Radio România Internațional

Tag: children’s day

  • June 1, 2023

    June 1, 2023


    Education. The emergency ordinance approved today by the Romanian Government radically changes the salary system in education, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has stated. The ordinance provides for an increase in the gross salary of teaching and auxiliary staff of 1,000 and 400 lei respectively. Also, the government has promised that, in the new salary grid, the salary of a beginner teacher will be related to the average gross salary in the economy and will represent the reference point of the salary grid in education. The increases stipulated by the ordinance had been rejected by education trade unions as insufficient. The government is to meet with union representatives again today.



    EPC. The situation in Ukraine, issues related to energy, security and interconnectivity are the main topics on the agenda of the European Political Community Summit (EPC), said the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, the host of todays meeting. According to her, during the bilateral meetings, the participants will also discuss the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is also participating, along with heads of state and government from almost 50 countries and leaders of European institutions. By hosting the European Political Community Summit, the Republic of Moldova reconfirms its European vocation and consistency in the implementation of the reform process necessary for joining the European Union, stated the presidential administration in Bucharest. President Iohannis will give a speech in the plenary session and will participate in the working group on security. He will address the impact of the war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine, in the security, economic, food or humanitarian fields, as well as the sustained support for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also present at the meeting. The European Political Community is an intergovernmental format for debate and a platform for political coordination between European states in order to promote political dialogue and cooperation on topics of common interest, for the consolidation of security, stability and prosperity on the continent. The initiative of a European political community belongs to French President Emmanuel Macron, and the first meeting of the EPC took place in October 2022, in Prague.



    NATO. NATO will monitor the airspace of the Republic of Moldova during the European Political Community Summit, Reuters reports. The meeting of the leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union and 20 other countries at a famous winery located only 20 km from the Ukrainian territory constitutes a security and organizational challenge for the Republic of Moldova, the agency writes. NATO has announced that AWACS planes will monitor the airspace of the Republic of Moldova until Friday. Parts of missiles from the war in neighboring Ukraine have been found on the territory of the Republic of Moldova several times in recent months. AWACS can detect planes, missiles and drones at a distance of hundreds of km, which makes them an important early warning capability, stated the spokesperson for the Alliance, Oana Lungescu.



    MSC. Romania is participating, until June 9, in the 107th meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization – IMO, an event that takes place at the organizations headquarters in London, reads a press release from the Romanian Maritime Training Center – Ceronav. The event is of major importance in the field of maritime transport and represents an essential opportunity for discussions and actions regarding maritime safety and security. The MSC is the highest technical body of the IMO, which develops the rules regarding the safety of maritime navigation at the international level. Romania is an active member of the IMO and one of the most important suppliers of maritime officers for the international fleet, said Ovidiu Sorin Cupşa, Ceronavs CEO.



    Childrens Day. On June 1st, Childrens Day, the Romanian Parliament opened its doors, an action that has already become tradition. Children can visit several halls of the parliament building, the plenary rooms or the offices of the two speakers and they can participate in theater performances, interactive games or presentations of military equipment. Several embassies, including those of Spain, Turkey, Italy and Japan, have stands in the Senate courtyard, which offer children games from their countries. Events dedicated to children are taking place all over the country. Childrens Day is also the start of the mini-holiday occasioned by the Orthodox Pentecost. More than 70,000 tourists are expected on the Black Sea Coast. The authorities have announced special measures, and the Ministry of the Interior has engaged additional staff in order to maintain public order and safety. (MI)


  • June 1, 2022 UPDATE

    June 1, 2022 UPDATE

    June 1 — On the International Childrens Day, marked on June 1 special activities such as concerts and flash mobs, treasure hunting parties, sports and creative activities and theater performances were organized throughout Romania. In Bucharest, the Parliament Palace opened its doors, and children and their companions could visit the plenum halls of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and could also participate in outdoor activities in the gardens of the largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. Superheroes and princesses, a flight simulator, a magic show or a military marching band made the day for children. Also in Bucharest, over 500 children celebrated the International Children’s Day by participating in various events held by the Ministry of Sports on the Arch of Triumph Stadium. Entitled “Childrens Sports Day”, the multi-sports event was organized in the form of demonstration workshops, with trainings given by certified athletes, under the guidance of specialized coaches. The children were able to learn the basics of several sports events such as basketball, archery, rugby, football, tennis, fencing, football-tennis, table tennis, wrestling, martial arts, judo, kempo, boxing, historical archery and teqball. In Oradea (west), the State Philharmonic presented a special concert with cartoon music, and in Constanţa (southeast) puppet shows, magic and face painting events were organized.



    Vouchers — The electronic vouchers offered through the government program Support for Romania started being issued and will soon reach their beneficiaries, the Romanian Labor Minister Marius Budai announced. The vouchers have a face value of 250 lei (about 50 Euros), are intended for people in situations of material deprivation or risk of poverty and are part of the most important initiative of this kind carried out, so far, from the perspective of the number of beneficiaries. According to the aforementioned source, over 2.5 million Romanians will receive vouchers for the purchase of food products: pensioners from the public pension system, people with a very severe, severe or moderate disability, families with at least 2 dependent children or single parent families. A first for this social assistance program is the wide range of funding sources, both from the state budget and from European non-reimbursable funds.



    Embargo — The US has hailed the embargo on Russian oil imports decided earlier this week by the European Union, aimed at cutting off funding for Russias war against Ukraine, France Presse reports. The U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price also hailed the European efforts meant to diversify energy supply and develop renewable sources to reduce long-term dependence on Moscow, and pointed out that Washington had already announced a ban on all Russian oil imports. On the other hand, Russia warned that the European sanctions on Russian oil imports would affect the global energy market and underscored that Moscow would redirect exports to limit the damage, Reuters reports. During Monday’s meeting, the European leaders reached an agreement under which Russian oil imports will be reduced by about 90% by the end of the year and also agreed on several other sanctions, including the removal of Russias largest bank, Sberbank, from the SWIFT system. More than a quarter of the oil used by Europe came from Russia last year, with nearly half of Russias oil and oil products exports reaching the EU, according to data provided by the International Energy Agency. Moscow has already begun redirecting deliveries originally intended for Europe, following the sanctions, the Kremlin officials said. India and China are among the countries that have massively bought Russian crude oil, benefiting from a lower price.



    Film – The third edition of the Romanian Film Festival in Washington, the largest national cinema promotion event held in North America, will begin on Friday, June 3, 2022, at Miracle Theater, one of the historic cinema halls in the American capital. This year, the festival is dedicated to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States, an important landmark of the relations between the two countries, shows a communiqué of the Romanian Embassy in the US. The festival will run until June 19, under the already established motto: Reinventing Realism – New Cinema from Romania. The American public is expected during the first three weekends of June to watch some of the most valuable recent Romanian films and to meet with the most popular actors and directors of the moment.



    Handball — The Brazilian Raul Nantes Campos and the Spanish Alex Pascual, both handball players at CS Dinamo Bucharest, are nominated in the ideal team of the 2021-2022 season of the EHF Champions League – the most important club handball competition for men’s teams in Europe. The South American was nominated for the left-back position, and the Spanish handballer was nominated for the title of best young player. The vote is open until June 15 on the dedicated EHF application, and the ideal team will be announced on June 17, during the Champions League Final 4 tournament in Cologne, and will be established based on the vote of the fans, and also of a committee of EHF experts. (LS)

  • November 20, 2018 UPDATE

    November 20, 2018 UPDATE

    RESHUFFLING The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday signed the government reshuffling order based on the nominations made by the Social Democratic Party in power. Later on Tuesday the new ministers of Education, Defense, Economy, Culture and National Identity, Communication and Information Society and Youth and Sports were sworn in before President Iohannis. But the ministers’ list does not include the proposals for the Ministry for Regional Development and Public Administration and the Transport Ministry, Ilan Laufer and Lia Olguta Vasilescu, respectively. Eight ministries in Viorica Dancila’s Cabinet, including the Defence and Labour, should have been headed by new chiefs. President Iohannis says the current reshuffling is an incomplete solution, and the correct option for Romania would have been to replace the Cabinet as a whole, because the current team has created lots of problems for the country. In turn, the PM explained that the reshuffling was designed to improve the performance of the Government, ahead of Romania’s rotating presidency of the EU Council starting on January 1, 2019. The right-of-centre opposition argues however that the sole criterion in selecting the new ministers was their obedience to the Social Democratic Party president, Liviu Dragnea.





    JUSTICE The European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourova had meetings in Bucharest on Tuesday with the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, and the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. Talks focused on the priorities in the field of justice, in the context of Romania’s presidency of the EU Council and of the recent developments in the Romanian judiciary. It is important for Romania to take the necessary steps in order to ensure the independence of the judiciary, Vera Jourova said after the meeting with Romania’s Justice Minister. Later on Tuesday the European official gave an address in Bucharest on the Universal Children’s Day, focusing on the situation of children abandoned as a result of regional conflicts or of labour migration, as part of an event organised by the Presidential Administration. 29 years since the signing of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, there are still millions of children around the world who do not go to school, are not protected and cannot live in their home country or town.





    VISIT President Klaus Iohannis received in Bucharest on Tuesday the president of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who was on an official visit ahead of Romania taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. President Iohannis emphasized the importance of the control mechanisms, especially when they contribute to the improvement of public practices with positive effects on economy and the society. In turn, the European official said that cutting red tape and increasing EU funds absorption were essential at the level of both the EU and national parliaments. On Monday, Klaus-Heiner Lehne met with PM Viorica Dăncilă. The talks focused on strengthening the EU mechanisms for the efficient management and spending of European funds. The PM reiterated Bucharest’s willingness to cooperate with the European Court of Auditors in order to improve the absorption rate and for an efficient management of the European funds, particularly in fields of interest for Romania. Also, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, Viorica Dăncilă said that at present Romania is fully prepared to take over this mission.





    STRIKE The Bucharest underground trade unions decided on Tuesday to postpone the planned all-out strike until after a meeting with the new Transport Minister, nominated after the government reshuffling. Staff were scheduled to go on indefinite strike on Wednesday, although the Bucharest Court ruled the protest was illegal. The unionists demand a 42% pay raise, although the net average income paid by the state-owned Metrorex company is substantially higher than the national level. The Ministry argues that in fact the trade unions are disgruntled that they would no longer manage the shopping areas in the stations. Some 700,000 passengers a day use the Bucharest underground system.





    RADIRO The MDR, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, performed on Tuesday evening for the second time as part of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo, organised by Radio Romania. The soloist was the pianist Mihai Ritivoiu. On Monday evening, the German orchestra conducted by Robert Trevino gave a highly appreciated performance. This year’s edition, the 4th of the festival, features 3 ensembles that perform for the first time at the Radio Hall: BBC Philharmonic (UK), Orchestra de la Svizzera Italiana – Lugano (Switzerland) and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland). Also this year, the only festival in the world devoted to radio orchestras will include jazz recitals, for the first time. All the concerts as part of RadiRo are broadcast live by Radio Romania channels, recorded and broadcast subsequently by the Romanian public television, and also aired by stations affiliated to the European Broadcasting Union.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)



  • November 20, 2018

    November 20, 2018

    RESHUFFLING The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis has today announced having signed the government reshuffling order based on the nominations made by the Social Democratic Party in power. The President presented the list of ministers for whom he signed the appointment orders. But the list does not include the proposals for the Ministry for Regional Development and Public Administration and the Transport Ministry, Ilan Laufer and Lia Olguta Vasilescu, respectively. Eight ministries in Viorica Dancilas Cabinet, including the Defence and Labour, should have been headed by new chiefs. President Iohannis says the current reshuffling is an incomplete solution, and the correct option for Romania would have been to replace the Cabinet as a whole, because the current team has created lots of problems for the country. In turn, the PM explained that the reshuffling was designed to improve the performance of the Government, ahead of Romanias rotating presidency of the EU Council starting on January 1, 2019. The right-of-centre opposition argues however that the sole criterion in selecting the new ministers was their obedience to the Social Democratic Party president, Liviu Dragnea.




    JUSTICE The European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourova has meetings in Bucharest today with the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, and the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. Talks will focus on the priorities in the field of justice, in the context of Romanias presidency of the EU Council and of the recent developments in the Romanian judiciary. The European official will give an address in Bucharest on the Universal Childrens Day, focusing on the situation of children abandoned as a result of regional conflicts or of labour migration, as part of an event organised by the Presidential Administration. 29 years since the signing of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, there are still millions of children around the world who do not go to school, are not protected and cannot live in their home country or town.




    VISIT President Klaus Iohannis receives in Bucharest today the president of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who is on an official visit ahead of Romania taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. On Monday, Klaus-Heiner Lehne met with PM Viorica Dăncilă. The talks focused on strengthening the EU mechanisms for the efficient management and spending of European funds. The PM reiterated Bucharests willingness to cooperate with the European Court of Auditors in order to improve the absorption rate and for an efficient management of the European funds, particularly in fields of interest for Romania. Also, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, Viorica Dăncilă said that at present Romania is fully prepared to take over this mission.




    STRIKE The Bucharest underground trade unions decided today to postpone the planned all-out strike until after a meeting with the new Transport Minister, nominated after the government reshuffling. Staff were scheduled to go on indefinite strike on Wednesday, although the Bucharest Court ruled the protest was illegal. The unionists demand a 42% pay raise, although the net average income paid by the state-owned Metrorex company is substantially higher than the national level. The Ministry argues that in fact the trade unions are disgruntled that they would no longer manage the shopping areas in the stations. Some 700,000 passengers a day use the Bucharest underground system.




    RADIRO The MDR, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, will perform tonight for the second time as part of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo, organised by Radio Romania. The soloist is the pianist Mihai Ritivoiu. Last night, the German orchestra conducted by Robert Trevino gave a highly appreciated performance. This years edition, the 4th of the festival, features 3 ensembles that perform for the first time at the Radio Hall: BBC Philharmonic (UK), Orchestra de la Svizzera Italiana – Lugano (Switzerland) and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland). Also this year, the only festival in the world devoted to radio orchestras will include jazz recitals, for the first time. All the concerts as part of RadiRo are broadcast live by Radio Romania channels, recorded and broadcast subsequently by the Romanian public television, and also aired by stations affiliated to the European Broadcasting Union.




    FOOTBALL Romanias football team is playing today a decisive game against Montenegro, in Podgorica, in Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League C Series. On Saturday, Romania beat Lithuania, 3-0, on home turf in Ploieşti. The League results count as qualifiers for the EURO 2020. Romania ranks 2nd in Group 4, Series C of the Nations League and needs to defeat Montenegro tonight. In the other important match of the day, group leaders Serbia are taking on Lithuania. Should Lithuania avoid a defeat in Belgrade and if Montenegro loses tonights match, Romania will move to the top position in the group.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 26 – June 2

    May 26 – June 2


    Mini-holiday for the Romanians, between June the 1st and the Pentecost



    The International Childrens Day was the first day off out of a series of five that also include the Pentecost. This was the first time when June 1st was a non-working day, a decision made by the authorities so that parents can spend the day with their children. Special events marking Childrens Day were held in the capital Bucharest and across Romania, such as contests, shows, concerts and exhibitions. In the capital city children had free access to the Zoo, they visited the Cotroceni National Museum and the National TV stations headquarters. The National Radio Orchestra offered children, parents and grandparents a surprise concert at the Radio Concert Hall, where the little spectators were invited to go on stage alongside the musicians. In the city of Sibiu, in the centre, actors with the Small Theatre presented shows for children, while the open-air museum in Dumbrava Sibiului hosted a National Toy Fair. Over 50 thousand tourists are spending this 5-day holiday on the Black Sea Coast. Several thousands have opted for the mountain resorts on Prahova Valley, where they have various ways of enjoying their time off, from mountain climbing, trips with 4X4 automobiles and ATVs and walks through the forests. Over 25 thousand policemen made sure that things unfolded smoothly during the 1 thousand public events organized these days. The Border Police has also increased the number of staff as a large number of Romanians are crossing the border to spend their holiday abroad, mostly in the neighbouring Bulgaria and Hungary.



    The unexpected resignation of the president of the Save Romania Union, the third largest parliamentary party in Romania



    Nicusor Dan, the leader of the Save Romania Union, USR, in opposition, the third largest parliamentary party, on Thursday stepped down from the position of president of the party he founded in 2016. The Save Romania Union announced it would organise a new congress to elect a new leader, after the unexpected resignation tendered by its founding president. The interim leadership of the party is assured by the head of the USR Cluj branch (in the north-west). Dan stepped down after the USR National Bureau decided to stand against the revision of the Constitution, meant to redefine the concept of family as a union between a man and a woman. A draft meant to revise the fundamental law of the country has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and if it is also endorsed by the Senate, Romanians will be called to the polls to vote in a referendum. The revision of the constitution has been demanded by a citizens initiative, signed by three million Romanians. At present, the fundamental law of the country stipulates that the family is based on the consensual marriage between spouses.



    The unified pay scale bill in the Chamber of Deputies



    The unified pay scale billhas been debated these days by the Labour Committee with the Chamber of Deputies and next week it will be debated in a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, which is decision-making body. Backed by the parties in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, the unified pay scale billfor state sector employees is being criticized by the right wing opposition, who says the budget impact and the funding source for the pay rises are not clear. Hundreds of trade unionists in the public administration in Romania organised in Bucharest a new protest meeting against the bill.



    The strike by air traffic controllers in Romania



    Air traffic in Romania was disrupted on Tuesday by the air traffic controllers 4-hour all-out strike. Also on Tuesday, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled that the air traffic controllers strike was legal. They warned however that if talks on a new employment contract end in a failure, they might resume protests. They are also discontent about the shortage of personnel and that no hiring is done. Transport minister, Razvan Cuc, has dismissed information on ROMATSAs running the risk of going bankrupt and announced that a new development strategy is being drafted. Some 3,000 aircraft are crossing Romanias airspace daily, and, under the law, during their strike, air traffic controllers must coordinate a third of these flights. On May 12, they went on a two-hour token strike.



    HRH Prince Charles, on a new visit to Romania



    The British Crown Prince Charles has paid another private visit to Romania this week. On Monday, he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca, western Romania. He received the title for the sustained efforts he made to preserve Romanias cultural heritage, its traditions and the diversity of its nature. Prince Charles also visited the village of Viscri in central Romania, a UNESCO world heritage site, where he met with forestry experts and small farmers. The Romanian branch of the Prince of Waless Charitable Foundation will launch a new project, meant to help farmers living in mountainous regions develop their products and access new markets, both in Romania and abroad. Prince Charles has also visited three medieval churches in Brasov County, located in Drauseni, Homorod and Mercheasa, built around 1200, in Romanic style by the Saxon community in Transylvania. Prince Charles takes a special interest in Romania, a country which he has visited many times in the past 20 years.