THE WEEK IN REVIEW

February 27- March 3 2023

Mihai Pelin, 04.03.2023, 14:00

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis speaks in Luxembourg

Speaking in Luxembourg this week, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said his country appreciates the clear and vocal support granted by the host country in its bid to join the Schengen area. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said that Romania was a reliable partner for his country, and that soon 25 military personnel would join the NATO task force quartered in Cincu, in central Romania. He also reaffirmed support for Romania getting into Schengen. The head of the Romanian state also attended the forum of the European Investment Bank, dedicated to the EUs investment agenda, where he held a speech on the new global challenges. Within the event, he also held bilateral talks with the president of the bank, Werner Hoyer, and with Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the EBRD.

Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu visits Azerbaijan

New energy projects were at the core of the agenda of the official visit paid to Azerbaijan by Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu. He met in Baku with President Ilham Aliev. Discussions centered on the contract for one billion cubic meters of natural gas to be delivered by Azerbaijan, starting in April, running for a year. Marcel Ciolacus proposal was for the contract to help the neighboring Republic of Moldova too, which was met with agreement from the Azeri president. At the same time, the two officials discussed the project for LNG supply and the ROMGAZ-SOCAR partnership to build two terminals on the Black Sea, as well as the contract on developing the infrastructure for the undersea cable in that same venue. The cable is set to have a length of 1,200 km, crossing the Black sea to bring electrical power from Azerbaijan, crossing Georgia to Romania, then further to Hungary and the rest of Europe.

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu visits Geneva

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, confirmed once again his countrys firm support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within internationally recognized borders. He also expressed Romanias determination to contribute solidly to peace, security, development, and human rights. Aurescu emphasized that efforts have to be made to hold Russia responsible for crimes committed in Ukraine, and for damages to be paid to the large number of victims.

New Moldovan PM Dorin Recean visits Bucharest

The authorities in Bucharest are ready to support without reserves the leadership in Chisinau in order to reach its aim of integrating into the EU. This was the message conveyed by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to the new PM of the Republic of Moldova during the latters visit to Romania. He was also received by his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciuca, who said that Romania had consolidated its status of main trade partner for its eastern neighbor, considering that bilateral trade went up 1.2 billion dollars in 2022, reaching 3.6 billion. Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu held a meeting with Dorin Recean, during which he assured the PM that Romania would provide support in natural gas supplies for citizens of Moldova as part of the import contract with Azerbaijan.

Special parliament session for Ukraine

The parliament in Bucharest held a solemn session for the one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022. Senators and deputies condemned the military aggression, and promised that Romania would continue to support the former Soviet republic. The parliament session was attended by the Ukrainian ambassador to Romania, Ihor Prokopchuk, who delivered a message of gratitude for support received at all levels.

New laws in education

Romanian Minister of Education Ligia Deca submitted the new package of bills in education, after an agreement was reached by the parliamentary majority. One of the changes would introduce a national education portfolio for students, which would take into account both school grades and extracurricular activities. It would also introduce a complementary trial for basic competencies as part of the baccalaureate, the high school graduation exam. These changes come in answer to worrying studies that show that Romania is last on the European list of school performance. Politicians, unions, and parent associations accused the minister of lack of transparency, and of not consulting interested parties in regard to the future laws.

President Klaus Iohannis decorated Romanian calamity responders

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis held a ceremony in Bucharest to celebrate Civil Protection Day. On this occasion, he decorated military personnel, firefighters, medics, assistants, and volunteers who took part in the international humanitarian mission to Turkey. The teams were accompanied by the rescue dogs who joined them abroad, making a decisive contribution to recovering survivors from the rubble. At the same time, the wave of earthquakes that rocked the south of Romania brought back to the attention of the authorities the imperative of consolidating vulnerable buildings. The executive will submit to Parliament a bill which would include a provision to forbid renting out apartments in buildings that are listed as first tier in terms of seismic risk. At the same time, the government passed an ordinance referring to the Safe and Healthy School program, meant to simplify the introduction of the investment program for schools found in the top tier of seismic risk categories.