Radio România Internațional

Tag: Congress

  • January 25, 2025 UPDATE 2

    January 25, 2025 UPDATE 2

     

    RATING The financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s confirmed Romania’s ‘BBB minus’ rating, but revised the outlook from “stable” to “negative”. The reasons are related to high fiscal and external risks, the agency reports. According to S&P, the fragmented and uncertain political environment, as well as the substantial spending ahead of the elections, pushed the fiscal deficit to almost 8.7% of GDP, far above expectations. The Romanian finance minister Tánczos Barna says the change in the outlook from stable to negative indicates that measures are needed to reduce the budget deficit, and that the country needs a balanced public budget and a streamlined government structure. He also said that the government’s measures to reduce the deficit and consolidate economic growth must be implemented at an alert pace, in the form already agreed on with the EU.

     

    UKRAINE The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, taking into account Ukraine’s cooperation with the Republic of Moldova, it is possible for Kyiv to cover Moldova’s entire electricity demand, and a 30% discount on the supply price is also possible. He made these statements at a meeting on Saturday in Kyiv with the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu. The two officials also discussed possible coal deliveries to the Republic of Moldova. In turn, Maia Sandu accused Russia of trying to create economic and social chaos in Moldova and bring a pro-Russian government in power in Chisinau. She traveled to Kyiv amid energy tensions in Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region between the two countries, AFP reports. This strip of land with a population of about half a million, which remains outside Moldova’s control, was supplied by the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom for free, through a pipeline that crossed Ukraine. The latter ended the contract with Moscow on January 1, thus cutting off supplies to Moldova, including to Transnistria, which declared a state of emergency. With Kyiv fighting the Russian invasion for three years, Chisinau is worried about a possible spillover of the conflict to its territory, especially through the destabilisation of Transnistria by Russia. The rest of Moldova is for now safe from energy cuts, thanks to electricity and gas imports from Romania.

     

    ELECTIONS The Liberals will convene on Sunday in a special National Council meeting to validate the former party president Crin Antonescu as the joint candidate of the ruling coalition in Romania. The Social Democrats scheduled a special congress on February 2 for the same purpose, and UDMR will make its decision at the beginning of next week. The first and second rounds of the presidential elections are scheduled for May 4 and 18. So far, the mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, the independent candidate Călin Georgescu and the president of Save Romania Union, Elena Lasconi, have announced plans to run for president. The latter two were top placed in the presidential elections canceled last year. After the first election round on November 24 was validated, the Constitutional Court of Romania canceled the election as a whole on December 6, although voting in the second round had already begun abroad. The Court made its decision after the Supreme Defence Council published a report indicating foreign interference in the electoral process, but investigations have so far failed to confirm it. Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets to demand that the second round be resumed.

     

    EXHIBITION Romania’s foreign ministry announced that on Saturday the National Museum of History of Romania (MNIR) and the Culture Ministry were notified that an explosion took place and several exhibits were stolen at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, which is hosting an exhibition called ‘Dacia! Rijk van goud en zilver’ (Dacia! Kingdom of gold and silver), organised jointly with MNIR. According to the institution, initial investigations indicate that the blast was design to help as yet unidentified perpetrators to break into the museum building and steal pieces from Romania’s Dacian treasure. The foreign ministry notified the Romanian interior ministry and the Romanian police, and the Romanian embassies in all neighboring countries are on alert. Romania’s foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu spoke with his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp, ​​highlighting the exceptional importance of the stolen exhibits. The Dutch side assured Romania of its operational and political determination to solve the case. The Dutch police also activated cross-border cooperation mechanisms and informed the Interpol of the matter.

     

    HOLOCAUST The minister of culture Natalia Intotero will represent Romania, on Monday, at the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. The event, held under the patronage of the president of Poland, marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day declared by the United Nations, and brings together camp survivors, official delegations of states and international organisations. Romania’s participation in the ceremony on January 27 reflects its solid commitment to keeping alive the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, to fighting all forms of denial, distortion, or downplaying of this tragic moment, as well as to fighting anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalisation and hate speech, while at the same time promoting respect for fundamental human rights, both at national and international level, the Romanian culture ministry said. (AMP)

  • August 24, 2024 UPDATE

    August 24, 2024 UPDATE

     

    CONVENTION Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu was reconfirmed as leader of the Social Democratic Party on Saturday, and officially nominated as the party’s candidate in the presidential election. In his address on this occasion, he presented the platform for which he hopes to win the president seat: a 10-year plan with 3 strategic directions: industry, agriculture and services. He argued that with its unity, the Social Democratic Party has managed to regain the confidence of Romanians, and that he offered Romanians “a president for all.” The party last won a presidential race in 2000. In their speeches, the Social Democrats teased their partners in the ruling coalition, the Liberals, and mocked the incumbent president, Klaus Iohannis. The first round of the election is scheduled on November 24, and the second on December 8th.

     

    UKRAINE The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, sent a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Ukraine’s Independence Day. According to the Romanian presidency, Iohannis voiced his appreciation for the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces and civilians in defending their country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to provide constant, predictable and multidimensional support to Ukraine until its victory and further on in its reconstruction and European integration process. Iohannis emphasized that the security cooperation agreement signed by the 2 countries in July, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, proves that Romania’s support is not circumstantial, but long-standing, predictable and transparent.

     

    CROPS The European Union’s maize output will be smaller because of the drought and extreme heat in Romania, whose crops will be 30% lower. Estimates for the EU’s maize output were cut from 63 million tonnes, as reported last year, to 60-61 million tonnes, which is still above the level in 2022, when the drought affected the entire continent. Romania’s output is expected to drop from around 11 million tonnes last year to less than 8 million this autumn. In France, favourable humidity levels kept maize crops in a generally good condition, and the increase of the areas under crops should ensure higher output, namely over 14 million tonnes. In Poland, smaller areas under maize crops may lead to a 13% drop in output, while in Germany the crops are estimated to be 2% lower.

     

    PENSIONS The National Liberal Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition in Romania, proposes new amendments to the Pensions Law, so as to address the situation of pensioners whose benefits have been cut down in the latest revision. The Liberal leader and Senate speaker Nicolae Ciucă said the law should not have retrospective effect, and confirmed that the pensioners whose benefits have been cut down on paper will not benefit from cost-of-living adjustments for several years, although they will not be paid smaller amounts. According to official data, over 700,000 pensioners have received decisions by which their benefits have been cut down. These include workers in hazardous conditions, such as coal miners, engine drivers and nuclear industry personnel, who were able to stop working before the standard retirement age. Also at a disadvantage are people with disabilities, where the revised benefits are smaller by as much as 60%, for instance for the visually impaired. Hundreds of people are already asking for explanations from the authorities. They have until September 1 to appeal the decisions, and may even take the matter to court.

     

    MUSEUM The Bucharest Children’s Museum has reopened and is waiting for visitors with new guided interactive tours. The most recent of them shows kids the secrets of physics and chemistry. Entitled “The School of Magic – Wizard’s Castle,” it helps children understand physical and chemical reactions in a setting that reminds them of the Harry Potter universe. Apart from the School of Magic, children can enjoy 3 other tours – one devoted to the great ocean explorers, one to the human brain and one to classical fairytales.

     

    TENNIS Monica Niculescu (Romania) / Hanyu Guo (China) have qualified into the doubles finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey, Mexico. They defeated Tereza Mihalikova (Slovakia) / Olivia Nicholls (UK) 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 10-4. Niculescu and Guo won the match in 2 hours and 10 minutes and received USD 28,720 and WTA 325 points. In the final on August 25, Niculescu and Guo take on top seeded Giuliana Olmos of Mexico and Alexandra Panova of Russia. (AMP)

  • The European People’s Party Congress in Bucharest

    The European People’s Party Congress in Bucharest

    The President of the European Commission, the German conservative Ursula von der Leyen, received, on Thursday, in Bucharest, the approval of her political family, the European People’s Party (EPP, center-right), to run for a second term at the helm of the European Commission. “We have 90 days until the European Parliament elections” on June 6-9, she said from the podium of the Romexpo compound, thanking the participants for their “trust” and broad “support” (400 votes for, 89 against). The congress in Bucharest was hosted by the National Liberal Party – PNL, affiliated to the EPP and part of the governing coalition in Romania together with the leftist Social Democratic Party – PSD, member of the European socialists group.

     

    The EPP has the largest group in the current European Parliament, and polls regarding voting intentions in the 27 member states continue to credit it with the first place. Which, the analysts write, will allow the EPP to remain at the helm of Europe, with a Commission in which, as before, the socialists and, respectively, the liberals from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)-Renew Europe will be co-opted. Von der Leyen announced in Bucharest the priorities for the next five-year virtual mandate, with focus on supporting Ukraine invaded by the Russian troops, European defense and the fight against extremism. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, should not win this war that he started and through which he tries to move the borders by force, von der Leyen said, adding that they remain with Ukraine, and this is the only way in which they can preserve the freedom and prosperity of the European Union.

     

    At the EPP Congress, an extensive electoral manifesto was unanimously voted, in which the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the free travel Schengen Area is demanded, among other things. The unanimity cracked, however, after only a few hours. Austria still has objections to the admission of the two countries, members of the EU since 2007 and which will only enter Schengen at the end of this month with the air and sea borders, not with the land borders. About 25 million Romanians and Bulgarians remain, the press writes, second-rate Europeans, only because this is the will of the Austrian conservative chancellor Karl Nehammer whose party is, in turn, affiliated to the EPP. Although the community statistics contradict them, the chancellor and his executive team accuse, with an insistence that is already tiring for everyone, the waves of illegal migrants from Africa or Asia that would arrive in his country through Romania. In Bucharest, Nehammer discussed both with the president Klaus Ioahnnis,the ex-Liberal leader, and with the social-democratic prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, but his position remained unchanged: currently, the Schengen system does not work, therefore, it cannot be extended. (LS)

  • March 7, 2024

    March 7, 2024

     

     

    CONGRESS The congress of the European People’s Party continues in Bucharest today, when the party’s nominee for president of the European Commission is to be chosen. On Tuesday the party’s Political Assembly validated Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for a new term in office. On Thursday, president Klaus Iohannis and other EU heads of state and government are scheduled to address the Congress. Over 2,000 delegates from more than 40 countries, including the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Parliament, presidents and prime ministers, party presidents and European commissioners in the EPP have convened in Bucharest for the congress. The main goals of the event are the selection of the EPP president and decisions on the party’s main policy documents and election platforms. The meeting is hosted by the National Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition in Romania, jointly with the EPP. Bucharest last hosted an EPP congress in October 2012.

     

    MEETING The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis has a meeting scheduled today with Austria’s federal chancellor, Karl Nehammer, the Romanian Presidency announced. According to Agerpres, the two officials are expected to discuss Romania’s full Schengen accession. The European People’s Party unanimously adopted, during its congress in Bucharest on Wednesday, a manifesto demanding Romania’s accession to the Schengen area as soon as possible, after the Austrian delegation of the People’s Party, in power, renounced voting against. According to the manifesto, “we need full accession to Schengen for Bulgaria and Romania, by lifting as soon as possible not only the air and maritime checks, but also the checks at the land borders”.

     

    ELECTIONS The government of Romania is to analyse today a draft emergency order on merging the local elections and the elections for the European Parliament on June 9. According to an INSCOP poll commissioned by News.ro, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, in power in Romania and running on joint lists of candidates, would get 43.7% of the votes. Next in the poll come the nationalist party AUR with little over 20%, and the United Right Alliance, also in Opposition, with 13.7%. As for the local elections, the poll indicates the Social Democrats would get 30.6% of the county and local council seats, the Liberals 25.6%, AUR 17.4%, and the United Right Alliance 9.8%. With respect to merging the two elections, the poll suggests over 57% of citizens are in favour of the idea. More than one-third of the interviewees are in favour of joint candidate lists for the Social Democrats and the Liberals in the European elections and separate lists for the local elections, while 51.3% disagree with the decision. Romania’s presidential elections are scheduled in September, and the general elections are due in December.

     

    MOLDOVA France and the Republic of Moldova are set to sign economic and defence cooperation agreements today.  The documents will be signed in Paris by president Emmanuel Macron and president Maia Sandu. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, Macron and the French foreign ministry have repeatedly voiced concern with Russia’s threats against Ukraine’s neighbour, Moldova. A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry, Christophe Lemoine, said Moldova was facing “increasingly aggressive attempts at destabilization” by Russia. This agreement is aimed at supporting the modernization of Moldova’s armed forces, and our support will not be limited to defence. We have mobilized the international community by creating the support platform co-chaired by France, Germany and Romania, launched shortly after the start of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, when Moldova was highly vulnerable to the aftermath of the war, the French official also said.

     

    MINES A sea dredger, a PUMA Naval helicopter and a team of combat divers with the Romanian Naval Forces specialising in the clearing and disposal of explosives are today inspecting the southern part of the Romanian sea coast, to detect a suspected naval mine, the Romanian Defence Ministry announced. A floating item was spotted in the region by the Coast Guard, which requested the intervention of the Naval Forces, in line with relevant national procedures. According to the defence ministry, since the start of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, 95 naval mines have been destroyed in the Black Sea, and this one is the 6th mine disposal mission during this period. (AMP)

  • EPP – support for full Schengen accession

    EPP – support for full Schengen accession

    The European People’s Party unanimously adopted, on Wednesday, on the first day of its Congress in Bucharest, an electoral manifesto in which it demands that Romania and Bulgaria fully join the Schengen area. The document was approved by the more than 2 thousand participants in the Congress. In other words, the manifesto surprisingly also received the vote of the representatives of the People’s Party from Austria, a country whose chancellor, Karl Nehammer, from the same political family, has, until now, vehemently opposed this perspective, despite the fact that Romanians and Bulgarians have been, for many years, technically prepared to fully enter the free travel area and despite the repeated appeals from EU officials at the highest level.

     

    In fact, in Bucharest, the president of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, reiterated, on Wednesday, that Romania and Bulgaria meet all the criteria, not forgetting to mention, however, the challenge from Vienna. He said that he also wanted to ask the socialists in Austria to reconsider their position, because they are also against Romania and Bulgaria having full access to Schengen, so there is an Austrian challenge and they have to convince all the parties there to give the green light, said Manfred Weber.

     

    Romanians who live and work abroad are waiting for Romania to enter Schengen with land borders as well, said the president of the National Liberal Party – PNL, in the governing coalition in Romania, Nicolae Ciucă.

     

    And the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, stated that postponing Romania’s full accession will harm Europe: “The political tango around accession to the Schengen area can neither be assumed nor continued. We must say this loud and clear here as well, in our political family. We can and we will protect the external borders of the Union. We are prepared to do so. All sorts of excuses and pretexts can be invented to delay full accession to the Schengen area, but this will do enormous damage in the short term. I’m asking all those who had reservations about Romania’s accession to the Schengen area to put our common interests in the medium and long term first, not the immediate political gain.”

     

    Last December, the Council of the European Union voted for the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen, with controls at air and sea borders being lifted from March 2024. In order to accept their full accession to the free travel area, with controls lifted also at land borders, which is the most important component actually, Vienna set conditions. Will these conditions fade away in front of the need to obtain a good score in the June election for the European Parliament or, on the contrary, will they be strengthened? (LS)

  • February 28, 2024 UPDATE

    February 28, 2024 UPDATE

    CONGRESS The European People’s Party (EPP) congress will be held in Bucharest next week, on March 6th and 7th. Over 2,000 delegates from more than 40 countries will take part, including the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Parliament, heads of state as well as European Commissioners affiliated to the EPP. The agenda will focus on the party’s preparations and strategy for the European Parliament elections. The meeting is hosted by the National Liberal Party (a member of Romania’s ruling coalition), jointly with the EPP. Bucharest last hosted an EPP congress in October 2012.

     

    MOLDOVA The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu had a meeting in Bucharest on Wednesday with Moldova’s deputy PM for integration, Oleg Serebrian.  The two officials reviewed the regional security developments and Russia’s destabilising actions, with a focus on their impact on the Republic of Moldova. In this context, minister Luminiţa Odobescu praised Chişinău’s efforts to curb the effects of the hybrid war and reconfirmed the support Romania is prepared to extend in this process. She also reiterated Romania’s support for a comprehensive, peaceful and sustainable solution for the issue of Transnistria, in compliance with international law and in line with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova, within its internationally recognised borders and without affecting its European future. Since 1992 Transnistria has been de facto independent from Moldova, following an armed conflict in which Russian troops backed the separatists.

     

    NAVALNY The European Parliament Wednesday condemned the killing of the Russian activist Alexei Navalny in prison, and called for an international independent investigation to establish the circumstances of his death. The EP honoured to the life and legacy of the Russian activist in Strasburg, in the presence of his widow, Yulia Navalnaya. The meeting was opened by the EP president, Roberta Metsola, who spoke about Alexei Navalny’s courage of fighting against an authoritarian regime. She emphasised that Alexei Navalny had dedicated his life to the fight against corruption and for a democratic Russia.

     

    CONCERT The Children’s Choirs of Radio Romania and Radio Bulgaria will give a joint concert at the Radio Hall in Bucharest, on Thursday. It will be the first time when these choirs perform together, and the concert programme is spectacular, as both choirs can easily perform difficult works, adding set design elements that will impress the audience. The event is part of an international cooperation programme between the two public radio broadcasters. On the same day, the Bulgarian Children’s Choir will open a reception hosted by the Bulgarian Embassy in Bucharest, on the occasion of Bulgaria’s National Day, celebrated on March 3rd.

     

    HANDBALL Romania defeated Croatia, on Wednesday, 26 – 24 at home, in Group I of the European Women’s Handball Championship qualifiers. The away leg will be held on Sunday, in Koprivnica. The two teams are competing for the top spot in the group, currently having the same number of points, 4, but being separated by goal difference (43 vs. 24). They are followed by Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina, without any points. Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, CS Dinamo Bucharest beat CSM Constanţa 33-25, in main group IV of the men’s EHF European League. The Romanian champions thus secured a spot in the playoffs, with the group winner going straight into the quarter-finals. (AMP)

  • September 5, 2023 UPDATE

    September 5, 2023 UPDATE

    VICTIM Another patient severely
    injured in the blasts in Crevedia (southern Romania) died on Tuesday morning,
    bringing the number of casualties to 5, the Health Ministry announced. The
    victim was of Nepalese origin and had burns on more than 90% of his body. The
    powerful explosions followed by a fire took place, 10 days ago, at an LPG
    station in Crevedia, south of Bucharest, which was operating illegally.




    NATO Together with our Allies, we will continue to
    strengthen the NATO structures on Romanian territory, president Klaus Iohannis
    said on Tuesday. He added that Romania will continue to support Russia-invaded
    Ukraine as long as necessary. Iohannis received the PM of Luxembourg Xavier
    Bettel at the military base in Cincu, central Romania, and addressed the NATO
    Battle Group in Romania, which comprises around 1,000 French, Dutch, Belgian
    and Luxemburgish troops and is spearheaded by France.




    WIND POWER On Tuesday, Romania had over 40% of its electricity
    demand covered from wind power sources, as the National Meteorology
    Administration issued a code yellow alert for strong winds in the south and south-east,
    where most of the country’s wind farms are located. According to the National
    Energy Regulatory Authority, wind farms have a total installed capacity of over
    3,000 MW, and most turbines were in operation on Tuesday. The second most important
    electricity source is nuclear power, followed by hydro power and coal.


    EPP The leaders of the
    European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament,
    have decided that the National Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition
    in Romania, will host the EPP congress ahead of the European elections in 2024. Attending
    the event in Bucharest will be over 2,000 delegates from over 40 countries, including
    all the heads of state and government from EPP member parties, the EC president,
    Ursula von der Leyen, the European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, and
    all the European commissioners affiliated to the EPP.




    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team is preparing the home matches
    against Israel, scheduled on Saturday, September 9, and Kosovo, on Tuesday,
    September 12, in Group I of the qualifiers for next year’s European
    Championships hosted by Germany. After 4 group matches, with 2 wins and 2
    draws, Romania has 8 points and ranks 2, after Switzerland (10 points). The
    group also includes Belarus and Andorra. The top 2 teams in each group qualify
    for the final tournament. Romania’s last participation in a European football
    championship was in 2016, and it last qualified in a World Championship final
    tournament in 1998. (AMP)

  • April 29, 2023

    April 29, 2023

    EU — The European Union has decided to extend for another year the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports, so as to support its economy during the war started by Russia. The announcement was made by Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the community bloc. We recall that the suspension of these taxes generated discontent among farmers in several countries, culminating with the ban, at the beginning of this month, on cereals imports from Ukraine by Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The European Commission has now proposed paying compensations to farmers in five countries bordering Ukraine, including Romania, and allowing these countries to ban the sale of certain Ukrainian grains on their domestic markets. But, the five countries must continue to allow the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products, so that they can be sold in other regions.



    Congress — The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (part of the governing coalition) are electing on Saturday, on the second day of the congress held in Timisoara (west), their president for the next 4 years. The only candidate is the current leader of the party, Kelemen Hunor, who wants to keep his party in the governing coalition. He said that the big challenge of his mandate will be maintaining one round in the local elections. According to Kelemen Hunor, a strategic document will also be adopted at the congress that will show the priorities of Romania and of the Hungarian community for the coming years in the economic, social, political and rights-of-national-minorities fields. Attending the Ethnic Hungarians’ congress, the leaders of National Liberal Party and of the Social Democratic Party (the main parties of the three-party coalition), namely the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu, respectively, expressed their support for continuing their partnership with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, saying that they were a pole of stability and professionalism within the coalition.



    May Day – Over 400 festivals, concerts, trade fairs and sports competitions are scheduled to take place over the May Day long weekend, and over 70,000 people are expected to travel to the Black Sea Coast on this occasion. Romanians also chose to spend the May 1st mini-holiday in the Danube Delta and in the Prahova Valley mountain resorts. The number of hotel reservations across Romania is 4 times higher this year than in 2022, show data from a hotel platform. The Interior Ministry announced that some 24,000 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters will be on duty across the country to prevent and combat crime, fluidize road traffic and reduce waiting times at border checkpoints as well as to ensure order and safety at various public events. The Border Police has also taken measures to optimize customs procedures and reduce waiting times, with a focus on the crossing points on the Hungarian and Bulgarian borders.



    Budget — Romanias state budget registered a deficit of 1.42% of the gross domestic product, i.e. 22.75 billion lei (about 4.6 billion Euros) in the first three months of 2023, the Romanian Finance Ministry announced. The loss was mainly caused by the increase in the volume of investments by 56.5% compared to the same period of the previous year and the compensation of bills related to the consumption of electricity and natural gas for domestic and non-domestic customers in the amount of 2.5 billion lei (about 500 million Euros). Other factors that contributed to the deficit were the higher volume of reimbursements of goods and services for medicines, the slowing down of the fees and taxes collection rate as well as the implementation of the second stage of the Support Program for Romania. Last year, the state budget registered, in the same period, a deficit of 15.7 billion lei (about 3.1 billion Euros).



    Green House — Next week Romania sees the start of the “Green House” program, through which the state offers financing to individuals for the installation of solar panels. For now, both the producing companies and the potential beneficiaries have at their disposal the application guide of the program, which was issued on Friday. To register, those who wish to install solar panels must enter an application on the website of the Environment Agency. The funding remains the same as last year – 20,000 lei per person (approx. 4,000 Euros), accounting for 90% of the expenses. The Romanian authorities propose to double the budget allocated to this program this year and thus reach 150,000 systems installed in 2023. (LS)

  • April 28, 2023 UPDATE

    April 28, 2023 UPDATE

    EU — The European Union has decided to extend for another year the suspension of customs duties and quotas on imports from Ukraine, so as to support its economy during the war started by Russia. The announcement was made by Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the community bloc. We recall that the suspension of these taxes generated dissatisfaction among farmers in several countries, culminating with the prohibition, at the beginning of this month, of cereals imports from Ukraine by Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The European Commission has now proposed paying compensations to farmers in five countries bordering Ukraine, including Romania, and allowing these countries to ban the sale of certain Ukrainian grains on their domestic markets. But, the five countries must continue to allow the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products, so that they can be sold in other regions.



    Congress — The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (part of the governing coalition) held a congress in Timisoara (west). The current leader of the party, the Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor, is running for a new presidential mandate. According to him, a strategic document will also be adopted during the congress that will show the priorities of Romania and of the Hungarian community for the coming years in the economic, social, political and rights-of-national-minorities fields. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania wants to remain in the government also after the change of the prime minister, scheduled for the end of May, said Kelemen Hunor, who received assurances in this regard. The leaders of National Liberal Party and of the Social Democratic Party (the main parties of the three-party coalition), the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu, respectively, also took the floor at the congress.



    May Day – Over 400 festivals, concerts, trade fairs and sports competitions are scheduled to take place over the May Day long weekend. Over 70,000 people are expected to travel to the Black Sea coast on this occasion. Some 24,000 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters will be on duty across the country to prevent and combat crime, fluidize road traffic and reduce waiting times at border checkpoints as well as to ensure order and safety at various public events, the Interior Ministry reports. The Border Police has also taken measures to optimize customs procedures and reduce waiting times, with a focus on the crossing points on the Hungarian and Bulgarian borders.



    Schengen — Romanias accession to Schengen, the European free travel area, could be debated at the end of September, when the first meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council is scheduled under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Romanian Interior Minister Lucian Bode announced. He showed that, until the end of June, under the presidency of Sweden, the accession file of Romania and Bulgaria has no chance to be on the agenda of the JHA Council. “Spain stated, through the Interior Minister Marlaska, both in Bucharest and in Vienna, a few days ago, that it will put on the agenda of its presidency the file of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession. So (…) we put our hope in the Spanish presidency. The Spanish presidency will decide, depending on the discussions and the conclusions it will reach in its approach with Austria, whether this will happen in September or in October, November, December,” said minister Bode. In December 2022, Austria blocked Romanias Schengen candidacy, claiming that our country is part of the Balkan route of illegal migration. The accusation was rejected by the Romanian authorities and officially denied by the European institutions.



    Budget — Romanias state budget registered a deficit of 1.42% of the gross domestic product, i.e. 22.75 billion lei, in the first three months of 2023, the Romanian Finance Ministry announced. The loss was mainly caused by the increase in the volume of investments by 56.5% compared to the same period of the previous year and the compensation of bills related to the consumption of electricity and natural gas for domestic and non-domestic customers in the amount of 2.5 billion lei. Other factors that contributed to the deficit were the higher volume of reimbursements of goods and services for medicines, the slowing down of the fees and taxes collection rate as well as the implementation of the second stage of the Support Program for Romania. Last year, the state budget registered, in the same period, a deficit of 15.7 billion lei.



    Literacy – The degree of literacy for Romanian students between the ages of 6 and 14 is low, only 11% of them being in the “functional” area, shows the 2023 edition of the National Literacy Report. According to the document, made by the standardized test platform for students brio.ro, together with seven other non-profit organizations in the field of education, the results are similar to those of last year, without notable changes. “There are 42% functionally illiterate children, 47% minimally literate and only 11% are functional. The school system does nothing to help them, children enter school non-functional and after eight years the non-functional percentage drops by only 1.5%. Almost everything children learn in school is rote learning. Children are not able to interpret the texts they read and fail to make logical inferences about the texts, consequently they will be virtually unable to interact with any type of text,” the executive director of the brio.ro platform, Gabi Barctic said. Literacy skills reflect a persons ability to relate to a text. The competent reader understands and interprets the text even at a first careful reading, uses the information in it and interacts with it to achieve their goals. (LS)

  • November 9, 2022

    November 9, 2022

    ENERGY Romania’s ruling coalition
    convenes today in an attempt to reach consensus with respect to regulating
    energy prices and increasing pensions. The Social Democratic Party and the
    National Liberal Party are struggling to reach common ground on these major
    issues. While the Social Democrats plead for a regulated energy market, the
    Liberals favour a semi regulated market. As for public pensions, the Liberals
    want a 15% increase, whereas the Social Democrats would like smaller pension
    benefits to be increased by a higher percentage. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the
    Chamber of Deputies passed a law on the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
    Also on Tuesday, Deputies approved the sale of the country’s uranium
    concentrate reserve to the Nuclearelectrica national corporation. Both
    laws will be forwarded to president Klaus Iohanis for promulgation.


    ELECTIONS The Republicans are set to
    win the US House of Representatives majority following Tuesday’s midterm
    elections. In the Senate, the race is still tight, with voting on-going in the
    western states. According to CBS News, the Republicans won 198 seats and
    the Democrats 167 seats in the House of Representatives, but ballot counting
    continues. The shift in the House majority will significantly affect president
    Joe Biden’s agenda in the second half of his term in office, including the US
    approach of the situation in Ukraine, Radio Romania’s correspondent in
    Washington reports. Final election results may still take days or even weeks to
    be announced, given the differences in ballot counting systems and possible
    court proceedings in the states with more competitive races.


    AWARD The European Parliament last
    night awarded its 2022 European Citizen’s prizes. The 30 winners include the
    Save the Children Romania organisation, for its assistance to the children in
    Ukraine. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Save the Children
    organisation has provided basic food products, hygiene, clothing, footwear,
    children’s products, blankets and other immediate assistance products.It has responded to the acute needs
    of immediate humanitarian assistance, information and emotional support, both
    at the border and in the centres where refugee mothers and children are housed.
    Awarded every year, the European Citizen’s prize goes to projects organised by
    people or organisations that encourage mutual understanding between people in
    the EU, cross-border cooperation that builds a stronger European spirit and EU
    values and fundamental rights.


    NATO The meeting of NATO foreign ministers in
    Bucharest on November 29th and 30th confirms Romania’s
    role in the current security context and reflects the Allies’ interest in the
    region. The statement was made by Romania’s permanent representative to NATO,
    Dan Neculăescu. He mentioned that Romania hosted a summit in 2008, a
    meeting of NATO defence ministers and a meeting of the NATO Military Committee,
    the organisation’s highest military authority. The meeting of foreign ministers
    in late November will be the first of this kind ever hosted by Romania. It will
    include 4 sessions focusing on the implementation of the Madrid Summit
    decisions, the war in Ukraine, energy security and partners. Invited to attend
    the meeting are also Ukraine, the R. of Moldova, Georgia, Finland, Sweden and
    Bosnia.


    MILITARY The French Army is sending
    13 Leclerc tanks to the Cincu military base in Romania. The equipment is
    scheduled to reach the military base in central Romania by rail in about a week.
    The Leclerc is one of the most
    expensive tanks in the world, able to hit targets 4 km away while moving at 50
    kmph. France will send to Cincu a total of nearly 150 combat vehicles with
    complete equipment and ammunition, in order to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank
    in the context of the war in Ukraine. The NATO battle group in Romania was
    created in May and is spearheaded by France. (AMP)

  • October 3, 2021

    October 3, 2021

    Covid – In Romania, the government has approved a decision under which people vaccinated against COVID and those who have recovered from the disease in the last six months are exempted from several restrictions that apply in localities where the incidence rate threshold exceeds 6 cases per thousand inhabitants. Bucharest and over 30 other cities across Romania, as well as more than 200 communes are in this situation. Public and private events can take place in these localities only with a low participation rate, access being allowed only to vaccinated people or people who have recovered from the disease, who will have to wear protective masks. These two categories are also allowed to go to restaurants or gyms, as well as to travel during the weekend or night quarantine. The new regulations were a source of dissatisfaction for thousands of people who took to the streets on Saturday without keeping the physical distance, without wearing protective masks and without respecting the limit of participation in such demonstrations. The protesters marched through the center of the capital, protested in front of the Government headquarters and, later, some of them went to the Presidential Palace. They chanted messages against vaccination and the introduction of the green certificate and also demanded the resignation of the government, of the head of the Committee for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, and of president Iohannis. The protests took place on the day with the highest number of Covid cases reported in Romania – almost 12,600. Over 8,700 new cases were reported on Sunday and 150 Covid-associated deaths. 1,440 people are in ICUs. The high number of contaminations boosted the vaccination campaign, with tens of doses being administered daily.



    USR-PLUS – Dacian Cioloş, the president elect of the Save Romania Union – USR PLUS party (former no. 2 in the governing coalition), says that although the team he represented does not have a majority in the party’s new National Bureau, he wants decisions to be made based on common goals, and not depending on team membership. The team of his opponent, Dan Barna, won most of the votes in the elections for the National Bureau, has 14 vice president positions, while the team of the new president, Dacian Cioloş, has 8 such mandates in the partys national leadership. The Congress continues with debates exclusively in online format, on the changes to be made to the party’s statute, including the duration of the president’s term in office. Dacian Cioloş wants a mandate limited to two years and announces that, otherwise, he will resign in 2023, and will organize a congress in which he wants validation as presidential candidate and will establish the strategy for the elections scheduled for next year.




    Rome – In Italy, more than 12 million eligible voters are called to the polls on Sunday and Monday in about 1,200 localities, including major cities such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Bologna and Trieste, where partial local elections are being held. There is also a vote for a new governor in Calabria. More than 120 Romanians, the highest number reported so far, are running for the positions of councilor in these local elections. Romanians, who make up the largest community of foreigners in Italy, have the right to vote and be elected councilors in their cities of residence. They also rely on the votes of Italians, especially since very few Romanians will be able to vote, as they do not have a voter ID card.



    Visa – The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not rule out issuing several temporary visas in an effort to help address the shortage of tanker drivers, which has led to a shortage of fuel at the pumps. British authorities said last week that they would issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers and 5,500 poultry farm workers to try to address the acute labor force shortage, which has led to a disruption in fuel supplies to petrol stations and created difficulties in food production. The British Road Haulage Association (RHA) reports that the country is facing a shortage of about 100,000 drivers due to the departure of industry workers, to the pandemic – which for almost a year prevented the training and testing of drivers – and to the post-Brexit immigration rules. As of 1 October, the EU citizens can only enter the UK based on a passport stamped with work, study or tourist visas.



    List – The updated list of countries and territories with high epidemiological risk has come into force on Sunday. Romania is now in the red zone, along with the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, Armenia, Belarus and Greenland. The National Committee for Emergency Situations has decided to exempt from quarantine the drivers of goods and passenger vehicles, if they provide a negative RealTime-PCR test result. Germany has also revised the conditions for entering this country – thus, people arriving from Romania can enter the territory of Germany only if they have a negative COVID test, if they are vaccinated or if they have recovered from the disease. Documents must be written in one of the languages: ​​German, English, French, Italian or Spanish and may be submitted in physical or electronic format. (LS)

  • A new presidential mandate begins at the White House

    A new presidential mandate begins at the White House

    Against the background of special
    security measures, the US outgoing president, Republican Donald Trump, has
    ended his mandate in Washington and has been succeeded by Democrat Joe Biden,
    who pledges that during his administration America will again be ready to
    assume the role of a world leader.






    Pundits believe the new president
    will have to focus on the internal affairs as millions of Americans have been
    convinced by the outgoing president that the latest election was rigged.
    Although never proved, this allegation, repeatedly made by the one whose
    administration was characterized by a series of controversial statements and
    decisions, was the main cause for the violent events of January 6th,
    when five people were killed.






    The riot, which took place at the
    very heart of the world’s democracy, at the United States Congress, stirred
    heated debates. In the wake of the Capitol riot the editor-in-chief of Radio
    France Internationale Romania, Ovidiu Nahoi, told Radio Romania that ‘Donald
    Trump pledged to make America great again, but instead he has been making it
    smaller and smaller’. But what is the outcome of the aforementioned events and
    what we should expect from now on?




    Ovidiu Nahoi: First
    and foremost the new administration will need more time to reconcile America
    with itself – a very divided society. And America will not have the energy and
    time to get involved in major global issues, where the American values are
    needed. It will not have the time and the energy to get involved in these
    issues because America will get busy with domestic problems for a year or two, needing
    half of president Biden’s mandate to say the least, to heal these internal
    wounds and reconcile with itself. So the country’s influence at global level is
    going to shrink, that America, president Trump pledged to make great. And that
    influence and power started to wane right during the mandate of the outgoing
    president. So, that means a less powerful America whose commitment to getting
    involved in the world’s major issues has diminished.




    According to Kenneth Roth, director
    of New York-based Human Rights Watch, President Biden must restore his
    country’s credibility on human rights at home and abroad, after what he said
    were four years of abuse of democratic principles. Speaking to Reuters before
    the release of the activist group’s annual report, Kenneth Roth said that outgoing
    president Donald Trump had flouted human rights at home and been inconsistent
    in criticizing other countries’ rights records. The outgoing president denied
    responsibility for the Capitol riot as well as the allegations on human rights
    abuse saying that the election was rigged to block two of his strategies known
    as ‘Make America Great Again’ and ‘America First’.




    The House of Representatives has
    accused Donald Trump of encouraging violence with his false claims of election
    fraud, thus becoming the first president in US history to be impeached twice. Roth
    has also called for Biden to re-engage with the United Nations’ Human Rights
    Council, a Geneva forum which Trump quit in June 2018.




    Focusing on several types of crisis -
    epidemiological, economic, climate or racial – several decisions of the new
    White House leader have been made and announced beforehand by the new
    administration in the first days of its mandate aimed at cancelling some of
    Trump’s most controversial policies. These policies run on a wide spectrum ranging
    from denying some Muslim citizens access to the USA to the country’s withdrawal
    from the Paris Agreement on climate change.




    Before his investiture Biden had
    presented a 1.9 trillion economic rescue package aimed at boosting the economy
    and stepping up the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic.


    Besides economic and health issues,
    the new US president must deal with the country’s society gaps, pundits believe.
    According to professor Iulian Chifu, director of the Centre for Conflict
    Prevention, social cohesion in the US is at an all-time low, although we are
    speaking about a state, which along its history has seen slavery, segregation
    and racism.




    Iulian Chifu: We are in the situation when these gaps have to be bridged, social cohesion must be
    restored while citizens must regain their confidence in institutions,
    democracy, justice and this can be done not only through political moves but
    through social surveys on the deeply-rooted causes of these gaps, by avoiding
    extremes – including from the other viewpoint of progressivism and the far-left
    – taking action while using a set of very important psychological instruments,
    at the same time providing support to all those who have been alienated by the
    excessive use of technology and by being kept away from the real society and
    public debates.




    The beauty of democracy, the force of
    the democratic system resides in the ability to recompose itself, to relaunch
    itself and heal its own wounds, professor Chifu went on to say.




    (bill)





  • June 29, 2019 UPDATE

    June 29, 2019 UPDATE

    PSD Congress — The Social Democratic Party in Romania, in the ruling coalition, on Saturday elected its leadership at an extraordinary congress. The PM Viorica Dancila was elected president of the party thus replacing the former party strongman Liviu Dragnea who was sentenced and imprisoned for corruption. The finance minister Eugen Teodorovici was confirmed as executive president and Mihai Fifor, a former defense minister was elected secretary general.



    Brussels — The president of the European Council Donald Tusk on Saturday conveyed a message, on Twitter, to the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis at the end of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. “You managed to have 90 pieces of legislation agreed in less than 100 days, that is impressive” Donald Tusk also wrote on Twitter. Romania’s presidency of the Council of the EU comes to an end on June 30. Romania’s presidency was marked by key moments such as the Sibiu summit held on Europe Day on May 9 and the EP elections of May 23 to 26.



    Festival — Sibiu (in central Romania) is the venue for the European Film Festival which brings 7 new films as well as a 1990s classic. Until Sunday when the festival ends, film lovers have the opportunity to watch a romantic drama “Memoir of Pain” a French-Belgian coproduction directed by Emmnauel Finkiel, a political thriller “Power Games” by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, the comedy “Woman at war” by Benedikt Erlingsson, Bálint Kenyeres’ film “Yesterday”, “Son of Sophia” by Elina Psykou, “Julia” by Elena Martín and the classic “My Left foot” a 1989 production by Irish director Jim Sheridan. This year the European Film Festival has also been venued in Bucharest, Râmnicu Vâlcea (south), Târgu Mureș (center) and in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova.



    Medal — The German minority in Romania represents a bridge between Romania and countries such as Germany and Austria, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis stated on Saturday, at a ceremony during which he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania, which is the highest distinction of this body. Klaus Iohannis added that the Forum members, the members of the German community have always got actively involved for ensuring good understanding within the communities in Romania. The award ceremony was held in Sibiu, where Klaus Iohannis was a mayor for almost 14 years. Klaus Iohannis was also a leader of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania.



    Weather — The World Meteorological Organization announced that 2019 is going to become one of the yeas with the highest temperatures ever reported, and the past 5 years were the hottest in the history of temperature measurements. Several European countries have been facing very high temperatures for this time of the year these days, caused by a wave of hot air from northern Africa. Fires have destroyed several houses and hundreds of hectares of land in southern France which is being faced with a record heat wave. Hundreds of vegetation fires have also been reported in Greece and the scorcher has made victims in Spain and Italy. In 3 quarters of Spain’s 50 provinces, fire alerts have been issued. Experts believe that such extreme weather phenomena will become frequent due to climate change. (translation by L. Simion)

  • June 13, 2019 UPDATE

    June 13, 2019 UPDATE

    AGREEMENT A National Political Agreement aimed at consolidating Romanias European path was signed in a public ceremony in Bucharest on Thursday. In his address on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis once again criticised the Social Democratic Party, which, he said, harmed Romania a lot. It is because of the Social Democrats that Romania has been unable to develop more, Iohannis said, and emphasised that the Constitution and related legislation must be amended. Attending the ceremony were the leaders of the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, ProRomania and Peoples Movement Party, all of them in opposition. The Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, in power, as well as the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, were not on the list of signatories. The Agreement was proposed by Klaus Iohannis to all the parliamentary parties that took part last week in consultations on means to implement the outcome of the May 26th justice referendum. At that time the head of state explained that the agreement is designed to help introduce legislation prohibiting amnesty and pardon for corruption offences and prohibiting the passing of emergency government orders in the field of the judiciary.



    CONGRESS The Social Democratic Party, in power in Romania, will elect its new leaders in a special congress on June 29th, with the partys presidential candidate to be chosen in another congress. These are the main decisions made by the Social Democrats Executive Committee on Thursday. On June 29th the Social Democrats are to elect their president, executive president and secretary general. Following a change in the party rules, the president will be elected by delegates appointed by local branches, rather than by all party members as it happened so far. PM Viorica Dancila, who is currently the interim president, has already announced her candidacy.



    COMMEMORATION Romania commemorated on Thursday 29 years since the June 1990 miners raids that ended a large-scale protest against the leftist party that took over power after the fall of the communist dictatorship in December 1989. On June 13, 1990, clashes broke out between the protesters in University Square in Bucharest and the police. The next day, coal miners from the Jiu Valley in western Romania arrived in Bucharest and raided opposition party offices, the University and other buildings, attacking protesters and other civilians. Six people died, nearly 1,000 were wounded and several hundred others arrested illegally. A criminal case in which the then president Ion Iliescu, ex-PM Petre Roman, former Deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu and former intelligence chief Virgil Măgureanu are accused of crimes against humanity, is yet to reach the actual trial stage. In 2014, the European Court for Human Rights issued a decision forcing Romania to carry on investigations in this case.



    UK Boris Johnson, who promised to complete Brexit on October 31st, is in the lead in the Tory leadership race, after getting 114 out of 313 votes on Thursday. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt came second with 43 votes, followed by Environment Secretary Michael Gove with 37 and Home Secretary Sajid Javid with 23. Ten candidates were enrolled in the race to replace Theresa May, who stepped down as Prime Minister on June 7. The second round of voting is scheduled on June 17th.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • February 23, 2019 UPDATE

    February 23, 2019 UPDATE

    CONSULTATIONS The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, had talks on Saturday with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, on the sidelines of the EU – Leage of Arab States held in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt. According to a news release issued by the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis said the relationship between the 2 countries is very good and solid, and Egypt is one of Romanias traditional friends in the region and a key factor in ensuring regional stability and security. The 2 heads of state expressed their determination and interest in strengthening bilateral relations, with a focus on economic aspects. In this context, President Iohannis mentioned the increase in bilateral trade, which exceeded 918 million US dollars in 2018, making Egypt Romanias main trade partner in the region.




    PES The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă had a meeting on Saturday with the PM of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, on the sidelines of the congress of the Party of European Socialists in Madrid. The 2 officials appreciated the decision to organise a Romania-Spain business and investment forum and the opening of a Romanian economic mission in Madrid, on March 13th. They also talked about the Romanian community in Spain, as well as means to diversify economic relations. PM Dancila reaffirmed interest in attracting Spanish investments in Romania, in infrastructure as well as in the automotive field, agri-food, pharmaceuticals, and IT.





    PROTESTS Magistrates in Bucharest and several other Romanian cities decided to suspend work for a week, as of Monday, after on Friday they protested in front of court buildings against new changes in the justice laws. Prosecutors and judges say that Government Emergency Decree 7, passed by the Government early this week, may lead to institutional deadlock and affect their independence. One of the provisions that angered the magistrates says that judges having previously worked as prosecutors may be appointed as chief prosecutors, and waives the seniority criterion. The emergency decree has been criticised both in Brussels, by the European Commission, and in Romania, by magistrate associations, the prosecutors division in the Higher Council of Magistracy and by the right-of-centre Opposition.




    MEDAL The Aurelia Dacorum Romanian gendarme unit in Afghanistan was awarded the Non-Article 5 medal in recognition of its six-month participation in the Resolute Support Mission in that country. According to a Facebook post of the Romanian Gendarme Corps, the medal was granted by brigadier general Markus Kurczyk (Germany) and the director of Police Institutional Advisory Team, colonel Warren Brainard (US).




    HUNGARIAN The incumbent leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Hunor Kelemen, was re-elected party president at the congress held in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania. The only candidate for this position, Hunor Kelemen won a 3rd term in office as president of the main political party representing the 1.5-million strong Hungarian community in Romania. The party supports the leftist ruling coalition in Romania, and has been represented in Parliament without interruptions since 1990.




    MOLDOVA In the Republic of Moldova, parliamentary elections are held on Sunday. The recently modified election legislation scrapped the so-called reflection day, so candidates may campaign on the very day of the election as well. For the first time, a mixed voting system will be used, with 50 MPs elected on party lists and another 51 in a single-choice system, in one voting round. Polls indicate President Igor Dodons pro-Russian Socialist party is ahead, with nearly 40% of voter intentions, followed by a pro-European right-of-centre election cartel called ACUM, with 25%, and the pro-Western Democratic Party with 15%. A referendum is also held at the same time, concerning the reduction of the number of MPs from 101 to 61 and the possibility to have them removed from office by citizens.




    HANDBALL The Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest was defeated on Saturday by the Hungarian side Gyor, 27-25, in a home game in Group 2 of the Champions League. In the first leg, title holder Gyor had won 36-27. With this victory, Gyor secured the top place in the group and remains undefeated in the Champions League in 19 games. CSM Bucharest is to play next on March 2, in Ljubljana, against RK Krim Mercator.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)