May 31, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

România Internațional, 31.05.2022, 13:55

Ban. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis had talks with the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels, later saying on Twitter: “Very good discussion with Mark Rutte on regional security & measures to strengthen the Eastern Flank. Appreciation for support, through consistent military presence in Romania. We agreed to continue our close cooperation on EU agenda, especially on those subjects of common interest.” The EU leaders agreed in Brussels to block large part of Russian oil imports. The last-minute compromise deal will, for the time being, only affect deliveries by sea but not those by pipeline, which Hungary opposed. European Council president Charles Michel said, however, that the agreement cuts off a big source of financing for the Russian war machine. The measure is part of a sixth package of sanctions against Russia since the start of the latters invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine. Russian forces are advancing in eastern Ukraine, with heavy clashes with the Ukrainian army taking place in the centre of Severodonetsk. Together with Lysychansk, from which it is only separated by a river, Severodonetsk is one of the last Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbass mining region, which Russia claims is at the moment the only target of its so-called “special military operation”. Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky admitted the Ukrainian army is in difficulty in this region. The Ukrainian forces say, however, that they have regained ground in the south, especially in the Kherson area, near Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian troops have withdrawn from the village of Mykolaivka, in the Kherson region. The city of Kherson was occupied by the Russian troops as early as the beginning of March, soon after the launch of the Russian invasion on 24th February, and commentators say retaking the city would have a symbolic, as well as a strategic, importance.

Census. Romanias population and housing census is entering its final phase today, with reviewers to conduct field interviews until 17th July. The census will cover everyone, irrespective of citizenship, who was registered as having their residence in Romania on 1st December 2021, meaning they had been living here for at least one year. Census refusal may lead to fines of between 200 and 600 euros, with persons preventing access to residential compounds facing fines of between 300 and 1,000 euros. According to the National Institute for Statistics, during the self-review phase that ended on 27th May, 11 million forms were recorded, 8.9 million of which were valid, which accounts for 46.8% of the population eligible for survey on 1st December 2021.

Legislation. Romanias coalition government issued an emergency order to amend a criminal code article on the interruption of the prescription deadline for criminal liability. The move is intended to harmonise the article in question with a ruling of the Constitutional Court. The Liberal justice minister Cătălin Predoiu says the change was needed so as to make sure that no corrupt politician escapes justice. From the opposition, the former justice minister and Save Romania Union MP Stelian Ion has warned that the emergency order initiated by Predoiu is liable to being challenged in the Constitutional Court, which increases the risk of certain corruption cases being closed, thus benefitting corrupt politicians and dangerous criminals. Stelian Ion says the harmonisation of the legislation with the Constitutional Court ruling could be easily solved by Parliament instead, should political will to this end exist.

Children. Two in ten children living in Romanias villages dont have enough food, and more than 33% of teenagers miss school because they have to work in the family farmstead, shows a World Vision Romania report on the situation of Romanian children living in the countryside and published ahead of International Childrens Day on 1st June. The report also shows that half of Romanian mums said they never had their children undergo any kind of medical tests. Also, 73% of gymnasium children in rural areas said they never went on a school trip or left their community. (CM)