Radio România Internațional

Tag: Crin Antonescu

  • March 14, 2025

    March 14, 2025

    FAIR Over March 13-16 the Belgian capital is hosting the international book fair Brussels Book Fair 2025, one of the most important events of this kind in Europe. Romania is attending this fair with over five hundred titles on view at the stand of the Romanian Cultural Institute also known as ICR. There are books and albums translated in several languages, predominantly in French, some of which have been funded through the ICR programmes with a view to promoting the Romanian authors at international level. Besides Romanian authors, the ICR stand is also promoting authors from the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. The ICR is expected to stage several events, during which authors are going to have a dialogue with foreign authors or with the Belgian readership. The Brussels Book Fair is one of the most important cultural events in the Belgian capital, which is also the EU capital, and brings together several thousand authors, illustrators, publishers, critics as well as readers annually.

     

    EBRD The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, will be visiting Bulgaria and Romania next week, the aforementioned financial institution has announced in a communiqué. The visit of the EBRD president comes at a time when the institution is preparing fresh five-year strategies for both countries, which will be subjected for public consultations at the end of this year. The EBRD investment in Romania rose from 658 million Euros up to 707 million last year. The EBRD official will be seeing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Finance Minister, Tanczos Barna, Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, as well as representatives of the business environment, diplomats and representatives of civil society.

     

    ELECTION Candidates for the presidential election in May have two more days to register with the Central Election Bureau, the deadline being March 15 at midnight. So far, only two candidates are officially enrolled in the race, their candidacies having been validated by the Constitutional Court: Crin Antonescu, supported by the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition, and the Bucharest Mayor General, Nicuşor Dan, who runs as an independent candidate. Deputy Victor Ponta also registered his candidacy as an independent candidate, for which he was excluded from the Social-Democratic Party. On the other hand, the Constitutional Court’s decision to definitively reject the candidacy of independent candidate Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist who unexpectedly won the first round of last year’s presidential election, has prompted the parties that supported him, AUR and POT, to prepare a new electoral strategy. Thus, the leaders of the two parties, George Simion and Ana-Maria Gavrilă, announced they would both submit their candidacies for the presidential election, and one of them will withdraw once their candidacies are validated. The leader of USR, Elena Lasconi, who advanced to the second round last year, Diana Şoşoacă (from SOS Romania), who expressed confidence her candidacy would be upheld this time, as well as and MEP Cristian Terheş from the Romanian National Conservative Party, also submitted their candidacies.

     

    TRADE DEFICIT – Romania’s trade deficit increased by 38% in January, compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute reports. In 2024, Romania exported goods worth €92.6 billion, while its imports stood at €133.4 billion. Romania’s deficit remains significant, especially in relations with China, Germany and Poland, while recording surpluses with the UK, the Republic of Moldova and the USA, although in smaller volumes. Trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs remains vulnerable, as Romania mainly exports raw materials and imports end products. To reduce the €5 billion trade deficit in this area, experts recommend a strategy focused on the export of value-added products and more efficient use of statistical data for better-founded economic decisions.

    (bill)

  • Crin Antonescu endorsed by the ruling coalition

    Crin Antonescu endorsed by the ruling coalition

    The former Liberal leader, Crin Antonescu, has been endorsed by the parties that form the ruling coalition in Bucharest to run in the upcoming presidential election as their candidate.

    After first getting the support of the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, on Sunday, Antonescu, was endorsed by the representatives of the Social Democrats. His validation was expressed during a special congress held in Bucharest on Sunday, which was attended by thousands of delegates. Parties that are part of the incumbent ruling coalition in Romania must provide the correct alternative: Crin Antonescu, a person with a presidential profile, a man competent and experienced, the PSD president, Marcel Ciolacu says. According to him, at the previous election round in December last year, a round that was invalidated by the Constitutional Court due to interferences, Romania suffered a real social trauma, and the accumulated social frustration in time turned into an anti-system fury that eventually erupted. And for this reason, this moment is of major importance.

    Marcel Ciolacu: “Here at the PSD, we never gave up when the going was tough and we must assume this moment as well, with the same amount of courage. To leave the country now prey to the mystic nationalism would be an act of cowardice towards the people and an unpardonable betrayal to Romania’s future. To repeat the same mistakes in the presidential election in May, would mean to set Romania’s clock 35 years back.”    

    Crin Antonescu says that against the tense international background, Romania has to defend and observe its condition of an EU member country, a member of NATO and the strategic partnership with the United States of America.

    The former Liberal leader pledged to be a strong president through commitment, attitude, dedication and partnership

    Crin Antonescu: “I will be a strong president, not through the violation of the Constitution, not through its abusive interpretation, or by betraying its spirit, nor through machinations involving the secret services, or by interfering with or influencing the justice, which has been one of the biggest misfortunes of the past two decades in Romania.”

    Referring to the statement of the extremist-sovereignist candidate, Călin Georgescu, who ended up on the first position in the previous round of voting and who said that he would dismantle the political parties, if elected, Antonescu argued that the disappearance of the political parties is tantamount to the disappearance of democracy, pluralism and freedom.

    Before granting their support, the PSD, PNL and UDMR had ordered sociological surveys according to which, Crin Antonescu ranks among the firsts and stands good chances of making it to the second round. The first round has been slated for May 4 and the second for May 18.

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  • January 26, 2025 UPDATE 3

    January 26, 2025 UPDATE 3

    PNL The former PNL president, Crin Antonescu, has been unanimously confirmed as the joint candidate of the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition for the upcoming presidential election. ‘The presidential election campaign is the most important political battle for Romania after the fall of communism’, says the PNL interim president, Ilie Bolojan. He pointed out that firm actions, good ruling practices and transparency are needed to regain the trust of the Romanians. Antonescu says he is not running in the presidential race for himself or for the National Liberal Party, but for the country’s citizens and for Romania. The Liberals are the first to have officially validated Antonescu’s candidacy. UDMR is to announce its preference next week, while on February 2, the Social-Democrats are going to convene for a special congress. The first and second round of the presidential election have been slated for May 4 and 18. We recall that in December last year, Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidated the presidential election on grounds of foreign interferences in the election process. That cancelled first round had been won by the pro-Russia extremist candidate, Calin Georgescu.

     

    REACTION Romania’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, on Sunday announced the setting up at the government level of a crisis cell for the effective coordination of the activities of recovering the four Romanian ancient artefacts stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands. The aforementioned cell includes representatives of the Romanian police as well as from the Foreign, Interior and Culture Ministries. The Prime Minister says he held talks with Interior Minister, Catalin Predoiu, on the urgent dispatching of a forensic team, who will work together with the Dutch authorities on the case. The General Prosecutor’s Office says that a criminal file has been made ex officio on the burglary in Assen. All the stolen artefacts have been insured under the Romanian and international legislation according to exhibition staging procedures. In a news conference at the National History Museum in Bucharest, director Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu says the artefacts stolen from the Dutch museum are being covered by a-35 million Euros insurance with a Dutch insurance company.

     

    VISIT Romania’s Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu, will be attending the proceedings of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, which is getting underway in Brussels on Monday. The meeting’s agenda includes Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the EU-US relations. The energy crisis in the Republic of Moldova and the latest developments in Georgia are also high on the agenda. On Tuesday, Minister Hurezeanu is expected to hold talks with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, with the Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu, and with the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos.

     

    WIN The Romanian women’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, on Sunday won their away game against Danish side Nykobing, 29-27 and advanced to the third place in the Champions League’s Group A. The Hungarian side Ferencvaros ranks first in the group followed by the French from Metz. Another Romanian side, Gloria Bistrita, is ranking 7th in the group, while the third Romanian team in the competition, Rapid Bucharest, lost to Danish side Esbjerg in group B 26-28 on Sunday. Rapid is presently ranking 7th in the group.

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  • January 26, Newsflash UPDATE 2

    January 26, Newsflash UPDATE 2

    PNL The former PNL president, Crin Antonescu, has been unanimously confirmed as the joint candidate of the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition for the upcoming presidential election. The presidential election campaign is the most important political battle for Romania after the fall of communism, says the PNL interim president, Ilie Bolojan. He pointed out that firm actions, good ruling practices and transparency are needed to regain the trust of the Romanians. Antonescu says he is not running in the presidential race for himself or for the National Liberal Party, but for the country’s citizens and for Romania. The Liberals are the first to have officially validated Antonescu’s candidacy. UDMR is to announce its preference next week, while on February 2, the Social-Democrats are going to convene for a special congress. The first and second round of the presidential election have been slated for May 4 and 18. We recall that in December last year, Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidated the presidential election on grounds of foreign interferences in the election process. That cancelled first round had been won by the pro-Russia extremist candidate, Calin Georgescu.

    (bill)

  • January 26, 2025

    January 26, 2025

    BUDGET Romania’s 2025 draft budget will be presented to the government and submitted to Parliament for approval in the following days. The Executive intends to submit it for voting by senators and deputies right in the first week of the future Legislature, which gets underway on February 3. The present budget construction targets a 7% GDP deficit as compared to 8.6% last year and in order to achieve that goal, the government has already decided to freeze any pay rise and indexation for state budget employees as well as any pension indexation aimed at adjusting to the inflation rate. Central public institutions and state companies are also to be reorganized and streamlined. The aforementioned austerity measures have caused discontent and a series of protests.

     

    PNL Liberals have today validated the former PNL president Crin Antonescu, as the ruling coalition’s joint candidate for the presidential election slated for May. Antonescu must also get validation from the ruling partners – PSD and UDMR, which is to be followed by a joint event aimed at launching Antonescu in the presidential race. The first and the second rounds of the presidential election have been slated for May 4 and 18, after the Constitutional Court’s cancellation of a first round in December. The Court based its ruling on a report issued by the country’s Higher Defence Council, which referred to foreign interference in the election process. The aforementioned allegations have not been confirmed by legal investigators yet. Tens of thousands Romanians have taken to the streets calling for the resumption of the December election, whose cancellation they believe was unjustified.

     

    HEIST The Dutch police have published the first images with the initial moments of the burglary at the Drents Museum in Assen, from where thieves stole priceless Romanian jewelry in the early hours of Saturday morning. The footage shows that the thieves used explosive to blast their way into the museum. Investigators, who have called on the Interpol to help with the investigation, have announced the discovery of a suspect burnt vehicle, which could be related to the robbery. The thieves have left with three Dacian spiral bracelets and the exhibition’s central piece – the decorated Helmet of Coţofeneşti, which are dating back almost 25 hundred years ago. All these artefacts belonged to Romania’s National History Museum, being the most valuable in an exhibition entitled ”Dacia! The Kingdom of Gold and Silver” opened at the Drents Museum in July last year, and which was supposed to have its last day today. During a phone call with president Klaus Iohannis, the Dutch Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, has given assurances that the police are doing everything possible to identify the thieves and recuperate the treasure.

     

    REACTION The General Prosecutor’s Office in Bucharest has announced the opening of a criminal file in the case of the Assen heist. The investigation is being carried out by prosecutors with the Higher Court Prosecutor’s Office and Romanian police experts. The ancient artefacts stolen from Drents must be quickly recovered and safely returned to Romania – Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu says. The chair of the Culture Committee with the Chamber of Deputies, Mihail Neamtu, has also called for an ample investigation into the way in which the Dacian treasure was exposed and jeopardized. The stolen artefacts are an incommensurable loss for Romania and the Romanian authorities jointly with their Dutch counterparts have the obligation to make all possible efforts to recover and bring them to Romania right away, says the opposition USR.

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  • January 20, 2025

    January 20, 2025

    HOSTAGES The next release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian Hamas terrorists and transferred to the Gaza Strip will take place next Saturday, when four persons are to be freed – Radio Romania correspondent in Israel says. Three Israeli female hostages were released on Sunday after 15 months of captivity since the Hamas terrorist attack, which led to the war in Gaza. One of the hostages also has Romanian citizenship and another one is of Romanian descent. Authorities in Bucharest hail the release of the first round of hostages upon the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

     

    FAIR Romania is being represented this week at the ”Green Week” exhibition in Berlin, the Agriculture Ministry in Bucharest says. Until January 26, the Romanian stand will be offering samples of Romanian natural food, such as cheese, meat, honey, dairy and bakery products, several types of brandy, wine and cold-pressed oil registered or under registration with European quality systems. Last year, the Green Week event in Berlin was visited by 300 thousand people.

     

    TRUMP The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, is to kick off today his second mandate at the White House, after being sworn in at the US Capitol. Trump is planning to issue dozens of executive actions – more than 100 just on day 1 – including some aimed at ramping up US energy production, tightening border security reeling in regulations and other top policy priorities. Trump pledges to build an anti-missile system to protect the USA as well as the declassification of the files on the assassinations of the former president John F. Kennedy, his brother, Robert Kennedy, and civil-rights activist, Martin Luther King. All the three murders sparked off conspiracy theories that have been around for more than five decades. Relaxed environment protection initiatives and stepped-up petroleum extraction are also among the measures pledged by the new administration.

     

    SESSION Romania’s government coalition has convened today to asses a series of opinion polls on people’s voting intentions for the upcoming presidential election. Social-Democrats and Liberals are to also meet this week for separate talks on the joint candidacy of the former PNL president, Crin Antonescu. The present coalition will also tackle today the budget draft this year, which they want to submit for Parliament approval in the first week of February, when the Parliament session is due to begin.

     

    WEATHER The weather is quite warm in most Romanian regions, with temperatures higher than the season’s average. Insignificant periods of flurries and drizzle are expected in some isolated areas in the country’s west, north-west and center. The highs of the day in Bucharest are way above the season’s average reaching up to 9 and 10 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 7 degrees.

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  • January 5, 2025 UPDATE

    January 5, 2025 UPDATE

    BUDGET – The government seeks to set the final details for the draft budget for 2025 by the end of the month, so that the new Parliament may debate and vote on the law in a special sitting. The government relies on a budget deficit of 7% of the GDP, as per a deal with the European Commission, without taking additional fiscal measures. The authorities need to slash public spending and carry out reforms stipulated in the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The government wants to freeze salaries in the public sector as well as child-rearing allowances. Party funding will also be cut by 25% compared to the previous year. A hiring freeze will be introduced in the public sector, while certain institutions will undergo a restructuring process. The tax on dividends is expected to go up from 8% to 10%, while a new tax on special constructions will be introduced. Pensions too will see no increase this year, with the reference point expected to stagnate at 16 EUR. The authorities also seek to cut overspending by 1% of the GDP, tantamount to some 19 bln EUR, but also to boost budget revenues by implementing reforms provided in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

     

    ELECTION – Interim PNL president, Ilie Bolojan, has warned that the presidential election might be postponed for May unless parliamentary parties adopt the election timetable by next week at the latest. The Liberals want the election to take place before Easter. As regards the official designation of former PNL leader Crin Antonescu as the common candidate of the ruling coalition, Bolojan explained the candidacy may be validated by each party once the election timetable is approved. Ilie Bolojan called for consistency and solidarity in supporting a single candidate. In turn, UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor said the date of the presidential election must be set as soon as possible, also arguing in favor of holding the election before Easter. Instead, USR leader Elena Lasconi accused ruling coalition parties of seeking to preserve power and privileges to the detriment of the country’s stability.

     

    AGREEMENT – Former PNL leader, Crin Antonescu, says the ruling coalition agreement for supporting his candidacy in the 2025 presidential election is de facto suspended. Antonescu told a private TV station on Saturday that he won’t withdraw from the race, but that he noticed the four political leaders who nominated him “did not make a powerful enough commitment when signing the agreement”. We recall that on December 23, ruling coalition parties (PSD, PNL, UDMR and the group of national minorities) agreed to support Crin Antonescu’s candidacy in the 2025 presidential election, with the executive bodies of each party being expected to vote the decision. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for March 23, while the second round will take place on April 6, with the authorities expected to pass a decree on this matter by January 7.

     

    CHRISTMAS – Eastern rite Orthodox Christians are making preparations to celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar. Armenians in Romania celebrate Christmas on January 6.  Following the Christmas  Eve vigil, groups of young children and men go caroling from house to house, bringing the new of the birth of Jesus  Christ, Rafaela Cazazian, producer on Radio România Constanţa, explains. Guesthouses in the Danube Delta but also in mountain resorts are fully booked on this occasion.

     

    HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s handball team lost to Georgia 34-35 the last match in the Carpați Trophy tournament. Also today, Serbia won 35-30 against Turkey. Romania on Friday grabbed a 35-26 win over Turkey, and drew 31-31 against Serbia, the team that finished in top position.

     

    TENNIS – Five Romanian tennis players will represent Romania in the qualifiers of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year set to kick off on January 12. Ana Bogdan (114 WTA) will play Destanee Aiava of Australia (194 WTA) in the first round. Anca Todoni (118 WTA) will take on Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra (156 WTA). Gabriela Ruse (121 WTA) will play Leonie Kung of Switzerland (221 WTA), while Miriam Bulgaru (213 WTA) will go up against Giorgia Pedone of Italy (193 WTA). In the men’s competition, Filip Cristian Jianu (214 ATP) will play Mitchell Krueger of the USA (147). Three Romanian players, Sorana Cîrstea, Jaqueline Cristian and Irina Begu, are already seeded in the main draw. (VP)

  • January 5, 2025

    January 5, 2025

    BUDGET – The government seeks to set the final details for the draft budget for 2025 by the end of the month, so that the new Parliament may debate and vote on the law in a special sitting. The government relies on a budget deficit of 7% of the GDP, as per a deal with the European Commission, without taking additional fiscal measures. The authorities need to slash public spending and carry out reforms stipulated in the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The government wants to freeze salaries in the public sector as well as child-rearing allowances. Party funding will also be cut by 25% compared to the previous year. A hiring freeze will be introduced in the public sector, while certain institutions will undergo a restructuring process. The tax on dividends is expected to go up from 8% to 10%, while a new tax on special constructions will be introduced. Pensions too will see no increase this year, with the reference point expected to stagnate at 16 EUR. The authorities also seek to cut overspending by 1% of the GDP, tantamount to some 19 bln EUR, but also to boost budget revenues by implementing reforms provided in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

     

    ELECTION – Former PNL leader, Crin Antonescu, says the ruling coalition agreement for supporting his candidacy in the 2025 presidential election is de facto suspended. Antonescu told a private TV station on Saturday that he won’t withdraw from the race, but that he noticed the four political leaders who nominated him “did not make a powerful enough commitment when signing the agreement”. We recall that on December 23, ruling coalition parties (PSD, PNL, UDMR and the group of national minorities) agreed to support Crin Antonescu’s candidacy in the 2025 presidential election, with the executive bodies of each party being expected to vote the decision. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for March 23, while the second round will take place on April 6, with the authorities expected to pass a decree on this matter by January 7.

     

    FLU – Medical experts have again recommended mass-vaccination in school children resuming classes after the winter holidays, given that hospitals are overcrowded with patients diagnosed with the flu virus, with very high waiting times in emergency wards. In the last week, 57 thousand cases of flu, pneumonia or other respiratory infections have been identified. The flu virus runs rampant across Europe as well. Additional temporary inpatient units were set up in France in a number of hospitals to ease pressure on emergency wards. Doctors say we are dealing with a sizable epidemic, while most cases are reported in unvaccinated people. A similar situation is reported in Spain, where overcrowded hospitals are bracing for the epidemic to peak soon.

     

    STUDY – Over the next four years, Romania will take part in a study on the relevant skills needed to become better integrated on the labor market and actively contribute to society. Carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the project seeks to assess and compare basic skills in adults aged 16-65 from various countries in order to have a better understanding of the level of literacy and skills required to solve digital problems. The findings of the study will be used to develop education and training policies, to adapt to labor market requirements, reduce gaps in skill development and support social inclusion.

     

    AUSTRIA – Austria’s Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, announced he would resign over the coming days after talks between the People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democrats (SPÖ) collapsed following the surprise withdrawal of the liberal Neos party from coalition negotiations. Karl Nehammer said the Conservatives and Social-Democrats could not agree on key policies, and said he would also step down as party leader. The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) won September’s election, but Karl Nehammer and the other parties ruled out the possibility of forming a ruling coalition with this party.

     

    HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s handball team is today playing Georgia in the Carpați Trophy tournament, hosted by Mioveni (south). In the other match scheduled today, Turkey is playing Serbia. On Friday, Romania grabbed a 35-26 win over Turkey, while on Saturday it drew 31-31 against Serbia. Serbia tops the ranking with the same number of points as Romania, although separated by a superior goal-average ratio. (VP)