May 9, 2024
A roundup of the main local and international news
Newsroom, 09.05.2024, 13:45
VOTE On June 9th Romanians are expected to the polls and cast a ballot for their representatives in the European Parliament and in the local administration. The election campaign will kick off on May 10th and is due to end on June 8. Over nine hundreds polling stations are expected to be opened abroad, upon the request of the local Romanian communities who will be using the same ballot papers. We recall that 2024 is the first year when Romania sees three election rounds. In September they are expected to elect the country’s president and in December their MPs.
UKRAINE The situation in Ukraine has been high on the agenda of the talks Romania’s Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr had with his British and Georgian counterparts, Leo Docherty and Irakli Chikovani, respectively. The issue was also high on the agenda of the talks in Washington between Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis and Joe Biden. In Bucharest, the British official has mentioned the strong relations between the two countries, Romania’s steadfast contribution to NATO as well as the joint support for Ukraine. According to Leo Docherty, 2024 is a very important year for the fate of the war started by Russia and said the Europeans have a duty to support Ukraine. In Washington, the Romanian president has recalled the support Romania granted to Ukraine from the very beginning of the conflict and has given assurances this support ”is going to continue as long as necessary, because Romania is aware of the key role it is playing in helping its neighbour to obtain victory and peace, to attain economic success and get integrated into the EU. After the talks he had with Joe Biden, the Romanian president mentioned the possibility that Romania might consider the solution of making a Patriot missile defence system available for Ukraine.
FILM The 28th edition of the European Film Festival begins in Bucharest today on Europe’s Day and will end in Chisinau on June 8. The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) kicks off the festival with Blaga’s Lessons, a Bulgarian-German co-production directed by Stephan Komandarev, which got the Crystal Globe for Best Film and the Ecumenical Jury Award at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. According to the ICR, the festival this year has a generous schedule of 40 feature films, 34 national premieres and two selections of short-reels.
WIN Romania’s national side clinched a 31-30 home win against the Czech Republic on Wednesday night in the first round of the World Handball Championship playoffs. The return match is due to take place in Brno on May 12. Romania has so far attended 14 editions of the aforementioned competition and its latest participation was in 2011, when it ranked 19th. The World Handball Championship is due over January 14 and February 2 next year in Croatia, Denmark and Norway.
DAY Bucharest and other Romanian cities are today marking Europe Day through a series of concerts, sporting events, rounds of debates, book exhibitions and various workshops. The EU flag will be projected on the Parliament building in Bucharest tonight in an attempt to join other famous institutions and buildings all over Europe, marking this day as well as the final countdown to the EU Parliament elections due on June 9th. Blue lights are going to be projected on the Triumphal Arch in Bucharest also tonight. The Schuman Declaration, a watershed moment in the process of European integration and cooperation, is also marked on May 9th. On this day in 1950, the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community. The proposal has been known as the Schuman Declaration and is believed to have been the foundation of the European Union. Romania joined the EU in 2007 together with Bulgaria.
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