Radio România Internațional

Tag: centenary

  • November 30, 2018

    November 30, 2018

    FEAST DAY – Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic believers from all over the world, Romania included, are today celebrating St. Apostle Andrew. He is the first of Jesus Christ’s apostles who preached Christianity in the south of Romania, in Dobruja. Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Romania. Saint Andrew preached in Dobruja and in today’s Ukrainian territory, in Great Scythia, and in Byzantium. He then went to Greece and preached the Gospel, going up to Patras town where he died a martyr’s death. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Over 700 thousand Romanians named after St. Andrew celebrate their name day today.




    CELEBRATIONS – Alba Iulia, the central Romanian city where on December 1st 1918, the Romanian nation state was proclaimed, is hosting as of today a new edition of the Congress of Romanian Spirituality, attended by representatives of Romanian communities from all over the world. This is only one of the events held on Friday and Saturday in the city, in celebration of 100 years since Romania became a nation state. Military and religious ceremonies at the monuments of the personalities and heroes that played an important role in the unification of all Romanian provinces have been scheduled for today. According to local authorities, over 100 thousand people are expected to attend celebrations in Alba Iulia on December 1st. In Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis will host a reception on the occasion on Romania’s National Day. According to Klaus Iohannis, the centenary is not only about the past, but also about the future Romania. Being a Romanian is now the same with being a European, and means being part of a community of values that treasures freedom, democracy, solidarity, the respect for human dignity and for the rule of law, Iohannis has said. On December 1st, around 450 public events have been announced with over 550 thousand people expected to attend.




    RELIGIOUS SERVICE – Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Theophilos II of Jerusalem and All Palestine officiated a religious service on Friday, dedicated to St. Apostle Andrew, celebrated on Nov 30 and considered the protector of Romania. The religious service was held at the new national cathedral in Bucharest, inaugurated a week ago. His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos announced that the delegation of the Jerusalem Patriarchate brought with them a fragment of the holy relics of Saint John Jacob for the new cathedral. Patriarch Daniel said that these relics of ‘the Romanian Saint from the Holy Land’ will be placed in one of the chapels at the basement of the National Cathedral which will be dedicated to Saint John Jacob. The Patriarch of Jerusalem arrived in Romania Thursday morning to lead the celebrations of the first patronal feast held in the National Cathedral. On Saturday, Patriarch Theophilos will also attend, alongside patriarch Daniel, the ceremonies in Alba Iulia marking Romania’s National Day and the 1918 Great Union Centennial.



    G 20 – G20 member nations are struggling to reach agreement on major issues including trade, migration and climate change as world leaders have gathered in the Buenos Aires for a summit starting on Friday. This is the first G20 summit ever held in South America. The summit takes place amid new tension with Russia over Ukraine and a US trade row with China. US President Donald Trump has cancelled a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in protest at Russias seizure of Ukrainian naval boats. Trump’s move may also be connected to the internal investigation regarding suspicions of Russian interference in the elections for the White House, commentators believe. The two-day summit in Buenos Aires will be a major test for the Group of 20 industrialized nations, whose leaders first met in 2008 to help rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in seven decades, but which now faces questions over its relevance to deal with the latest round of crises, Reuters reports. Overhanging the summit in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, is a bitter trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, which have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s imports.



    HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball team is in France where it will play the Czech Republic in the European Championships Group D on Saturday. Romania will next play Germany on December 3 and Norway on December 5. The first three teams in each group will advance to the next phase. Coached by Ambros Martin of Spain, Romania is taking part in the Championship for the 13th time. Two years ago it ranked 5, while its best performance was in 2010, when it scooped bronze.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • Romanian Parliament celebrates the Centenary

    Romanian Parliament celebrates the Centenary

    The solemn meeting dedicated to the celebration of 100 years since the creation of the Romanian nation state brought together, at the Parliament headquarters, the leaders of the main political factions who, in their messages, tried to make a connection between the wishes of the people who on December 1st 1918 fulfilled their dream to accomplish the Great Union, and Romanians expectations 100 years later.



    From President Iohanniss appeal to political leaders to switch the focus back on the national interest to PM Dancilas message of political peace, the reference to the lessons of history was a common feature of all public speeches. Nevertheless, there were also insinuations exchanged by the ruling coalition, the right-wing opposition and President Iohannis, at a time when Romanians are yearning for unity. Respect for the law and freedom were the fundamental values that Romanians fought for 100 years ago, and these values continue to mobilise citizens at present, President Klaus Iohannis has said.



    He added that at present Romania is a free society, it has stable institutions, it is a member of the EU and it has a strategic partnership with the worlds most powerful country, the US.



    Klaus Iohannis: “Just like a century ago, Romanians have great hopes for their countrys future and natural expectations from its leaders. Now when we celebrate the Centenary, more than ever before, Romanians are expecting a government able to live up to the heritage that has been passed down to them, they want responsible and honest political leaders, that should set ambitious political goals for Romania and not for their own short-lived interests.



    On the other side of the political spectrum, the Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancila and her party leader Liviu Dragnea made an appeal to unity. Moreover, the PM has said its time for political consensus and peace, for the best interest of Romania:



    Viorica Dancila: “I send a message of political peace to Romanias President, Mr. Klaus Iohannis. Im convinced that, irrespective of the political and electoral stakes ahead, in the official positions that we hold, as PM and as president, we have the duty to cooperate, to work together. This is a duty beyond any personal stakes. It is a duty to the Romanians and to Romania.



    A representative of the opposition, Liberal MP Gigel Stirbu has said that the Centenary must be a moment of reflection on the achievements of the past 100 years:



    Gigel Stirbu: “Is todays Romania the Romania that our forerunners, the artisans of the great historical act of 1918, imagined? What kind of heritage do we pass on to future generations?



    The leader of Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, in his turn drew a parallel between the great achievements of 100 years ago and present-day Romania:



    Dan Barna: “A generation before the Great Union, Anghel Saligny built the bridge system in Cernavoda. Romania had, at the time, the most spectacular engineering project in Europe. The politicians who have governed Romania since the Revolution have been unable to build, in 30 years in power, a single motorway to connect historical provinces.“



    Attending the solemn meeting in Romanias Parliament to mark 100 years since the Great Union were also the former presidents of Romania, Emil Constantinescu and Traian Basescu, Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, representatives of the Roman-Catholic and Greek-Catholic churches, and heads of the diplomatic missions in Bucharest.


    (translated by: Elena Enache)

  • 29 November, 2018

    29 November, 2018

    Government. The government will continue to implement public policies to
    benefit the country and its citizens, Romania’s prime minister Viorica Dancila
    has promised. Her cabinet held a special meeting on Thursday in Alba Iulia,
    central Romania, dedicated to the celebration of Romania’s National Day on 1
    December, in a year when the country celebrates 100 years since the creation of
    the Romanian nation state. Alba Iulia is the city where the Great Union was
    accomplished in 1918. Viorica Dancila announced that the building sector
    would be considered a priority and of national importance for the Romanian
    economy, and that a minimum gross salary of some 640 euros would be established
    in this field. 1 January will also see an average 5-time increase in the
    allowances of war invalids, veterans and widows. Last but not least, the
    government will approve the creation of a Food Trade National Society, a
    commercial mechanism meant to promote the local resources and agricultural
    products. Before the government’s meeting, the prime minister
    visited the Union Memorial, one of the most spectacular projects celebrating
    the Centenary of the Great Union. The structure is 22 m high and will be
    unveiled on 1 December, in the presence of president Klaus Iohannis. Yesterday,
    the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies also met in a special session to mark
    the Centenary of the Great Union. President Iohannis called on politicians to
    listen to the voice of the people, while prime minister Viorica Dancila called
    for peace and unity.








    Ukraine. The
    Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has called on NATO member states to send ships
    to the sea around Crimea and on the EU leaders to take all necessary measures
    to put pressure on Russia, including by tightening sanctions, in order to put
    an end to what he called the ongoing annexation of the Sea of Azov and the
    Kerch Strait and to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity, according to the
    BBC. In Moscow, Russian president Vladimir Putin made his first comments about
    the Russian-Ukrainian naval incident in the Kerch Strait describing it as a
    minor border incident. The foreign ministry in Kiev has sent a letter of
    protest to the Russian foreign ministry, requesting the immediate release of
    its sailors, whom it considers war prisoners. A court in Simferopol, the
    capital of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, placed nine sailors in
    temporary detention until the 25th of January, pending trial. A
    similar decision was taken on Tuesday for 15 sailors. Three of them are in a
    hospital in Kerch. France Presse notes that this is the first open military
    confrontation between Moscow and Kiev since the annexation of Crimea.




    Cyber security. 70 Romanian staff are taking part in the Cyber Coalition
    cyber defence exercise under way until 30 November, the biggest of its kind
    organised by NATO. The exercise is coordinated from Tartu, in Estonia, and its
    goal is to test NATO’s capacity to defend its computer networks from cyber
    attacks. Each NATO member state takes part from its own territory, via a
    secured connection to the cyber network made available by the defence ministry
    in Estonia and configured for this exercise by the CyberInt Centre of the
    Romanian Intelligence Service.


    Unemployment. The unemployment rate reached 4% in Romania in October,
    slightly up from the previous month by 0.1%, according to the National
    Institute for Statistics. Unemployment among men is 1.4% higher than among
    women, with 4.6% for men and 3.2% for women. Statistical figures also show that
    the unemployment rate among the adult population aged between 25 and 74 was
    estimated at 3.2% for October, with 3.8% for men and 2.3% for women.




    Eurozone. Corporate credit growth in the eurozone slowed down last month
    according to a study by the European Central Bank, which is a sign that the
    worsening of the economic prospects is starting to affect loans, Reuters notes.
    Corporate loans went up by 3.9% in October, the slowest growth pace since May,
    after an increase of 4.3% in September, the highest since the crisis. Analysts
    believe these data will not affect the intention of the European Central Bank
    to halt in December the public and private bond acquisition programme worth
    2,600 billion euros launched in the last three years, or its plans to raise the
    interest rate next year for the first time since 2011. The study published by
    the European Central Bank comes after other indicators have also showed a
    slowdown of the eurozone economy.








    Handball. The best 16 handballing nations in Europe, including Romania,
    are taking part in the Women’s European Championship which begins on Thursday
    and is hosted by France. This is Romania’s 13th participation in a
    European championship. They are in Group D, alongside the Czech Republic,
    Germany and Norway. Romania, who are managed by the Spanish coach Ambros Martin,
    play their first match on Saturday against the Czech side. The top three ranked
    sides in the group make it to the next stage. Romania finished fifth at the
    2016 European Championship and their best result was a bronze medal in 2010.



  • Centenary Romania

    Centenary Romania


    In 2018, the Romanian nation state turns 100. The union of all Romanian provinces was a gradual process that took place over several centuries. In 1600, the ruler Michael the Brave achieved, albeit for a short period, the political union of Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. He was assassinated one year later, which perfectly fitted with the goals of the neighbouring powers, who did not like the creation of an independent state that could substantially alter the balance of power in the region. In 1859, under Alexander Ioan Cuza, Moldavia and Wallachia became united again, in a new state, Romania. Later, in 1866, the first Romanian sovereign from the House of Hohenzollern, Carol I, modernised the state and, in 1877, after the Russo-Turkish War, Romania won its independence from under the control of the moribund Ottoman Empire, after centuries of servitude. Carol I died in 1914 and was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand. Under his rule, Romania entered WWI in order to achieve its national union, a dream realised four years later through the wish of all Romanians in the provinces that had until then been under foreign rule.



    On 27th March 1918, towards the end of WWI, the legislative body in Bessarabia voted for the union of this majority-Romanian province with the motherland. This was the first act in the creation of the Romanian nation state under Bucharests control, a process that would end that same year when Bukovina also joined, on 28th November, within an extremely favourable European context. In the wake of the Central Powers defeat in the war and with the military support of King Ferdinand and the moral and diplomatic help of Queen Marie, the members of the General Congress of Bukovina unanimously voted in Cernauti for the union with Romania. This was followed by the union of the other Romanian provinces, Transylvania (centre) and Banat, Maramures and Crisana (west), which had been under the rule of the Habsburg Empire, to form the Romanian nation state on 1st December, after a very painstaking process.



    At an international level, Romanias new political and territorial status was recognised by treaties signed at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-1920. Unfortunately, the union did not last long. In the summer of 1940, following an ultimatum, Stalins Russia annexed both Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, which now form part of the present-day Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, both of which were former Soviet republics. Hundreds of thousands of people from Bessarabia took refuge at the time in what was left of Romania and other tens of thousands were deported to Siberia or Kazakhstan, being replaced by settlers brought in from all corners of the Empire.