Radio România Internațional

Tag: Brussels

  • March 14, 2025

    March 14, 2025

    FAIR Over March 13-16 the Belgian capital is hosting the international book fair Brussels Book Fair 2025, one of the most important events of this kind in Europe. Romania is attending this fair with over five hundred titles on view at the stand of the Romanian Cultural Institute also known as ICR. There are books and albums translated in several languages, predominantly in French, some of which have been funded through the ICR programmes with a view to promoting the Romanian authors at international level. Besides Romanian authors, the ICR stand is also promoting authors from the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. The ICR is expected to stage several events, during which authors are going to have a dialogue with foreign authors or with the Belgian readership. The Brussels Book Fair is one of the most important cultural events in the Belgian capital, which is also the EU capital, and brings together several thousand authors, illustrators, publishers, critics as well as readers annually.

     

    EBRD The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, will be visiting Bulgaria and Romania next week, the aforementioned financial institution has announced in a communiqué. The visit of the EBRD president comes at a time when the institution is preparing fresh five-year strategies for both countries, which will be subjected for public consultations at the end of this year. The EBRD investment in Romania rose from 658 million Euros up to 707 million last year. The EBRD official will be seeing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Finance Minister, Tanczos Barna, Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, as well as representatives of the business environment, diplomats and representatives of civil society.

     

    ELECTION Candidates for the presidential election in May have two more days to register with the Central Election Bureau, the deadline being March 15 at midnight. So far, only two candidates are officially enrolled in the race, their candidacies having been validated by the Constitutional Court: Crin Antonescu, supported by the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition, and the Bucharest Mayor General, Nicuşor Dan, who runs as an independent candidate. Deputy Victor Ponta also registered his candidacy as an independent candidate, for which he was excluded from the Social-Democratic Party. On the other hand, the Constitutional Court’s decision to definitively reject the candidacy of independent candidate Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist who unexpectedly won the first round of last year’s presidential election, has prompted the parties that supported him, AUR and POT, to prepare a new electoral strategy. Thus, the leaders of the two parties, George Simion and Ana-Maria Gavrilă, announced they would both submit their candidacies for the presidential election, and one of them will withdraw once their candidacies are validated. The leader of USR, Elena Lasconi, who advanced to the second round last year, Diana Şoşoacă (from SOS Romania), who expressed confidence her candidacy would be upheld this time, as well as and MEP Cristian Terheş from the Romanian National Conservative Party, also submitted their candidacies.

     

    TRADE DEFICIT – Romania’s trade deficit increased by 38% in January, compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute reports. In 2024, Romania exported goods worth €92.6 billion, while its imports stood at €133.4 billion. Romania’s deficit remains significant, especially in relations with China, Germany and Poland, while recording surpluses with the UK, the Republic of Moldova and the USA, although in smaller volumes. Trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs remains vulnerable, as Romania mainly exports raw materials and imports end products. To reduce the €5 billion trade deficit in this area, experts recommend a strategy focused on the export of value-added products and more efficient use of statistical data for better-founded economic decisions.

    (bill)

  • February 21, 2025

    February 21, 2025

    VISIT Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is meeting the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels today. Talks over the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, a.k.a PNRR, as well as the global and regional security are high on the talks agenda. Bucharest’s objective is to renegotiate with the EU officials some targets in the country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience so that Romania may entirely absorb the funds allotted through the European mechanism. In Ciolacu’s opinion, there are a series of issues within the PNRR, which need adjustment to present-day realities. The head of the Executive believes that 2025 and 2026 are decisive years when Romania can entirely benefit from funding in the aforementioned plan.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions, FCSB, on Thursday night qualified for the Europa League’s round of 16 after a 4-1 win on aggregate against, PAOK Thessaloniki, a Greek eleven coached by Romanian Razvan Luceascu. FCSB won the first game in Greece 2-1 and also clinched a 2-0 win in Bucharest last night in front of over 50 thousand football fans. FCSB will be playing their first match at home on March 6 and return one a week later either against Olympique Lyon or Eintracht Frankfurt. Lots are being drawn today in Nyon, Switzerland.

     

    THEFT The Dutch police have announced they apprehended a 26 year-old man, who has become the fourth suspect in the theft of the Romanian ancient artefacts from the Drents Museum in Assen. According to police sources, the artefacts haven’t been recovered yet. We recall that on January 25, four extremely valuable golden artefacts part of Romania’s treasure, on display at the Drents Museum, were stolen. The museum was hosting the exhibition entitled “Dacia, the Kingdom of gold and silver”, which was supposed to close a day before the robbery.

     

    JOBS Romania’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, on Thursday announced that 18 hundred jobs of public and contract servants from the institutions subordinated and coordinated by the government would be axed. The premier referred to a massive drop in the number of the aforementioned jobs of 13.5%, which translates into the biggest cost-cutting initiative in the history of the Romanian government.

     

    BUDGET The Romanian government has approved a budget of roughly 240 million Euros for the preparation and staging of the presidential election on May 4 and 18. The money comes from the Budget Reserve Funds made available to the government and stipulated in the state budget 2025 – says a communiqué of the Executive. We recall the presidential election will take place in May after a first round held in December was annulled through a Constitutional Court ruling, which invoked interferences in the election process.

     

    RABLA Representatives of the Carmakers Association in Romania have proposed to the authorities a new form of the RABLA programme, which no longer includes the Classical and Plus variants. According to the aforementioned association, ecobonuses of higher value might encourage the population to purchase more electric cars and if ecobonuses are funded from green certificates, their value may become more important than the state budget funds. A lower ecobonus value for electric vehicles, which last year was halved at 5 thousand Euros, has caused a major market slump of roughly 32%.

    (bill)

  • February 20, 2025 UPDATE

    February 20, 2025 UPDATE

    FAIR The 2025 springtime edition of Romania’s Travel Fair got underway on Thursday in Bucharest in the presence of the Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Bogdan Ivan. According to him, authorities are preparing a series of visa facilities for tourists who want to travel to Romania. Currently at its 51st edition, the event is taking place until Sunday on a surface of 12 thousand square meters and brings together 190 exhibitors from Romania and abroad, thus strengthening its status as a reference platform in the tourism industry, the organizers say. This edition brings together a significant number of international participants who account for 52% of the total companies attending. Travel agencies and operators have prepared significant discounts for a wide range of travel packages. Romania’s most beautiful regions are being promoted during the fair offering the visitors the opportunity of discovering these marvelous regions for themselves. The present edition comes with a series of exclusive offers and special discounts for the holidays of 2025 and also includes inter-active presentations and conferences given by experts in the industry as well as virtual tours of the top destinations.

     

    TENNIS Romania’s male tennis team will be up against El Salvador in the Davis Cup’s World Group Two in September this year, the Romanian Tennis Federation announced on its Facebook page on Thursday. The matches are to take place over September 12 – 13 or 13 – 14. Romania conceded a 3-1 defeat to Bulgaria in Craiova, southern Romania, in the World Group One’s play-offs held in late January early February. In Group Two, El Salvador outperformed the Republic of Moldova 3-2 on their own turf in Santa Tecla. Romania hasn’t played Salvador yet whose best known player is Marcelo Arevalo, world leader in doubles contests. Worth mentioning is that the singles ranking doesn’t include any Salvadorian player.

     

    UKRAINE Ilie Bolojan, the interim president of Romania, stated after Wednesday’s informal meeting in Paris that Ukraine’s security is directly linked to the security of Europe and of Romania, reaffirming the importance of the collaboration between the European states and the United States to achieve a just and lasting peace. “A fair peace cannot be achieved without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union in the negotiations,” Ilie Bolojan also stated. Before the meeting, which was also attended by leaders from Norway, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Sweden and Belgium, the interim president of Romania had talks with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. “We have ensured once again that, just as France has been by Romania’s side in the very important moments of our country’s history, it stands by our side today. We have reconfirmed the strategic partnership with France,” said President Bolojan. He also added, “we have reconfirmed the stability of the French military presence in Romania. At the request of our country, this presence will be strengthened in the coming period.” Bucharest and Paris will also continue their economic cooperation, including in the defense industry, with the development of production capacities in Romania being taken into account for the coming years.

     

    TALKS Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has said, regarding the peace negotiations in Ukraine, that the momentary harsh statements made by the world leaders are not important, what is important is a just and lasting peace in that country, which can only be achieved with the help of the US. He stressed that peace will bring lower energy and gas prices and an economic recovery throughout Europe. It is then vital to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, it is a project of over 500 billion euros, from which Romanian companies must gain as much as possible, Ciolacu added. He announced, on the other hand, that during the working visit he will make to Brussels on Friday, he will meet with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The discussions will focus, among other things, on aspects related to the renegotiation of the NRRP as well as the security situation in the current international context. The Head of the Executive specified that he will be accompanied to Brussels by the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Boloş, and the Minister of Finance, Tanczos Barna.

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  • February 4, 2025

    February 4, 2025

    Budget – Today, the Romanian MPs are focusing on the state budget and social insurance bills. With over 1,000 amendments submitted, most of them by the opposition, they will be discussed at an accelerated pace in the committees. The finance minister, Tánczos Barna, explained that the Government’s bill is based on spending cuts and supporting investments, with record allocations of 150 billion lei (about 30 billion Euros), which would ensure compliance with the deficit target of 7% of the gross domestic product. Adopted by the government at the end of last week, Romania’s budget bill for this year is built on an economic growth of 2.5% and an average inflation rate of 4.4%. The debates and the vote in Parliament are predictable, as the MPs of the ruling coalition (PSD-PNL-UDMR) form the majority.

     

    Israel – The American President Donald Trump today receives the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader invited to the White House after his return to power. The talks take place at a delicate moment in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, for the second phase of the agreement to end the war in Gaza. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Israel, the public channel of the Israeli television reported that a compromise is foreseen between the desire of the extremist wing of the Israeli government, which seeks to compromise the transition to the 2nd stage of the Israel-Hamas agreement for the release of the hostages and the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip, and the American administration, a firm supporter of the release of all hostages and of the end of the war. The compromise would consist in adopting the so-called Tunis model, which was applied in the 1980s to the Palestine Liberation Organization, when its leaders were expelled to Tunis, guaranteeing their lives and the continuation of the organization’s structure in return. On the same model, the extremist wing in the Israeli government could agree to a cessation of the war in the Gaza Strip and the only symbolic defeat of the Hamas organization, whose leaders, without being eliminated, would be expelled to another country, after the Tunisian model.

     

    BOR – Today, the Romanian Orthodox Church (the majority denomination in Romania) celebrates 100 years since its promotion to the rank of Patriarchate. According to Patriarch Daniel, this anniversary is not only a celebration of the past, but also a call to gratitude towards our ancestors and a reflection on the role of our Church in the life of the Romanian people. The Romanian Patriarchate was, throughout its 100-year existence, an unquenchable torch of faith and national unity, he said. Specialists recall that the Romanian Patriarchate was born on February 4, 1925, in a historical context marked by the Great Union of 1918, which brought together all the historical Romanian provinces in a single unitary state.

     

    Defense – European defense without the United States will not work, said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, after an informal defense meeting of European leaders in Brussels. Mark Rutte highlighted the importance of the NATO-European Union partnership, emphasizing the transatlantic connection as the foundation of European security. The former Dutch prime minister pleaded, at the same time, in favor of increasing defense spending and increasing military production. Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, said, among other things, that the US defense industries must collaborate much better and reiterated that Romania did not support the idea of ​​a separate European defense.

     

    Customs – The Romanian Customs Authority (AVR) has started real-time monitoring of means of transport with the help of smart seals applied by customs inspectors within mobile teams, as part of the RO e-Seal National System, the institution announced on Tuesday. This system significantly reduces customs and tax fraud, because the entire process of freight transport becomes transparent and uses a modern method to ensure the modernization and digitization of customs processes, the integrity of goods and the prevention of burglary, also in the case of other risks associated with transport, shows an AVR press release. According to the aforementioned source, the advantages of using the RO e-Seal National System include real-time monitoring, as electronic seals equipped with GPS technology allow full tracking of the transport route and, depending on the information obtained, the rapid intervention of mobile teams throughout the national territory for detecting, sanctioning of customs or fiscal fraud and fraudulent handling of goods. (LS)

  • February 3, 2025 UPDATE 2

    February 3, 2025 UPDATE 2

    Defense – Europe must assume greater responsibility for its own defense in order to strengthen our strategic resilience, said President Klaus Iohannis, present, on Monday, in Brussels, at the informal meeting of EU leaders on defense issues. The discussions focused on military capabilities and the European defense industry. President Iohannis evoked, in this sense, the need for adequate financing seen not only as the allocation of more money, but also as the effective use of the already existing tools. Regarding defense, Romania’s president emphasized the need for complementarity between the European Union and NATO.

     

    EU funds – Attracting European funds for financing social projects for the benefit of the Romanian citizens, for protecting the rights and increasing the skills of Romanian workers are the topics tackled during Monday’s meeting between Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and Roxana Mînzatu, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for social rights, skills, quality jobs and training. Visiting Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday, in her first official visit in this capacity, Roxana Mînzatu emphasized the openness to support the Romanian administration in attracting as many European funds as possible. During the talks, the two officials also referred to the debate taking place at the European level regarding the Consolidation of EU emergency preparedness. In this context, the head of the Romanian government mentioned that Bucharest must be part of this debate, considering the contribution that Romanian specialists have in managing such situations, like fires and floods. On Tuesday, Roxana Mînzatu will meet with president Klaus Iohannis and will have talks with the speakers of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies, Ilie Bolojan, and Ciprian Şerban respectively.

     

    Meeting – The Romanian Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, had an official meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart, Daniel Mitov, on the occasion of the official launching ceremony of the joint patrols at the Bulgarian-Turkish border together with the counterparts from Bulgaria, Hungary and representatives of the management of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. According to an Interior Ministry press release, published on Monday, they tackled the issue of the bilateral commitment to work together in addressing the challenges of cross-border crime, for the protection of the external borders of the EU and of the common one. The most important aspects of the Romanian-Bulgarian cooperation in the field of Internal Affairs were reviewed, with an emphasis on the latest developments recorded after the lifting of internal border controls on January 1, 2025. Cătălin Predoiu was decorated by the Bulgarian minister with the Badge of Honor “Value and Merit” of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, for special merits in the development and consolidation of cooperation in the field of security and internal affairs. He is the first Romanian Interior Minister to receive this distinction.

     

    Budget – Romania’s 2025 budget bill will enter Parliament’s debate as of Tuesday, and the final vote is expected to take place by the end of the week. The vote is predictable as the parliamentarians of the ruling coalition (PSD-PNL-UDMR) have the majority. However, the document met with much criticism from the opposition parties, which submitted over 1,000 amendments. Adopted by the government at the end of last week, Romania’s budget bill for 2025 is based on an economic growth of 2.5%, an average inflation rate of 4.4% and a deficit of 7% of the GDP. According to the Finance Minister, Tanczos Barna, the budget focuses on investments, with record allocations of 150 billion lei (about 30 billion Euros).

     

    IMF – An International Monetary Fund mission is paying a visit to Bucharest, between February 3-7. The IMF team will meet with representatives of the new Romanian Government and the National Bank of Romania to analyze recent financial and economic developments and update macroeconomic perspectives. Currently, Romania does not have a financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund, but the financial institution annually evaluates the evolution of the Romanian economy, based on consultations on Article IV, which represents a mandatory surveillance exercise for all member states. The purpose of the consultations is to examine the financial and economic situation at the national level and formulate some general recommendations regarding monetary policies, financial and economic policies to be followed so as to ensure stability and a positive evolution of the economy.

     

    Investigation – The prosecutors from the Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime (DIICOT) carried out, on Monday, dozens of searches in Romania and Monaco, in a case involving fraud with particularly serious consequences, embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, related to what the press called the Nordis real estate business. The investigations targeted a number of about 70 suspects, natural and legal persons. Among the people interviewed are Laura Vicol, former head of the Legal Commission in the Chamber of Deputies, and Ioana Băsescu, the daughter of the former president of Romania, Traian Băsescu, who was called at the DIICOT headquarters to give explanations regarding her involvement as a notary in the Nordis business. Starting in 2018, three of the suspects allegedly initiated and set up an organized criminal group, which conceived and implemented a complex criminal mechanism, consisting, mainly, in the promotion and development of real estate projects under the cover of several commercial companies, followed by collecting money from clients, misleading buyers during the execution of pre-contracts and sale-purchase contracts. The leaders of the organized criminal group are said to have collected over 957,000,000 lei (over 195 million Euros) from customers as an advance payment within the framework of bilateral sale-purchase promises, respectively sales-purchase agreements. (LS)

     

  • Efforts to reduce the budget deficit

    Efforts to reduce the budget deficit

    The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) approved, in Brussels, the budget deficit reduction plans for eight EU states, including Romania. The Romanian Finance Minister, Tánczos Barna, states that reducing the deficit over a period of seven years instead of four will bring many advantages to the country. First, it will allow the Romanian economy to maintain a high level of public investments, and Romania fares well in this regard among the EU states. It is at the same time a premise for avoiding imbalances and for sustainable economic growth. Apart from Romania, four other member states – Spain, Italy and Finland – requested the extension of the adjustment period. The European Commissioner for Economy, the Latvian Valdis Dombrolskis, explained that the first analyses will be published in the spring.

     

    On the sidelines of the Council meeting, he had a separate meeting with the Romanian Finance Minister to discuss the details of the plan. Tánczos Barna states that, throughout the seven years, Romania will receive financial and technical support to restore the macroeconomic balance. The parameters indicated by the European Commission aim to keep public expenses under control and to obtain economic growth through investments. Romania’s fiscal budgetary plan aims to stabilize the public debt and reduce the deficit to below 3% of the GDP, in the period 2025-2031. Romania will continue to develop, protecting essential investments and ensuring long-term financial stability, says, in turn, the Romanian Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Boloş, in a Facebook post. In his opinion, the European Commission’s decision to approve Romania’s budget deficit reduction plan will allow the government to avoid the pressure of an accelerated adjustment or the adoption of dramatic measures to reduce the budget deficit. Massive spending cuts, blocking investments in hospitals and roads, massive tax increases, all these would have been the consequences of a tough adjustment imposed by the European Commission, Marcel Boloş said.

     

    On the other hand, the minister also points out, through this plan international credibility is maintained, in the context in which non-compliance with fiscal commitments would have led to a decrease in the country’s rating, which would have made loans more expensive and harder to access. The decisions show that European economies currently need time to achieve sustainable fiscal consolidation without sacrificing development. Without this plan, Romania would have risked losing what is being built now for future generations, Marcel Boloş emphasized. 2024 was difficult for Romania, with local, European Parliament, presidential and parliamentary elections. At the same time, it was a year in which pensions were recalculated, salaries were increased in several areas and investments were supported with unprecedented amounts. Romania ended 2024 with a budget deficit of 8.6% of the GDP. (LS)

  • December 19, 2024 UPDATE

    December 19, 2024 UPDATE

    TALKS The last thing Romania needs is a wide-scale governmental and Parliamentary crisis, the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, said on Thursday. There is no time now for petty arguments and every leader must see themselves as a state-person and negotiate for a new government to propose a budget and stage presidential election as soon as possible next year, Iohannis went on to say. The Romanian president has announced he will summon the political parties for a new round of talks. His statement comes after the announcement by the country’s Prime Minister and Social-Democratic leader, Marcel Ciolacu that the PSD is going to withdraw from the talks for setting up an Executive and that it will be voting for a minority right-wing government. The interim PNL chair, Ilie Bolojan, says the Liberals are willing to contribute to finding a solution. In his opinion the country is already in a complicated situation and the inability to build up a ruling coalition will cost the Romanians dearly. The USR MP, Catalin Drula, whose party has been accused of far-fetched claims for carrying on the talks, has lashed out at Ciolacu’s statement and the UDMR has made an appeal to the coalition partners to come back to the negotiations table. After the cancellation of the presidential election, the pro-European parties, which won seats in Parliament following the election round on December 1st, namely PNL, USR and UDMR have kicked off talks with a view to forging a coalition government.

     

    SUMMIT ‘There would be no winners in a potential trade war between the United States and the European Union except China’, the EU’s Foreign Affairs High Representative, Kaja Kallas said on Thursday. Her statement comes against the uncertainties related to the future decisions by the Trump administration, due to take over on January 20th. There are fears the new US administration might raise import fees for European products up to 20%, an alternative being considered by heads of state and government at the European Summit underway in Brussels. The aforementioned summit, where Romania is being represented by its president, Klaus Iohannis, has high on its agenda the situation in Ukraine, migration, the Middle East, the bloc’s civil and military training, crisis-response as well as the situation in the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.

     

    FITCH The Fitch rating agency has worsened Romania’s outlook from “stable” to “negative” regarding the raring for long-term loans in foreign currency. Among the reasons cited, Fitch mentions political risk factors, including “eroded political credibility” and political uncertainty, as well as fiscal slippages and unsustainable spending. An important factor that has been taken into account is the large budget deficit. Among the causes, Fitch lists public sector wage spending and “unfunded pension increases ahead of the election”. In addition, the new Romanian Parliament is more divided and there is an increase in the share of extreme right anti-European parties, which reflects the rising polarization of Romanian society. On the other hand, a plus for Romania is, according to Fitch, the solid banking sector. Among the factors that can lead to a positive rating, the agency mentions the higher than projected fiscal consolidation, which supports the stabilization of the public debt (GDP) in the medium term and the reduction of external indebtedness and external financing risks.

     

    FOOTBALL The main shareholder of the football club Rapid Bucharest, one of the most popular in Romania, the businessman Dan Şucu, became the majority shareholder of the Italian club Genoa, the Serie A group announced on its official website. The source points out that, following a capital increase to 45,356,262 Euros, of which 5,356,262 Euros are free and another 40,000,000 paid on December 14, the Board of Directors approved the Romanian investor’s offer. He subscribed to the entire capital increase, obtaining, in return, a share in the share capital of about 77% of Genoa CFC and leaving the previous shareholders as a minority – the release also states. President of the Concordia Employers’ Confederation, Şucu (61 years old) is a prominent figure in the Romanian economy. He is the founder of Mobexpert, the largest furniture brand in Romania, with over 2,200 employees. He is also involved in the real estate sector and in the media, with a key role in the business daily “Ziarul Financiar”. Genoa is ranked 13thin Serie A after 16 matches, with 16 points.

     

    (bill)

  • December 19, 2024

    December 19, 2024

    Coalition – This is not the time for petty arguments, and every leader must see himself as a statesman and negotiate in order to have a government that should propose a budget and organize the presidential election as soon as possible next year, said the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. He announced that he would convene consultations with the political parties. Iohannis’s statement comes after the announcement of the Romanian Prime Minister and social-democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu that the PSD is withdrawing from the talks regarding the formation of the government and will vote for a right-wing minority government in Parliament. Prior to this announcement, the USR had set conditions to remain in the coalition formula which the discussion partners considered exaggerated. After the cancellation of the presidential election, the pro-European parties that entered parliament following the December 1 elections, PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR, began negotiations for the formation of a broad coalition government.

     

    Stock exchange – The Bucharest Stock Exchange registered decreases of almost 3% on almost all indices in Thursday’s meeting, at noon, and recorded transactions worth 2.63 billion lei (around 530 million Euros). The main BET index, which shows the evolution of the 16 most liquid companies, registered a decrease of 2.75%, up to 16,300.37 points, and the BET-Plus index, which shows the evolution of the 37 most liquid shares from the Bucharest Stock Exchange, was down by 2.68%.

     

    European Council – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, today, in the meeting of the European Council, which is taking place in Brussels. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the agenda of talks includes topics such as: Ukraine, migration, the situation in the Middle East, the EU’s preparation in the civil and military fields and the response to crises, the EU enlargement, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and issues related to freedom, security and justice. The European leaders’ discussion regarding Ukraine aims at analyzing the situation on the ground and the most appropriate ways to comply with the support commitments to the Ukrainian people and to continue the efforts necessary to reject the Russian invasion and ensure the prevalence of international law. The Romanian President will also inform the members of the European Council about the situation in Romania as a result of foreign interference in the electoral process. ‘I will emphasize that this is not a threat only to Romania, but to European democracies and values, in the most general way. Effective coordination at the level of the entire Union is necessary on the topic of combating foreign interference and hybrid attacks from Russia,’ said President Iohannis.

     

    Football – The main shareholder of the football club Rapid Bucharest, one of the most popular in Romania, the businessman Dan Şucu, became the majority shareholder of the Italian club Genoa, the Serie A group announced on its official website. The source points out that, following a capital increase to 45,356,262 Euros, of which 5,356,262 Euros are free and another 40,000,000 paid on December 14, the Board of Directors approved the Romanian investor’s offer. He subscribed to the entire capital increase, obtaining, in return, a share in the share capital of about 77% of Genoa CFC and leaving the previous shareholders as a minority – the release also states. President of the Concordia Employers’ Confederation, Şucu (61 years old) is a prominent figure in the Romanian economy. He is the founder of Mobexpert, the largest furniture brand in Romania, with over 2,200 employees. He is also involved in the real estate sector and in the media, with a key role in the business daily “Ziarul Financiar”. Genoa is ranked 13thin Serie A after 16 matches, with 16 points.

     

    Fitch – The Fitch rating agency has worsened Romania’s outlook from “stable” to “negative” regarding the raring for long-term loans in foreign currency. Among the reasons cited, Fitch mentions political risk factors, including “eroded political credibility” and political uncertainty, as well as fiscal slippages and unsustainable spending. An important factor that has been taken into account is the large budget deficit. Among the causes, Fitch lists public sector wage spending and “unfunded pension increases ahead of the election”. In addition, the new Romanian Parliament is more divided and there is an increase in the share of extreme right anti-European parties, which reflects the rising polarization of Romanian society. On the other hand, a plus for Romania is, according to Fitch, the solid banking sector. Among the factors that can lead to a positive rating, the agency mentions the higher than projected fiscal consolidation, which supports the stabilization of the public debt (GDP) in the medium term and the reduction of external indebtedness and external financing risks. (LS)

  • November 17, 2024 UPDATE

    November 17, 2024 UPDATE

     

    VISIT Preserving the memory of the victims of wars and totalitarianism, as well as of those persecuted for their faith, for the search for justice and freedom, is a duty and a form of justice, said President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday, in the German Federal Parliament, during a ceremony on the Day of Commemoration of the victims of war and dictatorship. He also highlighted the importance of a stronger and more united European Union, adapted to the challenges of the future. Germany, said President Iohannis, will continue to find in Romania a partner deeply committed to European values, ready to work together to strengthen the Union and for freedom and democracy to be protected and accepted both in the EU and globally. During a visit to Berlin between November 15 and 18, president Klaus Iohannis had talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier about security and the support that Romania and Germany will continue to give to Ukraine. The agenda of consultations with Chancellor Olaf Scholz also included Romania’s full Schengen accession.

     

     

    EU Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu has a working visit to Brussels scheduled for Monday. He will have meetings with NATO’s new secretary general, Mark Rutte, with the president-elect of the European Council, António Costa and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Marcel Ciolacu is accompanied by a governmental delegation which includes the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr. The visit to Brussels comes ahead of the start of a new EU institutional cycle, following the elections held this June, and ahead of the endorsement of the new Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029.

     

     

    OBITUARY The former gymnastics coach Bela Karoly died at the age of 82. The cause of death has not been made public, but he was known to have had various health problems over the past few years. Bela Karoly coached the world-famous Nadia Comăneci, who got the first “perfect 10” in the history of the Olympic Games in Montreal, in 1976, followed by further outstanding performances. Karoly fell out of favour with the communist regime when he criticised the arbitration at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. A year later he defected to the US, where he came to coach a number of American gymnasts, some of whom became Olympic or world champions. Karoly and his wife chose to stay away from the public eye, after being targeted by allegations regarding the brutal methods he used in training.

     

     

    FORESTRY CODE Romania’s new Forestry Code, aimed at preventing wood theft, is waiting for the green light from Parliament’s specialist committees before being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect. The draft legislation still requires positive reports from the committees on agriculture and legal affairs, after being approved by the committee on environment. Several amendments have been introduced in the process, concerning among other things the planting of green areas around cities, access to all forests on foot or by bicycle and pre-emptive rights to top-quality materials for Romanian furniture producers. The new law will punish theft by seizure of the wood and of the vehicle used in the theft. A National Forestry Council will also be set up, to monitor compliance with ethical and professional standards among forestry staff. The new Forestry Code is a benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the government intends to have it endorsed by December.

     

     

    SAVINGS Nearly three-quarters of Romanians are concerned with price increases, and say they will spend less these holidays, according to an EU-wide survey. Moreover, some economists predict a complicated year ahead and call on people to save money. Apart from simple methods like setting a monthly budget and strictly monitoring expenses, experts have a savings solution for low-income categories as well. The Centre for Banking Dispute Settlement recommends the 52-week method, in which a person saves as much money as the number of the week in question, to reach EUR 277 during a year. Nearly 40% of Romanian consumers plan to spend between EUR 100 and 200 for their Christmas shopping. (AMP)

  • August 30, 2024 UPDATE

    August 30, 2024 UPDATE

    Visit – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be paying a formal visit to Chişinău at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. The visit comes against the background of the two countries’ celebrating the Day of the Romanian language on August 31st. Iohannis is expected to deliver a firm message of support and encouragement for the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova in their efforts to modernize and democratize the country and for the irreversible implementation of the rule of law and the European roadmap – the presidential administration has announced. The president will also be making an appeal to international partners to carry on their multidimensional assistance to the Republic of Moldova mainly in the context of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine and all the risks entailed by this situation.

     

    Sanctions – Romania supports the adoption of new sanctions against Russia. During Thursday’s informal meeting, in Brussels, of the European Foreign Ministers with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, the Romanian FM Luminiţa Odobescu emphasized that the pressure on Moscow must be maintained and the military and energy support given to Ukraine must be continued. The issue of military aid for Kyiv was also discussed on Friday at the informal meeting of the defense ministers of the member states. The agenda of the meeting also included the operational commitments carried out under the auspices of the Common Security and Defense Policy, the EU’s level of preparation in the field of defense and the prospects for the development of the EU Satellite Center. The Secretary of State for Defense Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, who represented Romania, highlighted the essential role of the European Union Military Assistance Mission to support Ukraine (EUMAM UA), as well as of the European Peace Facility. She also reiterated the existence of challenges in the extended Black Sea region, caused by the Russian Federation’s war of aggression.

     

    Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, qualified to the Europa League groups after the victory obtained, on Thursday evening, in Bucharest, against the Austrian team LASK Linz, with the score 1-0, in the decisive leg of the play-off. The first leg had ended in a draw, 1 all. The vice-champions CFR Cluj (north-west) failed to qualify to the Conference League groups, after losing, away from home, score 3-0, the play-off decisive match against the Cypriot team FC Pafos. In the first leg, Cluj won 1-0. The English team Manchester United and the Scottish team Glasgow Rangers are among FCSB’s opponents in the main phase of the Europa League, according to Friday’s drawing of lots in Monaco. The other opponents of FCSB are the Greek teams PAOK Thessaloniki and Olympiakos Piraeus, FC Midtjylland – the champion of Denmark, Qarabag FK – the champion of Azerbaijan, the German team Hoffenheim and FK RFS – the champion of Latvia.

     

    Internship – 148 young Romanians finished the government internship program that started on July 1 on Friday. For two months, they worked in government departments, ministries and other central public institutions. Mihai Ghigiu, the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, told them that they are needed in the public administration. He showed that the average age in the administration will reach 50 years, which means that in the next 6-7-8 years many areas will be left without specialists. Mihai Ghigiu encouraged the young people to go and study abroad, and to use the acquired knowledge in Romania. (LS)

     

  • Romania’s Prime Minister in Brussels

    Romania’s Prime Minister in Brussels

    The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, held talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Thursday. High on the agenda were the renegotiation of the country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, known as PNRR, the future agreement on curbing the country’s budget deficit and the Romanian proposal for the future European Commissioner.

    Marcel Ciolacu mentioned Bucharest’s request to renegotiate the PNRR, to reduce by 10 percent the loan component and the payment request number 3. Out of the total 76 landmarks only four remained under discussion and one of them was about the ceiling at which a company could be considered a micro-enterprise.

    According to the Prime Minister, the ruling coalition in Bucharest must decide whether to lower the ceiling or leave it to the present level, but in this case they have to give up a sum of money from the payment request number 3.

    Marcel Ciolacu says that he forwarded during the talks a new agreement regarding Romania’s deficit that should expand over 7 years because, as the Prime Minister says, the biggest investment is expected to take place in the next two years.

    Prime Minister Ciolacu also briefed the EU official on investments in the country’s road and rail infrastructures.

    “The first Romanian proposal regarding the road infrastructure was to have a sum of 13.7 billion Euros earmarked. The sum eventually approved stood somewhere around 7 billion though. The difference is co-funded by Romanian state, Ciolacu explained.

    The Prime Minister reconfirmed in Brussels the proposal that Victor Negrescu, the incumbent vice-president of the European Parliament, become the new Romanian EU commissioner adding that he wishes a relevant economic portfolio for Romania.

    However, the formal proposal will be submitted to the Commission in the following days, the Prime Minister says. We recall that several EU countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal have not submitted their proposals for the EU commissioners yet.

    Every EU member has been designated a commissioner seat and once sworn in these candidates will be responsible for various portfolios within the Commission.

    Governments present their nominees, who are approved by the president of the EU Executive. The nominees are to be heard in mid-September and get European Parliament endorsement in October.

    Prime Minister Ciolacu and Ursula von der Leyen also tackled Romania’s accession to Schengen with its ground borders. Marcel Ciolacu described the European Commission president as the “biggest supporter of Romania’s fully-fledged Schengen accession” and voiced his conviction that this accession would happen in the next period.

    (bill)

  • August 23, 2024

    August 23, 2024

    Brussels – The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu discussed, on Thursday, in Brussels, with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the future European Commissioner from Romania, about the state of fulfillment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, as well as about a new agreement on Romania’s deficit, which should extend over 7 years. Regarding the position of European commissioner, Marcel Ciolacu announced that he proposed Victor Negrescu, the current vice-president of the European Parliament. During the meeting, they tackled Romania’s accession to Schengen also with land borders, with the Prime Minister stressing that Ursula von der Leyen is the “biggest” supporter of this cause.

     

    Defense – The Chief of the Defense Staff, General Gheorghiţă Vlad, met on Thursday, in Bucharest, with his counterpart from the French Republic, General Thierry Burkhard, who is on an official visit to Romania. The talks between the two focused on the regional security situation, the fulfillment of the conditions for achieving, in 2025, the final operational capacity of the NATO Battle Group, and the responsibilities of the Hexagon structures deployed in Romania in order to strengthen the allied deterrence and defense posture respectively. General Gheorghiţă Vlad emphasized that, in the last two years, the excellent cooperation relations between the two armies to ensure collective defense were also reflected in the increased interoperability between structures and in terms of infrastructure development for training and quartering. The visit schedule included the meeting, in the facilities of the Getica National Joint Training Center in Cincu (centre), of the two heads of Defense with soldiers from the NATO Battle Group. The role of the framework nation of the NATO Battle Group was assumed by France.

     

    Washington – The Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party’s nomination as a candidate for the US presidency, within the Democratic National Convention. She told supporters that the country has a chance to overcome resentment, cynicism and division. Harris promised tax cuts for the middle class. As regards abortions, she accused her opponent, the former Republican President Donald Trump, of wanting to introduce a national ban. About foreign policy, Harris said that dictators around the world support Trump, the BBC reports.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse managed to reach the main singles draw of the US Open Grand Slam tournament, which starts on Monday, at the Flushing Meadows arenas in New York, after defeating Alexandra Eala from the Philippines in 3 sets. Ruse will face Julia Grabher from Austria in the inaugural round. She is the third Romanian to reach the main singles draw at the US Open, after Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristian entered directly the singles draw, thanks to the ranking. Cristian will play against the Russian Daria Kasatkina, the 12th seed, while Ana Bogdan will meet the Dutch Arantxa Rus in the first round.

     

    Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, ended in a draw 1-all the away match with the Austrian team LASK Linz, on Thursday evening, in the first leg of the Europa League play-off. The second leg will be played on August 29, in Bucharest. The vice-champion CFR Cluj (north-west) defeated the Cypriot team FC Pafos 1-0 on home ground, in the first leg of the Conference League football play-off. The decisive second leg will take place in Limassol, on August 29. (LS)

     

  • August 21, 2024 UPDATE

    August 21, 2024 UPDATE

    Visit – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is visiting Brussels, accompanied by the Minister of Investments and European Projects and the Finance Minister. He will discuss with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, including about Romania’s portfolio in the future community executive. Ciolacu said that his option is Victor Negrescu, who is currently the vice-president of the European Parliament. Marcel Ciolacu and Ursula von der Leyen will also discuss the implementation stage of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The Romanian prime minister might also present the general principles that he wants to put into practice to reduce the budget deficit.

     

    Drought – The drought has seriously affected cereal production in Romania, especially in the south of the country. The authorities say that an area of ​​approximately 2 million hectares is affected. According to some estimates, approximately 40% of the wheat, corn, rape and sunflower crops are allegedly compromised. It is the fourth year of drought in the last five years, and the losses of farmers are piling up. They put their hopes in the compensation that they can receive from the state. The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Florin Barbu, has recently declared that this year farmers will receive 200 Euros worth of aid per hectare for crops affected by the drought. He added that a unique mechanism in Europe was drawn up by which Romania should ensure 7 million hectares against the drought.

     

    NATO – NATO is strengthening Romania’s defense capacity with the LANZA air defense radar moved from Italy, including the technical team. Located in Tulcea county (southeast), the radar offers a unique capability to NATO’s command and control center, which provides both passive and active radar detection. This state-of-the-art radar is designed for detection, tracking and surveillance in advanced conditions. It is used to provide comprehensive situational awareness and improve the operational capabilities of various platforms, including military ships and submarines. Mobile active radars are highly effective and provide additional protection over airborne and static command and control platforms as they improve interoperability through alliances and partnerships and strengthen NATO’s air and space power readiness.

     

    Program – The Romanian government has decided to continue the program “Hot meals in schools”, for the almost 1.9 million children who go to kindergarten or school. They will receive fruits, vegetables, dairy and bakery products, and the local authorities and directors of the education units will be responsible for the smooth running of the program. Moreover, they will be taught why it is important to eat healthy food, through educational actions. Also during Wednesday’s meeting, the Government set the timetable for the parliamentary elections, scheduled for December 1. The election campaign will start on November 1 and end on November 30. Romanians in the country will vote between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. For the Romanian citizens in the Diaspora, the vote will begin on November 30, at 7:00 a.m. and will end on December 1, at 9:00 p.m..

     

    Washington – The American Democrats officially confirmed Kamala Harris as their candidate for the November 5 presidential election, on Tuesday evening in Chicago, during the party’s national convention. The delegations from all the states and U.S. territories once again cast their votes for Harris, accompanied by music, lighting effects, short speeches and much cheering in the event hall, after she had already been officially elected in an online roll call earlier this month. Vice President Kamala Harris (60 years old) is the second woman nominated by the Democratic Party for the presidential election since its creation in 1828 and could become, if elected, the first female president in US history. She replaces the current US president, Joe Biden (81 years old), who gave up his candidacy for a second term. The Republican counter-candidate in the presidential election is the former president, the billionaire Donald Trump (78 years old).

     

    Air show – The biggest air show in Romania will take place on Saturday, August 31 at the Băneasa Airport near Bucharest. More than 100 civil and military aircraft and more than 150 pilots and paratroopers from 13 countries will participate. The event will mark the 20th anniversary of Romania’s accession to NATO. The pilots of the Romanian Air Force will perform demonstrations with F-16 and IAR-99 Şoim and STANDARD aircraft, among others, as well as with Spartan and Hercules transport aircraft. Special guests this year are the aerial acrobats from the Baltic Bees, the Latvian jet team with a unique in the world style of piloting, performing artistic maneuvers of maximum difficulty. The famous Lithuanian pilot Jurgis Kairys, a multiple world champion in aerobatics, is not missing this year either. (LS)

  • A New European Parliament

    A New European Parliament

    About 370 million Europeans with the right to vote were called to the polls between June 6-9 to elect 720 MEPs, but only a little over half of these Europeans chose to exercise this right. The results showed that the centrist parties maintained a clear majority in the European Parliament. The European People’s Party remains the largest group in the EP, with a significant increase compared to the previous elections; The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats ranked second, losing a few seats, and the Renew group remained in third place, although it lost seats too. The two groups on the extreme political right, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and the Identity and Democracy Group (ID), together obtained 14 mandates more than before, but even so, this number is not enough for them to count in the political kitchen of Parliament, analysts believe. The two groups occupy the fourth and fifth places in the EP and obtained results below the expectations forecast ahead of the elections. The Greens fell from position four to position six, and in seventh place is the Left group, which obtained fewer mandates than in the past. MEPs from unaffiliated or independent parties together have almost 100 mandates.

     

    The bottom line is that, with more than 400 mandates obtained by the three main political forces, the balance of power seems to remain largely unchanged in the European Parliament. What has, however, unsettled the political establishment and generated strong reactions has been the significant progress made by the far right in countries such as France and Germany, where, analysts say, dissatisfaction with the way of handling the pandemic and the geopolitical tensions have contributed to this result. What message are voters sending to the European Commission? Is it an electoral sanction from some of the western countries?

     

    Sorin Ioniţă, the president of Expert Forum is at the microphone with explanations: “Many, many changes have occurred in Western societies in recent decades, from globalization, a lot of immigration, there has been a lot of talk about climate change, changes in technologies and the world is stressed, wants a bit of a break from this very, very fast pace of change, they want a bit of time to ingest and digest all this change, and they basically vote with some populist forces, of one kind or another, that tell them: ‘Let it be the way it used to be, let’s stop the change!’, which obviously is not going to happen. I didn’t see any major surprises compared to what the surveys said, and it’s very good that these right-wing extremists are divided into two big camps – some are pro-Kremlin, so to say, and others are pro-Western, pro-Atlantic. And here is the very big difference, for example, between Giorgia Meloni and the Poles, on the one hand, who will never play games with Russia, and the Germans from AfD, whose profile is rather worrying, maybe even Marine Le Pen’s party in France, although she has turned moderate herself.”

     

    Speaking in turn about the European extreme right, professor Ștefan Popescu, a foreign policy analyst and commentator, believes that its rise will continue: “This will happen because we are in a period of crises, successive crises, which have not been resolved. The economic crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the competition with China and the US, which leads to an erosion of the European economy, the migratory pressure, the security issues, the echoes of the war in the Near East, all these will do nothing but create an atmosphere of uncertainty, which will provide fertile ground for these movements.”

     

    Invited in Radio Romania’s studios, political science professor Andrei Țăranu spoke about the context of holding the elections, about the major issues that concern European citizens: “Western Europe is very interested and has the problem related to the war in Ukraine and the problem of peace and everything related to a new armament policy of the EU, about the possibility of building a European army, while in Eastern Europe the economic problems are the most serious. The majority of Eastern European citizens are interested in a possible crisis at the EU level, from the Baltic states to Greece. The problem of those in the south of the continent – Greece, Italy, Spain, less Portugal, remains the migration coming from the north of Africa and the Near East, while the problems of those from the Scandinavian countries are rather related to climate change. The West has this problem related to a European reconstruction, a revision of the treaties, so that there should be a greater involvement of the Union, of the European bureaucracy in the existence and the lives of European citizens, while those in the East are rather wary of a greater political involvement of the EU, including on such issues as justice, human rights, and so on.”

     

    What should be the priorities of the new Commission? Again at the microphone is Professor Ştefan Popescu: “The priorities will be very important and, I would say, essential, more than ever, for the course of the EU. First of all, this Commission will still have to manage the war in Ukraine, the way in which the Union will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, especially since we have this probability of a change on November 5th – it will be announced by the team at the White House, it will be on the 21st January. Then, the management of the post-conflict situation, because this war will not last another five years, even if it will continue next year.”

     

    Then, Ștefan Popescu adds , there will be the expansion to the Western Balkans; in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, we will see, it depends on several factors, but this expansion will require a substantial reform of the decision-making process at the European level. (LS)

  • May 27, 2024

    May 27, 2024

    EU Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu is in Brussels to attend the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers, the Foreign Affairs Council. High on the agenda are the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba is expected to attend a video-conference. ‘We are vehemently condemning the recent attacks against civilians and civil infrastructure in Ukraine. And for this reason it is important to increase the military support for Ukraine’ – the head of the Romanian diplomacy said before the meeting. The event will also include an informal exchange of opinions with a series of Foreign Ministers from the Middle East and with the Secretary General of the Arab League. Also on the talks agenda are the latest developments in Georgia, Venezuela and Iran. “Georgia is a partner of Romania’s” minister Odobescu said in Brussels, underlying the need for granting support to this people and its European aspirations. After the Foreign Affairs Council, the Romanian minister will be attending the eighth edition of the “Conference on the Future of Syria and the region”.

     

    UNITER Romanian actors and directors are going to be awarded tonight during the 32nd edition of the UNITER Awards Gala, which takes place at the National Theatre in Bucharest. The 15 categories include Best Radio Drama Award, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Performance. Four new categories have been added this year to satisfy the need for interconnecting theatre with the new technologies such as the Best Animation Performance, the Best Performance for Children, Best music, sound design, video design, and lighting design. According to organizers, this gala brings together all artists irrespective of their age in an attempt to celebrate them all.

     

    FOOTBALL The return game in the playoffs securing a place in the Romanian Football Superleague between second leaguer FK Csikszereda and Dinamo Bucharest in Miercurea Ciuc, central Romania, will end the present football season in Romania. Dinamo has won the first match in Bucharest 2-0. Romania’s new champion FCSB will be representing this country in the Champions League; second leaguer and winner of the Romanian cup, Corvinul Hunedoara, will be playing in Europa League and CFR Cluj, the side on the second position in the ranking, will be playing in Conference League. The last matches in the domestic championship were overshadowed by the farewell game of the so-called Golden Generation of the Romanian football, which back in the nineties managed to get qualification for three world and two European tournaments.

     

    COOPERATION On Monday, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis congratulated his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, on the occasion of his re-election to the presidential post and emphasized the ‘excellent’ cooperation between the two states. ‘I look forward to continuing the excellent cooperation between Romania and Lithuania as EU partners and NATO allies, in the context in which we are facing numerous challenges in the region and in the world’ the Romanian president wrote on a social network. The acting president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, was re-elected on Sunday after the second round of the presidential election.

    (bill)