NATIONAL DAY Romania celebrated on Thursday 104 years since the Great
\nUnion of December 1, 1918. In the capital city Bucharest, over 1,500 troops and
\nstaff of the defence ministry, interior ministry, the Romanian Intelligence
\nService, the Special Telecommunications Service and the Penitentiary Agency as
\nwell as vehicles and 40 aircraft took part in a military parade. Ceremonies were
\nalso organised abroad, where Romanian troops are deployed. National Day events were
\nalso held elsewhere in the country and abroad. The Romanian Cultural Institute
\norganises 50 events until December 10, to celebrate National
\nDay in 31 cities in the world. Romania’s national day has been celebrated on December 1 since 1990.
\nOn this day in 1918, the National Assembly in Alba Iulia adopted a resolution
\nregarding the union of all provinces inhabited by Romanians.<\/p>\n
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MESSAGES Romanians need tangible and immediate progress to improve
\ntheir living standards and wellbeing, president Klaus Iohannis said, and urged
\nthe authorities to use all the instruments they have available to this goal. At
\na reception given on National Day, he also emphasised that Romania is a pillar
\nof security in a geopolitical area marked by uncertainty, and a stable country
\nthat has made significant progress in recent years. Let us prove that December
\n1 is truly the day of our unity, the PM Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 said in a message on
\nNational Day. Today, just like at the end of the First World War, the main
\ntopics on the national agenda are security, stability and the modernisation of
\nRomania. Unlike in 1918, today we have European funds for reforms and
\ndevelopment and the protection provided by NATO, the most powerful military
\nalliance in history, the PM posted on Facebook on Thursday. On behalf of the
\nUnited States of America, I congratulate the people of Romania as you celebrate
\nGreat Union Day, and I wish them a very happy national day, the US
\nsecretary of state Antony Blinken also said in a message on this occasion. The
\nUS official emphasised that 2022 is a special year, as it marks the
\n25th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between the U.S. and Romania. The
\nUkrainian foreign ministry also sent a message congratulating the Romanian
\npeople and calling for unity for peace and solidarity in Europe.<\/p>\n
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VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis will be on an official
\nvisit to Greece on Friday and Saturday. He will have meetings with his Greek
\ncounterpart, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and with the PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
\nAccording to the Presidency, the agenda will include talks about the potential
\nfor development of the two countries’ relations in the economic and investment
\nsectors, as well as in culture, education, civil protection and tourism.
\nSpecial attention will be paid to infrastructure and inter-connection projects,
\nincluding in the energy sector, in order to minimize the dependence on Russian
\nnatural gas and to improve Romania’s and Greece’s energy security. <\/p>\n
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SCHENGEN The Justice and Home Affairs Council included on the agenda of its
\nDecember 8-9 meeting topics related to the Schengen area. Specifically, the EU
\njustice and interior ministers will discuss the full application of the
\nSchengen acquis in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, which seek admission in the
\npassport-free travel area. Romania has been trying to join Schengen for more than 10 years. European
\nCommission experts found that Bucharest meets all EU border security standards.
\nRomania’s accession will increase Europe’s security, rather than be a danger
\nfor the member states, Bucharest has repeatedly assured the few countries that
\nare still reluctant to the idea.<\/p>\n
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UNESCO The Inter-Governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of
\nthe Intangible Cultural Heritage, convening in Rabat, Morocco, decided to
\ninclude the file The Art of the Traditional Blouse with Embroidery on the
\nShoulder (Alti\u021b\u0103) – an Element of Cultural Identity of Romania and the Republic
\nof Moldova in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural
\nHeritage of Humanity. The announcement was made on Thursday by the MP Ana-Maria
\nC\u0103t\u0103u\u0163\u0103, chair of the parliament’s special committee for UNESCO. The Romanian
\nblouse, as everybody knows it, […] is one of the identity elements that give us
\nstrength and power, the Deputy Ana-Maria C\u0103t\u0103u\u0163\u0103 said in a news release.<\/p>\n
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OSCE The Romanian
\nforeign minister Bogdan Aurescu took part on Thursday in a meeting of the
\nMinisterial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
\nheld in Lodz, Poland. The Romanian diplomacy chief condemned the atrocities
\ncommitted by Russia against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.
\nThe Romanian official reiterated the call for Moscow to immediately and
\nunconditionally end its military aggression and to pull out its troops and
\nequipment from Ukraine. Mr. Aurescu also spoke about the bilateral and
\ninternational support for the R. of Moldova, heavily affected by the war in Ukraine. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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