Tag: CSM

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club


    The Golden Boot is awarded to the players
    who scored most goals in the European leagues based on a ranking that takes
    into account the number of goals scored and the coefficient of their league. When
    the award was first established in the 1960s, the only criterium was the number
    of goals scored. The first ever winner of the Golden Boot, back in 1968, was
    the Mozambique-born Portuguese player Eusébio, from Benfica, with 43 goals.




    In 1975 and 1977, the Golden Boot even made it to Romania, thanks to Dudu
    Georgescu, the striker of Dinamo Bucharest. Born on 1st September
    1950, Georgescu made his debut with the Bucharest side Progresul, where he
    played his first Division A matches, aged 18. He later moved to CSM Resita, and
    then to Dinamo. In the 1973-1974 season, his first at Dinamo, Georgescu scored
    21 goals in 33 matches. The following year he scored 33 goals, becoming Europe’s
    top goalscorer. Two years later, he scored 47 goals, winning as a result his
    second Golden Boot trophy.




    It took another ten years for the trophy to return to Romania, thanks to
    Rodion Camataru, again from Dinamo Bucharest. He scored 44 goals that year,
    with the runner-up, the Austrian player Toni Polster, scoring only 39. Camataru’s
    title was, however, challenged, being considered an arrangement at the highest
    level. Let us just say that he scored 20 goals in the last six championship
    legs. Another Dinamo player, Dorin Mateut, won the Golden Boot trophy in 1989,
    with 43 goals, and this time there was no controversy surrounding his
    achievement. Dinamo was a strong team at the time, with Steaua their only
    nemesis. It was in fact that same year that Steaua made it to the final of the
    European Cup.




    The Golden Boot continued to stir controversy, so L’Équipe stopped awarding
    this trophy between 1991 and 1996. Since 1997, it has been awarded based on a ranking
    system that allows players from top divisions to win even if they score fewer
    goals than a player from a weaker league.



  • Olympic Prospects

    Olympic Prospects


    The only Romanian side qualified for
    the Olympics in Tokyo so far is the men’s football team. Good
    chances though also stands the Romanian women’s handball side, one
    of the world’s best. The pre-Olympics tournament has been scheduled
    for March next year. It was initially supposed to take place in
    Podgorica, Montenegro over March 20th
    and 22nd
    2020, but the coronavirus pandemic has prompted the authorities to
    change the timetable.




    If nothing changes until next spring,
    Romania’s opponents will be Montenegro, Norway and Thailand. The
    Asian side is not seen as a redoubtable opponent, so three teams will
    be actually vying for qualification and two will get plane tickets
    for Tokyo. Norway and Montenegro are favourites, as they ranked 4th
    and 5th
    in the World Championships hosted by Japan, last year.




    Romania came 12th
    in the aforementioned competition.
    Furthermore, Montenegro has a trump card against the Romanians, in
    the person of assistant coach Adrian Vasile, the head technician of
    Romanian side CSM Bucharest, one of Romania’s top-notch sides. The three handball squads are supposed
    to meet in winter at the European Championships in Norway and
    Denmark. Through a European Handball Federation decision, Romania
    plays straight into the final tournament.






    The games that remained to be played
    in the preliminaries, had to be canceled. Four legs had been left out
    from the initial qualification campaign. Romania, which was in a
    group with Poland, Ukraine and the Faeroe Islands had two wins out of
    two games played. Lots for the final tournament are to be cast in
    Vienna on June 18th.


    Bogdan Burcea, headcoach of Romania’s
    national squad, said, quote ‘the European Championship could be an
    exceptional means of training, both for the girls and for us. During
    the tournament we can have positive experiences, which can help us in
    the pre-Olympics tournament next spring, when we qualify Romania for
    the Olympic Games in Tokyo’ end of quote. Agerpres news agency has
    taken the quotation from the Romanian Handball Federation’s
    Facebook page.

    (translated by bill)


  • Retrospectiva săptămânii  16.02 – 22.02.2020

    Retrospectiva săptămânii 16.02 – 22.02.2020

    Român ucis în atentatul din Germania


    Ministerul de Externe
    de la Bucureşti a confirmat, joi, că un român se numără printre victimele
    dublului atac din Germania, care a vizat imigranţi, atac comis în oraşul Hanau,
    din apropiere de Frankfurt. Ministerul a condamnat ferm orice act de violenţă
    şi manifestare xenofobă. Seful diplomaţiei, Bogdan Aurescu, a decis ca
    repatrierea să fie asigurată prin fondul pentru situaţii de urgenţă. Miercuri
    seara, un german de 43 de ani a ucis nouă oameni în două cafenele cu narghilea
    din Hanau, iar în afara românului, victimele sunt imigranţi de origine kurdă,
    bulgară şi bosniacă, dar şi trei germani.

    Clasa politică a acuzat formaţiunea
    de extremă dreapta Alternativa pentru Germania că inspiră, prin mesajele ei,
    acţiunile violente. Co-preşedintele formaţiunii, fostul creştin-democrat,
    Alexander Gauland, a respins vehement acuzaţiile Cancelarul federal Angela
    Merkel a denunţat ceea ce a numit ‘otrava reprezentată de rasism în Germania’. Ne
    opunem cu forţa şi determinare tuturor celor care încearcă să divizeze Germania
    ,
    a mai spus Angela Merkel. La Poarta Brandenburg din Berlin, câteva sute de
    oameni au comemorat victimele atacurilor, formând un amplu lanţ uman în jurul
    porţii. Manifestări similare au avut loc în multe oraşe germane.


    Audieri în Parlamentul de la Bucureşti a miniştrilor desemnaţi

    Premierul
    desemnat al României, Ludovic Orban, va merge, luni, în faţa Parlamentului să
    ceară votul de învestitură pentru noul său cabinet. Cei 16 miniştri ai
    cabinetului Orban II, în aceeaşi structură şi componenţă ca şi Guvernul demis
    prin moţiune de cenzură, au fost audiati, timp de trei zile, săptămâna trecută,
    în comisiile de specialitate ale Legislativului de la Bucuresti.

    Planul PNL
    este respingerea a două guverne, astfel încât să se poată ajunge la dizolvarea
    Parlamentului şi declanşarea anticipatelor. Acestea ar putea avea loc, după cum
    spunea Ludovic Orban, în intervalul 15-30 iunie, în aceeaşi perioadă cu
    alegerile locale. PSD a anunţat, însă, ca nu va participa la votul de
    învestitură. În cazul în care cvorumul nu va fi îndeplinit, votul de
    învestitură pentru guvernul Orban II ar putea fi amânat. Tot pe 24 februarie,
    Curtea Constituţională a Romaniei va dezbate sesizarea depusă de preşedinţii
    celor două Camere ale Parlamentului, care au reclamat faptul că seful statului,
    Klaus Iohannis, l-a desemnat tot pe premierul demis să formeze un nou executiv,
    ceea ce ar încălca, în opinia lor, voinţa legislativului.



    Preşedintele Klaus Iohannis a semnat
    decretele de numire pentru procurorii şefi propuşi de ministrul Justiţiei


    Seful statului român,
    Klaus Iohannis, a semnat, joi, decretele de numire pentru procurorii şefi
    propuşi de ministrul justiţiei, Cătălin Predoiu. Astfel, Gabriela Scutea va fi
    în fruntea Parchetului de pe lângă Înalta Curte de Casaţie şi Justiţie,
    Crin-Nicu Bologa la Direcţia Naţională Anticorupţie şi Elena-Giorgiana Hosu la
    Direcţia de Investigare a Infracţiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată şi
    Terorism. Cei trei procurori şefi au fost numiţi pe o perioadă de
    trei ani. Numirile au fost făcute de preşedinte, deşi Gabriela Scutea şi Elena
    Giorgiana Hosu au primit avize negative de la Consiliul Superior al
    Magistraturii. Klaus Iohannis a explicat că nu a ţinut cont de avizul negativ al
    Consiliului, pentru că i s-a părut parţial destul de superficial şi a
    considerat că propunerile ministrului Cătălin Predoiu au fost corecte.

    Decizia
    preşedintelui a fost criticată atât de reprezentanţii PSD, cât şi
    de cei ai USR, pentru că a ignorat avizul
    negativ al CSM în cazul celor două procuroare. Vicepreşedintele Senatului,
    social-democratul Robert Cazanciuc, a explicat că MCV şi GRECO recomandă să se
    respecte punctul de vedere al CSM la numirea noilor procurori şefi. La rândul
    său, într-un mesaj postat pe Facebook, liderul USR, Dan Barna, a afirmat că
    numirea unor procurori şefi care au primit aviz negativ de la CSM reprezintă o
    greşeală greu de explicat. În opinia sa, decizia preşedintelui României este o
    acţiune oportunistă, într-un context politic convenabil actualei puteri.



    Moneda naţională românească, leul a înregistrat un nou minim istoric în raport cu cea europeană


    Moneda naţională
    românească, leul, s-a depreciat, joi, cu 0,45 bani (0,09%) faţă de euro, moneda
    europeană atingând un nou maxim istoric, iar cursul stabilit de Banca Naţională
    a României este de 4,7834 lei/euro. Leul a mai atins o cotaţie minimă record pe
    21 noiembrie, când cursul a fost de 4,7808 lei/euro.

    Deprecierea uşoară a leului este corelată cu
    deprecierile din regiune, în condiţiile în care zlotul şi forintul s-au
    depreciat în urma unor mişcări de fluxuri internaţionale, spune ministrul
    interimar al Finanţelor, Florin Cîţu. În opinia sa, dobânzile vor continua să
    scadă şi încrederea investitorilor să crească. Premierul interimar Ludovic Orban a
    declarat că situaţia economică a ţării este foarte stabilă şi nu există
    ‘absolut niciun fel de risc’ de apariţie a unui dezechilibru major. Prim ministrul a
    menţionat că are încredere în stabilitatea monedei naţionale şi a cursului de
    schimb.

  • Propuneri pentru şefia parchetelor

    Propuneri pentru şefia parchetelor

    Principalele
    parchete din România – Parchetul General, Direcţia Naţională Anticorupţie şi Direcţia
    de Investigare a Infracţiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată şi Terorism – au la
    conducere, de prea multă vreme, şefi interimari. Aceasta, în condiţiile în care
    problemele administrative şi legislative din justiţie s-au adunat şi ameninţă
    să perturbe activitatea sistemului judiciar.


    Provizoratul este, însă, pe cale
    să ia sfârşit. Noul ministru liberal al Justiţiei, Cătălin Predoiu, a anunţat,
    marţi, propunerile pentru conducerile parchetelor. Gabriela Scutea este alegerea
    pentru funcţia de procuror-şef al Parchetului de pe lângă Înalta Curte de
    Casaţie şi Justiţie. Despre ea, ministrul Predoiu a spus că a avut cea mai
    solidă prestaţie şi cel mai solid dosar profesional depus dintre toţi
    candidaţii. A demonstrat cunoaştere, viziune, forţă şi substanţă profesională,
    iar proiectul ei a fost cel mai bun dintre toate cele prezentate, acoperind
    complet atât partea de administraţie şi construcţie internă a Ministerului
    Public, cât şi partea de reprezentare externă, a subliniat ministrul. Durata
    destul de mare a anchetelor în cauzele economico-financiare şi blocajul în care
    a ajuns Poliţia Judiciară se numără printre vulnerabilităţile identificate de
    Gabriela Scutea.


    La şefia DNA ar urma să ajungă Crin Bologa, un procuror caracterizat
    de ministrul Justiţiei ca un garant al continuării energice a luptei anticorupţie,
    în condiţii de deplin respect al drepturilor şi garanţiilor procesuale. Crin
    Bologa trebuie să ducă mai departe moştenirea onorantă a Laurei Codruţa Kovesi,
    cel mai de succes dintre foştii şefi de parchete, a cărei prestaţie meritorie
    i-a adus prestigiu extern şi a propulsat-o, în pofida sabotajului la care a
    fost supusă de fostul guvern de social-democrat, în poziţia de şef al noului
    Parchet European.


    În sfârşit, Cătălin Predoiu a anunţat că o propune pe
    Giorgiana Hosu pentru numirea în funcţia de procuror-şef al Direcţiei de
    Investigare a Infracţiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată şi Terorism. DIICOT
    prezintă particularitatea anchetelor transfrontaliere şi, prin aceasta, a
    cooperării interinstituţionale interne şi externe, iar Giorgiana Hosu
    stăpâneşte cel mai bine aceste dimensiuni, a precizat ministrul Justiţiei. Proiectul
    ei a fost comprehensiv şi prestaţia echilibrată, susţinută de o cunoaştere
    panoramică a problemelor şi a activităţii DIICOT, şi-a justificat Predoiu
    alegerea.


    Propunerile ministrului au nevoie de avizul Consiliului Superior al
    Magistraturii, iar numirile le va face preşedintele Klaus Iohannis. Asemenea
    celor mai mulţi dintre procurori, caracterizaţi prin probitate şi competenţă, cei
    propuşi pentru şefia parchetelor văd în existenţa Secţiei pentru investigarea
    infracţiunilor din justiţie, creată în timpul administraţiei PSD, o jignire la
    adresa magistraţilor sau, mai rău, un instrument de intimidare a acestora. Este
    motivul pentru care guvernul liberal ia serios în calcul desfiinţarea
    respectivei secţii.

  • November 16, 2019 UPDATE

    November 16, 2019 UPDATE

    Migrants — 20 foreign citizens were identified at the border with Hungary by the Romanian border police following a border control action. 11 of them were from Afghanistan, Iran and Somalia and were found in an uninhabited building which was under construction. The migrants aged between 17 and 37 were trying to illegally cross the border to neighboring Hungary on their way to Western Europe. In another border control action, the police found 9 citizens from Turkey and Iraq, among whom two minors, who were trying to reach the West.



    Handball — Romania’s women’s handball vice champions CSM Bucharest were defeated 23-22 on Saturday the Russian team Rostov on Don, away from home, in their last match in Group B of the Champions League. Russia’s champions ended on first place, being followed by CSM Bucharest in Group B, which also includes the Danish team Team Esbjerg and MKS Perla Lublin of Poland. The first 3 teams in the group will qualify to the next phase.

  • November 10, 2019

    November 10, 2019

    ELECTION Romania is today seeing the first round of its
    presidential election. 14 candidates are vying for the presidential seat and in
    the first six hours since the opening of the polling stations, turnout stays
    around 20.68%. More than 3,700,000 people have already cast their ballot out of
    a total 18, 217,156 voters, a higher turnout compared to the first round of the
    previous election in 2014. As a first, Romanians living abroad have three days
    to cast their ballot and the number of polling stations abroad has doubled to
    838. Over 400 thousand Romanians have so far cast their ballot in the polling
    stations abroad. Out of these, 25 thousand have opted for postal voting. The
    biggest turnout has been reported in Britain, Italy and Spain. The second round
    of voting is due on November 24th when the Romanians living abroad
    are also to be given three days to vote. The authorities have taken these
    measures to avoid the huge queues registered in the previous presidential
    election and in the latest European Parliament election.










    COMMISSIONERS The new commissioners
    designated by Romania, Hungary and France are to be interviewed by the European
    Parliament next week. After they have been given the green light by the
    Committee on Legal Affairs JURI, which could signal any possible conflict of
    interest in the case of the three candidates – Adina Valean of Romania, Olivier
    Varhelyi of Hungary and Thierry Breton of France will be interviewed by the
    specialized committees of the European Parliament. The Romanian candidate will
    be interviewed by the Transport and Tourism committee, Varhelyi by the Foreign
    Affairs Committee and Breton by the Committee for Industry, Research and Energy.
    After the interviews, the president elect of the European Commission, Ursula
    von der Leyen will be presenting the entire College of Commissioners to the
    community Legislature. We recall that the Romanian MEP Adina Valean has been
    accepted by the European Commission president for the position of European
    Transport Commissioner.








    RATING A decision by the Fitch rating
    agency to reconfirm Romania’s country rating to BBB – with a stable outlook has
    been based on the moderate level of public debt and the positive evolution of
    the GDP per capita and the human development indexes, the Finance Ministry in
    Bucharest has announced. According to the aforementioned ministry, another
    positive factor is the solid banking sector. In the following period, the
    Ministry will be focusing on budget rectification and budget construction for
    2020, crucial measures for strengthening the country’s macroeconomic stability.
    Fitch has also affirmed its ratings for Romania’s long-term and local currency
    issuer default ratings (IDR) at BBB – with stable outlook. According to the
    agency, budget and current account deficits could jeopardize macroeconomic
    stability.












    HANDBALL Today in
    the Champions League, the Romanian champions in women’s handball, CSM Ramnicu
    Valcea, takes on German side Bietigheim, while vice-champions CSM Bucharest
    plays Danish side Esbjerg in a home match. CSM is already qualified for the
    main groups. Two other Romanian sides, CS Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud and CSM Corona
    Brasov played against each other in the third round of the EHF Cup yesterday.
    Brasov won the game 27-25 coming closer to the competition’s groups. In men’s
    handball, Champions Dinamo Bucharest have qualified for the Champions League’s
    play-offs.






    (translated
    by bill)

  • October 20, 2019

    October 20, 2019

    TALKS Romania’s designated Prime Minister Ludovic Orban will be
    holding talks with representatives of civil society and state institutions on
    Monday and Tuesday. Orban is expected to have a second round of talks with political
    parties in the next two days to get support for the new cabinet to be sworn in.
    The Prime Minister has already held a round of political talks. In order to be
    sworn in the new cabinet needs 233 votes out of a total 465. On Saturday Orban
    said the National Liberal Party’s objective is to quickly forge a new
    legitimate government, which has serious issues to address. We recall that the
    PSD minority government led by Viorica Dancila was sacked through a
    no-confidence vote.










    BREXIT EU ambassadors have convened on Sunday for talks over the
    UK’s request to delay Brexit after October 31. According to DPA, Brussels’
    answer is not clear yet. The meeting focused
    chiefly on the EU procedures of ratifying the UK’s withdrawal under the
    agreement reached with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. British Parliament
    on Saturday postponed debates over the Brexit agreement. The MPs wanted to
    block their country’s withdrawal from the union on October 31 without
    stipulations regarding the transition because they believed the legislation needed
    could not be ratified in time. The chamber’s decision was received with
    ovations by the thousands pro-Europeans gathered in front of Parliament to ask
    for a new Brexit referendum. The country’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson opposes
    a new delay but was forced by the Parliament vote to call on the European Union
    for a new extension of the procedure.












    ELECTION The neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet
    Romanian-speaking country will today be seeing a round of local election in
    several constituencies, where officials have stepped down. According to Radio
    Chisinau, the most important seems to be the race for the capital’s city hall.
    The main contenders are the pro-European Andrei Nastase and Socialist Ion Ceban
    who have recently become coalition partners. Andrei Nastase, currently the
    country’s Defence Minister, claimed the mayor seat last year but the election
    outcome had been invalidated through a court ruling.












    HANDBALL Romania’s champions Dinamo Bucharest will today take on
    Orel Wisla Plock of Poland in an away match counting towards the Champions
    League. Dinamo tops the table in group D but in the women’s competition, SCM
    Ramnicu Valcea of Romania lost their away match 23-19 to Buducnost Podgorica of
    Montenegro and is currently ranking third in group C. Vice-champions CSM
    Bucharest secured a 35-19 home win against Polish side Perla Lublin and is
    currntly topping the Champions League group B. The first three sides of each
    group will qualify for the competition’s next stage.






    (translated by bill)



  • May 17, 2019 UPDATE

    May 17, 2019 UPDATE

    HANDBALL Romania’s handball side CSM Bucharest on Saturday will be playing
    on their own turf the Portuguese team Madeira Adebol SAD in the Challenge Cup
    finals. The first game in Portugal ended 22-all. The Challenge Cup is
    considered the third in terms of value among the inter-clubs continental
    competitions. The present trophy holder is Potaissa Turda, a team from
    north-western Romania. Three other Romanian sides won the trophy, Steaua
    Bucharest in 2006, UCM Resita in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Odorheiul Secuiesc in
    2015. CSU Bucovina was one of the finalists in 2009. Romanian side CSM
    Bucharest has this month been eliminated from women’s competitions by the
    French from Metz. We recall that in the past three years, CSM qualified for the
    so called Final Four every year and even won the trophy in 2016.














    EXCISES EU finance ministers who convened in Brussels failed to reach an
    agreement on Friday over the general regime of excises and duties on alcohol. Some
    of the issues pending are related to the quantities that can be processed in home
    distilleries as well as the reduction or elimination of excises for alcoholic drinks
    produced for personal consumption. The initiative belonged to Bucharest as
    Radio Romania’s correspondent to Brussels has explained. Romania’s Finance
    Minister Eugen Teodorovici who chaired the ECOFIN meeting, has voiced his disappointment
    for the amendments that failed to muster support from the member countries. The
    Romanian official believes the regulations regarding the general excises regime
    and that applicable to alcohol and alcoholic beverages must be adopted
    together.












    INFLATION The Governor of the National
    Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, on Friday presented the institution’s
    quarterly inflation report. The Central Bank updated its year-end inflation
    forecast to 4.2% and estimates an inflation rate of 3.3% for 2020. Inflation
    has reversed the downward trend reported in the last quarter of 2018, and
    prices went up in the first 3 months of this year more than the National Bank
    had expected, Mugur Isărescu said. He also warned that the demand for products
    and services is still in excess of what the domestic economy can produce, leading
    to a rise in imports and a trade imbalance. Inflation in Romania is in fact
    among the highest in the European Union, alongside the rate in Hungary. According
    to the central bank governor, in the coming 3 quarters inflation will remain
    above target, and is expected to go down later on to around 3.5%.






    CEREMONY The President of Romania Klaus
    Iohannis decided to postpone the May 20 ceremony at Cotroceni Palace, when the
    year 2019 was scheduled to be declared the Year of Gratitude honouring the
    victims of communism, 30 years after the Romanian Revolution of December 1989. The
    Presidency announced on Friday that Iohannis wants to dispel any suspicions
    that the event may be used for electoral purposes. According to the same source,
    ever since taking over his office, the President has constantly worked to
    condemn the crimes and abuse committed by the communist repression system, and
    to pay tribute to the victims of totalitarianism.








    (translated by bill)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    The first stage of World Rowing Cup, to be
    held in Bulgarian city, Plovdiv, between May 10 and 12, will see a Romanian
    delegation made of no less than seven crews, as four men’s and three women’s
    crews from this country are taking part in this competition.






    Representing Romania in the women’s version
    of the Cup are the crews competing in the light double scull, four oars and the
    coxed eight events. Men will be competing in the double scull, four oars, four
    scull and the coxed eight events.

    The Romanian International Swimming
    Championships got underway on May 9 and will last until May 12. The venue for
    this competition is the Dinamo swimming pool in Bucharest. Organized by the
    Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation, the championships will see
    around 360 swimmers taking part in the event, coming from eight countries,
    Austria, Georgia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Portugal, Slovakia, Great
    Britain and Romania.






    Now it’s’ news from handball, as
    the-last-but-one round of the National women’s handball League, to be held on
    Sunday, will see the main teams playing home games. CSM Bucharest takes on SCM
    Craiova, while SCM Ramnicu Valcea plays CSM Slatina. SCM Ramnicu Valcea is the
    favorite to winning the title. Ramnicu Valcea is at the top of the as-it-stands
    table with 63 points, followed by CSM Bucharest with 60 points. Third placed
    are Bistrita, with 39 points.






    This coming Saturday will see fixtures being
    played counting towards the 14th round of Romania’s Rugby Super
    League. Constanta faces HCM Buzau, while CSM Bucharest are pitted against
    Steaua Bucharest. Dinamo Bucharest faces CSM Baia Mare and Universitatea Cluj
    takes on Timisoara Saracens. The four teams in descending order, in the table,
    are CSM Bucharest with 53 points, Steaua Bucharest with 51, Timisoara Saracens
    with 49 points and CSM Baia Mare, with 48 points.






    We end with news from football. The 9th
    round of domestic League One will see Group 1 matches being played at the
    weekend. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe is pitted against FCSB, CFR Cluj faces CSU
    Craiova, while Viitorul Constanta plays Astra Giurgiu.






    CFR Cluj is at the top of the table, with 47
    points, FCSB is the runner-up team with 42, while third-placed is CSU Craiova,
    with 36 points. In Group 2, FC Botosani faces FC Voluntari, Dinamo Bucharest is
    pitted against Gaz Metan Medias, FC Hermannstadt takes on Concordia Chiajna,
    while Politehnica Iasi faces Dunarea Calarasi. 5th, 6th,
    7th and 8th-placed are FC Voluntari, with 23 points,
    Dunarea Calarasi, with 21 points, FC Hermannstadt with 19 points and Concordia
    Chiajna, with 16 points.





  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    The first stage of World Rowing Cup, to be
    held in Bulgarian city, Plovdiv, between May 10 and 12, will see a Romanian
    delegation made of no less than seven crews, as four men’s and three women’s
    crews from this country are taking part in this competition.






    Representing Romania in the women’s version
    of the Cup are the crews competing in the light double scull, four oars and the
    coxed eight events. Men will be competing in the double scull, four oars, four
    scull and the coxed eight events.

    The Romanian International Swimming
    Championships got underway on May 9 and will last until May 12. The venue for
    this competition is the Dinamo swimming pool in Bucharest. Organized by the
    Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation, the championships will see
    around 360 swimmers taking part in the event, coming from eight countries,
    Austria, Georgia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Portugal, Slovakia, Great
    Britain and Romania.






    Now it’s’ news from handball, as
    the-last-but-one round of the National women’s handball League, to be held on
    Sunday, will see the main teams playing home games. CSM Bucharest takes on SCM
    Craiova, while SCM Ramnicu Valcea plays CSM Slatina. SCM Ramnicu Valcea is the
    favorite to winning the title. Ramnicu Valcea is at the top of the as-it-stands
    table with 63 points, followed by CSM Bucharest with 60 points. Third placed
    are Bistrita, with 39 points.






    This coming Saturday will see fixtures being
    played counting towards the 14th round of Romania’s Rugby Super
    League. Constanta faces HCM Buzau, while CSM Bucharest are pitted against
    Steaua Bucharest. Dinamo Bucharest faces CSM Baia Mare and Universitatea Cluj
    takes on Timisoara Saracens. The four teams in descending order, in the table,
    are CSM Bucharest with 53 points, Steaua Bucharest with 51, Timisoara Saracens
    with 49 points and CSM Baia Mare, with 48 points.






    We end with news from football. The 9th
    round of domestic League One will see Group 1 matches being played at the
    weekend. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe is pitted against FCSB, CFR Cluj faces CSU
    Craiova, while Viitorul Constanta plays Astra Giurgiu.






    CFR Cluj is at the top of the table, with 47
    points, FCSB is the runner-up team with 42, while third-placed is CSU Craiova,
    with 36 points. In Group 2, FC Botosani faces FC Voluntari, Dinamo Bucharest is
    pitted against Gaz Metan Medias, FC Hermannstadt takes on Concordia Chiajna,
    while Politehnica Iasi faces Dunarea Calarasi. 5th, 6th,
    7th and 8th-placed are FC Voluntari, with 23 points,
    Dunarea Calarasi, with 21 points, FC Hermannstadt with 19 points and Concordia
    Chiajna, with 16 points.





  • Drepturile omului în România, văzute de la Washington

    Drepturile omului în România, văzute de la Washington

    Justiţia
    ocupă un loc central în raportul Departamentului de stat privitor la România
    . Insuficienţa
    personalului, a spaţiului fizic şi a tehnologiei din sistemul judiciar
    împiedică celeritatea şi eficienţa actelor de justiţie şi lungesc excesiv
    procesele, observă Washingtonul. Potrivit acestuia, Consiliul Superior al
    Magistraturii, responsabil cu protejarea independenţei judiciare, a acţionat
    pentru a suspenda judecătorii şi procurorii suspectaţi de încălcări ale legii.
    Cu toate acestea, s-a raportat că Inspecţia Judiciară, o unitate disciplinară
    autonomă în cadrul Consiliului, a fost supusă unei influenţe politice în
    creştere şi, uneori, a fost folosită pentru a ancheta magistraţi care au
    efectuat urmăriri judiciare sau au pronunţat hotărâri împotriva unor
    responsabili sau aliaţi ai coaliţiei de guvernământ, mai constată raportul
    american. În general, guvernul a respectat independenţa şi imparţialitatea
    judecătorilor, însă CSM a stabilit că unele declaraţii publice ale
    politicienilor au încălcat independenţa judecătorească.


    Corupţia a rămas larg
    răspândită
    – notează Departamentul de Stat – în pofida numeroaselor urmăriri
    penale, şi există multe rapoarte despre astfel de practici la nivel
    guvernamental. Oficialii s-au angajat uneori cu impunitate în practici de
    corupţie, se mai spune în document. DNA a continuat investigarea şi urmărirea
    penală a cazurilor de corupţie care implicau oficialităţi politice, judiciare
    şi administrative, scrie raportul, însă verdictele în astfel de cazuri au fost
    adesea inconsistente, cu pronunţări care variază foarte mult în cazul unor
    infracţiuni similare. Corupţia a fost larg răspândită în achiziţiile publice,
    iar mita un lucru obişnuit în sectorul public, în special în domeniul sănătăţii.


    Potrivit Departamentului de Stat, discriminarea faţă de romi a continuat să fie
    o problemă majoră
    . Grupuri de romi s-au plâns că hărţuirea şi brutalitatea
    poliţiei, inclusiv bătăile, au devenit rutină, iar media, observatori interni
    şi internaţionali au raportat discriminare socială împotriva acestora. Romii au
    avut o rată a şomajului mai mare şi o speranţă de viaţă mai mică decât cetăţenii
    aparţinând celorlalte etnii.


    În privinţa libertăţii presei, Departamentul de
    Stat notează că mass-media independente au fost active şi au exprimat o mare
    varietate de puncte de vedere fără restricţii explicite
    . În schimb, în cazul
    mijloacelor de informare controlate sau aflate în legătură strânsă cu
    politicieni sau grupuri politice, ştirile şi orientarea editorială ar fi
    reflectat frecvent opiniile proprietarilor, conţinând critici la adresa
    oponenţilor politici şi a altor organizaţii media. Documentul semnalează,
    citând organizaţii media internaţionale, că la protestul antiguvernamental din
    10 august de la Bucureşti, cel puţin 15 jurnalişti au suferit atacuri fizice,
    verbale sau cu gaze lacrimogene din partea jandarmilor
    . Au existat, pe de altă
    parte, rapoarte din partea unor organizaţii neguvernamentale şi a mass-media că
    poliţia şi jandarmii au maltratat şi abuzat persoane deţinute Raportul mai
    constată că închisorile au fost, şi in 2018, supraaglomerate şi nu au respectat
    standardele internaţionale.

  • March 8, 2019 UPDATE

    March 8, 2019 UPDATE

    EU COUNCIL – Romanias Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has presented in Bucharest the results of the first two months of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Its been an efficient and high-quality mandate, highly appreciated by all European partners, the Prime Minister has said underlining the completion of 67 files during this period. Referring to major issues on the European agenda, Dancila has stated that Romania has managed to secure consensus on several pending files like the post-2020 EU budget, the functioning of the European single market, competitiveness, stimulating digitization, social protection, internal security, fighting terrorism, handling migration challenges, the future of the EU after Brexit through tight cooperation as well as an open and constructive dialogue with representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the General Secretariat of the Council. In the first two months of its term, Romania managed over 650 events and meetings, both in the country and in Brussels, the Prime Minister has also said.



    JHA – The Romanian interior and justice ministers, Carmen Dan and Tudorel Toader respectively, attended in Brussels on Thursday and Friday the Justice and Home Affairs Council, held in the context of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. On Friday, the justice ministers held talks on the functioning of the European Public Prosecutors Office. Tudorel Toader has stated that the participants discussed stages for the designation of the candidates for the office of European prosecutor, a process that must be finalized by the end of the month. The European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jurova, has stated that one of the objectives is the designation of a European chief prosecutor by April and encouraged a fair process, without any attempt at discrediting any of the candidates. On Thursday, the first day of the JHA meeting, it was established that each member state would have a platform to report the incidents that might affect the European Parliament elections, due in May. Also, the EU Council has adopted a decision to modify the civil protection mechanism.



    BUDGET – The macroeconomic forecasts the 2019 state budget is based upon are unrealistically optimistic, Cosmin Marinescu, an economic advisor to the Romanian president, said in Bucharest on Friday. According to Marinescu, incomes are over evaluated by 1% of the GDP and are based exclusively on promises. Investments from local authorities are at an all-time low of 1.2% of the GDP and the budget adopted in February indicates a Romanian contribution to the EU diminished by 105 million Euros. Marinescu went on to say that the big deficit shows that there is no adjustment against 2018, which runs counter to the European Commissions recommendation of 1% of the GDP. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has sent back to Parliament the law on the 2019 state budget. The president had previously notified the Constitutional Court, which deemed the law as constitutional. The 2019 budget is based on a 5.5% economic growth, a 2.5% deficit and a GDP of 200 billion Euros.



    ECONOMY – With a 0.7% growth in the fourth quarter of 2018 as against the previous three months of the year, Romanias economic growth was three times higher than the 0.2% reported in the Eurozone and more than double the 0.3% reported in the EU, says the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat. However, the growth rate of the Romanian economy in the last three months of 2018 was below the ones in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia. Finland, Denmark and Spain have also reported a growth rate of 0.7% whereas Germany, Europes biggest economy, reported zero growth in the same period of last year. Greece and Italy experienced a decline of 0.1%. In comparison with the same period of 2017, in the fourth quarter of 2018, Romanias economy registered a growth rate of 4%, nearly four times higher than the 1.4% EU rate and 1.1% in the Eurozone.



    JUSTICE – Romanias Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar called on the Superior Council of Magistracy on Friday to refer to the Constitutional Court the constitutional legal conflict between the Government, on the one hand, Parliament, the SCM and the Prosecutor Generals Office on the other, a conflict triggered by the way in which the Executive has modified the justice laws. According to Augustin Lazar, by adopting emergency decrees amending the justice laws, the Government has exceeded its constitutional responsibilities and these actions are a threat to democracy and the rule of law. The recent emergency decree no.7, which has once again modified the justice laws, has been vehemently criticized by magistrates. Prosecutors and judges from some 80 prosecutors offices and courts across the country have protested by suspending their judicial activities and public relations and staging demonstrations in front of the courts. In solidarity with the magistrates, actors from several theaters in Romania, professors and students have organised protests too.



    DEMOGRAPHICS – Romanias population continues to diminish due to a decline in the fertility rate and also due to migration, data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) show. 200 people, mostly men aged 30 to 40, leave the country on a daily basis. According to the aforementioned institute, on January 1st 2018 there were 120 thousand people less than on January 1st 2017. According to the same data, more Romanians died than were born and the number of those leaving the country was higher than those who entered it. A 2017 INS survey shows that more children were born in Romanian families living in Italy than in Romania and the number of children born in Romanian families abroad is double than in Romania.



    HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball champions CSM Bucharest ended in a draw the match against the German team Thuringer, the last in Group 2 of the Champions League. The Romanian team ranks 3rd in the group and has already qualified for the quarter finals. Top of the group is Gyor of Hungary. Vipers of Norway and FTC Budapest have also qualified for the next round of the competition, where they will compete against the top four teams in Group 1 for a place in the Final Four tournament in Budapest, Hungary. CSM won Champions League in 2016.


  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The situation of Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest in the Champions League main Group 2 is getting complicated. CSM sustained 23-22 away defeat by Slovenian opponents Krim Ljubljana. Ahead of the last round in the main group stage, CSM are 3rd-placed in the group, on a par with the 4th-placed team, Hungarys Ferencváros.



    CSM has already booked its ticket in the quarterfinals, but is to find out its opponent according to its place in the final rankings. If they eventually come 3rd in the group, CSM will be pitched against the 2nd-placed team in the other group, most likely Russian team Rostov Don. In the last round this coming Friday, CSM Bucharest faces German squad Thüringer.



    News from indoor athletics, now. The European Athletics Indoor Championships have recently drawn to a close in Glasgow. The Romanian delegation, made up of 12 athletes, walked home with no medal. This past Sunday, Alina Rotaru provided the best result for the Romanian delegation, coming in 5th, with a 6.64-meter jump in the final of the long jump event. The other Romanian athlete who got through to the final, Florentina Marincu-Iuşco, came in 8th with a jump of 6.49 m. The gold medal went to Serbias Ivana Spanovic, who succeeded a jump of 6.99 meters.



    In Madrid this past Sunday, Romanias national rugby squad sustained an 18-21 defeat by Spain, in a fixture counting towards Rugby Europe Championship. It is the second defeat for the Romanian rugby team in this competition. Interesting to mention, though, is that the Romanians had a 13-nil lead during the game. For the Romanian lineup, Ionut Dumitru and Vladut Zaharia succeeded tries on 7 and 68 minutes, respectively. Then Florin Vlaicu converted two penalty kicks and managed a successful conversion. Spain managed three tries, all of them successfully converted.



    We go out with news from football, as this past weekend saw matches counting towards the 26th-round of League One, the last round of the regular season. Qualifying for the play-offs were CFR Cluj, FCSB, Universitatea Craiova, Astra Giurgiu, Viitorul Constanţa and Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. The teams that have got through to the play-out were FC Botoşani, Poli Iaşi, Dinamo, Hermannstadt, Gaz Metan, Dunărea, FC Voluntari and Concordia Chiajna.




    (translated by: Eugen Nasta)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The situation of Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest in the Champions League main Group 2 is getting complicated. CSM sustained 23-22 away defeat by Slovenian opponents Krim Ljubljana. Ahead of the last round in the main group stage, CSM are 3rd-placed in the group, on a par with the 4th-placed team, Hungarys Ferencváros.



    CSM has already booked its ticket in the quarterfinals, but is to find out its opponent according to its place in the final rankings. If they eventually come 3rd in the group, CSM will be pitched against the 2nd-placed team in the other group, most likely Russian team Rostov Don. In the last round this coming Friday, CSM Bucharest faces German squad Thüringer.



    News from indoor athletics, now. The European Athletics Indoor Championships have recently drawn to a close in Glasgow. The Romanian delegation, made up of 12 athletes, walked home with no medal. This past Sunday, Alina Rotaru provided the best result for the Romanian delegation, coming in 5th, with a 6.64-meter jump in the final of the long jump event. The other Romanian athlete who got through to the final, Florentina Marincu-Iuşco, came in 8th with a jump of 6.49 m. The gold medal went to Serbias Ivana Spanovic, who succeeded a jump of 6.99 meters.



    In Madrid this past Sunday, Romanias national rugby squad sustained an 18-21 defeat by Spain, in a fixture counting towards Rugby Europe Championship. It is the second defeat for the Romanian rugby team in this competition. Interesting to mention, though, is that the Romanians had a 13-nil lead during the game. For the Romanian lineup, Ionut Dumitru and Vladut Zaharia succeeded tries on 7 and 68 minutes, respectively. Then Florin Vlaicu converted two penalty kicks and managed a successful conversion. Spain managed three tries, all of them successfully converted.



    We go out with news from football, as this past weekend saw matches counting towards the 26th-round of League One, the last round of the regular season. Qualifying for the play-offs were CFR Cluj, FCSB, Universitatea Craiova, Astra Giurgiu, Viitorul Constanţa and Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. The teams that have got through to the play-out were FC Botoşani, Poli Iaşi, Dinamo, Hermannstadt, Gaz Metan, Dunărea, FC Voluntari and Concordia Chiajna.




    (translated by: Eugen Nasta)

  • Proteste împotriva OUG care modifică, din nou, legile Justiției

    Proteste împotriva OUG care modifică, din nou, legile Justiției


    UPDATE 20:35 Peste 10. 000 de oameni protestează în Piața Victoriei din București.


    La protest au participat și liderul USR, Dan Barna și președintele Plus, Dacian Cioloș.


    Peste tot în țară unde au loc proteste, se scandează mesaje de susținere pentru magistrați.


    Manifestanții cer alegeri anticipate și scandează împotriva majorității PSD-ALDE: “Hoții!”, “Justiție, nu corupție!”, “Demisia!”.




    —————————————–


    Noi proteste de stradă au loc duminică, 24 februarie, în București și în marile orașe din țară, împotriva Guvernului de la București. Miile de oameni au acelaşi mesaj pentru ministrul Justiţiei, Tudorel Toader şi pentru Guvern: “Abrogați și apoi plecați!”



    Sunt proteste şi în Cluj, Sibiu, Iaşi, Galaţi, Brăila, Satu Mare, Braşov



    Nemulțumirile protestatarilor vin pe fondul deselor modificări aduse de Guvernul de la București la legile Justiției.



    Guvernul a adoptat marți, 19 februarie, două ordonanțe de urgență în domeniul Justiției, cu toate că niciuna dintre ele nu figura pe ordinea de zi a ședinței.



    Printre modificările aduse Legilor justiției se află:


    Procedura de selecţie a procurorului european din partea României în cadrul viitorului Parchet European;


    Funcțiile de conducere din cadrul Ministerului Public nu mai pot fi ocupate prin delegare, ceea ce pune presiune pe procesul de numire a procurorilor șefi, modificarea vizând situații similare cu cele din prezent la numirea noului șef al DNA;


    Modificarea Legilor Justiției și a unor regulamente privind admiterea la INM.



    Ordonanța a declanșat critici dure atât din partea instituțiilor din Justiție, a asociațiilor magistraților, dar și a Comisiei Europene .


    Ministrul Justiției, Tudorel Toader, a precizat că propunerile de modificare au venit din partea CSM și a argumentat “urgența” ordonanțelor prin admiterea la Institutul Național al Magistraturii.



    Joi, 21 februarie, proteste fără precedent ale procurorilor și judecătorilor


    Față de modificările făcute prin OUG de Tudorel Toader la Legile Justiției, modificări care afectează independența justiției și statul de drept din România, magistrații de la mai multe instate din țară au protestat în tăcere, pe treptele instanțelor de judecată. Mai mult, unele parchete și judecători din țară au anunțat că începând de luni, 25 februarie, își vor suspenda activitatea pe o perioadă de 3 până la 5 zile.



    24 februarie: Viorica Dăncilă invită reprezentanții CSM și ai asociațiilor de magistrați la discuții


    După ce judecătorii şi procurorii au anunţat că opresc temporar activitatea, supăraţi din cauza deselor modificări făcute de PSD-ALDE în legile Justiţiei, premierul Viorica Dăncilă invită luni, 25 februarie 2019, ora 15.30 la Palatul Victoria câte un reprezentant al asociațiilor de magistrați, precum și reprezentanți ai CSM, pentru discuții pe marginea legislației în domeniul justiției.