September 28, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 28.09.2022, 20:11

PIPELINES The European Union has vowed ‘a robust and united response’ to any
attack, which might target its energy infrastructure. The warning comes after
the inexplicable explosions in the Baltic Sea, which on Monday crippled the
North Stream 1 and 2, an act, which the EU describes as ‘deliberate’. Amid
suspicions against Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry says that US president
Joe Biden must say if the United States are behind the Nord Stream leaks, which
connects Russia to Germany. According AFP, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria
Zakharova recalled Joe Biden’s statement in February, when the US president
said that Nord Stream would be finished if Russia invaded Ukraine. In turn,
president Putin’s spokesman Dmitri Peskov pointed to the ‘huge profits’ for US
LNG suppliers who have ‘increased their supplies by several times’. The White
House has described Russia’s demand that the United States say whether it was
the blasts at the two natural gas pipelines as ‘ridiculous’. Russia has this
month stopped its gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 while Nord Stream 2,
which was completed in 2021, has not become operational yet following the
European sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Although
not operational, the two pipelines were filled with gas.

MAE
In the context of the latest developments in Russia, including the announcement
on partial mobilization, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest reminds and
constantly reiterates its recommendations to Romanians – to avoid unnecessary
trips to the Russian territory at the same time advising those who are there to
consider leaving asap. At the same time, the Ministry recommends the Romanian
citizens present in Russia to be very careful and avoid crowded places and other
events, which could result in street violence.

ENERGY An emergency government order on electricity
price caps and subsidies was endorsed by Senate on Tuesday and is next to be
voted on by the Chamber of Deputies. The document was subject to successive
changes, with MPs extending the list of beneficiaries, among other things.

TRADE Trade exchanges between Romania and the
US reached USD 5.4 billion last year, as against USD 2.4 billion in 2011, according
to a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry in
Romania, AmCham, as part of the U.S. – Romania Economic Forum on Wednesday. Direct
and indirect US investment in Romania went up from USD 6.5 billion in 2019, to
USD 7.5 billion in 2020. The US is Romania’s 5th-largest trade partner,
accounting for 6.8% of the country’s international trade, and the largest
outside the EU. The biggest US investments in Romania by turnover are in
manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare. As many as 900 companies in Romania
are running on US capital, ranking 3rd after Hungary and the Czech Republic.

POLLS Romania has again firmly condemned the so-called September referendums
in the Ukrainian regions illegally occupied by the Russian troops, whose
outcomes were announced on Wednesday. According to the Romanian diplomacy,
Romania does not recognize the results of these illegal and illegitimate
referendums. The Romanian Foreign Ministry says these referendums are a blatant
violation of international laws and as a result they have no legal effect. According
to the ministry, by staging these referendums Russia has again proved that it
violates the fundamental principles of international law running against its
responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Romania has
again reiterated its firm support for the independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Ukraine and makes an appeal to all the states to
reject Russia’s attempts to illegally annex territories of other states or any
type of similar actions. The pro-Russia authorities in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson,
Lugansk and Donetsk have announced the participants’ favourable vote for the
annexation of these territories by Russia. The next move is for the Russian
Parliament to endorse a document for the integration of these territories in
the Russian Federation.

(bill)