January 20, 2023

The presidents of Romania and Bulgaria discussed by phone the two countries’ accession to the Schengen free movement area

The presidents of Romania and Bulgaria, Klaus Iohannis and Rumen Radev, discussed by phone on Thursday the accession of the two countries to the Schengen free movement area and how the deadlock recorded at the Council of Justice and Internal Affairs since last December can be overcome. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the two heads of state reconfirmed their firm determination to continue close collaboration in order to achieve this year the common goal of joining the Schengen Area. Also on Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis was called by his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, and after the discussion, he decided to send Ambassador Emil Hurezeanu back to Vienna. He had been called to Bucharest for consultations a day after the meeting of the Council of Justice and Internal Affairs, in which Austria opposed our country’s accession to the Schengen Area.

The steel production units in Reșita and Slatina no longer have Russian shareholding

The steel production units in Reșita and Slatina no longer have Russian shareholding. The combine was bought by a company from Serbia, which also requested the cancellation of the decisions to freeze the funds of Romanian companies imposed in the context of the sanctions aimed at Russian companies for the war started in Ukraine. The new name is the Artrom group, and the employees have been kept – 1,550 at the pipe factory in Slatina and 770 at the steel plant in Reșita. „We welcome the sale, if it leads to the exit from the scope of sanctions and to the protection of jobs”, said a union leader.

A MApN delegation attends a meeting of the contact group for Ukraine at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany

A delegation of the Ministry of National Defense led by Minister Angel Tâlvăr is participating today in the Ramstein Air Base in Germany at the first meeting of the contact group for Ukraine this year. The discussions in which the representatives of 50 countries and organizations will participate will focus on the evolution of the conflict, as well as the prospects for the continuation of international support for Kyiv. According to MApN, the participation of our country’s delegation at the meeting is a new proof of the firm commitment to support Ukraine. Romania firmly condemned the unprovoked and illegal aggression of the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian people, especially the brutal and indiscriminate attacks on the civil infrastructure, the Ministry of National Defense also states.

(Adelina Boboc)