Passport checks for people flying to and from Bulgaria and Romania will be abolished at Swiss airports, https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics reads. The Swiss government on Wednesday agreed to follow a recent European Union decision to lift internal border controls at air and maritime borders with Bulgaria and Romania. On December 30, the Council of the EU unanimously decided to lift checks on people at the internal air and sea borders with Bulgaria and Romania, as from March 31, 2024. Controls will remain in place at land borders but the council has hinted that a future decision will be taken on the matter. Switzerland, a member of Europe’s passport-free Schengen Zone, is following this decision. Romania and Bulgaria will also be able to issue their own Schengen visas themselves, the government said in a statement on Wednesday. The experience of Croatia's accession to the Schengen area on January 1, 2023 has shown that a decision of this kind does not lead to a marked increase in immigration, non-EU member Switzerland said. Existing instruments, including preventive measures, are used to combat illegal migratory flows and crime. The EU's decision follows 12 years of negotiations. Austria imposed its veto last year to protest against too many irregular migrants arriving on its territory, before agreeing to lift it in exchange for guarantees. Sofia and Bucharest have agreed to step up their fight against irregular migration. Bulgaria and Romania, members of the EU since 2007, have also undertaken to fully apply European law, which stipulates that asylum applications must be processed in the migrants' country of arrival. The Schengen area, created in 1985, allows over 400 million people to travel freely in Europe without internal border controls. It includes 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as their associated neighbours Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
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 […]
Two Romanians were injured in an armed incident in Taksim Square in Istanbul on Sunday, November 9. The two were part of a group participating in a cultural event, according to foreign minister Oana Ţoiu. “Last night, in Taksim Square in Istanbul, an armed attack with a pistol also injured two Romanian citizens visiting Turkey. The […]
The 15th edition of Black Friday, organized by retailer eMAG on November 7 this year, generated orders worth over RON 986 million (EUR 193.9 million), 10% more than last year. On a single day, over 702,000 customers ordered 3.5 million products from all categories. Customers bought over 8,500 tickets to festivals and experiences, almost 6.2 […]
The Romanian Film Festival in Washington, D.C will line up for this year’s edition six feature films and documentaries, each accompanied by introductions, post-screening discussions, and Q&A sessions. The event, organized by the Embassy of Romania to the United States and the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, will take place from November 13 to […]
A total of 58% of the Romanian respondents to a recent Eurobarometer survey believe the war in Ukraine is one of the main challenges the EU is facing. This is higher than the EU average of 47% of respondents who share this belief. The cost of living worries 31% of the Romanian respondents, which is […]
Romania has been elected as a full member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2025–2029 term, the first such appointment in 14 years. Romanian officials noted that the country will work closely with other member states to promote dialogue, knowledge, and international cooperation, in the spirit of UNESCO’s principles and the objectives aimed at […]
