Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has attended the summit in Versailles
Romania was represented by its president, Klaus Iohannis, at the European Spring Summit in Versailles, where talks focused on the war in Ukraine, on ways of reducing Europe's dependence on Russian gas as well as common defence. The host-country France voiced its readiness to build the Union's real sovereignty and autonomy, including in terms of energy against the complex and dramatic background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
European leaders reiterated the EU's readiness to grant protection to all Ukrainian refugees and called on Russia to observe international humanitarian laws. As far as energy is concerned, the objective is to reduce the dependence on Russian gas and oil to the point that some countries will no longer need to import hydrocarbons from Russia.
According to Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, as long as the war goes on, energy prices are going to soar triggering price hikes in other products. For this reason, the government in Bucharest wants to rapidly increase the country's production of electricity. So the government has decided to kick-start energy production facilities with the Oltenia Energy Compound in southern Romania, which is to have another 300 Megawatts turbine operational shortly. After investment has been completed at the Power Plant in Iernut, central Romania, another 210 Megawatts are expected to be produced by the end of the year.
High-ranking US official visits Bucharest
The US Vice-president, Kamala Harris, was received by Romania's president Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest on Friday. After a round of private and formal talks, the two officials participated in a news conference.
"I must say, when we are talking about humanitarian assistance, Romania has been a hub of humanitarian assistance. And that is yet another reason that we are here to thank the president and the people of this great country for what you are doing based on the needs of this region. You have been welcoming tens of thousands of refugees and doing it with such compassion and such grace," the US official said.
In turn, the head of the Romanian state said that NATO would not hesitate to defend every allied country, Romania included. The Romanian president was given assurances about the US' commitment to article five of the North Atlantic Treaty. The recent visit paid to Bucharest by the US Vice-president reconfirms the solidity of the bilateral strategic partnership and the US' firm commitment towards the security of Romania and its NATO allies in the Eastern Flank. The visit also reflects the US administration's appreciation for Romania's approach in the present context of security threats caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine as well as the way in which it has handled the inflow of refugees at its borders and provided humanitarian assistance.
Romania provides assistance to Ukrainian refugees
Since the onset of the Russian invasion, over 350,000 Ukrainian refugees have crossed Romania's borders. Out of these, roughly two thirds have already left the country on their way to Western Europe. The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, at the end of his visit to Romania, on Thursday thanked Bucharest for its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees from Ukraine. The European official had visited the Civil Protection Center in Suceava, north-eastern Romania and the border check point in Siret. "Europe has been facing the biggest humanitarian crisis since WWll," Lenarcic said. Upon his meeting with Romania's Interior Minister Lucian Bode, the EU official said the European Union is granting support to Ukrainian refugees and also to the countries offering them assistance. The EU Commissioner also met Romania's Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, who highlighted the importance of the European support to Romania and the neighboring ex-Soviet Republic of Moldova in handling the refugee crisis.
The situation of these refugees was also high on the agenda of talks Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had in Bucharest on Monday with his Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly. The Canadian official thanked the Romanian side for its efforts to protect all the people needing to flee Ukraine to avoid Russian aggression, including the 600 Canadian citizens who safely transited the Romanian territory. The Romanian government on Monday endorsed new measures to benefit the refugees. So, all the Ukrainian children will benefit from the same education in Romanian schools just like the locals. They have been offered free accommodation in student hostels as well as textbooks, stationery and clothes. The measures are also to benefit the elderly or the disabled refugees who have made it to Romania alone or accompanied by other people and have applied for assistance from the Romanian authorities. Last but not least, the Ukrainian citizens have been offered the right to work in Romania. In another development, the Romanian Red Cross has this week sent to Ukraine a humanitarian convoy with food, medicine and medical equipment. The poor Ukrainian towns and villages close to the Romanian border have been severely affected by food shortage.
Romania puts an end to the state of alert caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
The State of Alert imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic has been lifted almost two years on after being imposed in Romania on May 15th 2020. All Covid-19 restrictions were lifted on Wednesday and no rules for the prevention of the virus spread are in effect today. Green certificates are no longer required for access to certain areas and no more quarantine or isolation rules are in place. Certificates are still useful to people traveling to countries with prevention measures still in effect. Certificates issued in Romania are valid until the end of the year. The Health Ministry still recommends face coverings in crowded spaces as the virus is reportedly spreading in Romania. 2.78 million people have so far been infected in Romania, which has also reported 64 thousand related fatalities.