Radio România Internațional

Tag: balance

  • February 9, 2024 UPDATE

    February 9, 2024 UPDATE

    FARMERS The government of Romania has approved a support package for
    farmers, including loans with lower interest rates and electricity subsidies.
    On the other hand, the European Commission Friday approved a EUR 241 mln aid
    scheme, requested by Romania to support farmers in the context of Russia’s war
    against Ukraine. The aid will be provided as direct grants not exceeding EUR
    280,000 per beneficiary. Romania also benefits from EUR 34 mln from the EU’s Solidarity
    Fund, in support for the damages suffered as a result of the drought of 2022.
    The money was already transferred in December of last year, and Romania has one
    and a half years to implement the scheme.




    ELECTIONS Merging European Parliament elections and local elections
    on June 9 is on the agenda of the ruling coalition in Bucharest. According to
    some political sources, the Social Democrats also proposed combining the
    elections for the national Parliament with the first or second round of the
    presidential elections, which would complement the first scenario. The opposition
    is firmly against these initiatives. Save Romania Union has announced it has
    started proceedings to ask the Venice Commission for a point of view on merging
    European Parliament and local elections less than six months before the
    election date. This year all four types of elections are scheduled in Romania -
    parliamentary, European, local and presidential.




    EXPORTS Romania’s
    exports last year exceeded EUR 93 bln, 1.3% more than in 2022, according to the
    National Statistics Institute. Imports on the other hand reached EUR 122 bln, 3.2%
    below 2022. The trade balance deficit amounted to roughly EUR 29 bln, more than
    EUR 5.1 bln less than in 2022. The automotive industry and transport equipment
    sector accounted for important shares in the structure of both imports and
    exports.






    WASTE Romania is the country generating the smallest amount of waste
    in the EU, the Eurostat announced. According to data released by the EU
    statistics office, 513kg of municipal waste were generated in average by each
    EU inhabitant in 2022, which is 19kg less than in the previous year. The
    largest amounts are generated in Austria (827kg per capita), followed by
    Denmark and Luxemburg (over 700kg). At the opposite pole, Romania generates 300kg
    per capita. Although it generates the smallest amounts of municipal waste,
    Romania also recycles the least in the EU-around 36kg out of the 300kg per capita,
    as against the EU average of 249kg per capita. Malta, Greece and Cyprus also
    recycle less than 100kg per capita, as compared to Austria, where the average
    is 510kg per capita.




    UKRAINE President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appointed General
    Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,
    replacing General Valery Zaluzhny. Ukraine’s head of state said it was time for
    changes, and explained that the dismissed general should remain in his team.
    After the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer, Zaluzhny
    warned that the war had reached a stalemate, turning into a war of attrition,
    and that in order to win his country needed technologically superior weapons to
    the Russian ones and more troops. International media note that Valery Zaluzhny
    is more popular among Ukrainians than Zelensky. In another move, the Russian
    president, Vladimir Putin, has threatened the United States with a global war, which
    would bring the whole of humanity to the brink of extinction, if
    Washington sends troops to Ukraine. In an interview to the controversial
    American journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin claimed Russia will fight to
    the end to defend its interests.






    POLO Romania’s national water polo team was defeated by Italy, 16-10,
    in its last match in Group D of the World Championship in Doha, Qatar. In the
    first two matches, the Romanians lost to Hungary and outclassed Kazakhstan
    25-3. Romania ranks third in the group, after Hungary and Italy. Group winners move
    straight into the quarter-finals, while the second and third-ranking teams are
    in for a play-off for the quarters. Last month, Romania finished in the 8th
    place at the European Championship in Croatia. (AMP)

  • The Romanian economy at the start of 2024

    The Romanian economy at the start of 2024


    Last year the Romanian economy went up 1.8%, which is however 0.8% less than estimated, reads a recent World Bank report. Also, in January – November 2023, Romanian exports totalled nearly EUR 87 bln, and imports over EUR 112 bln. In other words, exports rose by 2% while imports dropped by over 3% compared to the corresponding period of last year, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute.



    Even so, the trade deficit exceeded EUR 25 bln last year, in spite of getting more than EUR 5 bln smaller. The economic analyst Constantin Rudniţchi says the deficit primarily narrowed due to the drop in the prices of the energy imported by Romania and to a slow-down in consumption:



    Constantin Rudniţchi: “The good news, if any, is that the trade deficit for the first 11 months of last year dropped compared to the previous year. This decrease is owing to a slow-down in consumption, because, lets not forget, some of the trade balance deficit comes from consumer goods. Obviously, some other part of the deficit is due to industrial goods, but consumer goods have their contribution to the deficit. So on the one hand we saw a decrease in consumption, and implicitly in the deficit. And on the other hand, we have reason to hope (because we dont have all the data yet), the Romanian economy is beginning to produce more goods that are used domestically.”



    The analyst Constantin Rudnițchi believes that, for the trade deficit to keep its encouraging trend, public policies are needed which focus on major sectors, such as the foodstuffs, chemical products and the automotive industry.



    As for the future, the World Bank adjusted downwards its estimates on the Romanian economy, predicting a GDP growth by 3.3% and 3.8% in 2024 and 2025 respectively. In fact, according to the World Bank, the global economy will slow down for the 3rd consecutive year, to 2.4% – the slowest pace since the Covid-19 pandemic. For 2025, the global economic growth is expected to reach an encouraging 2.7%, but even in this case a downward adjustment was operated from the 3% estimate made public last June, especially because of the downturn experienced by the worlds most advanced economies.



    Under these circumstances, the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 seems impossible to reach, the World Bank concludes. One way to encourage economic growth, especially in emerging and developing countries, the institution says, is to step up investments in clean energy and adapting to climate change. (AMP)


  • Growing trade deficit

    Growing trade deficit

    Affected the past 2 years by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently by the aftermath of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, Romanias economy continues to suffer. Forecasts for this year remain moderately optimistic, and policy makers have built the state budget on a predicted 2.8% economic growth rate and a budget deficit up nearly 4.4% of GDP.



    But the bottom line for 2022 is not as encouraging. In the first 11 months of last year, imports were EUR 31 bln higher than exports, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute (INS). This is a record-high trade balance deficit, almost EUR 10 bln higher than in 2021. According to commentators, this was true even for the automotive industry, where traditionally exports had been higher than imports.



    According to official data, in the period under review the largest shares in the structure of exports and imports were reported for vehicles and transport equipment (41.7% of exports and 32.7% of imports) and other finished goods (30% of exports and 28.6% of imports).



    In the first 11 months of 2022, exports exceeded EUR 85.2 bln and imports totalled over EUR 116.2 bln, pushing the trade balance deficit to over 45% more than the figure for the corresponding period of the previous year. The increase was in part generated by the very high inflation, which increased the value of imports, but the main cause remains the fact that domestic output is unable to cover domestic demand, even in those sectors where it used to, such as the agrifood, chemical and automotive industries.



    Experts argue that the government needs to take immediate action to keep things from worsening. This is what the economic analyst Constantin Rudniţchi told Radio Romania:



    Constantin Rudniţchi: “Obviously, we should have a better structured and better financed policy to promote Romanian exports. On the other hand, Ive heard ideas that we should make a very thorough analysis with respect to imports, and the government and the business sector, together, should try to come up with measures to persuade those companies that import or make these imported products abroad to come to Romania.”



    Romanias international trade remains primarily focused on EU member states, which account for over 72% of the total export market (nearly EUR 62 bln) and for around 70% of the import sources (EUR 82 bln). Non-EU trade amounted to EUR 23 bln in exports (i.e. 27.4%) and EUR 34 bln in imports (29.3%). (AMP)

  • October 10, 2022

    October 10, 2022

    DEFICIT In the first 8 months of the year Romania’s trade balance
    deficit deepened by nearly EUR 7.4 billion, to EUR 22 billion. According to data
    made public by the National Statistics Institute on Monday, exports went up
    25%, to EUR 60.3 billion, and imports rose by 31%, to roughly EUR 83 billion.
    Vehicles and transport equipment, as well as other manufactured products,
    accounted for a large part of Romania’s foreign trade. Over 70% of the total
    imports and exports involved the EU market.


    PILGRIMAGE
    The north-eastern Romanian city of Iaşi is hosting these days a traditional
    pilgrimage devoted to St. Paraskeva, commemorated on the 14 October and viewed
    as the patron saint of Moldavia. Thousands of Orthodox believers from around
    the country and from abroad have already come to pray at St. Paraskeva’s relics,
    hosted by the Metropolitan Cathedral. The Iași pilgrimage is the largest
    Orthodox pilgrimage in the country, with around 300,000 people expected to
    attend this year.


    REFUGEES Romania is better prepared to
    receive Ukrainian refugees, although there is no indication that their number
    may increase, the state secretary with the interior ministry Raed Arafat
    said in Suceava, north-eastern Romania. On Sunday the Romanian official
    travelled to the Suceava hub for a donation ceremony also attended by the
    French ambassador to Bucharest, Laurence Auer, and the Ukrainian ambassador in
    Romania, Ihor Prokopchuk. Fifteen fire engines and ambulances were brought to
    the hub by 40 members of the French civil protection agency, and further
    materials will reach Suceava in a few days. The largest French aid batch for
    Ukraine, consisting in over 1 tonne of pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs and
    intervention vehicles, has reached the Black Sea port of Constanţa Sud-Agigea.


    UKRAINE
    Several blasts were reported this
    morning in the Ukrainian capital city and in Lviv, Ternopil and Dnipro. The
    Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu announced that Romanian diplomatic
    staff in Kyiv is safe, although a missile hit 850m from the Romanian embassy
    office. The Romanian official firmly condemns Russian missile strikes on
    civilian targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities as a blatant violation of
    international human rights law. Meanwhile, Russia’s Security Council convenes today at president
    Vladimir Putin’s request, after Saturday’s
    partial destruction of the Kerch bridge connecting Russia to Crimea. According
    to Putin, this was a terrorist act committed by Ukraine. The Ukrainian
    authorities neither confirmed nor denied their involvement in the incident. In
    Washington, the White House declined comments on the topic and mentioned it
    would continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. Also today, the UN is holding an
    emergency session to discuss Russia’s recent annexation of 4 other Ukrainian
    provinces. Radio Romania’s correspondent in the US mentions that the UN General
    Assembly condemned the annexation of Crimea in 2014.


    AIRPORT As of today, the Bucharest Otopeni Airport is upgrading its baggage
    handling systems at the Departures terminal, the Bucharest National Airport
    Company has announced. Until next August, the number of check-in counters will
    be significantly reduced, and waiting time will be longer. The current baggage
    handling system is more than 20 years old, and its replacement requires an over
    EUR 20 million investment. After the works, the processing capacity will be 40%
    higher, and 12 counters for passengers to drop off their own baggage without
    resorting to a check-in counter will also be available, the Company announced.


    VETERINARY EU experts are assessing these days the veterinary services
    at the border check points Stamora Moraviţa, in Timiş County, on the border
    with Serbia, and at the Bucharest Henri Coandă Airport, the National Veterinary
    and Food Safety Agency announced. The assessment comes in the context of
    Romania’s prospective Schengen area accession. The Czech presidency of the EU
    Council announced last week that in the December summit it will seek a
    unanimous decision on Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the passport-free
    travel area.



    SPORTS The Romanian team CSM Bucharest defeated
    the Dutch side Odense Handbold, 31-27 (16-13), on Sunday, away from home, in
    Group A of the women’s handball Champions’ League. Undefeated in 4 matches, the
    Romanian team is to play next at home on 16 October, against DHK Banik Most. In
    turn, CS Rapid Bucharest won 34-32 (19-14) against the Danish team Team
    Esbjerg, in a home game on Sunday in Group B of the same competition. This was
    the 3rd win for the Romanian champions in the competition. Rapid will
    play next against Buducnost Podgorica, away from home, on 15 October. (AMP)

  • 14/03/2022 (mise à jour)

    14/03/2022 (mise à jour)

    Recensement — Coup d’envoi ce lundi du recensement de la population et des logements, opération ajournée d’une année à cause de la pandémie de Covid-19. Cette année, c’est pour la première fois que pendant deux mois les citoyens peuvent se faire recenser eux-mêmes en ligne et les personnes aux habiletés numériques limitées peuvent être épaulées dans des centres spécialement aménagés. Le questionnaire contient quatre types d’informations : des données sur la personne de référence d’une famille, le lieu de résidence normal, les membres d’un foyer et la résidence secondaire. Tous les salariés du secteur public et privé qui se font recenser eux-mêmes en ligne seront récompensés d’un jour chômé payé. Les personnes qui ne se sont pas fait recenser en ligne seront questionnées par un fonctionnaire. Tous ce processus est numérisé. Selon le dernier recensement de la population, en 2011 la Roumanie comptait plus de 20 millions d’habitants.



    Ukraine — L’Union européenne a annoncé la 4e série de sanctions contre Moscou, qui comporte, entre autres, des centaines de personnes et d’entités russes frappées d’une interdiction d’entrée sur le territoire de l’UE et dont les biens détenus peuvent être gelés. Cette série contient aussi des interdictions d’import et d’export de Russie. Selon la présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen, les nouvelles sanctions ont été prises « afin d’isoler la Russie encore plus et d’épuiser les ressources qui lui servent à financer cette guerre barbare ». Le Haut représentant de l’UE pour les Affaires étrangères et la Politique de sécurité, Josep Borrell, qui se trouve à Skopje, a dénoncé « l’agression barbare » de Vladimir Poutine contre « le peuple de l’Ukraine », et qui menace l’ensemble du « continent européen ». Ce lundi, le secrétaire général des NU, Antonio Guterres, a mis en garde sur les répercussions de la guerre de la Russie en Ukraine, qui risque de se traduire par « un ouragan de la famine » dans beaucoup de pays. « L’Ukraine est en flammes » et « le pays est sur le point d’être décimé devant les yeux du monde » – a-t-il dit. Entre temps, la nouvelle session de négociations entre l’Ukraine et la Russie entamée lundi a pris une pause et elle se poursuivra mardi, a annoncé le négociateur ukrainien, Mihailo Podoliak. Ce quatrième round de négociations a eu lieu en ligne, à la différence des trois autres, qui ont eu lieu au Belarus. L’assaut de la Russie a continué lundi dans plusieurs villes, avec des bombardements forts à Kiev et Kharkiv. 160 véhicules ont réussi à quitter par un corridor humanitaire la ville de Marioupol assiégée par les forces russes et par les séparatistes prorusses.



    Réfugiés — Le rôle de la société civile dans la crise des réfugiés a été extraordinaire — a déclaré, lundi, à Bucarest, le chef du Département pour les situations d’urgence, Raed Arafat. Selon lui, la collaboration avec la société civile et avec les autorités publiques ainsi qu’avec quiconque souhaite collaborer au niveau national et international se poursuivra. La déclaration a été faite après la rencontre en format hybride entre les autorités, les représentants de la société civile et des organisations internationales impliquées dans la gestion des flux de réfugiés généré par l’agression militaire russe en Ukraine. Selon elles, la collaboration et la coordination sont nécessaires pour une réponse rapide à l’intervention. Rappelons que les autorités roumaines ont mis à disposition une carte interactive à l’intention des réfugiés, qui peuvent identifier ainsi des couloirs de transit vers les postes-frontières. L’application est à retrouver sur le site du ministère des Transports dans la section Cartes et elle est disponible en roumain, anglais et ukrainien. Les réfugiés qui souhaitent partir vers d’autres Etats peuvent trouver des informations sur les corridors de transit routiers et ferroviaires. L’application contient aussi des informations sur les poste-frontière, les aéroports internationaux et les connexions avec les aéroports situés près des postes-frontière. Depuis le début de l’invasion russe en Ukraine, des centaines de milliers de personnes sont entrées en Roumanie, dont la plupart ont seulement transité notre pays.



    Covid — 2 087 nouveaux cas d’infections au virus SARS-CoV-2 ont été enregistrés en 24 heures en Roumanie, a fait savoir lundi le ministère de la Santé. L’institution a également rapporté 20 décès parmi des malades infectés au coronavirus, dont un antérieur à cet intervalle. Depuis le 9 mars, aucune restriction anti-Covid n’est plus appliquée en Roumanie et toutes les règles de prévention de la propagation du coronavirus sont désormais des recommandations.



    Financement — La Commission européenne a approuvé, lundi, le versement de plus de deux milliards d’euros dans le cadre de la réserve d’ajustement Brexit à un groupe de 12 Etats membres, dont la Roumanie. Selon un communiqué de la Commission, la Roumanie touchera près de 13,4 millions d’euros jusqu’à la fin mars courant et encore 20,7 millions d’euros jusqu’en avril 2023. La Commission estime que ce financement aidera les économies des Etats membres à atténuer l’impact négatif du Brexit sur leurs économies et leurs régions par l’octroi d’un soutien aux régions, aux secteurs économiques et aux PME ainsi que par la création d’emplois. Les Etats membres peuvent utiliser le financement jusqu’à la fin de l’année prochaine.



    Statistiques — Le déficit de la balance commerciale roumaine a enregistré en janvier indique une progression de quelque 945 millions d’euros par rapport au premier mois de l’année dernière, pour se chiffrer à 2,126 milliards d’euros, selon les chiffres publiés ce lundi par l’Institut national de la statistique. Au niveau du mois de janvier, les exportations se sont chiffrées à près de 6,76 milliards d’euros et les informations se sont élevées à 8,88 milliards d’euros. Les machines et les équipements de transport ainsi que d’autres produits manufacturés comptent pour la vaste partie des exportations et des importations.



    Tourisme — Le tourisme a compté l’année dernière parmi les secteurs de l’Union européenne qui ont commencé à se redresser après la pandémie de coronavirus, selon les chiffres publiés lundi par l’Office statistique de l’Union européenne (Eurostat). En 2021, les nuitées dans les établissements d’hébergement du bloc communautaire ont compté pour 1,8 milliards, en hausse de 27 % par rapport à 2020. L’avancée la plus significative, de plus de 70 %, a été enregistrée en Grèce, en Espagne et en Croatie. En 2021, la Roumanie a connu une progression de 43 % du nombre de nuitées dans les structures d’hébergement par rapport à 2020, et un déclin de 30,9 % par rapport à 2019.



    Tennis — Les meilleures joueuses roumaines de tennis, Simona Halep et Sorana Cîrstea, 26e et respectivement 27e au monde, s’affrontent dans les huitièmes de finale du tournoi WTA 1 000 à Indian Wells, aux Etats-Unis. Halep, championne à Indian Wells en 2015, a battu dimanche en deux sets la jeune joueuse américaine Cori « Coco » Gauff, alors que Cîrstea a disposé en trois manches d’Ana Kalinskaya de Russie. Simona Halep et Sorana Cîrstea se sont réunies la dernière fois au circuit féminin il y a 12 ans dans les qualifications du tournoi de Cincinnati aux Etats-Unis. Cîrstea mène 2 à 1 dans les rencontres directes contre Halep.




  • February 9, 2022

    February 9, 2022

    COVID-19 In
    Romania 27,346 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported on Wednesday, fewer than
    on the previous day, and 176 related deaths, 5 of them from a previous date.
    According to experts, who have identified the Omicron variant of the coronavirus
    in all sequenced samples, Romania may have achieved herd immunity and the fifth pandemic wave is quite likely to end in spring. The vaccination rate
    remains very low, and the number of fully vaccinated citizens is little over 8
    million.


    CONFERENCE The Romanian health minister Alexandru Rafila takes part today and
    tomorrow in a joint conference of EU foreign and health ministers on global
    health and in an informal meeting of EU health ministers, due in Lyon and Grenoble (France). The 2 events are organised by the French
    presidency of the EU Council. The participants will discuss the EU measures to
    support developing countries in accessing medicines in the context of the COVID-19
    pandemic, and to strengthen national healthcare systems. The informal meeting
    of health ministers will focus on the intervention and resilience of public
    health systems in case of crises, and on the joint development of policies to
    create a ‘Union of health.’


    MOTION The Chamber of Deputies in
    Bucharest Wednesday dismissed the simple motion tabled by the opposition party USR
    against the Liberal minister for energy Virgil Popescu, with 98 votes in favour
    and 190 against. According to the authors, Popescu is a threat to Romania’s
    energy security and must be dismissed immediately. The motion was scheduled for
    debates on Monday, but the meeting was suspended after the co-president of the
    nationalist party AUR, George Simion, assaulted the energy minister during his
    address. The meeting was subsequently resumed, but with only the opposition MPs from AUR and USR in attendance. Virgil
    Popescu and the MPs from the ruling coalition left the hall in protest. Prosecutors
    have opened a criminal case with respect to the incident.


    ECONOMY Romania’s trade balance deficit in 2021 amounted to EUR 23.69
    billion, over EUR 5.3 billion higher than in 2020, according to data released
    on Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute. Last year exports totalled
    EUR 74.7 billion and imports over EUR 98 billion.
    Official data also reveal that in 2021, vehicle and transport equipment
    accounted for 44.9% of Romania’s exports and 35.2% of imports, with other
    manufactured products also accounting for large shares of the country’s foreign
    trade.


    UKRAINE International diplomatic efforts continue with a view to deescalate
    the Russia-Ukraine standoff. The president of France Emmanuel Macron called for
    a dynamic dialogue with Russia, which he sees as the only way to make peace in
    Ukraine possible. Macron discussed with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin in
    Moscow and with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, and
    voiced confidence that progress will be made in the peace talks, but
    warned that risks still exist and that months of negotiations will be needed. In
    turn, president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was looking forward to resuming
    Normandy Format negotiations with Russia, brokered by France and Germany. He
    also insisted that president Putin complied with the Minsk agreements, whose
    main clause concerns the sovereignty of Ukraine. The Russian-Ukrainian tensions
    were also discussed on Tuesday in Berlin by the German chancellor Olaf Scholz with
    the presidents of France Emmanuel Macron and of Poland, Andrzej Duda. Germany,
    France and Poland are united in their goal of preserving peace in Europe,
    said the German chancellor, who is to travel to Moscow next week.


    TENNIS The Romanian player Sorana
    Cirstea today takes on seed no. 2 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the round of 16
    of the WTA 500 tournament in Sankt Petersburg (Russia). Two other Romanians, Irina
    Begu and Jaqueline Cristian will play tomorrow in the same round, against Petra
    Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Aleksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, respectively. (A.M.P.)

  • The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on schoolchildren

    The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on schoolchildren

    We’ve had
    the COVID-19 pandemic for over year now. All sorts of restrictions are still in
    place, school went online, for its greater part, some of the classes were held
    with physical presence, but with a higher risk of contamination. All that has definitely
    affected the youngsters’ emotional well-being. This is also the outcome of an
    analysis carried by the Save the Children Association. As of late, Save the
    Children has offered free of charge psychological counselling to pupils in
    several cities around the country. The conclusions of a survey carried among
    those who resorted to such services have revealed that one child in three had
    to face states of anxiety and needed counselling and psychological and
    emotional support. And at that, a higher percentage was reported for
    adolescents, even reaching 50%. Also, 90% of the children who were in need of
    psychological therapy in the last year have had emotional problems related to
    the pandemic context. No exhaustive and official research on that has been
    conducted so far, unfortunately. However, in a separate move, there are nonetheless
    data about the manner in which school has informed pupils about the dangers of
    the pandemic, and about how sanitary safety measures have been implemented in
    classrooms. Such measures have obviously influenced children’s emotional
    well-being. It was also the Save the Children Association that carried a survey
    taking up on such topics, jointly with the National Council of Pupils. The survey
    was themed Feeling safe in your own school. Almost 22,000 pupils took
    the time to respond to it. As for the conclusions of the survey, here is the
    president of the National Council of Pupils, Silviu Morcan, with the details.

    Silviu Morcan:

    As for the information activities, we noticed that info on the
    prevention of disease transmission did live up to certain quality standards,
    for the greatest part of the educational units. More than 86% of the pupils stated
    they fully understood the information conveyed by the school staff. In much
    lower percentages respondents stated they would have needed many more clarifications
    on ways to contain the spread of the SARS-COV-2 virus or they did not even get any
    info whatsoever related to the topic. The vaccination information campaign that
    should have been organized in schools reached fewer pupils. More than one third
    of respondents, around 36%, states such campaign
    were run in their schools. Under the circumstances, is school perceived as a safe
    environment from a sanitary point of view?

    Silviu Morcan:


    The feeling of safety school gives students was another topic we intended
    to tackle. And, despite the high frequency with which going online has been
    reported because of a classmate getting infected, we noticed the feeling of safety
    prevailed when they were at school the sample average standing at 3.53 points
    on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 standing for not at all safe and 5 for
    completely safe. More than half of the respondents pointed to a high level of
    that safety feeling. Otherwise, the answer to the open-ended questions we had
    in the final part of the survey are extremely diverse with opinion being
    equally divided between those who would like school to go online completely and
    those who stated that face to face schooling was their favourite and safest
    option. Equally divided were also opinions on prevention measures such as the ear-loop
    mask or the social distancing as part of the respondents wanted those measures
    to be more strictly implemented wanted to give up on such measures altogether.


    Notwithstanding,
    anxiety and the way it creeps into people’s hearts and mind are extremely insidious.
    Therefore, it is hard to say what exactly such a disorder is triggered by and
    how it manifests itself. Similarly, it is difficult to find out where school
    alone or the pandemic context in its entirety are the cause of the anxiety At
    any rate the authorities have admitted that as we speak there is no instrument
    by means of which data can be collected, regarding pupils’ psychological and
    emotional condition. However, there are nonetheless clues teachers can take
    into account, observe and try to sort out with the assistance of school
    psychologists.

    Education Minister Advisor Radu Szekely:


    As a result of the discussions we’ve had and with help provided by
    specialists, we reached a conclusion: anxiety exists among children and
    youngsters in schools. It’s just that it hasn’t been noticed long enough. Children
    do not put their anxiety into words. And, emotionally, it is signalled through
    gestures of fear, of panic expression, sometimes even through a lack of
    interest at cognitive level. Otherwise, children aske about certain things
    which, indirectly, signal the fact that their real concern lies elsewhere,
    whereas we, in the education system, more often than not come up with answers
    to the questions asked without taking the time to look into what lies behind
    them. But it is the role of the teacher and the parent and I am keeping my hope
    alive it will soon be the role of the school psychologist assigned to each and
    every school to notice the aforementioned signs, to identify them, their
    causes, and then try to solve such situations, all the more so as, when anxiety
    is high, some of the symptoms are likely to go physical with children and youngsters.


    Also, when
    at home, parents need to watch their children carefully and talk to them, even
    though we are a society that tends to suppress emotions and children do not
    have the opportunity to express their feelings, according to psychiatrist
    Carmen Trutescu.


    Carmen Trutescu:

    Any change in the daily routine or behaviour is an alarm signal. If a
    child used to sleep 10 to 12 hours daily and now, he sleeps 18, 20 hours, or he
    doesn’t sleep at all, if he changes his eating habits, if he is extremely irritable,
    as anxiety is hard to put into words yet his becoming irritable can be a sign, all
    that means there is something going on. We do not demand that the parent
    diagnoses his child, yet the parent can notice the change in his emotional
    condition. From that moment onwards, whether we speak about anxiety, about
    depression, or the adaptation disease, whether it’s bullying or a condition of
    a different kind, that’s for the specialist to say when he sees the child. It
    would be perfect if advise should be sought from the teacher, so that we can
    have a twofold perspective. So I would really love it if teachers could detect
    such patterns of behaviour that are atypical: the fact that a child doesn’t
    leave his desk, doesn’t talk to the others, he cries or he doesn’t eat
    during the break. A child who doesn’t speak in public, who does not speak when
    his classmates are around, maybe there is something peculiar about their development.


    A recent legislative
    initiative will create the opportunity for teachers and parents to cooperate to
    that effect. Psychologist’s offices will be set up in every educational unit, where
    children can be tested frequently and solutions can be found, for the remedy of
    the psychological and emotional disorders that have been thereby detected. However,
    for the time being, that legislative initiative is still subject to parliamentary
    debate.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)



  • A European biodiversity strategy

    A European biodiversity strategy

    The coronavirus pandemic will probably be followed by even more deadly and destructive epidemics, unless we put an end to their root cause—the endemic destruction of the natural world.



    The warning comes from world-famed biodiversity experts, who argue that “the recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity, particularly of our global financial and economic systems, which seek economic growth at all costs. We have a small window of opportunity to overcome the challenges of this crisis, so as to avoid sawing the seeds of future ones”.



    Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Diaz and Eduardo Brondizio coordinated the largest health assessment project ever conducted, whose findings were made public in 2019 by Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Their conclusion is that human society is in danger because of the accelerated decline of Terra’s natural life support systems.



    In an article published recently together with Peter Daszak, Ph.D, who is working on the next health assessment, they warn that “Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled agricultural expansion, intensive farming, mining and the exploitation of wild species have created a ‘perfect storm’ for the spillover of diseases.”



    Researchers say the economic recovery packages in the trillions of US dollars, made available by governments, must be used to strengthen and enforce environment protection and that a global, unified, ‘One Health’ approach is required. Because “Human health is inextricably linked to the health of wild animals, the health of domestic animals and the health of the environment. It is, in fact, one health”.



    “The coronavirus crisis showed us how vulnerable we are and how important it is to recover the balance between human activity and nature, the executive vice-president for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans says in his turn.



    In May, the European Commission adopted 2 new strategies, one focusing on biodiversity and the other on the food system. The new biodiversity strategy stipulates, among other things, that by 2030, 30% of Europe’s land and sea will be turned into efficiently managed protected areas, and at least 10% of the utilised agriculture land will include diverse landscapes such as hedges, trees and ponds that enhance carbon sequestration, prevent soil erosion and water depletion.



    Adopted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the strategy is a central element of the EU’s recovery plan, essential to preventing future epidemics and strengthening resilience to possible epidemics, Frans Timmermans explains.



    Another strategy adopted by the Commission, “Farm to Fork”, provides for a 50% cut in the use of pesticides, a minimum 20% reduction in the use of fertilisers, a 50% reduction of sales of antimicrobials used in animal farms and fisheries, as well as for 25% of the agriculture land to be farmed organically.



    The strategy targets a new, better balance between nature, food systems and biodiversity, to protect the health and welfare of our citizens and at the same time to increase the Union’s competitiveness and resilience, Frans Timmermans also says.



    The 2 strategies reinforce each other, bringing together nature, farmers, enterprises and consumers to create a sustainable and competitive future. According to Brussels, under the European Green Deal, the EU launches ambitious actions and commitments to fight the decline of biodiversity in Europe and worldwide and to turn our food systems into global benchmarks for competitive sustainability, the protection of human and planetary health, as well as for the subsistence means of all stakeholders in the food value chain.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)


  • November 13, 2019 UPDATE

    November 13, 2019 UPDATE

    COMMISSIONER The Liberal MEP Adina Vălean, Romania’s pick for the position of EU transport commissioner, will be interviewed on Thursday by the European Parliament’s specialist committees alongside the French and Hungarian nominees. On Tuesday, she was given the green light by the Committee on Legal Affairs, which looked at possible conflicts of interest. Also on Tuesday, Vălean was heard by the joint European affairs committees of the Romanian Parliament, whose opinion is advisory. When the formal hearings are over, the president elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will present the full commission and its programme to the European Parliament on the 27th of November. Adina Vălean has said that if she becomes EU commissioner, she will support the continuation of the European Interconnection Mechanism, under which 1.24 billion euros worth of investment reached Romania for transport infrastructure and 500 million euros more for energy. The mechanism aims to connect the transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructures in the European Union.




    GOVERNMENT The new Liberal government Wednesday passed an emergency order to provide social protection for the miners about to lose their jobs in the Jiu Valley, in the centre-west. The order comes in response to the demands of the employees of the coal mines in Paroşeni and Uricani, who recently barricaded themselves underground for 11 days. An estimated 360 people are to be laid off this year, with another 700 due to lose their jobs by 2024. Also on Wednesday, the Government passed an emergency order on the status of British citizens in Romania in the event of a no-deal Brexit. According to the Prime Ministers chief of staff Ionel Danca, this order is necessary and requested by the British side, and is aimed at ensuring mutual terms for the status of the Romanian citizens living in Britain post-Brexit. In late October, the ambassadors of the 27 EU member states agreed to extend the Brexit deadline to January 31.




    FINANCE In the first 9 months of the year, the current account on the balance of payments saw a deficit of over 8.1 billion euros, as against 6.8 billion in the corresponding period of last year, the National Bank of Romania announced. Foreign direct investments in Romania totaled over 4.2 billion euros in the first 3 quarters, which is approx. 280 million euro less than in the first 9 months of 2018. The central bank also announced that the total foreign debt rose by nearly 8.4 billion euros in the first 9 months, exceeding 108 billion euros.




    MOLDOVA Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian president of the Republic of Moldova, Wednesday nominated the presidential adviser Ion Chicu as prime minister. The decision comes after the Socialist MPs agreed to the presidents proposal to form a government of technocrats, and after the negotiations with the pro-European bloc ACUM failed. Dodon invited parliamentary parties to talks on Wednesday on a new majority, following the dismissal of Maia Sandu’s pro-European cabinet through a no-confidence vote on Tuesday. The parties have three months to form a new government and avoid early elections. Sandu accused her former Socialist partners, de facto led by Dodon, of bringing down the government because they are afraid of the law. Romania and the European Union have warned the Republic of Moldova that their support, including of a financial nature, is conditional on the continuation of reforms and respect for the rule of law and for democratic standards.




    NAVY The King Ferdinand frigate is taking part in an international anti-submarine warfare exercise organised by the Turkish Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and which is under way until the 20th of November, the Navy Chief of Staff has announced. The Romanian crew will be carrying out specific training activities in Turkey’s territorial waters and neighbouring international waters alongside colleagues from Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, Jordan, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, the United States and Turkey.




    TENNIS The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecău and Jean-Julien Rojer Wednesday defeated the world no. 1 and Wimbledon and US Open winners Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia in the ATP Finals in London. This is the first victory for the pair in this years edition of the ATP Finals. In the first match of Group Max Mirnyi on Monday, Tecău and Rojer lost to the Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in 3 sets. The Romanian-Dutch pair won the ATP Finals in 2015 and also qualified for this tournament in 2014 and 2017. This year, they won the titles in Madrid and Basel.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, Cristina Mateescu)