Radio România Internațional

Tag: arms

March 16, 2024 UPDATE

NATO – The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, has welcomed the recent entry of the Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, into the competition for the NATO leadership and considered as gratifying the fact that Central Europe finally has a candidate for the position of Secretary General of the Alliance. The Hungarian official declared, on Friday, that the government in Budapest will not support the Dutch Mark Rutte for this post, stating that in a union such as NATO, mutual trust is essential, and supporting a candidate who declared that Hungary must kneel is not possible. We remind you that President Klaus Iohannis announced, this week, his candidacy for the NATO leadership, in the context in which Romania and other Eastern partners requested greater representation in the allied structures at a time when regional security is threatened by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Romarm – Romania will receive 47 million Euros for a project carried out by the Romarm Company together with Germany. The budget allocated by the European Commission to the Romanian project is the largest of the 31 winning projects. The Commission released, on Friday, more than 500 million Euros for companies from member states, in order to increase the ammunition production capacity. It is a first installment from a total of about 2 billion Euros. According to the European Commission, at the end of 2024, European arms production will reach an annual capacity of 1,000,000 bombshells (155-caliber) and at the end of 2025 the amount will double. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, in parallel, the Commission recommends the member states to make joint purchases of larger sizes, in order to give a signal of predictability in the medium and long term to the arms industry.

Russia – In Russia, Sunday is the third and last day of the presidential election, in which 112 million Russians have the right to vote. The Central Electoral Commission in Moscow announced, on Saturday afternoon, that more than 50% of the Russian voters have already cast their votes. President Vladimir Putin voted from his office, in an attempt to promote electronic voting, considered fraudulent by the opposition. Several people were arrested for spraying ink, paint and antiseptic on the ballot boxes or throwing Molotov cocktails in the direction of the polling stations. Furthermore, Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt his re-election through attacks and incursions on the border. At least 2 Russian civilians were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on the city of Belgorod, while Russia, in turn, attacked a residential area of the Ukrainian city of Odessa on Friday, killing at least 20 people. According to official polls, Vladimir Putin enjoys a voting intention of over 80%, so he could achieve his biggest electoral victory since he came to power in 2000. The opposition has asked the West not to recognize the election results.

Railway – The European Commission has approved 204 million Euros worth of non-reimbursable funds from the Modernization Fund, for the replacement of old locomotives with new rolling stock on the Romanian railways. The Railway Reform Authority specifies that it will use this money to buy nine long-distance interregional trains and 23 electric locomotives by 2027. The financing adds to the 470 million Euros attracted from European funds by the Transport Ministry, from which the purchase of 62 electric trains was financed.

Book Fair – Romania will be present, next week, at the Leipzig Book Fair, in Germany, the most important event in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to authors, translators and literary debates. Nine invited authors, 12 events, over 150 exhibited titles and a mini-bookstore are waiting for the public, between March 21 and 24, at the Romanian stand organized by the Ministry of Culture in Bucharest. Two of the authors who will be present at the Romanian stand have books translated, for the first time, into German, which confirms a growing interest of the German-speaking literary space in cutting-edge Romanian literature.

Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ready to play again after the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne reduced her 4-year suspension to 9 months, was called up to the Romanian team for the match against Ukraine in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. The match will take place on April 12 and 13, in Florida (USA). Romania and Ukraine have met four times so far, with the Romanians leading with the score 3-1. In November, Romania defeated Serbia 4-0 in the play-off to stay in the World Group of the competition, while Ukraine defeated Lithuania 3-1. On the other hand, also in tennis, the Romanian-Russian pair Monica Niculescu/Irina Hromaceva was defeated by the pair Sara Errani (Italy)/Tereza Mihalikova (Slovakia), 6-4, 6-3, on Friday, in the doubles semifinals at the American WTA 125 tournament in Charleston. (LS)

16 March 2024
March 16, 2024

NATO – The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, has welcomed the recent entry of the Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, into the competition for the NATO leadership and considered as gratifying the fact that Central Europe finally has a candidate for the position of Secretary General of the Alliance. The Hungarian official declared, on Friday, that the government in Budapest will not support the Dutch Mark Rutte for this post, stating that in a union such as NATO, mutual trust is essential, and supporting a candidate who declared that Hungary must kneel is not possible. We remind you that President Klaus Iohannis announced, this week, his candidacy for the NATO leadership, in the context in which Romania and other Eastern partners requested greater representation in the allied structures at a time when regional security is threatened by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Romarm – Romania will receive 47 million Euros for a project carried out by the Romarm Company together with Germany. The budget allocated by the European Commission to the Romanian project is the largest of the 31 winning projects. The Commission released, on Friday, more than 500 million Euros for companies from member states, in order to increase the ammunition production capacity. It is a first installment from a total of about 2 billion Euros. According to the European Commission, at the end of 2024, European arms production will reach an annual capacity of 1,000,000 bombshells (155-caliber) and at the end of 2025 the amount will double. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, in parallel, the Commission recommends the member states to make joint purchases of larger sizes, in order to give a signal of predictability in the medium and long term to the arms industry.

Russia – Saturday is the second day of the presidential election in Russia, in which almost a third of the approximately 112 million Russians with the right to vote have already participated. President Vladimir Putin voted from his office, in an attempt to promote electronic voting, considered fraudulent by the opposition. Several people were arrested for spraying ink, paint and antiseptic on the ballot boxes or throwing Molotov cocktails in the direction of the polling stations. Furthermore, Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of trying to disrupt his re-election through attacks and incursions on the border. At least 2 Russian civilians were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on the city of Belgorod, while Russia, in turn, attacked a residential area of the Ukrainian city of Odessa on Friday, killing at least 20 people. According to official polls, Vladimir Putin enjoys a voting intention of over 80%, so he could achieve his biggest electoral victory since he came to power in 2000. The opposition has asked the West not to recognize the election results.

Book Fair – Romania will be present, next week, at the Leipzig Book Fair, in Germany, the most important event in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to authors, translators and literary debates. Nine invited authors, 12 events, over 150 exhibited titles and a mini-bookstore are waiting for the public, between March 21 and 24, at the Romanian stand organized by the Ministry of Culture in Bucharest. Two of the authors who will be present at the Romanian stand have books translated, for the first time, into German, which confirms a growing interest of the German-speaking literary space in cutting-edge Romanian literature.

Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ready to play again after the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne reduced her 4-year suspension to 9 months, was called up to the Romanian team for the match against Ukraine in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. The match will take place on April 12 and 13, in Florida (USA). Romania and Ukraine have met four times so far, with the Romanians leading with the score 3-1. In November, Romania defeated Serbia 4-0 in the play-off to stay in the World Group of the competition, while Ukraine defeated Lithuania 3-1. On the other hand, also in tennis, the Romanian-Russian pair Monica Niculescu/Irina Hromaceva was defeated by the pair Sara Errani (Italy)/Tereza Mihalikova (Slovakia), 6-4, 6-3, on Friday, in the doubles semifinals at the American WTA 125 tournament in Charleston. (LS)

16 March 2024
Trade union protests

Inadequate salaries prompted the employees of the Mechanical Plant and Arms Plant in Cugir, central Romania, to take to the streets late last week. The protest continued this week as well, when over 700 people marched the streets of the town between the 2 industrial units.

They demand better working standards and an increase in salaries, which they say barely cover their heating and electricity bills. They argue they have not had a pay raise in 2 years. “(We are) Overworked and underpaid,” a female employee says, adding that after 40 years of work, in February she was only paid nearly 320 euro.

“We will not give in,” and “Unity” were the protesters main slogans. They say they will not give up until their main demand, a 30% pay raise, is fulfilled.

The Board of Directors of the Cugir Mechanical Plant convened on Monday and offered a 6.5% salary increase. The trade union leader Virgil Matei said people were not happy with the offer.

The Cugir Mechanical Plant produces various types of weapons, 9mm automatic and semi-automatic pistols and accessories. The unit was set up in 1799, when the region was part of the Habsburg Empire, and was called the Steel and Iron Works. In 2004, the company split into the Cugir Mechanical Plant and the Arms Plant.

The latter produces semi-automatic rifles, intended for hunting and shooting sports, for the civilian market, in particular in the US. In the military segment, the units produce AKMs for foreign markets.

Trade unions in the steel industry have also gone on protest. The employees of ALRO Slatina (south) and ALUM Tulcea (south-east), 2 companies running on mostly Russian capital, picketed the government headquarters.

The workers want a one-year cap on natural gas and energy prices, at the level reported for December 2020, as well as financial assistance for the companies that benefitted from state aid in the past.

According to sources in the trade union, the slow-down in operations at ALRO Slatina has already triggered negative effects, leading to over 12,000 employees idled in various other industries.

The leader of the “Aluministulˮ Union, Constantin Popescu, explained that ALRO Slatina has closed down two electrolysis units, with a 3rd one also preparing for shutdown, which is why nearly 500 people were made redundant.

A total of 40,000 jobs in various related industries are jeopardised if ALRO Slatina downsizes operations, the union leader also said, and warned that the last 2 remaining units risk being closed down. According to Constantin Popescu, the government should help ALRO purchase energy at fair prices. (A.M.P.)

16 February 2022
Trade union protests

Inadequate salaries prompted the employees of the Mechanical Plant and Arms Plant in Cugir, central Romania, to take to the streets late last week. The protest continued this week as well, when over 700 people marched the streets of the town between the 2 industrial units.

They demand better working standards and an increase in salaries, which they say barely cover their heating and electricity bills. They argue they have not had a pay raise in 2 years. “(We are) Overworked and underpaid,” a female employee says, adding that after 40 years of work, in February she was only paid nearly 320 euro.

“We will not give in,” and “Unity” were the protesters main slogans. They say they will not give up until their main demand, a 30% pay raise, is fulfilled.

The Board of Directors of the Cugir Mechanical Plant convened on Monday and offered a 6.5% salary increase. The trade union leader Virgil Matei said people were not happy with the offer.

The Cugir Mechanical Plant produces various types of weapons, 9mm automatic and semi-automatic pistols and accessories. The unit was set up in 1799, when the region was part of the Habsburg Empire, and was called the Steel and Iron Works. In 2004, the company split into the Cugir Mechanical Plant and the Arms Plant.

The latter produces semi-automatic rifles, intended for hunting and shooting sports, for the civilian market, in particular in the US. In the military segment, the units produce AKMs for foreign markets.

Trade unions in the steel industry have also gone on protest. The employees of ALRO Slatina (south) and ALUM Tulcea (south-east), 2 companies running on mostly Russian capital, picketed the government headquarters.

The workers want a one-year cap on natural gas and energy prices, at the level reported for December 2020, as well as financial assistance for the companies that benefitted from state aid in the past.

According to sources in the trade union, the slow-down in operations at ALRO Slatina has already triggered negative effects, leading to over 12,000 employees idled in various other industries.

The leader of the “Aluministulˮ Union, Constantin Popescu, explained that ALRO Slatina has closed down two electrolysis units, with a 3rd one also preparing for shutdown, which is why nearly 500 people were made redundant.

A total of 40,000 jobs in various related industries are jeopardised if ALRO Slatina downsizes operations, the union leader also said, and warned that the last 2 remaining units risk being closed down. According to Constantin Popescu, the government should help ALRO purchase energy at fair prices. (A.M.P.)

16 February 2022
April 19, 2021

COVID-19 Over half a million Pfizer BioNTech vaccine doses reach Romania today, after nearly 4 million other doses received so far from the American-German producer. Since the start of the vaccine rollout in Romania on December 27, over 2.6 million people have been immunised, 1.6 million of them having also received the booster dose. Romania currently uses Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. Meanwhile, 2,265 new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday, out of almost 19,500 tests. This is the lowest number in the last 7 weeks. The authorities also announced 160 COVID-related deaths in 24 hours, and 1,475 patients are currently in intensive care. Again, the largest number of cases were reported in Bucharest, and the highest infection rates are registered in Ilfov County (south-east), followed by the capital and Cluj County in the centre-west, each with over 5 infections per thousand for 14-day periods. Another 7 counties are also in the red zone, with over 3 infections per thousand inhabitants.

GOVERMENT The right-of-centre coalition in power in Romania, comprising the National Liberal Party, the USR/Plus party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, convene for the first meeting since the health minister Vlad Voiculescu from USR/Plus was dismissed last week. The USR/Plus leaders criticised the Liberal PM Florin Cîţu’s decision to oust Voiculescu, and requested an emergency coalition meeting to discuss withdrawing political support to the PM. In turn, the leaders of the other 2 parties in the coalition have reiterated their support for Florin Cîţu and underscored that USR/Plus must come up with a new nomination for health minister. On Friday, in a press conference after his dismissal, Vlad Voiculescu made serious accusations against the PM and other Liberal leaders. He claimed that he had uncovered vulnerabilities in the system, which prove the central and local authorities’ inability to handle the pandemic, accused PM Cîţu of disinterest and complained of lack of dialogue on the problems in the healthcare system.

DIPLOMACY The EU foreign ministers are holding an online meeting today to discuss the latest tensions between Russia and the Czech Republic. Prague accused Moscow of being involved in a 2014 blast at a Czech weapon storage facility. The Russian foreign minister dismissed the accusation as ungrounded and absurd. On Saturday the Czech Republic expelled 18 Russian Embassy staff accused of espionage related to the blast. In turn, Moscow announced on Sunday that 20 Czech Embassy staff are personae non-gratae and have to leave Russia. The EU foreign ministers are also to discuss today the case of Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny, currently detained in Russia. Germany and France asked Russian authorities to provide medical care to Kremlin’s leading critic, whose health is deteriorating steadily. The White House warned that Russia would face consequences if Aleksei Navalny died in prison. The situation in Ukraine will also be on the agenda of today’s meeting. The head of Romania’s diplomacy Bogdan Aurescu will highlight Romania’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring Ukraine, and will voice the country’s concern with Russia’s deploying troops and military equipment in Crimea, at Ukraine’s eastern border and in the Black Sea region.

NASA The American space agency NASA today makes the first attempt at powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. The nearly 2-kilo Ingenuity helicopter will attempt to rise 3 m above the surface of Mars, and to stay there for 30 seconds before returning. The main challenge is that the Martian atmosphere is just 1% as dense as Earth’s at the surface, which gives the drone’s rotors little to lift on. This is why the vehicle had to be very light and compact. The rover Perseverance will send confirmation photos to Earth.

PANDEMIC The total number of COVID-19 infections worldwide is now over 142 million, with 120 million patients recovered and 3 million dead, according to the latest worldometers.info updates. As of today, in Italy, only 3 out of 20 provinces remain in the red zone, with the toughest restrictions. The others are included in the orange zone, but many will be rated as yellow zone as of next week, allowing the reopening of restaurants and resuming travels from one region to another. As of today, 7 million children in Italy return to schools after over a year of absence. Meanwhile, UK reports decreases both in terms of COVID-related deaths and in terms of infections, and the number of people getting vaccines every 24 hours has reached 600,000. In Israel, mass vaccination led to the almost complete reopening of the economy. The infection rate has been staying very low for over a week. Israeli citizens are no longer bound to wear face covering outdoor, and school activities are back to normal. Across the ocean, over half of the total number of adults in the US have received at least a first dose of anti-COVID vaccine. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

19 April 2021