Radio România Internațional

Tag: concerns

  • What are Romanians worried about?

    Most Romanians believe the country is heading in
    the wrong direction, reveals a survey conducted by the Centre for Urban and
    Regional Sociology – CURS, whose findings were made public on Sunday.




    According to the survey, this is the opinion
    shared by 69% of the people, as against 22% of respondents who said things are
    going in the right direction and 9% who could not or would not answer the
    question. Also, 41% of the interviewees said things would be worse in a year’s
    time, 38% said things would stay the same and 18% said the situation would
    improve.




    The poll indicates that the main problems facing
    Romanians are inflation (19%), the low incomes and
    implicitly lower living standards (17%) and corruption (16%). Cross-border
    issues such as migration and the war in Ukraine are a concern for only 3% of
    the respondents, on a par with those that identify Romania’s political class
    and its infrastructure as major problems.




    In terms of confidence in national institutions, firefighters rank
    first with 73%, followed by the Army (68%) and the Church (63%). NATO is seen
    as trustworthy by 42% of the Romanians, while 52% of them have little or no
    confidence in the North Atlantic Alliance. Also, only 35% of the respondents
    trust the EU, as opposed to 59% who don’t. Politicians and the government are
    at the bottom of the confidence ranking. A mere 13% have confidence in the
    Presidency and Parliament, and only 10% trust political parties.




    The obstacles faced by Romania in its efforts to join the Schengen
    area have eaten into its citizens’ optimism. As a result, 60% of the
    respondents believe the country will not be admitted this year either in the
    visa-free travel area, with only 27% of the people confident that Romania would
    join the club in 2023. Austria is blamed by 41% of Romanians for the country’s
    failure to join Schengen, while 21% of the citizens blame their own government
    and 12% say the responsibility lies with the EU Council.




    According to the poll, should parliamentary elections be held next
    weekend, half of the Romanians would vote for the 2 parties in today’s ruling
    coalition, with 31% of the respondents voting for the Social Democratic Party
    and 19% for the National Liberal Party. AUR and USR parties in opposition would
    get 18% and 11% of the votes, respectively, while the Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania would get 5%.




    The CURS poll was conducted face to face between September 12 and
    22, on a sample of 1,008 respondents and with a 3.1% margin of error. (AMP)

  • Main concerns of Romanians

    Main concerns of Romanians

    Two thirds of Romanians believe that a large-scale economic crisis will occur in the next period, and this is the main reason for their concern in this period, according to the results of a survey conducted by the sociological research company Avangarde in the last days of this month. Only 3% of Romanians believe that the Romania will not face an economic crisis. According to the survey, the main causes of concern for Romanians are the inflation, the energy crisis caused by Russia, the food crisis and, to a lesser extent, the increase in loan interest rates. As for inflation, half of those surveyed said they were concerned about its increase.



    The survey shows that two thirds of Romanians have decided to give up several things to cope with the wave of price hikes. Almost one Romanian out of two says that he or she bought less food and 14% of those interviewed say that they have given up buying clothes. However, there is also an important percentage of respondents who say that they have not reduced consumption (about 20%) and 10% could not answer. After inflation, Romanians are worried about the energy crisis and the food crisis.



    Many people with natural gas heating systems say they are considering investing in alternative sources, as they fear higher bills. In the case of energy, most Romanians have already invested or will invest in equipment to help them reduce consumption. In general, as regards the energy crisis, almost 4 out of 10 Romanians believe that Russia will put Europe in difficulty this winter and will completely stop supplying gas to Europe.



    Many Romanians are optimistic, though, and believe that the EU leaders will find solutions to overcome the energy crisis caused by a possible complete stop on gas deliveries. One third of respondents say, however, that they cannot estimate who will win this game. At the same time, 39% are convinced that Romania’s natural resources will help it avoid an energy crisis this winter. A quarter of the respondents are not convinced of this.



    On the other hand, the survey also shows that only 1 Romanian out of 10 is worried about the increase in loan interest rates. Regarding personal finances, more than a third of Romanians say that they have not saved money, and another third say that they have saved less than in 2021. Far fewer Romanians say that they are saving as much as in 2021 or that they are saving more money as compared to the previous year. The survey also shows that a third of Romanians expect property prices to rise, an almost equal percentage expect property prices to remain the same, and far fewer Romanians believe that property prices will decrease. The Avangarde survey was conducted between August 24 and 30, on a sample of 880 people, interviewed by phone. (LS)

  • Current concerns for Romanians

    Current concerns for Romanians

    Three-quarters of Romanians,
    more precisely 76% of them, are concerned that a prospective economic crisis
    might affect their finances, according to a poll on Risk perceptions and insurance
    culture in Romania, performed last month on a sample of 1,000 respondents aged between 18 and 50.


    The poll was conducted by the National Union of
    Romanian Insurers and Reinsurers (UNSAR) and the Romanian Evaluation and
    Strategy Institute (IRES).


    According to the poll, the
    steep inflation rate is a concern for 68% of the interviewees, followed by war (64%), fires and
    automobile accidents (61%). The pandemic and/or other diseases is a source of
    concern for 57% of Romanians.


    As the age increases, the proportion of people
    worried about possible undesired events also rises, the poll indicates. City dwellers
    and average-income categories are also more concerned with these aspects.


    The growing inflation has affected one in two
    Romanians, with little over half of the respondents saying their revenues
    remained steady over the past year.


    In fact, inflation has been steadily on the
    rise in Romania recently. The increase was prompted by the spike in fuel and
    electricity prices, which entailed chain reactions throughout the economy.


    According to data made public recently by the
    National Statistics Institute, the most severe price rises have been reported
    in the past year for natural gas, foodstuffs such as sunflower oil, flour and
    potatoes, and sewage services.


    Experts estimate that inflation will continue
    to go up for a while, and the conflict in Ukraine, which affects exports, will
    keep grain prices up.


    The poll also indicates that in spite of the
    economic growth, nearly 4 in 10 respondents believe they will save more money
    in the coming year, as opposed to 2 in 10 interviewees who provided this answer
    in last year’s poll.


    Just like in 2021, bank deposits are the main
    savings options for Romanians, with 4 in 10 people saying this is the method of
    choice for them. Another one-quarter of the respondents said they would invest
    in real estate.


    Now more than ever, it is important for people
    to know that there are safe savings options, available to everybody, such as
    the financial protection plans provided by life insurance policies. Insurance may
    be an efficient solution to ensure sustainability to the finances of a family,
    said Alexandru Ciuncan, head of the National Union of Romanian Insurers and
    Reinsurers. (AMP)

  • January 15, 2021

    January 15, 2021

    VACCINATION The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis received
    the Covid 19 vaccine on Friday, at the Central Military Hospital in Bucharest. He
    subsequently said the vaccine is safe and efficient, and immunisation and
    compliance with the protection rules will help us overcome the pandemic. The 2nd
    phase of the vaccination programme started today in Romania. It targets the
    high-risk population and workers in key sectors. Since
    the start of the pandemic, Romania has reported more than 688,000 coronavirus
    infections. Over 619,000 patients have recovered and more than 17,000 died. Over
    3,300 new cases and 63 deaths were reported on Friday, and 1,091 patients are
    in intensive care.



    CORRUPTION Liviu Dragnea, former president of the Social Democratic Party and former Chamber of Deputies speaker, has been charged with influenced peddling in another corruption-related case, concerning his presence at the US president Donald Trumps inauguration in Washington in early 2017. Prosecutors claim the former Social Democratic chief received undue benefits for himself and his party, in the amount of 380,000 US dollars, consisting in the travel package, political consultancy and various lobby services. In the same case, his former adviser and Romanias consul general in Bonn, Gheorghe Dimitrescu is also accused of influence peddling. Liviu Dragnea is currently serving a prison sentence for inciting abuse of office. In 2019 he was sentenced to 3 and a half years in a case involving fictitious employment contracts in Teleorman County.



    GOVERNMENT The government of Romania is holding an online meeting today. On Thursday the finance minister Alexandru Nazare said the Cabinet was preparing a reform of state-owned companies, and that on Friday loss and debt reduction targets will be presented, as well as means to monitor their activity. The state budget bill for this year is to be finalized at the end of this month.



    CULTURE Romania celebrates today 171 years since the birth of poet Mihai Eminescu, with online events or events without a live audience. As a tribute to Romanias greatest poet, January 15 was declared the National Culture Day, aimed at promoting culture, arts and academic effort. This day has been celebrated since 2010 in Romania, the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, and in the Romanian communities abroad. Diplomatic and consular missions as well as Romanian cultural institutes abroad are hosting special events devoted to this day. In turn, Radio Romania will celebrate Mihai Eminescus role in the national and world culture, with special shows, interviews, documentaries and festive events.



    INNOVATION Only 14.6% of the companies with at least 10 employees in Romania reported any innovation activity in 2016-2018, which places the country last in the EU, according to a survey made public by the Eurostat today. At EU level, 50.3% of companies had innovation activities in the respective period, with the highest number of innovative enterprises reported in Estonia, Cyprus, Belgium and Germany. Bottom of the list are Romania, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. In Romania, the share of companies conducting innovative activities rose from 10% in 2016 to 14.6% in 2018.



    INAUGURATION In the US, president elect Joe Bidens team has cancelled a train trip and a rehearsal for the inauguration ceremony due on January 20, over concerns for Bidens security. Washington mobilised police forces and the National Guard, amid information pointing to attempts to organise armed protests to prevent the Biden administration from taking office. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, the FBI is looking into large-scale and disquieting online activity related to possible violence at the inauguration ceremony. Over 200 suspects tied to the US Capitol riots of January 6 have been identified so far, and more than 100 have been arrested. Trumps impeachment procedure has been moved to the Senate, but debates are set to begin after the inauguration of the new president. (tr. A.M. Popescu)