EU. Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is
\nattending a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. Talks are
\nlooking, among others, at the security situation in the Black Sea region following
\nthe Russian aggression against Ukraine and ways to provide immediate and
\nsubstantial assistance to the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian minister is expected
\nto reiterate the need for the European Union to reaffirm the European prospects
\nof Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. At Romania’s proposal, EU
\nofficials will also have talks, on the sidelines of the Council, with Moldova’s
\nforeign minister Nicu Popescu to discuss additional assistance for Moldova, which
\nis struggling with a large influx of Ukrainian refugees, and ways to enhance
\nits resilience. EU defence ministers are also meeting in Brussels, with their
\nagenda including a meeting with EU foreign ministers to discuss and adopt the
\nStrategic Compass. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Ukraine. Ukraine rejected an ultimatum from
\nRussia to give up the Black Sea port of Mariupol, which has been under siege
\nfrom the Russian troops and the target of constant shelling. The capital Kyiv
\nhas also come under renewed shelling, while the southern port of Odessa has
\nseen increased activity from Russian drones surveying the city and the surrounding
\narea. Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to resume
\ntoday, with Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying Ukraine and
\nRussia are nearing agreement on critical issues. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Refugees.
\nMore than half a million Ukrainian refugees have crossed the border into
\nRomania since the start of the Russian invasion on 24th February.
\n80,000 of them have stayed and 4,000 have applied for asylum. Siret, in the
\nnorth-east, is one of the main border crossing points between Ukraine and
\nRomania. Nearby, in Suceava, the European Union set up a logistics centre for
\nthe provision of medicine and other type of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Summits.
\nNATO, the European Union and the G7 are meeting this week to agree on the West’s
\nresponse to the most serious humanitarian and security crisis in Europe since
\nWWII. US president Joe Biden is travelling to Europe to attend the three summits
\non Wednesday and Thursday and visit Poland on Friday. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Pandemic. The number of Covid infections is again surging in many parts
\nof the world. Austria is the first EU country to reintroduce compulsory face
\nmask wearing indoors, with isolation rules also about to be revised. China is facing
\nits biggest rise in Covid infections, while France saw a 36% rise in new cases
\nthis past week compared with the previous week. In Romania, all Covid restrictions
\nwere lifted from 9th March. (CM)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A round up of local and international news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[29120,35416,29237,28905],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-eu","tag-pandemic","tag-refugees","tag-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n