March 24, 2022
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 24.03.2022, 14:43
LAW The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest has endorsed a
draft law on completing the construction works on several hydropower plants in
Romania, projects scrapped a couple of years ago on environmental issues.
According to the initiators of the project, the ruling Social Democrats, the
measure would be a step forward in achieving Romania’s energy independence at
the same time making the most of the significant investment already made in the
projects. The opposition USR argues that some of Romania’s protected areas will
be destroyed for insignificant gain.
NATO Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis and the country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca are
presently attending a special meeting, which has brought together in Brussels
heads of state and government from NATO countries. According to the
presidential administration, the meeting has been summoned against the
background of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and the growing risks and
threats against the regional security, European and Euro-Atlantic. Iohannis
said before the meeting on Thursday quote, ‘we already have very good news as
NATO has greenlighted the battle group that is to be deployed to Romania’. The
Romanian president insisted that additional measures are needed to consolidate
NATO’s permanent presence in the region. President Iohannis will present the
concerns related to the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, and also
brief the allies on the logistic centre in Suceava, north-eastern Romania. The ongoing
NATO summit, which has been the second this year, is also being attended by the
US president Joe Biden.
UKRAINE
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski has urged millions around the world to
take to the streets today, a month after the onset of the Russian invasion when
many Ukrainian cities are still under attacks from Russian troops. Ukraine’s
chief of staff has announced that fighting continues around the besieged city
of Izyum while most of Ukriane’s military units in the eastern region of
Donetsk are under attack. Operations continue in the north of the country where
the Russian artillery is shelling the cities of Kalynivka, Horynka and
Romanovka as well as the north-western suburbs of Kyiv.
EU Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis is today and tomorrow attending the European Council
proceedings in Brussels. White House leader Joe Biden has also been invited to
the meeting as a confirmation of the tight Transatlantic coordination against
the security background created by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. High on
the agenda are the latest security developments in Ukraine with emphasis on the
EU political, financial, material and humanitarian assistance to this country. Participants
will also tackle ways of providing assistance to the Ukrainian refugees, as
well as the Strategic Compass, an instrument aimed at providing a roadmap in
terms of security and defence at the EU level. The EU council proceedings are
also to focus on the situation of the energy prices and how to provide
assistance to the most vulnerable categories and the business environment.
COVID-19 On Thursday Romania reported over four thousand Covid infections in the
past 24 hours and 37 related fatalities. 428 patients are being treated in
ICUs, the lowest number in the past three months. We recall that no anti-Covid
restriction has been applied in the past two weeks in Romania, although the
country’s Health Minister Alexandru Rafila still recommends the observance of
individual protection measures, particularly the face covering in indoor and
crowded spaces. Rafila has also recalled the existence of vaccination centers
in medical centres across the country.
(bill)
