January 20, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 20.01.2024, 13:49
WEATHER — Romania has been in the grip of bad weather since Friday afternoon, which has mostly affected counties in the centre, north, northeast and south of the country. Road traffic was temporarily blocked on certain segments due to the thick layer of snow and ice formed on the road. Railway traffic unfolds under winter conditions and train speed has been reduced in certain areas. As regards air traffic on Bucharest airports, no disruptions have been reported. The Bucharest Airports National Company has announced that aircraft land and take off safely and no flights are canceled due to bad weather. Some flights may, however, experience delays due to de-icing operations, which are usually carried out after passengers have boarded.
JUSTICE – The Romanian Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, said that, last week, 17 fugitives from Ireland, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Poland and Britain were brought to the country. She reminded, in a Facebook post, that in 2021 the state spent over 1.9 million euros to bring back fugitives from abroad, in 2022 over 1.7 million euros while last year the amount exceeded 2 million euros. Alina Gorghiu also said that a draft law was put up for public debate on the Ministry’s website a few days ago, according to which fugitives will pay the cost of their repatriation to Romania, where they must serve their sentences.
BORDER – Traffic unfolds under normal conditions in both directions at the Siret Customs, in the north of Romania. The protest of Romanian farmers and transporters in the area, dissatisfied with the drop in grain prices caused by imports from Ukraine, had temporarily blocked road traffic on the European Road E85, approximately two kilometers from the Siret customs. Protests were also held at the Halmeu customs. In Bucharest, the General City Hall issued an authorization for a protest to be held on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On Thursday, the Bucharest Government passed a first package of measures to support transporters and farmers. In Brussels, the European Commission is working on measures to address the problems caused by the export of cheap Ukrainian grain to the states bordering Ukraine, such as Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. The Commission representatives confirmed that they received a letter from the five countries, one of the requests being the introduction of import taxes on Ukrainian grain, which is cheaper and currently does not have to meet the quality standards, like the grain produced in the European Union does.
WINTER – A code orange alert for severe weather is in place in Bulgaria, the entire territory of that country being affected by strong wind and heavy precipitation in the form of snow. The Romanian Foreign Ministry recommends citizens to monitor the situation of flights from Bulgarian airports, while those traveling by car should have their vehicles equipped for winter. During weather alert codes, some roads may be closed to road traffic, and the flight schedule may suffer disruptions.
ENERGY – Romania has exported, this morning, almost 1,400 megawatts, mainly due to the record wind energy production of over 2,000 megawatts. The national production of electricity was 8,900 megawatts, while the consumption was 7,500, the national company Transelectrica has announced. (EE)
