January 30, 2023

Click here for a roundup of news from Romania and abroad

Newsroom, 30.01.2023, 13:55

Parliament – The Romanian senators and deputies return, this week, to Parliament, for the first parliamentary session of the year. Among the priorities on the agenda are sensitive bills, such as the one on public service pensions, which should no longer exceed the salary from the active period, or the proposals to amend the education laws, on which the parties in the government coalition have so far failed to reach consensus.

Brussels — The Romanian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Petre Daea, participated, today, in Brussels, in the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. The agenda of talks includes important topics for agricultural producers in Romania, such as: the market situation, the bio-economy, honey labeling, the directive on industrial emissions and animal transport. In the opening of the meeting, the Swedish Presidency will make a presentation of its work program for the current semester in the field of agriculture and fisheries. European officials will receive information from the German delegation regarding the Global Forum on Food and Agriculture, which was held in Berlin on January 21.

Health — The Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said Sunday evening on a private television station that the number of flu and viral infection cases is decreasing in Romania. According to the minister, the flu epidemic will end in approximately two to three weeks. Alexandru Rafila stated that only in the last week, the number of cases reported was smaller by 25%, about 100,000 new cases of viral respiratory infections and cases of flu, compared to 140,000 a week ago. He also stressed that there were no problems with the stocks of medicines used in viral respiratory infections, even if their consumption has increased more than usual.

ICR – The Romanian Cultural Institute – ICR announced the relaunch of the Cantemir Cultural Partnerships and Financing Program, intended for international projects. The main aim of the program is to connect culture operators from Romania with partners from abroad. Through the Cantemir Program, previously run between 2006 – 2012 and resumed in 2023 with some changes, ICR will grant non-refundable funding for cultural initiatives in the fields of visual arts – fine arts, decorative arts, science/research and architecture, design, new media, photography, performance and performing arts – theater, music and dance.

Ukraine — The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg requested South Korea today to increase its military aid to Ukraine. The NATO leader is in Seoul, as part of a visit that will also include Japan. According to the BBC, Stoltenberg intends to strengthen NATO ties with the Asian allies of the United States. He mentioned the war in Ukraine alongside North Koreas nuclear and missile programs and Chinas growing assertiveness as reasons of concern for both East and West. In another development, on Sunday, in Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not send fighter planes to Ukraine, while Kyiv continues to request weapons from the Western countries to counter the Russian invasion. On Wednesday, Berlin decided to send 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other European countries to supply similar tanks to Kyiv. Also on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was confident that his country could defeat Russia this year, despite Ukraines current difficulties on the battle front. ‘2023 must and will certainly be the year of our victory’ President Zelenski wrote in a social media post. At the same time, the Ukrainian leader admitted that the situation was very difficult regarding the heavy fighting in the east of the country.

Cairo – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is meeting today in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss regional issues such as the transition to democracy in Sudan and the elections in Libya. Blinken will also address the concerns related to the observance of human rights by the authorities in Cairo. Egypt is the first stage of the tour that the US official is taking in the Middle East, at a time of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Today, Blinken will travel to Jerusalem, where he will reiterate the US calls for calm and the US support for a two-state solution, although US officials have admitted that the resumption of peace talks is unlikely in the near future. On Thursday, an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank left ten people dead, and on Friday a Palestinian shot dead seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem. The US Secretary of State will also travel to Ramallah, to meet with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. (LS)