In Romania, farmers are blocking truck traffic to Ukraine at the Siret checkpoint, the reason and duration of the blockade are unknown, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.
“Truck traffic through the Romanian checkpoint Siret, opposite the Ukrainian checkpoint Porubne, is blocked! Farmers in Romania are blocking truck traffic through the Siret checkpoint. The reasons and estimated duration of the blockade are unknown. Traffic may be hampered in both directions,” the message posted on the telegram channel on Saturday reads.
The State Border Guard Service notes that no significant queue of trucks heading towards Ukraine has been recorded so far. There are 825 vehicles registered in the E-queue for departure.
At the same time, cars, passenger buses and pedestrians are allowed to cross as usual.
An agreement on the development of electronic communications, 5G corridors and cooperation in the field of digitalization between Ukraine and Romania was signed by Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation, and Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization.
“This will allow the exchange of experience between Ukrainian and Romanian specialists, as well as the implementation of joint projects for the development of telecommunications infrastructure, digitalization, and cybersecurity,” the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (MinCyber) said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the press release, the parties agreed to jointly develop 5G corridors between Ukraine and Romania, cloud infrastructure for public e-services, restore and modernize digital infrastructure affected by Russian aggression, increase the resilience and security of information and communication technologies, and strengthen cybersecurity of national networks and digital infrastructure.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation noted that the agreement will allow Ukraine to participate in EU financial support programs.
An earthquake with magnitude 4.0 (on the Richter scale) was registered on Sunday at 08.06 Kiev time in the area of Vrancea Mountains (Romania), it could be felt in Ukraine, but does not pose a threat to the population, the Main Center for Special Control reports.
“The source of the earthquake is located on the territory of Romania, in the area of Vrancea mountains, 110 km from the border with Ukraine, at a depth of 103 km. The earthquake does not carry a threat to the population of Ukraine. Fluctuations can be felt only by individuals who are quiet indoors, especially on the upper floors,” – said in a message published on the website.
The Main Control Center reminds that the last powerful earthquake from the area of Vrancea mountains was registered on December 04 this year with a magnitude of 4.6 (on the Richter scale).
Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria will sign a joint agreement in January 2024 to counter the mine threat in the Black Sea, Turkish National Defense Minister Yashar Güler said, TRTHaber reported on Saturday, December 16.
“Within the framework of the Trilateral Initiative, launched under the leadership of our country against the mine threat in the Black Sea, on November 22-23, we held the third round of the meeting of the Task Force on Mine Action in the Black Sea, hosted by our ministry. We are also planning to hold a signing ceremony in Istanbul on January 11, 2024, with the participation of the defense ministers of the three countries,” said Yasar Güler.
The minister emphasized that Turkey responsibly and impartially implements the Montreux Straits Convention, which ensures balance in the Black Sea, and is determined to continue to do so.
As part of its European integration obligations under the Espoo Convention, Ukraine has closed a 20-year dispute with Romania over the implementation of its requirements during the construction of the Danube-Black Sea Canal on the sidelines of the Ninth Meeting of the Parties to the Espoo Convention, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets said.
“We have done our homework and come a long way in bringing the project in line with the requirements of the Convention. After all, Ukraine cares about good neighborly relations and compliance with international law. We are willing and able to find common ground and correct the mistakes of the past,” he wrote on Facebook from the meeting in Geneva.
Strelets thanked Romanian Minister of Environment, Water and Forestry Mircea Fechet for supporting this historic decision and Moldovan Minister of Environment Iordanca Iordanov for his professional and diplomatic chairmanship of the meeting of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention.
The Ukrainian minister added that the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva also managed to achieve two more victories, including the refusal to elect a representative of Belarus to the working bodies of the Espoo Convention, which was supported by 34 countries.
“At the 43rd session of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, Moscow was deprived of the status of host of the Meteorological Center “Vostok” of the EMEP program. This was voted for by 33 countries out of 35 member states. The international environmental research center will now be based at the Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia. We hope that it will soon work in the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center!” – Mr. Strelets also wrote.
The Espoo Convention is an international agreement initiated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which entered into force in 1997 and is named after the Finnish city of Espoo (or Espoo), where it was signed in 1991. According to the document, the procedure for assessing the environmental impact of potentially hazardous projects should be carried out not only within the state, but also in neighboring countries that may be affected by the impact of these facilities.
As reported, in August 2004, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma opened the first part of the canal to traffic. At the same time, on September 1, the European Commission protested to Ukraine over the continuation of the construction of the canal in the Danube Delta, which is under UNESCO protection. The European Commission called on Kyiv to stop construction until an assessment of the impact that the canal could have on the environment in the river delta is conducted. In addition, Romania said it would challenge the construction of the canal.
According to the decision of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, in June 2005, work on deepening the Danube-Black Sea Canal through the Bystryi Estuary was suspended to allow for an expert assessment. The examination by the commission of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine found that the canal did not cause any harm to the environment.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that Ukraine proceeds from the premise that the resumption of navigation in the lower Danube is a sovereign right of the state and is aimed at restoring the situation that historically existed in this region before 1994.
At the time, the Ukrainian side claimed that its position was confirmed by international experts during a visit to the actual site of the work in the Danube Delta. Thus, since the beginning of the restoration work, representatives of the Ramsar, Berne, Aarhus, Espoo, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, European Commission, Council of Europe, and World Wildlife Fund have visited the lower Danube. The mission’s recommendations contained three main requirements for Ukraine: not to start work on the second stage of the project until the environmental impact assessment of the second stage is completed; to hold public hearings on the environmental impact of the project; and to conduct systematic environmental monitoring during the project, which should involve international experts and representatives of Romania. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine has fulfilled all three requirements.
However, the dispute continued, and Ukraine also put forward counterclaims to Romania under the Espoo Convention regarding its projects in the Danube Delta.
The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine (Ministry of Reconstruction) has agreed on a number of issues to increase Ukraine’s export opportunities during its third meeting in Romania, including an agreement on night navigation on the Sulina Canal, said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine, Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure.
“We are returning with a decision on night navigation on the Sulina Canal. It has already started working. We are waiting for our Romanian colleagues to provide the necessary number of pilots. In this case, we will reach 4 million tons of export capacity per month,” Kubrakov wrote on Facebook.
According to the deputy prime minister, joint work is also underway to increase the capacity of rail and road checkpoints in a quadripartite format: Romania – the United States – the European Commission – Ukraine with the participation of Moldova. The focus is on two key issues: the approval of a pilot project at the Krasnoilsk-Vicovu de Sus checkpoint for trucks, as well as a “green corridor” between Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania through the Reni Giurgiulesti – Galati checkpoints.
Kubrakov clarified that the repair work at the Reni checkpoint, which began in November to create conditions for joint control with Moldova, will be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
The Ukrainian side called on Romanian colleagues to increase the number of phytosanitary and veterinary control specialists at the border.
The fast and rhythmic operation of export routes remains a strategic direction of work, Kubrakov emphasized.
Over 11 months of operation, the total volume of transshipment through Ukrainian Danube ports amounted to almost 30 million tons.
