Radio România Internațional

Tag: COUNTRY PROJECT

  • October 4, 2016 UPDATE

    October 4, 2016 UPDATE

    ECONOMIC GROWTH – The International Monetary Fund has updated its estimates on Romanias economic growth rate from 4.2% in April to 5% in its latest report, released on Tuesday. According to the IMF forecast, this year Romania will have the highest economic growth rate in Europe, followed by Ireland with 4.9%. IMF experts warn that this years peak growth will be followed by a slow-down to 3.8% in 2017, slightly over the 3.6% rate estimated in April, but even so, next year as well Romania is expected to see the highest growth pace in Europe.



    COUNTRY PROJECT – The country project will be a strategic document, a “brief, clear, easy to understand text outlining the broad directions of development for Romania, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday, at the end of the first meeting of the Presidential Committee tasked with drawing up the project. President Iohannis came up with the idea of setting up this task force after consultations with political leaders regarding Brexit revealed the need for a country project in the new European context. The committee, made up of two representatives of each parliamentary party and a representative of the government, is coordinated by two presidential advisers. Eleven specialists in various expert fields, well connected to European realities, are also part of the committee.



    TENNIS – The Romanian Simona Halep (no. 5 WTA), seeded fourth, Tuesday qualified into the eighth-finals of the WTA tournament in Beijing, after defeating the Belgian Yanina Wickmayer (no. 56 WTA), 6-2, 6-2. Halep and Wickmayer had played 4 other times against each other, with the Belgian player winning three of the games. China Open has 5.4 million USD in total prize money.

  • October 4, 2016

    October 4, 2016

    MIGRANTS – A group of 16 Iraqi citizens, of whom six minors, who had tried to enter Romania illegally, were caught by the border police on Monday night in a village at the south-western Romanian border. The migrants crossed the Danube with two boats in an attempt to reach Germany. They will be taken over by the Bulgarian border police, according to a bilateral protocol. The Romanian border police also announced that two Pakistani citizens have been caught while trying to illegally cross Romania’s border with Serbia. In the past few weeks Romanian authorities have taken additional security measures at the country’s southern and western borders after a number of small groups of migrants have tried to enter the Romanian territory illegally.




    NOBEL – Three British scientists, David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz, have won the Nobel Prize in physics for revealing secrets behind unusual properties of matter that may pave the way for quantum computers and other revolutionary technologies. The scientists used a branch of mathematics called topology to redefine what was thought possible in materials. In work that began in the 1970s, they demonstrated that superconductivity – the ability of electrons to whizz through matter with zero resistance – was possible in thin surface layers of materials, the Guardian reports. On Monday, the Nobel laureate for medicine was announced. The Japanese Yoshinori Ohsumi discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.




    SYRIA – The United Nations Syria envoy has today voiced deep disappointment at the collapse of US-Russian talks to revive a Syria ceasefire, but promised to keep working for a political solution, Le Figaro online reports. The statement came after the United States earlier suspended negotiations with Russia on efforts to revive a failed ceasefire in Syria and set up a joint military cell to target jihadists. Russia and the US have been blaming each other for the collapse last month of a short-lived ceasefire deal that would have marked the first step in a new effort to end the war.




    COUNTRY PROJECT – In Bucharest, the presidential committee tasked with drawing up the country project proposed by President Klaus Iohannis is holding its first meeting today. The committee pledged to draw up a political document that should include Romania’s objectives on the medium and long term, and is to be completed in 2017. President Iohannis had the initiative of setting up this committee, after consultations with political leaders on Brexit, when the need for a country project in the new European context emerged. The committee is made up of two representatives of every parliamentary party and one Government representative and is coordinated by two presidential councillors. Also, 11 personalities from experts fields, who are well connected to the European realities are also part of the committee.




    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 5 in the world, is today up against Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, WTA’s no. 56, in the second round of the Premier Mandatory tournament in Beijing. Yanina defeated Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig in the competition’s first round. Halep and Wickmayer have met four times before with a score of 3 to 1 for the Belgian player. A combined ATP-WTA event, the China Open is the biggest tournament on the Asian leg of the WTA calendar and the fourth and last Premier Mandatory stop of the season. China Open has 5.4 million dollars up for grabs.

  • September 20, 2016 UPDATE

    September 20, 2016 UPDATE

    CORRUPTION – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis is extremely disappointed with the Senates vote concerning the former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea and warns that the politicians who hamper justice will never gain citizens trust and respect, a spokesperson for the presidency has stated. The head of state believes that some senators have again proven they have never understood that somebodys quilt or innocence cannot be established by a vote in parliament, but in a court of justice, and has reiterated that a rule of law state cannot be above the law. In their turn, prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) have said that the senators’ decision blocks further investigations and prevents Gabriel Oprea from answering to justice. On Monday, the Senators rejected the request filed by the National Anti-corruption Directorate for the prosecution of the former Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea, accused of manslaughter. A police officer died last year in a motorcycle accident while part of Opreas official motorcade. When the accident occurred, Oprea was actually heading for a private destination, which did not entitle him to benefit from an official motorcade.




    UN SUMMIT – New York is playing host to the first summit for refugees and migrants called by the UN, during the annual UN General Assembly meeting. Romanias delegation at the summit is headed by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, who is accompanied by Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu. The leaders attending the summit are analysing the causes of migrant influxes and are trying to find solutions for the future. The Romanian officials are also promoting Romanias candidacy for a new term as non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2020-2021. On the sidelines of the event, Dacian Ciolos will meet with the UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon and the presidents of Finland and Egypt. On Monday, Lazar Comanescu attended an informal meeting with his Bulgarian, Croat and Greek counterparts on European issues and also met with Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State. The two officials talked about the bilateral strategic partnership, regional security, migration and means of approaching it.




    COUNTRY PROJECT – A committee having the task to draw up a so-called “country project” has been set up in Bucharest, the Presidency has announced. As many as 23 people are part of the committee, of whom ten independent members, one Government representative and two representatives for each parliamentary party. The committee will convene in the forthcoming period for a first meeting chaired by President Klaus Iohannis. According to the Presidency release, the country project represents a vision about how Romania should look like in the medium and long run, taking into account its status as EU member state and its strategic partnership with the US.




    BREXIT – Slovakias Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country is holding the rotating presidency of the EU, has stated that the Union will make Brexit extremely painful, according to the British newspaper “The Independent”. Fico says Brussels will use Brexit to prove to the other member states how important it is to remain part of the EU. The Slovak Prime Minister has also stated that Great Britain will not be allowed to turn the EU workers into second-class workers, while still benefiting from the advantages of the single market. The British PM Theresa May has refused to guarantee the status of the EU citizens in Great Britain, but has stressed the fact that she wishes they stayed, provided the British citizens are respected in the EU member countries.




    ECONOMIC FORUM – Romanias capital Bucharest is hosting the 3rd Annual Economic Forum for Central and Eastern Europe. The event has brought together Forbes editors-in-chief from the entire region, but also authorities and business people. This year, talks are focusing on development, innovation and investment, both at macroeconomic level and by business sectors. The forum is intended as a platform for business models and investment directions.




    INSURANCE – The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) announced on Tuesday that it will set, within 30 days after the enforcement of the Government’s emergency ordinance, the maximum level of the mandatory liability insurance for car owners. Last week Romania’s technocratic government passed an emergency ordinance freezing mandatory liability insurance fees for 6 months at a level to be announced by the Financial Supervisory Authority within a month at the most.




    TENNIS – Three Romanian tennis players are taking part in the WTA tournament in Seul, with 250,000 USD in prize money. Top seed and defending champion Irina Begu, overpowered South-Korean Su Jeong Hang, 2-0, to advance to the second round of the Korea Open on Tuesday. Begu will play on Thursday against Jana Cepelova of Slovakia. 55th ranked Monica Niculescu and Patricia Tig, number 135, have already qualified for the second round. Monica Niculescu will take on the Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, and Patricia Tig will try to defeat the winner of the match between Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium and the Czech Kristyna Pliskova. Monica Niculescu and Irina Begu may have to play against each other in the quarter finals.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • 12 July, 2016

    12 July, 2016

    ZIKA – Romania reported today its first Zika virus infection case. A 27 year-old woman who spent a vacation in Martinique was identified with the illness while in hospital. The Health Ministry specified that the case was isolated, with minimal risk of spreading. The virus was identified in 1947 in Uganda, and is spread mainly by mosquitoes, and is able to produce congenital conditions in babies born of infected mothers. At present, no vaccine is available to counteract the virus, which so far has spread in South and Central America mainly.



    STRIKE – Local administration public servants are on a one day strike in Romania, after negotiations on wages failed late last week. For the duration of the protest, only death certificates and documents related to emergencies will be issued. Trade unions protest the fact that the Labor Ministry would not comply with the negotiated 25% salary raise and subsidies for employee vacations, as previously convened upon. Public servants claim that they are the worst paid state employees, with most of them being paid close to the average gross wage, the equivalent of around 277 Euro. They have already gone on a one hour strike last week.



    COUNTRY PROJECT – The technocratic government in Bucharest submitted for debate the country project titled ‘Competitive Romania’, a strategy for sustainable economic growth until 2020. The project includes cutting red tape, boosting research and development, energy efficiency and modernizing the infrastructure, aiming to bring Romania to 5% economic growth. The document was designed by the government, the National Bank and the Romanian Academy, and will undergo public debate until September. The budget involved is upwards of 16.9 billion Euro, which accounts for about 10% of the GDP over five years.



    TENNIS – Six Romanian tennis players debut today in the BRD Bucharest Open tournament, with prizes totaling 250,000 dollars. The favorite is Simona Halep, right now fifth placed in the world, who will compete against Czech player Barbora Krejcikova, 188th seeded, while Gabriela Ruse (318th seeded), plays against Latvian Anastasia Sevastova, 66th seeded. Monica Niculescu, ranked 47th, plays Andreea Mitu, ranked 159th, while Patricia Tig, ranked 100th, plays 17 year-old Ioana Minca, who is in the competition thanks to a wild card.



    HANDBALL – Romania’s womens handball team today takes on Croatia in the quarterfinals of Moscow hosted U-20 World Championships. In the round of last 16 this past Monday Romania outclassed Japan by the narrowest of margins, 32-31. Earlier this month, at the World University Championships held in Spain, in Malaga, Romanias womens national handball team walked away with silver, while the mens team won the trophy.



    GRADUATION – Almost 67% of the 130,000 high school students taking the graduation exam this year have passed the state examination, according to the Ministry of Education. Students who did not pass can make another pass at it in late summer. Last year, 67.9% of students who finished high school passed the graduation exam in 2015.

  • Strategy for Romania’s Future

    Strategy for Romania’s Future

    Ten years after its EU accession, Romania does not yet have a national strategy to outline its future in Europe, and this has to change, President Klaus Iohannis said on Monday, during a new round of consultations with the PM, the Central Bank Governor and the leaders of the main parties in Parliament, after Britains EU referendum. The head of state believes Romania needs a post-accession strategy and suggested, during the consultations, that a task force should be set up to this end.



    Klaus Iohannis: “Unfortunately, in Romania weve had a lot of so-called country projects, which have neither lasted, nor been implemented, because there was no political consensus in this respect. This time, we will join forces and draw up a strategy to guide Romania within the EU in the medium and long run, to define Romanias place, role and ambitions in the Union.



    The idea enjoys political consensus, the President also said, and added that this is what the previous strategies lacked, and what prevented their implementation.



    Klaus Iohannis: “The best would be for this task force to be subordinated to the Presidency, given that this year we have parliamentary elections. I would also like to emphasise the very constructive nature of these talks, and the fact that all political leaders have embraced this project. Such a national strategy may only work if all stakeholders adopt, approve and support it.



    The country project coordinated by President Klaus Iohannis will broadly define Romanias goals in the forthcoming years, and will include an economic component, among other things, PM Ciolos said in his turn, just one day before launching a public debate on a strategy entitled “Competitive Romania: a project for sustainable economic growth, which, he explained, will be a component of the country project.



    Dacian Ciolos mentioned that, at the start of his term in office, the Cabinet announced public debates on two topics, namely a plan for Romanias economic development and the countrys position within the EU ahead of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council in 2019. These two topics, PM Ciolos said, are in line with what President Klaus Iohannis has suggested.