Radio România Internațional

Tag: Dacia sales

  • April 16, 2021 UPDATE

    April 16, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Romania has
    increased its vaccination rate, with over 80,000 doses being administered on
    Thursday for the second day in a row, while the total number of people given at
    least one dose exceeded 2.5 million on Friday. Also as of Friday, people will
    be able to get the AstraZeneca vaccine without an appointment in the centers
    where this jab is available. According to Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, Romania
    is expected to hit the 35% mark in early July in terms of the share of the
    population that got immunized, which will allow for a gradual relaunch of the
    economy. On the other hand, the number of ICU cases among Covid patients is
    still high, at almost 1,500, but the overall number of hospital admissions is
    decreasing, with almost 13,000 Covid patients currently receiving hospital
    treatment. Almost 3,700 new infections were recorded on Friday, as well as 137
    new deaths. The incidence rate has dropped to 6 per thousand inhabitants in
    Bucharest.




    COVID-19 EUROPE –France became the third country in
    Europe to pass 100,000 Covid-related deaths after the UK and Italy. France has
    30-40,000 new cases and 300 fatalities daily and 30,000 Covid patients are in
    hospital, including almost 6,000 in severe condition. Even though the situation
    remains complicated, the French authorities have begun discussing relaxation
    measures from mid-May. In Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi has talked about
    the reopening of restaurants and schools starting Monday, April 26. Expressing
    a prudent optimism, the Italian Prime Minister said his Government decided to
    take a calculated risk and classify regions with a satisfying epidemiological
    evolution in the yellow zone, where restrictions are less severe. In Madrid,
    the Spanish government has ruled out extending the state of emergency beyond
    May 9. Under the current regulations, a nighttime curfew starts at 11 PM while the
    number of people in public spaces is limited.




    NATO – Romania will
    begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan from May 1, together with all its
    NATO allies. Defense minister Nicolae Ciucă recalled that two decades ago,
    Romania made the decision to join the coalition fighting terrorism and its
    strategic allies in an international effort to combat an enemy that threatened
    citizens’ peace and security. Over these almost 20 years, tens of thousands of
    Romanian military carried out various missions in the theatre of operations in
    Afghanistan, having a significant contribution to improving the security
    situation in the region. Romania lost 27 military in Afghanistan, while more
    than 200 were wounded. 649 Romanian military are currently deployed in that
    country as part of the Resolute Support mission under the NATO aegis.




    SUPPORT –The European Commission has approved a
    government 500 million euro support scheme for Romanian companies in the areas
    of tourism, accommodation and food services as well as travel agencies hit by
    the Covid pandemic. In the form of direct aid, the scheme will cover up to 20%
    of losses incurred last year compared with 2019 and will be granted until December
    31, 2021 at the latest. Support may benefit over 7,300 firms.




    5G – The
    government has approved a bill on 5G communications that significantly boosts
    internet speed for mobile devices. According to interior minister Lucian Bode,
    the bill called for special attention because the new technology can also give
    rise to complex threats to national security through access to sensitive
    information structures. The US authorities warned that the advance of the
    Chinese giant Huawei in this field poses a security risk owing to the
    involvement of the Chinese state, so Romania and the US last year signed a
    memorandum on the introduction of certain rules for the authorization of 5G
    providers. The tender to assign the 5G spectrum in Romania, which was already
    postponed twice, may be held in the second part of the year.




    DACIA – Sales of Dacia cars in Europe
    saw a 67% growth in March, while the car maker’s market share increased from
    2.4 to 2.5%, according to a report from the European Automobile Manufacturers’
    Association. The statistical data cover the European Union, the UK and the
    European Free Trade Association countries, namely Iceland, Liechtenstein,
    Norway and Switzerland. The Romanian Dacia manufacturer was taken over by the
    Renault group in 1999. Launched in 2004 with the Logan model, Dacia has since
    become an important player on the European car market.




    HANDBALL – Romania are facing North
    Macedonia on Saturday in Bucharest in the first leg of the 2021 World
    Championship play-offs in women’s handball. The return match is due to take
    place on April 21, in Skopje. Commentators say booking a place should not be a
    problem, given that the number of participants grew to 32. The tournament will
    be hosted by Spain. Europe has 50% of the available places. Romania is yet to
    miss a women’s World Championship, where it has won four medals over the years:
    gold in 1962, silver in 1973 and 2005 and bronze in 2015. (C.M. & V.P.)

  • January 18, 2019

    January 18, 2019

    Aachen — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will participate on Tuesday in Aachen, Germany, in the ceremony for the signing of the French-German Cooperation and Integration Treaty upon the invitation of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and of the French President Emmanuel Macron. On this occasion, President Iohannis, in his capacity as president of the country holding the incumbent presidency of the Council of the EU, will deliver a speech. The ceremony will also be attended by the president of the European Council Donald Tusk and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. The Aachen bilateral treaty is based, from a political and juridical point of view, on the Elysee French-German Treaty of 1963 that set the basis for a historic reconciliation between Germany and France. The Aachen treaty will focus on adjusting the relations between the two states to the challenges of the 21st century, laying emphasis on the cohesion of the two countries’ action at European level.



    Berlin fair — Romanian agri-food products will be displayed Friday at a Berlin fair called ‘2019 Green Week’. According to Romanian agriculture minister Petre Daea who is attending the event, several Romanian producers of traditional products are participating in the fair. Some of the traditional products to be displayed are the Topoloveni plum jam, the smoked Danube herring, the Plescoi sausages and the Dobrogea pie. On the sidelines of the fair, the Romanian agriculture minister will meet with his counterparts from other member states, German officials and representatives of farming associations in the EU. The Berlin Fair will come to an end next Sunday. Last year more than 400 thousand people visited the fair.



    Dacia — In 2018 Dacia Company reported the best commercial performance in its history with total sales on the domestic and international market standing at more than 700 thousand cars, 7% more than the level reported in 2017. According to a Dacia communiqué, the Romanian brand has practically doubled its sales in only 7 years. Dacia sales on external markets have risen by 5.5% reaching more than 646 thousand cars, this being one of the best performances registered in Europe. In 1999, Dacia brand and Mioveni factory were taken over by the French group Renault. Dacia models are sold in 44 countries on 4 continents.



    London — The British PM Theresa May continues Friday consultations with political parties and Monday she is going to present her new plan that, on January 29, will be debated and voted on. Talks are being held in the aftermath of the heated disputes of the past days in the British Parliament, which rejected the Brexit agreement. However, Mrs. May’s government has survived a no-confidence vote tabled by the Labor Party. PM May is trying to reach a consensus, but the leader of the opposition Labor Party, Jeremy Corbin, refuses to take part in the negotiations waiting for the government to totally eliminate the possibility of Brexit without a deal. In reply, Theresa May said the government could not provide such guarantees because that did not lie with the government. She added that such a scenario could be avoided in two ways: either a similar agreement with that already concluded with the EU is voted on or article 50 is revoked. But the government is not going to do that because they want to respect the results of the 2016 referendum.



    Belgrade — The Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday visited Belgrade where he pleaded for the stability of the Balkans, which, in his opinion, is a region threatened by the West. He reminded that the Russian Federation was one of the biggest investors in the Serbian economy, energy being a key-domain of bilateral cooperation. Besides historical, religious and cultural ties, Serbs are grateful to Russians for the supported granted in relation to Kosovo’s independence. 20 years on since the war between the Serbs and the separatist Kosovo Albanians, Moscow still does not recognize the province of Kosovo. Moreover, Serbia, although a candidate for EU accession, refuses to back the sanctions of the EU bloc against Russia, which were imposed after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.



    Tennis — The Romanian pair Irina Maria Bara/Monica Niculescu qualified on Friday in Melbourne to the eighth finals of the women’s doubles of the Australian Open, the year’s first grand slam tournament. They defeated 6-4, 7-6 the 6th seeded Lucie Hradecka (of the Czech Republic)/Ekaterina Makarova (Russia). Next, Bara and Niculescu will take on the winners of the match pitting the pair Margarita Gasparian (Russia)/Daria Gavrilova (Australia) against Raquel Atawo (USA)/Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia). Also on Friday, in the second round, Sorana Cirstea and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko were eliminated by the Slovenian-Spanish pair Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 7-5, 6-3. On Saturday in the same stage, irina Begu and Mihaela Buzarnescu, 10th seeded, will play against the pair Alize Cornet (Franţa)/Petra Martic (Croatia). Also on Saturday, world’s no. 1 player Simona Halep will take on American Venus Williams (36 WTA) in the third round. (translation by L. Simion)