September 13, 2023

Schengen. In her state of the union address in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said Bulgaria and Romania proved that they are part of the Schengen area, showcasing best practices on asylum and returns. She urged that the two countries be admitted to the free movement area without further delay. Earlier, European Parliament president Roberta Metsola told the European Parliament that delaying the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen translates into restrictions to their right to freedom of movement and additional costs for their economies. The Romanian government plans to request compensations from the European Union arguing that keeping the country outside Schengen leads to economic losses of up to 2% of GDP. In July, European MPs passed a resolution urging for Romania's and Bulgaria's admission into Schengen by the end of the year. Spain, the current holder of the EU presidency, also put this objective on its list of priorities. The decision must be taken by the heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states and Austria is the only country still opposed.

Defence. The Romanian defence ministry has begun building shelters for the residents of Plauru, the village in Tulcea county, in south-eastern Romania, near the border with Ukraine, where fragments were found of Russian drones used in strikes on Ukrainian river ports. A detachment of army engineers are building two concrete air-raid shelters, which will be then handed over to the local authorities. In another move, the residents of eight villages in the area last night received their first text alerts on their mobile phones warning them that objects may fall from the air given the strikes of the Russian army against Ukraine. The message was sent following a decision by the National Committee for Emergency Situations. People are advised to keep calm and take refuge in their cellars or in civil defence shelters. The defence ministry today said new possible drone parts were found in Tulcea county scattered over several dozen metres.

Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep said she would appeal her 4-year ban from professional tennis on doping charges. She was suspended for two separate violations of the anti-doping regulations. Aged 31, Halep has 24 tournament titles to her record, including two Grand Slam trophies, at Roland Garros in 2018 and at Wimbledon one year later. First suspended provisionally in October last year, she has repeatedly denied consciously ingesting the banned substance for which she was charged and has criticised the delaying of the case.

Football. Romania defeated Kosovo last night at home, 2-nil, in Group I as part the qualifying matches for the European championship to be hosted by Germany next year. In other group fixtures, Switzerland defeated Andorra 3-nil and Israel defeated Belarus 1-nil. Switzerland top the group with 14 points, followed by Romania with 12 and Israel with 11. The two best-ranked teams in each group will qualify for the final tournament. The last time Romania played at a European championship was in 2016, while their last World Cup qualification was back in 1998. (CM)