MEASURES – Romania’s Finance Minister,
\nAdrian C\u00e2ciu, said that the package of social and economic measures announced
\non Monday evening by ruling coalition leaders mainly targets the economy, maintaining
\njobs, and supporting vulnerable people. The package is worth \u20ac3.5 billion. The
\nmeasures include the granting of \u20ac50 vouchers every two months for the purchase
\nof basic foodstuffs for low-income families and \u20ac30 vouchers for the more than
\n150,000 students who receive social scholarships. Vouchers can be used to
\npurchase food, school supplies and clothing. Other measures include a minimum
\ngross salary of 3,000 lei in agriculture and the food industry as well as money
\nfor investments.<\/p>\n
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\n
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MEETING – The balanced, long-term
\nconsolidating of NATO’s defense and deterrence posture must be accelerated,
\nRomania’s president Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday following his meeting with
\nthe Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo. The president argued in favor
\nof a unitary, coherent and robust defense on the eastern flank in order to
\nensure a more efficient deterrence, particularly in the Black Sea. Klaus
\nIohannis said a Belgian military unit is currently deployed to Romania as part
\nof NATO’s Response Force and thanked Prime Minister De Croo for his support.
\nThe Belgian official said Belgium and Romania are close partners in the EU and
\nNATO, and that Vladimir Putin’s war has strengthened these ties. NATO is here,
\nit is strong, and it is an organization we can rely on. Your border is our
\nborder, and together we will defend it, Belgium’s Prime Minister also said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
UKRAINE – Ukraine’s Finance Minister, Serhiy
\nMarchenko, has called on the international community to provide immediate
\nfinancial support to allow Ukraine to survive the huge budget deficit generated
\nby the Russian invasion, Financial Times writes. The Ukrainian official painted
\na rather grim picture of Ukrainian economy, estimating total losses sustained
\nby civilian and military infrastructure at some $270 billion. The coming period
\nwill be crucial for Ukraine, Western officials say, since Russian troops are
\nresupplying and redeploying. On the other hand, the White House expects even
\ngreater atrocities in Ukraine committed by the Russian troops under the command
\nof General Aleksandr Dvornikov, recently appointed commander of Russia’s
\noperations in Ukraine. Known as the Syrian butcher, Dvornikov
\ncommanded the Russian forces involved in the Syrian civil war, when they
\nbrutally bombed numerous civilian targets. The US and the UK are looking into
\nreports according to which chemical weapons have been used by Russian forces in
\nattacks on Mariupol, a strategic port city under siege for more than a month.
\nThe Ukrainian Azov Battalion, barricaded in Mariupol, claims that a Russian
\ndrone dropped a ‘toxic substance’ on soldiers and civilians in the area, saying
\nthat several people reported respiratory and neurological problems. Over 10,000
\ncivilians have been killed in Mariupol since the invasion began, Mayor Vadim Boychenko
\nannounced. <\/p>\n
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\n
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REFUGEES – Over 72,000 people, of whom
\n8,350 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Monday, according to the Border
\nPolice. Since the start of the Russian invasion, some 685 thousand Ukrainian
\ncitizens have entered the country. On the other hand, the Romanian Red Cross
\nhas assisted over 250 thousand people from Ukraine with information and
\nservices in order to reconnect with their families. As part of its campaign
\nHumanity has no borders, the Red Cross has so far raised over \u20ac6.7 million.
\nHumanitarian activities will continue to address both Ukrainian citizens who
\nhave reached Romania, as well as those who remained in Ukraine, the Romanian
\nRed Cross director, Ioan Silviu Lefter, has said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
CONFERENCE – EU Commissioner for Transport,
\nAdina V\u0103lean, on Tuesday
\nattended a videoconference jointly with officials from Romania, the Republic of
\nMoldova and Ukraine. Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu pointed out Romania
\nplays a key role in ensuring the flow of goods to Ukraine and the Republic of
\nMoldova, and thus is essential for the economy of the two countries. Since the
\nstart of the invasion, Romania’s maritime, rail, road and air infrastructure
\nhas provided vital transport routes for the transit of goods and raw materials,
\nSorin Grindeanu argued. The Romanian official said enhancing the operational
\ncapacity of the port of Constan\u021ba on
\nthe Romanian Black Sea provides substantial support to the trading of goods to
\nand from Ukraine via the Republic of Moldova. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
LIST – The Environment Ministry will
\ncompile a list of deteriorated natural areas that will be rehabilitated under
\nthe Recovery and Resilience Plan. The list will be elaborated jointly with the
\nEuropean Commission and a number of NGOs, Minister T\u00e1nczos Barna said after
\nTuesday’s meeting with EU Commissioner for Environment, Virginijus Sinkevi\u010dius,
\nheld in Bucharest. Talks also focused on measures required to stop illegal
\nlogging in natural protected areas. (LS & VP) <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[35173,36657,31090,36656,28945,36658,36583,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-adina-valean","tag-alexander-de-croo","tag-conference","tag-deterrence-on-natos-eastern-flank","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-social-measures","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n