Radio România Internațional

Tag: airlines

  • February 16, 2025 UPDATE 2

    February 16, 2025 UPDATE 2

    Conference – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu, met, at the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, with three American senators, both from the Republican and Democratic parties. He discussed with Jane Shaheen, James Risch and Christopher A. Coons about foreign interference in last year’s presidential election in Romania and about the preparation of measures to prevent the repetition of such a situation, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. According to a statement made public on Sunday, the main themes of the discussions were the security situation in the Black Sea region as well as the ways to capitalize on the Romania-US Strategic Partnership, the continuation of support for Ukraine invaded by the Russian troops and the involvement in its reconstruction process. Minister Hurezeanu emphasized, in the context, the importance of continuing the robust presence of the United States in Romania.

     

    Cooperation – Attending the conference in Munich, the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, met, on the sidelines of the Security Conference, with his counterparts from Albania, Pirro Vengu, and Bulgaria, Atanas Zaprianov. The discussions focused on strengthening regional cooperation in the field of defense and military mobility. One of the essential topics addressed during the talks was the Pan-European Military Mobility Corridor VIII, a strategic project in which Romania participates together with Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and North Macedonia. Angel Tîlvăr reiterated Romania’s commitment to facilitating the rapid transit of forces and military equipment in South-Eastern Europe, emphasizing the importance of reducing bureaucratic barriers and harmonizing critical infrastructure, the Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN) informed. The ministers also discussed the importance of strengthening NATO’s defense and deterrence posture in the Black Sea region.

     

    Air transport – The Romanian airport administrators will be able to ground the planes of those companies that do not comply with European legislation regarding the compensation owed to passengers, if the draft emergency ordinance put up for public debate by the Economy Ministry is adopted. According to the initiators, the new regulation completes the Air Code and ensures the respect of the passengers’ rights. The National Authority for Consumer Protection will compel air transport operators to comply with passenger compensation obligations, by granting money or vouchers, according to their agreement with them. Passengers entitled to damages must submit a written request to ask for compensation, which is set between 250 and 600 Euros per person, depending on the distance of the flight routes.

     

    Handball – Romanian’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, defeated, on Sunday, away from home, score 32-21, the Norwegian team Storhamar Handbal Elite, in Group A of the Women’s Champions League. CSM achieved its fourth consecutive victory in the competition and cannot miss the third place in the group of eight teams. The top two teams qualify directly for the quarter-finals, and the teams ranked on the 3rd to the 6th places compete in a play-off for access to the quarter-finals.

     

    Commemoration – At least 1,500 people gathered, on Sunday, at the tomb in Moscow of Alexei Navalny, long considered the main opponent of the Kremlin, one year after his death, in an Arctic prison colony, the international media report.  Dozens of families with children went, in the cold, to the cemetery, where the security system was rather discreet, consisting of plainclothesmen. Joining the commemoration were also Western diplomats, representatives of the American, French, Spanish, Norwegian and European Union embassies.  Arrested in January 2021, upon his return to the country, after he had been treated in Germany following his poisoning, Navalnyi was sentenced to heavy penalties in several cases. The last sentence, in August 2023, was 19 years in prison, for “extremism”. Navalny had communicated mainly through messages sent to his lawyers and then posted on social media, in which he denounced the invasion of Ukraine and called on Russians to ‘resist’ the Kremlin.  The circumstances of his death remain unclear. (LS)

  • 9 April 2020, UPDATE

    9 April 2020, UPDATE

    Romania toll. 441 new coronavirus cases
    were reported in Romania on Thursday, with the total number passing 5,200. 647
    people have recovered and 248 have died. Two Romanians who returned from Italy
    in March are reported to have contracted the virus a second time, ten days
    after being released from hospital. 679 Romanians living abroad, most of them
    in Italy, have been infected and 38 have died.




    Coronavirus world. More than 1.5 million
    coronavirus cases have been reported around the world, while the death toll is
    close to 89,000. The European Commission has proposed a ban on all
    non-essential travel to the EU until May 15th, thus extending
    current restrictions. According to the Commission, the measures taken to
    prevent the spread of the virus must be enforced for over 30 days in order to
    work. Also, the Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called on member
    states to eliminate bans on medicine exports to prevent shortages within the EU
    bloc. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warns Europe is
    yet to reach the peak of the pandemic.




    Economy. The Romanian government
    expects the economy to shrink by 1 to 3% due the crisis caused by the new
    coronavirus, but an exact figure will be calculated after April 15th,
    prime minister Ludovic Orban told a television channel. He explained that 30%
    of the country’s economy has already been affected and budget revenues have
    been severely diminished. Orban said it is not yet known how the other EU economies
    will react, with many Romanian businesses depending on those in the EU. In
    another development, the World Bank has revised Romania’s economic growth rate
    for this year down to 0.3% from 3.8% three months ago, but estimates a recovery
    to up to 4.4% next year.




    Workers. Several
    planes carrying east-European seasonal workers landed on Thursday on the
    airports in Berlin, Hamburg and Dusseldorf, despite the restrictions aimed at
    preventing the spread of the coronavirus. German farmers said they were
    relieved to be able to bring in workers to take care of seasonal crops such as white
    asparagus, which is a delicatessen. The workers had to undergo a medical
    check-up at the airport before starting working on the farms, where they are in
    effect in isolation. Romanian workers are among them, and they departed from
    the airport in Cluj, in the centre. More than 1,500 people gathered in the
    airport’s parking lot without respecting social distancing rules and without
    wearing protective gear. Prime minister Ludovic Orban has ordered an inquiry.






    Reimbursement. Airlines must refund
    the flights cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak, said the European
    commissioner for transport Adina Valean, quoted by Reuters. Valean, who was
    Romania’s pick for the job, rejected calls from airlines to relax European rules
    in the field. She explained that changing these rules would require wider
    support from EU institutions. Airlines are seeking government support, saying
    reimbursing hundreds of thousands of tickets would lead them to bankruptcy. In
    Romania, transport minister Lucian Bode said Bucharest is having talks with the
    European Union with a view to obtaining financial support of around 130 million
    euros for the Romanian airlines TAROM and Blue Air, who have been seriously hit
    by the crisis caused by the pandemic.






    Environment. The environment
    ministry in Bucharest is launching a multi-annual street lighting programme
    aimed at reducing electricity consumption by 40% in every town and village in
    Romania. The budget for this year is around 80 million euros. Local authorities
    will be able to replace high energy consuming lights with LED lights and
    purchase flow-based systems. Street lighting currently accounts for over 20% of
    the total electricity consumption in Romania. (Tr.: CM)