December 2, 2022 UPDATE

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis had a meeting in Athens on Friday with his Greek counterpart, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who reiterated Greece's full support for Romania's Schengen accession. The two officials praised the very good relations between the two countries, strengthened by cultural affinities and by a long common history, and emphasized the close cooperation at EU, regional and international level. Given the current security situation generated by Russia's illegal military aggression against Ukraine, they emphasized the importance of maintaining trans-Atlantic unity and solidarity and reiterated the support that their respective countries will continue to give to Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees, as well as to the R. of Moldova. The Romanian president is in Greece for a 2-day official visit.

COMPANIES The number of new companies running on foreign capital set up in Romania in the first 10 months of the year is 30.7% higher than in the corresponding period of 2021, according to the National Trade Registry Office. The 6,175 new companies have a combined share capital of over USD 35 million. At the end of October 2022, 243,022 companies in Romania had foreign share capital. The largest number of companies had Italian investors, but the highest capital value was reported for Dutch companies. In related news, Romania's software industry is growing steadily, with the combined turnover in the sector expected to reach a record-high EUR 11 billion this year. According to a survey, the upward trend has been steady for the past 10 years, and the growth rate almost tripled during this period. In 2021 there were over 30,000 software firms in Romania.

GAUDEAMUS The 29th edition of the "Gaudeamus" Book Fair hosted by Radio Romania kicks off next week. 200 publishers will be exhibiting their latest and current releases in various formats, addressing all age brackets and fields of interests, music as well as educational games. 600 events have been announced in addition to various related projects. Pavilions are also available online on gaudeamus.ro. The "Gaudeamus" Book Fair is financed by the Ministry of Culture.

POLITICS The National Congress of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), a nationalist party in opposition in Romania, Friday endorsed its political promotion strategy for 2023. It includes building a mobile hospital and organising medical caravans which would also present the party's views on the main areas of interest. The party president, George Simion, added that some of the subsidies received by the party will be used for purchasing school buses. The head of the party's National Council, Claudiu Târziu, said national reunification is AUR's country project and requested the governments of Romania and of the R. of Moldova to initiate immediate consultations in this respect.

SCHENGEN The Dutch government Friday decided to agree with Romania's and Croatia's Schengen accession, but will oppose the accession of Bulgaria, on grounds that the country does not meet the required conditions. The Swedish parliament's committee for European affairs also voted in favour of Romania's accession. The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă and the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu hailed the decisions concerning Romania. A possible enlargement of the Schengen area is one of the topics on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting due on December 8. (AMP)