On Friday (22 October 2021), at a signing ceremony hosted by NATO’s Secretary General, Defence Ministers from 17 Allied countries* agreed to take the lead on the development of NATO’s first Innovation Fund. “At the Brussels Summit, NATO leaders committed to strengthening our Alliance, including by promoting and protecting transatlantic innovation”, the Secretary General said. “Today we are delivering on that commitment. And together we will keep our people safe in a rapidly changing world”, he added. This multinational Fund will help NATO retain its technological edge by enabling investment – worth 1 billion euros - in dual-use technologies of potential application to defence and security. It will also facilitate closer and trusted cooperation with deep-tech innovators, which may otherwise be unable to develop successfully the innovative solutions most needed to the protection of the Alliance. Together with NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic – or DIANA - the Innovation Fund will support the development of a protected transatlantic innovation community. Since its launch at NATO’s Brussels Summit, a number of Allies have made offers to host the headquarters, test centres and accelerator sites that will make the DIANA network in both Europe and North America. Both initiatives are expected to be fully in effect by NATO’s Madrid Summit in 2022. *Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
President Nicușor Dan stated on Monday, November 10, that Romania meets all the conditions to become an innovation and production hub in the defense industry in Southeast Europe. “Romania meets all the conditions to become an innovation and production hub in the defense industry in Southeast Europe. Why? First of all, because it has a […]
Officials in the mountain resort town of Râșnov, central Romania, have issued an urban planning certificate for the transformation of a Boeing 737 airplane into a premium accommodation unit. The plane will be placed near the famous Bran Castle, and organizers expect it to become a tourist attraction. “The project is located in the Pănicel […]
Traffic (Jaful Secolului), a Romania-Belgium-Netherlands co-production directed by Belgian-Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai from a screenplay by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, has received the award for best film at the Tertio Millennio International Film Festival in Rome. The jury of the festival noted in its motivation the film's "ability to combine formal rigor and human […]
The Romanian Justice Ministry advanced a legislative initiative according to which femicide could be punished with life imprisonment. The proposal comes after numerous women were killed this year by former partners, despite protection orders. The debate about femicide in Romania was brought back to the fore after another tragedy took place on Saturday, November 9, […]
Cultural center Apollo111, located in downtown Bucharest’s Universul Palace, has announced the program of arthouse films Apollo111 Cinema. The performance venue of Apollo 111 has been refurbished and endowed for professional film screenings. It will run a weekly program of contemporary and classic auteur films, meetings with filmmakers, and an experimental area, meant to “explore […]
Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi announced the official opening of its first own store in Romania, in Bucharest, inside the ParkLake shopping center, on the ground floor, on November 22. The new store will have a surface area of 150 square meters and will bring to the public the latest smartphones, accessories, and smart devices […]
