February 20, 2023

Campaign.  Hundreds of aftershocks of the earthquakes in Gorj (southwest Romania), the most significant having a magnitude of 4.3 on the Richter scale, have been recorded in recent days. The 5.7 magnitude earthquake last week created acute panic and damaged several buildings, but caused no casualties. Specialists with the National Institute for Earth Physics say that the aftershocks will continue for about a month. The authorities are launching today, at national level, an information campaign on how to react in case of an earthquake, and this week the Government will approve a decision by which the "Be Prepared" website can be promoted by every institution and become more accessible to citizens.

FAC. Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is participating, today, in Brussels, in the Foreign Affairs Council. The talks are focused on Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the situation in Afghanistan and climate and energy diplomacy. The European officials will also address developments in Iran, with an emphasis on the human rights situation and Iran's cooperation with Russia in the military field. The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, will reiterate solidarity with Ukraine and stress the need to maintain EU support for Ukraine as long as it is needed. On the sidelines of the council, the European foreign ministers will have an informal exchange of views with the foreign minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu,  introduced on the agenda at the proposal of minister Bogdan Aurescu.

Ukraine. This morning, US President Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Kyiv, where he met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. The American official announced additional aid in the amount of 500 million dollars and said that new sanctions against Russia were coming this week. For his part, Zelensky stated that he discussed long-range weaponry with Biden. The visit was not announced for security reasons. The American president is expected in Warsaw, where he will be received by his Polish counterpart, Andrej Duda. On Tuesday, Joe Biden will give a speech in Poland, a key US ally, on the same day that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will speak in Moscow, three days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, the head of the White House will meet with the leaders of Bucharest 9 (B9), including the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis. B9 is a group of NATO members from Eastern Europe consisting of Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.

Moldova. The geopolitical challenges triggered by Russia's aggression in Ukraine, energy security and the fight against the Kremlin's propaganda and disinformation are topics on the agenda of the 10th Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.  The meeting takes place in the capital of the Republic of Moldova, between February 19 and 21. Moldovan State Secretary Constantin Borosan, from the Euronest Committee for Energy Security, has stressed that the interconnection of the Republic of Moldova with the Romanian gas supply system through the Iasi - Chisinau gas pipeline and the European ENTSO-E electricity grid helped the state to overcome the worst energy crises. The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly was established in 2011 by the European Union and the Eastern Partnership states: the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Timisoara. Timişoara (western Romania), which has officially become a European Capital of Culture in 2023, looks forward with confidence to the impressive show that will unfold until February 2024, said the mayor Dominic Fritz, at the end of the program's inaugural events. Under the slogan "Light up your city" 1,000 events are scheduled for a year, with an international message about the cultural values ​​of the city transmitted by the hundreds of diplomats and journalists who were in Timisoara this weekend, as well as by those up to a million visitors who are expected here this year, as the mayor of Timisoara stressed.  For three days, this past weekend, the city hosted concerts, exhibitions, debates, tourist tours and a gala show attended by hundreds of guests, including dozens of ambassadors and officials from the country and abroad. More on this after the news.

BAFTA. All Quiet on the Western Front was the big winner of the 76th edition of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, which took place on Sunday evening in London. The film triumphed in seven categories, including "best director", "best film" and "best film in a language other than English", according to Variety and Reuters. The feature film now holds the record for the most trophies won by a film in a language other than English, dethroning the film Cinema Paradiso, from 1988, which won five BAFTA awards. Austin Butler won the award for "best actor in a leading role" thanks to his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the movie Elvis. Cate Blanchett was named "best actress in a leading role" for her role as a prestigious conductor whose career falls apart due to allegations of abuse in the film Tar. (MI)