LOAN The Romanian government on Friday
\napproved a non-reimbursable 100 million euro loan for the neighboring Republic
\nof Moldova. Romania thus wants to support the authorities in Chisinau in their
\nefforts to accomplish a series of development projects and reforms. In the same
\nsession, the Executive decided to include 50% from the net profits of two
\nnational companies, Romgaz and Transelectrica, into the state budget. <\/p>\n
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MEETING Romania’s
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis had a bilateral meeting with the German Chancellor
\nOlaf Scholz on Friday on the sidelines of the European Council meeting. The two
\ntalked about further strengthening bilateral relations, with a focus on
\neconomic and energy cooperation, as well as on Romania’s accession to the
\nSchengen area. ‘We continue coordination in relation to the security situation
\nand the ways to help the refugees from Ukraine, Klaus Iohannis wrote on
\nTwitter. Romania’s President attended the European Council meeting on Thursday
\nand Friday. On the first day of the meeting, he met with the Prime Minister of
\nBulgaria, Kiril Petkov. Talks with the Bulgarian official focused on
\ncoordinating the security situation in the region, helping Ukrainian refugees,
\ndeepening economic and energy cooperation and accelerating interconnectivity
\nbetween the two countries. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis also attended the
\nExtraordinary NATO Summit.<\/p>\n
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REFUGEES Roughly 3.7 million people have left
\nUkraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24th,
\nsays a UN report published on Friday, which also confirms that the exodus has
\nslowed down of late. Over 10 million people, more than a quarter of Ukraine’s
\npopulation have left their homes. UN estimates that around 6.5 million people have
\nbeen relocated inside the country. Close to 90% of those who fled the country
\nbecause of the conflict are women and children. According to the Romanian
\nborder police, nearly 10 thousand Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on
\nThursday. Over 537 thousand Ukrainian refugees have entered Romania since the
\nbeginning of the crisis. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 On Friday Romania reported 3,725 new Covid cases in 24
\nhours as well as 41 related fatalities. 415 people are presently being treated
\nin ICUs across Romania, the lowest number in the past 3 months. No anti-Covid
\nrestrictions have been applied in Romania in the past two weeks though the
\ncountry’s Health Minister Alexandru Rafila has recommended the observance of
\nindividual protection measures. <\/p>\n
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GROUP The United States and the European Union announced on Friday the setting up
\nof a working group that will aim to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia’s
\nfossil energy resources due to Moscow’s war against Ukraine, AFP reports. The US
\nis expected to supply the European Union with an additional 15 billion cubic
\nmeters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year as part of an initiative
\nannounced by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula
\nvon der Leyen. Both the NATO and G7 summits were held in the Belgian capital on
\nThursday, with the participation of US President Joe Biden. NATO has decided to
\nprovide additional assistance to Ukraine and continue to strengthen the eastern
\nflank by sending four new multinational combat groups to Romania, Bulgaria,
\nHungary and Slovakia. <\/p>\n
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UKRAINE The Ukrainian army’s counterattacks and the difficulties of the Russian
\nforces in relation to their supply lines have allowed Ukraine to reoccupy
\ncities and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers east of the capital Kyiv,
\nthe UK Ministry of Defense was quoted by EFE as saying on Friday. The Ukrainian
\nforces are likely to continue trying to push the Russian army along the
\nnorthwest axis between Kyiv and the Hostomel airfield, about 70 kilometers from
\nthe capital, according to British intelligence services which have data from
\nthe ground. In southern Ukraine, the Russian forces are still trying to bypass
\nthe city of Mikolaiv (Nikolaiev) in an effort to advance westward in the
\ndirection of Odessa, according to the British Ministry of Defense. However,
\ntheir progress is slowed by logistical problems and Ukrainian resistance. The
\nhumanitarian situation in the besieged city of Mariupol continues to
\ndeteriorate, while Russia is blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid, the city
\nmayor said. Most of the city is now in ruins. About 100,000 people remain
\nstranded in Mariupol, and the large-scale evacuation efforts have failed. In
\nanother development, the peace talks between the two sides are making little
\nprogress in the key issues, Moscow’s Chief Negotiator Vladimir Medinski said on
\nFriday. However he admitted that some headway was made in secondary issues,
\nFrance Press Reports. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Friday
\nthat the negotiation process is very difficult and no consensus with Moscow is
\nenvisaged in the present stage of the negotiations. <\/p>\n
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(bill)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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