ARMY DAY The Romanian Army Day was celebrated on Tuesday with a
\nseries of events staged all over Romania and in other regions around the world
\nwhere Romanian troops are stationed now. Wreath laying ceremonies took place at
\nheroes’ monuments around Romania and abroad, in countries like Austria, Bosnia
\nand Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, Poland,
\nthe Republic of Moldova and Hungary. The Army has been and will always be a
\nsymbol of resilience and an essential element in the development of Romania,
\npresident Klaus Iohannis
\nsaid on this occasion. He added that Romania has a distinct place within NATO
\nand is an indisputable provider of security at the Black Sea and on NATO’s
\neastern flank. According to the Romanian Defence
\nMinistry, during WWII, out of roughly 540,000 servicemen deployed, 90,000 were
\nKIA, 60,000 MIA and over 330,000 were wounded. After freeing the Romanian
\nterritory on October 25th, 1944, the Romanian army continued to
\nfight in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria alongside the allied troops,
\ncontributing to the May 9th 1945 victory, which marked the end of WWII in
\nEurope.<\/p>\n
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DEFENCE The Supreme Defence Council, convening on
\nTuesday in Bucharest, approved updates to key directions of the Army 2040
\nprogramme, including the budgeting for personnel needs,
\nreconfiguring equipment procurement programmes and revamping the defence
\nindustry, as well as measures to better retain skilled military personnel. Army
\n2040 aims to help develop national military capabilities that enable the
\ngovernment to fulfil its constitutional obligation to safeguard the territorial
\nintegrity of Romania. To this end, the country will earmark 2.5% of its GDP to
\ndefence as of 2023.The Council also
\nreviewed and approved the Energy Ministry’s plan to improve Romania’s energy
\nresilience, so as to protect citizens and to secure continuing supplies of
\nelectricity and natural gas, for prices that are not a burden to households. The
\nCouncil also discussed the support Romania will continue to provide to Ukraine,
\nand looked at ways to counter prospective threats. <\/p>\n
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DECREE Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis Tuesday signed a
\ndecree acknowledging the resignation of Defence Minister Vasile Dincu and
\ndesignating Prime Minister Ciuca as the country’s interim defence minister. The
\nSocial-Democrat Dincu stepped down on Monday, two weeks after he made a number
\nof controversial statements concerning the situation in Ukraine. The Social
\nDemocratic Party (PSD) has called for an emergency meeting of the ruling
\ncoalition for a decision on Dincu’s successor.<\/p>\n
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COAL Romania has increased its coal output in order to cope
\nwith the energy crisis. According to the National Statistics Institute, the output
\nwent up by 1.7% and imports by 13.5% in the first 8 months of the year. The
\nNational Strategy and Forecast Commission estimates for this year a coal output
\n10% bigger than in 2021 and imports 2.8% higher, with the coal production expected
\nto grow by 8% next year.<\/p>\n
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REFUGEES According
\nto the Romanian Foreign Ministry, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine,
\nover 2.6 million Ukrainian nationals have transited Romania and over 86,500
\nhave chosen to stay here. Eight months on from the beginning of the conflict on
\nFebruary 24th, Bucharest highlights its active involvement in facilitating the
\ntransport and transit of Ukrainian grain towards international markets. At the
\nsame time, the humanitarian hub in Suceava, north-eastern Romania, has
\ncontributed to 56 humanitarian aid shipments from countries like Italy, France
\nor Germany.<\/p>\n
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ECLIPSE A partial solar eclipse was visible in Romania on Tuesday.
\nAccording to the Astronomic Observatory in Bucharest, the sun was covered up to
\n44% and the eclipse lasted for two hours and a half. (AMP, DB)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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