Radio România Internațional

Tag: auditors

  • November 20, 2018 UPDATE

    November 20, 2018 UPDATE

    RESHUFFLING The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday signed the government reshuffling order based on the nominations made by the Social Democratic Party in power. Later on Tuesday the new ministers of Education, Defense, Economy, Culture and National Identity, Communication and Information Society and Youth and Sports were sworn in before President Iohannis. But the ministers’ list does not include the proposals for the Ministry for Regional Development and Public Administration and the Transport Ministry, Ilan Laufer and Lia Olguta Vasilescu, respectively. Eight ministries in Viorica Dancila’s Cabinet, including the Defence and Labour, should have been headed by new chiefs. President Iohannis says the current reshuffling is an incomplete solution, and the correct option for Romania would have been to replace the Cabinet as a whole, because the current team has created lots of problems for the country. In turn, the PM explained that the reshuffling was designed to improve the performance of the Government, ahead of Romania’s rotating presidency of the EU Council starting on January 1, 2019. The right-of-centre opposition argues however that the sole criterion in selecting the new ministers was their obedience to the Social Democratic Party president, Liviu Dragnea.





    JUSTICE The European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourova had meetings in Bucharest on Tuesday with the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, and the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. Talks focused on the priorities in the field of justice, in the context of Romania’s presidency of the EU Council and of the recent developments in the Romanian judiciary. It is important for Romania to take the necessary steps in order to ensure the independence of the judiciary, Vera Jourova said after the meeting with Romania’s Justice Minister. Later on Tuesday the European official gave an address in Bucharest on the Universal Children’s Day, focusing on the situation of children abandoned as a result of regional conflicts or of labour migration, as part of an event organised by the Presidential Administration. 29 years since the signing of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, there are still millions of children around the world who do not go to school, are not protected and cannot live in their home country or town.





    VISIT President Klaus Iohannis received in Bucharest on Tuesday the president of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who was on an official visit ahead of Romania taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. President Iohannis emphasized the importance of the control mechanisms, especially when they contribute to the improvement of public practices with positive effects on economy and the society. In turn, the European official said that cutting red tape and increasing EU funds absorption were essential at the level of both the EU and national parliaments. On Monday, Klaus-Heiner Lehne met with PM Viorica Dăncilă. The talks focused on strengthening the EU mechanisms for the efficient management and spending of European funds. The PM reiterated Bucharest’s willingness to cooperate with the European Court of Auditors in order to improve the absorption rate and for an efficient management of the European funds, particularly in fields of interest for Romania. Also, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, Viorica Dăncilă said that at present Romania is fully prepared to take over this mission.





    STRIKE The Bucharest underground trade unions decided on Tuesday to postpone the planned all-out strike until after a meeting with the new Transport Minister, nominated after the government reshuffling. Staff were scheduled to go on indefinite strike on Wednesday, although the Bucharest Court ruled the protest was illegal. The unionists demand a 42% pay raise, although the net average income paid by the state-owned Metrorex company is substantially higher than the national level. The Ministry argues that in fact the trade unions are disgruntled that they would no longer manage the shopping areas in the stations. Some 700,000 passengers a day use the Bucharest underground system.





    RADIRO The MDR, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, performed on Tuesday evening for the second time as part of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo, organised by Radio Romania. The soloist was the pianist Mihai Ritivoiu. On Monday evening, the German orchestra conducted by Robert Trevino gave a highly appreciated performance. This year’s edition, the 4th of the festival, features 3 ensembles that perform for the first time at the Radio Hall: BBC Philharmonic (UK), Orchestra de la Svizzera Italiana – Lugano (Switzerland) and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland). Also this year, the only festival in the world devoted to radio orchestras will include jazz recitals, for the first time. All the concerts as part of RadiRo are broadcast live by Radio Romania channels, recorded and broadcast subsequently by the Romanian public television, and also aired by stations affiliated to the European Broadcasting Union.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)



  • November 20, 2018

    November 20, 2018

    RESHUFFLING The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis has today announced having signed the government reshuffling order based on the nominations made by the Social Democratic Party in power. The President presented the list of ministers for whom he signed the appointment orders. But the list does not include the proposals for the Ministry for Regional Development and Public Administration and the Transport Ministry, Ilan Laufer and Lia Olguta Vasilescu, respectively. Eight ministries in Viorica Dancilas Cabinet, including the Defence and Labour, should have been headed by new chiefs. President Iohannis says the current reshuffling is an incomplete solution, and the correct option for Romania would have been to replace the Cabinet as a whole, because the current team has created lots of problems for the country. In turn, the PM explained that the reshuffling was designed to improve the performance of the Government, ahead of Romanias rotating presidency of the EU Council starting on January 1, 2019. The right-of-centre opposition argues however that the sole criterion in selecting the new ministers was their obedience to the Social Democratic Party president, Liviu Dragnea.




    JUSTICE The European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourova has meetings in Bucharest today with the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, and the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. Talks will focus on the priorities in the field of justice, in the context of Romanias presidency of the EU Council and of the recent developments in the Romanian judiciary. The European official will give an address in Bucharest on the Universal Childrens Day, focusing on the situation of children abandoned as a result of regional conflicts or of labour migration, as part of an event organised by the Presidential Administration. 29 years since the signing of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, there are still millions of children around the world who do not go to school, are not protected and cannot live in their home country or town.




    VISIT President Klaus Iohannis receives in Bucharest today the president of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who is on an official visit ahead of Romania taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. On Monday, Klaus-Heiner Lehne met with PM Viorica Dăncilă. The talks focused on strengthening the EU mechanisms for the efficient management and spending of European funds. The PM reiterated Bucharests willingness to cooperate with the European Court of Auditors in order to improve the absorption rate and for an efficient management of the European funds, particularly in fields of interest for Romania. Also, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, Viorica Dăncilă said that at present Romania is fully prepared to take over this mission.




    STRIKE The Bucharest underground trade unions decided today to postpone the planned all-out strike until after a meeting with the new Transport Minister, nominated after the government reshuffling. Staff were scheduled to go on indefinite strike on Wednesday, although the Bucharest Court ruled the protest was illegal. The unionists demand a 42% pay raise, although the net average income paid by the state-owned Metrorex company is substantially higher than the national level. The Ministry argues that in fact the trade unions are disgruntled that they would no longer manage the shopping areas in the stations. Some 700,000 passengers a day use the Bucharest underground system.




    RADIRO The MDR, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, will perform tonight for the second time as part of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo, organised by Radio Romania. The soloist is the pianist Mihai Ritivoiu. Last night, the German orchestra conducted by Robert Trevino gave a highly appreciated performance. This years edition, the 4th of the festival, features 3 ensembles that perform for the first time at the Radio Hall: BBC Philharmonic (UK), Orchestra de la Svizzera Italiana – Lugano (Switzerland) and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland). Also this year, the only festival in the world devoted to radio orchestras will include jazz recitals, for the first time. All the concerts as part of RadiRo are broadcast live by Radio Romania channels, recorded and broadcast subsequently by the Romanian public television, and also aired by stations affiliated to the European Broadcasting Union.




    FOOTBALL Romanias football team is playing today a decisive game against Montenegro, in Podgorica, in Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League C Series. On Saturday, Romania beat Lithuania, 3-0, on home turf in Ploieşti. The League results count as qualifiers for the EURO 2020. Romania ranks 2nd in Group 4, Series C of the Nations League and needs to defeat Montenegro tonight. In the other important match of the day, group leaders Serbia are taking on Lithuania. Should Lithuania avoid a defeat in Belgrade and if Montenegro loses tonights match, Romania will move to the top position in the group.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 17, 2018 UPDATE

    November 17, 2018 UPDATE

    VISIT The president of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, will be on an official visit to Romania on November 19 and 20, in the context of Romania taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. Klaus-Heiner Lehne will have meetings, among others, with the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, PM Viorica Dăncilă, the speakers of the 2 chambers of Parliament, the Minister for Public Finances Eugen Teodorovici, and with the Minister Delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba. Several top-level EU officials will also be in Bucharest next week, including the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani. They will discuss topics of interest for the future of the Union and for the proper management, during Romanias EU Council presidency, of several major dossiers, such as the multi-annual financial framework, the post-Brexit situation of the European bloc and the security policy. The Romanian PM reiterated that Bucharest is prepared to take over the EU presidency and said the action plan is ready, the operation mechanisms are in place and the means of implementing the action plan has been defined.




    FINANCIAL Fitch agencys announcement regarding Romanias country rating is a confirmation of the fact that Romania has a sustainable economic growth, and contributes to strengthening investors confidence in the national economy, said the Minister for Public Finances Eugen Teodorovici, after Fitch confirmed the “BBB minus rating for Romanias long-term foreign currency debt, with a stable outlook. The expansionist fiscal policy launched in 2016 has weakened Romanias public finances, Fitch experts say, adding that in the first 9 months of this year revenues stand at only 69% of the revised annual targets, and the budget deficit is one percentage point above the figure in January – September 2017. However, Fitch expects the Government to meet its 2.96% deficit target for this year, so as to avoid the excessive deficit procedure. The international financial rating agency estimates a 3.5% economic growth rate for Romania this year, 3.2% in 2019 and 3% in 2020, reflecting the slow-down in the EU, a tightening monetary policy and a reduction in tax incentives.




    GAUDEAMUS Book launches continued on Saturday, as part of the Gaudeamus Book and Education Fair organised by Radio Romania in Bucharest. Until the end of this 25th edition of the Fair on Sunday, visitors will be able to attend various events and benefit from substantial discounts offered by the over 300 participating publishers. The central theme of the current edition is the Romanian Union Centennial, illustrated by a stand hosting around 600 volumes devoted to this historic event and by scores of launches, debates, film screenings and public lectures. The stand also enables the public to meet and talk to some of the most important Romanian writers, literary critics and historians.




    WESTERN BALKANS Romanias deputy PM Ana Birchall reiterated Bucharests commitment to the EU enlargement process, in the 3rd Thessaloniki Summit, devoted to European prospects, connectivity, industrial development and cooperation in the Western Balkans. According to a news release, the Romanian official said Romania would ensure the continuity of this process and would pay special attention to the topic during its EU Council presidency in the first half of 2019. On the sidelines of the Summit, Ana Birchall had talks with top-level officials attending the event, such as the PM of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, the PM of Bulgaria Boiko Borisov, the PM of Serbia Ana Brnabic, the governor of the Central Macedonia Region Apostolos Tzitzicostas, and the mayor of Thessaloniki Yannis Boutaris.




    JUDICIARY The constitutional court of Costa Rica dismissed the requests filed by the former Romanian tourism minister Elena Udrea and the former chief prosecutor of the anti-mafia directorate Alina Bica, who have been imprisoned in that country in early October. Elena Udrea and Alina Bica, sentenced for corruption in Romania, were arrested following an Interpol request. Long seen as one of the most powerful aides of the ex-president Traian Basescu, Udrea received a 6-year final sentence for bribe-taking and abuse of office. In turn, Bica was sentenced to 4 years behind bars for aiding an offender.




    IMMIGRATION The Romanian community remains the largest foreign group in the Madrid region, with nearly 200,000 members, according to the latest immigration barometre. Commissioned by the Madrid regional government, the immigration barometre is released every 2 years and measures, among other things, the integration level of foreigners. This rate has grown by 12% since 10 years ago, according to Radio Romanias correspondent in Spain. Statistics also show that around 70% of the locals in the Community of Madrid see immigration as positive for the economy.




    BREXIT The British PM Theresa May Saturday rejected counter-proposals to her Brexit deal negotiated with the EU, saying they would not solve the problems, France Press reports. On Wednesday May announced a draft agreement on Brexit, but it triggered 4 resignations from her Cabinet, chiefly over the fate of Northern Ireland after UKs exit from the Union, scheduled to take place on March 29th, 2019.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 17, 2018

    November 17, 2018

    VISIT The president of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, will be on an official visit to Romania on November 19 and 20, in the context of Romania taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. Klaus-Heiner Lehne will have meetings, among others, with the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, PM Viorica Dăncilă, the speakers of the 2 chambers of Parliament, the Minister for Public Finances Eugen Teodorovici, and with the Minister Delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba. Several top-level EU officials will also be in Bucharest next week, including the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani. They will discuss topics of interest for the future of the Union and for the proper management, during Romanias EU Council presidency, of several major dossiers, such as the multi-annual financial framework, the post-Brexit situation of the European bloc and the security policy. The Romanian PM reiterated that Bucharest is prepared to take over the EU presidency and said the action plan is ready, the operation mechanisms are in place and the means of implementing the action plan has been defined.




    FINANCIAL Fitch agencys announcement regarding Romanias country rating is a confirmation of the fact that Romania has a sustainable economic growth, and contributes to strengthening investors confidence in the national economy, said the Minister for Public Finances Eugen Teodorovici, after Fitch confirmed the “BBB minus rating for Romanias long-term foreign currency debt, with a stable outlook. The expansionist fiscal policy launched in 2016 has weakened Romanias public finances, Fitch experts say, adding that in the first 9 months of this year revenues stand at only 69% of the revised annual targets, and the budget deficit is one percentage point above the figure in January – September 2017. However, Fitch expects the Government to meet its 2.96% deficit target for this year, so as to avoid the excessive deficit procedure. The international financial rating agency estimates a 3.5% economic growth rate for Romania this year, 3.2% in 2019 and 3% in 2020, reflecting the slow-down in the EU, a tightening monetary policy and a reduction in tax incentives.




    GAUDEAMUS Book launches continue today, as part of the Gaudeamus Book and Education Fair organised by Radio Romania in Bucharest. Until the end of this 25th edition of the Fair on Sunday, visitors will be able to attend various events and benefit from substantial discounts offered by the over 300 participating publishers. The central theme of the current edition is the Romanian Union Centennial, and is illustrated by a representative stand, hosting around 600 volumes devoted to this historic event and scores of events, launches, debates, film screenings and public lectures. The stand also enables the public to meet and talk to some of the most important Romanian writers, literary critics and historians.




    START-UPS Romanian entrepreneurs interested in the Start-Up Nation programme, designed to encourage the set-up of small and medium-sized enterprises by means of non-reimbursable grants, will be able to use a special software as of December 1. According to the Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Ştefan Radu Oprea, applications can be submitted for one month. Last year in the Start-Up Nation programme, over 30,000 applications were submitted, the Minister added, more than 8,000 contracts were signed, of which 7,200 projects are still active, and over 21,000 jobs have been created.




    CENTENNIAL The members of the Romanian ethnic community in Hungary are celebrating today the Great Union Centennial in Gyula. The event is part of a series devoted to the 100 years since Greater Romania was founded, and it brings together officials and personalities from major Romanian academic centres, Romanian MPs and local authorities. The event also has a component devoted to the Romanian ethnics in Hungary: a ceremony in which representatives of the Romanian community in Hungary, including headmasters of schools with Romanian tuition, are awarded by the “Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi Institute for Romanians abroad. The ceremony will be followed by the screening of a film about the 1918 Union and the opening of an art exhibition on the same theme.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)