THE WEEK IN REVIEW

October 9-13, 2023

Leyla Cheamil, 14.10.2023, 14:00

Solidarity with Israel

The Bucharest Parliament adopted a declaration of solidarity with Israel and condemnation of the terrorist attacks by the Hamas organization. The document states that more effective mechanisms are needed to ensure the protection of freedom, democracy, and human lives. The parliamentarians supported the right of this state to defend itself in order to eliminate terrorism and to take all necessary measures to protect its civilians. At the beginning of the joint session of Parliament, senators and deputies kept a moment of silence in memory of the victims of terrorist attacks against Israel. The representatives of all parliamentary groups condemned the terrorist attacks and expressed their solidarity with Israel. The leader of Social Democratic senators, Lucian Romaşcanu, emphasized that it is absolutely painful that, in this millennium, we are witnessing two unjust and hateful wars, which have no justification. For its part, the National Liberal Party, a governing partner as well, strongly condemns the terrorist attacks, standing in solidarity with Israel, and reiterating its support for the sovereign right of the state of Israel to self-defense. The USR party, in the opposition, stated that the authors of the attack on Israel are seeking to repeat the painful tragedies of history, and emphasized that there is no justification for terrorism. The AUR party, also in the opposition, condemned, as early as Saturday, the attacks on Israel. The president of this formation, George Simion, also emphasized this position, mentioning that the commitment to peace and dialogue must be reaffirmed. The Democratic Union of Hungarians also expressed its total solidarity with the state of Israel and the Jewish people. On the other hand, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced that the state has repatriated from Israel the vast majority of Romanian citizens who requested this,over 2000 people, following the bloody Hamas aggression. He thanked all the institutions involved, mainly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the national airline, TAROM.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visits Romania

Romania and neighboring Ukraine have decided to raise bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership, the highest degree of collaboration between two states. A joint declaration in this sense was signed by presidents Klaus Iohannis and Volodimir Zelenski, who was on Tuesday on his first visit to Bucharest since the beginning of the war. The leader in Kiev received assurances that Romania will continue to support Ukraine, including militarily, and a new corridor for grain transport will be opened through the Republic of Moldova, by railway. The Ukrainian army is set to receive anti-aircraft and artillery systems, President Zelensky said. Romania will support Ukraine as long as it is needed, President Klaus Iohannis declared, who specified that the support given to the neighboring country is of strategic importance. In Bucharest, the president of Ukraine also had meetings with the presidents of the two chambers of the Parliament, as well as with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, and laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. He also stated that, in the coming weeks, a joint meeting of Ukrainian and Romanian government officials will be prepared.

The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, gave explanations in the Senate regarding the fragments of Russian drones found in the Danube Delta area

The Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, explained, on Wednesday, in the plenary of the Senate, that the expert analysis of the drone fragments found in the Danube Delta area has been completed, and the report has been submitted to the General Prosecutors Office. He also said that Romanias territory was not targeted, the impact being accidental, and that the drones did not contain explosives. The devices could not be tracked by the early warning systems because they fly at very low altitudes, the Romanian Minister of Defense stated. He was called to give explanations on this topic in Parliament, during Government Hour, by the group of USR senators (in opposition). The Government Hour debate is a procedure that is part of the parliamentary control mechanism exercised by the Legislature on the Government. Minister Angel Tîlvăr assured that Romania, as a NATO member country, is protected, and its citizens are not in danger. He he also said that, recently, aerial surveillance systems were supplemented in the Danube Delta, near the Ukrainian ports attacked by Russian forces.

SCD meeting in Bucharest

In Bucharest, the Supreme Council of Defense decided, on Thursday, to set up an inter-institutional working group for the effective prevention and combating of the risks generated by drug trafficking and consumption. It will be made up of state undersecretaries, representatives of the domestic intelligence service, prosecutors and specialists, under the coordination of the Government. It is the first time that drug trafficking and consumption are treated as major risks to individual and national security. In order to put the action plan into practice, the Executive will adopt a series of measures. Among them is the analysis of the legislative framework aimed at drug trafficking and consumption and the formulation of proposals regarding the modification and completion of normative acts in order to eliminate legislative gaps and limit the possibilities of speculative interpretations of legal provisions. The decision was taken in the context of the accident that took place in the 2 Mai commune in the summer, when a 19-year-old young man, under the influence of drugs, killed two young people and injured three others. The control body of the Minister of the Interior then discovered a series of irregularities that led to the accident. Also on Thursday, the Government adopted an increase in the maximum number of positions for the organized crime unit (DIICOT), as announced by the Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu. She stated that, in total, there are 50 positions, of which 25 are anti-drug prosecutors.