SCHENGEN The president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola is
\non a 2-day working visit to Bucharest as of today, with a support message for Romania’s
\nSchengen accession efforts. Today, Roberta Metsola is scheduled to have
\nmeetings with president Klaus Iohannis, PM Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 and the speakers of
\nthe Chamber of Deputies and Senate, Marcel Ciolacu and Alina Gorghiu, and will
\naddress a joint Parliament meeting. On Tuesday, Roberta Metsola will have talks
\nwith young Romanians as part of an event called ‘Together we are Europe,’
\norganised by the European Parliament Office in Romania in a partnership with
\nthe Law School of the University of Bucharest. According to the institution, during
\ntheir dialogue with Metsola the young participants will be able to find out
\nabout the benefits of the European parliamentary democracy, ways to influence
\nEuropean policies, why it is important for them to get involved in protecting
\nEuropean democracy and how the decisions and policies of the European
\nParliament impact Europeans’ day-to-day lives. <\/p>\n
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VISIT The Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is on a 2-day
\nofficial visit to Chi\u015fin\u0103u, at the invitation of Moldova’s deputy PM and
\nminister for foreign affairs and European integration, Nicu Popescu. For 2 days,
\nBogdan Aurescu will have consultations with his counterpart, will be received
\nby the president of the R. of Moldova Maia Sandu, and will have talks with PM Natalia
\nGavrili\u0163a and with the parliament speaker Igor Grosu. They will discuss aspects
\nrelated to countering the war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation
\nagainst Ukraine, as well as topics related to cooperation in the field of
\nenergy security, stepping up sectoral cooperation, economic cooperation and the
\nassistance measures taken by Romania to the benefit of the R. of Moldova. A
\nmajor topic for discussion will be Moldova’s progress in its EU accession
\nefforts, after the country was granted the accession candidate status in June
\n2022, and Romania’s concrete support in this respect. <\/p>\n
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ENERGY EU energy ministers convene today in Brussels in an attempt
\nto reach an agreement on a natural gas price cap, in the context of the rise in
\nenergy prices triggered by the war in Ukraine. Last week, they failed to reach
\nconsensus on this topic. The participants will also try to come up with a
\ngeneral approach on a proposed reduction of methane emissions in the energy
\nsector. The draft regulation requires oil, natural gas and coal operators to
\nmeasure, report and check methane emissions. Moreover, the EU energy ministers
\nwill try to reach an agreement with respect to the proposed REPowerEU directive,
\nwhich modifies the EU legislation on renewable energy, energy efficiency and
\nthe energy performance of buildings. The proposal aims to step up the use of
\nrenewable energy. On the other hand, the Czech presidency of the EU Council
\nwill present a report on the progress made with respect to the natural gas
\npackage, which includes a proposed directive and a proposed regulation on
\nsingle market norms for gas from renewable sources, natural gas and hydrogen.<\/p>\n
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COMMEMORATION In Timi\u015foara, western
\nRomania, events carry on marking 33 years since the anti-communist revolution
\nof December 1989. The events highlight the courage and sacrifice of the
\nRevolution heroes, and the need for the younger generations to carry on the
\nspirit of freedom. After the marches, religious services, exhibitions, film
\nscreenings and roundtables organised in the previous days, today a pilgrimage
\nwill be held at the monuments making up the Revolution Memorial. Short reels made
\nby young artists will also be screened in schools, and the traditional Rockford
\nrevolution festival is also scheduled for today. Also today, the members of
\nthe bereaved families are leaving for Bucharest to retrace the route on which
\nthe bodies of 43 revolution participants from Timisoara were sent for
\nincineration. The events devoted to the 33 years since the Revolution will
\nculminate on Tuesday, December 20, Victory Day, when Timi\u015foara was declared the
\nfirst city free of communism in Romania. The uprising against the communist
\nregime in Romania began in Timi\u015foara on December 16, 1989 and spread to
\nBucharest and other cities in the country. Over 1,000 people died and some
\n3,000 were wounded in the clashes that took place on that occasion.<\/p>\n
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FOOTBALL Argentina is the world’s new football champion. In the
\nfinal of the Qatar tournament on Sunday, Argentina defeated the previous
\nchampions, France, after penalty shootouts. This is the 3rd world
\nchampionship won by the South Americans, after the title in 1978 and the one in
\n1986. The next world championship, held in 2026, will be hosted jointly by the
\nUS, Canada and Mexico. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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