February 26, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 26.02.2024, 13:55
UKRAINE – President Klaus Iohannis and allied leaders are today attending a working meeting devoted to Ukraine, hosted by the French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Talks will focus on the current phase of the war in Ukraine and its consequences on European and Euro-Atlantic security, as well as options to intensify assistance to Ukraine. President Iohannis hails the initiative of his French counterpart, pointing out that unity and solidarity at international level with regard to support for Ukraine are key and must be maintained, the Presidency reports. On the sidelines of the meeting, president Iohannis will reassert Romania’s firm support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s necessary.
ROMANIA-INDIA RELATIONS – Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu met with her Indian counterpart, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi, on the sidelines of her participation in the Raisina Dialogue international conference. Both ministers hailed progress reported in the development of bilateral relations and reiterated their joint commitment to consolidating cooperation in key areas, with a focus on the economy and sectorial cooperation. During their meeting, the two Foreign Ministers adopted a Joint Declaration following the 10th Anniversary of the Signing of the Joint Statement on Establishing Extensive Partnership between Romania and India.
PROTESTS – Trade union representatives of the Romanian postal service are staging this week protest actions in front of the Ministry of Research building. Workers are disgruntled with the lack of a transparent, motivating and non-discriminatory salary scheme, or the fact that 80% of Romanian Post staff currently earns minimum wages, regardless of the position, degrees, attributes or seniority. Trade unionists also criticize the lack of coherent development and sustainability policies and the company’s untransparent and unpredictable management. Taxi drivers from Bucharest and other counties are also staging a three-day protest in the capital-city as of today. They are disgruntled with competition from alternative means of transportation and call on such transporters to observe the same rules taxi drivers are subject to. Some 800 drivers will attend today’s protest with their vehicles, while over 1,800 drivers and their vehicles will take part in the protest on Tuesday and Wednesday.
SCHOOL – Classes resume today for pupils in Bucharest and 25 counties. The ski break continues to pupils in other counties, as this school break differs in the timetable of each county school inspectorate. The next school break is scheduled for April 27 – May 7, to mark the Easter holiday. The summer holiday starts June 22.
NATO – Hungary’s Parliament is today expected to ratify Sweden’s NATO accession. Hungary is the last member of NATO to officially endorse Sweden’s NATO accession, the BBC reports. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden decided to renounce its historical neutrality and join NATO. Most member states have hailed Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, although Turkey and Hungary have repeatedly delayed its ratification. Turkey vetoed Sweden’s accession due to the latter’s toleration of anti-Islamic protests, whereas the Hungarian government claimed Sweden was wrong to criticize Budapest’s democratic standards.
BERLINALE SCANDAL – The Berlinale has distanced itself from an anti-Semitic post on Instagram referring to the conflict in the Middle East, previously published on one of the Instagram accounts of the Berlin International Film Festival, DPA reports. “The fact that someone is misusing a Berlinale social media channel for anti-Semitic hate speech is intolerable”. Several representatives of the film industry referred to the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, which sparked tensions. Critics say the participants made allegations against Israel without mentioning the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner pointed out on X there’s no place for anti-Semitism in Berlin, which also applies to artists. “What happened yesterday at the Berlinale was an unacceptable relativization”, the German official argued. (VP)
