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UKRAINE The Romanian foreign ministry firmly criticised the move of the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, who posted on social media a map assigning current Ukrainian territories to Romania and other neighbouring countries. The foreign ministry regards such attitudes as part of the Russian Federation's propaganda and disinformation campaign, which has intensified since the start of the illegal and illegitimate war against Ukraine. Such 'proposals' and 'analyses' concerning the random resetting of national borders and promoting violations of international laws are just failed attempts to justify Russia's breaches of the international order based on rules. The institution reiterates Romania's full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, and once again condemns Russia's unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against that country. Romania is and will remain a partner of Ukraine and reconfirms its full support and deep compassion for the Ukrainian people, the victim of a brutal aggression, the institution's news release also reads.
FUNDS The prime minister Nicolae Ciucă has said Romania's absorption rate of European funds as part of the 2014-2020 financial exercise stands at 64.5%, a level similar to that of Germany and only slightly lower than France, but ahead of older member states like Belgium (59%) and Italy, Spain and The Netherlands (each with a little over 56%). According to Ciucă, Romania absorbed 22 billion Euros out of the 35 billion it is allocated in the 2014-2020 period.
DROUGHT Drought has so far affected 150,000 hectares of farmland in 20 different counties across Romania, said the agriculture ministry, based on daily reports on the state of the crops. The irrigation systems are struggling to cope, owing to the drop in the level of the water used to feed the irrigation stations. The biggest such station, in Brăila county, in the south-east, was shut down because of the low Danube water flow. The station was providing water for 250,000 hectares of land in the region. The water flow of the river Prut, in the east, is also dropping, having already reached a record low level. Agriculture minister Petre Daea said the animal breeding sector is also affected by drought.
WHISTLE-BLOWERS The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis Thursday sent back to Parliament for reconsideration the Law on the protection of whistle-blowers, stating that some of the legislative solutions must be revised. Previously, a coalition of 20 NGOs, civil associations and trade unions, as well as whistle-blowers, had sent an open letter to the president, urging him not to sign the bill into law. Civil society organisations argue that in the form passed in Parliament, the act reduces the protection mechanisms for whistle-blowers, and Romania risks infringement procedures for the selective transposition of the relevant EU Directive. Save Romania Union, in opposition, also called on Iohannis to send the law back for urgent reconsideration, stating that the current text dissuades corruption reporting and poses a major risk of Romania being left without the funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. In mid-July the Constitutional Court had dismissed USR party's complaint concerning the law, as unconstitutional.
DRILL Over 20 aircraft from 7 NATO member states Thursday took part in a joint drill as part of the enhanced Vigilance Activities - eVA headed by NATO AIRCOM based in Germany. According to the defence ministry, the goal of the exercise is to prove NATO's capacity to plan, coordinate and execute a complex air space security mission in the event of any type of attack or threat on Allied territory. In response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, NATO significantly enhanced its defence and deterrence capability, including by means of strengthening its presence on its eastern flank. (AMP)
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