June 19, 2024

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 19.06.2024, 13:55

Visit – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has today received his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, on the occasion of the latter’s official visit to Bucharest. “We have deep ties with Italy, an exceptional economic dynamic, and the soul of the relationship is the Romanian communities in Italy, very well integrated,” said Klaus Iohannis. At the same time, Iohannis expressed his appreciation for the solid community of Italian entrepreneurs in Romania. He pointed out that, last year, the two countries had bilateral exchanges worth 20 billion Euros. In terms of security, Klaus Iohannis stated that Romania and Italy would continue to work together to strengthen NATO’s deterrence role on the eastern front, as well as on the southern front. In turn, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, said that bilateral relations are excellent on all levels. According to a Presidential Administration press release, in 2024, Romania and Italy celebrate 145 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, as well as 60 years since these relations were taken to embassy level.

Election results – The final results of the European Parliament elections were announced by the Central Electoral Bureau and published in the Official Gazette of Romania. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) – National Liberal Party (PNL) alliance ranked first with 48.5% of the votes, followed by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, with a little under 15%, the United Right Alliance, with 8.7%, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania with almost 6.5% and the SOS Romania party with a little over the required threshold of 5%. The independent candidate Nicolae Ştefănuţă was voted by 3.08% of Romanians and managed to obtain another European Parliament mandate. The voter turnout was 52.4%. The Central Electoral Bureau pointed out that, of the 33 MEP mandates going to Romania, 19 went to the PSD-PNL alliance, 6 to the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, 3 to the United Right Alliance and 2 to the SOS Romania Party and another 2 to the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

Citizenship – The Romanian Senate has adopted, as the first chamber notified, a draft law to amend the Citizenship Law, initiated by the Government, which establishes that the Romanian citizenship can be granted, upon request, to a foreign person who is married and lives outside the borders with a Romanian citizen for at least 10 years. The current legislation stipulates that, in order to grant citizenship to a foreign citizen married to a Romanian citizen, he or she must live in Romania for at least five years, which represents, in the opinion of the initiator, ‘an obstacle’. The law also provides for the necessary measures needed to acquire the Romanian citizenship and for rules to prevent its fraudulent acquisition. Thus, biometric checks are provided for persons applying for being granted the Romanian citizenship. The draft law will be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, which is a decision-making body.

Euro 2024 – Today, the European Football Championship in Germany schedules one match in Group B, Croatia-Albania, and two in Group A, between the host country team and Hungary and between Scotland and Switzerland respectively. We remind you that on Tuesday, in Group E, Romania defeated Ukraine 3-0, and Slovakia won 1-0 against Belgium. Romania’s next matches are on Saturday, against Belgium, and next Wednesday, against Slovakia.

Champions League – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, from Bucharest, will play in the first preliminary round of the Champions League with the San Marino team AC Virtus 1964, according to the drawing of lots made at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. FCSB will play the first away match on July 9 or 10, and the decisive leg in Bucharest on July 16 or 17. The winner of Romania’s Cup, the second division Corvinul Hunedoara (south-west), will face the Hungarian vice-champions, Paksi FC, in the first preliminary round of the Europa League. Corvinul will play the first away match on June 11, with the second match being scheduled in Romania on July 18. (LS)