TALKS – Prime Minister
\nMarcel Ciolacu today met EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa
\nFerreira, who is paying an official visit to Romania. Romania has absorbed 90%
\nof EU funds over the 2014-2020 financial framework and is thus ranked 4th
\nat EU level, the Romanian Prime Minister said. Marcel Ciolacu added that EU
\nCommissioner Ferreira also hailed this historic premiere. The EU official
\nencouraged Bucharest to continue to develop its administrative capacities and
\ndevelop long-term programs of economic advancement and sophisticated
\ntechnologies, so as to move from the development phase to becoming an economy
\nthat produces added-value. Following talks with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu
\nin Bucharest, the EU official will deliver a keynote speech on the sidelines of
\nthe conference titled Green and digital transformation backed by EU funds: the
\ncohesion policy of the future and reconciling industrial transition with
\nterritorial challenges, hosted by the Romanian Parliament. <\/p>\n
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NATO – Foreign Minister
\nLumini\u021ba Odobescu is attending the two-day meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers
\nheld in Brussels. The event is held against the backdrop of a deteriorating
\nsecurity climate, impacting multiple areas of increased interest for the
\nAlliance – the Russian aggression in Ukraine, tensions in the Western Balkans, the
\nmilitary conflict pitting Israel against Hamas. The NATO meeting also marks a
\nkey milestone ahead of the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington. According to the
\nRomanian MFA, Minister Odobescu will express solidarity with the Alliance and
\nrefer to NATO’s efficiency in promoting security and stability. The Romanian
\nMinister will also highlight the strategic importance of the Black Sea region
\nto Euro-Atlantic security and will encourage the development of a structured
\napproach to this region, as per the Allied resolutions adopted in Madrid and
\nVilnius. At the same time, Minister Odobescu will underline the need to fully
\nimplement the decisions to consolidate NATO’s deterrence posture. With respect
\nto the Western Balkans, Lumini\u021ba Odobescu will call on NATO to continue its
\nsupport for this region by closely cooperating with the EU. <\/p>\n
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CEASEFIRE – The ceasefire
\nbetween Israel and Hamas in Gaza has been extended for 48 hours. On the fifth
\nday of the break in hostilities, another 10 Israeli hostages are expected to be
\nreleased, while essential humanitarian aid should reach Gaza. Approximately 170
\npeople are still held hostage in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack, the
\nIsraeli army says. In turn, Hamas claims it is not holding all these people,
\nwhich could complicate efforts to release the most vulnerable of them. A group of
\nIsraeli hostages arrived last night in Israel, after Hamas released them in
\nexchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners. <\/p>\n
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EU-UK RELATIONS – Romania’s Defense
\nMinister Angel T\u00eelv\u0103r on Monday met his British counterpart, Grant Shapps,
\nduring his visit to London. The two officials discussed prospects of
\nconsolidating and developing the strategic partnership between Romania and the
\nUK, the security context in the Black Sea region, the Russian Federation’s
\naggression in Ukraine and topics on the NATO agenda. We discussed ways to
\nconsolidate cooperation with regard to consolidating NATO’s defense and
\ndeterrence posture on the Eastern Flank, implementing the NATO Strategic
\nConcept and the need to continue exchanges with a view to better understand the
\nspecific challenges of each region, Minister T\u00eelv\u0103r said. In his talks with
\nGrant Shapps, the Romanian Defense Minister also expressed concern regarding
\nthe security of the Black Sea region, generated by a dangerous escalations
\ncaused by Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. On the other
\nhand, Minister T\u00eelv\u0103r hailed the UK’s contribution to consolidating Allied
\npostures on the Eastern Flank, particularly in the Black Sea region, which he
\ndescribed as a clear expression of Allied solidarity and unity. The UK’s
\nparticipation in air policing missions in Romania, its future engagements and
\nexercises at bilateral and multilateral level are but a few examples of this
\ncontribution, the Romanian official said. (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":[38207,116313,48139,116319,36660,116318],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-612000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-absorption-of-eu-funds","tag-ceasefire-in-gaza","tag-elisa-ferreira","tag-eu-uk-relations","tag-marcel-ciolacu","tag-nato-foreign-ministers-meeting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n