February 13, 2023 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 13.02.2023, 20:00

UN The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu will be a main speaker on Tuesday in New York at the open debate of the
UN Security Council on Threats to international peace and security:
Sea-level rise: implications for international peace and security. Participants
will discuss the risks posed by the rise in sea levels as a result of climate
change and will explore ways to tackle these risks as part of the global
security architecture. Romania’s presence in the UN Security Council
consolidates Bucharest’s efforts to promote a rule-based international order
and its role as an actor involved in the management of vital global problems,
the Foreign Ministry says.

MOLDOVA Moscow
plans to force a change of the political power in the R. of Moldova in
the forthcoming period, through violent actions
designed to destabilise the country, Moldova’s president Maia Sandu said. According
to her, Russia allegedly intends to use diversions, attacks on institutions and
hostage taking. The plan was uncovered with the help of intelligence received
from Kyiv, among others, Maia Sandu added. ‘The goal of these actions is to upset
constitutional order, to replace the legitimate power in Chişinău with an
illegitimate one, which will leave our country into the hands of Russia, to
stop the European accession process and to ensure that Moldova can be used by
Russia in the war against Ukraine,’ Maia Sandu said. Last Thursday in Brussels
the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to EU leaders about such a
plan put together by Russia.

NATO Romania’s defence minister, Angel Tîlvăr, is taking part on Tuesday
and Wednesday in Brussels in the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group
and a meeting of the NATO defence ministers. The Allied defence ministers
convene as part of the regular meeting schedule, and talks will primarily focus
on continuing support for Ukraine, on the implementation of the decisions taken
last July at the NATO Summit in Madrid and on preparing the decision package
for the forthcoming Summit in Vilnius. The meeting begins on Tuesday night with
an informal working meeting on security developments one year after the start of
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Invited to attend are also the defence
ministers of Sweden, Finland and Ukraine, and the EU High Representative for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

VISIT The Minister-President of Bavaria, Markus Soder, who is on a
visit to Bucharest, Monday reiterated support for Romania’s Schengen accession,
emphasising that over the past few years the country made substantial progress
in fighting corruption and structural reforms. We support Romania on its path
towards Schengen accession. It is very important that we, in Europe, understand
that here in particular, given the situation with Ukraine and Russia, the
challenges are at an entirely different level, he added. Markus Soder also
voiced his appreciation for the support given by Romania to the Ukrainian
refugees. Markus Soder was received in Bucharest by president Klaus Iohannis and
PM Nicolae Ciuca. The 2 ministers signed a joint Statement on consolidating
bilateral relations, which also stipulates the resumption of the works of a
joint Romania – Bavaria governmental committee.

ECONOMY Romania’s economy is expected to grow by 2.5% in 2023 and by
3% in 2024, with the inflation rate standing at 9.7% this year and 5.5% next
year, according to the European Commission’s winter forecast made public on
Monday. According to the EC, the implementation of the National Recovery and
Resilience Programme should contribute to massive investments in Romania, driving
the economic growth this year.

WRD Monday was World Radio Day, established as such by UNESCO in 2011.
February 13 marks the first broadcast by the United Nations’ radio station,
back in 1946. The theme of World Radio Day this year was Radio and
Peace. On this occasion, Romanian artists showed their solidarity with
Ukraine. At 9:30 a.m. on Monday, all Radio Romania channels aired the famous
song Heal the World, released by Michael Jackson in the early 1990s. The
broadcast of this song on World Radio Day is part of a series of events organised
by Radio Romania to mark one year since the start of the war in the
neighbouring Ukraine. (AMP)