February 27, 2023

GOLD Romanian judoka, Mircea Croitoru, on Sunday became gold medalist in the European Open hosted by Polish capital Warsaw after having defeated Slovakian Marius Fizel in the finals. The Romanian made his debut in the round of sixteen with a win against Daniel Udsilauri of Germany and defeated Anto Dubreta of Montenegro in the quarterfinals. Next the Romanian outperformed Mohamed Lahboub of Morocco in the semifinals. 8 judokas have represented Romania in the tournament, six in the men's contest and two in the women's. The European Open in Warsaw has brought together 429 judokas of 43 countries.

VISIT The president of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, Marcel Ciolacu is paying a two-day formal visit to Azerbaijan in response to an invitation by the president of the National Assembly of this country, Sahiba Gafarova. The Romanian official has so far held talks with the country's president Ilham Aliyev on three major energy projects, thorough which Romania had the chance of becoming an EU gateway for the gas and energy coming from Azerbaijan. The first project focuses on the one-year purchase contract for one billion cubic meters of gas starting April. The second is about the construction of two terminals for liquefied gas on the Black Sea and the third deals with the development of a submarine cable carrying green energy from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Romania. Also today, Ciolacu will be having talks with Sahiba Gafarova and members of the board of the local state-owned gas company SOCAR, known all over the world for its production of oil and natural gas.

SESSION The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest are today convening in a joint sitting to mark a year since the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. The war broke out in the first hours of 24th February 2022, when Russia launched a wave of rockets against its neighbour, preceding the three-direction onslaught of its troops. The conflict has so far claimed the lives of tens of thousands. Several cities have been destroyed and roughly 8 million people have become war refugees. Part of them have transited Romania and even settled here.

LENT Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers, who are a majority in Romania, have today begun the period of Lent, six weeks before Easter, which this year is being celebrated on April 16th. Believers observing this fasting period must refrain from eating animal-based food, from partying and other types of entertainment. Weddings are prohibited during this period.

MEETING The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is today meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in an attempt to sign off a revised deal on the Northern Ireland protocol. In a joint statement, the two said they would cooperate to solve the dispute caused by the Brexit. For Rishi Sunak an agreement would be tantamount to avoiding a trade war with Brussels. Better relations are creating new opportunities, such as Britain's access to the EU's research programme Horizon and its enhanced cooperation with France in order to stop human trafficking.

TALKS Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is today paying a visit to Luxembourg for talks with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and also to attend the European Investment Bank Forum. During the talks with the head of the Luxembourgish government, president Iohannis is expected to tackle issues related to economic cooperation, particularly in the fields of finance, tourism and high technologies but also other topical issues such as the war in Ukraine. During the forum of the European Investment Bank, Iohannis is expected to deliver a speech over the new global challenges. The Romanian president will be holding talks with both the head of the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

(bill)