WAR IN UKRAINE -
\nRussia’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that its forces continued to
\ntarget military and energy infrastructure objectives in Ukraine. The Ministry
\nalso claims its forces repelled a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson
\nregion in the south, where the local occupation administration is trying to
\nevacuate tens of thousands of residents. The Russian MFA claims weapon
\ndeliveries from the EU to Kyiv have turned the community bloc into a
\nbelligerent faction in the Ukrainian conflict. MFA spokesperson Maria Zakharova
\nreferred to countries that delivered weapons to Ukraine as sponsors of
\nterrorism. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
RESIGNATION – British Prime
\nMinister Liz Truss has announced her resignation amidst challenges targeting
\nboth herself and her party. The British official admitted she cannot keep the
\npromises made when she submitted her candidacy for the leadership of the
\nConservative Party after her predecessor, Boris Johnson, stepped down. Liz
\nTruss’s economic measures based on reducing taxation have disrupted global
\nmarkets, resulting in a sharp drop of the Pound and state bonds. Liz Truss
\nsteps down after only 45 days in office, thus becoming the shortest-ruling Prime
\nMinister in the history of the UK. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
EUROPEAN COUNCIL – Romania’s
\npresident, Klaus Iohannis, is attending the European Council meeting devoted to
\nthe energy crisis and solutions for Europeans to pay their bills. European
\nleaders met to reach consensus regarding a reduction of energy prices in the
\ncontext of the war in Ukraine. President Iohannis said the European
\nCommission’s proposal with regard to the steep price of natural gas is good,
\nand that Romania agrees to the proposal. The president explained gas prices
\nwill be capped without causing troubles for distributors while preventing the
\nunwarranted increase of prices. We have started working on regulations that
\nseparate the natural gas market from the electricity market. We have a number
\nof common acquisitions as part of a joint platform for natural gas. We have a
\nseries of elements that can help member states cope with the energy crisis,
\nKlaus Iohannis further pointed out. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PROTESTS – Trade unions of
\nthe Cartel Alfa trade confederation on Thursday staged a protest action in
\nBucharest, calling on the authorities to curb impoverishment. Unionists call
\nfor a better control of prices and taxing excess profits, an increase of
\nsalaries and pensions and starting collective negotiations for the modification
\nof the Law on Social Dialogue. Protesters have warned that, unless their
\ndemands are met, they will return in larger numbers to call for the resignation
\nof the government. Earlier this month, Cartel Alfa representatives decided to
\norganize a number of protests at national level in response to what they have
\ndescribed as absurdly high energy costs and the soaring prices for food and
\nother essential goods, which force millions of workers to make painful
\ndecisions and bring many of them on the brink of poverty.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
SCHENGEN – The Dutch
\nParliament on Thursday passed a resolution calling on the Government to vote
\nagainst the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Dutch MP Sophia in ‘t
\nVeld, the coordinator of the Renew Europe group in the Committee on Civil Liberties,
\nJustice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in the European Parliament, expressed regret
\nfor the decision, arguing that both countries comply with technical accession
\ncriteria. We recall that the European Parliament on Tuesday adopted with a
\nlarge majority a resolution calling on the Council of the European Union to
\ntake all the necessary measures to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the
\nvisa-free travel area by the end of the year. Schengen enlargement requires a
\nunanimous decision at the level of the EU Council. At present, of all EU Member
\nStates, only Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are not part of the
\nSchengen area, which also includes countries that are not members of the
\ncommunity bloc (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
FOOTBALL – Romania’s Under-21 team has been drawn in
\nGroup B alongside Spain, Ukraine and Croatia at the U21 European Championships
\nin 2023. The competition will be hosted by Romania and Georgia over June 21 -
\nJuly 8. Romania’s matches will take place in Bucharest, whereas the city of
\nCluj will host matches in Group D. The U21 teams of Norway, Switzerland, France
\nand Italy will play their matches in this city. Romania will also host two
\nmatches in the quarterfinals phase. The top three teams will automatically
\nqualify to the Paris Olympics of 2024. For the first time in its history,
\nRomania will be present in the European Championships for the third consecutive
\ntime, after securing qualification to the 2019 and 2021 editions. (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":[37131,29654,28945,37130,30037,37132,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-cartel-alfa-protests","tag-european-council-meeting","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-liz-truss-to-resign","tag-schengen-accession","tag-u21-european-championships","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n