WAR
\nIN UKRAINE – Romania’s
\nMinister for Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, hailed the adoption of a
\nresolution in the UN General Assembly, condemning Russia’s illegal annexation
\nof Ukrainian territories. 143 UN members voted in favor, including Romania.
\nMeanwhile, Russia today launched new attacks on Ukraine. Drone strikes targeted
\ncritical infrastructure in Kyiv, while the city of Mykolaiv was hit by
\nshelling, authorities say. In recent weeks Ukraine has been the target of air
\nstrikes carried out by Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. Teheran denies having
\ndelivered such drones to Russia while Moscow refused to comment. The Kremlin
\nhas also intensified its attacks on civilian objectives in response to the explosion
\non the Kerch bridge, which Moscow claims is the work of Ukrainian intelligence.
\nDescribed as war crimes by a number of Western countries, the shelling
\ncontinues despite significant losses sustained by the Russian army. Bombing
\nfocused particularly on residential areas and civilian infrastructure
\nobjectives, damaging 30% of the country’s energy infrastructure. In Brussels,
\nover 50 countries promised to provide fresh military assistance to Ukraine,
\nincluding air defense systems. <\/p>\n
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REFUGEES – The number of Ukrainian
\nrefugees coming to Romania from Western Europe is on the rise, the
\nInternational Organization for Migration reports. Lower living costs and
\nproximity to Ukraine are some of the reasons, the report also states. According
\nto the Romanian Border Police, some 70,000 people entered Romania on Wednesday,
\nof whom 9,000 were Ukrainian nationals, accounting for a 15% increase compared
\nto the previous day. Starting February 10, over 2.5 million Ukrainians have
\nentered Romania. <\/p>\n
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VISIT – Dubravka \u0160uica, EU vice-president
\nfor Democracy and Demography, is paying a three-day official visit to Romania.
\nToday, the European official will hold talks with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuc\u0103
\non follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Summit for
\nDemocracy, skills and labor force mobility, demographic changes, children’s
\nrights and gender equality. According to a press release published by the
\nEuropean Commission’s Office in Bucharest, Dubravka \u0160uica will also meet
\nDaniela G\u00eetman, Secretary of State within the Romanian Foreign Ministry,
\nGabriela Firea, Minister of Family, Youth and Gender Equality, Nicu\u0219or Dan,
\nBucharest Mayor General, as well as members of the mixed Parliament committees
\nfor European affairs. The EU official will also visit the Ominis complex for
\nintegrated social services addressing vulnerable categories, including
\nUkrainian refugees. <\/p>\n
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DEFENSE – Fourteen NATO members and
\npartner states, including Romania, signed a joint letter for the purchase of
\nArrow 3 and Patriot air defense systems as part of a European Skyshield
\nInitiative (ESSI) in a ceremony hosted by the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on
\nthe sidelines of the NATO Defense Ministers meeting. Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf
\nScholz, announced the project at the end of August, saying that a common
\nEuropean air defense system would be more effective if individual member states
\nwould build up their own air defenses, which would entail higher costs and more
\nefforts to implement. According to a Defense Ministry release, today’s meeting
\nis attended by Romania’s Defense Minister, Vasile D\u00eencu, and will focus on the decisions
\nadopted at the NATO Summit in Madrid and the organization of the next summit.
\nNATO officials will also tackle the Alliance’s nuclear deterrence posture and
\nspecific topics in the nuclear field in connection to the current security
\ncontext, marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n
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SCHENGEN – In principle, the
\nNetherlands does not oppose Romania’s Schengen accession, the Dutch Prime
\nMinister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday during a visit to Bra\u0219ov, central
\nRomania. The Dutch official pointed out, however, that any discussion on this
\nmatter will factor in Romania’s fulfillment of all accession criteria.
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis expressed confidence Romania will join the travel-free
\narea, whereas Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 in turn said that Schengen accession
\nwill spell numerous benefits for Romania’s economy. <\/p>\n
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JUSTICE LAWS – Parliament’s committee
\nin charge of debating the justice laws is today analyzing the law regulating
\nthe status of prosecutors and judges. On Wednesday, the Committee debated over
\nhalf of the bill’s articles, adopting a number of technical amendments. Once
\nthe debates are completed, the Committee will vote separate reports for each of
\nthe three laws in the bill package. Once the reports are compiled, the draft
\njustice laws will be submitted to the Senate for debate and approval. (VP)<\/p>\n
\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":[37104,32472,36229,37105,36583,36893,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-dubravka-suica","tag-justice-laws","tag-nato-defense-ministers-meeting","tag-romanias-schengen-accession","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-visit-to-romania","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n