July 7, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 07.07.2024, 19:19
Citizenship. Romanian nationals living in Spain will be able to obtain dual citizenship by the end of the year, said the Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu after talks with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez in Bucharest on Saturday. Ciolacu said the document was at the ministry of justice in Madrid and gave assurances that the over 1 million Romanians living in Spain will be able to benefit from this facility by the end of the year. If the dual citizenship agreement is adopted, Romania will become the third state in Europe, after France and Portugal, to close such an agreement with the Spanish state. Ciolacu said that, also by the end of the year, Romanian citizens will no longer need visas to travel to the US and voiced hope that Romania would fully join Schengen. Ciolacu conveyed to the Spanish prime minister the intention of the Romanian side to host a joint meeting of the two governments to discuss the agreement on the creation of bilingual Romanian-Spanish sections, the holding of a bilingual baccalaureate exam in Romanian high schools, cooperation in the area of defence and combating human trafficking. Last but not least, the Spanish side said it supported Romania in its endeavours to obtain a representative portfolio in the future European Commission.
Culture. Romanian and foreign tourists visiting Romania are increasingly interested in culture, says the relevant minister Raluca Turcan. She said the number of visitors to museums, public collections, botanical gardens, zoos and nature reserves grew by 3.1 million in 2023 compared with 2022. Turcan cited figures published by the National Institute for Statistics, according to which the number of visitors to the Long Night of Museums grew from 481,000 in 2022 to 596,000 in 2023. She said the network of private and public museums and public collections grew last year to 464. Also, over 33.5 million cultural and natural assets were made available to the public, 713,000 more than in 2022. The number of performances and concerts grew to 24,000, and that of spectators passed 6.1 million. The culture minister emphasised that the number of active library users increased by 57,000 and that Romanians borrowed 600,000 more books in 2023 compared with 2022.
Drugs. The prosecutors of the body fighting organised crime and terrorism in Romania have detained a Romanian citizen residing in the US on suspicion of drug trafficking. According to investigations, he offered banned substances in the form of jellies containing THC at an event held on 29th June that was also attended by minors. A 3-year-old girl who ate a jelly was later taken to hospital for complex medical tests. A large amount of cannabis was found when the suspect’s home was searched and inquiries indicate that the drugs were about to be sold at the Neversea music festival in Constanţa.
Travel. From Monday until 9th August, traffic on the Valea Oltului national road, a very busy road that connects the south to the centre of the country, will be closed during the day between 6 am and 8 pm. The measure is necessary to allow for the felling of 20,000 trees on the mountain sides bordering the road in order to build the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway. In another move, travel restrictions will be imposed from Wednesday on the Bulgarian section of the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge between Romania and Bulgaria, on account of infrastructure rehabilitation works. The Romanian foreign ministry issued a press statement recommending Romanian citizens to drive cautiously and respect the temporary traffic signs. The works will last two years, with traffic only conducted on one lane.
