Radio România Internațional

Tag: damages

  • February 16, 2025 UPDATE 2

    February 16, 2025 UPDATE 2

    Conference – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu, met, at the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, with three American senators, both from the Republican and Democratic parties. He discussed with Jane Shaheen, James Risch and Christopher A. Coons about foreign interference in last year’s presidential election in Romania and about the preparation of measures to prevent the repetition of such a situation, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. According to a statement made public on Sunday, the main themes of the discussions were the security situation in the Black Sea region as well as the ways to capitalize on the Romania-US Strategic Partnership, the continuation of support for Ukraine invaded by the Russian troops and the involvement in its reconstruction process. Minister Hurezeanu emphasized, in the context, the importance of continuing the robust presence of the United States in Romania.

     

    Cooperation – Attending the conference in Munich, the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, met, on the sidelines of the Security Conference, with his counterparts from Albania, Pirro Vengu, and Bulgaria, Atanas Zaprianov. The discussions focused on strengthening regional cooperation in the field of defense and military mobility. One of the essential topics addressed during the talks was the Pan-European Military Mobility Corridor VIII, a strategic project in which Romania participates together with Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and North Macedonia. Angel Tîlvăr reiterated Romania’s commitment to facilitating the rapid transit of forces and military equipment in South-Eastern Europe, emphasizing the importance of reducing bureaucratic barriers and harmonizing critical infrastructure, the Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN) informed. The ministers also discussed the importance of strengthening NATO’s defense and deterrence posture in the Black Sea region.

     

    Air transport – The Romanian airport administrators will be able to ground the planes of those companies that do not comply with European legislation regarding the compensation owed to passengers, if the draft emergency ordinance put up for public debate by the Economy Ministry is adopted. According to the initiators, the new regulation completes the Air Code and ensures the respect of the passengers’ rights. The National Authority for Consumer Protection will compel air transport operators to comply with passenger compensation obligations, by granting money or vouchers, according to their agreement with them. Passengers entitled to damages must submit a written request to ask for compensation, which is set between 250 and 600 Euros per person, depending on the distance of the flight routes.

     

    Handball – Romanian’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, defeated, on Sunday, away from home, score 32-21, the Norwegian team Storhamar Handbal Elite, in Group A of the Women’s Champions League. CSM achieved its fourth consecutive victory in the competition and cannot miss the third place in the group of eight teams. The top two teams qualify directly for the quarter-finals, and the teams ranked on the 3rd to the 6th places compete in a play-off for access to the quarter-finals.

     

    Commemoration – At least 1,500 people gathered, on Sunday, at the tomb in Moscow of Alexei Navalny, long considered the main opponent of the Kremlin, one year after his death, in an Arctic prison colony, the international media report.  Dozens of families with children went, in the cold, to the cemetery, where the security system was rather discreet, consisting of plainclothesmen. Joining the commemoration were also Western diplomats, representatives of the American, French, Spanish, Norwegian and European Union embassies.  Arrested in January 2021, upon his return to the country, after he had been treated in Germany following his poisoning, Navalnyi was sentenced to heavy penalties in several cases. The last sentence, in August 2023, was 19 years in prison, for “extremism”. Navalny had communicated mainly through messages sent to his lawyers and then posted on social media, in which he denounced the invasion of Ukraine and called on Russians to ‘resist’ the Kremlin.  The circumstances of his death remain unclear. (LS)

  • Sentences in the Colectiv case

    Sentences in the Colectiv case

    October 30, 2015 was the day marking a great national tragedy occurring in times of peace. The fire that broke out that Friday evening in a Bucharest club, where young people had come for a rock concert, took the lives of 65 people, who died on the spot and later in hospital. More than 150 of those who were in the club suffered serious injuries. After 6 and a half years, the court established who the culprits were and gave sentences. The former mayor of Bucharests Sector 4, where the tragedy occurred, Cristian Popescu Piedone, who was the mayor of the neighboring sector 5 at the time the sentence was pronounced, received 4-year imprisonment for abuse of office, diminished by half from the one received in the first instance. In his case, the judges eliminated the aggravated form of his abuse of office crime, which would have brought him in a bigger sentence.



    The three owners of the club have also had their sentences reduced, depending on the guilt assessed by the magistrates, and they received between 6 years and 11 years and 8 months. Also judged in this case were the two firefighters from the Bucharest Inspectorate for Emergency Situations who checked the Colectiv Club without taking the legal measures required by the non-observance of the fire safety regulations. They received definitive sentences of 8 years and 8 months each.



    The pyrotechnic specialists tried in this case will serve 6 years and 10 months each, but their sentences were also reduced. The three officials from the City Hall were acquitted, after they had initially received between 3-year suspended sentences and 8-year determinate sentences. Neither them, nor Popescu Piedone nor the firefighters will pay damages to the victims of the Colectiv tragedy. The Court of Appeal ordered that some of the convicts should pay damages of tens of millions of euros to the families of the victims and the survivors.



    We have all the conditions for treating burns, the then health minister said in the days following the fire. That was a haphazard, if not irresponsible, statement. In fact, the facilities of Romanian hospitals were far from complying with the standards that could ensure real chances of survival for victims with severe burns.



    Moreover, that was the moment that revealed to the public the scale of another phenomenon that the press and public health experts had been talking about for some time: hospital-acquired infections. After admitting its chronic inability to intervene in such a situation, the Romanian state accepted the gestures of solidarity of some EU countries. Some of the Colectiv fire victims were sent for treatment abroad, but for some it was too late. Romania still does not have a burn center, which is a major deficiency according to the PM Nicolae Ciuca.



    Fires resulting in deaths also occurred after the Colectiv fire, many of them even in hospitals. The corruption, incompetence and administrative negligence, denounced then, in 2015, through extensive street protests that resulted in the resignation of the then government, are still sabotaging the normal functioning of public systems in general, not just of the medical one. (LS)

  • Sentences in the Colectiv case

    Sentences in the Colectiv case

    October 30, 2015 was the day marking a great national tragedy occurring in times of peace. The fire that broke out that Friday evening in a Bucharest club, where young people had come for a rock concert, took the lives of 65 people, who died on the spot and later in hospital. More than 150 of those who were in the club suffered serious injuries. After 6 and a half years, the court established who the culprits were and gave sentences. The former mayor of Bucharests Sector 4, where the tragedy occurred, Cristian Popescu Piedone, who was the mayor of the neighboring sector 5 at the time the sentence was pronounced, received 4-year imprisonment for abuse of office, diminished by half from the one received in the first instance. In his case, the judges eliminated the aggravated form of his abuse of office crime, which would have brought him in a bigger sentence.



    The three owners of the club have also had their sentences reduced, depending on the guilt assessed by the magistrates, and they received between 6 years and 11 years and 8 months. Also judged in this case were the two firefighters from the Bucharest Inspectorate for Emergency Situations who checked the Colectiv Club without taking the legal measures required by the non-observance of the fire safety regulations. They received definitive sentences of 8 years and 8 months each.



    The pyrotechnic specialists tried in this case will serve 6 years and 10 months each, but their sentences were also reduced. The three officials from the City Hall were acquitted, after they had initially received between 3-year suspended sentences and 8-year determinate sentences. Neither them, nor Popescu Piedone nor the firefighters will pay damages to the victims of the Colectiv tragedy. The Court of Appeal ordered that some of the convicts should pay damages of tens of millions of euros to the families of the victims and the survivors.



    We have all the conditions for treating burns, the then health minister said in the days following the fire. That was a haphazard, if not irresponsible, statement. In fact, the facilities of Romanian hospitals were far from complying with the standards that could ensure real chances of survival for victims with severe burns.



    Moreover, that was the moment that revealed to the public the scale of another phenomenon that the press and public health experts had been talking about for some time: hospital-acquired infections. After admitting its chronic inability to intervene in such a situation, the Romanian state accepted the gestures of solidarity of some EU countries. Some of the Colectiv fire victims were sent for treatment abroad, but for some it was too late. Romania still does not have a burn center, which is a major deficiency according to the PM Nicolae Ciuca.



    Fires resulting in deaths also occurred after the Colectiv fire, many of them even in hospitals. The corruption, incompetence and administrative negligence, denounced then, in 2015, through extensive street protests that resulted in the resignation of the then government, are still sabotaging the normal functioning of public systems in general, not just of the medical one. (LS)

  • Effects of heavy rainfalls

    Effects of heavy rainfalls

    Summer has officially begun, but Romania is still in the grips of floods, heavy rainfalls, hailstorms, gale and strong winds. For several weeks now meteorologists have been issuing code yellow and orange alerts for unsettled weather and floods valid for the entire country. Hydrologists have repeatedly drawn attention to the risk of flooding, as many rivers across Romania have been under code orange and yellow alerts and some even under code red alerts. The abundant rainfalls have caused high floods and rivers have overtopped their banks.



    Heavy rain was also reported on Monday night when bridges, homes, enclosures, gardens and cellars were inundated with flood water. Hundreds of people have been evacuated by firefighters. The employees of the Emergency Service and Romanian Waters Authority have intervened on some river dams and controlled the discharge of water from reservoirs, thus avoiding the flooding of several communes. The only areas that were not affected by bad weather on Monday were the Black Sea Coast and 3 counties in the west of Romania. In the rest of the regions, traffic was disrupted on county, national and European roads, which were blocked by the high floods. The hailstorms and flooding reported in the past days have damaged crops. It has been revealed that most farmers do not have crop insurance. Many domestic animals have drowned and lots of localities were left without electricity, with utility poles being downed by waters.



    On Monday, the environment and water ministers, Gratiela Gavrilescu and Ioan Denes, went to Prahova county, in southern Romania, which was badly affected by the extreme weather phenomena. They announced that river regulation and bank consolidation works would be undertaken to avoid future catastrophes. Minister Denes talked with the PM Viorica Dancila who promised to allot money from the government’s emergency fund to start the respective works, after 4 children were killed by the high floods several days ago. However, the Arad county council representatives (western Romania) have reminded the Government that it has not yet allotted the money ‘promised’ last year after the floods that affected their county. In another development, several psychologists went to the villages in central Romania that were affected by floods to provide psychological support to the people. The Red Cross has also given a hand, attending to the locals’ needs. The bad weather is not over yet, as a warning for unsettled weather and heavy rainfalls is still in place for the entire country.

  • The Week in Review, 22-28 July

    The Week in Review, 22-28 July

    Government presents report after 6 months in office


    The third governmental team put together by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats this week reviewed its accomplishments after the first six months in office. Higher budget revenues, increased investments and better spending of EU funds are some of the achievements presented by PM Dancila on Monday. She also mentioned the Governments measures to encourage employment and support farmers. Viorica Dancila explained that in the first 6 months of the year the state budget revenues were some 3.2 billion euros higher than in the corresponding period of last year. Doubling the salaries of healthcare personnel and a 25% increase of teaching staff incomes were also listed as “social measures. In the first 6 months in office, the Government also approved 13 strategic investment projects, 4 of which in the transport infrastructure sector. Also, 192 km of power lines were completed, which allow for inter-connection with the neighbouring Hungary and Serbia. Ludovic Orban, the president of the National Liberal Party, in opposition, criticised the activity of the government, arguing that the current Cabinet brought to a halt the economic growth of the past few years and lowered the citizens purchasing power.



    PM visits Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia


    The Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, while on an official visit this week to Podgorita, reiterated Romanias support for Montenegros EU accession efforts. The head of the Romanian Cabinet had meetings with president Milo Djukanovic and her counterpart Dusko Marcovic, as well as with the Parliament Speaker Ivan Brajovic. Mrs Dancila promised that the Western Balkans will be a key priority of the upcoming Romanian EU Council presidency and that Romania will be offering the expertise and the necessary technical assistance for the success of this process. She also congratulated Montenegro on its recent NATO accession, emphasising that Podgorica is a true friend and ally of Romania. The Romanian Prime Ministers Western Balkans tour continued with a visit to the Republic of Macedonia, the agenda of which included meetings with the head of state Gjorge Ivanov, PM Zoran Zaev and Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi. The topics approached included opportunities to strengthen bilateral relations.



    The position of chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate remains vacant


    According to an announcement of the Romanian Justice Ministry on Friday, all four candidacies for chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate have been rejected, and the selection procedure will be resumed. The press release reads that none of four met the necessary requirements. The four candidates, interviewed on Thursday, were Florentina Mirica, chief prosecutor with the Anti-corruption Service of the Directorate, Cristian Lazar, deputy chief prosecutor with the Criminal Prosecution Department of the Prosecutor Generals Office, Marius Iacob, deputy chief prosecutor with the National Anticorruption Directorate, and Elena Grecu, prosecutor chief of service with the central offices of the National Anticorruption Directorate. The position of Chief Prosecutor of the Directorate became vacant when Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed under a decree signed on July 9th by the countrys president, Klaus Iohannis, who thus complied with a ruling of the Constitutional Court.



    Romania supports fire-ravaged Greece


    The disaster in Greece, dubbed by many as Biblical, has sensitized the entire world, including Romanians, who have shown their willingness to help. On Wednesday, the Romanian Air Forces sent two airplanes and 20 soldiers to help the Greek authorities. The C-27 J Spartan, designed to extinguish fires, launches special cardboard boxes, each filled with 1.000 litres of water, and the other aircraft, a Hercules C-130, provides logistical support. Princess Margaret, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania and president of the Romanian Red Cross, has conveyed a message of compassion to the Greek people. Also, the Romanian Patriarchy has urged all eparchies in the country and abroad to provide financial support to those affected and has announced the opening of several bank accounts. The money will be donated to the Athens Archbishopric.



    Bad weather takes Romania in its grip again


    One person has died taken by the waters and lots of households and thousands of hectares of farming land and pastures have been damaged this week by heavy ran and flooding, affecting half of the country. Such phenomena have become quite normal this summer, which has proven rather atypical. July 2018 has been the coolest summer month in the last 34 years, with temperatures below the average and heavy precipitations reported almost every day, keeping meteorologists busy issuing one alert after another for heavy rain, storms and unstable weather across the country. Firefighters and military rescue teams have intervened to help the population deal with the damage caused by the bad weather. The Government has announced it will provide emergency aid in the areas affected by flooding and has called on local authorities to take all the necessary measures.



    Swine fever wreaks havoc


    The African swine fever virus continues to spread across Romania and cause colossal damage among local farms, amounting to hundreds of millions of Euro. Some 440 outbreaks have been reported since the beginning of the year, mostly in the county of Tulcea, in the south-east. Tens of thousands of pigs have been slaughtered, and deliveries of pork and pork meat products have been restricted. The African swine fever affects only animals, therefore it cannot hurt humans, but there is no treatment or vaccine against it.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • Consequences of torrential rain and storms

    Consequences of torrential rain and storms

    The Romanian authorities have declared a state of alert in several counties following powerful storms and heavy rain in recent days. Dozens of bridges have been swept by the water and many streets, roads and crops have been flooded. In some cases, the damage caused to cereal crops, grapes and tomatoes is at 70%, according to farmers, who have given up all hope of a profit this year. Reports show that heavy rain and flash floods have damaged dozens of homes, basements, yards and gardens, economic sites, outbuildings, cars, wells and sections of roads.



    According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, army rescuers used high-capacity motor pumps, trucks, boats and special vehicles. The waters have subsided to leave behind mud and reveal the dejecting landscape of the damage caused. The National Meteorological Service had even issued a red code warning for torrential rain, thunderstorms, hail and heavy wind in Galati county, in eastern Romania. Valcea, in the south, is one of the counties most severely affected. It was particularly bad in Calimanesti, where in one night it rained as much as in one month. One man, aged 60, died in the flash flood.



    In Vrancea county, in the east, the army firefighters were called in to rescue a shepherd and 200 animals stranded on an island in the middle of Siret river. Rescuers used boats to take the man and the animals to safety. In the south of the country, in Teleorman, train travel was temporarily disrupted because of a fire caused by lighteningto the locomotive of a train with around 100 people on board. Electricity black-outs were reported in dozens of localities, mostly in the counties of Bacau, Iasi and Vaslui, in the eastern part of the country.



    In Bucharest and other cities, the streets have been flooded and traffic disrupted in some areas. A 2 km-long traffic jam formed at the entrance to Bucharest on the motorway linking the capital city to the Black Sea coast, because of the traffic restrictions imposed due to flooding.


  • February 3, 2018 UPDATE

    February 3, 2018 UPDATE

    Chevron — The American oil company Chevron will pay to the National Agency for Mineral Resources in Romania around 74 million dollars following the annulment of three oil concession agreements without observing the financial obligations stipulated by the oil law, the Romanian government announced Saturday in a press release. The decision was made by the International Court of Arbitration, a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce based in Paris, which was asked to solve the conflict between Chevron and Romania’s National Agency for Mineral Resources. In 2011, the two sides concluded three concession agreements for exploitation, development and exploration in certain areas in southeastern Romania, which three years later Chevron decided to terminate.



    Microsoft — The head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, said she had no reason to resign, after charges were dropped in a resounding corruption case investigated by her assistants because the statute of limitations had expired. Charges were dropped against six former ministers prosecuted for abuse of office allegedly perpetrated in 2003-2004 while in the case of the 7th minister the case was closed. The ministers in question were investigated by the National Anticorruption Directorate for initiating or supporting government orders awarding a public procurement contract to a private company. Anti-corruption prosecutors say this company was considered, with no justification in reality, as the sole provider of Microsoft licenses in Romania, so no public tender was therefore held. Total damages stand at around 70 million dollars.



    USR — The leader of the opposition Save Romania Union Dan Barna has called for the resignation of the Foreign Minister, Liberal Democrat Teodor Melescanu following a declaration, which he labels as anti-European. Minister Melescanu had labeled as gross violation of the EU principles the information from Brussels according to which the observance of the rule of law could become a condition for granting European funds. The European Commission decided, for the first time in the history of the community bloc, to start the procedure for the activation of Article 7 against Poland, which provides for the suspension of the right to vote in the European Council. According to Brussels officials, there is evident risk of serious infringement of the rule of law in Poland, where Parliament passed laws that increase the control of the executive power on the judiciary.



    Commemoration — Commemoration events were held Saturday at the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to Resistance in Sighet (northwestern Romania) to mark 65 years since the death of a great Romanian politician, Iuliu Maniu. The political personality of the leader of the National Peasant Party, who was Romania’s prime minister in the interwar period and also a member of the Romanian Academy, was evoked in a number of speeches and papers presented during the events. An activist for union, a promoter of democratic principles and an adversary of Communism and Nazism, Iuliu Maniu was arrested in 1947 by the regime instated by the Soviet occupation and died in 1953 at the age of 80 in the Sighet prison, where most of the former Democratic dignitaries were detained.



    Tennis — Romania’s and Luxembourg’s Davis Cup teams have obtained equal scores, 1-1, after the first two singles held Saturday in Piatra Neamt (northeastern Romania) in the first round of Europe/ Africa Zone Group II. In the first singles match on Saturday Ugo Nastasi of Luxembourg defeated the Romanian tennis player Nicolae Frunza 7-6, 1-6, 6-3. In the second match, Marius Copil defeated Christhope Tholl 6-3, 6-2. On Sunday, in the doubles, the pair Florin Mergea/Horia Tecău will play against Ugo Nastasi/Christophe Tholl and in the last two matches Copil will play against Nastasi and Frunza against Tholl. The Davis Cup matches will take place according to the new format announced by the International Tennis Federation with matches consisting of maximum 3 sets being played for two days not three, as has happened so far. Romania was demoted last year to Group I for the first time after 1993, after it lost the match against Israel 0-5. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • February 3, 2018

    February 3, 2018

    Chevron — The American oil company Chevron will pay to the National Agency for Mineral Resources in Romania around 74 million dollars following the annulment of three oil concession agreements without observing the financial obligations stipulated by the oil law, the Romanian government announced Saturday in a press release. The decision was made by the International Court of Arbitration, a branch of the International Chamber of Commerce based in Paris which was asked to solve the conflict between Chevron and Romania’s National Agency for Mineral Resources. In 2011, the two sides concluded three concession agreements for exploitation, development and exploration in certain areas in southeastern Romania, which three years later Chevron decided to terminate.



    Microsoft — The head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, said she had no reason to resign, after charges were dropped in a resounding corruption case investigated by her assistants because the statute of limitations had expired. Charges were dropped against six former ministers prosecuted for abuse of office allegedly perpetrated in 2003-2004 while in the case of the 7th minister the case was closed. The ministers in question were investigated by the National Anticorruption Directorate for initiating or supporting government orders awarding a public procurement contract to a private company. Anti-corruption prosecutors say this company was considered, with no justification in reality, as the sole provider of Microsoft licenses in Romania, so no public tender was therefore held. Total damages stand at around 70 million dollars.



    USR — The leader of the opposition Save Romania Union party Dan Barna has called for the resignation of the Foreign Minister, Liberal Democrat Teodor Melescanu following a declaration, which he labels as anti-European. Minister Melescanu had labeled as gross violation of the EU principles the information from Brussels according to which the observance of the rule of law could become a condition for granting European funds. The European Commission decided, for the first time in the history of the community bloc, to start the procedure for the activation of Article 7 against Poland, which provides for the suspension of the right to vote in the European Council. According to Brussels officials, there is evident risk of serious infringement of the rule of law in Poland, where Parliament passed laws that increase the control of the executive power on the judiciary.



    Tennis — Romanian tennis player Nicolae Frunza and Ugo Nastasi of Luxembourg are today playing the first Davis Cup match held in Piatra Neamt (northeastern Romania) in the first round of Europe/ Africa Zone Group II. In the second singles match Romanian Marius Copil will be up against Christhope Tholl. On Sunday, in the doubles, the pair Florin Mergea/Horia Tecău will play against Ugo Nastasi/Christophe Tholl and in the last two matches Copil will play against Nastasi and Frunza against Tholl. The matches will take place according to the new format announced by the International Tennis Federation with matches, consisting of maximum 3 sets, being played for two days not three, as has happened so far. Romania was demoted last year to Group I for the first time after 1993, after it lost the match against Israel 0-5.



    Commemoration — Commemoration events were held Saturday at the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to Resistance in Sighet (northwestern Romania) to mark 65 years since the death of a great Romanian politician, Iuliu Maniu. The political personality of the leader of the National Peasant Party, who was Romania’s prime minister in the interwar period and also a member of the Romanian Academy, was evoked in a number of speeches and papers presented during the events. An activist for union, a promoter of democratic principles and an adversary of Communism and Nazism, Iuliu Maniu was arrested in 1947 by the regime instated by the Soviet occupation and died in 1953 at the age of 80 in the Sighet prison, where most of the former Democratic dignitaries were detained. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • September 17-23

    September 17-23

    Extreme weather phenomena- prevention measures


    The Romanian Government on Thursday decided to grant an 8 million Euro aid to cover the damages produced by violent storms in several counties in western, northern and central Romania. The funds will be used for repair works on schools, hospitals, police stations, churches and other public buildings. Last Sunday, a storm, which lasted only 15 minutes, left behind some 8 people dead and over 140 people injured, blew away roofs and street billboards, and damaged cars. Power outings were reported and localities were left without running water. Roads have been temporarily blocked. Railways have been severely affected. In the wake of Sundays storms, PM Mihai Tudose has announced its high time Romania had a modern warning system to alert the population against disasters, just like those in other European states. Just a couple of days later, bad weather has again taken parts of the country in its grip, sweeping Bucharest and 38 other localities. The storm took a toll of 3 lives. Gusty wind blew away roofs, and traffic was temporarily disrupted because of trees that fell on the roads.



    Romanias President Klaus Iohannis attending the UN General Assembly


    Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, had a busy agenda during his six-day visit to the US, where he attended the UN General Assembly meeting. In a speech he delivered in a plenary session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Romanian President underlined the need to strengthen the UN and to render it more effective, in order to be able to face current challenges. He said that Romania hails the reform of the UN mechanisms against terrorism and its demarches of making of the fight against terrorism a key element of its terrorism-prevention agenda. Iohannis also pleaded for setting up an international court against terrorism. The Romanian President also attended high-level meetings organised by Romania together with other countries as well as a series of bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary General, the President of the UN General Assembly and with a number of heads of state. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis met with ethnic Romanians living in Philadelphia, and asked them to consoldiate the relationship between the Romania and the US. He told the ethnic Romanians that the Strategic Partneship between Romania and the US has gained a new dimension, after the visit he paid to Washington earlier this year. Iohannis said the US President Donald Trump appreciates very much the Romanian community in the US. Also on Thursday, the Romanian President announced that he cancelled his visit to neighbouring Ukraine, scheduled for early October and the meeting with the Chairman of the Supreme Rada, Andriy Parubiy, due in Bucharest, at the end of the month. The Romanian President made these decisions after the Ukrainian Parliament adopted an education law that infringes upon the rights of 400 thousand ethnic Romanians living in Ukraine of having access to education in their native langue.



    Bucharests reactions to the new education law in Ukraine


    On Wednesday, the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, gathered in a plenary session, adopted a declaration on the new education law in Ukraine, which- they say- drastically limits the right to education in the native language of national minorities, including the ethnic Romanians. The Romanian Parliament calls on Kiev to reassess the law, which should only be promulgated by President Petro Poroshenko in order to take effect. The Romanian Parliament also calls on the Ukrainian side to ensure the adequate protection for the linguistic, cultural and religious identity of approximately half a million ethnic Romanians in the neighbouring country. Parliament also voted on the structure of a delegation that will go to Ukraine to support the cause of the Romanian ethnic minority. Romanias delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly will also calls on this body to organise in October a debate that should end with the adoption of a resolution on monitoring Ukraines human rights record.



    Romanian defence minister Mihai Fifor, on a visit to Washington


    The Romanian defence minister, Mihai Fifor, paid a working visit to Washington earlier this week. During the talks he had with the American officials minister Fifor reiterated Bucharests commitment to further be a staunch, predictable and trustworthy partner and to contribute to regional security and stability. He presented the Romanian governments priorities in the field of defence, among which allotting 2% of the GDP for defence. The agenda of talks also covered such issues as strengthening the Romania-US Strategic Partnership and bilateral cooperation in the military field. The Romanian minister has also met with representatives of US defence industry companies. Fifor underlined Bucharests firm commitment to step up the process of modernising the Romanian Armed Forces and has recalled that the Romanian Parliament has already started a series of endowment programs, among which those of purchasing Patriot missiles and Himars systems.



    The simple motion on education has been rejected


    The simple motion requesting the resignation of the education minister, Liviu Pop, was rejected on Monday in a plenary session of the Romanian Senate. Dubbed “Romania without high quality education is a poor country”, the motion had been tabled by the main opposition parties, the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union. The signatories blame minister Pop for the school year having started without textbooks for fifth graders, the lack of functioning permits in the case of most schools and for the dropout rate, which reached a record high.Liviu Pop said in the plenary session of the Senate that he had compiled a report on the real situation of the Romanian education system.


  • The Economic Effects of Drought

    The Economic Effects of Drought

    The prolonged drought of July and August has created big problems for Romanian farmers, who say their crops are compromised on hundreds of thousands of hectares, in most regions of the country, the total volume of losses exceeding 2 billion Euros. Meteorologists say it should rain uninterruptedly for two weeks, for the underground water reserves to reach normal levels again.



    According to official data, this is the longest period of extreme heat and drought registered in Romania in recent years. With the exception of few counties in the centre and the north of the territory, all others have been affected. The situation is worsened by the lack of an irrigation system, which could have made the difference. At present, only 300,000 hectares of land can be irrigated, as compared to 3.3 million in 1989.



    In this context, the Romanian government is ready to pay compensations to the farmers whose crops have been severely affected by drought. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said the situation does not look very dramatic in the case of wheat crops. In exchange, maize crops are the most affected. The prime minister has underlined that the effects of this summers drought will be felt until the end of the year, and these should be compensated by measures to stabilise other branches of the economy, as well, in order to sustain the upward course of the economy.



    As of this summer, Romanian farmers might also receive damages from the EU solidarity fund, to offset their losses. To that end, the Romanian government should however provide the European Commission with exact data on the consequences of this prolonged period of extreme heat, without precipitations, the EU Commissioner for Regional Development, Corina Cretu has said.



    Drought affects not only agriculture, but also transport on the Danube, which has been restricted because of the alarmingly low level of the river. Sea transporters have to reduce speed, particularly in critical areas. Furthermore, deep draught vessels have to transfer a part of the cargo on smaller ships, to be able to cross the areas with low water depth. Many ships are blocked on the entire course of the Danube, an important transport route for oil and grains from the east to the west of Europe.



    Drought also impacts fisheries and tourism in the Danube Delta, where access is rendered difficult on canals and lakes. The inhabitants of this unique area in Europe, included by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites, are facing substantial losses, and have called for the support of the authorities to reduce their fishing quotas.