November 8, 2022

Conference. The 2022 UN Climate Change Conference continues in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.  World leaders are under pressure to strengthen their commitment to combating global warming and provide financial support to poor countries, which are suffering the most. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has stated that Bucharest supports the leadership role assumed by the European Union in terms of limiting these changes and the joint commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. A report published today and commissioned by the presidency of the COP (Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) shows that southern countries will need more than 2000 billion dollars a year, until 2030, to finance their climate actions , of which almost half from foreign investors.

Development. Romania's development in the last three decades has been impressive, said, on Monday, Anna Bjerde, the vice-president of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia, who visited Romania to celebrate 30 years of partnership. "Although there is still much to be done, the World Bank Group welcomes the efforts of all our counterparts and partners in the public and private sectors, who have contributed to the economic growth of Romania, one of the largest in the European Union", Anna Bjerde said. So far, the World Bank has provided support for investments and public policy reforms through 73 operations worth over 13.4 billion dollars. Romania has always been able to count on the support and expertise offered by the WB during the 30 years of partnership, said Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, who attended the celebration event. According to him, the reforms regarding pensions, the minimum guaranteed income and public administration will also be carried out with the support of the WB.

Visit. On a formal visit to Romania, the President of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandrokovic, is to meet today with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, and with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca. He will also deliver a speech in the plenary session of the Chamber. According to an internal memorandum of the general secretary of the Chamber, the purpose of the visit is "to deepen the Romanian-Croatian inter-parliamentary dialogue in order to support common projects of major interest". According to the memorandum, the visit also included talks with Romania's President Klaus Iohannis and the interim president of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu. Also, the official will travel to the villages of Caraş-Severin county (south-west), where he will meet with the local Croatian community. Croatia's Central State Office for Croats Abroad estimates that 6,000 ethnic Croats live in Romania, while 5,408 people in Romania identified themselves as Croats in the 2011 census.

Elections. Parliamentary elections are taking place today in the United States, the so-called midterm elections. A new membership of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate's seats will be decided. Local offices, especially of governor and prosecutor, are also at stake. According to the Radio Romania correspondent, electoral analysts say that the Republicans have a chance to win the majority in the House of Representatives, but it is uncertain whether they will be able to take control of the Senate. In a year marked by a struggling economy and broad and serious concerns about the future of democracy, the latest opinion polls have highlighted that the voters' main concerns are the economy and inflation. The election results will have a strong impact on the last two years of current President Joe Biden's term, from government spending to military support for Ukraine. At a campaign event, the White House leader declared himself optimistic about the Democrats' chances in the elections. Former President Donald Trump is a strong factor in these elections, by supporting the Republicans who deny the results of the 2020 presidential elections, the Radio Romania correspondent reports.

Barometer.  Russia is to blame for the war in Ukraine, and the main obstacle to peace is also Russia, according to more than half of the citizens who answered the Security Barometer of Romania, the November 2022 edition, made public on Monday. More than 70% of respondents believe that the most important thing is to stop the war, and 28% that it should be continued until Russia is defeated. The Romanian Security Barometer also shows that Romanians' trust in state institutions, as well as in NATO and the EU, dropped compared to last year, but Romanians remain pro-Western.

Celebration. Christians today celebrate the Saints Archangels Michael and Gabriel, known as the leaders of the celestial armies and guides of souls to Heaven. Almost 1.5 million Romanians celebrate their name on November 8th.  In Romania, about  633 thousand women and over 821 thousand men bear the name of Gabriel/Gabriela or Mihai/Mihaela or their derivatives.

Handball. The Romanian national team was defeated by France, the reigning Olympic champion, with a score of 35-21, on Monday evening, in Skopje, in Group C of the European Women's Handball Championship hosted by Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. It is the second consecutive failure in the group, after 28-29 with the Netherlands. The last matches in the group will take place on November 9, in Skopje, Romania - North Macedonia and France - Netherlands. Romania has participated in all editions of the European Championship with one exception (2006), and the best result was the bronze medal won in 2010. (MI)