November 22, 2024 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 22.11.2024, 19:22

Presidential election – Voting abroad for the first round of the presidential election in Romania began on Friday. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, several tens of thousands of voters have so far voted in the diaspora, adding to the more than 4,200 who voted by mail. Voting abroad takes place from November 22 to 24. In the country, Romanians will be able to vote for the next president on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the possibility for the vote to be extended. Almost 19,000 polling stations were organized in the country for this election and 950 abroad. The most sections outside the borders are in Italy – 158, Spain – 147 and Great Britain – 107. There are 13 candidates registered in the presidential race. Also on Sunday, a local referendum is organized in Bucharest with three questions related to administrative issues: the distribution of income from duties and taxes, the issuance of construction permits as well as the fight against drug consumption. For the referendum to be valid, a 30% turnout is needed.

Schengen – The interior ministers from Romania, Bulgaria, Austria and Hungary, together with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, agreed on Friday, in Budapest, that Romania and Bulgaria should join the free travel Schengen area with land borders too from January 1, 2025. The final decision will be made at the meeting of the European Union’s interior ministers next month, in Brussels. ‘Romania is a security provider in Europe and Romania’s entry into the Schengen Area will strengthen this area’ said Minister Cătălin Predoiu. Present in Budapest, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu welcomed the agreement reached at the level of the interior ministers regarding Romania’s full accession to the Schengen Area. On a social network, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also welcomed the favorable outcome of the informal discussions in Budapest. ‘In 2025, the Schengen area will become stronger, the EC leader wrote. The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola herself welcomed the ‘positive evolution regarding the full accession to the Schengen area of ​​Romania and Bulgaria. We remind you that Romania and Bulgaria have partially acceded to Schengen at the end of March with air and sea border controls being suspended, but land border controls remained in place due to Austria’s opposition, motivated by Vienna’s concerns about illegal migration.

Weather – In Romania, the temperatures will drop compared to the previous day, especially in the southern and southeastern regions, and will be, in most parts of the country, lower than the normal ones for this period. The sky will be temporarily cloudy and light snow will be reported especially during the day, in most of the mountain areas, and on limited areas in the center and north and, isolated, in the west and northeast. The wind will intensify in the mountains, with speeds of 60 up to 80 km/h, and the gusts will reach 80 – 100 km/h on the peaks and blizzard will be reported. Locally, wind speeds of 50 -70 km/h will also be recorded in the center, south and east of the territory. The maximum temperatures will range from minus 2 to plus 10 degrees Celsius, and the minimum between minus 10 to plus 1 degree C. Several counties in the east, southeast, south and center are under code yellow alerts for wind intensification and blizzard in the mountains until Saturday. Road and air traffic were disrupted, on Friday, in several areas of the country, due to the blizzard and snow. Thousands of people were left without electricity. Maneuvers in Black Sea ports have been suspended.

Israel – The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would continue to defend the country in any way, after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu considers the Court’s decision as an anti-Semitic act, while the President of Israel and the head of the Parliament labeled it as an attack against justice and truth. The acting American president, Joe Biden, labeled as ‘scandalous’ the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. On Thursday, the court also issued an arrest warrant for the head of the military wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, also for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In this context, the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) conveyed, in a statement, that it is not possible to put the equal sign between Israel, a democracy, and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. ‘In the current context in the Middle East, when all efforts must be aimed at finding political solutions, any initiative must aim at a cease-fire agreement, the release of all hostages and the mitigation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”, MAE also states. (LS)