October 16, 2024 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 16.10.2024, 19:46

Summit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is in Brussels, where, on Wednesday, he participated in the EU – Gulf Cooperation Council summit. He will also attend the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday. Through Wednesday’s event, the European Union was trying to strengthen economic relations with the states of the Persian Gulf area and bring them closer to the critical position of the EU bloc vis-à-vis Russia. Along with the situation in Ukraine, an important topic on the agenda of the Thursday and Friday meeting of the EU leaders is migration.

Government. The Romanian government adopted, on Wednesday, several bills, including the one on the establishment of Carpatica Feroviar S.A., a company that will ensure the state’s strategic transports. The executive also approved the creation of a new IT platform for the national transplant registry. The platform will provide all the necessary data for organ and tissue transplantation, at European standards. The government also approved an emergency ordinance that allows the training in Romania of pilots from Ukraine, on F-16 planes. The costs of this training will be borne from the budget of the Ministry of National Defense.

PNRR. The European Commission has provisionally approved Romania’s third payment request for its National Resilience and Recovery Plan (PNRR). The Commission is waiting to receive additional information from the government in Bucharest within a month in order to make the whole payment. According to the EC’s assessment, Romania had met 62 out of the 68 requirements related to reforms and investment, which led to the temporary suspension of payment until explanations were provided. If these explanations are considered enough, the Commission is expected to disburse the entire amount of 2 billion Euros.

Corruption. In an online meeting Wednesday, the Standing Bureau of the Romanian Senate decided that the request to lift the parliamentary immunity of the Senator Eugen Pîrvulescu be sent to the Legal Commission for the preparation of a report, and then voted on at the plenary session on Monday. The Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, sent, on Tuesday, the request to lift the parliamentary immunity of the senator. Last Friday, Senator Eugen Pîrvulescu was placed under criminal investigation in a case in which he is accused of inciting to influence peddling. (…)

Moldova. In Balti, in the Republic of Moldova, on Wednesday, the police and anti-corruption prosecutors raided the headquarters of the “Victory” Party and the homes of people known to have ties to the political party of the controversial pro-Russian businessman and politician Ilan Shor. The searches took place just a few days before the presidential elections and the referendum on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU, to be held on Sunday. The investigators say that Ilan Shor has been illegally financing several candidates for presidency. The Republic of Moldova has for long asked for his extradition from Israel, where he fled after being targeted in 2019 by a corruption investigation dubbed the “theft of the century”. The White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby has warned that Russia is actively working to undermine the elections in Moldova and its European integration, allocating millions of dollars to influence the presidential elections.

Ukraine. Romania can play the role of a logistic hub in Ukraine’s reconstruction – says the president of the Romania-Ukraine Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, Nasty Vladoiu, who has recently attended the Forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Bucharest. In turn, Ana Tinca, State Secretary for Strategic Affairs with Romania’s Foreign Ministry, has reiterated Romania’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and the significant importance attached to Ukraine’s reconstruction. In this context she underlined the special attention paid to cross-border projects and connectivity in the fields of transport and energy, as well as the trilateral cooperation also involving the Republic of Moldova. The official has also mentioned the EU’s major support in the country’s reconstruction, urging the business community to use the instruments and programs available at EU level.