Summit.<\/strong> Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Friday met his Latvian
<\/p>\n
Extradition.<\/strong> Former Romanian tourism minister Elena Udrea will be
<\/p>\n
Benefits. <\/strong>The Romanian Postal Service has begun the distribution of
<\/p>\n
Ukraine.<\/strong> The European Commission president
<\/p>\n
Visit.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n
Schengen.<\/strong> It’s very important to have a realistic prospect of a
A roundup 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":[35664,36790,28962],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-benefits","tag-bucharest-nine","tag-elena-udrea"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\ncounterpart Egils Levits on the sidelines of the
\nBucharest Nine summit hosted by the Romanian capital. Talks looked at ways to
\nconsolidate bilateral cooperation, coordinating actions within the EU and
\nvarious formats of regional cooperation, such as the upcoming meeting of the
\nThree Seas Initiative hosted by Latvia on 20th June. Iohannis
\nreiterated the importance of this organisation for Romania, with many strategic
\nimplications, from security to the economy, with emphasis on the transport and
\nenergy infrastructure. He recalled Romania’s decision to resume from 2023 its
\nparticipation in the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic area, a move
\ndescribed by the Latvian president as a contribution to ensuring allied
\nsecurity on the NATO eastern flank. Speaking at the Bucharest Nine summit,
\npresident Iohannis said that NATO’s future strategic concept must reflect the
\nnew security parameters as accurately and realistically as possible, give
\npriority to collective defence, define Russia as a threat and consolidate the Alliance
\nat all levels. He also spoke about a strengthened NATO presence on the eastern
\nflank, especially the Black Sea, which is most exposed to Russia’s threats. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
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\nextradited from Bulgaria following a ruling by a Sofia court saying there is no
\nevidence that her human rights and liberties would be violated on her return to
\nRomania as she had claimed. The Bulgarian court ruling also showed there is no
\nquestion mark over the way in which Romanian prosecutors investigated her case,
\nwhich Udrea said was politically motivated. She left the country on 7th
\nApril before the Supreme Court was about to issue a final sentence convicting
\nher to 6 years in prison for bribe taking and abuse of office. She is on trial
\nin two other cases. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\ncards for the payment of social vouchers worth around 50 euros, with payment to
\nbe made after all cards have been distributed, from 20th June, said
\nprime minister Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 on the government’s Facebook page. Three million
\npeople, including pensioners, persons with disabilities, families with low
\nincomes and homeless people will benefit from these vouchers once every two
\nmonths, which they can use to buy food. The total value is some 626 million
\neuros and will be granted in four tranches until the end of the year. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nUrsula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv to meet president Volodymyr
\nZelensky and discuss Ukraine’s request to join the European Union and the
\ncountry’s rebuilding after the war. On the ground,
\nthe situation has become dramatic in the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, where over
\n20,000 inhabitants were killed and the lack of hygienic conditions and food has
\nincreased the risk of epidemics, especially dysentery and cholera. The city’s
\nmayor called on the United Nations and the Red Cross to create a humanitarian corridor
\nto evacuate the civilians. The German health minister, who visited Ukraine on
\nFriday, also warned of the risk of a cholera epidemic in the Ukrainian
\nterritories occupied by Russia. He said Germany would boost medical aid for the
\nwounded. The fighting continues in the east, with Ukrainian officials requesting
\nmore help from the West, including faster deliveries of weapons to halt the
\nadvance of the better equipped Russian forces. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
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\nFrench president Emmanuel Macron is travelling to Bucharest on Tuesday to
\nexpress France’s solidarity with its European allies most exposed to the war in
\nUkraine, said the French president’s office. He is expected to visit the French
\ntroops stationed in Cincu, in the centre. The NATO Battle
\nGroup Forward Presence was created in May in Romania. The group is led by
\nFrance, which also has an air defence component in Romania. This is the third
\nvisit to Romania by the French president, and the first since winning his
\nsecond term on 24th April. On Wednesday, he will travel to the
\nneighbouring Republic of Moldova to reiterate support for this country affected
\nby the war in Ukraine. Macron has tried to maintain a dialogue with Vladimir
\nPutin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, but his position has come
\nunder repeated criticism from some European partners, who see his engagement
\nwith Putin as undermining efforts to bring the Russian president to the negotiation
\ntable. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\ntimetable for Romania’s joining the Schengen area, said the country’s interior
\nminister Lucian Bode, who attended on Friday the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs
\nCouncil in Luxembourg. He said Romania made considerable efforts and
\nsignificant investments to this end. Referring to Ukraine, he highlighted the
\nprogress made by the European Commission in the implementation of its 10-point
\nplan to ensure stronger European coordination of its response to displacement
\nfrom Ukraine. The Romanian official said it was essential for the Republic of
\nMoldova to continue to receive support to be able to cope with the challenges
\nit is facing. (CM)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"