Radio România Internațional

Tag: championships

  • European gold for Romanian athletics

    European gold for Romanian athletics

     

    Every two years in early spring, European athletics begins its competition season with the continental indoor championships. This is where we get a first glimpse at the new talents emerging internationally and the prospects for the forthcoming season.

     

    And the results of the recently concluded European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, in the Netherlands, were surprisingly pleasurable for Romanian athletics fans. Romania finished the competition with 2 medals: gold for Andrei Rareş Toader in the men’s shot put competition, and silver for Diana Ion in the women’s triple jump.

     

    It was the best Romanian record in a continental indoor athletics competition in recent years. After 8 years without medals, since the 2015 edition, the Romanians only reached the podium again in 2023 in Istanbul, where Claudia Bobocea won silver in the 1500 meters, and Gabriel Bitan won the bronze in the long jump.

     

    But Romania had not won a European title at an indoor championship for 20 years, more precisely since the one won by Elena Buhăianu in the women’s 1500 meters, in 2005 in Madrid.

     

    Before the start of this year’s competition, Romanian coaches had been moderately hopeful. The target set by the athletics federation in Bucharest was a 4th to 6th place and two qualifications in the finals. In an interview with Agerpres news agency, the coach of the national team Oana Pantelimon highlighted the chances of Andrei Rareş Toader, who had had an excellent start of the season. On Sunday, he met all expectations.

     

    He qualified for the shot put finals in 4th place, with a 20.59m throw. In the final, however, he managed 21.27 m, a whole 23 centimetres better than the contender Wictor Petersson (Sweden). Moreover, this was a new national record for Romania.

     

    The first medal of the Romanian team in Apeldoorn, the silver in the triple jump, had been won on Friday by Diana Ana Maria Ion. With 14.31 m, she achieved the most important performance of her career so far. The gold went to the Spanish athlete Ana Peleteiro-Compaore, who jumped six centimetres higher than Diana. The bronze medal went to the Finnish Senni Salminen, with 13.99 m.

     

    Next up is the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, which will take place from March 21 to 23. The competition was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed for three years in a row and it has been rescheduled for this year. (AMP)

  • Athlete of the Week

    Athlete of the Week

     

    Romania’s rowing team finished second at the European Championships held last week in Szeged, Hungary. With 8 medals, of which 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze, Romania was only outperformed by Britain, with 10 medals, 8 of which were gold, one silver and one bronze.

     

    Romania won gold medals in the women’s eight, women’s double sculls and pairs, and the men’s double sculls event. The biggest performance in this year’s championships was that of Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel, the winners of gold medals both in the women’s pair event and in the women’s eight race, for which Radio Romania International designated them the Athletes of the Week.

     

    Ioana Vrînceanu was born in Târgu Neamț, north-eastern Romania, on March 7, 1994. She is a member of the Steaua Bucharest club, and she started winning medals in 2017, when she won the gold with Romania’s eight team both at the European Championships in Račice, and in the World Championships in Sarasota. In the double sculls event, she won the European title in 2022, in Munich, together with Denisa Tîlvescu, and then in Bled, with Roxana Anghel, last year.  At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, in 2021, she was part of the team that came out 6th in the women’s eight event.

     

    Roxana-Iuliana Anghel also comes from the north-east of Romania, more precisely from Câmpulung Moldovenesc, where she was born on January 1, 1998. A member of the Dinamo Bucharest club, Roxana-Iuliana Anghel also took part in the Tokyo Olympics, where she came out 9th in the quadruple sculls event. Since last year she has been competing in the women’s pair race together with Ioana Vrînceanu, with whom she has already won two European championships. (AMP)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    Romania’s women’s handball team has qualified for the 2024 European Championships hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. On Sunday night, in Group 1, Romania, missing its star players Cristina Neagu and Crina Pintea, defeated Croatia away from home 25-23. Romania, which tops the group standings with 8 points, is yet to play against Bosnia-Hertegovina away from home and against Greece at home. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament, along with the best 4 teams having ranked 3rd in each group.

     

    The Kenyan-born Romanian athlete Joan Chelimo Melly won Sunday’s semi-marathon race in Paris, and set a new national record on this occasion. Coached by Carol Şanta at the Dinamo Bucharest club, Joan Chelimo Melly has qualified to the Paris Olympics marathon event this summer. She finished the race in one hour, 6 minutes and 57 seconds, followed by the Kenyan athletes Veronica Loleo and Jesphine Jepleting, respectively. Romania’s previous semi-marathon record, 1 hour 7 minutes and 45 seconds, had been set by another Kenyan-born athlete, Stella Rutto, on 21 February 2021.

     

    At the Glasgow World Athletics Indoor Championships, the Romanian athlete Alina Rotaru-Kottmann finished 8th in the long jump finals. Two other Romanians, Diana Ion and Andreea Taloş, came out 9th and 10th in the triple jump final.

     

    Romania’s rugby team played on Saturday against Georgia, away from home, in the semi-finals of the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship. Georgia won the match, 43-5. In the other semi-final, on Sunday, Portugal defeated Spain, 33-30. The finals are scheduled on the 17 March in Paris, with Romania and Spain playing for the 3rd place, and Georgia and Portugal competing for the trophy.

     

    This past weekend also saw matches counting towards the 29th round of the Romanian football SuperLeague. On Friday, Poli Iaşi drew against Dinamo Bucharest, 0-0. On Saturday, UTA Arad beat FCU Craiova 3-2, FC Hermannstadt defeated Oţelul Galaţi 4-1, and Farul Constanţa drew against CFR Cluj, 1-1. On Sunday, Universitatea Cluj defeated FC Botoşani 1-0 while FCSB outplayed Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, with two other matches, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe vs FC Voluntari and Universitatea Craiova vs Rapid Bucharest scheduled for Monday. FCSB rank first in the current standings, with 64 points, followed by Rapid (51) and CFR Cluj (50). (AMP)

  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    Romania will be represented by 7 female athletes at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Glasgow, Scotland. Alina Rotaru-Kottmann will be competing in the long-jump event, Andreea Taloş and Diana Ion in the triple jump and Daniela Stanciu, in the high jump contest. Andreea Miklos will represent Romania in the 400 meter dash while Claudia Bobocea and Petronela Simiuc in the 800 and 1500 meter races.

    Romania had 11 athletes in the past edition of the aforementioned indoor competition in Belgrade in 2022, and the best Romanian performance was obtained by Claudia Bobocea – the 9th place in the 1.500 meter race. The latest medals obtained by athletes from Romania in a suchlike indoor contest were at the 2016 edition in Portland, where Andrei Gag reaped silver in the shot put event and the women’s 4×400 meter relay team, which included Andreea Miklos, came third in the race.

    Romania’s rugby side will be playing Georgia on Saturday in an away game of the 2024 edition of Rugby Europe Championship, the second big European contest after Six Nations.  In the other semifinals game on Sunday, Portugal will be up, on their own ground, against Spain. The winners will be playing in the finals due on the Jean Bouin stadium, in Paris on March 17th.

    Romania’s women handball side will be playing Croatia, in Koprivnica on Sunday in a match counting towards the first group of the European Championship qualifiers. The two sides also met on Wednesday in Bistrita, central Romania, where our athletes secured a 26-24 win. In the group’s ranking Romania comes first with 6 points followed by Croatia with 4, Greece with 2 and Bosnia-Herzegovina with no point. The first two sides of each group will qualify as well as the best four sides on the third position.

    This weekend will be seeing a series of matches counting towards the 29th leg of the Romanian Football Superleague. Only one game on Friday when Poli Iasi takes on Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday, UTA plays FCU Craiova in a home game, then Hermannstadt also at home will be up against Otelul Galati. In Constanta, local side Farul will be playing CFR Cluj. On Sunday, Universitatea Cluj will be playing FC Botosani, while FCSB plays in Bucharest Petrolul Ploiesti. On Monday, Sepsi, on their own turf, will be playing FC Voluntari and Universitatea Craiova, at home, will receive Rapid Bucharest. FCSB ranks first in the standings with 61 points, followed by Rapid, ten points less.

    (bill)

  • Athlete of the Week

    Athlete of the Week

    Romania’s capital city, Bucharest, last week became the European capital of Wrestling. Europe’s best wrestlers came together for the European Championships, which is also a qualification criterion for the Olympic Games. 30 athletes have represented Romania in the aforementioned competition, ten in the Greek-Roman contest, ten in the freestyle event and another ten in the women’s competition.

     

    The first Romanian medals came from the Greek-Roman event. Denis Florin Mihai, in the 55 kilogram category and Răzvan Arnăut in the 60, stepped onto the podium’s third step whereas no Romanian wrestler was among the medalists of the free-style contest. The best results were obtained by our women athletes, where the Romanian wrestler of Ukrainian descent, Kateryna Zelenyk, and Alexandra Anghel have won silver. However, the number one result was obtained by Andreea Ana, who became gold medalist in the 55 kilogram category and also got the Radio Romania International’s Athlete of the Week title for the best Romanian performance this week.

     

    Andreea Beatrice Ana was born in Mangalia, southern Romania on November 14th 2000. In 2018 she got her first bronze medal in the Under-23 European Championships hosted by Bucharest, Romania, a performance which she reiterated three years later in Warsaw, Poland. She represented Romania at the Olympics in Tokyo where she came 16th. Then she obtained a series of performances in major competitions, such as the World Youth Championship in Belgrade, then the European Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and the European Championships in Budapest in 2022, where she obtained the first gold medal for Romania in the women’s contest of a European Championships. She kept the title of European champion in Zagreb, in 2023, where thanks to the performances she and Alexandra Anghel obtained in the 72 kilogram category, the Romanian athletes managed to win two gold medals in the same edition of the aforementioned competition after 43 years.

    (bill)

  • February 13, 2024 UPDATE

    February 13, 2024 UPDATE

    VISIT The PM
    of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, will be on an official visit to Rome on February
    14-15, and will take part in the 3rd joint government meeting of Romania and
    Italy, held 13 years after the previous inter-governmental summit. PM Ciolacu
    will have meetings with the PM of Italy, Georgia Meloni, and will attend a
    meeting of the 2 official delegations and the signing of bilateral documents. His
    agenda also includes talks with the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and a
    meeting with the Romanian community in Italy. Italy is one of Romania’s most
    important economic partners, and the Economic Forum focusing on areas such as IT&C,
    energy, the processing industry, infrastructure and the agri-food industry is
    another excellent opportunity to improve our economic cooperation, PM Marcel
    Ciolacu said. Marcel Ciolacu will also be received by His Holiness Pope Francis
    at the Vatican.


    INTERESTS The
    National Bank of Romania Tuesday decided to keep the monetary policy interest
    rate at 7% per year, the institution announced. The central bank will also keep
    the credit facility interest rate at 8% per year and the deposit facility
    interest rate at 6% per year, and also maintain the current levels of the
    compulsory minimum reserve rates for banks’ national and foreign currency
    liabilities. The key interest rate has not been changed since last January, when
    the National Bank decided to raise it from 6.75% to 7% per year. A balanced mix
    of macroeconomic policies and structural reforms, including the use of EU
    funding to encourage the country’s growth potential in the long run, are vital
    to maintaining macroeconomic stability and to strengthening the Romanian
    economy’s capacity to withstand negative developments, the institution said. An
    updated forecast by the central bank reconfirms the prospects of an increase of
    the annual inflation rate in the first months of this year, following the
    increase of existing indirect taxes and the introduction of new ones, and of a
    subsequent downward trend, at a slower pace than in 2023 and than originally
    expected.


    CYBERSECURITY On Tuesday 4 more hospitals in
    Bucharest and elsewhere in the country were added to the list of 21 public and
    private healthcare units affected since last weekend by a large-scale cyber
    security incident, the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) announced. A crypto
    currency ransom demand has been received, amounting to approx. EUR 157,000, but
    the attackers only provided an email address, without disclosing the name of
    the group claiming the attack. Both the DNSC and other cyber security
    authorities involved urge the victims not to contact the perpetrators and not
    to pay the ransom. The healthcare minister, Alexandru Rafila, has told Radio
    Romania that some of the hospitals have managed to fix the problems, and the
    authorities will come up with a new technical standard designed to prevent such
    actions. Other public institutions in Romania have been targeted by cyber-attacks
    in the past.


    FARMERS On
    Tuesday the European Commission officially endorsed a regulation which grants a
    partial exemption for farmers from the rule binding them to keep 4% of their
    arable land fallow. In exchange, they are required to grow nitrogen fixing
    crops such as lentils or peas. The measure comes after large-scale farmer
    protests across the EU, including in Romania. Member States who wish to apply
    the derogation at national level need to notify the Commission within 15 days
    of entry into force of the Regulation so that farmers can be informed as soon
    as possible.


    WRD World Radio Day was celebrated on Tuesday, and this year’s theme
    was A century of information, entertainment and education. To mark this
    celebration, Radio Romania’s stations broadcast interviews with journalists,
    media experts, teachers, public figures and listeners, and their programmes
    featured debates on the future of radio and broadcasts from the European
    Broadcasting Union. The UNESCO declaration on World Radio Day, entitled Radio,
    the Trusted Guide in a Changing World, can be found on the websites of all
    Radio Romania’s stations.


    WRESTLING The
    Romanian athlete Denis Florin Mihai won the bronze in the Greco-Roman style 55
    kilo category of the European Wrestling Championship in Bucharest on Tuesday, after
    defeating Georgia’s Nugzari Tsurtsumia. Mihai ranks 4th in the world
    standings and was the bronze winner in last year’s European Championships. Romania
    takes part in the event in Bucharest with 30 athletes, 10 in each style.


    POLO Romania’s men’s water polo team will play for the 9th
    place at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, after defeating China 9-7 on Tuesday. In
    the match for the 9th and 10th places, scheduled on
    February 15, Romania takes on the USA. Romania finished 8th last
    month in the European Championships held in Croatia, and the team’s best performance
    to date at a World Championship is a 5th place in 1975. (AMP)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    Romania’s men’s volleyball team
    concluded Group D of the European Championships in Tel Aviv – Yafo, Israel, with
    a clear victory against defending Olympic champions France. The 3-1 win (25-23,
    16-25, 25-18, 25-21) secured Romania its qualification in the eighth-finals.




    The best Romanian players were
    Adrian Aciobăniţei, currently playing for the Polish side Skra Belchatow, who
    scored 20 points, Alexandru Raţă with 12 points and Robert Călin with 11 points.
    On the French side, the best players were Stephen Boyer with 19 points scored,
    Yacine Louati with 15 and Kevin Tillie with 11.




    Romania had started the
    competition with 2 matches lost, 0-3 to Portugal and 2-3 to Israel. But the
    Romanian team made a strong come-back in the second part of the group stage and
    won their last 3 matches, 3-2 against Turkey, 3-1 against Greece and 3-1 against
    France.




    In the last 2 matches of the
    group, Turkey defeated Israel, 3-0 and France beat Greece 3-0. In the final
    group D standing, France ranks first with 12 points, followed by Portugal with 9,
    Romania also 9, Turkey with 8 points, Israel (4 points) and Greece (3 points). The
    top 4 teams in the group qualify in the eighth-finals.




    Romania will take on Croatia, the
    team that came second in Group B, on the 9 September in Varna, Bulgaria.




    In the previous edition of the
    competition, hosted by France, Slovenia, Belgium and the Netherlands in 2019,
    Romania finished 21st in the ranking. In the history of the European
    Volleyball Championships, Romania’s best results were gold in 1963, two silver
    medals in 1955 and 1958, and two bronze medals, in 1971 and 1977.




    The 2023 European Championship
    takes place in 4 countries-Israel, Italy, Bulgaria and North Macedonia, between
    28 August and 16 September. (AMP)

  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    Romanian hammer thrower Bianca
    Ghelber on Wednesday qualified for the finals of the hammer throw event of the
    World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a throw of 73 meters and 67 centimeters,
    the contest’s fifth performance. We recall that Bianca is the European champion
    of the event. Also on Wednesday in the 800 meter race, Claudia Bobocea went 26th
    and failed to qualify for the competition’s semifinals although she managed to set
    a personal record of two minutes and 56 hundredths.




    Romania’s representatives in the
    triple jump events, Andreea Talos and Diana Ion have also failed to qualify for
    the competition’s next stage. In Budapest on Sunday, Alina Rotaru-Kottman won
    the bronze medal in the long jump event. Romania hadn’t won a medal in a World
    Championships since the 2009 edition in Berlin.




    In the first day of the
    Kayak-Canoe Championships in Duisburg, Germany, Catalin Chirila qualified for
    the semifinals of the single canoe races of 500 and 1000 meters. In both
    events, the Romanian registered the best results of the qualifiers as he is the
    en titre champion in the 1000 meters Olympic race. If he ends up on one of the
    first five positions, he will qualify for the Olympic Games next year. We
    recall that Chirila is world and European vice champion in the five hundred
    meter race.




    Also in Duisburg, in the 1000
    meters double canoe event, Ilie Sprincean and Oleg Nuta came second in the
    third tier and qualified for the semifinals. In the women’s single event Tania
    Vîrijac has assured a place in the semifinals of the 1000 meter race after
    ranking seventh in the second tier. In the single kayak race of 1000 meter,
    Carmen Morawietz has qualified for the semis after coming seventh in the qualifiers.




    (bill)

  • Sports Weekend

    Sports Weekend


    Two Romanian football clubs stand chances of playing in this years Europa Conference League group stage. Farul Constanţa and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe have qualified into the play-offs, after winning matches away from home.



    In the return leg of the preliminary round 3, Farul beat Flora Tallinn 2-0, after 3-0 on home turf. In the play-off, Farul will take on the Finnish side HJK Helsinki. Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, the Romanian Cup winners, Friday defeated Kazakhstans vice-champions Aktobe, 1-0, after a draw, 1-1 in the first leg. They are facing the Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt in the play-off.



    The 3rd Romanian team that played on Thursday in the Conference League qualifiers, FCSB, was kicked out of the competition after losing 0-2 away from home to the Danish side Nordsjælland, and a blank draw last week in the first leg.



    Also in football, this weekend matches are scheduled counting for the 6th round of the Romanian SuperLeague. Two games on Friday, pitting Petrolul Ploieşti against FC U Craiova 1948 and Universitatea Craiova against UTA, will be followed on Saturday by Oţelul Galaţi vs Botoşani and Dinamo Bucharest vs FC Voluntari. Two more matches are scheduled for Sunday in Bucharest: Rapid vs champions Farul Constanţa, and FCSB vs Poli Iaşi. The round ends on Monday with the last 2 matches: Sepsi vs Hermannstadt and Universitatea Cluj vs CFR Cluj. Top of the ranking are currently FCSB, with 12 points out of 4 matches, followed by Universitatea Craiova, with 11 points in 5 games.



    The World Athletics Championships begin on Saturday in Budapest. Romania takes part in the competition with 16 athletes, and the target set by the Romanian Athletics Federation is qualification in 3 finals. Last year, in the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Romanias best performances were a 6th place in hammer throw for Bianca Ghelber, and a 7th place in discus throw for Alin Firfirică.



    Also on Satuday, Romanias rugby team play their last match ahead of the World Cup in France. The Romanians are facing Italy away from home, in San Benedetto del Tronto. In the first test matches this summer, Romania lost 31-17 to the US in Bucharest, and 56-6 to Georgia, in Tbilisi. The first match for Romania at the World Cup is against Ireland, in Bordeaux, on 9 September. (AMP)


  • July 26, 2023 UPDATE

    July 26, 2023 UPDATE

    HEAT Wednesday was a new day with extreme heat in Romania. The capital
    city Bucharest and several counties in the south and south-east were subject to
    a code red alert for temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and a
    temperature-humidity index above the critical 80 units. Code orange and yellow
    alerts were also in place elsewhere in the country. On Tuesday the extreme
    temperatures disrupted railway traffic and caused road traffic restrictions. On
    the other hand, violent storms were reported in the west, north and centre of
    the country, where substantial damages were reported. On
    Thursday, the temperature is expected to drop significantly, to highs between
    19 and 28 degrees Celsius.




    PROTEST Romanian construction workers Wednesday picketed the government
    headquarters to protest the Cabinet’s decision to scrap the tax facilities
    granted to the employees in this sector. The head of the National Trade Union
    Bloc (BNS), Dumitru Costin, said the proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code
    affect not only the construction sector, but other categories of employees as
    well. The BNS and the Familia General Federation of Trade Unions came up with a
    set of measures to avoid the scrapping of tax facilities as of September 1,
    including a new collective bargaining agreement for the sector and a gradual
    elimination of the fiscal facility, in keeping with the roadmap agreed on under
    the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as of 2025. They also suggest adjustments
    to budget appropriations for the investment projects funded by the government
    or from EU funds, as well as a salary policy for this sector for the
    forthcoming years able to ensure balanced salaries, especially in the private
    sector.


    MEETING The Romanian
    foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Wednesday had talks with her French
    counterpart, Catherine Colonna, about the security situation at the Black Sea.
    In a Twitter post, Odobescu described the dialogue as very good. Bilateral
    cooperation was reconfirmed on this occasion. We have emphasised our joint
    support for Ukraine and the R. of Moldova, as well as our determination to
    consolidate security and resilience at the Black Sea, the Romanian diplomacy
    chief said in her post.


    DIPLOMACY The foreign
    minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, Wednesday requested a
    limitation on the number of Russian diplomats accredited to Chişinău. He said
    the country has been for several years the target of hostile policies on
    Russia’s part, and that some of them were completed via the Russian Embassy
    there. Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry
    for explanations, after a media report revealed that the Russian diplomatic
    mission had installed high-performance espionage and interception equipment on
    its rooftop. The media in Chişinău mentioned 28 satellite dishes and telecoms
    devices, while individuals tied to Russian intelligence services were seen on
    the buildings. The authorities in Chisinau decided that the two countries’
    embassies would have equal numbers of diplomatic personnel, specifically 10 diplomatic
    positions and 15 administrative, technical and support posts, Moldpres reports.
    Consequently, the staff of Russia’s embassy in Chişinău will be reduced from 84
    to 25.


    NATO The NATO
    secretary general Jens Stoltenberg convened a first NATO – Ukraine Council
    meeting at ambassador level on Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv. The meeting
    focused on consultations on recent developments, with participants discussing
    the transport of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, the NATO spokesperson Oana
    Lungescu said. Ukraine’s request came after Russia terminated the so-called
    grains deal and started attacking the Ukrainian port infrastructure. Also on
    Wednesday, the head of the press office for the southern Ukrainian defence
    command, Natalia Humeniuk, said Russia was already using Shahed-type drones
    assembled in Russia.




    SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici Wednesday qualified into
    the final of the 100m freestyle race at the World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan). Popovici, the defending world champion in
    this event, also holds the world record, set last year at the European
    Championships in Rome. The 100m freestyle final is scheduled for Thursday. On
    Tuesday, Popovici, also a former world champion in the 200m freestyle event,
    finished the competition’s final on the 4th place. (AMP)

  • June 22, 2023

    June 22, 2023

    AID In today’s
    Cabinet meeting, the government is to pass a resolution concerning emergency
    aid granted to the citizens affected by extreme weather conditions this year. The
    emergency aid totals EUR 1.4 million. Households in the centre, south-west and
    south of the country have been hit by heavy rainfalls and other extreme weather
    conditions this month, requiring the intervention of military firefighters.


    VISIT Economic cooperation and handling the crises
    caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine were the main topics on the agenda of the
    talks held in Chişinău on Wednesday by the PM of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, and
    of Moldova, Dorin Recean. The latter thanked Bucharest for the support given to
    Moldova in its EU accession efforts, and mentioned that bilateral relations are
    consolidated through the construction of roads, bridges and energy networks. During
    his visit to Chișinău, Marcel Ciolacu was accompanied by the Senate speaker
    Nicolae Ciucă.


    NATURAL GAS The manager of OMV Petrom, Christina Verchere, Thursday
    said that in 2027 the first amounts of natural gas would be extracted through
    the Neptun Deep project, turning Romania into the largest natural gas producer
    in the EU. The statements were made at the government’s headquarters in
    Bucharest, where OMV Petrom and Romgaz made an announcement concerning the
    development of Neptun Deep, the largest natural gas project in the Romanian
    part of the Black Sea. Spanning 2 decades, the project is expected to generate
    a gas output 30 times higher than the annual demand, which covers 4.3 million
    households. The estimated revenues to the Romanian state will be around EUR 20
    bln. Neptun Deep is a major step for our 2030 strategy, aimed at supporting
    Romania’s and the region’s energy transition, the OMV Petrom executive added.


    INVESTMENT The European Investment Bank Thursday announced new
    funding for Romania. The total EUR 675 mln will go into transport, urban
    development and small enterprises. EUR 600 mln will be earmarked for the
    transport sector, to add to the EU recovery and resilience funding. The EIB
    Group and Romania mark 30 years of partnership, with over EUR 17 bln granted by
    the bank in more than 170 financing projects since the start of its operations
    in the country. Given the progress of Romania’s economy over the past 30 years,
    I am proud that the EIB Group was able to help, providing financing for better schools,
    hospitals, public infrastructure, universities and transport, and supporting
    climate action and small enterprises, said the EIB vice-president, Lilyana
    Pavlova, in an event in Bucharest. In turn, Marjut Falkstedt, chief executive
    of the European Investment Fund, emphasised that so far the EIF provided
    financial support to more than 56,000 Romanian enterprises.


    MAYOR The former
    mayor of Bucharest’s districts 4 and 5, Cristian Popescu-Piedone, was released
    from prison on Wednesday, after the supreme court admitted his appeal for
    cancellation. The former mayor has served 1 year out of a 4-year prison
    sentence for abuse of office in the Colectiv investigation. He is now entitled
    to resume his office as mayor of district 5. The High Court of Cassation
    however dismissed the appeals of the other individuals sentenced in the same
    case. The head of the Colectiv Association, Eugen Iancu, said the release of
    the ex-mayor was not surprising, given that the officials who authorised the
    operation of the Colectiv night club had also been freed. Justice in Romania is
    an overpaid embarrassment, Iancu said. On the night of 30 October 2015, 64 youth
    died in a fire during a rock concert in the Colectiv night club. After legal
    proceedings spanning several years, prison sentences were given to mayor
    Piedone, the club owners, the firefighters who inspected the club without
    taking the required fire safety measures and the pyrotechnicians in charge of
    the fireworks during the show.


    UKRAINE The US will provide USD 1.3 million worth of
    additional aid for the Ukrainian economy, particularly its essential
    infrastructure, the US State Secretary Antony Blinken announced at the
    International Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. In turn, the European
    Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, promised the bloc would create a
    EUR 50 bln fund for Kyiv in the next 4 years. Scores of high-ranking
    politicians and business people from around the world take part in the
    conference. Romania is represented by its new foreign minister, Luminiţa
    Odobescu.



    FOOTBALL Romania lost 3-0 to Spain in Bucharest on Wednesday night, in the Under-21
    European football championships that the country is hosting jointly with Georgia. Romania plays in B, alongside
    Spain, Ukraine and Croatia. The final tournament takes place between 21 June
    and 8 July and brings together 16 teams, divided into 4 groups. Two of them
    play in Romania, in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, and the other 2 in Georgia. Romania
    is also hosting 2 quarter-finals and a semi-final. The top 3 ranking teams in
    the tournament qualify into the Olympic Games due in Paris next year. (AMP)

  • Romanian rowers on the European Championships podium

    Romanian rowers on the European Championships podium

    Romania finished second in the medal standing by
    country at the European Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, with 5 gold
    medals and a silver one.


    The last day of the competition brought Romania most
    of the medals. Ionela Cozmiuc won the champion title in lightweight women’s single
    sculls, then Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel did the same in the women’s pair
    final, while world and Olympic champions Simona Radiș and Ancuța Bodnar won the
    women’s double sculls race.


    Last year, Ionela Cozmiuc won her first European
    champion title in the lightweight women’s single sculls, which however is not
    an Olympic event. She also won the event’s final at the World Championships in
    the Czech Republic, and now she has added yet another gold medal to her track
    record.


    Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel deployed excellent
    tactics in the final, and came ahead of the Dutch team by over one second at
    the end. Last year in Munich, Ioana Vrînceanu won the continental title
    together with Denisa Tâlvescu.


    In Bled, Simona Radiș and Ancuța Bodnar had the
    toughest competition since 2019, when they won the silver medal at the European
    Championships in Lucerne. They have dominated this event in all major
    competitions since, by significant margins, as was the case last year both in
    the European and the World championships. They have 4 European champions titles
    in the women’s double sculls – in 2020 in Poznan, in 2021 in Varese, in 2022 in
    Munich, and now in Bled.


    The last day of the competition, Sunday the 28 May,
    ended with yet another victory for Romania, in the women’s eight. The Romanians
    defeated teams from Italy, the UK and Germany. Of the 9 athletes in the Romanian
    team, 7 have 2 gold medals each in this year’s continental championships.


    On Saturday, Romania had won another gold medal in
    Bled, in the women’s quadruple sculls final. The Romanians defeated the UK and
    Netherlands.


    Meanwhile, the European and World champions Marius
    Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan, who on Saturday won the European silver in the men’s
    eight race, on Sunday finished way behind their opponents, finishing 5th.
    In the men’s quadruple sculls final, the Romanian team were very close to
    getting the gold, but in spite of a strong finish they were unable to catch up
    with the French team. Last year, the same Romanian team won the bronze in
    Munich. In fact, the European Championships in Munich in 2022 saw the best
    performance in the history of Romanian rowing, with 5 gold and 3 bronze medals.
    (AMP)

  • May 21, 2023 UPDATE

    May 21, 2023 UPDATE

    EDUCATION On Monday the staff in Romania’s public undergraduate
    education will go on strike, the trade unions in the sector announced after
    Sunday’s talks with government officials. The protest will continue until
    unions have received a credible solution from the government, the leader of
    the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation, Marius Nistor, said. The government put
    forth a clear roadmap for the endorsement of the new salary law and promised pay
    raises for non-teaching staff, which according to unionists would only amount
    to EUR 20 a month. Financial incentives for entry-level teachers and experienced
    staff teaching in underprivileged areas have also been proposed. The higher
    education staff will also go on token strikes as of Monday, the head of the Alma
    Mater National Trade Union Federation Anton Hadăr announced. Trade unions said
    negotiations would continue in the coming days.


    MOLDOVA
    A large-scale rally was held in Chişinău on Sunday, at the initiative of
    president Maia Sandu, in order to prove Moldovans’ support for the country’s EU
    accession. Europe is the Republic of Moldova. The Republic of Moldova is
    Europe. Moldova is not alone, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta
    Metsola said in Romanian at the European Moldova National Assembly. Participants
    adopted a resolution confirming the support of Moldovan citizens for the
    country’s EU accession efforts. The rally takes place as the Republic of
    Moldova, an EU accession candidate country, would like to begin accession
    negotiations by the end of this year. For this stage to begin, Moldova must
    complete 9 recommendations, which will be assessed by this autumn in a European
    Commission report. In Bucharest, the Organisation of Moldovan Students
    organised a similar rally in front of Moldova’s Embassy. Scores of people
    watched the speeches in Chisinau jointly with the Moldovan Ambassador to
    Bucharest, Victor Chirila.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu takes part on
    Monday in the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. The EU
    foreign ministers will discuss measures to mitigate the effects of Russia’s
    aggression in Ukraine and the situation in the Horn of Africa. The EU officials
    will also touch on the bloc’s commitment in Central Asia, developments in Tunisia,
    the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the context of high-level EU
    diplomatic contacts with both countries. According to the Romanian foreign
    ministry, Bogdan Aurescu will reiterate Romania’s firm, multidimensional and
    continuing support for Ukraine and will express hopes that an agreement will be
    reached as soon as possible on the 8th support package for the
    Ukrainian air forces under the EU Peace Facility. Minister Aurescu will also
    highlight the importance of keeping pressure on Russia by consolidating
    sanctions, and will reiterate the idea of setting up a special international tribunal
    for the crime of aggression to prosecute Russian crimes of aggression during
    the war in Ukraine.


    RAILWAYS The president of Romania’s Competition Council, Bogdan
    Chiriţoiu, made statements concerning Carpatica Feroviar, a new company that
    will take over the operations of the state-owned railway freight corporation CFR
    Marfă. The new company will take over the profitable contracts and the
    equipment needed for completing them, while the other assets will be sold in order
    to cover as much as possible of the old company’s debts to the state budget
    Chiriţoiu explained. He emphasised that current operations will not be
    discontinued. The financial performance of CFR Marfă improved slightly in 2022,
    but the company still owes some EUR 400 mln to the state budget and social
    security budget.


    BEEKEEPERS Romanian beekeepers say they are left with large amounts
    of unsold honey because of imports of cheaper and poorer-quality honey. The
    head of the Romanian Beekeepers Association, Ioan Fetea, says the situation is
    particularly serious as last year’s yield was a lot smaller than in previous
    years. Last year beekeepers saw modest yields, but they could not even sell those,
    precisely because of these dumping practices, obviously explained by the fact
    that that honey is not in line with EU regulations. Almost half of the honey
    imported into Europe is adulterated, counterfeit, and obviously sold very
    cheaply, which puts tremendous pressure on local producers, Fetea explained. Beekeepers
    are also struggling with a fall in the number of bee families, because of the
    use of insecticides in agriculture.


    UKRAINE The US president Joe Biden Sunday announced new military aid
    measures for Ukraine, following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
    on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. The new aid package will
    consist of ammunitions, artillery and armoured vehicles, Joe Biden explained, just
    days after approving the provision of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. According
    to Reuters, this new package is worth up to USD 375 mln and is designed to
    strengthen Ukraine’s defence in the war against Russia. The British PM Rishi
    Sunak also announced in Hiroshima that his country would start training
    Ukrainian pilots this summer, to support Ukraine’s air forces in the conflict.
    Rishi Sunak added that no one wants peace more than Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but
    the terms for peace, he added, should be based on Ukraine’s principles. In the
    3-day summit in Japan, the G7 nations voiced their willingness to stand by
    Ukraine in the long run.



    ROWING Romania won 2 gold and 3 silver medals at
    the 2023 European Rowing Under 19 Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France,
    in which it took part with 11 boats. Romania came out second in the overall nations
    tables, behind Italy and ahead of Turkey. In last year’s competition, Romania
    had won 5 medals (3 gold, one silver and one bronze), and finished top of the
    ranking by nations. (AMP)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup




    At the 2023
    ICF Canoe Spring World Cup held in Szeged, Hungary, Romania won 3 medals.
    Cătălin Chirilă won the canoe single 500m and 1,000m races, and Ilie Sprincean and
    Oleg Nuţă won the canoe double 1,000m race. In the competition in Szeged, Romania
    was represented by 9 athletes, 2 women and 7 men, and came out 3rd
    in the medal table.




    Romania has
    left empty-handed from the World Judo Championships in Doha, Qatar. The
    Romanian participants performed modestly, with the best result reported for Lucian
    Borş – Dumitrescu, who reached the eighth-finals of the 66 kg category. The
    last medals for Romania in a world judo championship were won in 2015, in
    Astana, Kazakhstan, by Andreea Chiţu, in the 52 kg category, and by Corina
    Căprioriu, in the 57 kg.




    CSM Lugoj won
    their first Romanian cup in women’s volleyball. The team from Lugoj Sunday won
    the final against CSM Târgovişte, 3-1, in Piteşti. In Saturday’s semis, CSM
    Lugoj beat Volei Alba Blaj, the defending champions and trophy holders, 3-2. The
    athletes from Lugoj thus conclude a very good season, in which they won the Cup
    Winners Cup, the Romanian Cup and played the Challenge Cup final.




    This
    weekend saw matches counting towards the play-off / play-out stage of Romania’s
    football SuperLeague, round 8. In the play-off, Rapid Bucharest drew at home against
    Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, 0-all. Another tie, 1-all, came on Saturday in the match
    pitting Universitatea Craiova against Farul Constanţa. On Sunday, in the derby
    of this round, played on the National Arena in Bucharest in front of a crowd of
    over 40,000, FCSB beat CFR Cluj 1-0. Top of the standings at present are Farul,
    with 47 points, followed by FCSB, one point behind.




    In the play-out
    matches, on Friday FC Botoşani defeated Voluntari on home turf, 2-0. On Saturday,
    Hermannstadt beat Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, and Universitatea Cluj outplayed Chindia
    Târgovişte, 2-0. On Sunday, UTA Arad won 2-0 against Mioveni, and FC U Craiova defeated
    FC Argeş, 2-1. CS Mioveni is certain to be relegated to a lower league, one
    round before the end of the play-out stage, while struggling to avoid
    relegation are also FC Argeş, with 21 points, and Chindia, with 22. In the last
    round, this coming Friday, FC Argeş take on Petrolul Ploiesti, and Chindia face
    FC Voluntari. (AMP)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup




    At the 2023
    ICF Canoe Spring World Cup held in Szeged, Hungary, Romania won 3 medals.
    Cătălin Chirilă won the canoe single 500m and 1,000m races, and Ilie Sprincean and
    Oleg Nuţă won the canoe double 1,000m race. In the competition in Szeged, Romania
    was represented by 9 athletes, 2 women and 7 men, and came out 3rd
    in the medal table.




    Romania has
    left empty-handed from the World Judo Championships in Doha, Qatar. The
    Romanian participants performed modestly, with the best result reported for Lucian
    Borş – Dumitrescu, who reached the eighth-finals of the 66 kg category. The
    last medals for Romania in a world judo championship were won in 2015, in
    Astana, Kazakhstan, by Andreea Chiţu, in the 52 kg category, and by Corina
    Căprioriu, in the 57 kg.




    CSM Lugoj won
    their first Romanian cup in women’s volleyball. The team from Lugoj Sunday won
    the final against CSM Târgovişte, 3-1, in Piteşti. In Saturday’s semis, CSM
    Lugoj beat Volei Alba Blaj, the defending champions and trophy holders, 3-2. The
    athletes from Lugoj thus conclude a very good season, in which they won the Cup
    Winners Cup, the Romanian Cup and played the Challenge Cup final.




    This
    weekend saw matches counting towards the play-off / play-out stage of Romania’s
    football SuperLeague, round 8. In the play-off, Rapid Bucharest drew at home against
    Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, 0-all. Another tie, 1-all, came on Saturday in the match
    pitting Universitatea Craiova against Farul Constanţa. On Sunday, in the derby
    of this round, played on the National Arena in Bucharest in front of a crowd of
    over 40,000, FCSB beat CFR Cluj 1-0. Top of the standings at present are Farul,
    with 47 points, followed by FCSB, one point behind.




    In the play-out
    matches, on Friday FC Botoşani defeated Voluntari on home turf, 2-0. On Saturday,
    Hermannstadt beat Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, and Universitatea Cluj outplayed Chindia
    Târgovişte, 2-0. On Sunday, UTA Arad won 2-0 against Mioveni, and FC U Craiova defeated
    FC Argeş, 2-1. CS Mioveni is certain to be relegated to a lower league, one
    round before the end of the play-out stage, while struggling to avoid
    relegation are also FC Argeş, with 21 points, and Chindia, with 22. In the last
    round, this coming Friday, FC Argeş take on Petrolul Ploiesti, and Chindia face
    FC Voluntari. (AMP)