August 21, 2023

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 21.08.2023, 13:55

Meeting – The Romanian Prime Minister,
Marcel Ciolacu, is today participating, in Athens, in a working meeting of the
heads of state and government from South-Eastern Europe and the Western
Balkans, organized by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According
to a Government communiqué, the talks will focus on the development of regional
cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, as well as on the challenges posed by the
developments of the conflict in Ukraine on the states participating in the
Athens dialogue. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, are attending the
meeting, along with heads of state and government from the region.

Ukraine-The Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky says he hopes other countries will join Denmark and the Netherlands, countries
which have decided to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets. The Ukrainian leader
made the statements at a military air base in Denmark, where he met with the
Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen. Denmark and the Netherlands will send
Ukraine 61 F-16s. It was agreed that the planes would be transferred to the
Ukrainian Air Force in close cooperation with the US and other partners, when
the conditions for such a transfer are met. Conditions include, but are not
limited to, successfully selected, tested and trained Ukrainian F-16 personnel
as well as the necessary authorizations, infrastructure and logistics.
Ukrainian pilot training will take place in several NATO countries, including
Romania.

Athletics-The Romanian athlete Alina
Rotaru-Kottmann won the bronze medal in the long jump event at the World
Athletics Championships in Budapest, with 6.88 meters, in the final held on
Sunday. This is the best performance in her sports career so far. Alina
Rotaru-Kottmann had already met the entry standards for athletics events at next
year’s Paris Olympics. Also on Sunday, Andrea Miklos qualified for the
semi-finals of the 400 m event. The semi-finals take place today. Romania is
participating with 16 athletes, nine women and seven men, in the World
Athletics Championships in Budapest. For
this competition the Romanian Athletics Federation has set the goal of
qualifying in three finals.

Baccalaureate – In Romania, the baccalaureate exam
continues, today, with the written exam in the mother tongue language and
literature for the national minorities. The first results will be announced on
August 25, and appeals can be submitted on the same day. The results will be
published on August 29. 34,000 candidates registered for the autumn session, of
whom 22,600 finished high school this summer.

ARC – The ARC Camps Program,
initiated by the Department for Romanians Everywhere and intended for Romanian
students and young people everywhere, continues until August 28, in 6 leisure
centers in Romania. Students and young people from Romania and another 24
countries of the world participate, including Albania, Austria, the United Arab
Emirates, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova,
Serbia, Spain, Ukraine. ‘We build bridges, build connections and embrace our
cultural diversity’ this is the message that the Department sends to the
children and teachers on summer vacation this year in the ARC camps. The camps
are meant to show Romanian children outside the borders what authentic Romania
is like. The project aims at facilitating interaction and dialogue between
young people from historical communities and young people from the Diaspora,
including through workshops to deepen knowledge of culture, history, geography
and arts.

Festival – The George Enescu Festival, the largest classical music
festival in Romania and one of the most important of its kind in Europe, is
coming to Timișoara, the European capital of culture in 2023. Great ensembles
of the world such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Fine Arts Quartet, Camerata
Bern, Manchester Camerata and the Romanian Chamber Orchestra will give
exceptional concerts between September 3 and 20. The first edition of the
festival was held in 1958. (LS)