June 26, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 26.06.2024, 13:55

NATO – The 32 NATO member states have today confirmed the nomination of the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as Secretary General of the Alliance. France Presse wrote that the withdrawal of the Romanian president’s candidacy and the objections of Hungary and Slovakia, secured Rutte a free path to obtaining the position of NATO Secretary General. He will take over his duties on October 1st, when the last extension of the mandate of the incumbent Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, appointed in 2014, expires. Stoltenberg’s mandate was extended four times, in the context of the war in Ukraine.

SUMMIT – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will attend the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. Support for the neighbouring Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the new structure of the European Parliament, are on the meeting’s agenda, according to a press release from the Presidential Administration in Bucharest. Also, the leaders of the European Union will continue discussions on the appointments at the top of the EU institutions, following the recent European elections.

FOOTBALL – The Romanian national football side today play against Slovakia in Frankfurt at 7 pm, Bucharest time, their last match in Group E of the European Championship in Germany. The Belgium-Ukraine match is also played in the same group. In the first two matches, the Romanians beat Ukraine 3-0 and lost, 0-2, to Belgium. All four teams in the group have accumulated three points each, and Romania remains the leader due to the goal difference. An equal result would be enough for both Romania and Slovakia to qualify for the round of 16, which fuels media speculation about a fixed match. The coaches and players of the two teams categorically rejected such a hypothesis.

ELECTION – The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) in Romania cancelled the elections for the position of mayor in the Black Sea resort of Costineşti, Constanța county, and ordered that the poll should be held again on July 7th. BEC approved the request to cancel the elections, made by the Constanta branch of the Social Democratic Party. In Costineşti, the Romanian press writes, the counting of the votes cast in the local elections on June 9 was repeated six times. In the end, the Liberal candidate was named the winner for the position of mayor, with a difference of one vote from the Social Democratic candidate. A number of irregularities were mentioned, based on supporting documents, including the fact that two people, including a Ukrainian citizen, voted without having this right.

FLAG DAY- President Klaus Iohannis delivered, on Wednesday, a message on National Flag Day, in which context he emphasized Romania’s NATO, EU and UN membership and evoked the need for unity. The head of state said that the National Flag “represents a unifying element for Romanians, wherever they are. “It is present in moments of hardship or joy, at national and international events, in institutions, at parades or on the occasion of sports competitions”, the president pointed out. Klaus Iohannis recalled the history of this holiday and paid tribute to the Romanian soldiers who died in the theatres of operations. On his part, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu recalled that “under the colors of the National Flag, generations of Romanians fought for independence, sovereignty, unity and democracy, values ​​in which we strongly believe.”

ACCESSION – The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have officially started EU accession negotiations, two years after they received the candidate status. The first talks took place in Luxembourg, were of technical nature and concerned the structure and timing of the negotiations. The two countries will negotiate and be evaluated separately, and the duration of the negotiation process depends on their ability to adopt the necessary reforms to meet the accession criteria. Throughout the entire process, Chisinau and Kyiv must align their national legislation with the EU provisions. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels, since obtaining the candidate status until now, the two states have made general adjustments in key areas, through which they have demonstrated their will to get closer to the EU legislation.

BUCHAREST – The leaders of the ruling PSD-PNL coalition in Romania did not manage to reach an agreement, on Tuesday evening either, on the date of the presidential elections, as each of the two parties insists on a different calendar. The Social Democrats want the election to take place in September, while the Liberals want presidential elections in November. Discussions within the coalition on this subject will resume on Friday. (EE)