Radio România Internațional

Tag: 2021 budget laws

  • February 28, 2021 UPDATE

    February 28, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination campaign continues
    in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccine having been administered so
    far. Over 900 thousand people have received the vaccines developed by Pfizer /
    BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 2,800 new COVID-19 infections were
    reported on Sunday by the Group for Strategic Communication, the total number
    of infections exceeding 801 thousand. 90% of people infected with COVID-19 have
    recovered, while some 20,350 people have died. 1,000 people are in intensive
    care.


    COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The third wave of the pandemic
    comes with the reintroduction of harsh restriction in several European states.
    Meanwhile new vaccines are being greenlit across the globe, and doctors say
    they are viable against the new strains of COVID as well. Schools in the
    Republic of Moldova will close down for two weeks, although nursery schools
    remain open. As of Monday, a lockdown will be in place in the Czech Republic.
    People are not allowed to leave cities or villages, while schools and stores
    selling non-essential products will be closed. In Italy, the Government will keep
    anti-COVID measures in place until after Easter celebrations, with gyms, public
    pools, entertainment areas and ski resorts staying closed. All bars and
    restaurants will close at 6 PM. In Germany, most people seem to favor the idea
    of a vaccination passport, if this will allow them to go to theatre, do sports
    or travel abroad. In Hungary, the country’s president has taken the Chinese
    Sinopharm vaccine. It is the only EU state to have accepted vaccines developed
    by Russia and China. According to the latest worldometers.info update, at least
    114 million infections have been confirmed worldwide since the start of the
    pandemic, 2.5 million people have died while 89 million people have recovered.


    BUDGET – The Romanian Parliament’s committees on
    Saturday adopted the 2021 state and social security budget bills. The documents
    passed in the form presented by the Government, and none of the 3,000
    amendments were adopted. The opposition says this is an austerity budget,
    providing for no increases in salaries, pensions and state allowances, while
    the power claims the allocations will help overcome the health and economic
    crisis caused by the pandemic. Labor Minister Raluca Turcan said the
    social-security budget is higher than that of the past two years, and child
    benefits will be increased in two stages. According to the calendar established
    by the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies
    and the Senate on the state and social security budgets is scheduled for
    Monday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday. The budget is based on a
    deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic growth rate of 4.31%.


    POSEIDON 21 – Some 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9
    aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention vehicle and a remote-controlled underwater
    robot will be deployed during the exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the
    Romanian Naval Forces between February 26 and March 6. It is the first
    multinational exercise in the Black Sea this year, and involves the
    participation of forces and equipment from France, Greece, Romania, Spain, USA
    and Turkey. Bulgaria had to cancel its participation due to last-minute COVID
    infection cases reported among its sailing crews. The NATO maritime command has
    authorized the participation of NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The
    exercise will include training against underwater threats, involving
    hydrographic mapping operations to identify and neutralize mines and IEDs,
    combat sequences to suppress air strikes, as well as towing damaged ships,
    at-sea resupplying and rescue maneuvers.


    EUROSTAT – Romania was one the countries that
    earmarked the least funds to social protection in 2019, according to a recent
    EUROSTAT report. Romania’s social welfare budget stood at 11.9% of the GDP,
    nearly 7% under the EU average. Other countries with comparatively low social
    welfare allocations were Ireland, Malta and Bulgaria. At the opposite pole are
    Finland, France, Denmark, Italy and Austria, with over a 20% budget share for
    social welfare. According to the same report, Romania’s healthcare allocations
    were also below the EU average of 7%, while its education spending was also
    under the EU average of 4%.


    MĂRŢIŞOR – Mărţisor, the celebration of the start of spring
    on March 1, will be marked by the Romanian Cultural Institute abroad by means
    of children’s workshops, screening documentaries, hosting debates featuring
    ethnologists, sociologists and anthropologists and the publication of a series
    of digital postcards signed by Romanian artists, comic books or the
    presentation of March porcelain and ceramic amulets. The Institute’s branches
    in Brussels, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm,
    Tel Aviv, Warsaw and Venice will be promoting the Mărţisor celebration online. Cultural
    practices associated with Mărţisor in 2017 were included on UNESCO’s list of
    the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of a joint application
    filed by Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Romania.


    FILM – The Berlin Film Festival will
    be held online starting Monday. There will be no red carpet or grandiose film
    screenings this year, and even no jury president. The 71st edition
    was divided in two phases, as screenings in front of the public were postponed
    for June. For the first time in a major film festival, the Silver Bear prizes
    for best acting will go gender neutral. Romanian film director Radu Jude, who
    won the Golden Bear in 2015 with his film, Aferim!,
    is returning to the competition with his latest feature, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, a Romania-Luxembourg-Croatia-the
    Czech Republic coproduction, which will be premiered in the event. The film
    deals with individual relations with society, and tells the story of a school
    teacher who finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex
    tape is leaked on the Internet. Adina Pintilie, the 2018 winner of the Golden
    Bear award for best film for Touch Me Not,
    will be part of the jury this year.


    GAUDEAMUS – The spring edition of
    the Gaudeamus book fair is being held on line over March 1-31. Organized by
    Radio Romania, the book fair awaits its visitors on www.gaudeamus.ro. Some 70
    publishers will take part in scores of events, while the latest releases and
    many other surprises are the highlights of this year’s marathon edition.


    (V.P.)

  • February 28, 2021

    February 28, 2021

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination campaign continues
    in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccine having been administered so
    far. Over 900 thousand people have received the vaccines developed by Pfizer /
    BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 2,800 new COVID-19 infections were
    reported on Sunday by the Group for Strategic Communication, the total number
    of infections exceeding 801 thousand. 90% of people infected with COVID-19 have
    recovered, while some 20,350 people have died. 1,000 people are in intensive
    care.


    COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The third wave of the pandemic
    comes with the reintroduction of harsh restriction in several European states.
    Meanwhile new vaccines are being greenlit across the globe, and doctors say
    they are viable against the new strains of COVID as well. Schools in the
    Republic of Moldova will close down for two weeks, although nursery schools
    remain open. As of Monday, a lockdown will be in place in the Czech Republic.
    People are not allowed to leave cities or villages, while schools and stores
    selling non-essential products will be closed. In Italy, the Government will keep
    anti-COVID measures in place until after Easter celebrations, with gyms, public
    pools, entertainment areas and ski resorts staying closed. All bars and
    restaurants will close at 6 PM. In Germany, most people seem to favor the idea
    of a vaccination passport, if this will allow them to go to theatre, do sports
    or travel abroad. In Hungary, the country’s president has taken the Chinese
    Sinopharm vaccine. It is the only EU state to have accepted vaccines developed
    by Russia and China. According to the latest worldometers.info update, at least
    114 million infections have been confirmed worldwide since the start of the
    pandemic, 2.5 million people have died while 89 million people have recovered.


    BUDGET – The Romanian Parliament’s committees on
    Saturday adopted the 2021 state and social security budget bills. The documents
    passed in the form presented by the Government, and none of the 3,000
    amendments were adopted. The opposition says this is an austerity budget,
    providing for no increases in salaries, pensions and state allowances, while
    the power claims the allocations will help overcome the health and economic
    crisis caused by the pandemic. Labor Minister Raluca Turcan said the
    social-security budget is higher than that of the past two years, and child
    benefits will be increased in two stages. According to the calendar established
    by the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies
    and the Senate on the state and social security budgets is scheduled for
    Monday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday. The budget is based on a
    deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic growth rate of 4.31%.


    POSEIDON 21 – Some 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9
    aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention vehicle and a remote-controlled underwater
    robot will be deployed during the exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the
    Romanian Naval Forces between February 26 and March 6. It is the first
    multinational exercise in the Black Sea this year, and involves the
    participation of forces and equipment from France, Greece, Romania, Spain, USA
    and Turkey. Bulgaria had to cancel its participation due to last-minute COVID
    infection cases reported among its sailing crews. The NATO maritime command has
    authorized the participation of NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The
    exercise will include training against underwater threats, involving
    hydrographic mapping operations to identify and neutralize mines and IEDs,
    combat sequences to suppress air strikes, as well as towing damaged ships,
    at-sea resupplying and rescue maneuvers.


    EUROSTAT – Romania was one the countries that
    earmarked the least funds to social protection in 2019, according to a recent
    EUROSTAT report. Romania’s social welfare budget stood at 11.9% of the GDP,
    nearly 7% under the EU average. Other countries with comparatively low social
    welfare allocations were Ireland, Malta and Bulgaria. At the opposite pole are
    Finland, France, Denmark, Italy and Austria, with over a 20% budget share for
    social welfare. According to the same report, Romania’s healthcare allocations
    were also below the EU average of 7%, while its education spending was also
    under the EU average of 4%.


    MĂRŢIŞOR – Mărţisor, the celebration of the start of spring
    on March 1, will be marked by the Romanian Cultural Institute abroad by means
    of children’s workshops, screening documentaries, hosting debates featuring
    ethnologists, sociologists and anthropologists and the publication of a series
    of digital postcards signed by Romanian artists, comic books or the
    presentation of March porcelain and ceramic amulets. The Institute’s branches
    in Brussels, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm,
    Tel Aviv, Warsaw and Venice will be promoting the Mărţisor celebration online. Cultural
    practices associated with Mărţisor in 2017 were included on UNESCO’s list of
    the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of a joint application
    filed by Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Romania.


    FILM – The Berlin Film Festival will
    be held online starting Monday. There will be no red carpet or grandiose film
    screenings this year, and even no jury president. The 71st edition
    was divided in two phases, as screenings in front of the public were postponed
    for June. For the first time in a major film festival, the Silver Bear prizes
    for best acting will go gender neutral. Romanian film director Radu Jude, who
    won the Golden Bear in 2015 with his film, Aferim!,
    is returning to the competition with his latest feature, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, a Romania-Luxembourg-Croatia-the
    Czech Republic coproduction, which will be premiered in the event. The film
    deals with individual relations with society, and tells the story of a school
    teacher who finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex
    tape is leaked on the Internet. Adina Pintilie, the 2018 winner of the Golden
    Bear award for best film for Touch Me Not,
    will be part of the jury this year. (V.P.)

  • February 27, 2021 UPDATE

    February 27, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination
    campaign continues in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccines having
    been administered so far. Over 890 thousand people have received the vaccines
    developed by Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 3.432 new
    COVID-19 infections were reported on Saturday by the Group for Strategic
    Communication, taking the total number of infections close to 800 thousand. 90%
    of people infected with COVID-19 have recovered, while some 20,300 people have
    died. 1,000 people are in intensive care.




    COVID-19 IN THE WORLD –Worldwide
    the number of cases of Sars-Cov -2 infection has exceeded 113 million, and that
    of deaths 2.5 million. According to worldometers.info, more than 89 million
    infected people have been cured. Meanwhile, European countries have opted for
    voluntary vaccination against Covid-19, although some of them, such as France,
    the United Kingdom or Hungary, are examining potential certificates or
    passports to prove it, international news agencies report. In
    Germany, coronavirus vaccination is voluntary and the government has stressed
    that there are no plans to make it mandatory. Vaccination is not mandatory in
    France either. However, the government has launched an online consultation to
    find out citizens’ views on the possibility of implementing a vaccination
    certificate and whether it should be mandatory or optional. In the United
    Kingdom, which was the first country in the world to launch a mass vaccination
    program against Covid-19, immunization is widely accepted by the population.
    The vaccination plan in Italy is also voluntary and started with the highest
    risk groups. For its part, the Austrian Government insists that vaccination is
    and will be voluntary and that it has not yet been decided, for example,
    whether it can be a condition for carrying out an activity. The World Health
    Organization insists that the cure for the pandemic is to speed up
    immunization, and the available vaccines promise an effectiveness of about 90%.
    In another development, the European Medicines Agency on Friday announced the
    antibody cocktail development by Regeneron can be used in treating COVID
    patients. The United States adopted the product last year for emergencies,
    President Donald Trump being one of the patients treated with Regeneron.




    COUNCIL – EU heads of state
    and government agreed to continue talks on the introduction of anti-COVID
    vaccine passports, allowing for free circulation across the community bloc,
    particularly during summer. At the European Council virtual summit, they pleaded
    for a common approach. Member States relying on tourism, such as Cyprus and
    Greece, have argued in favor of an accelerated adoption of vaccination
    passports to save the summer season. After the videoconference, the Portuguese
    Prime Minister expressed hope the European anti-COVID-19 vaccination
    certificated will be implemented by summer, while French President Emmanuel
    Macron said such a document cannot grant special rights to people who’ve taken
    the vaccine. Representing Romania was President Klaus Iohannis, who’s called
    for a coordinated EU-wide approach, saying the vaccination certificate should
    be used for medical purposes only. President Iohannis has supported the quick
    implementation of the European mechanism for donating vaccines to third countries.


    BUDGET – The
    Romanian Parliament’s committees on Saturday adopted the 2021 state and social
    security budget bills. The documents passed in the form presented by the
    Government, and none of the 3,000 amendments were adopted. The opposition says
    this is an austerity budget, providing for no increases in salaries, pensions
    and state allowances, while the power claims the allocations will help overcome
    the health and economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Labor Minister Raluca
    Turcan said the social-security budget is higher than that of the past two
    years, and child benefits will be increased in two stages. According to the
    calendar established by the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting of the
    Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on the state and social security budgets is
    scheduled for Monday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday. The budget
    is based on a deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic growth rate
    of 4.31%.




    POSEIDON 21 -
    Some 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9 aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention
    vehicle and a remote-controlled underwater robot will be deployed during the
    exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the Romanian Naval Forces between February
    26 and March 6. It is the first multinational exercise in the Black Sea this
    year, and involves the participation of forces and equipment from France,
    Greece, Romania, Spain, USA and Turkey. Bulgaria had to cancel its
    participation due to last-minute COVID infection cases reported among its
    sailing crews. The NATO maritime command has authorized the participation of
    NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The exercise will include training
    against underwater threats, involving hydrographic mapping operations to
    identify and neutralize mines and IEDs, combat sequences to suppress air
    strikes, as well as towing damaged ships, at-sea resupplying and rescue
    maneuvers.




    MOLDOVA – The first 21.600
    doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine donated by Romania have reached neighboring
    Moldova. Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, posted a message on her Facebook
    page, writing this is the first batch of the 200,000 doses of vaccine, part of
    a generous donation promised by Romania to the citizens of our country. Thank
    you, Romania, president Sandu writes. She added that Saturday’s batch of
    AstraZeneca vaccines will be used to immunize health and first line workers.






    PLAN – The US House of
    Representatives on Saturday passed, with a majority of votes, the 1.900
    billion-dollar American Rescue Plan proposed by Democrat President Joe Biden to
    help the American economy recover after the COVID crisis. The law was voted at
    the end of a long debate where Republicans denounced certain measures they
    consider to be too costly and badly designed. The text has been submitted to
    the Senate, where the Democrats have prepared a legislative move allowing
    them to adopt the plan without the support of the Republicans. Among other
    things, the plan provides for the purchase of vaccines and medical equipment
    and for the distribution of new financial assistance packages to American
    households, local businesses and administrations that have been affected by the
    pandemic. The assistance also includes a direct payment of $1.400 to natural
    persons, an unemployment allowance of $400 to be paid until August 29 and other
    relief measures for those who cannot pay rent until mid-March. (V.P.)