November 15, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 15.11.2022, 13:55

DEFENSE – Romania’s Defense Minister, Angel
Tîlvăr, is attending the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, in the
Defense Ministers format. The main point on the agenda is the process of
developing defense capabilities. Defense Ministers will be briefed regarding
the latest operational developments, including the EU’s recent military
assistance mission targeting Ukraine. Talks will also address the overall
security context affected by the Russian war in Ukraine. Attending will also be
NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and Ukraine’s Defense Minister,
Oleksy Reznikov, the latter addressing the meeting via videoconference.

VISIT – Romania’s Foreign Minister,
Bogdan Aurescu, is today paying an official visit to Budapest, responding to
the invitation extended by his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó. According to the Romanian official, the
Romanian-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce will be inaugurated next year. Hungary
is one of Romania’s top trade partners. In the first seven months of the year,
two-way trade went up by 32% compared to the same period of last year. The two
officials discussed energy security and increasing the volume of gas transiting
Romania towards Hungary. The Romanian official recalled that on December 17,
Bucharest will host the signing of the agreement for the creation of the green
energy corridor linking Azerbaijan to Central Europe. Bogdan Aurescu’s visit to
Hungary marks a symbolic moment in bilateral relations between the two states,
20 years since the signing in Budapest of the Declaration for the Strategic
Partnership between the Government of Romania and the Government of the
Republic of Hungary for 21st-century Europe, a fundamental mechanism
that shaped cooperation between the two countries in the modern era.

RECESSION – Romania’s Prime Minister,
Nicolae Ciucă, on Tuesday said
Romania is in no danger of facing an economic recession. On the contrary, according
to current data, Romania might report an economic growth of 5% by the end of
the year. Prime Minister Ciucă said the situation also depends on other
economies Romania is cooperating with. It is important the Government
takes measures to protect vulnerable categories of people, as well as to ensure
the competitiveness of Romanian products, Nicolae Ciucă said. According to a Eurostat report published
on Tuesday, Romania reported the highest economic growth rate at EU level in
the third quarter compared to the second one of 2022, 1.3%. Our country also
had the largest economic growth rate in the third quarter compared to the same
period of last year, 4.7%.

FORUM – Parliament is hosting the Salzburg
Forum today and tomorrow, an event organized by the Interior Ministry. In the
second half of 2022, Romania took over the presidency of the Forum, a regional
mechanism for political consultation and multilateral cooperation. Specific
panels will address hot topics such as managing the effects of the Russian
aggression in Ukraine. Set up in 2000, the Salzburg Forum brings together
Interior Ministers from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.

COMMEMORATION – Brașov in central Romania is today
hosting events marking 35 years since the anti-communist uprising of industrial
workers. Screenings, solemn civil and religious ceremonies will be held on this
occasion. In a solemn session on Monday, Parliament also commemorated the
events of November 15, 1987. MPs said the workers displayed courage and
dignity, arguing that their uprising weakened the communist regime and prepared
the revolution of 1989.

G20 – Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
dominates the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, although the issue was not
formally included on the summit’s agenda. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr
Zelensky, earlier today called on G20 leaders to stand together as co-creators
of peace in order to end Russia’s destructive war. The Ukrainian president
addressed G20 leaders by videolink. The host country’s president, Joko Widodo,
also called for putting an end to the war and argued against division in his
opening address. We should not divide the world into parts. We must not allow
the world to fall into another Cold War, the Indonesian official said. In
turn, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, accused Moscow of
using natural gas as a weapon, preferring to flare it rather than sell it, in
response to Western sanctions. Representing the Russian Federation is Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov, who today held talks with the leaders of France and
Germany regarding the conflict in Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of opposing any
resolution. Minister Lavrov said Ukraine refuses to talk to Moscow and has
advanced unrealistic peace terms.

GLOBAL POPULATION – The United Nations has estimated global
population to reach 8 billion people today, just 11 years after passing the
7-billion milestone, the BBC reports. World population will reach 9 billion by
2037, the UN has warned. Eight countries, give of which are in Africa, will
account for half of this growth. At global level, the number of newborns has
dropped dramatically. The UN says fertility went down in Europe and in parts of
Eastern Asia, although not in Western Africa.

HANDBALL – The Romanian women’s handball team is
today playing Montenegro in the second game scheduled in Group 2 at the EHF
European Championship hosted by Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
Tomorrow, Romania will play Germany. Romania needs to win both matches to
advance to the semi-finals. In the first main group fixture, Romania defeated
Spain. (VP)