The collaboration with Greece in the energy field and facilitating the transport of cereals coming from Ukraine were among the topics on the Government's agenda last week, when Petre Daea was sworn in as the agriculture minister and Cătălin Drulă was elected president of the main opposition party USR. The European Junior Swimming Championships 2022 kept the sports headlines as the athletes representing Romania gathered nine medals, while events such as Bucharest Pride and the music festival Neversea attracted many participants. More of the July 4 – July 10 week's highlights in pictures below.

Petre Daea, the Social Democrat Party's proposal, was sworn in as the new agriculture minister. He has repeatedly served as minister of agriculture in the Social Democrat post-communist governments after a two-decade career in administration during the communist regimes. He replaces Adrian Chesnoiu, who resigned after the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) initiated investigations related to alleged frauds in the hiring process at his ministry.

Prime minister Nicolae Ciucă was in Greece on the occasion of the operationalization of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector and held talks with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The two countries decided to update their collaboration in the energy field. The two leaders also discussed finding alternative routes for transporting agricultural production from Ukraine to international markets, and the integration of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area.

Opposition party Save Romania Union (USR) elected former minister of transport Cătălin Drulă as president with 71.3% of the 18,177 votes expressed. The elections were held after the party's former president Dacian Cioloș resigned in February and afterwards set up another political party. Drulă, who embarks on a four-year term, promised to turn USR into a solid opposition party, which would be able to appoint the prime minister in 2024.

The wide-gauge railway line of the Port of Galați was reopened after undergoing rehabilitation works. The line allows the freight trains coming from Ukraine via Moldova to offload the cereals they carry directly in the Romanian port without the need for trans-loading at the border, transport minister Sorin Grindeanu explained.

The European Junior Swimming Championships 2022, held in Otopeni, near Bucharest, was an opportunity for Romanian swimmers to win nine medals, placing the country third in the medal table. Two-time world champion David Popovici won the 200-meter freestyle, 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle races, while Vlad Stancu won the 1500-meter freestyle event and finished second in the 400-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle races. Bianca Costea also won the silver in the 50-meter freestyle race. Romania also won the men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay race and the silver medal in the 4x100 meter freestyle mixed relay race.

Thousands joined the Bucharest Pride march on July 9 to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community. The march, in its 17th edition, had a longer route, starting on Calea Victoriei and ending in Izvor Park. Among those attending the event was British ambassador Andrew Noble, who also delivered a message in Romanian.

"None of us is free until we are all free. None of us can enjoy human rights until we all enjoy them. Offering tights to the LGBT community is not a threat to anyone. We, including our governments, need to work for inclusive societies. It is our duty to eliminate inequality and exclusion," he said, quoted by Libertatea. The march was part of the annual festival dedicated to the local LGBTQIA+ community, which took place from July 1 to July 9.

Music festival Neversea (opening photo) returned to the Romanian coast of the Black Sea after a two-year break because of the pandemic. According to the organizers, a public of some 70,000 attended the festival's closing night. The event saw performances from Black Eyed Peas, Steve Aoki, Alan Walker, Carla's Dreams, Brennan Heart and Manuel Riva throughout its three-day program.

(Opening photo: Inquam Photos / Costin Dinca)

simona@romania-insider.com