Radio România Internațional

Tag: campaign

  • Constitutional Court rules on presidential candidate

    Constitutional Court rules on presidential candidate

     

    Since the night of November 24, when Călin Georgescu came virtually out of nowhere to win the first round of the presidential elections, overtaking high-profile politicians, his name has become the most present on TV channels and news websites.

     

    The question of how this was possible was answered by the Supreme Defence Council, although not very convincingly for some. After putting together data coming from the intelligence services, the Council concluded that the independent candidate Călin Georgescu was the beneficiary of a hybrid attack by a foreign state actor, namely Russia, mainly through very high TikTok exposure.

     

    After the first round, the general public came to learn a few things about candidate Georgescu’s election platform, and eventually got to know a character bordering on the bizarre and the toxic. A fierce critic of the West and of Romania’s NATO and EU membership and an admirer of Putin’s Russia, Georgescu promoted a self-sufficient economic system reminiscent of Ceausescu’s ideology, and praised what he considered Romanian exceptionalism and leading figures of Romanian interwar fascism.

     

    On December 6, the Constitutional Court made an unprecedented decision in three and a half decades of democracy: it annulled the presidential elections, on grounds that the entire election process had been twisted in Georgescu’s favour.

     

    Backed by the country’s self-styled sovereigntist, but in fact populist and ultranationalist parties, last Friday Georgescu registered his candidacy in the upcoming presidential race, due on May 4 and 18. On Sunday, the Central Electoral Bureau rejected his candidacy, relying precisely on the Constitutional Court’s ruling in December. Predictably, on Tuesday, the Court dismissed Călin Georgescu’s appeal as ungrounded in a final ruling.

     

    According to the Central Electoral Bureau, Călin Georgescu’s candidacy does not meet legality criteria, in that, by failing to comply with the election rules he breached the very obligation to defend democracy, which is based on fair, honest and impartial elections.

     

    The sovereigntists, led by AUR party, criticised what they called the “abusive” decision of the Constitutional Court.

     

    Practically born on TikTok, Călin Georgescu’s dazzling but very brief political career seems to have ended at the Constitutional Court. The overexposure, however, brought him other problems as well. The former presidential front-runner was recently placed under court supervision, in a case in which serious charges are brought against him.

     

    The first of them is one of the most severely punished in the Criminal Code, namely incitement to act against the constitutional order. Other charges include false statements regarding his campaign financing, initiating or establishing fascist, racist or xenophobic and anti-Semitic organisations, as well as publicly promoting the cult of individuals guilty of genocide and war crimes. Călin Georgescu denies all accusations. (AMP)

  • TikTok management at EP hearing

    TikTok management at EP hearing

     

    The video-sharing app TikTok Tuesday defended before the European Parliament its measures to counter disinformation in the first round of Romania’s presidential election, and denied having favoured the far-right outsider Călin Georgescu.

     

    TikTok officials told the EP’s Committee on internal market and consumer protection that all candidates had been taken into account in the system without discriminating between independent contenders and those who were members of a party. The platform’s global head of product for authenticity and transparency, Brie Pegum, stated that of the networks taken down in recent months for unlawful political content, only one supported Călin Georgescu and it had much fewer followers than others supporting other candidates. She also stressed that the platform had eliminated over 66,000 fake accounts in Romania, around 7,000,000 fake ‘likes’, around 10,000,000 fake followers and 1,000 accounts that replicated candidate profiles.

     

    In turn, TikTok’s head of public policy and government relations, Caroline Greer, explained that the app had applied its own rules for electoral processes during the Romanian elections. She also added that in the months leading up to the elections she had had meetings with various authorities, including several political parties and the Romanian electoral authority. In addition, she mentioned that TikTok had 95 Romanian content moderators.

     

    Our view is strictly limited to what happens on the platform. We do not know what happens outside it, we do not know what the financial capacity of the candidates is or what they do elsewhere, the TikTok executive said. MEPs say, however, that the answers provided by the company do not clarify the question marks related to the transparency of the app operation or the tools used in countering manipulation.

     

    The Romanian MEP Dan Nica, leader of the Social Democratic group in the European Parliament, reiterated the request for the European Commission to get involved in the inquiry. He believes that it is important for European institutions to step in to prevent the misuse of online platforms for political purposes, which could affect the election process and citizens’ confidence in democracy.

     

    In fact, after the first round of the presidential election on November 24, Romania called on the European Commission to launch a formal investigation into the TikTok platform, based on the EU’s social media rules, which require companies to assess and mitigate threats to election integrity. Similar accusations were made against TikTok in connection with the recent parliamentary elections in Ireland. (AMP)

  • 13 for Romania

    13 for Romania

     

     

    In Romania, presidential elections usually spark the greatest interest and emotions. Even more so this year, when the two rounds of the election for president are held before and after the legislative ballot, thus increasing the electoral stakes.

     

    In business terms, the demand is high among the voters, but the supply is rather poor, perhaps the poorest in the last 35 years, commentators and analysts agree, talking not so much about numbers, because there are 13 candidates in the race, but about their quality.

     

    Their arguments include the fact that most of the candidates lack a well-defined professional profile, even if they have political experience, that they have little if any charisma, and that some of them are tainted by corruption scandals.

     

    On the other hand, there are also candidates whose competence in ​​foreign policy and security, the key areas in the president’s job description, has been proven and is indisputable, but who suffer in terms of political support, because they are running independently.

     

    One other thing that affects this presidential election is that, while at least two contenders, possibly even 3, are fighting for the second place in the decisive round on December 8, one candidate is virtually certain to qualify to the final, and this paradoxically dilutes the tension of the competition.

     

    The debates between Ion Iliescu and Emil Constantinescu in 1992 and 1996, the one between Traian Băsescu and Adrian Năstase in 2004, or the one in 2014 between the outgoing president Klaus Iohannis and his opponent at the time, Victor Ponta, have been truly memorable. They were all competitions between the main political blocs, the left and the right, with the latter winning for the past two decades. Unlike what we’ve seen in the past, during the current presidential campaign there has been just one televised debate, and even that one has not been attended by all the candidates.

     

    In terms of ideologies, all leanings are represented in the presidential race, from the social-democratic to the liberal and from centrist pro-Europeans to populist and sovereignist nationalists.

     

    The election season in Romania opened on June 9, when local and European parliamentary elections took place simultaneously. The two rounds of the presidential elections will be held on November 24 and December 8, and in between, on December 1, the National Day itself, general elections are scheduled. Romanian voters living abroad will be able to vote in the first round of the presidential elections for 3 days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The authorities have set up around 950 polling stations abroad, the largest number so far. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, around 7,000 Romanian citizens living abroad have opted for postal voting. (AMP)

  • November 19, 2024 UPDATE

    November 19, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PARLIAMENT The parliament of Romania convenes on Wednesday to approve 2 inquiry committees and their membership. The joint standing bureaus approved a draft resolution on setting up a joint parliamentary inquiry committee to check the spending by and on behalf of the Presidency in 2014 – 2024, initiated by the Social Democratic Party. Another joint inquiry committee will look into real estate mafia, beginning with the Nordis affair, initiated by the National Liberal Party. The Liberal Party president Nicolae Ciucă said the number of victims identified in this case is over 400. Many Romanians in the country and abroad were persuaded to purchase apartments in residential compounds and hotels built by Nordis, but the developers have sold the same apartments several times over to different buyers.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania sees the last days of the campaign for the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the president post, 9 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the official results of the election may be announced by late Monday, November 25. The second round of the presidential elections is due on December 8.

     

    ISRAEL The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Tuesday discussed over the telephone with Israel’s new diplomacy chief, Gideon Saar. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, Luminiţa Odobescu praised the dynamics of bilateral dialogue and cooperation, and its potential for development in key sectors. The 2 officials also exchanged opinions regarding the security situation in the Middle East. Odobescu voiced support for the international community’s efforts towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the region. The Romanian minister also reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, a topic constantly on the agenda of the Romanian government and supported by concrete measures. Gideon Saar praised the special relations between the 2 countries and thanked for Romania’s steady support.

     

    UKRAINE Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec said in a statement on Tuesday, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    FOOTBALL The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home, in their last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and moved into the competition’s League B. Romania is still waiting for UEFA’s decision regarding the match against Kosovo in Bucharest on Friday, when the guests left the pitch little before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation dismissed the accusations as unfounded.

     

  • Election campaigns in Romania

    Election campaigns in Romania

     

     

    The campaign for the general election in Romania started last week, at midnight on Thursday, and will end on 30 November. During this period, the parties, alliances or independent candidates that have entered the race for a seat in the country’s new bicameral legislature must convince citizens to grant them the vote on 1 December. There are currently 330 MPs in the Chamber of Deputies, and 136 in the Senate, and the number of seats will stay at 466 in the next legislative term as well.

     

    In the country, the vote for the parliamentary elections will be held right on the National Day, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time. Ballots can be cast at the polling station where each voter is registered on the permanent lists. If at the time of closing the polls voters are still queuing, the president of the polling station can order an extension until 11:59 p.m., when the system closes automatically.

     

    Romanian citizens residing abroad can vote either by mail, if they have chosen this option, or at any station organised outside the borders. The president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă has more details:

     

    Toni Greblă: “As many as 950 polling stations have been set up, so that Romanians who are outside the territory of Romania can exercise their right to vote. The voting period is longer abroad, namely, on Saturday and Sunday, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with the same option that on Sunday, I repeat, only on Sunday, if there are still citizens inside the polling station, they will be able to exercise their right to vote until 23:59, local time.”

     

    The same number of polling stations in the diaspora, i.e. 950, will be set up for the presidential elections, the first round of which will take place on November 24, followed by a second round on December 8.

     

    This calendar means that, at present, the two electoral campaigns, for the Parliament and for president, overlap, and the public space is virtually over flooded by politics and politicking.

     

    Underway since October 24, the campaign for the first round of the presidential election will end on the morning of November 23. Until then, the “14 for Romania” – 10 candidates backed by political parties and 4 running independently – are trying to maximise their chances of entering the second round of voting.

     

    After December 8, following three consecutive Sundays of calls to the polls, Romanians will finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief: 2024 will have been, after two decades, the year of all types of elections, including the local and European parliamentary elections held this summer. (AMP)

  • October 24, 2024

    October 24, 2024

    ELECTIONS The campaign for the first round of the presidential election begins on Friday at midnight and ends at 7 am on November 23. The presidential elections are scheduled this year on November 24 (the first round) and on December 8 (the second round). In between, on December 1, the parliamentary election will be held. Competing in the presidential race are 14 candidates, 10 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. Local and EU parliamentary elections were also held in Romania this year, on June 9.

     

     

    ENERGY The energy minister Sebastian Burduja promised that national gas storage is enough for Romania not to need natural gas imports this winter. He added that Romania is not importing Russian gas at all, and when imports are needed it resorts to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Romanian official also added that the people who have difficulties paying their bills will still be protected, even after April 1, 2025, when natural gas and electricity prices will no longer be capped.

     

     

    BUDGET The European Parliament Wednesday voted a budget of EUR 201 billion for 2025. The formula chosen by the EP favours the countries with smaller contributions to the European budget, such as Romania, which stand to gain from the distribution of funds through EU policies and programmes. A final decision on the budget will be reached after negotiations with the member states in the Council, where a EUR 10 bln lower ceiling has been proposed.

     

     

    UN On the celebration of the United Nations Day on October 24th, the Romanian foreign ministry emphasises that supporting and strengthening multilateralism, centered on the UN system, remain vital and the only response proportionate to the scale and complexity of the global crises that affect UN member countries at the same time. The annual world-wide celebration marks the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter, ratified by most signatory countries, including the 5 permanent members of the Security Council.

     

     

    SPORTS Romania’s football champions, FCSB (Bucharest), play tonight away from home against Glasgow Rangers, in their 3rd match in the new Europa League format. FCSB has 2 wins so far, 4-1 against RFS (Latvia) and 1-0 against the Greek champions, PAOK Thessaloniki, coached by the Romanian Razvan Lucescu. In men’s handball, Romanian champions Dinamo Bucharest Wednesday night defeated Sporting Lisbon, 33-29, in the Champions League Group A. Sporting remains top placed in the group with 9 points, while Dinamo ranks 3rd, with 8 points. (AMP)

  • Anti-drug Campaign in Romania

    Anti-drug Campaign in Romania

    ‘Own your emotions, overcome your fears and channel your energy in a constructive way! There are so many healthy alternatives to remain full of energy and ‘cool’ but at the same time self-composed, with your feet on the ground, permanently connected to your objectives and reality!’

    This is in short the message conveyed by the National Anti-drug Agency, which has launched a “Ground’ campaign in several high-schools in Bucharest with a view to proposing surefire ways to manage the emotions teenagers are presently facing.

    The campaign’s message is a strong one: ‘you don’t need to resort to any trick or compromise in order to become a model for the generation you belong to or to reach your potential. It is essential that you accept your imperfections, observe your principles and when you get lost you can ask for help.’

    This message has been conveyed to the young people directly through meetings and workshops in their schools but also by launching a newspaper addressing the Ground generation at the webpage and social network pages devoted to this campaign.

    According to Ramona Dabija, director of the National Anti-drug Agency, besides the risks associated to drug-consumption the young people are also introduced to a series of healthy alternatives available. And those, who have already given in to the temptation of using banned substances, are being reminded that whenever they are overwhelmed or find themselves in risky situations, they can benefit from counseling, which is confidential and free of charge.

    In order to attach more importance to the “Ground” campaign, high-school students have been given the opportunity to interact and learn from the experience of successful Romanian athletes who have achieved remarkable results in their career, being themselves role models of discipline, ambition and healthy lifestyle.

    Among those who interacted with the students was Larisa Iordache, 16 times gold medalist in European Gymnastics Championships, fencer Ana Maria Brânză, multiple medalist in the Olympics, three times world champion and seven times European Champion, rower Ancuţa Bodnar – gold medalist in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, footballers Florin Gardoş and Ionel Dănciulescu or basketball player, Virgil Stănescu.

    Swimmer David Popovici, the year’s champion and the idol of his generation, has decided to get involved through an interview published in the ʺGroundʺ newspaper or on the webpage of the aforementioned campaign.

    It’s impossible to fathom the real dimensions of drug consumption in Romania and although statistics cannot accurately describe the reality, one thing is for sure – the situation has deteriorated in the past years and that prompted both experts and authorities to sound the alarm and find ways of curbing the phenomenon.

    On 24 November, concurrently with the first round of the presidential election, Bucharest will also be seeing a local referendum and one of the questions will be focusing on the involvement of the city halls in the prevention of drug consumption in schools and high-schools in Bucharest.

    (bill)

     

  • June 3, 2024 UPDATE

    June 3, 2024 UPDATE

     

    ELECTIONS This is the last week of campaign ahead of the European Parliament and local elections slated for this Sunday. Some 19 million Romanians are expected to go to the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. 915 stations have been set up abroad, twice as many as for the European Parliament elections five years ago. Polling stations will open at 7 AM and close at 10 PM, one hour later compared to previous rounds of election. Polling station presidents can opt to extend the voting process until midnight, if there are still people queuing in the station. According to the Permanent Election Authority, the total number of candidates for the local and European Parliament elections is close to 208,000. For the first time, voter turnout updates will be provided in real time on election day, for each separate ballot, on the website of the Permanent Election Authority. Romania will also host presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in December.

     

    DEFENCE ‘The EU’s strategic approach to the Black Sea region must include support for the countries in the region, which are facing hybrid threats and the spill-over of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,’ the Romanian defence minister, Angel Tîlvăr, said on Monday at a meeting with the interim chief of the European Commission representation in Romania, Mara Roman. According to the defence ministry, Angel Tilvar highlighted the support provided by Romania to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova. The participants emphasised the increasingly important role played by the European Commission in supporting EU member states in the defence and security area, and the need to further develop the relations between the EU and NATO.

     

    BANKING The foreign currency reserves of the National Bank of Romania reached a new all-time record, over EUR 65 bln at the end of May, up 4.1% compared to the previous month. According to the central bank, Romania’s international reserves (foreign currency plus gold) are currently around EUR 72.2 bln, 3.5% more than in April. The National Bank also announced that the payments for the public debt due in June amount to nearly EUR 148 mln.

     

    FLOODS The bodies of the two Romanians reported missing at the end of last week following flash floods and rising river levels have been found in Italy. The bodies of two of the three missing Romanian young people who drowned on Friday in Natisone River, were found in the province of Udine (northeast). Searches for the third missing person continue. The young people were bathing in Natisone despite the ban, when water levels suddenly rose. Following the information sent by the Italian authorities, the Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of the deceased were Romanian nationals, and conveyed its condolences to the bereaved families. Consular office representatives are constantly in touch with the local authorities in order to obtain information regarding the search operations for the third missing person, as well as with the families of the deceased citizens, and are ready to provide consular assistance depending on requests and in line with their attributes. The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced Romanian citizens can request consular assistance by calling the numbers of Romania’s consular office in Trieste.

     

    DIPLOMACY Romania is and will remain a supporter of Montenegro’s EU accession efforts, the Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu said in Bucharest on Monday, as part of a joint statement with her counterpart from Montenegro, Filip Ivanovic. The Romanian official added that the Western Balkans were a region of strategic importance, and political and security developments there have a direct impact on the security and prosperity of Europe as a whole. In this context, the two officials signed an Action Plan for cooperation between Romania’s and Montenegro’s foreign ministries in 2024-2025. ‘Montenegro and Romania have long-established friendship relations and are committed to further developing them,” Filip Ivanovic said in turn, adding that this commitment translated in the Action Plan for cooperation and thanking Romania for its support.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team is playing Bulgaria on Tuesday and Liechtenstein on Friday, June 7, in two friendly matches ahead of the European Championship due to kick off on June 14 in Germany. Bucharest will host both matches. Romania was drawn in Group E alongside Ukraine, Belgium and Slovakia. The national team will play Ukraine on June 17 in Munich, Belgium on June 22 in Cologne, and finally Slovakia on June 26, in Frankfurt. Romania last took part in a European Championship in 2016 in France. (AMP)

  • A Campaign against school violence

    A Campaign against school violence

    The
    Ministry of Education will be running a campaign entitled ‘You are not alone.
    Together we stop school violence’ after the latest violent events in the
    Romanian schools, where a high-school student has fired an airsoft gun in
    school and another one has stabbed one of his colleagues.




    These
    are just two of the cases but the Education Ministry last year reported over 10
    thousand cases of violence in Romanian schools, two thousand more than two
    years ago. A World Vision report over April-May this year also shows that one out
    of five children says that violence is present and very present in their schools.
    The former field Minister Sorin Campeanu has acknowledged the phenomenon and
    voiced the need of anti-bullying action groups in any Romanian school.




    You
    are not alone is the message we convey to students who have been victims of
    verbal, physical or psychological violence, we must support them and protect
    their right, the new field minister Ligia Deca has announced. In a communiqué,
    the ministry is condemning any act of physical, verbal, psychological violence
    and considers essential that students who have shown a violent conduct, should
    benefit from specialized counseling.




    In
    the meantime family and school must make efforts so that the violent actions
    may not repeat, the authorities say. Furthermore, the ministry announces, it
    would advertise by means of social networking a series of essential notions
    about certain types of violence, such as cyber-bullying, the use of social
    networks, the students’ rights and obligations the role of the County Centers
    of Resources and Educational Assistance and of School Safety Police.




    The
    institution has already launched a video part of a campaign of raising people’s
    awareness regarding these issues, showing it is not indifferent to the repeated
    cases of violence, which have been seen in Romanian schools of late.




    Education Minister Ligia Deca: Schools are areas of learning and socializing
    not of hits and bruises. Call on teachers to talk to you about the rights and
    obligations that you have and also about the consequences of violent acts. Call
    for support whenever you feel that the fury and fear are getting the best of
    you and refuse to be part of any act of physical or verbal aggression such as
    blackmailing, bullying or even cyberbullying. And don’t forget, you are not
    alone!




    The Education Ministry
    has announced that jointly with the Interior Ministry will be staging a series
    of working sessions to set a timetable of preventing drug use, activities for
    the prevention and combating of anti-social deeds at the level of gymnasium
    education units as well as the counseling of the students in the risk situation
    concurrently with the training of teachers.


    (bill)

  • Fashion revolution and sustainability

    Fashion revolution and sustainability

    The campaign targeted both the well-known fashion designers and students
    in their last years at the National University of Art (UNARTE), and the mélange
    between expertise and the courage of exploring things has created absolutely
    surprising things.


    Roxana Petrescu with the Roxy and Kids Arts Association and the UNARTE
    student Mara Malinovski, have told us more on their experience as participants
    in the aforementioned event.




    Roxana Petrescu: Bucharest
    has recently hosted the second edition of an event part of the Fashion
    Revolution Week campaign. This is a movement and every year a one-week
    campaign is being staged with very clear messages conveyed almost every time. This
    year’s message was sustainability. Students from UNARTE (the National
    University of Art) have been invited to create garments in an attempt to
    reinvent La Belle Époque and to stress the idea of sustainability in fashion.
    So, all the materials used, all the fabrics had to be recyclable, obtained and
    painted by using natural methods.




    We have met the Roxy and Kids Arts Association in the past years at
    various events and we’d like to remind you that this is an association founded
    in Romania, but which is also running collaborative art projects both in Romania
    and in Germany. UNARTE student Mara Malinovski told us about the experience she
    and her colleague, Nicoleta Bucşoru, had under the coordination of professor
    PhD Daniela Frumusanu with UNARTE, within the Fashion Revolution Week project:




    Mara Malinovski:We accepted the challenge of the Roxy
    and Kids Association and together with Nicoleta Bucşoru we saw it as an
    opportunity to develop what we had learnt so far. The idea of sustainability
    was important for us because we were able to use organic dyes in our works. So
    we split this work in two and we used turmeric and onion leaves to paint the
    fabric. And when we saw the result, how intense it was just from simple plants
    and materials that are easy to come by we realized this is a major aspect that
    should be promoted in this branch. And I believe that this idea of creating
    colours by employing materials that are within easy reach can be very useful in
    the fashion world. We are using only natural ingredients for dyes such as turmeric,
    onion leaves, red cabbage and rust. I think there are over 50 techniques I have
    so far learnt under the guidance of Mrs. Daniela Frumusanu who has taught me
    everything I know in terms of using natural dyes.






    The results obtained have matched the students’ creativity. Here is Mara
    Malinovski again at the microphone.


    Mara Malinovski: Together
    with my colleague, Nicoleta Bucşoru, I have fashioned a dress that comprises a
    corset, which she made out of pressed wool. The dress also consists of three small
    bell-shaped skirts to add to the sensation of volume and dynamism of the woman
    that wears it. The entire attire is
    naturally pained and hand-made, with an original design.






    Anything in this world can become an inspiration for a young artist, as Mara
    Malinovski has told us.


    Mara Malinovski: I believe that absolutely anything can serve as
    inspiration and give an artist ideas on how to create things, from the earth we
    are moving on to a restaurant table, for instance. I also wish to combine art
    and fashion elements and maybe create some revolutionary changes in fashion
    design.




    Roxana Petrescu from the Roxy and Kids Arts Association, has shared with
    us the story of this dress design and its source of inspiration.


    Roxana Petrescu: I would like
    to tell you how I got to create this dress. After leafing through thousands of works
    I found one titled Green Queen, an abstract painting signed by Roxana and Alexander
    Ené, in the already known Roxy
    and Kids Arts style. I did a little bit of research, what elements we should we
    taking from la Belle Epoque, and I decided that maybe this time it would be
    better to have a cooperation and that eventually led me to the talented girls
    of the UNARTE. So, this Green Queen has served as inspiration for the dress
    we exhibit here. This Green Queen painting was part of a project in Germany,
    which involved the participation of children with ages between 2 and 4 years.




    The exhibition is over, but the Roxy and Kids Arts Association also has
    other plans.


    Roxana Petrescu: We believe
    that whatever happened here should serve as a foundation for a future
    cooperation we are now planning with Fashion Revolution in Germany. Roxana Ene already
    has the concept of a project with workshops, where people get together and work
    with recycled materials. And we are thinking that maybe it wasn’t by chance
    that things got in this direction and who knows maybe we could stage a Fashion
    Revolution campaign in Germany as well.




    In the meantime, the organizers of the Fashion Revolution Week are
    striking the balance noting that Fashion Revolution Week is about people and
    their deeds in relation with fashion. And a clear message has been conveyed
    that you cannot be part of the change if you don’t believe in it.




    (bill)

  • 8 million people vaccinated in Romania

    8 million people vaccinated in Romania

    More than a year after the start of the vaccination campaign, Romania has struggled to exceed the threshold of eight million fully vaccinated people, i.e. half of the eligible adult population. Of these, over 2.4 million have also had the booster dose. According to official data, the figure is similar to the number of people who have got infected since the onset of the pandemic in Romania almost two years ago. However, the health minister has recently said on a private television station that the real figure could be over ten million infected people.



    The authorities warn that the vaccination pace is slow, and remind people that immunization primarily reduces the risk of death or hospitalization. On January 26, vaccination for the age group of 5-11 started in Romania as well. There are more than 300 vaccination offices that carry out such activities. So far, only a few thousand children have been vaccinated, even though official data show that there are a total of 1.2 million eligible children.



    According to the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiță, about one third of the currently active COVID vaccination centers reports less than ten doses administered daily in the last two weeks. He believes that the strategy for vaccination against COVID should be reconsidered in the coming months and that vaccination should be included in the National Vaccination Program, especially for risk groups, and the vaccine should be administered in the family doctors offices.



    Moreover, vaccination centers that no longer have sufficient addressability will be temporarily or permanently closed. Meanwhile, the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has been constant for several days in Romania. The contamination rate has remained at one third of the number of tests performed, and the number of hospitalized infected patients increases daily, but the growth rate is small. Authorities expect more than 50,000 cases a day in the next period, even though the transmission of the virus has slowed.



    The Secretary of State with the Health Ministry, Adriana Pistol, has more: “The transmission rate has dropped. This means that the number of contaminations will still grow, but the level of growth is not accelerated, it is even lower than in previous weeks. We have this booming number of cases especially on Tuesdays, because not all labs perform tests on weekends.



    The state secretary added that the health authorities did not consider the introduction of the mandatory booster dose for internal activities. However, she recommends that vulnerable people should have the booster dose to protect themselves from serious forms of illness and death. (LS)

  • The finance minister, dismissed

    The finance minister, dismissed

    Alexandru Nazare was dismissed as head of the finance ministry on Thursday, at the request of his fellow Liberal, the PM Florin Cîţu.



    This is the second member sacked from the coalition government comprising the National Liberal Party, USR-PLUS, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, after the former health minister Vlad Voiculescu in mid-April. Voiculescus dismissal was requested by many at the time, and came in the wake of serious incidents that affected Romanian hospitals and of communication flaws, which outweighed his good intentions.



    But now, Nazares rather surprising sacking fuels speculations that it has to do with the race for the presidency of the Liberal party, in which PM Cîţu runs against the incumbent speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban.



    PM Florin Cîţu explains, however, that the decision was prompted by an analysis of the finance ministrys activity. The review apparently revealed delays in major projects related to the spending of EU funds and to fighting tax evasion.



    Florin Cîţu: “Minister Nazare was given the chance to resign, but he chose to be dismissed. All the coalition leaders were informed as early as on Tuesday afternoon.



    Alexandru Nazare tells a different story. In a post on a social network, the former minister said he was sacked for failing to join the team supporting PM Florin Cîţu in the race for party president. The decision is not based on objective reasons, Ludovic Orban said in Nazares defence, and warned that the appointment of a new finance minister should be decided in the Liberal Partys decision-making bodies and by the ruling coalition.



    Ludovic Orban: “There are no serious reasons behind this removal. Normally, any such discussion should have first taken place within the National Liberal Party and within the ruling coalition.



    The Social Democrats, in opposition, seized this opportunity to once again criticise the government. They believe government replacements are made only in order to soothe the egos of the politicians in power. The Social Democrats spokesman, Radu Oprea, argued,



    Radu Oprea: “Unfortunately, the incumbent PM sets the country on fire, prices are going up, our people are getting poorer. Instead of doing his job in the government, he is only busy with his party campaign.



    The dispute in the Liberal Party only proves the governments sheer disregard for the citizens problems, the Social Democrats claim. Ironically, only 4 years ago, the Social Democratic Party generated a political crisis when it dismissed its own government through a no-confidence motion. The reason was the then prime ministers alarming insubordination to the partys authoritarian leader, Liviu Dragnea, currently serving a corruption sentence.



    In constitutional terms, it is within the prime ministers powers to request the dismissal of a cabinet member. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • 3 million Romanians vaccinated

    3 million Romanians vaccinated

    The number of Romanians having received COVID-19 vaccines has passed 3 million since the start of the rollout late in December. Of them, around 1.8 million have got the booster dose as well.



    Contributing to this was also the vaccination marathon in Timișoara (west), where thousands of people got anti-SARS-CoV-2 jabs this past weekend. Over 600 physicians, nurses and volunteering students were involved.



    The marathon will reach Bucharest on May 7-9, according to the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă. The event will be similar to the one organised in Timişoara, and will be hosted by the Palace Hall and the National Library in the capital city. Any citizen, irrespective of where they live, will be able to get a vaccine dose without previous appointment, and all they will need is their ID.



    “We intend to have around 50 vaccination teams, which means that over these 2 and a half days of work, over 15,000 people could get a dose. We are yet to decide on the type of vaccine, very likely we will have Pfizer ones, Valeriu Gheorghiţă explained.



    The culture minister Bogdan Gheorghiu welcomed the success of his ministrys proposal to have a vaccination centre set up in the National Library car park. “Public Health and Culture are pooling resources for the greater good of Romanians! If we want to go to the movies, to the theatre or to concerts, then we must get vaccinated, Gheorghiu says in a Facebook post.



    To step up the vaccine rollout, this past weekend the first drive-through vaccination centre was opened in Deva, in the south-west of the country. All people coming by car regardless of their home address can be immunised there without prior appointment on the online national platform. The drive-through centre comprises 4 units, with a combined targeted flow of 500 people a day.



    President Klaus Iohannis has recently warned that the pandemic is not over, and urged people to get the vaccine. He reiterated that vaccination is the way out of this pandemic, and voiced his satisfaction with the national rate of around 100,000 jabs a day. Klaus Iohannis added that as the number of new infections goes down, the authorities will consider ending the state of alert. Extended every month, the state of alert was first introduced in Romania in mid-May last year, after a 2-month state of emergency to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • New measures to step up vaccination

    New measures to step up vaccination

    According
    to experts, anti-COVID vaccination is an effective and rapid measure to protect
    against the virus. The immunization campaign, which kicked off in Romania in
    late December is in full swing and authorities have announced fresh measures to
    step it up. According to physician Valeriu Gheorghiţă, in charge of vaccine
    rollout in Romania, starting April 20th mobile centers are to become
    part of this immunization campaign.




    20
    such mobile units are to be made available all over Romania in a first stage of
    this programme. These centers are to be coordinated by the County Committee in
    charge of Military Hospitals as they are operated by personnel provided by the
    National Defence Ministry. These centers are to become operational in rural areas
    where people do not have access to immunization centers or family physicians.




    And in
    order to streamline the process, the aforementioned centers will mainly use the
    single-jab Johnson&Johnson vaccine. Authorities in Romania have decided to
    also include the family physicians in the immunization campaign. Gheorghita has
    announced that over 3 thousand family physicians have applied for being part of
    the campaign with the medical facilities they own.




    They
    account for 30% of the total 10,940 doctors under contract with the National
    Health Insurance House. It is less than we expected, Valeriu Gheorghita said
    adding that the project is to kick off nationwide on May 4th. Until
    that time, we will have provided all the training for the physicians involved
    in the project and have assured all the infrastructure needed in the
    distribution of medical supplies so that we may commence this project in very
    good conditions. People’s interest in getting the vaccine is high, Gheorghita says
    adding that a decision has been made to notify only once a person on the
    vaccination list, who has 24 hours to confirm.






    Roughly
    780 thousand people have enlisted for vaccination, most of them in Bucharest
    and Cluj in the north west. About 60% of these belong to the general
    population, included in the third stage of the vaccination campaign, 32% are
    people belonging to the vulnerable groups, people with chronic conditions,
    people over 65, with physical disabilities and 7.5% people working in key
    domains of activity. Over 2,100,000 people in Romania have so far got at least
    one vaccine dose.


    (bill)

  • March 7-14, 2021

    March 7-14, 2021


    The evolution of coronavirus in Romania


    The government in Bucharest decided to extend the state of alert by 30 more days, coming into effect on March 14, as the number of COVID-19 infections rises. According to PM Florin Citu, all restrictions already in place are here to stay. In addition, night circulation is forbidden between 22:00 and 5:00, one hour earlier than before. Another decision limits occupation in tourist accommodation to up to 70% of capacity. This measure is mostly aimed at accommodation in areas with skiing or winter sports facilities. At the same time, in order to speed up the vaccination campaign and contain the pandemic, on Thursday the third stage opened for people in localities with a rate of infection of over 4.5 to a thousand inhabitants. This stage will be applied nationally starting Monday, in which anyone who wishes to vaccinate can do so as well. Romania has immunized over 1.3 million people since the start of the vaccination campaign, on December 27, and over half have had the follow-up. On Thursday, the authorities in Bucharest have decided to temporarily suspend the use of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine up until the end of the evaluation run by the European Medicines Agency. The decision comes after several European countries registered severe reactions, even deaths, after the administration of these vaccines, part of a certain allotment.



    Conclusions in the fire at the Matei Bals hospital


    The Romanian government will file a case with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate following the conclusion of the Control Body in relation to the fire at the Matei Bals Institute in Bucharest. Inspectors who investigated the area after the 29 January reached the conclusion that the fire was caused by the poor and antiquated infrastructure, the undersized wiring, and the poor supervision of the patients. We recall that over 20 people have died in the fire in one pavilion of the hospital, causing over 100 COVID patients to be relocated.



    The 2021 budget passes


    President Klaus Iohannis endorsed this week the state budget and social insurance law for 2021. According to the Presidency, investment, reforms, and economic growth are the pillars of the 2021 budget, observing all the principles of fiscal responsibility and sustainability of public finance. The budget deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP indicates a considerable effort towards budget consolidation, without unduly burdening citizens with new taxes, the release also indicates. Considerable amounts of money are earmarked for the transportation infrastructure, schools and hospitals, but also for managing the vaccination campaign, as well as the risks associated with the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major investments are aimed at supporting businesses, new opportunities for development, and creating better paying jobs, the document states. Last week, Parliament passed the budget bill in the form issued by the government, without accepting amendments. This year, the budget is based on an economic growth of 4.31%.



    Romania reports record economic growth for 2020 4th quarter


    Romania had the highest GDP growth of any EU country in the fourth quarter of the past year compared to the previous quarter. According to data published on Tuesday by Eurostat, the Romanian economy grew by 4.8% during that period. Previously, the Romanian National Institute of Statistics reviewed downwards its expectation for growth from 5.3% to 4.8% for the GDP in the last quarter of last year. It did not, however, adjust its estimate for 2020, according to which the Romanian economy shrank by 3.9% in real terms. The shrinkage in the GDP was caused by industry, trade, agriculture, and entertainment related activities.



    The authorities in Bucharest want to eliminate cumulative pensions


    Romania has launched a public debate on a bill to ban cumulative pensions with state wages. Minister of Labor Raluca Turcan announced that around 35,000 tax payers are receiving both a pension and a salary. There will be exceptions to this, however, such as teachers, members of the Romanian Academy, and elected officials. The bill also provides for the possibility of continuing work up until 70 years of age, applying to both state and private employees. Another bill was submitted for public debate, along with an emergency executive order, allowing for parents who return to work earlier than their parental leave allows to receive a higher bonus for returning.



    The Green Friday campaign is launched


    The Romanian Ministry of the Environment launched on March 12 the Green Friday initiative, encouraging the use of alternative transportation for going to and from work in order to reduce pollution, especially in the big cities. The campaign provides that every Friday people should not use their personal vehicles and go to and from work using public transport, bicycles, or just on foot. Minister of the Environment Tánczos Barna announced he would launch an invitation to everyone to take part, while town halls were extended a proposal to offer free public transportation on Fridays. (tr. C. Cotoiu)