EU leaders met in Brussels
\non the sidelines of the winter summit to argue in favor of anti-COVID-19
\nvaccination, amidst growing concern caused by the new virus strain, Omicron. According
\nto Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, EU heads of state and government
\nhighlighted the need of a concerted approach to the European Green certificate,
\nsaying that restrictions introduced by countries such as Italy, Portugal and Greece
\nshould not undermine the functioning of the single market or affect free travel
\ndisproportionately. In turn, Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, warned that
\nrestrictions should not go too far, especially when it comes to the movement of
\ngoods. In an official release, the Presidency also says that EU leaders have reiterated
\ntheir commitment to reaching an optimal level of vaccination at global level,
\nby exporting and distributing vaccines and auxiliary materials to countries in
\nneed, in particular Africa, either under the COVAX mechanism or using bilateral
\nchannels. Another topic high on the Council’s agenda referred to the recent energy
\nprice hikes. Romania believes nuclear energy and gas-derived energy should be
\nrecognized as clean sources of energy while transitioning towards a green
\neconomy. To an equal extent, president Iohannis said the market should be
\nclosely examined in order to improve fair trade regulations, to the benefit and
\nprotection the end user – whether the population of businesses.<\/p>\n
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We have taken all these
\nmeasures at home. We offer compensations and other support measures, but they
\ncannot go on forever, and we need to see what caused these price hikes,
\nconsidering, for instance, that the EU doesn’t fully make use of the entire
\ntransport capacity of its pipeline network. The market must be closely examined
\nin order to see how we can improve fair competition regulations, so as to allow
\nfor a real competition and to protect consumers in this respect.<\/p>\n
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The continuing tensions
\nbetween Russia and Ukraine was also discussed in Brussels, as well as the risk
\nof a new conflict between Moscow and Kiev. EU leaders frowned upon any further
\nmilitary aggression against neighboring Ukraine, which says will exact a heavy
\ncost and a harsh response. EU leaders have reiterated their full support for
\nthe sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Concerning the migration
\ncrisis on the Belarusian border, the European Council firmly condemned the actions
\nof the regime in Minsk, who is using migrants and refugees in order to fuel a
\nhumanitarian crisis. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EU leaders convened in Brussels to tackle the pandemic, the recent price hikes and the security developments in Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":90625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[40414,40416,33994,34251,40415],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-90624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-anti-covid-19-vaccination","tag-energy-price-hikes","tag-eu-council-meeting","tag-klas-iohannis","tag-russia-ukraine-relations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n