Radio România Internațional

Tag: aid

March 25, 2022

Meeting — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis had a bilateral meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday on the sidelines of the European Council meeting. The two talked about further strengthening bilateral relations, with a focus on economic and energy cooperation, as well as on Romanias accession to the Schengen area. ‘We continue coordination in relation to the security situation and the ways to help the refugees from Ukraine, Klaus Iohannis wrote on Twitter. Romania’s President attended the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday. On the first day of the meeting, he met with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov. Talks with the Bulgarian official focused on coordinating the security situation in the region, helping Ukrainian refugees, deepening economic and energy cooperation and accelerating interconnectivity between the two countries. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis also attended the Extraordinary NATO Summit.

Aid – The Romanian government is to approve, in todays meeting, a non-reimbursable aid for the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet with a majority Romanian-speaking population) worth 100 million Euros. In this way Romania wants to support the authorities from the neighboring state in carrying out development projects and reforms in several fields. Another law in the focus of the government is meant to increase the energy performance of apartment buildings through modernization and rehabilitation works. Another two government decisions provide for the allocation to the state budget of a 50 % share of the profit of the National Company Romgaz and of the National Company Transelectrica, profits remaining after the payment of taxes. The government also wants to approve the budgets for this year for the Bucharest Underground company, CFR Călători and CFR Marfă — the railway passenger and freight transport companies and for the “Mihail Kogălniceanu” International Airport in Constanţa. Also in todays session, the National Health Programs will be approved, including those for HIV-AIDS, Tuberculosis and for Mental Health and Organ Transplants.

Working group – The United States and the European Union announced on Friday the setting up of a working group that will aim to reduce Europes dependence on Russias fossil energy resources due to Moscows war against Ukraine, AFP reports. The US is expected to supply the European Union with an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year as part of an initiative announced by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Both the NATO and G7 summits were held in the Belgian capital on Thursday, with the participation of US President Joe Biden. NATO has decided to provide additional assistance to Ukraine and continue to strengthen the eastern flank by sending four new multinational combat groups to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia.

Refugees — Nearly 10 thousand Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Thursday, the Border Police General Inspectorate reported. At national level, a total of 58,700 people entered Romania through border crossing points. More than 5,300 Ukrainian citizens entered the border with Ukraine (increasing by 9.9%), and through the cross-border points with the Republic of Moldova – 2,900 (increasing by 7.9%). Since the start of this crisis until Thursday, at midnight, at national level, 537,548 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.

Ukraine — The Ukrainian armys counterattacks and the difficulties of the Russian forces in relation to their supply lines have allowed Ukraine to reoccupy cities and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers east of the capital Kyiv, the UK Ministry of Defense was quoted by EFE as saying on Friday. The Ukrainian forces are likely to continue trying to push the Russian army along the northwest axis between Kyiv and the Hostomel airfield, about 70 kilometers from the capital, according to British intelligence services which have data from the ground. In southern Ukraine, the Russian forces are still trying to bypass the city of Mikolaiv (Nikolaiev) in an effort to advance westward in the direction of Odessa, according to the British Ministry of Defense. However, their progress is slowed by logistical problems and Ukrainian resistance. The humanitarian situation in the besieged city of Mariupol continues to deteriorate, while Russia is blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid, the city mayor said. Most of the city is now in ruins. About 100,000 people remain stranded in Mariupol, and the large-scale evacuation efforts have failed.

Warsaw – US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland, a NATO member country, where he will meet with Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. He will visit Rzeszow, a town 80 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The American leader will be received by Polish President Andrzej Duda at the airport of this city located two and a half hours from Lvov, the main city in western Ukraine. Joe Biden will be briefed on “the humanitarian response to alleviate the suffering of civilians in Ukraine and to respond to the growing influx of refugees fleeing the war that Putin has chosen,” the White House said. The US president will then meet with US troops stationed in the region and which “contribute, along with our Polish ally, to NATOs deterrence efforts on its eastern flank.” On Friday evening, he will travel to Warsaw, where he will have more consistent talks with his Polish counterpart on Saturday. This two-day visit to Poland comes after an extraordinary diplomatic marathon in Brussels, where Joe Biden attended NATO, G7 and EU summits, praising Western unity in response to Moscow, one month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. In Brussels, Joe Biden claimed that NATO “has never, ever been so united”. (LS)

25 March 2022
Romanian economy and sanctions against Russia

Romania supports and applies the sanctions packages adopted by the European Union against the background of the Russia-Ukraine tensions, and the Government of Bucharest is taking measures regarding the access of Russian-owned companies to public money and European funds. At the same time, the Executive has announced that it is preparing a set of measures to support vulnerable people and companies, having spent 3.4% of the GDP on similar projects since the beginning of the year.

According to the Minister of Finance, Adrian Caciu, the aim is to mitigate the increased costs generated by the disruptions in the fuel and food supply chains. Moreover, companies affected by the war in Ukraine can receive state aid, after the European Commission approved the temporary crisis framework supporting the economies and citizens of the Member States. These will offset the additional costs of the energy, fuel or food price crisis, as well as the effects of international sanctions on Russian companies.

Adrian Caciu:”Grants can be awarded ranging from 35,000 euros to 400,000 euros per company, depending on the specifics and the sector in which they operate, which will support the companies working capital and liquidities, as they will bear the cost of overcoming this complicated economic situation, as well as the inflation pressure that comes on top of the uncertainties generated by the conflict in Ukraine.”

Also, the Romanian authorities announced that the employees of the companies affected by the international sanctions imposed on Russia whose accounts have been blocked or of those who are unable to make transactions with companies from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia will benefit from furlough measures, the costs of which will be covered by the state. The beneficiaries will be the employees of companies whose revenues are affected.

The Secretary of State in the Ministry of Labor, Cristian Vasilcoiu, explains:

“Actually, the support is not just for companies, is for employees. (…), the ones that will receive these amounts of money. Obviously its going to be a breath of fresh air for the company as well. The state intervenes in order to keep jobs safe.”

As regards the banking sector, officials in the field give assurances that the Romanian banks are not directly exposed to the risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine. The vice-president of the National Bank, Leonardo Badea, has stated that the deposits attracted by Romania from Russia and Ukraine amount to very low values. He added that the 300 companies with Russian capital in Romania have a small role in all non-financial companies. Referring to the impact on the energy sector, Leonardo Badea has said that, between January and November 2021, 70 percent of the gas consumed in Romania was from local production and only 10 percent was supplied by Russia. (MI)

25 March 2022
Romania increases refugee assistance

Over 3 million people have so far fled Ukraine because
of the war. The figure only includes those who left the country after the
invasion of Russian forces on February 24, but not the ones displaced within
Ukrainian borders.

Almost half of the nearly 3 million refugees are
children. Poland has received the largest number of Ukrainian nationals-some 1.8
million, while other destinations for those who run away from the war are the
Republic of Moldova and Romania.

About half a million Ukrainian citizens chose to come
to Romania, but most of these only transited the country on their way to
Western Europe. But as the Russian invasion continues, Bucharest is preparing
to handle an ever-growing number of refugees.

The government announced plans to set up another 2
hubs for collecting and transporting humanitarian aid for Ukraine, apart from
the one already operating in Suceava (north-east). One of them will be located
in the north-west of the country, in Sighetu Marmaţiei, and the other one in
the south-east, at Isaccea, on the river Danube. Both localities are checkpoints
on Romania’s border with Ukraine.

PM Nicolae Ciucă Tuesday travelled to Isaccea, and
announced that 2 more ferries may be brought in, to help the refugees cross
into Romania more efficiently:

Nicolae Ciucă: On the other side of the border there are many
Ukrainian citizens waiting to leave the country, so we discussed options for
transport and processing in case their number goes up. It is clear that with
only one ferry we cannot ensure smoother crossing, so we talked to the transport
ministry and found out that there are back-up ferries in Galaţi that may be
used in order for us to ensure a higher crossing rate.

While in Romania, Ukrainian refugees have access to
all the healthcare services and programmes available to Romanian citizens. A total
of 3,300 places are available nation-wide for the injured and for the refugees
who need surgery.

In the capital Bucharest, the North Train Station has
become one of the most important aid centres for the refugees. For almost 2
weeks now, many Ukrainians have been coming here by train, with no idea where
to go next. They are helped by City Hall staff and volunteers, who provide them
with food and temporary accommodation options.

In fact, a survey indicates that over half of Romania’s
population has already got involved in assistance and relief programmes for the
Ukrainian refugees, and more than 8 in 10 Romanians believe Romania has been
pro-active in this respect.

Special mention must also be made of the
non-governmental sector, which initiated new campaigns or adjusted ongoing programmes
in order to help those in need. The promptness with which Romanians and Romanian
associations and organisations have mobilised since the start of the war in
Ukraine, to provide transport, accommodation and translation services, is
admirable, reads the survey, which also says, on the other hand, that 55% of
the Romanians voice pessimism regarding the future and safety of neighbouring
Ukraine. (A.M.P.)

16 March 2022
Romanian support for the Ukrainian refugees

Almost 400,000 Ukrainian citizens have taken refuge in Romania since the onset of Russias attacks on Ukraine. Refugees started to appear at several cross-border points along the common border spanning almost 650 kilometers on the very first day of the invasion, February 24, especially in the north, as they were trying to enter Romania through the Maramureș and Moldavia regions. Fewer refugees were reported at the eastern border, at the mouths of the Danube River. In these border areas, the refugees were immediately received by the locals who, mobilizing instantly and instinctively, hurried to help them and offer them food and shelter. Then, the civil society representatives came in, alongside the official institutions. They set up tents, collected first necessity items, and provided information and transport to those who only wanted to transit Romania.

The Romanian National Council for Refugees has been there since February 24, to offer their expertise, says Ana Cojocaru, the representative of this organization: “My colleagues are currently on the ground, we are present at numerous cross-border points. We are an NGO specializing in legal expertise. Therefore, all we can do is provide information and counseling, and, if necessary, counseling on the asylum procedure in the case of those people who want the protection of the Romanian state. We also have two operational telephone lines on which we can be contacted at any time, during the day or at night. We receive tens or hundreds of calls per day on these lines. We are also present in all the refugee centers in the country that are subordinated to the Interior Ministry, more precisely to the General Inspectorate for Immigration.”

Many of the questions regarding the stationing on and crossing of the Romanian territory were centralized, in several foreign languages, on the dopomoha.ro website, a project supported by public institutions in collaboration with non-governmental associations. In addition, due to the seriousness of the situation, many of the formalities for entering Romania have been simplified.

But it wasnt like that from the beginning, Ana Cojocaru explains: “The questions we receive are mainly related to how to enter and transit Romania. Indeed, Romania has not had to deal with such large inflows of people in recent history. It was somehow natural to have to make little adjustments in the process, but I think we are now on the right track and there is more and more clarity and coordination between the state and civil society and between state institutions in general.”

However, what was most impressive was the quick response and empathy of ordinary Romanians towards refugees. Ana Cojocaru from the Romanian National Council for Refugees has more: “No one could have anticipated this extraordinary response from the civil society, from individuals, in general, and from border communities. There are many initiatives of NGOs and the state that are meant to support people displaced from Ukraine. And the response capacity is extraordinary. Let me give you an example: on Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. I was looking for a solution for a group of 14 people, some of whom were children, and I found an accommodation solution for them in 10 minutes from another trustworthy person. Of course, we have encountered difficulties, especially at the beginning, because the number of people who wanted to help was so great that a little chaos was created at the main border-crossing points. Meanwhile, information started being gathered, at central level, on all these initiatives. Cells have been set up in those counties with cross-border points to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. And I think we are currently better adjusting the coordination process.”

Ștefan Mandachi, a local entrepreneur from the Suceava area, is one of the Romanians who, since the first day of war, has helped the refugees. Impressed by the crowd of people who “out of all that they had gathered in a lifetime, grabbed hastily what they could in a bag and ran away with their children and pets, not knowing if they would ever return”, Ștefan Mandachi offered these people free accommodation and meals in his hotels and restaurants.

Ștefan Mandachi does not know how many people he has helped so far: “I cant give you an exact number right now. I know there are over 200 people every day. For example, one day we had to open another dining room. I think there was a record number of people then, about 300 or so. Every day, more than 200 people come for accommodation. We have eventually set up a call center, we made a team and through this formula we have managed to identify what people need: apartments, transport, short-, medium- and long-term stays. At present, one of our priorities is to be able to take these people to their places of accommodation, or transport them to Europe, wherever they might want to go.”

As expected, refugees are sad and desperate. Stefan Mandachi explains: ”I guess everyone realizes that people coming from Ukraine are in a very bad state. They get a better mood only when their children start playing. We tried to organize some games, to divert their attention from the war. When the parents, in fact the mothers, because the fathers remained in Ukraine, see their children smiling, they can loosen up a bit. But obviously, there is a lot of tension among the entire Ukrainian community and not only, because there are refugees of other nationalities, such as Nigerians, Indians and Moroccans who were studying in Kyiv.”

Neither Ștefan Mandachi, nor the other NGOs would be able to cope without the contribution of volunteers, ordinary Romanians who have come to the rescue of the refugees as best as they could.

Stefan Mandachi has details: “Weve put together a great team of volunteers. Many of them are Moldovan and Ukrainian students studying at a university in Suceava. They came in large numbers. They are doing their job very diligently and with great passion. They are very passionate, which is an inspiration for us too. I didnt know about 90% of them, I had never seen them before. They had come from nearby communes such as Salcia and Bihoreni. I didnt know them, but they were very happy and behaved as if we had known each other for a lifetime. They all came here to volunteer.”

Unfortunately, as the war in Ukraine seems to continue, the number of refugees is going to increase, and the process of providing help should be more and more efficient. (LS)

16 March 2022
Support for Ukraine

Romania will take care of
all the Ukrainian nationals who reach its territory, president Klaus Iohannis
promised his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation
in which he also reiterated Romania’s full support for Ukraine’s EU accession.

During the almost 3 weeks
since Russia started the war in Ukraine, over 400,000 Ukrainian citizens entered
Romania, and nearly one-fifth of them stayed here.

Both the authorities and
civil society have been quick to provide assistance, ever since the first wave
of refugees: people fleeing the war at home received everything from free hot
meals and accommodation to free transport and necessity goods, donations (including
a charity concert that raised over EUR 750,000), job opportunities as well as healthcare
or classes for the children who stayed in Romania.

An EU-coordinated
humanitarian hub set up in Suceava, in northern Romania, near the Ukrainian
border, started operating last week and relief is already being delivered. The
hub is critical in facilitating the transfer of donations raised in EU member
states and from other countries and organisations.

Assistance was also provided by Romania to
those who are only transiting the country, which includes not only Ukrainian
nationals but also third-country citizens who were in Ukraine when the war
broke out.

Among these were over 3,000 Israeli
citizens and over 1,200 Jewish Ukrainians. Romania helped them enter the
country and leave for Israel, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu announced
after a meeting in Bucharest with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid. Jewish
children from Odesa, children with cancer, were sent to Israel for treatment,
and thousands of refugees fled via the Siret checkpoint. Their lives were saved
thanks to the cooperation between our countries. Thank you, and thanks to the
government of Romania, for cooperation and assistance, said Yair Lapid, who also
visited the Siret checkpoint on Sunday.

On the other hand, the
World Health Organisation expressed concerns that the war in Ukraine may cause
a spike in COVID-19 cases. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
also issued an alert for the countries hosting refugees from Ukraine, warning
of high rates of anti-microbial resistance in Ukraine, and also of polio and
measles outbreaks that prompted a state of biological emergency being declared
in October. This is why the EU institution recommends patient isolation in
hospitals so as to prevent infectious diseases from spreading. (A.M.P.)

14 March 2022
March 3, 2022

Aid. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis today had
talks in Bucharest with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
about intensifying humanitarian support for neighbouring Ukraine. The president
said efforts are under way to make a logistical hub operational in Romania as
soon as possible, to coordinate the collection and delivery of humanitarian aid
to Ukraine, with Romania also planning to access EU funds for the management of
the huge inflow of refugees. The Commission president said Romania was an
example for the entire world in the way it mobilised itself to help Ukrainian
refugees. She also spoke about the tough sanctions imposed on Russia by the
international community. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo
Grandi is also in Romania.

Refugees.
EU interior ministers are meeting today in Brussels to establish a common
action plan for Ukrainian refugees. According to the United Nations, one
million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, most
of them to neighbouring states Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The EU
proposes that Ukrainian refugees should have the right to live and work and
have access to medical care and education for up to three years, in all EU
member states. The proposal seeks to respond to what is becoming one of the
biggest refugee crises in Europe.

Ukraine. Russian invasion of Ukraine
entered its eighth day, as residential areas in Ukraine’s biggest cities have
come under intense bombardment. A Ukrainian delegation left for a new round of
negotiations with Russian officials. Airstrikes continued on the capital Kyiv
and other cities, while no significant movement of troops has been reported,
which commentators put down to logistical problems. Russian forces took control
of the southern city of Kherson, which is believed to set the stage for a land
offensive against Odessa. The Russian forces also seized the Sea of Azov port
city of Berdyansk and are stepping up their offensive against another big
Ukrainian port, Mariopol. Despite Russia’s claim that it is carrying out
high-precision strikes, many civilian buildings have been destroyed. The International
Criminal Court has launched an investigation into possible war crimes after 39
nations, including Romania, called for an inquiry to be opened. Ukraine is yet
to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International
Criminal Court, but it recognises the Court’s jurisdiction for crimes committed
on its territory.

Cooperation.
Romanian and Polish governments are today holding a joint meeting in Warsaw to
discuss bilateral projects and the situation in Ukraine. Romanian prime
minister Nicolae Ciucă said the
meeting has a special importance in the current international context, both
with a view to consolidating Romanian-Polish ties and in light of eastern
European security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A series of bilateral
agreements are being signed at the meeting, with Romania and Poland cooperating
both within NATO and the EU and as part of regional projects such as the Three
Seas Initiative and the Bucharest Nine. Today also marks the anniversary of 101
years since the signing of the Romanian-Polish Defensive Alliance, the first
regional security alliance signed by Romania after WWI and which formed the
basis for the cooperation between the two states in the inter-war period.

Crash. The pilot of
a Romanian fighter jet conducting an air patrol mission and seven military on board a helicopter sent to
search for the missing aircraft were killed in two separate crashes on
Wednesday night. The helicopter pilot had reported adverse weather conditions
and had been ordered to return to base shortly before crashing, the Romanian
defence ministry said in a statement.

Covid-19. Romania today reported almost 6,000 new Covid
infections and 114 new related fatalities, including nine from an earlier date.
850 Covid patients are in intensive care. Romanian health minister Alexandru
Rafila proposed easing some of the restrictions, such as no longer wearing face
masks outdoors, no longer requiring the Covid certificate to enter shops,
hotels, restaurants and public institutions, allowing cinemas and performance and
sports venues to host more spectators and expanding the maximum number of people
allowed to attend private events. (CM)

3 March 2022
March 3, 2022

Aid. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis today had
talks in Bucharest with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
about intensifying humanitarian support for neighbouring Ukraine. The president
said efforts are under way to make a logistical hub operational in Romania as
soon as possible, to coordinate the collection and delivery of humanitarian aid
to Ukraine, with Romania also planning to access EU funds for the management of
the huge inflow of refugees. The Commission president said Romania was an
example for the entire world in the way it mobilised itself to help Ukrainian
refugees. She also spoke about the tough sanctions imposed on Russia by the
international community. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo
Grandi is also in Romania.

Refugees.
EU interior ministers are meeting today in Brussels to establish a common
action plan for Ukrainian refugees. According to the United Nations, one
million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, most
of them to neighbouring states Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The EU
proposes that Ukrainian refugees should have the right to live and work and
have access to medical care and education for up to three years, in all EU
member states. The proposal seeks to respond to what is becoming one of the
biggest refugee crises in Europe.

Ukraine. Russian invasion of Ukraine
entered its eighth day, as residential areas in Ukraine’s biggest cities have
come under intense bombardment. A Ukrainian delegation left for a new round of
negotiations with Russian officials. Airstrikes continued on the capital Kyiv
and other cities, while no significant movement of troops has been reported,
which commentators put down to logistical problems. Russian forces took control
of the southern city of Kherson, which is believed to set the stage for a land
offensive against Odessa. The Russian forces also seized the Sea of Azov port
city of Berdyansk and are stepping up their offensive against another big
Ukrainian port, Mariopol. Despite Russia’s claim that it is carrying out
high-precision strikes, many civilian buildings have been destroyed. The International
Criminal Court has launched an investigation into possible war crimes after 39
nations, including Romania, called for an inquiry to be opened. Ukraine is yet
to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International
Criminal Court, but it recognises the Court’s jurisdiction for crimes committed
on its territory.

Cooperation.
Romanian and Polish governments are today holding a joint meeting in Warsaw to
discuss bilateral projects and the situation in Ukraine. Romanian prime
minister Nicolae Ciucă said the
meeting has a special importance in the current international context, both
with a view to consolidating Romanian-Polish ties and in light of eastern
European security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A series of bilateral
agreements are being signed at the meeting, with Romania and Poland cooperating
both within NATO and the EU and as part of regional projects such as the Three
Seas Initiative and the Bucharest Nine. Today also marks the anniversary of 101
years since the signing of the Romanian-Polish Defensive Alliance, the first
regional security alliance signed by Romania after WWI and which formed the
basis for the cooperation between the two states in the inter-war period.

Crash. The pilot of
a Romanian fighter jet conducting an air patrol mission and seven military on board a helicopter sent to
search for the missing aircraft were killed in two separate crashes on
Wednesday night. The helicopter pilot had reported adverse weather conditions
and had been ordered to return to base shortly before crashing, the Romanian
defence ministry said in a statement.

Covid-19. Romania today reported almost 6,000 new Covid
infections and 114 new related fatalities, including nine from an earlier date.
850 Covid patients are in intensive care. Romanian health minister Alexandru
Rafila proposed easing some of the restrictions, such as no longer wearing face
masks outdoors, no longer requiring the Covid certificate to enter shops,
hotels, restaurants and public institutions, allowing cinemas and performance and
sports venues to host more spectators and expanding the maximum number of people
allowed to attend private events. (CM)

3 March 2022
Romanian authorities to support Ukraine

Together with other European states and the US, Romania has decided to help Ukraine with medicines, ammunition and military equipment so that the army can protect the region from the invasion of Russian troops. The first aid, which has already arrived in neighboring Ukraine, was decided a week ago, when the situation had not escalated, by the Committee for Emergency Situations and consisted of medicines and disinfectants. Humanitarian aid had been requested by Kyiv through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. Now, following the entry of the Russian troops into Ukraine, the Romanian Government has decided to grant further aid, worth 3 million Euros, consisting of: fuel, bulletproof vests, helmets, ammunition and military equipment, food, water and medicines.

The announcement was made by the PM Nicolae Ciuca, after an emergency meeting on the situation in neighboring Ukraine: “We have decided to send to Ukraine a number of materials and equipment, consisting of safety helmets, bulletproof vests, ammunition, food, water and medicines, totaling more than three million euros. We have also decided, together with the members of the government, to go and donate blood, with a view to starting a campaign to help the wounded in the war in Ukraine.

Moreover, Bucharest has expressed its readiness to treat the injured Ukrainians in Romania. 11 hospitals of the Defense Ministry are ready to receive the wounded brought from the front. The PM Nicolae Ciuca announced that the government in Bucharest is still considering all possibilities to support Ukraine: We have taken several measures at government level and we are continuing to analyze all the possibilities, so that, from an institutional point of view, we should do everything we can, to support the Ukrainian people severely affected by the Russian aggression.

President Klaus Iohannis wrote in a social network post that “Romania joins its partners in supporting the new sanctions in order to further strengthen the common response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Additional military and humanitarian aid is to be sent to Ukraine.

And the Defense Ministry states that ‘the transfer of equipment is an element of logistical support, necessary for Ukraine’s efforts to reject the aggression of the Russian Federation, launched on the Ukrainian territory on February 24th. The transfer of these materials to the Ukrainian government is part of the general effort currently made by NATO and EU member states to support Ukraine in defending its territory, independence and integrity against the Russian aggression.

So far, the NATO countries have announced that they are supporting Ukraine with defensive military equipment worth hundreds of millions of Euros. The US Department of Defense contributes weapons worth 350 million dollars. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland and Sweden have also announced their intention to provide aid to Ukraine. (LS)

28 February 2022
Solidarity with the Ukrainian refugees

Innocent victims of Russia’s war against Ukraine, many Ukrainians have chosen to flee their country. Most of them are women, children, elderly or people with disabilities. Men between 18 and 60 have remained at home to defend their country against the invasion ordered by the Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin. The images are heartbreaking. In the Ukrainian cities, train stations have become too small for those fleeing the Russian army’s offensive. But the simple fact of getting on a train to escape has proved to be a difficult mission. On the road, since Friday, immediately after the beginning of the invasion, terrible traffic jams have slowed the fleeing of civilians. The slow advance and also the lack of gasoline or diesel, that were rationalized, made many Ukrainians leave their cars near the borders and walk tens of kilometers to the customs offices to cross and take refuge in safer countries.

Romania is the EU state with the longest border with Ukraine, its neighbor to the north and southeast. There are no less than 19 permanent border crossing points between the two countries, road, railway, pedestrian and river points. Since the end of last week, the points at Sighetul Marmatiei and Siret, in the north, and at Isaccea, in the southeast were literally stormed by Ukrainians. People come from all regions of Ukraine. Some go to relatives or acquaintances from Romania. It is well known that Ukraine has an important Romanian ethnic community.

Other refugees seek asylum in Romania or are transiting to other European countries. The number of people fleeing the war has risen sharply since Sunday afternoon, after the customs procedures, which were initially cumbersome on the Ukrainian side, were simplified. On the Romanian side of the border temporary mobile camps were set up for the Ukrainian refugees, and in the specially arranged tents people can find food, clothing, personal hygiene products, and can benefit from primary or emergency medical care.

Also the Romanian citizens have shown impressive solidarity with their neighbors. Volunteers from all over the country – ordinary people or businesspeople, companies, NGOs or religious communities – are giving whatever support they can, providing food and water, or free transportation and indefinite accommodation. The Romanian Red Cross donates food and medicines and helps the refugees to contact their relatives from Ukraine. To help the refugees, the IT specialists have built a computer platform dopomoha.ro (ʹhelpʹ in Ukrainian), available in Ukrainian, Romanian, English and Russian, which provides information on the procedure for entering Romania, on asylum procedures, rights and obligations of applicants, as well as the resources they can access.

Although the concrete, material support of the Ukrainians is of paramount importance, Ukrainians also need moral support. In Bucharest, just as in many other cities around the world, Romanians showed solidarity with the Ukrainian people in front of the Ukrainian Embassy, and also protested in front of the Russian Embassy against the Russian aggression against a European state. (LS)

28 February 2022
Government sets up task force on Ukraine

Romania supports an immediate end to the military attack on Ukraine, to enable diplomatic efforts to be resumed, PM Nicolae Ciucă said. “What we see is an unprovoked aggression against a sovereign and independent state, a member of the United Nations. The Russian Federation has chosen armed force to fulfil revisionist political goals,ˮ Nicolae Ciucă added. He emphasised that Bucharest stays constantly in dialogue with its NATO allies and EU partners.

Mr. Ciucă Thursday set up a government task force to handle the situation triggered by the military conflict in Ukraine. The main responsibilities of the group are to monitor the situation and to coordinate the measures taken by governmental agencies in order to make sure that all public services are operating.

According to the PM, the relevant governmental agencies are prepared to take over possible refugee inflows. “We reiterate our solidarity with the Ukrainian nation, and we are ready to provide humanitarian aid to those in need. We are monitoring the situation of the Romanian nationals in Ukraine and we are prepared to provide consular assistance and support through the inter-institutional task group with the Foreign Ministry,” the head of the Romanian government added.

Romanian authorities say Romania could receive 500,000 Ukrainian refugees. In a first stage, they will be hosted in camps located in 4 counties, namely Maramureş (north-west), Botoşani (north-east), Suceava (north-east) and Tulcea (south-east). But other counties as well, such as Braşov (centre), Galaţi (south-east) and Vaslui (east), voiced willingness to accommodate refugees.

Meanwhile, many Ukrainian citizens, mostly of Romanian descent, have already reached Romania, trying to escape the war. Most of them come from border areas.

On the other hand, PM Nicolae Ciucă emphasised that Romania benefits from the strongest security guarantees in its history. He pointed out that Romania, along with its fellow EU member states and with its NATO allies, especially in light of its strategic partnership with the US, is part of the most robust protection umbrella comprising the worlds democracies.

“The security and safety of Romanian citizens are in no way affected,” Mr. Ciucă promised. He also said that the authorities have made sure that Romania has enough natural gas stocks to cover the demand during the cold season. “We are constantly monitoring and measuring natural gas imports and exports on all routes in the country, to make sure we can take any measure required to secure steady gas supplies,” the prime minister explained. (A.M.P.)

25 February 2022
Romania and the crisis in Ukraine

Cyber-attacks, espionage activities and fake news phenomena have intensified in Romania, in the current regional context – said the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service – SRI, Eduard Hellvig. Heard in the standing joint committee of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in charge of exercising parliamentary control over SRIs work, Hellvig presented a security analysis from the perspective of SRIs legal responsibilities and in the context of the tense situation in neighboring Ukraine. According to a SRI statement, director Hellvig called for the updating of the national security law package, all the more so as the regional security environment is constantly changing.

Also in Bucharest, the defense minister Vasile Dîncu said that, in case of an armed conflict, Romania is ready to receive over 500 thousand refugees from Ukraine. “There is a plan in this regard that is being prepared in all major cities, there are areas dedicated to this purpose near the borders” minister Dîncu explained. Romania and the neighboring Ukraine share a common border of more than 600 kilometers.

The Romanian community in Ukraine numbers over 400 thousand people, most of them concentrated in northern Bukovina, northern and southern Bessarabia and Herța Land, the Romanian territories annexed by the former Stalinist Soviet Union in 1940 and taken over by Ukraine as a successor state in 1991, with the disintegration of the USSR.

In another development, Romania has decided to send medical products to Ukraine such as analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and disinfectants. The aid is provided through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism and is a response to the request for emergency assistance made by the Kiev administration to the European Commission. Alongside Romania, Austria, France, Ireland and Slovenia will provide community aid to Ukraine. As the geopolitical crisis may worsen the energy crisis, the Romanian authorities have given reassuring signals on this issue.

A conflict in Ukraine will not cause problems with the gas supply of neighboring Romania, which, with the arrival of spring, can ensure its entire consumption from domestic sources – says the energy minister, Virgil Popescu. The decision-makers, he added, are looking into ways to diversify import routes and are also considering sources of gas other than the intermediaries of Russias energy giant Gazprom.

The local think tank Expert Forum (EFOR) writes, in its annual report for 2022, that energy prices have risen due to the gas deficit, deliberately deepened by Gazprom since the summer. According to EFOR, the Russian giant has honored its contracts with Europeans at the last minute, emptying its gas storage facilities in Europe since the summer, and has delivered as little gas as possible in the pipelines. In general, Gazproms strategy was to abuse European rules while formally respecting them, just to show that the European rules are faulty – concludes the report written by the Romanian experts. (LS)

23 February 2022
February 16, 2022 UPDATE

Covid-19 RO – 17,447 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in the last 24 hours and 183 deaths, 12 of which from previous days – the Strategic Communication Group reported on Wednesday. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, two years ago, over 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered in Romania, and almost 62 thousand people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus have died. The country has the second lowest vaccination rate among the 27 EU members, after Bulgaria.

Kiev — The Romanian embassy in Kiev, in neighboring Ukraine, is fully operational, the FM Bogdan Aurescu said on Wednesday. During his hearing in the foreign policy committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on the security developments in the Black Sea basin, Bogdan Aurescu announced that the procedure was completed for the repatriation to Romania of the family members of the diplomatic staff at the Romanian embassy in Kiev (central Ukraine) and from the consulate general in Odessa (south, a port on the Black Sea). The other two consular missions, which are at Solotvino in Transcarpathia and Cernăuţi in northern Bukovina, both in western Ukraine, were not targeted by the measure, as they are located in regions with a higher degree of security – the minister added. Aurescu said that all the embassies of the EU member states in Kiev have the same logic of operation and it was important to send a unitary message.

Paris — The EU leaders will meet on Thursday to discuss the massive build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, officials in Brussels have said. They pointed out that the meeting was not a reaction to certain special developments, but an opportunity to exchange views and keep up to date with the latest information. No conclusions will be issued after the meeting. The ad hoc meeting will take place ahead of the long-planned EU-Africa summit. The Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, will also be present in Brussels.

NATO – NATO has tasked its military commanders with setting the details for the deployment of battle groups on the Alliances southeastern flank in response to the build-up of Russian troops on Ukraines borders, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Wednesday. Speaking to the press after a meeting of the allied defense ministers, Stoltenberg explained that the ministers decided to develop options to further strengthen defense and deterrence, including considering the establishment of new NATO combat groups in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe. According to Jens Stoltenberg the NATO military commanders will set the details and report within weeks. New battle groups, if approved, will be carried out in Romania and in the Black Sea region, he went on to say. ‘We have increased our presence in the east in a defensive way and we are considering increasing it even more. Romania is ready to host a tactical group, France is ready to command it, and several allies want to participate in this multinational force, but no final decision has been made’, Jens Stoltenberg added.

Aid – The Romanian government on Wednesday approved an aid scheme for the hospitality industry, severely affected by the pandemic. An emergency ordinance has also been adopted that allows the running of a credit scheme for the SMEs with a subsidized interest. Also on Wednesday, a joint order was published in the Official Gazette, which establishes the way of settling the amounts granted by the state to the electricity and gas suppliers for the compensation of the bills. Approximately 90% of the Romanian population currently benefits from this scheme. Moreover, starting with February 1 until the end of March, all non-household consumers benefit from the compensation scheme, except for the big energy consumers, said the energy minister Virgil Popescu. On the other hand, farmers will have free access to irrigation water this year as well, and the Organizations of Irrigation Water Users will receive up to 50% compensation for their electricity costs. (LS)

16 February 2022
Government aid to help cover electricity bills

The price of electricity and natural gas in Romania followed the upward trend in Europe, and the government is currently looking for solutions to extend the aid schemes in the energy sector.

Last week 2 such schemes were approved, targeting energy producers and the local administration or inter-community development associations that put up or upgrade energy facilities.

A memorandum was also endorsed, extending the aid schemes for large energy consumers. According to the government spokesman Dan Cărbunaru, over EUR 82 million will be channelled to those investors that tap into renewable energy sources. The energy ministry was tasked to hold consultations with the European Commission regarding the extension of the state aid programme to support large energy consumers.

Dan Cărbunaru: “Everybody is affected, not only the smaller households, but big consumers as well. Obviously, we are talking about large amounts of money and the procedure requires the approval of the European Commission. The government was tasked with initiating talks as soon as possible, so that major consumers in Romania may continue to benefit from state aid in due time.”

Dan Cărbunaru also says that these measures are intended to preserve both the competitiveness of Romanian companies compared to other competitors in the EU and outside it, and to keep the around 200,000 jobs in these sectors.

Dan Cărbunaru: “These state aid schemes were implemented in Romania in 2019-2021. They were effective, given that these companies in energy-intensive sectors contribute an annual 6% of Romanias GDP. An important element to take into account are the jobs that a company benefitting from such state aid has to keep in place.”

In the forthcoming period, the government is to finalise new support measures for household consumers to cope with the surge in energy prices. Apart from the measures taken so far, the government plans to continue to shield the economy and households from the effects of the energy crisis after April 1 as well.

Dan Cărbunaru: “These support packages being prepared by the government are almost ready. I can confirm that the PM requested all stakeholders to find a solution which is as quick, as comprehensive and as easy to implement and to explain as possible.”

Within 2 weeks the government will have ready a set of measures concerning electricity bills, the finance minister Adrian Câciu said in his turn. (A.M.P.)

14 February 2022
Road safety classes for children

Casualties caused by road traffic accidents still
place Romania at the top of the table, according to a recent survey carried by
the European Union in 2019. Also, Romania is at the bottom of the table as regards
the number of persons who can give first aid. Reason enough for the Association
for Education Development and Youth involvement, EDIT, to create programs aimed
at boosting awareness-raising attitudes among youngsters, and not only among them.

And that is how several initiatives have
emerged, to that effect. To begin with, one such successful initiative is The Road
Safety Class, which reached high-schools and secondary schools, under a rather
off-the-beaten- track form.

EDIT president Liviu Zorila:

There is also an interesting
job that we do, and which is somehow tailored to suit today’s needs: we always
have a special guest on the premises in high-schools. The guest is oftentimes an
influencer, or a star enjoying a lot of respect from them and who always turns
up pro bono, in the support of what we do. As a rule, they’re people with whom
we’ve worked before, who know us, are aware of what we do, and support our
activities through their presence on such occasions. And the people we had
range from stand-up comedy artists to actors, anchor men, singers, vloggers and
suchlike. We turn up, that’s all right, yet for a child, we are somebody who comes
over and does a course for them, the very moment we begin the discussion we
start off by placing ourselves on an equal footing with the school or with the
Education Ministry. But the very moment we show up and present those modules in
a non-formal manner, with no classical teaching style but in a practice-centred
style, including human interaction and questions, and answers, we do that in a
pleasant way, and for the final part we bring a star they can only follow on
Instagram and Facebook or only watch them on the telly, and the star shows up
and, from her own experience, spins the yarn of all sorts of accidents they’d
been through, all sorts of nasty moments she had in the traffic, by doing that,
we think the impact we have is much greater.

Those ideas have been brought together in a program
run along a couple of years, under the heading Safe Romania. EDIT president Liviu Zorilă once again.

We have launched that national
road safety program, Safe Romania. And it has two directions, road safety and
first aid. If, for the road safety education direction, we’ve had a six-year-long experience, through this project, the Traffic Education Class, we so much
wanted to do something about the first aid side. We’ve been doing that in
high-schools, already, teaching this module, where we offer first-aid courses,
the Emergency Situations Inspectorate trainers are young people, people who
have a way with words, who take pedagogy courses themselves, I think, they
surely know how keep the public on the boil and present those techniques.

Also stemming from the urge to tackle training
in a friendlier manner, the first-aid campaign was also carried with the help
of stars.

Liviu Zorila:

We started off from the
idea that we need to do something about the first aid area as well, so showing
up in one of the high-schools was Serban Pavlu himself, who is an acclaimed film,
theatre and television actor, he too participated in the class and learned how
to provide first aid and that very moment an idea crossed my mind, we’d seen such
a campaign in England, carried just like that, featuring one of their popular
actors, so I thought what it would be like if, in Romania, we did something similar.
And that’s how, from one clip we made, initially, we managed to make seven clips,
and from one star alone we succeeded to have nine stars and, practically, Playing
Tig for Life, I think it is one of the very few online first-aid campaigns in
our country, it is a campaign we carried together with the Emergency
Situations Department.

The outcome of all that?

Liviu Zorilă:

The seven clips present
separate methods of providing first aid, from hands-only CPR, the cardiac
massage to the rhythm of a tune, Stayin’ Alive, after you’ve called 112, to what you should do if you get a broken arm, if you get cut, if you get
burned, all sorts of such activities. The clips are short, one and a half, maybe
two minutes long, they’ve been made with a lot of humour and a wee bit of
education, but education is in disguise, somehow, behind the humour, because we
know our beneficiaries. Romanians react to humour, first of all. So we have
some funny clips, including very some very useful pieces of information you can
learn something from, once you’ve watched them. So it takes you one and a half
minute to laugh and, in the end, to get something out of it as well.

As for the members of the teaching staff, they also
wanted to participate in such classes.

Liviu Zorilă:

As a result of the campaign, we started providing activities
physically. That is, sometime ago we went to a couple of high-schools in
Bucharest to provide first-aid courses to the teaching staff, in the teachers’ common
room. And that was crucial, and teachers told us they needed something like
that, as many times they had to cope with various such cases at school, when
pupils got a burn, or a broken leg or arm, they got cut and the teachers didn’t
know what to do in such a case. And, as we ourselves were saying in this
campaign of ours, Playing Tig for Life, it is of utmost importance to be able
to intervene.

In the hopes we’ve created a much safer
environment in all respects, to all those who want to be extremely well
informed, we recommend the clips presented as part of the Playing Tig for Life
campaign.

(Translation By Eugen Nasta)

9 November 2021
November 3, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania on Wednesday reported 10,196 Covid infections in
the past 24 hours. 451 Romanians have died and over 19 thousand are being
treated in hospitals, 1890 of whom in ICUs. Bucharest has an infection rate of
12.89 per thousand and this rate has been going down for the past 12 days from
the peak of 16.54 reached on October 22. According to the authorities, although
the number of infections is on a downward trend, the country’s medical system
is to remain under pressure for at least two weeks. The WHO crisis manager for
Romania, Heather Papowitz has recommended the authorities to come up with an
action plan to put an end to the pandemic with clear elements and goals adding
that vaccination is the only solution.

GOVERNMENT The National Liberal Party (PNL), number one in the interim government
in Bucharest on Wednesday kicked off talks with two parties in an attempt to
forge a Parliament majority. After this round of talks with USR, a former
ruling partner, Liberal president Florin Citu said there are chances to rebuild
the right wing coalition that ruled Romania after the election. He said the
latest round of talks focused on the principles and the programme of ruling. In
turn USR leader, Dacian Cilos said that he felt there are opportunities for
rebuilding the coalition but that he is waiting for a clear answer from the
Liberals. The PNL is going to hold talks with the Social Democrats (PSD) the
largest Parliamentarian group on Thursday, as they are considering the idea of
joining the ruling coalition. Talks are underway after the liberal leadership
has opted for a more flexible negotiation process as the Prime Minister
designate Nicolae Ciuca failed to muster support for a minority PNL-UDMR
cabinet and had to step down.

AID The difficult situation hospitals in Romania are presently
in has prompted many countries to come to their assistance. On Tuesday, Israel
sent in ten oxygen concentrators, the first in a batch of 40. The devices will
be distributed to medical units that treat Covid patients. According to Radio
Romania correspondent to Jerusalem, Dragos Ciocarlan, Israel is going to
dispatch a team of IC experts for Covid-19 to help the medical personnel in
Romania. Romania has also received support consisting of medicines, equipment
and medical staff from European countries like the Netherlands, Poland, Italy,
Denmark and the Republic of Moldova. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, who
were in a critical condition, were transferred to medical units in Germany for
treatment. Both Austria and Hungary have taken over patients to be cared for in
their hospitals. 22 of these have died and 7 have already left hospitals.

REACTORS Romania will be the first
country in the world where the US is going to implement the technology of small
modular nuclear reactors. The Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, and the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, established, on Tuesday evening, at the climate
summit in Scotland that, by 2028, Romania should include this type of reactors
in the national energy production system. A White House statement writes that
this collaboration will create up to 30,000 jobs in the two countries.
President Iohannis underlined that this type of cooperation on several levels -
development of technologies, production, services – must be extended to other
areas as well. He also pointed out that this close collaboration in the field
of climate change will add to the successful cooperation between Romania and
the US in many other sectors and will contribute to the consolidation of the
Strategic Bilateral Partnership.

(bill)

3 November 2021