August 18, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 18.08.2023, 13:59

OLYMPIAD – Romania took 1st place at the Central European Olympiad in Informatics 2023 (CEOI 2023), held in Magdeburg, Germany. Student Luca Perju-Verzotti with the Tudor Vianu National College of Informatics in Bucharest took the first place and gold medals. Gold, silver and bronze medals were also won by three students with the Aurel Vlaicu Theoretical High School in Orăștie (central Romania) and the International Theoretical High School of Informatics in Bucharest.

GDP — Romania is among the countries with the best results in terms of GDP growth and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the first quarter of this year, according to the Eurostat. Romanias GDP is 2.4% and has increased more than the European average of 1.2%. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, Romania has reduced them by almost 5%, while the European average is 2.9%. The EU economy as a whole has become more efficient and less polluting. In the first quarter of 2023, EU economy’s greenhouse gas emissions totalled 941 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, a 2.9% decrease compared with the same quarter of 2022. This decrease took place simultaneously with a 1.2% increase in the EU’s GDP in the first quarter of 2023, compared with the same quarter of 2022, Eurostat reports. Most emissions were released by the housing sector – 24%, followed by industrial production – 20%, electricity and gas sector – 19%, agriculture – 13% and transport and storage – 10%. The largest decrease in emissions occurred in the electricity and gas sector – 12.3% while the transport and storage sector had the largest increase – by 7.2%

FOREIG AFFAIRS – The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, spoke on the phone with her Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, and also with the Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly. According to a press release of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, during the discussion with the Armenian counterpart, Minister Luminiţa Odobescu reconfirmed Romanias support for the development of the relationship between the Armenia and the EU. Regarding the situation in the South Caucasus, the Romanian official welcomed the mediation efforts of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and voiced support for the peaceful resolution, through dialogue, of all pending issues, respecting the principles and norms of international law, including the provisions of international humanitarian law. On the other hand, during the telephone conversation with the Canadian counterpart, the very good cooperation on various files of bilateral interest was emphasized, such as cooperation in the energy sector, in the security and defense sectors and in the promotion of human rights. Also, the two ministers highlighted the joint commitment of Romania and Canada to provide sustained support to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, both in the context of efforts to combat the effects of Russias war in Ukraine, and in support of the European path of the two states.

GOVERNMENT – The text of an emergency order that modifies the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, but also the proposals of the Ministry of Transport in terms of cutting red tape are on the agenda of todays meeting of the Romanian government. The government also wants to adopt and submit to parliament a draft law to revise the article of the Criminal Code, which refers to the punishment of discrimination and incitement to hatred.

VISIT — The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denîs Şmîhal, is in Bucharest today for talks with Romanian officials on aspects related to regional security, in the context of Russias military aggression against Ukraine. We will also discuss Romanias efforts regarding the transit of Ukrainian grain to ensure access to food worldwide, as well as issues related to the bilateral agenda for the protection of Romanian farmers and the rights of Romanian minorities in Ukraine, Romanian PM, Marcel Ciolacu said.

FOOTBALL –Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe football squad, holder of the Romanian Cup, qualified to the Europa Conference League play-off after the 1-0 victory against FC Aktobe on Thursday evening, in Kazakhstan, in the second leg of the third preliminary round of the competition. In Sfantu Gheorghe, Sepsi had finished the match with Aktobe in a draw. On Thursday evening, the Romanian vice-champion FCSB was eliminated from the Europa Conference League by the vice-champion of Denmark, FC Nordsjaelland, who, after a goalless draw in Bucharest, won at home 2-0, in the second leg of the third preliminary round. Romanias champion, Farul Constanţa, has also qualified to the Europa Conference League play-off, which won the away match with Flora Tallinn of Estonia. Two Nordic teams will be the opponents of the Romanians in the play-off: HJK Helsinki (Finland), for Farul and FK Bodoe/Glimt (Norway) for Sepsi. (EE)