VISIT – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, is paying a two-day visit to Greece, where he will meet with his Greek counterpart, Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According to the Presidency, the visit confirms the continuous top-level dialogue and close cooperation between Romania and Greece with respect to hot topics on the current agenda. Talks will also focus on the potential of developing bilateral relations in the fields of economy and investments, culture, education, civil protection and tourism. Special attention will be devoted to infrastructure and interconnection projects, including in the energy sector, designed to curb dependency on Russian gas and boost the energy security of both Romania and Greece. Other topics on the agenda for talks include Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine and the consequences of this conflict at several levels.
BUSINESS – The number of foreign startups in Romania has gone up in the first ten months of the year by 30.7% compared to the same period of last year, the National Trade Register Office reports. Some 6,100 new businesses were set up this year with a total capital of 35 million USD. By the end of the October, over 243 thousand companies with foreign capital participation operated in Romania, with a total subscribed capital of 67 billion USD. The largest number of companies with foreign participation had Italian investors, while Dutch businesses had the largest share of capital.
WAR IN UKRAINE – President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine will restrict the activity of Russian-affiliated religious organizations on its territory and will challenge the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is still connected to the Moscow Patriarchate. The announcement comes after Ukrainian security services searched several church buildings in November. Ukrainian services confiscated a few thousand USD and pro-Russian literature. Ukraine has two separate Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which in spring broke ties with the Moscow Patriarchate due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which in 2019 was formally recognized by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as a separate, independent and equal member of the worldwide communion of Orthodox churches.
DIALOGUE – The presidents of the United States of America and France, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron respectively, have expressed their joint intention of coming up with a solution to end the war in Ukraine without reducing however their countries’ assistance to Kyiv. During a visit paid to Washington by the French president, the White House leader said he is ready to talk to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, if the latter is willing to reach a solution to end the war. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, president Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had warned Russia about the consequences of such an attack. Since then, the US president has had no direct contact with Moscow, although high-ranking US officials maintained communication channels open. In turn, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed his readiness to talk to Vladimir Putin, particularly regarding sensitive topics such as civilian nuclear power and the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The last official meeting between Macron and Putin was held on September 11.
