TALKS Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca held talks in
\nBucharest with the EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit.
\nThe two officials have discussed the EU response to the crisis caused by the
\nRussian military aggression in Ukraine. The head of the Romanian executive has
\npresented Romania’s strategy for ensuring the country’s energy independence by
\nusing nuclear energy, building green energy plants and by exploiting the new
\noffshore gas deposits. Commissioner Schmit has underlined the effective efforts
\nof the Romanian authorities to receive over half a million Ukrainian refugees
\nand has voiced the European Commission’s support for the member states enabling
\nthem to quickly access the funds that are already at the disposal of the member
\nstates and are to be supplemented. <\/p>\n
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AID Romania is ready to lay at
\nthe disposal of Ukraine the infrastructure in the port of Constanta, so that the
\ncountry may be able to carry on its exports of cereals, as its ports have been
\nblocked by the Russian invasion. The statement has been made by Romania’s
\nDefence Minister Vasile Dincu, who has also added that talks in this respect
\nare underway. The Romanian official has underlined the move represents an
\nopportunity for Ukraine to fund its survival. Dincu has also mentioned that
\nRomania may also benefit from the move though the country has no issues in this
\nrespect because it is an exporter of cereals. In another development political
\nsources in Bucharest have announced that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky
\nwill be addressing the Romanian Parliament on Monday night. Over 86 hundred
\nUkrainian citizens entered Romania on Wednesday night slightly exceeding the
\nnumber of refugees who came to Romania on Tuesday. 600 thousand Ukrainian
\nnationals have arrived in Romania since the beginning of the invasion. Most of
\nthem only transited the country towards Western Europe. <\/p>\n
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UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment rate in Romania stood at 5.7% in
\nFebruary, while youth unemployment remains high, tantamount to 22%, according
\nto the latest figures published by the National Statistics Institute today.
\nMale unemployment is slightly higher than female unemployment, standing at 6.1%
\nand 5.1% respectively. The total number of unemployed stood at 468 thousand in
\nFebruary. The rate of unemployment for people aged 25-74 stood at 4.6% in
\nFebruary, accounting for 76.6% of the total population. <\/p>\n
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WAR The
\nUkrainian army is bracing up for a new wave of Russian attacks, Ukrainian
\npresident Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. Russian offensives are expected
\nin eastern Ukraine after they have failed to advance towards capital Kyiv, as
\ninitially intended. Ukraine has noticed a Russian military buildup in Donbas,
\nZelensky also says. According to Reuters, in five weeks since they started invasion,
\nthe Russian troops haven’t captured any major city in Ukraine in spite of the sustained
\nattacks and heavy artillery fire. Furthermore, the Russians have also suffered
\nheavy losses in military personnel and gear. NATO does not believe Russia’s
\npledges to reduce military operations around Kyiv and in the north of the
\ncountry. Its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, believes that Russian troops
\naren’t withdrawing but repositioning and the alliance is expecting more Russian
\nattacks. The NATO official has underlined the allies will continue to support
\nUkraine, including with military supplies as long as it is needed. The Russian
\ninvasion has forced the displacement of nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population
\nand four million have already left the country. Russian president Vladimir
\nPutin has signed a decree under which as of April 1st the countries that Moscow
\ndeems as unfriendly are to set up a special account to transfer their payments,
\nwhich will be further exchanged into rubles. European leaders have rejected paying
\nfor deliveries in rubles as the contracts stipulate payment in Euros and
\nsometimes in dollars. Russia is presently supplying about a third of Europe’s
\ngas. <\/p>\n
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(bill)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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