Radio România Internațional

Tag: aid

  • December 2, 2024

    December 2, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS Romania’s new Parliament will be comprised of 7 political parties. In Sunday’s general elections, the Social Democratic Party in power won the largest number of votes, around 22%, followed by the sovereigntist AUR party with roughly 18%, double their figure in the last election 4 years ago. Third comes the National Liberal Party, another member of the ruling coalition for the past 4 years, which won some 14% of the votes, and 4th is the right-of-centre USR party, with around 12%. The 5% parliamentary threshold was also made by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the extremist party S.O.S. Romania led by the controversial MEP Diana Șoșoacă, and the newly founded sovereigntist Young People’s Party (POT). The turnout was over 52%, the highest in the last 20 years. Outside Romania, some 800,000 Romanian nationals voted, 3 times more than in the previous parliamentary election.

     

    COURT The Constitutional Court of Romania is expected to decide today whether to validate or cancel the first round of the presidential election of November 24. On Thursday, the Constitutional Court judges requested the recount of all ballots, after receiving a complaint that votes obtained by a candidate who had withdrawn from the race at the last minute had been transferred to another contender. The recount decision was criticized by most of the candidates in the race, who warned that a possible cancellation of the November 24 election would generate tensions and instability. If the Constitutional Court validates the first round, the second round will take place on Sunday, December 8 between the top two candidates – Călin Georgescu, running independently and widely seen as a pro-Russian extremist, and the president of the USR party (opposition), Elena Lasconi.

     

    NATIONAL DAY Romania’s National Day, marked on December 1, was celebrated on Sunday throughout the country with parades, military and religious ceremonies, shows, artistic events, and fireworks. The traditional parade took place in the capital city, attended by over 2,500 Romanian and foreign military personnel. President Klaus Iohannis, who hosted his last National Day reception as head of state, sent a message of unity and solidarity to overcome crises and move forward with dignity.

     

    GAUDEAMUS The Gaudeamus Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, takes place between December 4 and 8. This year’s edition has the writer Mircea Cărtărescu as honorary president. The official opening of the 31st edition takes place on Wednesday, December 4, at Radio Romania’s stand at the fair. The 200 participants have prepared hundreds of events on this occasion.

     

    PARDON The outgoing US President Joe Biden has announced that he has pardoned his 54-year-old son Hunter, who was found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm, of lying to prosecutors, and who pleaded guilty to tax fraud. When he took office, Biden promised not to interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making. Now, the president, who leaves office on January 25, says Hunter Biden was selectively and unfairly prosecuted simply because he is his son. President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican, has described the move as an abuse.

     

    AID The UK will increase by GBP 19 mln its humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the situation is “catastrophic”, the British international development minister, Anneliese Dodds said ahead of traveling to Cairo for a conference on the subject, AFP reports. Dodds says that the people of Gaza are in vital need of food and shelter during the winter and that the Cairo event will be an opportunity to come up with concrete solutions to the humanitarian crisis. Dodds insists that Israel must act immediately to guarantee unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza, while international aid organisations accuse the Israeli authorities of not allowing aid trucks to enter the besieged Palestinian territory in sufficient numbers. The UK has committed to a total of GBP 99 mln in humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories this year, the British government said. (AMP)

  • October 24, 2024 UPDATE

    October 24, 2024 UPDATE

    AID The European Commission on Thursday approved a state-aid scheme of 400 million Euros in compensations for the Romanian farmers affected by the severe drought between September 2023 – August 2024, says a communique released by the commission. The aid scheme has been made available for the agricultural producers whose crops of wheat, barley, oat, rape, sunflower and corn were directly affected by the drought. In order to benefit the compensations, farmers must prove that at least 30% of their crops were affected between the autumn of 2023 and the summer of 2024. Under the aforementioned aid scheme, farmers will benefit from direct grants amounting to 200 euros per hectares in the case of losses of 100% and will not exceed 30% of the eligible costs. Compensations will be granted until December 2024.

     

    F-16 According to the Ministry of National Defence, three F-16 Fighting Falcons, Romania bought from Norway landed in Campia Turzii, central Romania, to join the 48 Fighting Squadron. We recall that another 9 F-16s had been received earlier. Romania has signed a contract of buying 32 F-16 fighters with the Kingdom of Norway and the entire batch is expected to be completed at the end of the next year. According to a communiqué from Romania’s Defence Ministry, the aforementioned jet-fighters are to ensure the transition to the fifth generation of aircraft, F-35, whose purchase actually represents a transfer of capabilities between two NATO allies.

     

    ENERGY The energy minister Sebastian Burduja promised that national gas storage is enough for Romania not to need natural gas imports this winter. He added that Romania is not importing Russian gas at all, and when imports are needed it resorts to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Romanian official also added that the people who have difficulties paying their bills will still be protected, even after April 1, 2025, when natural gas and electricity prices will no longer be capped.

     

    ELECTIONS The campaign for the first round of the presidential election begins on Friday at midnight and ends at 7 am on November 23. The presidential elections are scheduled this year on November 24 (the first round) and on December 8 (the second round). In between, on December 1, the parliamentary election will be held. Competing in the presidential race are 14 candidates, 10 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. Local and EU parliamentary elections were also held in Romania this year, on June 9.

    (bill)

  • The Week in Review 16-20.09.2024

    The Week in Review 16-20.09.2024

    Aid for victims

     

    Like the authorities in several European states, the Romanian authorities have also been on alert this week, after the severe floods that hit eastern Romania. Refugee camps have been set up and rescue operations have been organized following the floods that killed seven people and destroyed thousands of homes. A crisis cell was organized at the Health Ministry to provide medical assistance to the residents of Galaţi and Vaslui counties, the most affected by the floods. The Interior and Defense Ministries have mobilized hundreds of firefighters, gendarmes, soldiers, as well as equipment to help evacuate the victims and intervene in the restoration of the infrastructure destroyed by the waters. Camps with capacities of hundreds of places were set up in the most affected localities. And the Romanian Red Cross launched a disaster relief campaign and sent trucks with water and food to the area. The Romanian Government also allocated food and water and approved the removal from state reserves of some modular buildings where children can learn. It also approved, in the special meeting on Monday, emergency aid for the affected families. The Romanian authorities continue to promise support for the affected population. And the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a 10-billion-Euro worth of aid from the EU Cohesion Fund for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including Romania, affected by floods.

     

    Supreme Council for National Defense meeting in Bucharest

     

    A meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) took place in Bucharest on Thursday. The war in neighboring Ukraine, the endowment of the Army in the next ten years, as well as the strengthening of the Strategic Partnership with the Republic of Moldova were among the main topics of discussion. The CSAT members stated that Romania is directly interested in having industrial capacities on its territory that can ensure both the production of modern military equipment for equipping the force structure in peacetime, as well as the development of new equipment for multiplying military capabilities in crisis or war situations. Given the recent developments in the neighboring country, the CSAT members discussed additional measures to deter and combat security threats, to be implemented at the national level, as well as with the support of NATO allies. On the other hand, Romania reiterated its support for Moldova’s European path by supporting the implementation of reforms and the necessary public policies.

     

    B9 meeting in Bucharest

     

    NATO must react to Russia’s incursions into the airspace of its member countries, in the context of the war in Ukraine, says the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr. At the B9 meeting in Bucharest of the defense ministers from the allied states on NATO’s eastern flank, the Romanian official said that the security situation in the Black Sea region remains worrying due to the threats generated by the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation, including through disinformation and cyber-attacks.

    Angel Tîlvăr: “The B9 states are deeply concerned about the repeated incursions of the Russian Federation drones and missiles into the NATO airspace in Poland, Romania, Latvia, as well as about the escalation of tensions along NATO’s borders. That is why a robust and coordinated response at the allied level is necessary, as well as the implementation as soon as possible of the rotational model of NATO’s integrated air and anti-missile defense”.

    Also on Wednesday, in Bucharest, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha asked Romania to analyze the possibility of shooting down the Russian drones and missiles near the Romanian airspace. During the meeting with his counterpart Luminiţa Odobescu, he appreciated the support for the defense of Ukraine’s independence through Romania’s decision to donate a Patriot system. The Romanian FM reaffirmed Romania’s full support for the defense of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

     

    Roxana Mânzatu, vice-president of the European Commission

     

    Romania has, for the first time, a position of vice-president of the European Commission, which will be occupied by the social-democratic MEP Roxana Mînzatu, a former minister of investments and European projects in Bucharest. The announcement was made by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who presented, on Tuesday, the makeup of the new EC. Roxana Mînzatu will also hold, in Brussels, the position of commissioner for Skills and Education, Jobs, Social Rights and Demography. She declared that the field received by Romania, in this case the labor market, is essential for the competitiveness of the EU. After the nomination, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has said that, in this way, Romania becomes part of decision-making in the European Union.

     

    National plan for large industry

     

    The governing coalition in Bucharest decided on Tuesday to complete as quickly as possible the support scheme for the large strategic investments in the manufacturing industry and in metallurgy, steel and the chemical industry. According to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the plan has three main components: a state aid of 500 million Euros and tax facilities for investments of over 150 million Euros, another state aid of one billion Euros for six years for the decarbonization of production processes and energy efficiency and a third aid of about 250 million Euros for 15 companies that implement investments in the production of industrial raw materials.

     

    Partnership for the prevention of child trafficking

     

    The Romanian and American governments have signed a framework partnership in the field of child protection, intended to unfold over a period of five years. The US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec, has given assurances that the United States will support Romania in its efforts to develop a victim-centered prevention strategy, to increase protection for children who are victims of trafficking and to improve its investigations. In turn, the Romanian Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, has said that the signing of the partnership is a continuation of other collaborations and shows the determination of the Romanian authorities to combat child abuse in any form. Romania is the first country in Europe that will benefit from American financial support worth 10 million dollars for the improvement of the national system for preventing and combating child trafficking. (LS)

  • September 20, 2024 UPDATE

    September 20, 2024 UPDATE

     

    BUDGET Early next week the government of Romania is scheduled to discuss a proposed budget adjustment presented by the finance ministry, with significantly increased expenditure. This is the first state budget adjustment this year, and public healthcare, education and transportation are expected to receive additional funding. Under the draft order posted on the finance ministry website, most of the money will go to transport (about EUR 1.1 billion), with healthcare, internal affairs and investments earmarked an extra EUR 600 mln each. The social security fund is also to be increased to ensure money for the pensions raised as of September 1. There are also authorising entities that will have smaller budgets: the general secretariat of the government, the ministry of the economy, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Special Telecommunications Service. According to the draft, the budget deficit will deepen to almost 7%, 2% up compared to early-year forecasts, while the economic growth rate is now predicted to reach 2.8% as opposed to 3.4% previously forecast.

     

    INTERIOR MINISTRY The Romanian interior minister, Cătălin Predoiu, had a telephone discussion with his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper. The talks highlighted the very good cooperation between the two parties, with activities conducted both under the Romanian-British Strategic Partnership, and for the development of operative cooperation between equivalent structures. The dynamics of intelligence, data and know-how exchange has seen an upward trend in recent years. The 2 officials focused on topics of interest in the field of illegal migration and cross-border crime, and have agreed to strengthen future cooperation in the field of internal affairs.

     

    POLLS The former Deputy General Secretary of NATO, Mircea Geoană, has a minimal lead over the left-wing Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the first round of the presidential elections that will take place this autumn in Romania, according to an opinion poll conducted by the INSCOP research institute. Mircea Geoana (66), a former president of the Social Democratic Party, who lost the presidential elections in 2009 and who is now running as an independent, is predicted to get 21.4% of the votes in the first round, and the current Social Democratic leader, Marcel Ciolacu (56), 20.3%. Elena Lasconi, leader of the right of centre Save Romania Union (USR), in opposition, ranks third, with 14.2% of the votes, while the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă comes in sixth place, below two ultra-nationalist candidates. Eleven candidates have so far announced their plans to run for president and replace Klaus Iohannis, who ends his second and last term in office in December. Although the president’s role is largely ceremonial, his prerogatives include appointing the prime minister after elections, appointing judges and prosecutors, and sending draft legislation back to parliament for reconsideration. The presidential elections will take place in two rounds, on November 24 and December 8, respectively, with parliamentary elections in between. 1,102 people participated in the September survey, which has a margin of error of 3%.

     

    INVESTIGATION The criminal case concerning the December 1989 anti-communist revolution in Romania, in which the defendants include the former president Ion Iliescu and the former senior deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu, has been sent back to the prosecutor’s office because of irregularities on the part of the military prosecutors on the case. The decision was made by the supreme court on Friday, and it is final. The High Court of Cassation and Justice argued that the indictment was unable to define the object and the limits of the trial. In mid-June, a separate supreme court panel ruled that irregularities existed in the indictment and gave the Military Prosecutor’s Office time to address them, but prosecutors have failed to comply.

     

    AID The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a EUR 10 billion aid package from the EU Cohesion Fund for the Central European countries, including Romania, affected by floods. ‘This is an emergency response,’ she stated after a meeting with the heads of government from Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia. “For me it was (…) heartbreaking to see the destruction and devastation” caused by storm Boris, said the EC chief. Since last week, strong winds, exceptionally heavy rainfall and flooding have killed at least 24 people in the region: seven each in Romania and Poland, and five each in Austria and the Czech Republic.

     

    NOKIAN TYRES Partnership with the private sector is the sure way for Romania’s development, the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday, during a working visit to the Nokian Tyres factory in Oradea (west), which was inaugurated on Thursday. Relocated from Russia to Romania, the factory is a success story that brings together a world-class investor, local authorities and the Government of Romania, which strongly supported such an investment, he added. Nokian Tyres is the world’s first tyre factory with zero carbon dioxide emissions. As of 2025, its 550 employees will produce 6 million car tyres annually, including for large SUVs. The factory uses green energy only, and all the technological steam is obtained without fossil fuels. The Finnish investment in Oradea, put at EUR 650 million, to which the Government contributed with a state aid of EUR 100 million, is one of the most valuable made in Romania in recent years.

     

    ELECTION The foreign ministry Friday posted the Guidelines for postal voting for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections. The deadline for the Romanian nationals living abroad to register as voters by mail is October 10 for the presidential election and October 17 for the general election. All the necessary information has been made public on the foreign ministry’s home page, at www.mae.ro.

  • September 18, 2024

    September 18, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    BORIS – The number of deaths caused by torrential rain and flooding in Central and Eastern Europe, brought over by storm Boris, the worst in Europe since 1997 to date, has reached 22. Romania and Poland reported seven deaths each, Austria five and the Czech Republic three, as well as eight people missing. Flash flood alerts are also in place in Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia, for the upcoming days. In Romania, the authorities have begun assessing the damage caused by the floods in Galati county. Hundreds of rescue workers have been dispatched in the affected localities. All power outages in the area have been fixed and road traffic on some county roads has been reopened. Rail traffic is still disrupted on certain routes. The government approved an emergency aid of about 2,000 euros for each affected family, and in the case of families who lost a member, an additional aid of 2,000 euros.

     

    UKRAINE – In Bucharest, on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, called on the Romanian partners to analyze the possibility of shooting down Russian drones near the country’s airspace. After the meeting with the head of Romanian diplomacy, Luminita Odobescu, Sybiha said that he was “grateful” for the Bucharest’s “historic” decision to donate a Patriot system to Ukraine. “It is very important to strengthen the defense of Ukraine. It is a shield not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe”, the Ukrainian official said. In turn, Luminița Odobescu reconfirmed Romania’s support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We remind you that the need to amend the legislation that would allow the military to destroy suspicious drones that enter Romanian territory was recently discussed in Bucharest, after several Russian drones illegally entered Romanian airspace in the last year.

     

    PAGERS – A simultaneous explosion of handheld pagers killed 9 people and injured nearly 3,000 in Lebanon on Tuesday. Many of the victims are fighters from the Shiite group Hezbollah, international news agencies report. According to the NGO  Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, following similar incidents, 14 Hezbollah members were injured in Syria as well, AFP reports. The blasts took place at 3:30 pm local time, in areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. The wave of explosions continued for about an hour. According to security sources and video footage,  some of the explosions occurred after the pagers had rang and the victims had grabbed or held them close to their faces to read the message on the screens. The explosions, of small scale, usually injured only the pager holder or someone very close. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beirut spoke of an Israeli computer attack, while the Ministry of the Interior said that the attack violated Lebanon’s sovereignty. The Israeli military declined to comment. Hezbollah began using pagers to avoid being located by the Israelis. The movement supports the Palestinian group Hamas, which is at war with Israel in the Gaza Strip. Militants from Lebanon frequently attacked Israeli territory with rockets.

     

    COMMISSIONER – “We cannot re-launch the economy without competitive jobs, without a quality of labor relations, without protecting citizens in the face of price increases, in the face of this risk of falling into poverty for many categories, without offering lifelong skills to all those who enter the labor market”, the future European Commissioner for Skills and Education, Jobs, Social Rights and Demography, the Romanian Roxana Mânzatu has said today. In an exclusive interview on Radio Romania, she also said that among the priorities of her mandate are supporting children living in poverty, who are at risk of exclusion.

     

    HEALTHCARE – It is World Patient Safety Day today, which calls for global solidarity and concerted action by all countries and international partners to improve patient safety. WPS Day brings together patients, families, caregivers, communities, health workers, healthcare leaders and policy-makers to show their commitment to patient safety. Emblematic buildings, monuments, public institutions and hospitals in the capital Bucharest and in other Romanian cities will be lit up in orange this evening, to mark the event. This year’s theme is “improving diagnosis for patient safety”. According to the World Health Organization, each year, diagnostic errors account for an estimated 16% of preventable harm in health care, with tremendous human and economic consequences.

     

    BUSINESS– In Romania, the Start-Up Nation program through which the state offers non-refundable aid of maximum 50,000 euros to eligible people who want to open a business is currently under public debate. The budget allocated to this year’s edition exceeds 400 million euros.  The registration of  companies that will provide training courses to future entrepreneurs began on Tuesday. As of October 10 the registration of natural persons for the Start-Up Nation 2024 courses will be open.

     

    HANDBALL – CS Dinamo Bucharest handball team plays, this evening, away, against the Polish team Orlen Wisla Plock, in the Men’s Handball Champions League’s Group A. Last week, the Romanians debuted with a clear victory in the League’s new season, after they defeated at home the Danish team Fredericia, 37-28.

     

     

     

     

  • Effects of floods in Europe

    Effects of floods in Europe

    The storms that have affected Europe are now heading for Italy, where warnings of heavy rain, strong winds and flooding have been issued for much of the country. The warnings come in the context of rainfalls that have already ravaged parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria this week, causing several deaths. Storm Boris brought heavy rain and snow at the weekend, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes, in some cases with the help of helicopters, after taking refuge on rooftops or on top of cars. A state of natural disaster has been declared in all these states, with hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity or water, roads cut off and rail transport disrupted. Although the weather conditions show signs of improvement in several areas, the soil remains saturated and the rivers continue to overflow, which led the authorities to ask the population to be cautious.

     

    In Austria, many villages are still isolated. All in all, more than 33,000 interventions have been carried out since the beginning of the torrential rains and strong winds. In Vienna, four metro lines were partially closed, as were the city’s parks, due to the risk of falling trees. In the Czech Republic, over 60,000 homes do not have electricity, especially in the northeast. The water from the largest retention basin in the country, Rozmberk, located in the south, overflowed its banks. According to experts, these are the worst floods the region has seen since those in 2002 that affected Prague, Dresden and Vienna. The regions in the south-west of Poland were the most affected by the floods, on the border with the Czech Republic. In some localities, entire streets were covered by water. In the small town of Nysa, the waters flooded the district hospital, which had to be completely evacuated.

     

    In Romania, the eastern part was the most seriously affected. More than 6 thousand households were flooded. Numerous teams from the Interior Ministry are in the affected areas with intervention vehicles and high-capacity pumps to remove the water and mud from the flooded houses. Tent camps were set up for the stranded people. Meanwhile, aid started being distributed and the Government allocated the first direct financial support for the affected population. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sent a message of solidarity to the people affected by the floods and declared that they would benefit from support from the EU. The frequency of floods associated with heavy rain is expected to increase in Central and Western Europe, in a world facing warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius on average, experts warn. (LS)

  • September 16, 2024 UPDATE

    September 16, 2024 UPDATE

    AID The government in Bucharest has earmarked a first installment in the direct financial support for the population affected by flooding in eastern Romania. During its special session on Monday, the Executive decided that every family affected would benefit from aids up to 2 thousand Euros and the families of those who lost their lives would get another 2 thousand. The government has allotted a total of 20 million Euros to support nearly 65 hundred households affected by the flood, landslides and other unusual weather phenomena that recently struck the country. According to Prime Minister Ciolacu, mending the houses and other buildings destroyed by the floods and also the other parts of local infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, is a top priority. Ciolacu has announced that the Interior Ministry has already kicked off the procedures of declaring the state of alert in the heavily-affected counties of Galati and Vaslui. According to the Inspectorate for Emergency situations, seven people lost their lives in the recent flooding.

     

    PARTNERSHIP Romania is the first country in Europe to benefit from a 10 million dollars financial assistance from the USA to improve its national system of preventing and combating child trafficking. The governments of Romania and the USA on Monday signed the five-year Child Protection Compact Partnership known as CPC. The Us ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec has said the United States will support Romania in its efforts to develop a victim-centered prevention strategy, to increase protection for child victims of trafficking and to improve investigations in order to prosecute and convict perpetrators of child trafficking. In turn, Romania’s Interior Minister, Catalin Predoiu, said the conclusion of this partnership is proof of the determination of the administration in Bucharest to combat abuse against children in any form, as this kind of abuse has alarmingly increased in recent years.

     

     BORDERS The Romanian Foreign Ministry warns the Romanians traveling to Germany to prepare for longer waiting times. The German government decided to extend, as of Monday, for a period of six months, temporary controls at all land borders, in order to reduce illegal migration. Besides those already existing at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, there will also be controls at the borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Germany reports that every person who crosses the border can be stopped and controlled by the federal police, in any border region and at any time. Not only the identity, but also the vehicle may be subject to examination during border controls. The luggage, goods and valuables may also be subject to police checks. Romanians facing special situations can call the embassy’s hotlines in Berlin, as well as the Romanian consulates in Germany.

     

    HANDBALL Romania’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, defeated Storhamar Handball Elite at home on Sunday, score 32-28 (17-15), in the second match of group A of the Champions League for women’s handball. With the three goals scored in this game, Cristina Neagu collects 1,139 goals in total, in the race for the title of all-time top scorer of the competition, in the last season of her career, being only three goals away from obtaining this title. CSM Bucharest lost the debut match in group A, in Romania, against Gloria Bistriţa, score 26-30. In the third stage, CSM Bucharest will play Podravka (Croatia) away from home, on September 21, and Gloria Bistriţa will play Krim (Slovenia) at home on the same day. Romania’s vice-champion, Rapid Bucharest, also plays in group B of the competition. The first-ranking teams in the two groups qualify directly for the quarterfinals, and the teams on the 3rd to the 6th places will play in the play-off, for the other four places available in the quarterfinals, a phase in which they will fight for the Final Four Tournament in Budapest due between 31 May and 1 June.

     

    F35 The US State Department has approved plans to sell 32 F-35 fighter jets to Romania, in a contract worth nearly 7 billion dollars. The Romanian Defense Ministry has welcomed the decision. The sale must now be approved by Congress. The move will improve the stability of a NATO ally and strengthen stability in Europe. Romania occupies a strategic position in the vicinity of Ukraine and the Black Sea.

    (bill)

     

  • August 30, 2024 UPDATE

    August 30, 2024 UPDATE

    Visit – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be paying a formal visit to Chişinău at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. The visit comes against the background of the two countries’ celebrating the Day of the Romanian language on August 31st. Iohannis is expected to deliver a firm message of support and encouragement for the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova in their efforts to modernize and democratize the country and for the irreversible implementation of the rule of law and the European roadmap – the presidential administration has announced. The president will also be making an appeal to international partners to carry on their multidimensional assistance to the Republic of Moldova mainly in the context of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine and all the risks entailed by this situation.

     

    Sanctions – Romania supports the adoption of new sanctions against Russia. During Thursday’s informal meeting, in Brussels, of the European Foreign Ministers with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, the Romanian FM Luminiţa Odobescu emphasized that the pressure on Moscow must be maintained and the military and energy support given to Ukraine must be continued. The issue of military aid for Kyiv was also discussed on Friday at the informal meeting of the defense ministers of the member states. The agenda of the meeting also included the operational commitments carried out under the auspices of the Common Security and Defense Policy, the EU’s level of preparation in the field of defense and the prospects for the development of the EU Satellite Center. The Secretary of State for Defense Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, who represented Romania, highlighted the essential role of the European Union Military Assistance Mission to support Ukraine (EUMAM UA), as well as of the European Peace Facility. She also reiterated the existence of challenges in the extended Black Sea region, caused by the Russian Federation’s war of aggression.

     

    Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, qualified to the Europa League groups after the victory obtained, on Thursday evening, in Bucharest, against the Austrian team LASK Linz, with the score 1-0, in the decisive leg of the play-off. The first leg had ended in a draw, 1 all. The vice-champions CFR Cluj (north-west) failed to qualify to the Conference League groups, after losing, away from home, score 3-0, the play-off decisive match against the Cypriot team FC Pafos. In the first leg, Cluj won 1-0. The English team Manchester United and the Scottish team Glasgow Rangers are among FCSB’s opponents in the main phase of the Europa League, according to Friday’s drawing of lots in Monaco. The other opponents of FCSB are the Greek teams PAOK Thessaloniki and Olympiakos Piraeus, FC Midtjylland – the champion of Denmark, Qarabag FK – the champion of Azerbaijan, the German team Hoffenheim and FK RFS – the champion of Latvia.

     

    Internship – 148 young Romanians finished the government internship program that started on July 1 on Friday. For two months, they worked in government departments, ministries and other central public institutions. Mihai Ghigiu, the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, told them that they are needed in the public administration. He showed that the average age in the administration will reach 50 years, which means that in the next 6-7-8 years many areas will be left without specialists. Mihai Ghigiu encouraged the young people to go and study abroad, and to use the acquired knowledge in Romania. (LS)

     

  • How can TAROM be saved?

    How can TAROM be saved?

     

    Romania’s national airline, TAROM, is to receive aid from the European Commission until the end of April, and then it will undergo an economic reorganisation process, the Romanian transportation minister Sorin Grindeanu announced.

     

    The air operator owned by the Romanian state has been struggling with economic instability for several years, and successive rescue plans have failed to lead to the results expected by the government.

     

    According to data for the first half of 2023, TAROM had losses of over EUR 10 million, significantly lower than those reported for the corresponding period of 2022, when the company was reporting losses of over EUR 41.8 mln.

     

    In this context, the transportation minister says the new rescue plan is aimed at “placing TAROM on sound economic foundations.”

     

    Sorin Grindeanu: “Once we have received this aid from the European Commission, TAROM must switch to a reorganisation stage, and we are open to any kind of proposals that would help place TAROM on sound economic foundations. Our willingness to save this company is beyond question, and so is our willingness to find any kind of solutions, including partnerships, that would lead to this positive outcome.”

     

    Grindeanu also suggested that the TAROM reorganisation plan may entail making around 50% of the staff redundant, given that the state-owned airline currently has an unsustainable number of employees.

     

    Sorin Grindeanu: “A company the size of TAROM, which rests on correct economic principles, normally has some 500-600 employees, 90% of them being flight and cabin personnel. We have almost double that figure.”

     

    The transportation minister also emphasised that the Romanian government cannot provide direct aid to TAROM because this would come against competition rules and the EU directives on state aid. So, he believes, alternative solutions must be identified in order to break what he called “a vicious circle,” and one of these solutions may be to find investors for newer aircraft and for TAROM to improve its services.

     

    Grindeanu explained that solutions had also been explored during the 4-day visit made by a governmental delegation headed by the PM Marcel Ciolacu in the Middle East.

     

    Set up in 1954, TAROM has been operating under the authority of Romania’s transportation ministry. The airline has been a member of the International Air Transport Association since 1993, and of SkyTeam Alliance since 2010. TAROM operates 18 aircraft and flies to 70 destinations, using both its own air fleet and partner services. (AMP)

  • April 21, 2024 UPDATE

    April 21, 2024 UPDATE

     

    VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis will be on an official visit to South Korea on April 22 through 24th, at the invitation of his counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol. South Korea is the first Asia-Pacific country with which Romania upgraded its diplomatic relations to a Strategic Partnership level, in 2008. During the Romanian president’s visit to Seoul, this Partnership will be consolidated under a document setting the cooperation directions for the next 10 years. Agreements will be signed in fields such as defence, nuclear energy, investments and foreign trade, emergency cooperation and disaster management, culture, mass-media, youth and sports.

     

    ROBOTICS The AICitizens robotics team of the ‘Alexandru Ioan Cuza’ College in Focşani (eastern Romania) is the winner of the ‘First Tech Challenge’ World Championship held in Houston, USA between April 17th and 20th. The Romanian team reached the finals in an alliance with two other teams, The Clueless, from San Diego, California and Texpand, from Cape Town, South Africa, with AICitizens as the captain team. Taking part in the ‘First Tech Challenge’ world robotics championships were over 200 of the world’s top robotics teams.

     

    AID After months of postponements, the US House of Representatives Saturday night endorsed a USD 61 bln aid package for Ukraine. This is part of a bigger, USD 95 bln amount that also comprises security aid for Israel and Taiwan. The bill needs to be passed by the Senate as well, but the Democratic majority in the Senate is in favour of the aid. President Joe Biden has already called on the Senate to rush the vote. The aid comes at an extremely difficult time for Kyiv, which desperately needs weapons and ammunitions to withstand Russia’s growing offensive. The vote was welcomed by Western countries and Ukrainian leaders, but Moscow said the aid would only result in more Ukrainians getting killed because of the regime in Kyiv.

     

    EMPLOYMENT In Romania, the employment rate in the 15 to 64 age bracket was 63% last year, the National Statistics Institute announced. According to recently released data, the employment rate was higher among men (some 72%) than women (54%). The highest employment rate was reported last year among higher education graduates (nearly 90%), as opposed to 37% among people with little formal education. According to statistics, employees still account for 86% of the employed population, whereas self-employed and unpaid family workers only made up 13% of the total employed population. Also, around 83% of job holders were employed in the private sector.

     

    BREXIT The British PM Rishi Sunak rejected a European Commission proposal concerning a post-Brexit agreement enabling British youth to live, study and work in the EU and European youth in UK for up to 4 years, France Presse reports. The scheme was intended for young people aged 18 to 30, who would have benefited from visa exemptions and fair tuition fees. London said however it was unwilling to reopen talks concerning the freedom of movement and the strict regulation of the terms of stay in UK.

     

    MIDDLE EAST Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei Sunday thanked the country’s armed forces for the operation against Israel, urging them to “ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy’s tactics”, Reuters reports, quoting the Iranian official news agency. Tehran attacked Israel for the first time on April 13, sending over 300 missiles and drones in retaliation for Israel’s suspected strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. Subsequently, blasts were reported over the Iranian town of Isfahan on Friday morning, in what sources say was an Israeli attack. Tehran played down the incident and said it did not plan to retaliate, which may prevent the current war in Gaza to spill over throughout the region. (AMP)

  • April 21, 2024

    April 21, 2024

     

    PRESIDENT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis will be on an official visit to South Korea on April 22 through 24th, at the invitation of his counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol. South Korea is the first Asia-Pacific country with which Romania upgraded its diplomatic relations to a Strategic Partnership level, in 2008. During the Romanian president’s visit to Seoul, this Partnership will be consolidated under a document setting the cooperation directions for the next 10 years. Agreements will be signed in fields such as defence, nuclear energy, investments and foreign trade, emergency cooperation and disaster management, culture, mass-media, youth and sports.

     

    AID After months of postponements, the US House of Representatives Saturday night endorsed a USD 61 bln aid package for Ukraine. This is part of a bigger, USD 95 bln amount that also comprises security aid for Israel and Taiwan. The bill needs to be passed by the Senate as well, but the Democratic majority in the Senate is in favour of the aid. President Joe Biden has already called on the Senate to rush the vote. The aid comes at an extremely difficult time for Kyiv, which desperately needs weapons and ammunitions to withstand Russia’s growing offensive. The vote was welcomed by Western countries and Ukrainian leaders, but Moscow said the aid would only result in more Ukrainians getting killed because of the regime in Kyiv.

     

    EMPLOYMENT In Romania, the employment rate in the 15 to 64 age bracket was 63% last year, the National Statistics Institute announced. According to recently released data, the employment rate was higher among men (some 72%) than women (54%). The highest employment rate was reported last year among higher education graduates (nearly 90%), as opposed to 37% among people with little formal education. According to statistics, employees still account for 86% of the employed population, whereas self-employed and unpaid family workers only made up 13% of the total employed population. Also, around 83% of job holders were employed in the private sector.

     

    BREXIT The British PM Rishi Sunak rejected a European Commission proposal concerning a post-Brexit agreement enabling British youth to live, study and work in the EU and European youth in UK for up to 4 years, France Presse reports. The scheme was intended for young people aged 18 to 30, who would have benefited from visa exemptions and fair tuition fees. London said however it was unwilling to reopen talks concerning the freedom of movement and the strict regulation of the terms of stay in UK.

     

    CHINA The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is to travel to Beijing and Shanghai next week, in a move to appease tensions and to stabilize the relationship between the US and China. The talks scheduled to take place Wednesday through Friday would focus on “strengthening lines of communication to reduce the risk of miscalculation and conflict,” a senior State Department official said. Blinken “will raise clearly and candidly our concerns on issues ranging from human rights, unfair economic and trade practices, to the global economic consequences of PRC industrial over-capacity.  The Secretary will also reiterate our deep concerns regarding the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base,” the official said. According to the US State Department, there are indications that the relations between the US and China have improved. Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in California in November, resuming communication after a one-year break. The meeting was followed by high-level government talks. The Secretary of the Treasury, Jenet Yellen, also traveled to China this month, for talks with Chinese government officials and US company executives. (AMP)

  • April 13, 2024 UPDATE

    April 13, 2024 UPDATE

    Salary – In Romania, the average net salary rose to 4,876 lei (about 980 Euros) in February, up 17 lei compared to the previous month, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics. The lowest values ​​are still in the field of clothing manufacturing, and the highest in information technology. As to the evolution of consumer prices, the average wage was actually slightly lower than in January, but, compared to February 2023, it increased by 14%. The minimum wage in Romania will increase, from July 1, from 3,300 lei to 3,700 lei (740 Euros).

     

    Aid – The European Commission sent the member states the proposal to extend the measures regarding state aid, in the context of the crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. Until June 30, the EU countries can grant a series of facilities to limit the negative effects of the conflict in such domains as agriculture and energy. The Commission made this decision following the difficulties faced by European farmers in particular and as a result of their consultation through the online survey completed on March 27. According to the survey, the markets of the member states are still unbalanced by the effects of the war, and also by the measures taken by the EU to support the Ukrainian export of agricultural products. According to the commission’s proposal, member states can grant state aid of up to 280,000 Euros to agricultural companies, up to 335,000 Euros to those in the field of fishing and aquaculture and up to 2.25 million Euros to those in the rest of the affected sectors. A second type of aid is aimed at compensating energy costs, and primarily targets the large industrial consumers.

     

    Tennis – The Argentinean tennis player Francisco Cerundolo, world number 22, will be the top seed of the Ţiriac Open (ATP 250) tournament, which will take place at the Năstase / Marica Sports Base in Bucharest, between April 15-21. Cerundolo will enter directly into the round of 16, when he will face the winner of the match between the French Richard Gasquet and the Argentinean Federico Coria, according to Saturday’s drawing of lots. The main singles draw will feature, among others, the Swiss “veteran” Stan Wawrinka, whose opponent in the first round will be the Portuguese Nuno Borges, and the Canadian Denis Shapovalov who will face the French Corentin Moutet. The Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, the second seed, and the American Sebastian Korda, seed no. 3, will enter directly into the round of 16. The winner of the Bucharest tournament will get 250 ATP points. The total prizes offered are worth 580,000 Euros.

     

    Congress – Representatives from almost 70 countries are debating within the World Congress of Ukrainians, which is taking place at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, ways to encourage the strengthening of Ukrainian culture, identity, traditions and language in communities around the world. Nicolae Miroslav Petreţchi, a deputy from the Ukrainian minority in the Romanian Parliament, said that the choice of the venue is not accidental. He says that Romania is a reliable partner for Ukraine, the bilateral relations being very close and at a strategic level. The Ukrainian diaspora is one of the largest in the world, with over 26 million members, plus about 6 million refugees following the Russian invasion of 2022.

     

    Kyiv – The situation on the Eastern Front has deteriorated considerably in the last few days, the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, Oleksandr Sîrski, said on Saturday. He said that this was mainly due to a significant intensification of the Russian offensive after the presidential election in Moscow. Kyiv has been asking its Western allies for months for more ammunition and anti-aircraft defense systems. However, the aid is running out due to political blockages in Washington, which forces the Ukrainian military to save ammunition, the press agencies write. On Saturday, Germany announced that it would supply Kyiv with an additional Patriot air defense system to defend against increased attacks. “Russian terror against Ukrainian cities and the country’s infrastructure is causing immeasurable suffering,” said the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

     

    Canberra – Six people were killed in a mass stabbing in a Sydney mall on Saturday afternoon, while others are in hospital, including a child, police and emergency services said, as quoted by news agencies.  The police, who shot dead the attacker, say that he acted alone. Also, the police claim that nothing at the scene of the attack indicates the motivation of the knife attack, but they state that they do not exclude a terrorist track. The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the police officer who shot the criminal, saying that, through her courage, she has saved lives. (LS)

  • April 13, 2024

    April 13, 2024

    Salary – In Romania, the average net salary rose to 4,876 lei (about 980 Euros) in February, up 17 lei compared to the previous month, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics. The lowest values ​​are still in the field of clothing manufacturing, and the highest in information technology. As to the evolution of consumer prices, the average wage was actually slightly lower than in January, but, compared to February 2023, it increased by 14%. The minimum wage in Romania will increase, from July 1, from 3,300 lei to 3,700 lei (740 Euros).

     

    Aid – The European Commission sent the member states the proposal to extend the measures regarding state aid, in the context of the crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. Until June 30, the EU countries can grant a series of facilities to limit the negative effects of the conflict in such domains as agriculture and energy. The Commission made this decision following the difficulties faced by European farmers in particular and as a result of their consultation through the online survey completed on March 27. According to the survey, the markets of the member states are still unbalanced by the effects of the war, and also by the measures taken by the EU to support the Ukrainian export of agricultural products. According to the commission’s proposal, member states can grant state aid of up to 280,000 Euros to agricultural companies, up to 335,000 Euros to those in the field of fishing and aquaculture and up to 2.25 million Euros to those in the rest of the affected sectors. A second type of aid is aimed at compensating energy costs, and primarily targets the large industrial consumers.

     

    Tennis – Romania is led by Ukraine 2-0 after the first matches played, on Friday, in the USA, in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. Elina Svitolina defeated Jaqueline Cristian, and Ana Bogdan lost to Lesia Ţurenko. Today, Bogdan will face Svitolina, and the last singles match will pit Cristian against Ţurenko. The pair Liudmila Kicenok/Nadia Kicenok and Mara Gae/Anca Todoni will meet in the doubles match. Romania and Ukraine have met four times so far, with the Romanians leading with the score 3-1. In November, Romania defeated Serbia in the play-off to stay in the World Group of the competition, while Ukraine defeated Lithuania.

     

    Middle East – The American forces in the Middle East and the Israeli forces are on alert to respond to a possible Iranian attack. Tehran has threatened to respond to the April 1 attack, blamed on Israel, on a building belonging to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, in which a prominent commander of the Revolutionary Guards was killed. According to the Radio Romania News and Current Affairs (RRA) correspondent, Israel’s defense system announced that all the military departments of the army are prepared for the conflict with Iran at any moment it may occur. In order to prepare in advance the reaction to a possible launch of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or drones, the Israeli air force keeps patrolling and observation planes in the air 24 hours a day, and all interception systems are on high alert.

     

    Kyiv – The situation on the Eastern Front has deteriorated considerably in the last few days, the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, Oleksandr Sîrski, said on Saturday. He said that this was mainly due to a significant intensification of the Russian offensive after the presidential election in Moscow. Kyiv has been asking its Western allies for months for more ammunition and anti-aircraft defense systems. However, the aid is running out due to political blockages in Washington, which forces the Ukrainian military to save ammunition, the press agencies write. The Ukrainian military are also having difficulty in the recruiting process, to face larger and better-equipped Russian forces. (LS)

     

  • April 8, 2024 UPDATE

    April 8, 2024 UPDATE

     

    AID The European Commission has given the green light to reintroducing an approximately EUR 2.5 mln scheme for Romania to support companies in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The aid will be granted as guarantees and direct grants. The measure is designed to ensure that companies affected by the economic disruptions caused by the war are left with enough liquidity. The EC found that Romania’s scheme, as it has been reintroduced, remains in line with the terms of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework. The aid will not exceed EUR 280,000 for an agriculture company, EUR 335,000 for a company operating in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and EUR 2.25 mln for companies in other sectors.

     

    SEA SHIELD 24 More than 2,200 Allied troops are participating starting this week in a multinational exercise in Romania called “Sea Shield 24”. Until April 21, Romanian soldiers, alongside military from NATO states and the partner states of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, will be training in the coastal area of the Black Sea, the Danube and the Danube Delta, using 27 sea and river ships, 17 aircraft and 91 vehicles and boats. The Ministry of Defence in Bucharest says the exercise is the most complex event conducted by the Romanian Naval Forces in 2024. Also this week, the Royal Air Force of Great Britain begins an air policing mission in Romania. In the next four months, the British units, comprising around 220 troops and 6 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, will perform enhanced air policing missions under NATO command, together with soldiers of the Romanian Air Force.

     

    ELECTIONS The United Right electoral alliance, made up of the Save Romania Union, the People’s Movement Party and the Force of the Right, in opposition, have submitted their list of candidates for the European Parliament elections of June 9. Top of the list is the former USR leader Dan Barna, followed by the former USR health minister Vlad Voiculescu and the PMP president Eugen Tomac. The president of USR, Cătălin Drulă, said the Alliance has the best list of candidates, comprising “people who are going to the European Parliament or carrying on their work at the European Parliament out of belief, and who have results.” On the other side of the political spectrum, the 2 parties in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party submitted on Friday their own joint list of EP candidates. Opening the list is the former Social-Democratic PM Mihai Tudose and the Liberal MEP Rareș Bogdan. The EP elections in Romania will be held concurrently with the local elections on June 9.

     

    ELECTRICITY Romania has the lowest electricity consumption in Europe per capita, the Association of Energy Prosumers and Communities announced. According to the institution, the transition to the green economy requires an increase of this consumption at the expense of fuels such as natural gas and firewood. The organisation says that in this context electrification is the key to full decarbonisation, and the necessary technologies include heat pumps for households and green hydrogen, along with EVs for the industry.

     

    MOLDOVA A population and housing census began on Monday in the Republic of Moldova. Until July 7, reviewers will go from house to house to collect data about where people in the Republic live, the language they speak, their education, occupation, as well as about their homes. The government spokesperson Daniel Vodă has stated that all citizens will be obliged to answer the reviewers’ questions and provide correct answers, and the authorities have to keep the answers received confidential, Radio Chisinau reports. The last population and housing census in the Republic of Moldova was conducted in 2014. At that time, the population stood at 2,800,000 people, of which only 2.5 million lived in the Republic of Moldova. Also, the data do not cover the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria (east), which went, de facto, out of Chisinau’s control in 1992, after an armed conflict involving hundreds of soldiers and ended by the intervention of Moscow’s troops on the side of the secessionist rebels.

     

    ENERGY The close cooperation between Romania and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in developing a civilian nuclear programme and the prospects for strengthening the cooperation in cancer medicine and energy were discussed on Monday by PM Marcel Ciolacu with the Agency’s director, Rafael Grossi. The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu also discussed with Grossi about Russia’s war against Ukraine and the successive attacks on the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia. Luminiţa Odobescu highlighted the important role the Agency plays in the safe and secure use of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes. In turn, Rafael Grossi praised the implementation of new nuclear technologies in Romania, including small scale modular reactors. The AIEA chief also had talks with the energy minister, Sebastian Burduja. The agenda included the revamping on the Cernavodă nuclear power plant Unit 1 and the plans for Units 3 and 4.

  • March 14, 2024

    March 14, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS The ruling coalition in Romania convenes today to discuss a joint candidate in the election for mayor general of Bucharest. So far the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party have failed to reach an agreement on the topic. The 2 parties will however present a joint list of candidates for the elections for the European Parliament, due on 9 June, concurrently with the country’s local elections. The head of the European Commission’s representative office in Bucharest, Ramona Chiriac, the top nominee on this list, announced she would take unpaid leave to prepare her campaign. A career diplomat, Chiriac has nearly 20-year long experience in European affairs. The election campaign starts on 10 May and ends the day before the elections. Also this year, Romania will hold presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in December.

     

    TREASURE  In a debate on Thursday, MEPs called on Russia to fully return Romania’s national treasure, and urged the European Commission and other relevant EU institutions to support Romania in its efforts. This was the first discussion in the European Parliament concerning the Romanian national treasure illegally appropriated by Russia during WWI. The EU Commissioner for cohesion and reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said the treasure had been sent for safekeeping to Russia, but was never fully returned, either by the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation. The EU is prepared to support the Romanian authorities in fully recovering the treasure, should they request EU assistance, Elisa Ferreira said, but she warned that Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine entailed the suspension of cooperation mechanisms with Moscow. The EP debate on the treasure will be followed by a vote on a resolution in this respect. During WWI, Romania sent its national treasure for safekeeping to Russia, its only ally in the vicinity, but the Communist regime seized the assets and refused to return them. The National Bank entrusted Moscow with a total of 91.48 tonnes of pure gold.

     

    MEDIA The European Parliament passed the European Media Freedom Act, which is designed to protect journalists and media organisations in the EU from political and economic interference. According to the Radio Romania News and Current Affairs’ correspondent, under the new legislation member states will be obliged to protect journalists from governmental, political, economic and private interference, and all forms of interventions in editorial decisions will be banned. In order to ensure transparency with respect to mass media ownership, all channels, regardless of their size, will have to make public their ownership structure and their use of public funding.

     

    RECOVERY The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu Thursday announced that the ministers coordinating reforms would have a meeting next week with Celine Gauer, the European Commission’s director general of the Recovery and Resilience Task Force, to analyse major benchmarks in Romania’s 3rd payment request. He denied that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has reached a deadlock, and emphasised that Romania’s relation with the European Commission is quite good. Previously, the minister for European investments and projects, Adrian Câciu, also said the 3rd payment request was not frozen. The explanations came after information was leaked regarding the European Commission freezing the 3rd payment request under the NRRP for failure to meet certain benchmarks, which according to Save Romania Union in opposition were related to appointments in the management of state-owned energy corporations and the agency charged with monitoring state-owned companies. Under the NRRP, all these institutions, without exception, must operate in compliance with corporate governance principles. On Thursday the government approved changes to the multi-annual budget for the reforms and investments undertaken in the NRRP.

     

    AID The National Emergency Committee passed a resolution under which Romania is to grant international assistance to Jordan, consisting in medical equipment and supplies necessary for the operation of a field hospital in Gaza. The donated products and equipment come from the medical emergency inventory managed by the Inspectorate General for Emergencies, and were flown to the site by aircraft made available by the defence ministry.