Radio România Internațional

Tag: assistance to Moldova

  • September 22, 2022

    September 22, 2022

    VISIT – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, is paying a two-day visit to San
    Francisco, California. On this occasion, the president will meet
    representatives of the Romanian community on the US West Coast. Additionally,
    Klaus Iohannis will also meet with the leadership of companies operating in the
    sector of innovative technologies. Previously, the president attended the 77th
    UN General Assembly meeting held in New York. In his address, the president
    highlighted the need to come up with joint solutions to global challenges, from
    the war in neighboring Ukraine, to climate change and access to education.
    Energy security was high on the UN meeting’s agenda, and president Iohannis
    pointed out that energy should not be used as blackmail.




    REACTION – Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, has firmly condemned
    Russia’s latest actions, including to call a partial mobilization and illegal
    referendums in the occupied regions of Ukraine. According to Bogdan Aurescu,
    the decisions are in breach of the independence, sovereignty and territorial
    integrity of Ukraine and international law, including the UN Charter.




    FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Romania’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday attended the meeting in New York
    marking 30 years since the adoption of the UN Declaration of the rights of
    persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
    According to a press release, Minister Aurescu outlined Romania’s vision in
    terms of protecting the rights of people belonging to national minorities,
    saying that Romania is a country where inter-ethnic and inter-cultural dialogue
    lies at the center of policymaking. Minister Aurescu also attended the
    ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Mediation, hosted by his Turkish
    and Finnish counterparts in New York. Talks focused on the need to strengthen
    mediation as a key instrument for preventing and solving conflicts, also
    highlighting the important role played by the UN and the OSCE in this field.
    Also on Wednesday, Bogdan Aurescu had bilateral talks with the Secretary
    General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric. The meeting
    addressed hot topics on the current security agenda and the challenges facing
    the Council of Europe after Russia was excluded from this organization.




    DEFENSE – Romania’s Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu, will pay an official visit to
    South Korea over September 22-25. On this occasion, Vasile Dîncu will discuss
    with his South-Korean counterpart a framework cooperation agreement in the
    field of defense. According to the Defense Ministry, Minister Dîncu will also
    meet with the Minister in charge of the programme for public procurement and
    defense and the chairman of the National Defense Committee. Vasile Dîncu will
    also visit the DefExpo Korea 2022 military equipment exhibition. The Romanian
    official’s agenda also includes a meeting with representatives of the Romanian
    community in South Korea and a visit to the War Memorial of Korea.




    REFUGEES – The Romanian Border Police Inspectorate announced that some 80,000
    people went in and out of Romania on Wednesday, of whom 10,000 were Ukrainian
    nationals. This represents a 19% increase compared to the previous day.
    Starting February 10, 2022, some 2.3 million Ukrainian citizens have entered
    Romania.




    MOLDOVA – The International Monetary Fund has greenlit the disbursement of 27
    million USD to the Republic of Moldova, hailing progress reported by Chișinău
    in the field of fiscal governance and the fight against corruption. Total IMF
    aid to Moldova currently stands at 242 million USD. This is part of a broader
    assistance package worth 800 million USD, which Chișinău can access over the
    course of 40 months, provided it fulfills certain milestones agreed upon with
    the IMF. According to the IMF, the fallout from the war in Ukraine continues to
    affect the prospects of neighboring Moldova. The international lender has
    recommended Moldovan authorities to maintain a proper mix of policies, in line
    with inflation pressure and budget limitations. We recall that in June, Moldova
    was awarded EU candidate status.




    FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team on Friday will play Finland away from
    home in a match counting towards Group 3 of Europa Nations League. On Monday,
    Romania will go up against Bosnia Herzegovina at home in the last group
    fixture. This could be the last match for headcoach Edward Iordănescu, who has
    had poor results at the helm of the national squad this season, the media
    speculates. Romania is bottom of the group tables with 3 points, after Finland,
    Montenegro and Bosnia. (VP)

  • September 22, 2022

    September 22, 2022

    VISIT – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, is paying a two-day visit to San
    Francisco, California. On this occasion, the president will meet
    representatives of the Romanian community on the US West Coast. Additionally,
    Klaus Iohannis will also meet with the leadership of companies operating in the
    sector of innovative technologies. Previously, the president attended the 77th
    UN General Assembly meeting held in New York. In his address, the president
    highlighted the need to come up with joint solutions to global challenges, from
    the war in neighboring Ukraine, to climate change and access to education.
    Energy security was high on the UN meeting’s agenda, and president Iohannis
    pointed out that energy should not be used as blackmail.




    REACTION – Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, has firmly condemned
    Russia’s latest actions, including to call a partial mobilization and illegal
    referendums in the occupied regions of Ukraine. According to Bogdan Aurescu,
    the decisions are in breach of the independence, sovereignty and territorial
    integrity of Ukraine and international law, including the UN Charter.




    FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Romania’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday attended the meeting in New York
    marking 30 years since the adoption of the UN Declaration of the rights of
    persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
    According to a press release, Minister Aurescu outlined Romania’s vision in
    terms of protecting the rights of people belonging to national minorities,
    saying that Romania is a country where inter-ethnic and inter-cultural dialogue
    lies at the center of policymaking. Minister Aurescu also attended the
    ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Mediation, hosted by his Turkish
    and Finnish counterparts in New York. Talks focused on the need to strengthen
    mediation as a key instrument for preventing and solving conflicts, also
    highlighting the important role played by the UN and the OSCE in this field.
    Also on Wednesday, Bogdan Aurescu had bilateral talks with the Secretary
    General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric. The meeting
    addressed hot topics on the current security agenda and the challenges facing
    the Council of Europe after Russia was excluded from this organization.




    DEFENSE – Romania’s Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu, will pay an official visit to
    South Korea over September 22-25. On this occasion, Vasile Dîncu will discuss
    with his South-Korean counterpart a framework cooperation agreement in the
    field of defense. According to the Defense Ministry, Minister Dîncu will also
    meet with the Minister in charge of the programme for public procurement and
    defense and the chairman of the National Defense Committee. Vasile Dîncu will
    also visit the DefExpo Korea 2022 military equipment exhibition. The Romanian
    official’s agenda also includes a meeting with representatives of the Romanian
    community in South Korea and a visit to the War Memorial of Korea.




    REFUGEES – The Romanian Border Police Inspectorate announced that some 80,000
    people went in and out of Romania on Wednesday, of whom 10,000 were Ukrainian
    nationals. This represents a 19% increase compared to the previous day.
    Starting February 10, 2022, some 2.3 million Ukrainian citizens have entered
    Romania.




    MOLDOVA – The International Monetary Fund has greenlit the disbursement of 27
    million USD to the Republic of Moldova, hailing progress reported by Chișinău
    in the field of fiscal governance and the fight against corruption. Total IMF
    aid to Moldova currently stands at 242 million USD. This is part of a broader
    assistance package worth 800 million USD, which Chișinău can access over the
    course of 40 months, provided it fulfills certain milestones agreed upon with
    the IMF. According to the IMF, the fallout from the war in Ukraine continues to
    affect the prospects of neighboring Moldova. The international lender has
    recommended Moldovan authorities to maintain a proper mix of policies, in line
    with inflation pressure and budget limitations. We recall that in June, Moldova
    was awarded EU candidate status.




    FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team on Friday will play Finland away from
    home in a match counting towards Group 3 of Europa Nations League. On Monday,
    Romania will go up against Bosnia Herzegovina at home in the last group
    fixture. This could be the last match for headcoach Edward Iordănescu, who has
    had poor results at the helm of the national squad this season, the media
    speculates. Romania is bottom of the group tables with 3 points, after Finland,
    Montenegro and Bosnia. (VP)

  • April 18, 2021

    April 18, 2021


    VACCINATION – Some 2.6 million
    people have taken at least one shot of anti-COVID-19 vaccine, of whom 1.5
    million have taken both doses of the vaccine, the authorities in Bucharest have
    announced. Some 300,000 people working in the medical field have taken the
    COVID-19 vaccine, 90% of whom have taken both shots. The evolution of the
    SARS-CoV-2 pandemic shows a significant drop in the weekly number of cases,
    from 70/day before the start of the vaccination campaign, to a little under
    20/day right now. Authorities say the data is indicative of the importance and
    necessity of vaccination to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and recall that the
    administration of one of the serums approved at EU level is free of charge and
    voluntary. The Romanian Defense Ministry is preparing mobile vaccination
    centers for immunizing people in rural or remote areas. 20 such centers will
    become operational starting next week in areas organized by local authorities
    or in medical containers, which will be provided by the National State Reserve Administration.
    The capacity of vaccination flows at the level of the Defense Ministry is also
    expected to increase.




    MOLDOVA -
    A new batch of 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca serum were delivered to Moldova
    on Sunday, as part of Romania’s assistance to Moldova in its efforts to combat
    the COVID-19 pandemic. This new batch is the third of the total of 200,000
    doses Romania pledged to donate to Moldova in December last year, following the
    meeting of Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, and his Moldovan counterpart,
    Maia Sandu. The first batch, totaling 21,600 doses, arrived in Moldova at the
    end of February, while the second one, totaling 50,400 doses on March 27.
    Romania’s ambassador in the Republic of Moldova, Daniel Ioniță, at the time
    said Bucharest wants the doses to be delivered evenly across the republic,
    irrespective of ethnicity, including in the Turkish-speaking Gagauzia in the
    south and in the breakaway region of Transnistria in the east.




    EXERCISE -
    Some 15,000 military from Romania and allied and partner states will take part,
    over May-June, in the Dacia 21 Livex exercise hosted by Romania. The exercise
    is part of the joint training timetable, the Defense Ministry reports. The
    first troops and equipment to arrive in Romania this week are 120 British
    military and 55 vehicles. Dacia 21 Livex confirms Romania’s capacity to engage
    in defensive operations, as well as the permanent availability of allied and
    partner countries to swiftly deploy considerable forces to Romania with a view
    to defending the country against any potential threat to its national security.
    Additionally, Ministry officials say, Dacia 21 Livex will also probe Romanian
    support to military forces and equipment transiting national territory.




    TENNIS -
    Romania lost 3-1 to Italy in the World Group playoff of the Billie Jean King
    Cup, the former Fedcup. The match was the first with Monica Niculescu as team
    captain, who’s replaced Florin Segărceanu. Simona Halep and Patricia
    Ţig were unavailable for this match, both injured, while Italy’s number one
    player, Camila Giorgi, was left out after testing positive for COVID-19. Next
    year Romania will play in Group 1 in the Europe-Africa zone.




    HANDBALL – The Romanian
    women’s handball team on Saturday defeated North Macedonia 33-22 in the first round
    of the 2021 World Cup playoffs. The return leg is scheduled for April 21 in
    Skopje. Commentators say booking a place should not be a problem, given that
    the number of participants grew to 32. The tournament will be hosted by Spain.
    Europe has 50% of the available places. Romania is yet to miss a women’s World
    Championship, where it has won four medals over the years: gold in 1962, silver
    in 1973 and 2005 and bronze in 2015. (V.P.)

  • April 17, 2021 UPDATE

    April 17, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA -
    3,474 new cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported in the last 24 hours,
    the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Saturday. During the
    interval, 135 fatalities were also reported. 1,505 patients are currently in
    intensive care. A quarter of Romania’s counties remain in the red zone,
    reporting an incidence rate over 3 per thousand inhabitants. Meanwhile the
    vaccination campaign continues. People who want to get the AstraZeneca jab
    without an appointment can now do so. According to Prime Minister Florin Cîţu,
    Romania is expected to hit the 35% mark in early June in terms of the total
    number of people who’ve got immunized, which will allow for a gradual relaunch
    of the economy. The Prime Minister said herd immunity will be achieved when 70%
    of the total population gets immunized, which in Romania is tantamount to some
    10 million people.


    RATING -
    Standard and Poor’s financial rating agency has confirmed Romania’s BBB- rating
    but improved its prospect from negative to stable. According to the Finance
    Ministry, this is the first positive evolution in Romania’s financial rating
    operated by this agency since November 2013. Standard and Poor’s says the
    stable prospect is indicative of the credibility of fiscal consolidation measures
    promoted by Romania. The agency also believes the Government’s planned reforms
    could create a more robust fiscal framework, thus limiting the risks of
    reversing fiscal consolidation policies, which would lead to an improvement in
    Romania’s rating.


    DIPLOMACY -
    Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, hailed the decision of the EU High
    Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to appoint Romanian Dan
    Steonescu as the head of the EU Delegation to Syria, headquartered in Beirut.
    The appointment comes as an official recognition at EU level of Romania’s
    expertise in the Middle East, as well as its diplomatic skills, Aurescu said.
    According to a Foreign Ministry release, stabilizing Syria is key to the
    security of the entire region, while stepping up efforts to solve the crisis at
    political level remains a priority for the EU and the international community.
    A career diplomat with a wide experience in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu has
    served as Romania’s ambassador in Tunisia since 2017. In 2015-2016 he was
    Minister Delegate for Romanians Worldwide. He previously worked for Romania’s
    embassies in Madrid and Beirut. Another four Romanians are currently part of
    the EU delegation: Oana Popa in Montenegro, Denisa Ionete in Nigeria, Traian
    Hristea in Mongolia and Cristian Tudor in Kuwait.


    MOLDOVA – Romania’s Government
    announced on Saturday it would continue to provide the Republic of Moldova with
    support in its efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Another 132,000 doses
    of the AstraZeneca serum will be delivered to Moldova. This new batch is the
    third of the total of 200,000 doses Romania pledged to donate to Moldova in
    December last year, following the meeting of Romania’s president, Klaus
    Iohannis, and his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. The first batch, totaling
    21,600 doses, arrived in Moldova at the end of February, while the second one,
    totaling 50,400 doses on March 27. Romania’s ambassador in the Republic of
    Moldova, Daniel Ioniță,
    at the time said Bucharest wants the doses to be delivered evenly across the
    republic, irrespective of ethnicity, including in the Turkish-speaking Gagauzia
    in the south and in the breakaway region of Transnistria in the east.


    FUNERAL – The funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of
    Edinburg and husband to Queen Elisabeth II of Great Britain for over 73 years,
    passed away last week aged 99, was held on Saturday at Windsor Castle in a
    solemn ceremony with the observance of COVID-related restrictions. A minute of
    silence was observed in memory of Prince Philip across the United Kingdom. His
    son and Heir to the British Crown, Prince Charles, has over the years developed
    close relations with Romania, a country he visited on numerous occasions and
    where he has a number of holdings. Romania has a long history of relations with
    the British Royal Family. Prince Philip was the cousin and childhood friend of
    the late Prince Mihai of Romania, the two being born a few months apart in
    1921. The Royal House of Romania published pictures of Mihai and Philip during
    their childhood, when they used to spend their holidays in Romania.
    Subsequently King Mihai met his future wife, Ana, at the royal wedding in
    London between Philip and Elisabeth. The Duke of Edinburg is also the
    god-father of Margareta, the first-born of Mihai and Ana. (V.P.)



  • February 22, 2021 UPDATE

    February 22, 2021 UPDATE

    VACCINE – A new tranche
    of 200,000 dozes of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Romania on Monday.
    According to the National Committee for the Coordination of Vaccination
    Activities, the total doses administered so far, to more than 820 thousand
    people, exceeds 1.4 million. The Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, has
    stated that approximately 60,000 people employed in the education system want
    to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next week. According to the minister, in a
    first phase, the teaching staff from primary, secondary, high school and
    university education benefit from priority vaccination in mobile centers. He
    has stated that more than 200,000 employees in the education system have
    expressed their readiness for vaccination. 42,000 have already been vaccinated.
    In another development, about 1,600 new cases of coronavirus were reported on
    Monday. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic in Romania, about a year
    ago, over 780,000 cases of infection have been registered in this country.




    COVID-19 IN THE
    WORLD – Some 112 million infections with COVID-19 have been confirmed in the
    world, in addition to 2.5 million related fatalities. European states have
    intensified their efforts to combat the spread of the strains of coronavirus.
    Italy has extended travel restrictions between regions until March 27 due to an
    increase in the infection rate. In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
    announced a timetable for lifting the hard lockdown in this country in an
    effort to restart the British economy. The British official expects things to
    return to their normal track at the end of June.




    PROTESTS – The miners will
    receive their due salaries and benefits in three installments, the Romanian
    Labor Minister Raluca Turcan gave assurances at the end of Monday’s talks with
    leaders of the coal miners’ trade unions, who have been protesting in Jiu
    Valley for several days. On February 25 and 26 the Government will disburse
    additional funds to pay the miners’ overdue salary rights, as well as part of
    their benefits, such as meal vouchers and transport subsidies, Minister Turcan
    said. The Romanian official said this solution allows the Hunedoara Energy
    Power Plant to reorganize its activity within three months. The 70 miners
    protesting in underground shafts in Lupeni on Monday decided to resurface and
    end their protest. The decision was taken following talks in Bucharest between
    trade union representatives and the Ministers of Labor and Energy.




    MIGRANTS – The Romanian
    Border Police discovered 18 migrants originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq
    and Somalia, while crossing the Danube onboard a boat from Romania to Serbia.
    Ten migrants were underage. The boat was navigated by two Syrian nationals who
    returned to Serbia and who received some €1,500 per each migrant to take them
    across the border. The Romanian Border Police is investigating the case trying
    to ascertain the extent of the crime before taking action in this matter.




    FAC – The Romanian
    Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, on Monday attended a Foreign Affairs Council
    (FAC) meeting in Brussels. Talks focused on relations with Moscow. According to
    the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Minister Aurescu pointed out that EU-Russia
    relations are at a turning point, as Russia has become increasingly assertive
    in its relations with EU institutions and member states. Minister Aurescu
    called for introducing new restrictions on Russia amidst the deteriorating
    human rights context in this country, including the developments in the case of
    opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Bogdan Aurescu said the EU needs a more
    strategic approach to relations with Russia, including in a regional key. Ahead
    of the meeting, Aurescu and European
    counterparts took part in an informal meeting with representatives of the team
    of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny. On Saturday, Navalny, listed as the
    Kremlin’s main political opponent, received two sentences in a single day: two
    and a half years in prison, in a fraud case, which he says was politically
    fabricated, and a €9,500 fine, on charges of defaming a supporter of President
    Vladimir Putin, a nonagenarian veteran of the Soviet army in World War II. On
    the sidelines of the FAC meeting, Minister Aurescu highlighted the need for a
    firmer political cooperation with ex-Soviet states in the Eastern Partnership,
    including the Republic of Moldova. In a videoconference with EU Ministers and
    US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Bogdan Aurescu underlined the need for
    close EU-US cooperation in regional dossiers, such as the Eastern Vicinity, the
    Black Sea region and the Western Balkans.




    MOLDOVA – The Republic of
    Moldova will receive €15 million from the EU to help combat the effects of the
    coronavirus pandemic. According to Radio Chişinău, the pro-European
    president, Maia Sandu, said the money will be allocated to the hardest-hit
    sectors, such as healthcare, agriculture and SMEs. President Sandu promised she
    would call on the relevant institutions to monitor the money trail, in order to
    make sure the funds reach the destination. On Friday, Romania sent a new
    humanitarian aid package to neighboring Moldova consisting in medical and
    protection equipment to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press
    release issued by the Moldovan Presidency, the donated equipment, whose value
    stands at some €2.3 million, consists in 1.5 million surgical masks, 100,000
    FFP3 masks, 100,000 isolation gowns and 100,000 single-use gloves.




    TENNIS – Romanian tennis
    player Simona Halep went down to third place in the world ranking of
    professional tennis players (WTA), published today. The second position is now
    held by the Japanese Naomi Osaka, who won the title at the Australian Open on
    Saturday. We recall that Halep stopped in the quarterfinals of the first grand
    slam tournament of the year. The Australian Ashleigh Barty remains the WTA
    leader. Romania has 4 more representatives in the top 100: Patricia Ţig, Sorana
    Cîrstea, Irina Begu and Ana Bogdan. (M.I & V.P.)