Radio România Internațional

Tag: amnesty

  • The Week in Review

    The Week in Review

    Amnesty for debtors

     

    The government of Romania Wednesday passed a draft emergency order introducing a tax amnesty for companies and individuals. The document provides for bonuses for those who pay their taxes on time, and for those who agree to pay their back taxes. At the end of August, legal entities and private taxpayers had a total of over EUR 14 billion in debts to the state budget. The government invites taxpayers to cover these amounts by November 25, in exchange for having their interests and penalties written off. On the other hand, the government offers a 3% deduction for the taxpayers who do not fall behind on their taxes. The bill, drafted by the finance ministry, also comprises austerity measures for the public sector, which involve ceilings on the procurement of goods and services.

     

    Donation for Ukraine

     

    The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Thursday signed into law the bill on the donation of a Patriot surface-to-air missile system purchased from the USA to third countries. The legislation, previously endorsed in Parliament, approves a donation agreed on with the American partner to Russia-invaded Ukraine. Also, under the law, “the government of Romania is authorised to take the required measures to rebuild the ground-based air defence capability” by assigning contracts to the US government for the procurement of another Patriot system.

     

    Support for Israel

     

    Romania firmly condemns the terror attacks against Israel and calls on all the parties involved to help restore security and to contribute to a ceasefire agreement. This was the message conveyed on Thursday in Jerusalem by the PM Marcel Ciolacu, at a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, Ciolacu voiced concern with respect to the security situation and the risk of conflict escalation. Accompanied by the ministers of defence, foreign affairs and economy, the PM was on an official working visit to Israel, whose agenda also included a meeting with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog. This is the second visit by the Romanian PM to Israel in less than a year, after the one on October 17, 2023, ten days after Israel had been attacked by the Hamas Islamist group.

     

    European Commissioner Post for Romania

     

    The Social Democratic MEP Roxana Mînzatu is Romania’s official proposal for the post of European Commissioner. The announcement was made on Monday by Prime Minister Ciolacu, who said that he would discuss with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the portfolio that Romania will manage. The makeup of the future European Executive is to be announced on September 11. Also in Brussels, the Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan (from the European People’s Party Group) was designated by the political groups of the European Parliament as chief negotiator of the future multiannual budget of the European Union post-2027. Covering a period of over 7 years, it has a total value of approximately 1,300 billion Euros, being the pool from which the member states receive the largest part of the non-reimbursable European funds for investments and for agricultural subsidies. The Parliament is to set its priorities regarding the EU’s multiannual budget. They will be forwarded to the European Commission to be included in the draft budget. From the current multi-annual financial year, 2021 – 2027, Romania benefits from around 46 billion Euros, to which the amounts from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are also added.

     

    Jam on the road to presidency

     

    The Romanian Mircea Geoană resigned on Tuesday from the position of NATO Deputy Secretary General. It is the end of a five-year mandate, marked by the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of allied troops from Afghanistan. Geoana said, in an interview for Radio Romania, that he would continue to use his influence to promote Romanians in international forums, including NATO, and that he felt the need to return to domestic politics. The press had been anticipating this announcement for more than two years already, and considered Geoană’s candidacy, as an independent, very likely in the presidential election due at the end of the year. A former ambassador to the United States, a former foreign minister and former Social Democratic leader, Geoană also ran for presidency in 2009, when he lost to Traian Băsescu. Other candidates to  Romania’s presidency are all the leaders of the parliamentary parties: Marcel Ciolacu (Social Democratic Party – PSD), Nicolae Ciucă (National Liberal Party – PNL), Elena Lasconi (Save Romania Union – USR), George Simion (The Alliance for the Union for Romanians – AUR) or Kelemen Hunor (The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR). (AMP, LS)

  • June 13, 2022

    June 13, 2022

    COMMEMORATION This
    Monday, when Romania commemorates 32 years since the miners’ raid on Bucharest,
    over June 13th and 15th, the country’s Prime Minister
    Nicolae Ciuca has conveyed a message saying that the civil society’s marathon-demonstration
    against neo-communism was stifled by instigating Romanians against Romanians.
    The Romanian society must never become victim to diversions and false
    propaganda, the head of the Romanian government says. 32 years ago this day,
    responding to a call from the then authorities, miners from the Jiu Valley in
    central-western Romania brutally intervened against the peaceful anti-government
    protesters in downtown Bucharest. Four people were shot dead and over 1,000
    wounded along with a series of abusive arrests. The file on the miners’ raid,
    under which the country’s then President Ion Iliescu, former Prime Minister
    Petre Roman and Virgil Magureanu, the former head of the country’s intelligence
    service, had been sent to court must be resumed from scratch after the
    indictment was considered null and void.






    TENNIS Romanian
    Simona Halep, second-seeded in the WTA 250
    Birmingham tournament is today playing Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in the
    competition’s first round. Also today,
    Gabriela Ruse of Romania is up against Qiang Wang of China, while the third
    Romanian in the competition, Sorana Cirstea will be playing Shelby Rogers of
    the USA on Tuesday.








    WAR Amnesty
    International has accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, claiming that
    hundreds of civilians have been killed in merciless frag bomb attacks against the
    city of Kharkiv, AFP reports. After thorough investigations, this human rights
    NGO claims it found evidence that the Russian forces had used widely-banned
    cluster munitions

    People have been killed in their homes and in the streets, in playgrounds and
    in cemeteries, while queueing for humanitarian aid, or shopping for food and
    medicine, says an Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Advisor.
    While Russia is not a party to either the Convention on Cluster Munitions or
    the Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines, international humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate
    attacks, and the use of weapons that are indiscriminate by nature.






    REFUGEES Roughly
    7,000 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania through its border checkpoints on
    Sunday, June 12th, 26% less than in the previous day, the Border Police General
    Inspectorate has announced. Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, roughly
    1.2 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.






    WEATHER The weather is hot in Romania
    and a code yellow alert for unstable weather has been issued for the country’s
    south-western, local and central regions. Heavy downpours, thunderstorms and gale-force
    winds are expected in the aforementioned regions, while the highs of the day
    range between 26 and 32 degrees centigrade. Hot weather in Bucharest as well
    with a noon reading of 31 degrees.




    (bill)

  • The pandemic and human rights

    The pandemic and human rights

    The world was shattered by the COVID-19 last year, and the pandemic and the containment measures taken by authorities around the world had an impact on everyone, sometimes deepening existing abuse and inequalities.



    This is the conclusion reached by Amnesty International in its latest report on human rights around the world. As regards Romania, the measures taken by the government to contain the spread of the disease raised human rights concerns including in relation to policing, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and the right to education, the report reads.



    In March 2020, Amnesty says, the government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It derogated temporarily from a number of rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the right to education and to freedoms of movement, expression and association.



    In terms of discrimination, a legislative proposal which would expand existing anti-discrimination legislation remained before the Senate at years end, Amnesty International found.



    A European Commission report in February quoted by Amnesty International found that Roma continued to face discrimination and segregation including in education, employment, access to housing and forced evictions. During the state of emergency, NGOs and the media reported several cases of unlawful use of force and allegations of ill-treatment of Roma by the police. Human rights groups and NGOs raised concerns about Roma being scapegoated during the pandemic and denounced “the rise of hate speech and racism targeting Roma in mass media and social media, especially by opinion leaders and public figures.



    As for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, in June, Parliament passed a law which, among other things, prohibited teaching and training about gender identity. The law, adopted without public debate, prohibited “activities aimed at propagating the gender identity theory or opinion, understood as the theory or opinion that gender is a different concept from that of biological sex and that the two are not always identical, Amnesty International says.



    The organisation also quotes a study by the NGO Caritas Romania, which highlighted the challenges faced by children from vulnerable groups while accessing remote learning during the March-June lockdown, with Roma among the worst affected. According to the study, an average of only 15% of children from marginalized groups participated habitually in online activities during the lockdown, the main obstacles including a lack of technical equipment, overcrowded homes with a lack of adequate study spaces, and the absence of support from parents to complete online tasks. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • August 28, 2019

    August 28, 2019

    UK The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the request of the latter, the Romanian Presidency announced. The 2 officials mainly discussed the relations between Romania and the UK, and aspects related to Britains withdrawal from the EU. With respect to Brexit, the Romanian President emphasised that an orderly exit is in the interest of both the UK, and the European bloc. Iohannis also told PM Boris Johnson that Bucharests top priority is to protect the rights of the Romanian citizens living in Britain. PM Boris Johnson assured the President of Romania that protecting the rights of the Romanians in the UK after Brexit was very important to London, and the British authorities would keep this goal in mind.




    LAW Romanias Ombudsperson Renate Weber challenged the new Administrative Code at the Constitutional Court. She put forth 3 reasons for the action: the emergency order endorsing the Code comes against the rules on delegated legislation, against constitutional requirements on the powers of MPs, and affects the regime of fundamental public institutions. The Administrative Code has been introduced through a government emergency order, which triggered criticism from the Opposition and civil society.




    PARLIAMENT The Chamber of Deputies, convening in special session at the request of the Opposition, Wednesday dismissed a bill on amnesty and pardons for certain offences. The document, initiated in 2017 by former justice minister Florin Iordache, from the Social Democratic Party, was passed by Senate that same year, and provides pardons for prison sentences of up to 5 years. The agenda of the Chamber of Deputies also includes a bill on repealing the Law on compensatory appeals and a bill endorsing Government Emergency Order no 114, which introduces fiscal and budgetary measures and measures concerning public investments.




    OIL Romania is among the EU countries that rely the least on oil imports, with net imports accounting for 61% of the national consumption, according to data for the year 2017 made public by Eurostat. Smaller dependency rates are reported for the UK (35%) and Denmark (negative 4%). At the opposite pole, the EU member states with the highest oil import dependency rates are Estonia (115%), Malta (104%), Slovenia (103%) and Bulgaria (102%).




    WILDFIRE Wildfires continue to ravage the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, in spite of the authorities sending the army to fight the flames with planes and ground troops. Apart from the air forces, scores of fire-fighting units have been mobilised to contain the fire. So far 7 Brazilian states have resorted to the Army, including to the 43,000 troops stationed in Amazonia, but the number of troops deployed for this operation and their intervention methods remain unclear, France Presse reports. According to governmental sources the number of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest went up 83% this year, destroying vast parts of an eco-system that is vital to combating global climate change.




    TENNIS Three Romanian players have qualified into the second round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Simona Halep, number 4 in the world, defeated the American Nicole Gibbs, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Sorana Cîrstea beat the Czech Katerina Siniakova, 7-5, 6-2, and Ana Bogdan won against Britains Harriet Dart, 6-3, 6-1. The only Romanian in the mens competition, Marius Copil, also moved into the US Open second round, for the first time in his career, after defeating Ugo Humbert of France, in a match that lasted more than 4 hours.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 18, 2019 UPDATE

    July 18, 2019 UPDATE

    CONSTITUTION The Constitutional Court of Romania Thursday dismissed the legislative initiatives of the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, in opposition, and of the Social Democrats and ALDE in power, concerning proposals to revise the Constitution. The Court found that forbidding amnesty and pardons for corruption offences is outside the scope of Constitution revision initiatives, and that lawmakers must be allowed to decide the individuals and categories of offenders that may benefit from amnesty and pardon. On July 1, opposition parties presented Parliament with a bill transposing into legislation the outcomes of the May 26 referendum. Under the bill, amnesty and pardon are prohibited for individuals sentenced for corruption offences, the President may no longer pardon such offences, and integrity is included under the Constitution among the prerequisites for holding public offices. Individuals serving final sentences for crimes committed knowingly and wilfully were thus banned from running in parliamentary, local, presidential and European elections. The same bill made all emergency orders issued by the government subject to constitutionality checks. Also in early July, the ruling coalition tabled its own bill to revise the Constitution, prohibiting individuals sentenced to prison from holding public office and extending the right to notify the Constitutional Court with respect to government emergency orders. The bill also denied the presidents right to pardon corruption-related offences.



    MEDAL Tennis player Simona Halep was awarded on Thursday the highest distinction of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchal Cross, for her performances in womens tennis. On Wednesday, tens of thousands attended a ceremony on the National Arena in Bucharest, where Simona Halep presented the trophy she won at the Wimbledon tournament. Halep was the first Romanian to win a singles title in Wimbledon, after defeating the American Serena Williams in the final. Attending the ceremony were also several Romanian sports personalities. The athlete will also be granted by President Klaus Iohannis the National Order of the Star of Romania, the highest distinction offered by the Romanian state. This was Simona Haleps second Grand Slam title, after she won the Roland Garros trophy last year.



    FESTIVAL Electric Castle music festival continues until Sunday on the Banffy estate in Bonţida, Cluj County, (north-western Romania). Banffy castle is a heritage monument dating back to the 15th century. The music festival here is the first in Romania accessible to the hearing impaired. Amber Galloway Galgow, the best known sign language interpreter specialising in concert interpretation, will translate all the songs performed on the main stage of the festival. Thousands of music fans attended on Wednesday the opening of this 7th edition of the festival, which tries to cover as diverse music genres as possible The festival area covers 300 thousand sq m, including 10 stages for musicians, a food area and a camping site for thousands of people. Performing at the Electric Castle 2019 are also Florence and The Machine, one of the most creative indie bands of the past decade, fronted and founded by singer and songwriter Florence Welch. Other bands performing in the festival are the rock band Limp Bizkit, with 3 Grammy nominations and more than 40 million albums sold, Jared Leto, Bring Me The Horizon, Chvrches, Giggs, Lemaitre, Mono, Tommy Cash, Handsome Furs and Viagra Boys.



    COURT Judge Corina Corbu was validated on Thursday as president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice by the Judges Division of the Higher Council of Magistracy. The outgoing president of the supreme court, Cristina Tarcea, whose term in office ends on September 14th, claimed the procedure breached the law on the organisation of courts. Corina Corbu was the only candidate for the post, after Cristina Tarcea announced she would not run for a new term in office. In 2014, Corina Corbu was indicted by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, alongside other supreme court judges, for criminal facilitation, but the charges against all the defendants were dropped in 2018.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 2, 2019 UPDATE

    January 2, 2019 UPDATE

    EU The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, congratulated Romania on taking over the EU Council presidency on January 1, for the first time since its accession, and wished it good luck. I am confident that you will deliver and I am looking forward to working with you, Donald Tusk posted on his official Twitter account. Between January 1 and June 30, Romania will have to handle an EU agenda filled with political developments and dossiers with a decisive impact on the future of the bloc, including Brexit, the negotiation of the forthcoming EU budget, the European Parliament elections due in May. The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu says Romania should use all the opportunities entailed by the EU Council presidency, including in terms of the cohesion policy for 2021-2027. In a Facebook post, Creţu adds that both herself and the European Commission as a whole are ready to support the Romanian authorities for a successful presidency.




    EURO Twenty years since the introduction of the single currency, high-ranking EU officials, including the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, emphasised the importance of the European currency. The Euro has become a symbol of unity, sovereignty and stability, said the European Commission chief, who is one of the signatories of the treaty that created the single currency. I know that was the most important signature I ever made, Juncker added in a news release. 20 years on, we have a generation that only knows the Euro as a national currency, the head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi said in his turn. The Euro became the official currency of 11 EU member states on January 1, 1999, with notes and coins going into circulation in 2002. At present the Euro is used by some 340 million people in 19 of the 28 member countries, and is the second most important currency in the world after the US dollar.




    JAPAN Emperor Akihito, who is to step down in April, sent his hopes for peace for his nation and the entire world, in his last New Years address, delivered before a record number of people who came to see the event, according to Kyodo and dpa. On April 30, at the age of 85, Akihito will be the first Japanese sovereign to relinquish power in the last 200 years. In 2016 he announced his intention to withdraw from power, putting forth concerns that his old age would prevent him from accomplishing his duties. Akihito became the 125th Emperor of Japan on January 7, 1989, at 55 years of age, after the death of his father, Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought in World War 2. Akihitos oldest son, Prince Naruhito, will be crowned on May 1.




    JUSTICE The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said in an interview aired by a private television channel on Tuesday that he would like to close the subject of a government decree regarding amnesty and pardons. He emphasised that the most his ministry can do is to approve a bill initiated in Parliament on this topic. Toader also said that he has never done and will never do something likely to create a situation similar to the one triggered by the 2017 government decree no. 13, which brought hundreds of thousands of Romanians into the streets and prompted criticism from the EU and the USA.



    ELECTIONS The elections for the European Parliament will be held between May 23rd and 26th this year. MEPs are elected every 5 years, and as of this year the Parliament will have 705 members, as compared to 751 at present. This is because of Britains withdrawal from the EU. Of the 73 seats currently held by UK, 46 will be eliminated and the other 27 will be distributed to EU member states that are under-represented in the Unions legislative body. Romania gets 33 seats, 1 more than at present.




    TENNIS The Romanian player Monica Niculescu (99 WTA), Wednesday qualified into the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Shenzhen (China), after defeating the Czech Kristyna Pliskova 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4. In the quarter-finals Niculescu will play against the Chinese Yafan Wang (70 WTA). Tomorrow in the same tournament another Romanian, Sorana Cîrstea (84 WTA) takes on the American Alison Riske (62 WTA).



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 2, 2019

    January 2, 2019

    EU The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, congratulated Romania on taking over the EU Council presidency on January 1, for the first time its accession, and wished it good luck. I am confident that you will deliver and I am looking forward to working with you, Donald Tusk posted on his official Twitter account. Between January 1 and June 30, Romania will have to handle a EU agenda filled with political developments and dossiers with a decisive impact on the future of the bloc, including Brexit, the negotiation of the forthcoming EU budget, the European parliament elections due in May. The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu says Romania must use all the opportunities entailed by the EU Council presidency, including in terms of the cohesion policy for 2021-2027. In a Facebook post, Creţu adds that both herself and the European Commission as a whole are ready to support the Romanian authorities for a successful presidency.




    EURO Twenty years since the introduction of the single currency, high-ranking EU officials, including the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, emphasised the importance of the European currency. The Euro has become a symbol of unity, sovereignty and stability, said the European Commission chief, who is one of the signatories of the treaty that created the single currency. I know that was the most important signature I ever made, Juncker added in a news release. 20 years on, we have a generation that only knows the Euro as a national currency, the head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi said in his turn. The Euro became the official currency of 11 EU member states on January 1, 1999, with notes and coins going into circulation in 2002. At present the Euro is used by some 340 million people in 19 of the 28 member countries, and is the second most important currency in the world after the US dollar.




    JAPAN Emperor Akihito, who is to step down in April, sent his hopes for peace for his nation and the entire world, in his last New Years address, delivered before a record number of people who came to see the event, according to Kyodo and dpa. On April 30, at the age of 85, Akihito will be the first Japanese sovereign to relinquish power in the last 200 years. In 2016 he announced his intention to withdraw from power, putting forth concerns that his old age would prevent him from accomplishing his duties. Akihito became the 125th Emperor of Japan on January 7, 1989, at 55 years of age, after the death of his father, Hirohito, in whose name Japan fought in World War 2. Akihitos oldest son, Prince Naruhito, will be crowned on May 1.




    JUSTICE The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said in an interview aired by a private television channel on Tuesday that he would like to close the subject of a government decree regarding amnesty and pardons. He emphasised that the most his ministry can do is to approve a bill initiated in Parliament on this topic. Toader also said that he has never done and will never do something likely to create a situation similar to the one triggered by the 2017 government decree no. 13, which brought hundreds of thousands of Romanians into the streets and prompted criticism from the EU and the USA.




    ELECTIONS The elections for the European Parliament will be held between May 23rd and 26th this year. MEPs are elected every 5 years, and as of this year the Parliament will have 705 members, as compared to 751 at present. This is because of Britains withdrawal from the EU. Of the 73 seats currently held by UK, 46 will be eliminated and the other 27 will be distributed to EU member states that are under-represented in the Unions legislative body. Romania gets 33 seats, 1 more than at present.




    TENNIS The Romanian Monica Niculescu (99 WTA), is playing today against the Czech Kristyna Pliskova (94 WTA) in the 8th-finals of the WTA tournament in Shenzhen, China. Tomorrow, in the same tournament, another Romanian, Sorana Cîrstea (84 WTA) takes on the American Alison Riske (62 WTA) in the quarter-finals.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 22.02.2018

    22.02.2018

    Justice – Le ministre roumain de la Justice, Tudorel Toader, doit présenter aujourd’hui les conclusions de son rapport relatif à l’activité de la direction du parquet national anticorruption. La semaine dernière, le responsable roumain a dû écourter une visite officielle au Japon, suite à la demande de la première ministre roumaine Viorica Dancila de rentrer en Roumanie pour s’exprimer au sujet d’une série de révélations visant des procureurs anticorruption. En effet, l’ancien député social-démocrate Vlad Cosma, condamné en première instance à cinq ans de prison dans une affaire de corruption, a accusé certains de ces procureurs de lui avoir demandé de falsifier des preuves dans des dossiers qui visaient d’autres poids lourds du PSD. La chef de la DNA a fermement rejeté les accusations, affirmant que ses subordonnés n’avaient jamais employé des moyens illégaux dans leurs enquêtes. Le président de la Roumanie, Klaus Iohannis, a exprimé sa confiance à la Direction nationale anticorruption. Mercredi soir, une centaine de personnes s’étaient rassemblées devant la Présidence de la République pour protester contre la direction du parquet anticorruption qu’ils accusent d’abus, mais aussi contre ce qu’ils appellent la passivité du président.

    Environnement – La ministre roumaine de l’environnement, Gratiela Gavrilescu doit rencontrer aujourd’hui à Bucarest Karmenu Vella, commissaire européen à l’environnement, aux affaires maritimes et à la pêche. La Roumanie a demandé le mois dernier l’appui de la Commission européenne dans le cadre d’un mécanisme pour assurer le transfert d’expérience entre les autorités nationales, régionales et locales en charge de l’application des réglementations et des politiques d’environnement dans les Etats membres de l’Union européenne. Le mois dernier la Commission a demandé à la Roumanie et à huit autres pays européens de prendre des mesures pour diminuer la pollution de l’air, sous peine de sanction pour infraction aux normes de pollution de l’air.

    Foot – Le club de foot FCSB, ex Steaua Bucarest, vice-champion de Roumanie, rencontre aujourd’hui la Lazio Rome, dans le match retour des seizièmes de finale de la Ligue Europa. La semaine dernière, à domicile, le FCSB a remporté le match-aller sur le score de 1 but à 0. Le FCSB est de retour dans cette phase de la Ligue Europa après cinq ans d’absence. Avec le fameux Simone Inzaghi comme coach, la Lazio est indiscutablement favorite de la rencontre de ce soir.

    Grippe – En Roumanie, 47 personnes sont décédées de la grippe saisonnière, selon le plus récent bilan présenté par le Centre national de suivi et de contrôle des maladies transmissibles. Plus de 500 personnes sont actuellement atteintes par la maladie, la plupart d’entre elles se trouvant à Bucarest et dans les départements de Constanţa (sud-est), Olt (sud), Braşov (centre) et Iaşi (nord-est). Les autorités sanitaires recommandent la vaccination, et le ministère de la Santé a annoncé qu’environ 80.000 doses de vaccin sont encore disponibles. Jusqu’ici, 920.000 personnes ont été vaccinées. La ministre de la Santé, Sorina Pintea, a affirmé qu’il n’y avait pas d’épidémie de grippe en Roumanie en ce moment.

    Corruption – La Roumanie occupe la 25e place dans l’UE dans le rapport sur la perception de la corruption en 2017 réalisé par l’ONG Transparency International. Les seuls pays à obtenir un score inférieur à celui de la Roumanie sont la Hongrie et la Bulgarie. Présenté hier à Berlin, le classement concerne le secteur public de 180 Etats, tel qu’il est perçu par le milieu des affaires et par des experts indépendants.

    Fonds européens – Le taux d’utilisation des fonds européens n’est pas satisfaisant et il existe le risque de perdre pas moins de 800 millions d’euros du Programme opérationnel régional, a affirmé aujourd’hui la première ministre roumaine Viorica Dancila. Présente à l’Assemblée générale de l’Union des Conseil départementaux de Roumanie, accueillie par Bucarest, Mme Dăncilă a appelé les représentants des autorités locales et centrales à exprimer leurs problèmes pour qu’ils soient solutionnés d’urgence. La mission assumée par l’Exécutif est de faire progresser la Roumanie dans la première moitié du classement des économies les plus avancées de l’UE avant 2020, a affirmé Viorica Dancila. Afin de réaliser cet objectif, son Cabinet vise à augmenter les investissements dans la modernisation de l’infrastructure, à continuer la majoration des revenus de la population, à réformer l’administration et à réduire la bureaucratie.

    Amnesty – L’association Amnesty International a rendu public, ce jeudi à Londres, son rapport annuel sur la situation des droits dans le monde. Le document critique la tentative de dépénaliser des faits de corruption, ainsi que les conditions de vie dans les prisons roumaines et rappelle que la tentative de la coalition gouvernementale de Bucarest d’assouplir la législation anti-corruption a provoqué l’année dernière d’amples protestations, tant en Roumanie que parmi les communautés roumaines de l’étranger. Le rapport de l’ONG active dans la défense des droits de l’Homme note également que les institutions européennes et internationales avaient critiqué le surpeuplement carcéral et les mauvaises conditions de détention dans les établissements pénitentiaires. Amnesty International affirme qu’en 2017 aussi, les Rom se sont confrontés à des pratiques discriminatoires de la part des autorités roumaines.

    Météo – Temps morose dans les jours à venir en Roumanie, avec des chutes de neige en montagne et des précipitations mixtes sur le sud et le sud-est du pays. Le vent soufflera plus fort sur le relief où des tempêtes de neige se produiront. Les températures vont de -1 à 8 degrés avec 1 degré et de la neige en ce moment à Bucarest.

  • January 23, 2017

    January 23, 2017

    BUDGET – The main opposition party in Parliament in Bucharest, the National Liberal Party, said they were considering a no confidence motion against the governing coalition between the Social Democrats and the Liberal-Democrat Alliance. Interim Liberal chairman Raluca Turcan said that the proposed blanket pardon of inmates and changes to the Penal Code are simply a cover for getting out of prison political clientele, and not solving issues with prison overcrowding, as claimed. The Save Romania Party said they support the Liberal initiative, and would introduce a censure motion against Justice Minister Florin Iordache. At the same time, the Romanian Intelligence Service categorically rejected serious allegations regarding its involvement in Sunday’s protests against the executive orders, telling the public that it remains non-partisan and focused on carrying out its mission strictly within the bounds of the law.



    BUCHAREST – Romania’s 2017 budget bill relies on a 5.2% economic growth this year, and a projection of over 5% for the 2018-2020 interval. The deficit relied on is 2.96% of the GDP, according to the report on the macroeconomic situation for this year and the upcoming 3, published by the Finance Ministry on its website. For the 2017 budget bill, the macroeconomic indicators considered were an expected average annual rate of inflation of 1.4%, net wages around 2,274 lei (around 505 Euro), and an average exchange rate of 4.46 lei against the Euro. Employment is expected to go up by 4.3% by the end of 2017.



    UNION – Bucharest and other Romanian cities are holding events dedicated to celebrating 158 years since the union of the Romanian Principalities. On January 24th, 1859, the Principality of Wallachia’s Election Assembly in Bucharest elected as a ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He had been elected ruler of the Principality of Moldavia a week before. This constituted the de facto union of the two Romanian territories. Three years later, on January 24th, 1862, the union was internationally recognized. Radical reforms were instituted during Cuza’s reign, which lasted until 1866, laying the basis for modern Romania.



    CLUB FIRE – 4 people injured in Saturday’s fire in a popular Bucharest club are still in hospital in the Romanian capital. According to the Ministry of Health, 44 people were treated for smoke inhalation, hypothermia, and bone fractures. None of the patrons suffered burns. The investigation into the causes of the fire is ongoing. We recall that the fire in the Colectiv club in October 2015 during a concert left 64 dead and injured over 100. This latest fire led to the authorities running inspections all over the country in places open to the public, uncovering irregularities and issuing fines.



    TENNIS – In tennis, the Romanian pair Irina Begu and Horia Tecau missed on Monday the qualification to the quarter finals of the mixed doubles in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. The two lost against the US-Colombia pair Abigail Spears- Juan Sebastian Cabal, 0-2. Romania has no representative left in the Australian Open, after Sorana Carstea lost on Sunday in the singles the game against Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the eighth finals.



    MALTA – Ministers of foreign affairs from EU states start their two day informal meeting in Malta. They are debating the priorities of the Maltese presidency of the EU, such as migration, the single market, security, social inclusion, neighborhood policy, as well as economic issues. Malta took over the rotating EU presidency from Slovakia on January 1st, 2017. This presidency will oversee, among other things, the ongoing candidacy for EU membership of Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.


  • January 22, 2017

    January 22, 2017

    FIRE INVESTIGATION – The Romanian authorities have initiated criminal investigations, involving charges of wanton destruction of property, in relation to the fire that Friday night destroyed one of the best known nightclubs in Bucharest, Bamboo. According to the Healthcare Ministry, 44 people received assistance for smoke inhalation injuries, hypothermia, and fractures, but none of the patients reported burns. Only one person is currently in a serious condition. The victims include foreign citizens, most of them from Israel. The causes of the fire that destroyed the building are yet unknown. The owners of the nightclub had not yet obtained the premises license and the fire safety permit for the nightclub. Several witnesses have been heard and fresh inspections have been initiated in all buildings that host activities involving large attendance. We remind you that in October 2015, a fire taking place during a rock concert at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest killed 64 people. The tragedy sparked large-scale protests to denounce corruption in the public administration.



    PROTESTS – Fresh protests against the Romanian Governments plans to table a pardons and amnesty law are announced for later today in the capital city Bucharest and other cities in Romania. Rallies are also planned abroad, such as in front of the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the Romanian Embassy in Copenhagen and in Haugesund Square in Norway. On Wednesday night, thousands took to the streets in Bucharest and other Romanian cities, to protest the Governments intention to pass an emergency order granting collective pardon and amending the provisions of the Criminal Code. The protesters fear that the amendments are designed to help influential politicians or public administration officers get away with corruption. Similar accusations were made by the Opposition parties, civil society organisations and magistrate associations. In turn, the Government claims the changes are necessary in order to solve the problem of penitentiary overcrowding and to bring the relevant legislation in line with rulings passed by the Constitutional Court.



    MOURNING – Hungary has announced a day of national mourning on Monday, to commemorate the victims of the crash that took place in Italy on Friday night and which killed 16 people and injured another 26. The coach was taking students and teachers from a Budapest high school back home from a ski holiday in France, and near Verona it crashed into a bridge pillar and burst into flames. The causes of the accident are still to be determined.



    TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – The US President, Donald Trump, is to receive the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on Friday, the presidential spokesman Sean Spicer announced on Saturday. This is the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he has taken office. Sean Spicer also announced that the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, will be received by the new President of the USA on January 31. Meanwhile, millions took part on Saturday in anti-Trump protests organised by women organisations around the world. Trump is criticised, among other things, for his anti-immigration rhetoric and sexist statements. In Los Angeles, organisers estimate 750,000 people took part, including dozens of Hollywood stars. 400,000 people took to the streets in New York, 200,000 in Boston, 150,000 in Chicago, and rallies were also held in New Zealand, Japan, Australia and major European cities. The largest protest took place in Washington, where nearly a million people attended the anti-Trump rally, including, among others, the former Secretary of State John Kerry.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (78 WTA) has been outperformed today by Spains Garbine Muguruza Blanco (7 WTA), in two sets, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Also today, the Romanians Horia Tecău and Florin Mergea, playing with separate partners, were eliminated from the eighth-finals of the mens doubles competition in Melbourne. Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 11, were defeated in 2 sets by the Australians Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington. In turn, Florin Mergea and Britains Dominic Inglot, seeded 16, lost in 3 sets to the top seeds of the doubles event, the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Nachrichten 08.04.2014

    Nachrichten 08.04.2014

    BUKAREST: Der ehemalige Vorsitzende der Rumänischen Profifu‎ßballliga Dumitru Dragomir wird in Freiheit strafrechtlich untersucht. In derselben Akte über die Zuweisung der Fernsehausstrahlungsrechte der Spiele in der 1.Liga wurden zwei Geschäftsleute in Untersuchungshaft genommen. Den drei wird Steuerhinterziehung, Vergeudeung und Geldwäsche vorgeworfen. Laut den Staatsanwälten entstand bei der Rumänischen Profifu‎ßballliga im Zeitraum 2011 — 2013 ein Vermögensschaden von drei Millionen Euro. Das Ansehen des rumänischen Fu‎ßballs wird durch solche Situationen beeinträchtigt, aber die Anstalt arbeitet mit den Ermittlungorganen zusammen, erkärte der Vorsitzende des Rumänischen Fu‎ßballbunds Răzvan Burleanu.



    WASHINGTON: Der Internationale Währungsfonds geht von einem Wirtschaftswachstum Rumäniens von 2,2% für dieses Jahr und von 2,5% für das Jahr 2015 aus. Dies verlautet aus einem Bericht der internationalen Finanzanstalt, der am Dienstag veröffentlicht wurde. 2013 zählte Rumänien zu den euopäischen Ländern, deren Wirtschaft am meisten gewachsen ist und verzeichnete somit einen Fortschritt von 3,5%. Für die Region der europäischen Schwellenländer, zu der Rumänien gehört, verbesserte der IWF seine Wachstumsprognosen um 0,5% bis auf 2,4% 2014 und um 0,2% bis auf 2,9% für das Jahr 2015, im Vergleich zu den Prognosen vom Herbst vorigen Jahres. Der IWF überarbeitete seine Schätzungen auch bezüglich der Globalwirtschaft nach oben. Somit soll diese in diesem Jahr um 3,6% und nächstes Jahr um 3,9% steigen.



    BUKAREST: Amerikanische und rumänische Streitkräfte beteiligen sich im Zeitraum 10.-17.April an einer Luftübung in der Mitte Rumäniens. Dies gab die US-Botschaft in Bukarest bekannt. Laut der zitierten Quelle, sollen sich an der besagten Übung sechs F-16 Flugzeuge von dem italienischen Luftstützpunkt Aviano beteiligen. Die Übung wurde bereits vor den aktuellen Ereignissen in der Ukraine geplant, so die amerikanische diplomatische Mission. Laut einer Mitteilung des Rumänischen Verteidigungsministeriums beteiligen sich über 200 rumänische Militärs, Piloten und Techniker sowie rund 250 Militärs der US-Luftwaffe an dieser Übung. Deren Ziel ist die Steigerung des Vorbereitungsstandes, die Entwicklung der Zusammenarbeit und der Interoperabilität der Armeen von NATO-Ländern sowie die Übung der Techniken, der Taktiken und der Verfahren gemeinsam mit dem amerikanischen Partner.



    Der Europäische Gerichtshof hat das EU-Gesetz zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung für ungültig erklärt. Die massenhafte Speicherung von Telefon- und Internetverbindungsdaten ohne konkreten Anlass sei ein «Eingriff von gro‎ßem Ausma‎ß und von besonderer Schwere» in die Grundrechte der Bürger. Sie verletze das Recht auf Datenschutz und die Achtung des Privatlebens, urteilten die Luxemburger Richter am Dienstag.



    Die Rroma fallen in Europa immer öfter Gewalttaten zum Opfer. Die EU-Staaten nehmen das Ausma‎ß dieses Problems nicht wahr, warnt Amnesty International in einem am Dienstag, anlä‎ßlich des Internationalen Tages der Rroma veröffentlichten Bericht. Amnesty fordert die Regierungen auf, sich zu vergewissern, dass Polizisten nicht unverhältnismä‎ßig Kraft anwenden und Statistiken mit den Gewalttaten zu erarbeiten. Ein Bericht der Weltbank weist darauf hin, dass die Rroma die grö‎ßte ethnische Minderheit in Europa sind. Deren Bevölkerung zählt 10-12 Millionen Menschen. Davon lebt rund die Hälfte in der EU. In Rumänien leben ungefähr 620.000 Rroma.



    BRÜSSEL: Die 17-jährige Andreea Florina Săndiţă, Schülerin bei einem Gymnasium in Slatina (im Süden Rumäniens) ist am Dienstag bei feierlichen Zeremonie in Brüssel von der EU-Kommissarin für Bildung, Kultur, Jugend und Mehrsprachigkeit, Androulla Vassiliou, mit einem Preis für Übersetzung ausgezeichnet worden. Die junge Rumänin ist eine von 28 Gewinnern des Übersetzungswettbewerbs für Gymnasialschüler Juvenes Translatores”, der jedes Jahr von der Europäischen Kommission veranstaltet wird. Mehr als 3000 Schüler aus 750 Gymnasien in der Europäischen Union beteiligten sich dieses Jahr an dem Wettbewerb. Der Übersetzungswettbewerb Juvenes Translatores”, der seit 2007 stattfindet, fördert den Wunsch junger Menschen, eine Fremdsprache zu erlernen. Juvenes Translatores” rückt die Bedeutung übersetzerischer Fähigkeiten ins Bewusstsein und regt dazu an, die Sprachmittlerfunktion“ der Übersetzung im Sprachunterricht neu zu überdenken.