Radio România Internațional

Tag: compensations

October 24, 2024 UPDATE

AID The European Commission on Thursday approved a state-aid scheme of 400 million Euros in compensations for the Romanian farmers affected by the severe drought between September 2023 – August 2024, says a communique released by the commission. The aid scheme has been made available for the agricultural producers whose crops of wheat, barley, oat, rape, sunflower and corn were directly affected by the drought. In order to benefit the compensations, farmers must prove that at least 30% of their crops were affected between the autumn of 2023 and the summer of 2024. Under the aforementioned aid scheme, farmers will benefit from direct grants amounting to 200 euros per hectares in the case of losses of 100% and will not exceed 30% of the eligible costs. Compensations will be granted until December 2024.

F-16 According to the Ministry of National Defence, three F-16 Fighting Falcons, Romania bought from Norway landed in Campia Turzii, central Romania, to join the 48 Fighting Squadron. We recall that another 9 F-16s had been received earlier. Romania has signed a contract of buying 32 F-16 fighters with the Kingdom of Norway and the entire batch is expected to be completed at the end of the next year. According to a communiqué from Romania’s Defence Ministry, the aforementioned jet-fighters are to ensure the transition to the fifth generation of aircraft, F-35, whose purchase actually represents a transfer of capabilities between two NATO allies.

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

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

(bill)

24 October 2024
12.04.2023 (mise à jour)

Finances – Le
projet de réforme des dépenses publiques devrait être prêt la semaine
prochaine, a fait savoir le ministre roumain des Finances, Adrian Câciu. En
attendant, les membres du gouvernement proposent des solutions censées réduire
les dépenses dans leurs domaines d’activité. Le chef de l’Exécutif exige que
les ministères ne prévoient aucune coupe salariale ou dans les investissements.
Et Nicolae Ciuca de vouloir améliorer le système de collecte d’impôts plutôt
que leur augmentation. Le gouvernement cherche à combler un trou de 20
milliards de lei, soit 4 milliards d’euros, dans le budget public. Ce mercredi
le gouvernement de Bucarest a approuvé un décret d’urgence prévoyant des
mesures de simplification et de numérisation pour la gestion des fonds
européens destinés à la politique de cohésion 2021 – 2027. Egalement ce
mercredi, le programme par le biais duquel l’Etat roumain soutient
financièrement les réfugiés d’Ukraine a été modifié : dorénavant, ceux-ci
recevront une aide financière par personne pour quatre mois consécutifs. Après
cette période ils pourront bénéficier d’aide au chômage ou accéder les
programmes d’occupation de la main d’œuvre, après une inscription auprès des
offices d’emploi. Jusqu’ici c’étaient
les Roumains qui accueillaient des réfugiés d’Ukraine qui recevaient des sommes
d’argent censées couvrir les frais d’hébergement et avec la nourriture.

Commissaire – La Commission européenne a identifié 15 entreprises dans 11 Etats communautaires dont la capacité de production militaire pourrait être majorée, et la Roumanie est un de ces Etats, a déclaré le commissaire européen chargé du Marché intérieur, Thierry Breton. Il a visité ce mercredi deux usines de l’industrie roumaine de défense après une réunion à Bucarest, avec le premier ministre Nicolae Ciucă. A l’issue de pourparlers avec celui-ci M Breton a déclaré que la Roumanie pourrait voir accroître son rôle dans l’industrie de la défense, dans le contexte de la guerre en Ukraine. Et Thierry Breton de féliciter le gouvernement roumain pour sa décision de majorer de 2 à 2,5% l’enveloppe destinée à la Défense. Les pourparlers que le responsable de Bruxelles a eus avec le chef du cabinet de Bucarest ont porté aussi sur la cyber-sécurité et la compétitivité qui devrait exister dans ce domaine.

Motion – A Bucarest, l’USR et le parti de la Force de la Droite, les deux d’opposition ont déposé à la Chambre des Députés une motion simple à l’encontre du ministre de l’agriculture, Petre Daea. De l’avis des signataires du document, il s’agirait du ministre de l’agriculture le plus faible des 30 dernières années, qui n’a enregistré que des échecs, mettant ainsi et danger tant l’économie et le développement de la Roumanie que la sécurité alimentaire du pays. Ils l’accusent carrément de détruire d’une manière consciente l’agriculture roumaine. Le public peut constater cette situation dans les marchés, où les commerçants pratiquent les prix les plus élevés des 30 dernières années, a affirmé le leader des députés de l’Union Sauvez la Roumanie, Ionuţ Moşteanu, celui qui a annoncé cette initiative. La motion sera votée la semaine prochaine.

Compensations – Le gouvernement roumain versera 21 millions d’euros d’aide à partir du 15 mai, aux éleveurs de bovins pour compenser aux pertes provoquées par la guerre en Ukraine. Il s’agit là d’une première tranche d’une enveloppe totale de plus de 40 millions d’euros d’aide dont la deuxième partie sera versée au deuxième semestre de l’année. Suite aux consultations de mardi soir, le gouvernement Ciuca et les représentants des producteurs laitiers et des grandes chaînes de distribution ont décidé d’une baisse du prix du litre au cours des six mois prochains. Afin d’encourager la consommation de lait fabriqué en Roumanie, le gouvernement souhaite élargir le programme « Un repas chaud dans les écoles » afin que les enfants se voient offrir du lait à l’école chaque jour et non seulement trois fois par semaine comme c’est le cas à présent.

INS – En Roumanie, le salarie moyen net s’est chiffré à quelque 865 euros en février dernier, de 0,4% de plus qu’en janvier 2023. Les Technologies de l’Information continuent de dominer le classement des domaines professionnels les plus rentables de Roumanie, avec une moyenne salariale de 2000 euros. Au pôle opposé, on retrouve les professionnels de l’Hôtellerie et de la Restauration dont les salaires sont de quelque 475 euros. La majoration du salaire moyen net en février par rapport au janvier est due entre autres, aux bonus accordés par les employeurs ou à certaines indemnités.

Météo – Temps agréable jeudi, avec des températures à la hausse sur le sud et le sud-est. Les maxima iront de 13 à 21 degrés. On s’attend à 19 degrés à midi à Bucarest. Et pourtant, des pluies s’annoncent pendant le weekend pascal en Roumanie.

12 April 2023
March 31, 2023

DEFENCE The strategic partnership between
the US and Romania has never been stronger, said the US secretary of defence,
Lloyd Austin, during the talks with his Romanian counterpart Angel Tîlvăr in
Washington on Thursday. According to a news release from the Pentagon, the US
official praised the excellent relations between the two countries’ armed
forces and thanked Romania for hosting thousands of US and Allied troops to
bolster deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank, and for its role as a leader in the
Black Sea region. The two officials condemned Russia’s reckless war of choice
in Ukraine and reiterated their firm support for Ukraine. The Romanian defence
minister is on a visit to the US for several days, and has meetings scheduled
with senior US officials in the following days.

B9 The meeting of foreign
ministers in the Bucharest 9 format carries on today in Łódź (Poland),
co-chaired by the head of the Romanian diplomacy Bogdan Aurescu and his Polish counterpart, Zbigniew Rau. On
Thursday, the Romanian official announced that the first high-level conference
on security in the Black Sea region will take place in Bucharest on April 13.
During the talks in Lodz, B9 ministers focused on the consequences of Russia’s
war of aggression against Ukraine at regional and Euro-Atlantic level, with an
emphasis on the need to continue supporting Ukraine and to consolidate
trans-Atlantic ties, the Romanian foreign ministry said. In his address, Mr.
Aurescu called on B9 ministers to maintain increased Allied attention and
involvement in the Black Sea region, which has strategic importance for the
entire Euro-Atlantic space, as well as to strengthen trans-Atlantic
coordination. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated Romania’s firm commitment to
further provide multidimensional support to Ukraine. He also encouraged the
Allies on the eastern flank to continue supporting Ukraine’s neighbours, which
are vulnerable to Russia’s aggressive moves, especially Georgia and the
Republic of Moldova, which is facing hybrid threats designed to destabilise the
country and to undermine its EU accession efforts.

VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă travels
to Sweden today, the country that holds the rotating presidency of the EU. His
agenda includes a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson. According
to Radio Romania’s correspondent, talks will focus on Russia’s aggression
against Ukraine and its impact on the countries in the region, on the
enlargement of the Schengen area, on the priorities of the Swedish presidency
of the EU Council and on bilateral cooperation, which PM Nicolae Ciucă has
recently described as very good. Nicolae Ciucă will also have a meeting with
the speaker of the Swedish parliament, Andreas Norlén. Also today, the Romanian
head of government will attend a public conference on Threats and
opportunities in the Black Sea region, which will also mark the end of his
visit to Sweden.

GREEN ENERGY The European Commission
vice-president Frans Timmermans travels to Bucharest today, for talks on
the European Green Deal and the bloc’s strategy to switch to a zero-emission
economy. The agenda of the visit includes meetings with president Klaus
Iohannis, with the environment minister Tánczos Barna, and with other
government officials. Frans Timmermans will also have meetings with civil
society members, to discuss ways to fight climate change in Romania and the
role of the European Commission in this respect.

AGRICULTURE
The European Commission intends to revise the amount of compensations granted
to farmers from 5 countries affected by the imports of cheap grains from
Ukraine. The Commission is to disburse another EUR 75 mln, of which Romania
might get EUR 15mln, in addition to the EUR 10mln earmarked already. In an open
letter to the government, Romanian farmers argue however that Romania has lost
a lot more because of the priority and advantages received by Ukrainian
producers in the European market.

TENNIS The Romanian player Sorana Cîrstea
(74 WTA) today takes on Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic (12 WTA), in the
semis of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami (Florida). Twice a Wimbledon champion (2011,
2014), Kvitova qualified into the semifinals on Thursday, when she defeated
Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in 3 sets. On Wednesday Sorana Cîrstea had outplayed Arina Sabalenka of
Belarus, no 2 in the world. This will be the 11th direct
match between Sorana Cîrstea and Petra Kvitova, with
the Czech athlete winning 6 of them so far. The winner will take on Elena Rybakina
of Kazakhstan in the final. (AMP)

31 March 2023
Again, about offsetting energy prices

The situation in the Romanian energy sector is serious and does not seem to improve in the absence of a firm political intervention. Overlapping the full liberalization of the energy market in 2021, the spikes in electricity and gas prices make victims. On the one hand, among household consumers, especially the vulnerable, who, from one month to the next, receive huge energy bills. On the other hand, companies are also facing problems which, for the same reason, find themselves in a situation to restrict their activity and, consequently, to make a lot of redundancies. One of the most resounding cases, these days, is that of the ALRO Aluminum Plant in Slatina (south), one of the largest in Europe, which has already started closing an electrolysis hall that has been operating for over half a century. The Energy Ministry says that the control over the actors on the energy market is held by the Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE), an autonomous, independent body, and the National Authority for Consumer Protection.

The governing coalition made up of the PNL-PSD-UDMR, decided through an emergency decree, subsequently voted in Parliament, to cap energy prices between November 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022, and to provide compensations to the population.

However, not all market players have complied with the law, according to the energy minister, Virgil Popescu: “Indeed, there are suppliers who have not capped the prices and sent uncompensated bills. Only one large supplier was prepared, so that, by December 15, it issued correct invoices, as stipulated by the law.”

Consequently, those who have received non-compliant bills do not have to pay them, and the suppliers are obliged to resend correct bills, otherwise, they risk having their operating license lifted. Moreover, the PM Nicolae Ciucă announced further measures to support the population: “As of April 1, household consumers with a monthly consumption of up to 300 kWh will benefit from a new protection scheme, which will include a VAT reduced to 5%, as well as the compensation of the green certificate and of the cogeneration bonus for consumption. We will also draft a natural gas support scheme.”

According to the prime minister, support measures for SMEs are also being considered, provided that they don’t make redundancies. The Social Democrats welcomed the measures to protect the population against energy price hikes but say that more is needed. Thus, they suggest reducing the VAT not only for energy, but also for natural gas, and not from April 1, but from February 1.

Almost all products and services have become more expensive in Romania due to the increase in electricity and gas prices, inflation being a matter of concern both for the population and the central bank. For the first part of this year, the inflation level of 7-8% could be exceeded. (LS)

12 January 2022
La compensation des factures énergétiques

La situation du secteur énergétique roumain reste grave
et, en l’absence d’un coup de main de la part de l’Etat, elle n’a pas de chances
réelles de se remettre. Intervenue parallèlement à la libéralisation totale, en
2021, du marché de l’énergie, la flambée des prix du gaz et de l’électricité
fait déjà des victimes aussi bien dans les rangs des consommateurs particuliers
que dans le cas des ceux industriels. En Roumanie, les ménages voient leurs
factures augmenter d’un mois à l’autre, tandis que pour les mêmes raisons, les
consommateurs économiques se voient obligés de restreindre leurs activités et
de licencier une partie de leurs salariés. C’est ce qui s’est passé, par
exemple, à Slatina, où le producteur d’aluminium ALRO a décidé déjà de la
fermeture d’une unité d’électrolyse d’une existence de plus de 50 ans. Aux
dires du Ministère de l’Energie, ce sont l’Autorité de Réglementation
énergétique, autonome et indépendante et celle pour la Protection du
consommateur qui détiennent le contrôle des principaux acteurs du marché de
l’énergie.

Entre temps, à Bucarest, la coalition au pouvoir
PNL-PSD-UDMR a décidé par décret d’urgence, d’un gel des tarifs énergétiques
entre le 1 novembre 2021 et le 31 mars 2022, parallèlement au versement des
compensations au bénéfice des consommateurs. Pourtant, aux dires du ministre de
l’Energie, Virgil Popescu, certains acteurs du marché n’ont pas respecté cette
prévision législative approuvée par le Parlement: Il y a
eu des cas de fournisseurs qui n’ont pas mis en place le plafonnement discuté.
En fait, un seul grand fournisseur a fait en sorte que les factures émises
avant le 15 décembre soient conformes aux normes en vigueur.

Par conséquent, les consommateurs qui se sont vu délivrer
des factures majorées ne doivent pas les payer, mais attendre que les
fournisseurs refassent les calculs s’ils ne veulent pas se voir retirer la
licence de fonctionnement. D’ailleurs, le premier ministre Nicolae Ciuca a
annoncé l’intention de son gouvernement de mettre en place d’autres mesures de
protection pour les consommateurs. Nicolae Ciuca: A
partir du 1 avril, les ménages dont la consommation énergétique se situe en
dessous de 300 kw par heure bénéficieront d’un nouveau schéma de protection qui
portera sur la réduction de la TVAà 5%,
sur la compensation du certificat vert et de la prime de cogénération. Un autre
schéma de soutien sera élaboré pour la consommation du gaz.

Et Nicolae Ciuca d’ajouter que des mesures de soutien
sont également prévues pour les PME, à condition qu’elles gardent leurs
salariés. Toutes ces mesures ont été saluées par le PSD qui affirme, en
revanche, que le gouvernement devrait faire davantage pour protéger la
population. Du coup, ils proposent une baisse de la TVA aussi bien sur la
consommation de l’énergie, que sur celle du gaz naturel et non pas à partir du
1 avril, mais à partir du 1 février. Et puisqu’un malheur n’arrive jamais seul, suite à la
hausse des tarifs de l’électricité et du gaz, les prix des produits et des
services ont flambé en Roumanie. Le pays affiche actuellement un taux
d’inflation qui inquiète aussi bien la population, que la Banque centrale du
pays. En fait, il se peut que le taux d’inflation grimpe à 7 à 8% durant le
premier trimestre de l’année en cours.

12 January 2022
Compensations for the victims of the Colectiv club fire

The Romanian Senate on Monday approved a bill on granting lifelong financial aid for the payment of medical treatments to the victims of the Colectiv club fire. The bill was initiated by a group of senators from the Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and was unanimously adopted by the 111 senators attending the meeting.

Under this bill, the authorities approve the payment, from the Healthcare Ministry budget, of the expenses for any needed medical treatment, for an unlimited period of time, in the country or abroad, both in private and state-owned hospitals, with independent physicians and therapists, for ambulatory or hospital care. The victims will benefit from lifelong medical treatments if their treatment is directly related to the fire that occurred on October 30, 2015 at the Colectiv Club. The law was adopted by the Senate, and a final vote will be given by the decision-making Chamber of Deputies.

The 2015 tragedy left behind 64 people dead, mostly young people, and 200 wounded, and it took years of investigations until a verdict in this case was finally ruled. The fire started from a pyrotechnics display used during the show. For 2 years, the trial was blocked by procedural issues, and the judge initially designated to handle the case retired, being replaced in October 2018. The second judge promised to speed up the resolution of the case and he kept his promise, as tens of witnesses and victims were interviewed on a weekly basis.

In the last month of 2019, more than 4 years after the tragedy, the Bucharest Court gave a first ruling in this case, which is not definitive though. The former mayor of the Bucharest sector where the Club was located, Cristian Popescu-Piedone, received a prison sentence of 8 years and 6 months for abuse of office in relation to the issuance of functioning authorizations for the respective club. The two owners of the club received prison sentences of 11 years and 8 months for aggravated felony murder, aggravated bodily injury and failure to take legal measures related to safety and health at the work place.

The owners of the pyrotechnic devices company received sentences of 12 years and 8 months and 3 years and 6 months respectively, while the two pyrotechnic engineers received 9 years and 8 months and 10 years of imprisonment respectively. Two firefighters with the Bucharest Emergency Situation Inspectorate who checked the Colectiv club without taking the legal measures required regarding the legal norms observance received each sentences of 9 years and 2 months in prison.

The people sentenced in this case have to pay, together with the city hall and the Emergency Situation Inspectorate, moral and material damages worth more than 50 million Euros to the survivors of the fire and to the families of the victims. We recall that none of the defendants in this case admitted their guilt and consequently their lawyers are asking for an acquittal. (translation by L. Simion)

4 February 2020
New swine fever outbreaks

On May 1, 2018, Romania had 4.129 million pigs, down over 357,000 compared to the same date last year. Since the summer of 2017, almost 233,000 pigs have been culled because of the African swine fever. According to the latest report from the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority, the African swine fever virus is present in over 200 localities in 13 counties, after the Bucharest Animal Health and Diagnostic Institute confirmed the disease in Dambovita County, in the south of Romania, at the end of last week. Sandu Tolea, the chief of the Dambovita County Veterinary Directorate, told us about the measures taken at local level:

“A 3-km buffer zone and a 10-km monitoring zone have been set. Also, our staff jointly with County Police Inspectorate teams have roadblocks in place in the area.

The number of outbreaks in Romania is close to 900, including large industrial units. Officials in the sanitary-veterinary sector insist that elementary rules must be complied with, in order to stop the disease from spreading. According to the Agriculture Minister Petre Daea, the ones to blame at this point for the growing number of African swine fever cases are the people themselves:

“Veterinarians must be alerted every time a pig owner notices any symptoms. If someone plans to slaughter a pig, they have to do it only in the presence of a veterinarian. The vet will then take a small piece of the meat for laboratory tests to see whether the pig had this virus. Unless this rule is observed across the country, we will fail to contain the disease.

In other words, any suspicion must be communicated immediately. All the animals suspected of having the disease must be killed, and the owners will receive compensations.

The African swine fever does not affect humans, so people are at no risk whatsoever. But the virus does have a huge impact, in economic and social terms. So merely transporting infected pork from one place to another may have dramatic consequences. And since 75 out of 100 pigs in private households in the European Union are raised in Romania, the risk of spreading the disease is enormous.

And to make matters even worse, the authorities fear that Romania might also be hit by the ovine rinderpest (or PPR) virus, after the neighbouring Bulgaria reported 6 such outbreaks. The disease infects sheep and goats, and it can have a 70% mortality rate. For this reason, the authorities have banned the shipping and purchasing of animals and reproductive materials, namely egg cells and embryos, from the affected localities, and the imports of such products in Romania.

(Translated by A.M. Popescu)

18 September 2018
Compensations financières accordées pour les pertes causées par la peste porcine africaine

En Roumanie, la peste
porcine africaine a touché 200 localités de 12 départements du pays. 900 foyers
ont été confirmés, pour la plupart dans le sud-est du pays. Le virus est pourtant
présent aussi dans 3 départements du nord-ouest, où il a été dépisté pour la
première fois il y a un an. Pour cette maladie animale il n’existe pas de
traitement, ni de vaccin, ce pourquoi tous les cochons des fermes paysannes et
des élevages touchés doivent être abattus. Des milliers d’animaux ont été tués.
Le virus ne menace pas la santé humaine, mais il est source d’importants dégâts
socio-économiques. L’effet de la dissémination de la maladie se fait d’ailleurs
déjà sentir. Nombre de familles qui élèvent des cochons se sont retrouvées sans
cette source de subsistance. Dans les grands élevages et les abattoirs, des
centaines de salariés ont été licenciés après l’abattage des animaux. Pour
dédommager les personnes licenciées, le gouvernement a décidé de leur accorder,
en supplément de l’allocation chômage, une compensation mensuelle non-imposable
d’environ 100 euros pendant 6 mois tout au plus. Le gouvernement a aussi
demandé à la Commission européenne une aide financière pour diminuer l’impact
économique de la peste porcine africaine. Le commissaire européen à
l’agriculture et au développement rural, Phil Hogan, a eu jeudi des entretiens
à ce sujet avec le premier ministre, Viorica Dăncilă, et avec le ministre
roumain de l’environnement, Petre Daea. Selon les données présentées par le
commissaire Phil Hogan, deux tiers des cochons élevés dans les fermes paysannes
de l’UE se trouvent en Roumanie. C’est pourquoi Bucarest et Bruxelles
collaborent pour améliorer les services de surveillance, de dépistage et de
contrôle de la maladie – affirmé Phil Hogan. L’arrêt de la production porcine
pour mettre en œuvre le programme lié à la peste porcine cause de grands
préjudices économiques. C’est pourquoi, les responsables de Bucarest
demanderont à l’exécutif communautaire une aide financière destinée aux
fermiers.

Par ailleurs, le ministre
de l’agriculture de Bucarest, Petre Daea, a annoncé que la Roumanie et la
Bulgarie voisine – pays touché, à son tour, par l’épidémie – envisageaient de
créer un centre de recherche sur la peste porcine africaine. Les recherches devront
permettre de découvrir l’origine de la maladie et de trouver des solutions pour
diminuer ses coûts et l’éradiquer complètement.

Le Service roumain de renseignement intérieur a
déclaré, de son côté, avoir transmis, dès juin 2016, aux autorités compétentes
– centrales et locales – des informations sur le danger de l’apparition de la
peste porcine africaine aux frontières du pays. 130 informations à ce sujet ont
été adressées entre juin 2016 et août 2018 – a précisé le principal service
secret roumain. Celui-ci a également transmis des informations sur le risque
d’apparition en Roumanie d’un autre virus, pouvant toucher, cette fois-ci, les
petits rongeurs. Ces dévoilements offrent des arguments supplémentaires à ceux
qui, le président roumain en tête, ont durement critiqué le gouvernement de la
coalition au pouvoir à Bucarest pour la façon dont il a géré la crise provoquée
par la peste porcine africaine.

14 September 2018
July 31, 2018 UPDATE

ADMINISTRATIVE CODE – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday notified the Constitutional Court with respect to the Administrative Code. The president claims, among other things, that the law has not been adopted transparently and that deficiencies in the parliamentary procedure have been reported. The president also says that the law, in its entirety, runs counter to the Constitution and he mentions, in that respect, tens of articles included in the new Administrative Code. The document was endorsed by Parliament on July 9.In its
turn, the Constitutional Court announced on Tuesday the president’s notification
regarding the Administrative Code will be debated upon on September 20.

SWINE FEVER – The situation of African
swine fever hotbeds in Romania was the focal point on the agenda of a
government session on Tuesday. Attending the informal meeting were several members
of the cabinet, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed
Arafat, as well as representatives of the National Sanitary-Veterinary
Authority. Romanian pig farmers having lost animals because of the African
swine fever outbreak have so far received compensations of nearly 28,000 Euros.
The compensations are granted both for the animals slaughtered in view of
containing the swine fever hotbeds, and for collateral damages. In order to
prevent the disease from spreading, restrictions have been introduced in
certain areas regarding the transport of pork products, and citizens have been
informed of relevant prevention measures. Since the beginning of the year, 440
African swine fever hotbeds have been identified in Romania, both in large
farms and individual households.

CAR POLLUTING FEE – The Romanian environment minister, Graţiela Gavrilescu, announced on Tuesday that she will come up with a new version of the car polluting fee by the end of the year. The car polluting fee was introduced in Romania in January 2007, shortly after the country joined the EU. At that time, the first car registration fee was calculated in accordance with three elements: the age of the car, the type of catalyst and the engine capacity. After the fee had been repeatedly changed, in 2013, a tax was introduced in 2013, depending exclusively on the level of exhausted fumes. Four years later, in 2017, the authorities scrapped that fee.

WORKERS – Over the past few years Romanian companies in hospitality, catering, light industry, agriculture and constructions have hired workers from outside the EU. Most of them come from countries with living standards below those in Romania, like the Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Romanian employers have resorted to this strategy for various reasons, including the migration of domestic workers to more developed countries in western Europe, a drop in birth rates, labour mobility requirements and the inability of the national education system to adjust to the needs of the local labour market.

SHEEP FARMING – Romania, the 4th largest sheep and goat breeding country in the EU, last year imported mutton and lamb worth 3.5 million Euros, from countries as far away as New Zealand. According to data made public by the National Statistics Institute, last year 11.5 million sheep and goats were bred in Romania, of which some 10 million sheep. Romania exported live stock worth over 180 million Euros and sheep and goat meat amounting to more than 35 million Euros. Sheep farming relies extensively on exports, because Romanians are not regular consumers of lamb and mutton.

ASYLUM – 900 people applied for protection from the Romanian state in the first half of the year, 55% fewer than in the corresponding period of last year. According to the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the largest number of asylum seekers come from countries like Iraq, Syria and Iran, and the largest number of applications have been submitted to the centres in Bucharest and in Timişoara (in the west). Close to 950 other people have been included in an integration programme.

GREECE – The Greek authorities made public the latest toll of the wildfires that ravaged several towns and villages near the capital city Athens last week: 92 dead, 25 missing and 28 unidentified burnt bodies. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, 4 foreign citizens are among the victims. On Monday the PM of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, visited the villages of Mati and Rafina. An investigation is under way, looking into the causes of the tragedy. (Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)

31 July 2018
July 31, 2018

MOTORWAY – Traffic on the 3rd and 4th segments of A10 Motorway, connecting the towns of Sebeș and Turda, in central Romania, was opened on Monday night, 4 years after the works began. The 2 segments total 27 km. The entire motorway will be around 70 km long. The costs of the project amount to roughly 40 million euros, with 75% of the amount coming from the EU under the European Regional Development Fund, and 25% from the state budget.

SWINE FEVER – Romanian pig farmers having lost animals because of the African swine fever outbreak have so far received compensations of nearly 28,000 euros, the relevant authorities have announced. The compensations are granted both for the animals slaughtered in view of containing the swine fever hotbeds, and for collateral damages. In order to prevent the disease from spreading, restrictions have been introduced in certain areas regarding the transport of pork products, and citizens have been informed of relevant prevention measures. Since the beginning of the year, 440 African swine fever hotbeds have been identified in Romania, both in large farms and individual households.

WORKERS – Over the past few years Romanian companies in hospitality, catering, light industry, agriculture and constructions have hired workers from outside the EU. Most of them come from countries with living standards below those in Romania, like the Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Romanian employers have resorted to this strategy for various reasons, including the migration of domestic workers to more developed countries in western Europe, a drop in birth rates, labour mobility requirements and the inability of the national education system to adjust to the needs of the local labour market.

SHEEP FARMING – Romania, the 4th largest sheep and goat breeding country in the EU, last year imported mutton and lamb worth 3.5 million euros, from countries as far away as New Zealand. According to data made public by the National Statistics Institute, last year 11.5 million sheep and goats were bred in Romania, of which some 10 million sheep. Romania exported live stock worth over 180 million euros and sheep and goat meat amounting to more than 35 million euros. Sheep farming relies extensively on exports, because Romanians are not regular consumers of lamb and mutton.

GREECE – The Greek authorities made public the latest toll of the wildfires that ravaged several towns and villages near the capital city Athens last week: 92 dead, 25 missing and 28 unidentified burnt bodies. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, 4 foreign citizens are among the victims. On Monday the PM of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, visited the villages of Mati and Rafina. An investigation is under way, looking into the causes of the tragedy.

ASYLUM – 900 people applied for protection from the Romanian state in the first half of the year, 55% fewer than in the corresponding period of last year. According to the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the largest number of asylum seekers come from countries like Iraq, Syria and Iran, and the largest number of applications have been submitted to the centres in Bucharest and in Timişoara (in the west). Close to 950 other people have been included in an integration programme.

MIGRATION – The US president Donald Trump praised the Italian PM Giuseppe Contes firm stance on migration, during a meeting with the Italian official at the White House on Monday. Trump added that many other countries in Europe and the world should do the same. Giuseppe Conte is heading a right-wing government whose Interior Minister has taken a tough position regarding immigrants. According to the Italian government, the people rescued from the Mediterranean should no longer be brought into Italian ports.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

31 July 2018
Compensations and Irrigations

Local authorities in counties affected by the drought are assessing the extent of the damage. Special committees have been set up, charged with drawing up an inventory of fields where crops have been compromised. A list of loss-reporting farming companies and individual farmers will be subsequently submitted to the Government. According to initial estimates, the most affected regions are in the north-east, while corn crops are currently the most affected.

Laurentiu Baciu, the head of the League of Farmers’ Associations told Radio Romania that that situation might trigger a hike in produce prices over the next period. On the other hand, the Government hopes to get the European Commission offset part of the losses reported by the Romanian agricultural sector. Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin promised all farmers affected by the drought would be compensated after an accurate assessment of the damage has been completed. Daniel Constantin:

“We are negotiating with the European Commission to compensate farmers starting this very year, within a reasonable amount that should help them continue their farming activities”.

The severe drought is not the only underlying cause of the disaster in Romanian agriculture. Another contributing factor is the irrigation system, dating back to the communist period, which covers only 10% of Romania’s farmland, tantamount to 300 thousand hectares, as compared to the 3.3 million hectares prior to 1989. The rehabilitation costs for the national irrigation system are estimated at nearly 1 billion euros. Here is Minister Daniel Constantin again.

“We will make sure to use European funds to encourage more farmers to get irrigation facilities without which they cannot use the water, although their fields have access to water”.

Minister Constantin suggested that including Romania in the so-called “Juncker Plan” might help our country rehabilitate its irrigation system using European Funds. The Juncker Plan is a public investment programme earmarking over 300 billion euros worth of structural funds to Member States. Moreover, the Romanian official did not rule out a political agreement among parliamentary parties, which can result in a law for the rehabilitation of the irrigation system over the next five years.

26 August 2015