Radio România Internațional

Tag: Ciuca

  • September 15, 2024 UPDATE

    September 15, 2024 UPDATE

    A roundup of local and international news.


    FLOODS – A crisis cell was set up at the Health Ministry to provide the necessary medical assistance to the residents of Galati and Vaslui counties (eastern Romania) affected by the floods. The Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry have mobilized hundreds of firefighters, gendarmes, soldiers and equipment to help evacuate the victims and repair the infrastructure destroyed by the waters. Dozens of modular homes have already been sent and others are being prepared. More than 5,000 households were flooded, 300 people were evacuated, and another five died, according to the authorities’ latest report. Aid from the state reserves is taken to the affected areas. On Sunday, an energy command was convened by minister Sebastian Burduja. According to him, all teams of the local distribution operator are mobilized in Galati County. The number of people without electricity exceeded 24,000 on Saturday. Several sections of national and county roads in Galati and Vaslui were still closed on Sunday due to the flooding.

     

    WEATHER – Torrential rains have severely affected Central and Eastern Europe in recent days, causing rivers to swell and triggering flood warnings in the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Flood dams were erected in Prague. Tens of thousands of households in northern areas of the Czech Republic were affected by power outages. In Poland, one person died and thousands of residents in flood-ravaged areas were left without electricity. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged the affected population to cooperate with rescue teams. Heavy rainfalls are becoming more frequent in Europe, as in most areas of the world, due to climate change. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which leads to more precipitation.

     

    FARMERS – Farmers in the European Union will benefit from faster advance payments to cope with this year’s drought and other extreme weather phenomena. The European Commission announces that it has authorized such payments based on requests received from several member states. Thus, starting from October 16, farmers will be able to receive up to 70% of direct payments in advance, compared to 50% at present. According to the European Commission, farmers in the EU face liquidity problems due to the extreme weather phenomena of recent years, drought, but also floods, high interest rates on the financial markets and high production costs. In Bucharest, the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, gave assurances that farmers whose crops were affected by this year’s drought will receive compensations by October 15. According to official data, over two million hectares of corn and sunflower crops were compromised by the lack of precipitation in Romania.

     

    LIBERALS – The  Liberal Party’s National Council validated, on Sunday, in Bucharest, the candidacy of Nicolae Ciucă for president. Former general and chief of the Army General Staff, Nicolae Ciucă is currently the speaker of the Senate. Mircea Geoană, former president of Social Democrats and former NATO deputy secretary general, recently announced his candidacy as an independent. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, president of the PSD, as well as Elena Lasconi, the mayor of Campulung Muscel and leader of the Save Romania Union (USR, in opposition), are also part of the race for president. The first round of the presidential elections will take place on November 24, and the second on December 8. At the same time, the legislative elections are scheduled for December 1, on Romania’s National Day.

     

    ELECTIONS – Romanian citizens who have their domicile or residence abroad can express their electoral option by mail in the presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled in November and December. The application deadline is September 24. So far, approximately 2,800 applications for voting by mail in the parliamentary elections have been registered on the website of the Permanent Election Authority. A little over 3,000 Romanian citizens domiciled or residing abroad registered for the presidential elections. We remind you that the first round of the presidential elections is scheduled for November 24, and the second for December 8. The voting for the election of the future Parliament will take place on December 1, when the National Day of Romania is being celebrated.

     

    DAVIS CUP – Romania defeated China 3-2, in the Davis Cup’s World Group II, after the tennis player Cezar Creţu defeated Rigele Te, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, on Saturday, in Craiova (south). Also on Saturday, the Romanian tennis player Gabi Adrian Boitan was defeated by Yunchaokete Bu, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), while the Victor Cornea/Bogdan Pavel pair was defeated by Fajing Sun and Rigele Te, 6-4, 6-4, in the doubles. On Friday, in the first singles match, Cezar Creţu (292 ATP) defeated Yunchaokete Bu (113 ATP) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), while Gabi Adrian Boitan (364 ATP) beat Yi Zhou (527 ATP) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2. Romania and China have never met before in the Davis Cup.

  • International Women’s Day

    International Women’s Day

    The entire world has celebrated International Women’s Day for over a century now.

    In 1908, 15 thousand women from the textile industry participated in a march in New York campaigning for shorter hours, better pay and the right to voting. A year later, the Socialist Party in America declared February 28th, the first National Women’s Day. The idea to transform this day in an international event came in 1910 at an international conference of the working women hosted by Copenhagen. The initiative enjoyed success, so that the Women’s Day was celebrated outside USA for the first time in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

    The United Nations Organisation started marking the event on March 8, during the International Women’s Year in 1975. Three years later, in 1977, the UN General Assembly made the day official attaching it a specific thematic every year. The first theme in 1996 was ”celebrating past, planning the future”. The chosen theme this year is “Invest in women, accelerate progress”. In other words, marked at the beginning of spring, the International Women’s Day is not about flowers, gifts, shows, exhibitions, conferences or parties, which are plentiful including here in Romania! It is a manifesto-day, an occasion to recognize the impact that women have in society. From activists and leaders to mothers, colleagues and friends, women have contributed to the construction of society and the improvement of life. Unfortunately statistics confirm that they continue to remain a vulnerable category, and the issue of gender equality hasn’t been entirely solved yet. Women are still being discriminated against in terms of salaries, access to education and career opportunities. They are also victims of violence and sexual abuse.

    “Many happy returns and a beautiful spring” Romania’s Social-Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu wished the Romanian women, while the Senate president, Liberal Nicolae Ciuca in a message on the Women’s Day wrote: “A civilized prosperous society is that in which every woman has the possibility to follow her dreams and objectives in an equitable, just and inclusionary environment. And our duty is to ensure this environment. We must continue the policies, which promote the equality of chances and which are combating discrimination and violence against women.”

    And because we are speaking about equality of chances and non-discrimination, we must also mention that on November 19th we are celebrating the International Men’s Day.

    (bill)

     

  • November 4, 2023 UPDATE

    November 4, 2023 UPDATE

    CASH Romanian Prime Minister, Social-Democrat Marel Ciolacu, has
    announced a government meeting next week, which is also going to be attended by
    representatives of the SMEs and the main banks for talks on cash payments. The
    issue has sparked off heated debates in the past days after some banks have
    notified clients on their intention to raise the commissions for cash
    withdrawal and deposits. Under the new fiscal-budgetary legislation, cash
    payments between legal and natural persons have been limited to the equivalent
    of one thousand euros per day, with the exception of wages. Cash payment
    between two natural persons has been limited to two thousand euros per day,
    while between legal persons it must not exceed 200 euros per day. These
    thresholds are to be cut in half on January 1, 2025. Liberal leader Nicolae
    Ciuca from the ruling PNL-PSD coalition has announced the decision might be
    talked upon between the coalition members. The most affected are the small
    traders, mainly in the country’s rural areas where people mostly rely on
    cash.






    TALKS Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu, talked on the
    phone with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen about the situation of the
    Romanian citizens and their family members who requested support for being
    evacuated from the Gaza Strip. On this occasion, the official in Bucharest has
    reiterated the Foreign Ministry’s readiness to offer consular assistance to all
    the Romanians who need to leave Gaza. The Israeli official has given assurances
    the evacuation of the Romanian citizens is a major concern for the authorities
    in Tel Aviv. On Friday, the Foreign Ministry announced that another two people
    with double Israeli-Romanian citizenship are still being held hostage in Gaza.
    The ministry has called for the release of all hostages, including the six
    people with Israeli-Romanian citizenship.






    RATING Moody’s rating agency has reconfirmed Romania’s credit
    rating at Baa3 with stable outlook. The country’s Finance Minister Marcel Bolos
    says this is a new confirmation of the fact that the incumbent government has taken
    the right measures to combat the social-economic effects of the latest crises
    and for ensuring sustainable public finances. The announcement contributes to
    maintaining a favourable economic climate to cutting funding costs and the
    promotion of investment in our country Bolos went on to say. He underlined that
    the reforms and measures aimed at achieving fiscal-budgetary consolidation
    remain the priorities of the Finance Ministry.


    (bill)

  • Evaluare europeană mutrinda România

    Evaluare europeană mutrinda România


    Comisia Europeană evaluă pozitiv a doua căftari di plată pitricută di România tru cadrul a Planlui Naţional di Redresare şi Rezilienţă, tru valoare di 3,22 miliardi euro, după ţi vidzu tiñisearea a 49 ditu aţeali 51 di jaloane şi ţinte asumate. Tră aţeali dauă jaloane restante, ţi mutrescu investiţiile tru energie, România kică, toradioară, examenul, lucru ţi feaţi că Comisia s’activeadză procedura di curmari a pălterloru ligati di aestea. Di itia că nu tiñisi 2 jaloane, România va s’llia cu 53,36 milioane euro ma pţănu tru contul a componentăllei di agiutoru sum turlie di împărmut a PNRR, ama ari kiro nica 6 meşi tra s’yină cu dovedz că şi tră aeşţă păradz jaloanili fură tiñisiti haristusitoru.


    Tru simfunie cu reglementărli mutrinda implementarea a Mecanismului di redresare şi rezilienţă, a statilor membre lă si toarnă fondurile aferente ţintilor şi jaloanilor tiñisiti acătaţi tru ună căftari di plată şi au la dispoziţie kiro suplimentar tră s’ndreagă hopili restante.


    Năulu premier, Marcel Ciolacu, lugurseaşti că aestă evaluari da curayiu a guvernului s’continueadză ta s’bagă tu practico scupadzlli pripuşi. El tăxeaşti că va s’hibă recupearate iruşi aţeali dauă jaloane amanati ditu domeniul ali energie, tră s’llia tuţ păradzllii alocaţ. Predecesorlu al Ciolacu tru caplu a executivului, Nicolae Ciucă spuni că păradzllii europeni va s’agiută cabaia ti modernizarea ali Românie tru tuti domeniile clleaie, maxus infrastructură, sistemul sanitar şi aţelu educaţional.


    Tru ună evaluare ghenearală, şefa ali Comisie Europeană, Ursula von der Leyen, spusi că România feaţi progrese tru aţea ţi mutreaşti băgarea tru lucru a Planului a llei di Redresare şi Rezilienţă, di exemplu pritu realizarea di reforme mutrinda siguranţa rutieră, energia ditu izvuri regenearabile şi serviţiile di cloud ditu sectorlu public.


    Ditu aţeali 3,22 miliardi euro aproximativ dauă cirecuri reprezintă agiutoru financiar nearambursabil, iara un cirecu agiutoru sum turlie di mpărmutu. Comisia va s’pitreacă evaluarea c4ftarillei di pălteari numirlu 2 a Comitetului Economic şi Financiar, tră s’hibă vulusită, simfunu cu procedura. Prota căftari di plată ditu cadrul PNRR fu rambursată ali României tru sumedrue 2022, suma plătită hiinda di 2,6 miliardi euro, ditu cari 1,8 miliardi sum turlie di granturi şi 0,8 miliardi euro sum turlie di mpărmuturi.


    România ari hăiri di ună alocari di pisti 29 miliardi di euro tră implementarea a PNRR, giumitati hiinda granturi şi giumitate împărmuturi. Tră implementarea a Planului Naţional di Redresare şi Rezilienţă, România ari loată pănă tora dauaă tranşe di prefinanţare tru valoare cumulată di aproximativ 3,79 miliardi euro.


    Autoru: Stefan Stoica


    Armânipsearia: Taşcu Lala



  • Evaluare europeană privind România

    Evaluare europeană privind România

    Comisia
    Europeană a evaluat pozitiv a doua cerere de plată transmisă de România în
    cadrul Planului Naţional de Redresare şi Rezilienţă, în valoare de 3,22
    miliarde euro, după ce a constatat îndeplinirea a 49 din cele 51 de jaloane şi
    ţinte asumate. Pentru cele două jaloane restante, ce privesc investiţiile în
    energie, România a picat, deocamdată, examenul, ceea ce a determinat Comisia să
    activeze procedura de suspendare a plăţilor legate de acestea. Ca urmare a
    neîndeplinirii satisfăcătoare a 2 jaloane, România va încasa cu 53,36 milioane
    euro mai puţin în contul componentei de sprijin sub formă de împrumut a PNRR, însă
    are la dispoziţie încă 6 luni pentru a reveni cu dovezi că şi pentru această
    sumă jaloanele au fost îndeplinite satisfăcător.

    În conformitate cu
    reglementările privind implementarea Mecanismului de redresare şi rezilienţă,
    statelor membre le sunt rambursate fondurile aferente ţintelor şi jaloanelor
    îndeplinite cuprinse într-o cerere de plată şi au la dispoziţie timp
    suplimentar pentru a realiza etapele restante.

    Noul premier, Marcel Ciolacu,
    apreciază că această evaluare încurajează guvernul să continue spre atingerea
    obiectivelor propuse. El promite că vor fi recuperate rapid cele două jaloane
    întârziate din domeniul energiei, pentru a se încasa toţi banii alocaţi. Predecesorul
    lui Ciolacu în fruntea executivului, Nicolae Ciucă susţine că banii europeni
    vor contribui esenţial la modernizarea României în toate domeniile cheie, în
    special infrastructură, sistemul sanitar şi cel educaţional.

    Într-o evaluare
    generală, şefa Comisiei Europene, Ursula von der Leyen, a apreciat că România a
    făcut progrese în ceea ce priveşte punerea în aplicare a Planului său de
    Redresare şi Rezilienţă, de exemplu prin realizarea de reforme privind
    siguranţa rutieră, energia din surse regenerabile şi serviciile de cloud din
    sectorul public.

    Din cele 3,22 miliarde euro aproximativ două treimi reprezintă
    sprijin financiar nerambursabil, iar o treime sprijin sub formă de împrumut. Comisia
    va transmite evaluarea cererii de plată numărul 2 Comitetului Economic şi
    Financiar, pentru a fi aprobată, conform procedurii. Prima cerere de plată din
    cadrul PNRR a fost rambursată României în octombrie 2022, suma plătită fiind de
    2,6 miliarde euro, din care 1,8 miliarde sub formă de granturi şi 0,8 miliarde
    euro sub formă de împrumuturi.

    România beneficiază de o alocare de peste 29 de
    miliarde de euro pentru implementarea PNRR, jumătate fiind granturi şi jumătate
    împrumuturi. Pentru implementarea Planului Naţional de Redresare şi Rezilienţă,
    România a încasat deja două tranşe de prefinanţare în valoare cumulată de aproximativ
    3,79 miliarde euro.


  • Constant support for the Republic of Moldova

    Constant support for the Republic of Moldova

    Top-ranking Romanian officials visited Chișinău this week to reiterate once again that Bucharest fully supports the European accession process of the neighboring Republic of Moldova. Recently installed at the head of the new coalition government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party (PSD-PNL), the Social-Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu, accompanied by the former Liberal prime minister, currently the speaker of the Senate, Nicolae Ciucă, made their first joint external visit to Chișinău, where they had talks with the president of the Republic, Maia Sandu, with the Prime Minister Dorin Recean and the President of Parliament, Igor Grosu.



    The Government of Romania will remain the guarantor of the security and stability of the Republic of Moldova and will continue to support with all its strength the countrys EU accession process said Marcel Ciolacu. He particularly appreciated the progress that Chișinău has registered in applying the reforms in the field of justice and in fighting corruption. And, equally, he spoke about the continuation of bilateral economic cooperation.



    Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu: We are obliged to put a special emphasis on the economic area together. Trade relations between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, last year, increased by 50%, standing at almost 3.6 billion dollars and I think this is the right way.



    Since everything must be done for the benefit of the citizens on both banks of the River Prut, the Moldovan Prime Minister, Dorin Recean, invited economic companies from Romania to invest in the Republic of Moldova: Today, we discussed the nine projects for the second installment of the aid provided by the Government of Romania, worth 100 million. These nine projects are worth 28 million Euros and they will go to investments, providing opportunities to our companies, and will develop the localities of the Republic of Moldova.



    In parallel with managing the crises caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, from the immediate vicinity, Bucharest and Chișinău must emphasize the development of infrastructure – bridges, roads and energy networks.



    Marcel Ciolacu has more: I guarantee you that in the next Government meeting, money will be earmarked for projects regarding drinking water and sewage, which are necessary to support the villages in the Republic of Moldova, to be European villages.



    Romania is willing to share its legislative experience in Moldovas European integration project, said the Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Nicolae Ciucă. Earlier this week, also in Chișinău, the new Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, pointed out that Bucharest was taking consistent diplomatic steps to advance the EU integration process of Moldova, with particular emphasis on the objective of opening the accession negotiations as soon as possible. (LS)

  • June 13, 2023 UPDATE

    June 13, 2023 UPDATE

    TALKS
    Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday designated PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu
    as candidate for the position of Prime Minister. On Monday, the PNL leader
    Nicolae Ciuca stepped down under the political agreement with the PSD on the
    planned rotation of the cabinets and on Tuesday he was elected president of the
    Senate. The Prime Minister designate says that he wants the future government
    focus on economy and reforms. Romania needs these reforms as well as the
    National Programme of Recovery and Resilience. Romania’s place is in the
    European Union and NATO. And no matter how much some people would like Romania
    to take another direction, the country’s way is sure and with political
    stability it becomes a certainty Marcel Ciolacu went on to say. The opposition
    USR has criticized the government rotation as this isn’t going to solve the problems
    of the citizens.








    FRIGATE The Romanian flagship, frigate
    ‘King Ferdinand’ is to sail back to the Romanian Port of Constanta, on the
    Black Sea, after having participated in a six-week operation in the
    Mediterranean, the Romanian Navy Chief of Staff has announced. The mission of
    the Romanian servicemen consisted of enforcing the UN arms embargo imposed on
    Libya and in combating the illegal trafficking in oil, drugs and people through
    the close monitoring of maritime traffic and vessels in the area. The ‘King
    Ferdinand’ has also carried out various joint activities with partner vessels
    from Italy, Germany and Greece, participating in the IRINI Operation.






    WEATHER Romanian hydrologists have extended,
    until Wednesday, the Code yellow and Code orange alerts for flooding, valid for
    rivers in 17 counties in the center and west of the country. The torrential
    rain on Monday night affected several localities in the south and south-west of
    Romania. The red code alert instituted by meteorologists for this region was
    lifted this morning, and dozens of intervention teams were sent to evacuate
    water from people’s households, after several streams of water burst their
    banks. At the same time, hectares of agricultural land were flooded. The most
    affected counties are Caraş-Severin, Vâlcea, Hunedoara and Mehedinţi. Heavy
    rainfalls also caused flooding in Timiş and Alba counties on Monday.




    (bill)

  • Une première sur la scène politique roumaine 

    Une première sur la scène politique roumaine 

    Le long de plus de trois décennies de démocratie post-communiste roumaine, les politiciens autochtones ont expérimenté presque tout en matière de gouvernance : cabinets monocolores, de gauche ou de droite, dont certains minoritaires, mais soutenus par le Parlement, plus ou moins ouvertement, coalitions reposant sur des critères doctrinaires ou tout simplement sur des intérêts de conjoncture, grandes coalitions réunissant plusieurs partis. L’actuelle coalition, constituée par le PSD et le PNL à laquelle est venue s’ajouter aussi l’UDMR, est une telle alliance inattendue, puisqu’elle réunit la gauche à la droite. Ce n’est pourtant pas une première, puisqu’en 2012 l’Union social-libérale créée par les mêmes partis écrasait ses compétiteurs aux élections et arrivait à contrôler politiquement tant l’exécutif que le législatif.

    Mais la première absolue dans la politique roumaine n’allait arriver que plus tard : une rotation entre le Parti national libéral et le Parti social démocrate au niveau de la direction du gouvernement. Aux termes de l’accord conclu entre les deux poids lourds de la politique roumaine en novembre 2021, après une année et demi durant laquelle le gouvernement de coalition est dirigé par le leader libéral Nicolae Ciuca, celui-ci doit démissionner en faveur de son partenaire, le leader social-démocrate Marcel Ciolacu. Cette démission était initialement prévue pour la fin mai, mais les décideurs politiques ont choisi d’ajourner cette rotation afin de solutionner la crise générée par la grève générale de l’enseignement préuniversitaire.

    Lundi, après la suspension de la grève, Nicolae Ciuca a finalement dépose son mandat. Le prochain gouvernement devrait être investi jusqu’à jeudi, ou du moins c’est ce que les partis de la coalition gouvernementale se sont proposées. Nicolae Ciucă: « Les procédures pour la rotation ont démarré au sein de la coalition. Ce qui est important de souligner c’est que juste après un gouvernement par intérim prendra le relais, pour fonctionner jusqu’à l’investiture d’un nouveau gouvernement, espérons-le à la fin de la semaine. Nous nous sommes proposés d’investir le gouvernement avant jeudi, afin de nous occuper toujours des problèmes prioritaires figurant dans le programme de gouvernance et à l’agenda du gouvernement. » a déclaré Nicolae Ciuca.

    Le professeur des Universités Andrei Taranu affirme que la rotation gouvernementale se produira malgré les voix des quelques sceptiques qui rappellent que de nombreux engagements et arrangements politiques ont échoué à travers le temps. Andrei Ţăranu: « Elle se produira le plus probablement, autrement toute la construction politique des derniers temps deviendra caduque. La Roumanie a été disons pionnière en Europe centrale et de l’est pour avoir imaginé cette construction, insolite en quelque sorte. » affirme le professeur Andrei Taranu. Selon lui, le modèle roumain de la rotation pourrait s’avérer un modèle à succès, surtout pour les Etats de la région et il serait dommage que la Roumanie l’abandonne à la mi-chemin. Depuis l’Opposition, l’Union Sauvez la Roumanie affirme sans équivoque que la rotation des premiers ministres n’est pas une solution à tous les problèmes des citoyens. D’ailleurs, la presse internationale note aussi que le cabinet Ciuca n’a pas réussi à mener à bien aucune des réformes importantes, figurant dans le plan de redressement par le biais duquel la Roumanie se voit accorder des fonds européens.

  • June 9, 2023

    June 9, 2023

    STRIKE Disgruntled by the government’s failure to meet their
    claims, trade unions in Romania’s education system have today kicked off another
    protest in Bucharest. Protests are also taking place in other major cities
    across the country. Also today, the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca will
    be having a new round of talks with trade union representatives. The government
    on Thursday endorsed a memorandum on pay rises granted to the personnel in the
    country’s education system under the future salary law – through which the
    government guarantees this domain as a priority. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca
    has given assurances the salary of the beginner teachers will be based on the
    average gross salary as trade unions have requested. The memorandum also mentions
    a holiday bonus for the employees according to their salaries as well as other
    bonuses. The protesters say though the political statement on Thursday doesn’t
    have any legal value, which prompted them to carry on the protests they started
    on May 22. They say they don’t trust Romania’s political class as there have
    been numerous cases since 2010, when politicians have chosen not to implement
    the laws they issued. Field minister
    Ligia Deca has announced that applications for the Baccalaureate and the
    national assessment exams for 8th graders will be extended until
    June 13 and the competency tests from the Baccalaureate exam will take place
    over 14 – 23 June.








    DIPLOMACY The Russian
    Foreign Ministry has deemed a decision by the Romanian authorities to reduce Russia’s
    diplomatic presence in Romania as a hostile act, which will not remain
    unanswered. Specific measures will be announced in due time, Maria Zakharova,
    the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. The Romanian Foreign
    Ministry has announced the ambasador of the Russian Federation in Bucharest was
    briefed on Thursday upon the decision of the Romanian authorities to reduce the
    diplomatic and technical-administrative personnel of the Russian Federation in
    Romania by limiting their number to a level close to Romania’s diplomatical
    representation in the Russian Federation. Within 30 days, the number of
    diplomats must be reduced by 21 and the auxiliary personnel by 30. The measure
    has been endorsed according to the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic
    relations and reflects the present level of the bilateral relations sharply
    reduced by Romania after the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Romanian
    Foreign Ministry has specified.








    TIFF As of today, the city of Cluj in
    northwestern Romania, will be the capital of the international cinematography
    for the next ten days. The Transylvania Film Festival, known as TIFF, has
    kicked off with roughly 200 films to be screened and 12 vying in the official
    contest. Famous actors and directors from Romania and abroad, including US
    director Oliver Stone, have announced their participation. At TIFF, film goers
    will be able to meet Oscar winners or actors who starred in the famous series
    ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ or ‘Harry Potter’. Inspired from real events, which
    took place in Sibiu, central Romania, back in 1989, ‘Freedom’, the latest film
    of Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu will be premiered at TIFF. Romanian actor
    Horatiu Malaele, who is going to give a performance at the aforementioned film
    festival, will be awarded the excellence award.








    WEATHER And now a look at the weather
    which is generally unstable in the country’s west, north-west, central regions
    as well as in the mountains. The sky is overcast with thunderstorms and heavy
    downpours reported in some areas. In the other Romanian regions, the weather is
    predominantly warm and even hot with temperatures ranging from 21 to 30 degrees
    Celsius and a noon reading in Bucharest of 30 degrees.






    (bill)

  • May 26, 2023 UPDATE

    May 26, 2023 UPDATE

    STRIKE Teachers in Romania are carrying on the all-out strike they kicked off
    three days ago as the talks between the authorities and trade unions have ended
    in a deadlock. They took to the streets in several major cities around Romania,
    like Sibiu, Craiova, Galati, Buzau and Botosani. Trade unions in Education are
    asking for a 25% pay rise for all employees and the equivalent of 600 Euros for
    beginners. The Executive has pledged to give only bonuses, an offer which has
    been turned down by the trade unions, which threaten to continue their
    protests.




    CONTRACT The government in Romania on
    Friday endorsed a new frame contract for social securities which is supposed to
    come into effect on July 1st and has prevention as its main
    component. It also offers bonuses to family physicians willing to treat
    patients in rural areas and is for the first time regulating pay for
    performance. Family physicians will also have at their disposal new instruments
    for the preventive examination of patients in various age brackets. The legal
    framework for increasing the access of the insured to outpatient services of
    physical medicine and rehabilitation has also been created.




    GOVERNMENT
    The power sharing arrangement of the parties in the ruling coalition in
    Bucharest has been postponed until the resolution of the teachers’ all-out
    strike, the liberal Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has announced. Ciuca was
    supposed to resign his mandate on Friday, to be taken over by the Social
    Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu. In fact, Nicolae Ciucă made the announcement
    alongside Marcel Ciolacu, and Kelemen Hunor, from the Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, the third party in ruling coalition in Romania.
    The Prime Minister Ciucă appealed to the reason of all teaching
    staff, telling them that the Government cannot assume to unbalance the
    State budget by granting them the salary increases requested, and that the
    discussions with the unions will continue. In turn, the head of the PSD, Marcel
    Ciolacu, said that the decision is correct, and that the teachers and employees
    in the healthcare system are a priority. Predictability and responsibility are
    needed, the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, also said. The agreement between
    the Liberal Party – PNL and PSD stipulated that each of them would hold the
    position of prime minister for a year and a half. In the last few days, there
    have been discussions between PSD and PNL regarding the distribution of ministries
    in the future government. A retired general, Nicolae Ciucă was sworn in as
    prime minister in December 2021.




    FAIR
    Romania participates in the Madrid Book Fair under the slogan Creating
    good chemistry with Romanian literature (Creando buena quimica con
    las letras rumanas). Until June 11, Romania’s stand will display numerous
    volumes signed by Romanian authors, including those translated, in recent
    years, into Spanish, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. The
    public has a wide range of activities to choose from: literary activities, book
    presentations, recitals, debates, round tables, scientific workshops for
    children and autograph sessions. There will also be events promoting Romanian
    culture, especially contemporary culture. The Madrid Fair has reached the 82nd edition, in 2023
    marking nine decades of existence, and it is one of the most important literary
    events of its kind in Europe.








    (bill&LS)

  • May 26, 2023

    May 26, 2023

    Strike – The Romanian government met, today, in a special session, to increase by 9% the salaries of the education non-teaching staff, in response to the all-out strike in the education system started on Monday. The trade unionists request a 25% increase in all salaries in the education sector, including the teaching staff, and for beginner teachers an average gross salary of 3,000 lei (the equivalent of about 600 Euros). Instead, the government wants to give teachers only bonuses for their teaching career in June and October. The unions rejected the offer and announced that they would continue the protest. On Thursday, more than 10,000 teachers gathered in front of the Government headquarters in downtown Bucharest. Protests were also held in other cities across Romania.



    Government – The power sharing arrangement of the parties in the governing coalition in Bucharest is postponed until the resolution of the teachers all-out strike, the liberal Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă announced. He was supposed to resign his mandate today, to be taken over by the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu. In fact, Nicolae Ciucă made the announcement alongside Marcel Ciolacu, and Kelemen Hunor, from the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, the third party in ruling coalition in Romania. The Prime Minister Ciucă appealed to the “reason of all teaching staff”, telling them that the Government cannot assume to unbalance the State budget by granting them the salary increases requested, and that the discussions with the unions will continue. In turn, the head of the PSD, Marcel Ciolacu, said that the decision is correct, and that the teachers and employees in the healthcare system are a priority. Predictability and responsibility are needed, the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, also said. The agreement between the Liberal Party – PNL and PSD stipulated that each of them would hold the position of prime minister for a year and a half. In the last few days, there have been discussions between PSD and PNL regarding the distribution of ministries in the future government. A retired general, Nicolae Ciucă was sworn in as prime minister in December 2021.



    Visit — The German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is on the third day of his official visit to Romania. Today, in Timisoara (west), he will take a walk through Timisoara’s old town, will go to the German High School and the Cetate Synagogue and will visit a fine art exhibition as part of the program “Timişoara, European Capital of Culture”. The German official arrived, last night, in Timisoara, where he laid a wreath of flowers on the Heroes Day at the crucifix in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral, dedicated to the martyrs of the anti-communist Revolution of December 1989, and participated in a symphony concert. Earlier, also on Thursday, Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Sibiu (center).



    Fair – Romania participates in the Madrid Book Fair under the slogan “Creating good chemistry with Romanian literature” (“Creando buena quimica con las letras rumanas”). Until June 11, Romania’s stand will display numerous volumes signed by Romanian authors, including those translated, in recent years, into Spanish, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. The public has a wide range of activities to choose from: literary activities, book presentations, recitals, debates, round tables, scientific workshops for children and autograph sessions. There will also be events promoting Romanian culture, especially contemporary culture. The Madrid Fair has reached the 82nd edition, in 2023 marking nine decades of existence, and it is one of the most important literary events of its kind in Europe.



    Sanctions — The Consumer Protection Authority announces that it has sanctioned eight other banks present in Romania with fines of 400,000 lei each (the equivalent of about 80 thousand euros). ANPC claims that it found irregularities regarding bank loans in lei or foreign currency, in the medium and long term, with a repayment term of over 10 years. Inspectors with the Consumer Protection Authority say that the sanctioned banks would have cheated the customers, because in the first years the rate was composed of 75% interest and of only a quarter of the principal to be repaid. The representatives of the Romanian Association of Banks claim that they respect the law and that they might challenge the sanctions in court.



    Trains – Romania will have, as of the month of December, the first new trains in the last 20 years, the Transport Ministry officials have promised, giving that there are no delays in the delivery of the 37 contracted train sets, already in production in Poland. Deliveries will start this summer, but the train will actually start operating in winter, after the completion of technical tests. The first new trains will run on the Bucharest-Constanța route (south-east), then on the routes to Braşov (centre), Timisoara (west) and Iași-Suceava (east and north-east). The average age of CFR-Romanian Railway Authority trains is currently 44 years. They break down frequently, the air conditioning works intermittently, and on heavily trafficked lines, additional trains are brought through transfers from other routes. (LS)

  • An all out strike is freezing Romania’s undergraduate education system

    An all out strike is freezing Romania’s undergraduate education system

    After the COVID-19
    pandemic had moved the activity of teaching online and had significantly
    impacted an entire generation of students, another event is shaking Romania’s
    education system. Students are having a day off after teachers disgruntled with
    the government’s pay and social policies have gone on an all out strike. Over
    150 thousand teachers in Romania’s undergraduate system as well as 60-70
    thousand non-teaching staffers have joined a strike they pledge to carry on
    until a credible solution to their claims from the Executive. Against a rising inflation, which last year went
    over 15% with a heavy impact on the employees’ standard of living, the most
    difficult issue is that of the teachers’ low salaries. According to trade union
    leaders wages in this line of work should be around 4,000 lei, the equivalent
    of 800 Euros for a beginner teacher and around 7,000 lei, over 14 hundred
    Euros, for a senior teacher. The new education laws promoted by the incumbent
    field minister, Ligia Deca, have also triggered a fresh wave of discontent. As
    regards the end of the school year, which is due in June, trade unionists say
    that it is the government who must have the last say in this respect. During
    the talks with the government representatives, the president of the Spiru Haret
    Trade Union Confederation, Marius Nistor said the following.

    Marius Nistor: I wished, this also being the desire of all the education employees, this
    all-out strike had not taken place, you know. We didn’t wish for it, we were actually forced to have it. A lot of our claims have been ignored so far and the
    end of this strike mainly depends on the answer we get from the Government and
    of course on the desire of our colleagues.


    In response, the
    country’s Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, says that:


    Nicolae Ciuca: Education is our top priority together with the healthcare. We can find
    solutions and we cannot allow that the students may not take their final exams
    and complete their studies.


    The strike is
    also leading to political deadlocks. Under the protocols of the incumbent
    ruling coalition, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu is going to take over the Prime
    Minister seat from the Liberal Nicolae Ciuca shortly. However, Ciolacu has
    called for the suspension of the talks over the new cabinet until a solution is
    found to the crisis in the country’s education system.




    According to
    various publications in Bucharest though, none of the political sides seems very
    delighted to take over the leadership of the Executive at a time when trade
    unionists in Romania’s medical system could also stop activity and the police
    have also expressed their right to a strike. No matter the political colour of
    the ruling parties, experts believe, they will have to shortly deal with acute
    social disgruntlement, as Romania next year is in for a new series of
    elections, for the European Parliament, as well as local, legislative and
    presidential elections.


    (bill)

  • ראש ממשלת רומניה נפגש עם יושב ראש הכנסת

    ראש ממשלת רומניה נפגש עם יושב ראש הכנסת

    ראש ממשלת רומניה ניקולאי ציוקה נפגש בבוקרשט עם אמיר אוחנה, יושב ראש הכנסת. בפגישה נדונו נושאים הקשורים ליחסים הדו-צדדיים, כאשר הצדדים מעריכים את רמת שיתוף הפעולה הגבוהה בתחומים כגון טכנולוגיה, תעשייה ביטחונית או IT. פתרונות בנושא מערכות השקיה באזורים שנפגעו מבצורת ופיתוח יכולות אגירת אנרגיה, לצד זיהוי פתרונות חדשים לאספקת הגז של אזורנו, היו בין הנושאים ששני הצדדים דנו בהם.



    ציוקה הדגיש את החשיבות שנותנת רומניה למאבק באנטישמיות ולקידום תפקידה של הקהילה היהודית בתולדות המדינה, והדגיש את הרלוונטיות של התהליך החינוכי של הדור הצעיר כדי למנוע החלקות קיצוניות ולשמור על ערכים דמוקרטיים. ראש הממשלה הודה הן על ההשקעות הישראליות ברומניה והן על התמיכה שניתנה להצטרפות רומניה לארגון לשיתוף פעולה ופיתוח כלכלי.



    יושב ראש הכנסת העביר את תודתו על התמיכה המתמדת שמעניקה רומניה ברמה הבינלאומית למדינת ישראל ולתהליך השלום במזרח התיכון. אמיר אוחנה הדגיש את הרלוונטיות של הקשרים ההיסטוריים והתרבותיים בין שני העמים. הוא ציין את התרומה החשובה לבניית מדינת ישראל שנתרמה ע”י אזרחי ישראל שלהם יש שורשים רומנים,


    יושב ראש הכנסת הביע את הערכתו כלפי ראש ממשלת רומניה הנוכחי, שממשלתו אישרה את הקמת המוזיאון הלאומי לתולדות היהודים והשואה ברומניה. תחת אותה הממשלה, תלמידי תיכון ברומניה ילמדו, החל מהשנה, מקצוע לימודי חובה חדש “תולדות יהודי רומניה והשואה” . אוחנה בירך על היוזמות של רומניה בכל הקשור למאבק באנטישמיות ועל ההכרה בתרומת הקהילה היהודית להיסטוריה ולפיתוחה של רומניה.

  • May 14, 2023

    May 14, 2023

    Commemoration — The wounds caused by communism will never be fully healed, and our duty is to cultivate, every day, the respect for democratic values, as well as for the historical truth, and to educate the younger generations in this sense. This message was conveyed on Sunday by the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă on the occasion of the National Remembrance Day of Martyrs of Communist Prisons. “75 years ago, on the night of May 14/15, 1948, the communist authorities launched a vast repressive operation, marking the beginning of a long series of horrors. For almost half a century, Romania was in the darkness of totalitarianism, all the strongholds of democracy being destroyed, one by one” the prime minister said in his message. According to him, all this ordeal ended in December 1989, through blood sacrifice, when Romanians won the fight for freedom and democracy.



    Education – The draft laws of Education, of higher and pre-university education, will enter, as of Monday, the debate of the Senate in Bucharest, which is the decision-making body in this case. The changes brought in the Chamber of Deputies are supported by the parties in the governing coalition, which state that the new measures will reform the educational system. On the other hand, the opposition representatives believe that the problems in education will not be solved with the adoption of these laws. According to the calendar established by the leadership of the Senate, the specialized committee must give a report by May 19. Save Romania Union – USR requested an extension of the calendar, given that, they claim, a hasty adoption of documents of such complexity would harm education. The deputies substantially modified the two bills compared to the form adopted by the Government, hundreds of amendments being accepted. The laws might equally undergo changes in the Senate as well.



    Museums — More than 300 cultural events took place as part of the European Night of the Museums 2023, which took place on Saturday in a joint edition between Romania and the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population). Of these, about 60 events took place in Bucharest in museums, art galleries, cultural and exhibition centers. The special guest of the Night of Museums 2023 was the world-wide phenomenon museum – War Childhood Museum, for the first time in Romania. The Romanian Athenaeum, the Football Museum and the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry participated in this initiative for the first time this year. The National Art Museum of Romania turned on its lights on Saturday, thus joining museums from dozens of European countries that opened their doors on the same night.



    Forum — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, represented Romania, on Saturday, in the EU Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, organized in Stockholm by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The forum included a series of simultaneous debates organized in the form of round tables dedicated to connectivity, energy and security. Bogdan Aurescu co-moderated the round table on security issues, entitled Joint management of security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. In his speech, the Romanian FM highlighted the interdependence relationship between the EU and the Indo-Pacific in terms of consolidating the prosperity of the two regions, the prospects for intensifying cooperation between the EU and the region, as well as the ways of jointly defining and combating security threats. According to the Romanian official, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has a major impact on global stability and prosperity, being not just a regional conflict, as it has effects at the world level. In this context, Bogdan Aurescu presented Romanias consistent and multidimensional efforts in support of Ukraine, as well as in support of the Ukrainian citizens affected by the war.



    Elections – The first round of the presidential election is taking place in Turkey on Sunday. In power for over two decades, the current head of state, the Islamic-conservative Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is facing what the press calls “the toughest challenge of his career”. His secular opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is leading in opinion polls. He promised to restore democracy and improve Turkeys relations with the West. If none of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, a second round of voting will take place in two weeks’ time. (LS)

  • The special pensions reform under the scrutiny

    The special pensions reform under the scrutiny


    Under the protocols of the incumbent ruling coalition in Bucharest, the PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu will be replacing Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca as Romanias Prime Minister. With the mandate, Ciolacu is also going to inherit the prickly issue of the so-called special pensions, which arent complying with the contribution principle and are presently benefitting former MPs, diplomats, magistrates or retired employees of the countrys defence, security and public order structures.


    The project of reforming the special pensions system can be endorsed by Parliament by the end of the present session but the assumption of the governments responsibility is also being considered, Ciolacu went on to say. He says that he is having a permanent dialogue on the issue with his party colleague and the incumbent Labour Minister Marius Budăi. The issue, as the future Prime Minister admits, is that the file should have been closed by now as it was included in the third payment request for the funding of the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, through which Brussels financially supports a part of Romanias reforms and investment.


    Budăi is expected to leave for Brussels next week for a new round of talks on this issue with European officials. Until then, the World Bank has completed a report on the impact of the new measures proposed by the coalition regarding the special pensions and according to the press the document shows the result in terms of budget spending cuts would be insignificant. According to WB experts, the progressive taxation of up to 15% of the special pensions will have negligible effects and the same goes for another measure, which eliminated five bonuses and would lead to only a 2% deduction from the servicemens pensions. Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr, also with the PSD, has again insisted that no one should touch the pensions of the retired soldiers, which arent actually special pensions. The minister argues that a large number of young people should be attracted into the armed forces.


    “We are talking in vain about tanks, rockets, corvettes, frigates and the other things that we want and we are going to have. All these things need highly-trained personnel as the Romanian Army presently boasts, and thats why I insist on attracting young people into the army but also on encouraging them to remain in the armed forces by ensuring a certain standard of living and the predictability of a career in this field”, the minister says. The opposition USR says that the PSD and PNL are actually duping the Romanians that they really want to eliminate the special pensions and has dubbed the Liberal Prime Minister Ciuca a three-necktie statesman who is presently benefitting from the special pension of a retired general and will soon add a second one of a former MP.


    (bill)