October 18, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.10.2023, 20:00

Kyiv. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, signed, at the end of
a joint meeting of the executives of the two countries, held on Wednesday in
Kyiv, a memorandum on ensuring the safe transit of Ukrainian products and
a strategy on the development of points of crossing the Ukraine-Romania border
and related road infrastructure. Also, an agreement was concluded
regarding the construction of the border road bridge over the Tisa river, on
the Romanian-Ukrainian border, between the localities of Bila Tserkva and
Sighetu Marmaţiei. A mechanism for the import of Ukrainian grains into Romania
was also established, with measures to protect Romanian farmers. The Kyiv
government adopted a document recognizing that the Romanian minority in Ukraine
speaks Romanian, and not Moldovan. The list of documents signed at the end of
the joint meeting of the two executives also includes a Protocol on the
readmission of persons, a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the
defense industry and a Memorandum of Understanding in the pharmaceutical field.
Prime Minister Ciolacu was also received by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Brussels. The European Commission hails the signing
of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Romania and
Ukraine, which will further contribute to increasing the capacity of the
solidarity corridors, especially considering the damage suffered by the
transport infrastructure in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s aggression. In a
press release from the Community Executive, it is shown that Romania has an
essential role in the operation of the solidarity corridors and collaborates
constructively with all the parties involved. The improvement of the border
crossing between the two countries, foreseen by this memorandum, will not only
serve the immediate import and export needs of Ukraine, but will anchor it
firmly in the EU transport space. The financing is already available, say
Brussels officials.

Gaza. American president, Joe Biden, reaffirmed his support for Israel, which is
at war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. He met, on Wednesday, in Tel
Aviv, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – being the first American
president to go to Israel during wartime. Biden supported the Israeli version
regarding the explosion in a hospital in the Gaza Strip, namely that the
deflagration was caused by a rocket launched by another terrorist organization
– the Islamic Jihad – and not by an attack by the Israeli army. In Bucharest,
the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared itself shocked and deeply
saddened by the explosion and the loss of innocent lives at the hospital in
Gaza. In a message sent on Wednesday, the ministry emphasizes that all
civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times and that
responsibility for the attack must be clearly established. Hundreds of people
were killed or injured in the rocket attack on the hospital in Gaza, for which
Israel and the Palestinians blame each other. The attack was condemned by the
international community, and many Arab leaders accused Israel of committing a
war crime.

Alert. Belgium, France, Italy and Spain have raised the terrorist alert level to
the maximum following the attacks that have marked the west of the continent in
recent days. 10 regional airports in France were evacuated on Wednesday due to
terrorist alerts. On Tuesday, the Palace of Versailles in Paris was evacuated
and remained closed all day after a new bomb alert, just like on Saturday, when
the terrorist threat also targeted the Louvre Museum. On Friday, a Russian
citizen of Chechen ethnicity killed a teacher in northern France also in the
name of the Islamic State group. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has admitted
that Islamic terrorism is back in force and that all European countries are
vulnerable to this threat. More than 100 people have been arrested for
anti-Semitic acts and praising terrorism in France in the last week. On Monday,
two Swedish citizens were killed in Brussels by an illegal Tunisian immigrant,
identified and later shot dead by the Belgian police. The Islamic State group
claimed this attack and specified that it targeted Sweden because of its
membership in the global coalition fighting against the jihadists. More
sensitive metal detectors have been installed in Italy’s airports, while
baggage checks have become very strict.

Budget. The Romanian Constitutional
Court dismissed the notification filed by Save Romania Union and the Force of
the Right in opposition in Romania with respect to the bill on fiscal and
budget-related measures for which the Government has undertaken responsibility
before Parliament. The Constitutional Court president, Marian Enache, said the
Cabinet’s responsibility concerned a sole and unified purpose, namely to
increase revenues to the public budget and to cut down on expenditure, and that
the responsibility procedure was in line with the requirements of the
Constitutional Court and its case law. Marian Enache also says the Court’s
decision was made on a majority of votes. After the decision of the
Constitutional Court, the bill may be signed into law by the president of
Romania, Klaus Iohannis. (MI)