in the European
Union.

Ban. The
Romanian authorities are considering blocking TikTok app from the work phones
of public sector employees, after the European Commission and the European
Parliament made a similar decision due to cyber security concerns. The minister
for research, innovation and digitalisation Sebastian Burduja said recently
that the TikTok ban is analysed by all institutions involved. The leaders of
the ruling coalition, prime minister Nicolae Ciucă and the speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu, said Romania should have the same approach
as the European institutions. TikTok may also be banned in the US, with the
Republicans already submitting a bill in Congress that would clear the way for
the president to ban the app. (CM)