Radio România Internațional

Tag: debt

  • October 28, 2024

    October 28, 2024

     

    AGING The population of Romania in mid-2024 was 21,779,000, down 1% compared to June 1, 2023. According to the National Statistics Institute, demographic aging is deepening, with the over-65 age bracket now almost 1 million people larger than the under-14 segment. 55% of the Romanians live in urban communities, but urban-to-rural migration continues, and over 90,000 people moved to the countryside within a year. The number of women is now half a million larger than the number of men, and the national average age is close to 43.

     

    NATURAL GAS Romania has become the EU’s largest natural gas producer, with an output of 2.3 billion cubic metres in Q2, the energy minister Sebastian Burduja announced. According to him, Romania has outperformed the Netherlands, which reported 2.2 billion cubic metres, and compared to last year Romania’s natural gas output was 1% higher. Burduja added that most of the credit for this should go to the Romanian natural gas company, Romgaz, which in the first semester reported a 5% higher gas output than in the corresponding period of last year. The Romanian official explained that Romgaz intends to earmark EUR 120-160 million to increase production. This year alone, the Romanian company started operations with 7 new drilling rigs.

     

    FUELS The average petrol price in Romania has gone up by 3.3% in the past month, to approx. EUR 1.44 per litre in Bucharest. During the same period, average diesel prices rose by 2.3%. Romania has the 7th-lowest petrol prices and the 9th–lowest diesel prices in the European Union.

     

    IMF An IMF mission led by Jan Kees Martijn will be in Bucharest between November 5 and 8, for a review of the latest economic and financial developments and of macroeconomic forecasts. In its latest “World Economic Outlook” report, released recently, the IMF lowered to 1.9% its estimate on Romania’s economic growth rate this year, from the July 2.8% forecast. According to the institution’s latest figures, in 2025 Romania is expected to see a 3.3% economic growth rate.

     

    DEBT According to the Romanian finance ministry, the country’s governmental debt reached approx. EUR 175 bln this July, accounting for 52% of GDP. Romania’s governmental debt is split between domestic debt (roughly EUR 85.7 billion), and foreign debt (approx. EUR 89.5 billion). On the other hand, the budget deficit estimated for 2024 is nearly 8% of GDP. Since 2020, Romania has been subject to an excessive deficit procedure, after in 2019 the country exceeded the 3% of GDP ceiling set under the Stability and Growth Pact. In 2021 the EU Council recommended that Romania bring its deficit below 3% by 2024.

     

    TENNIS The former WTA leader Simona Halep takes on Yue Yuan (China) today, in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong. This is for the first time that the Romanian player (aged 33, currently no. 869 WTA) plays against Yuan (26, no. 44 WTA). If she wins, Halep is next to take on the winner of the match between Nao Hibino (156 WTA) and Aliaksandra Sasnovich (143 WTA). The main draw of the Hong Kong tournament also includes Romania’s Ana Bogdan (109 WTA), who plays in the first round against Kimberly Birrell of Australia (111 WTA). (AMP)

  • October 27, 2024 UPDATE

    October 27, 2024 UPDATE

    Debt – Romania’s government debt rose, in July, to 876.288 billion lei, from 860.331 billion lei in the previous month, according to data published by the Finance Ministry. As a percentage of the GDP, the government debt rose to 52% from 51.1% in June. Most of this debt was represented by government bonds. The Romanian government approved, on Wednesday, an emergency ordinance which establishes the increase in the public debt ceiling, according to the European Union’s methodology, to the level of 53% of the gross domestic product for the end of 2024. According to the government, this change aims to ensure flexibility in attracting the financial resources necessary to implement the financing plan of 2024, to pre-finance the needs in the year 2025, as well as to maintain the foreign currency reserve at the disposal of the State Treasury at a comfortable level.

     

    Moldova – The pro-European President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, accused, on Sunday, during an electoral debate, her opponent in the second round of the presidential election, the pro-Russian Alexandr Stoianoglo, of being just a ‘Trojan horse’, a man through whom others want to rule the country’. In reply, Stoianoglo, who is supported by the Socialist Party from the Republic of Moldova, said that he is a ‘firm supporter of the country’s European integration’ and that he wants ‘the transformation of Moldova into an active provider of peace and security in the region’. The electoral debate took place without a moderator, because the journalist proposed to be moderator by the Stoianoglo camp was accused of not being honest and impartial. In the first round of the presidential election, the incumbent president obtained 43% of the votes, while Stoianoglo took 26%. The second round of the presidential election will take place on November 3. A week ago, together with the first round of the presidential election, there was also a referendum for EU integration, which was validated and in which the pro-accession voters were 12 thousand more. Maia Sandu pointed an accusatory finger to the meddling in the electoral process of some criminal groups that would have acted alongside foreign forces hostile to the interests of the country. Moscow denied any interference in the elections and referendum.

     

    Georgia – Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, won the parliamentary elections against a pro-European opposition coalition that refused to concede defeat, the Central Electoral Committee announced on Sunday morning, according to AFP and Dpa. The Georgian Dream, a conservative and nationalist party led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, allegedly obtained 54% of the votes, compared to 37.58% for the pro-European coalition, according to the counting carried out in over 99% of the constituencies.  The pro-European opposition coalition did not recognize the preliminary results and announced the organization of protests. The opposition accuses the Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, of pro-Russian authoritarian drift and Georgia’s distancing from the EU and NATO, which it intends to join. Brussels has warned that Georgia’s chances of joining the EU will depend on the elections held in the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, which has enshrined this aspiration in its constitution. Georgia was rocked, in May, by protests against a law on ‘foreign influence’, after the model of the Russian legislation on ‘foreign agents’ used to crush civil society, AFP reports.

     

    Winter time – Romania switched to winter time on Saturday night to Sunday. The clocks were set back by one hour, so that Sunday will have 25 hours and will be the longest of the year. Changing the time twice a year is based on the idea of ​​saving energy, by aligning the interval of human activity with that of natural light. Although this is the most important argument for changing the time, there are studies that suggest that the energy savings are minor, and citizens are more and more complaining about negative health effects. The EC and EP tried to abandon this system as early as 2021, but the member countries did not agree on which of the systems should be kept.

     

    Iran – The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss Israel’s attack on Iran. The meeting was requested by Tehran with the support of Algeria, China and Russia. The Israeli regime’s actions represent a serious threat to international peace and security and further destabilize an already fragile region, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter to the Council. Dozens of Israeli jets carried out three waves of strikes on the night of Friday to Saturday against missile factories and other military centers near Tehran and in western Iran, the Israeli army representatives said. They were in retaliation for Iran’s October 1 attack on Israel with about 200 ballistic missiles, and Israel warned its heavily armed enemy not to retaliate after the latest strike. On Sunday, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, rejected Iran’s complaint saying in a statement that Iran ‘is trying to act against us in the diplomatic arena with the ridiculous claim that Israel has violated international law’. (LS)

  • The Week in Review

    The Week in Review

    Amnesty for debtors

     

    The government of Romania Wednesday passed a draft emergency order introducing a tax amnesty for companies and individuals. The document provides for bonuses for those who pay their taxes on time, and for those who agree to pay their back taxes. At the end of August, legal entities and private taxpayers had a total of over EUR 14 billion in debts to the state budget. The government invites taxpayers to cover these amounts by November 25, in exchange for having their interests and penalties written off. On the other hand, the government offers a 3% deduction for the taxpayers who do not fall behind on their taxes. The bill, drafted by the finance ministry, also comprises austerity measures for the public sector, which involve ceilings on the procurement of goods and services.

     

    Donation for Ukraine

     

    The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Thursday signed into law the bill on the donation of a Patriot surface-to-air missile system purchased from the USA to third countries. The legislation, previously endorsed in Parliament, approves a donation agreed on with the American partner to Russia-invaded Ukraine. Also, under the law, “the government of Romania is authorised to take the required measures to rebuild the ground-based air defence capability” by assigning contracts to the US government for the procurement of another Patriot system.

     

    Support for Israel

     

    Romania firmly condemns the terror attacks against Israel and calls on all the parties involved to help restore security and to contribute to a ceasefire agreement. This was the message conveyed on Thursday in Jerusalem by the PM Marcel Ciolacu, at a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, Ciolacu voiced concern with respect to the security situation and the risk of conflict escalation. Accompanied by the ministers of defence, foreign affairs and economy, the PM was on an official working visit to Israel, whose agenda also included a meeting with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog. This is the second visit by the Romanian PM to Israel in less than a year, after the one on October 17, 2023, ten days after Israel had been attacked by the Hamas Islamist group.

     

    European Commissioner Post for Romania

     

    The Social Democratic MEP Roxana Mînzatu is Romania’s official proposal for the post of European Commissioner. The announcement was made on Monday by Prime Minister Ciolacu, who said that he would discuss with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the portfolio that Romania will manage. The makeup of the future European Executive is to be announced on September 11. Also in Brussels, the Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan (from the European People’s Party Group) was designated by the political groups of the European Parliament as chief negotiator of the future multiannual budget of the European Union post-2027. Covering a period of over 7 years, it has a total value of approximately 1,300 billion Euros, being the pool from which the member states receive the largest part of the non-reimbursable European funds for investments and for agricultural subsidies. The Parliament is to set its priorities regarding the EU’s multiannual budget. They will be forwarded to the European Commission to be included in the draft budget. From the current multi-annual financial year, 2021 – 2027, Romania benefits from around 46 billion Euros, to which the amounts from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are also added.

     

    Jam on the road to presidency

     

    The Romanian Mircea Geoană resigned on Tuesday from the position of NATO Deputy Secretary General. It is the end of a five-year mandate, marked by the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of allied troops from Afghanistan. Geoana said, in an interview for Radio Romania, that he would continue to use his influence to promote Romanians in international forums, including NATO, and that he felt the need to return to domestic politics. The press had been anticipating this announcement for more than two years already, and considered Geoană’s candidacy, as an independent, very likely in the presidential election due at the end of the year. A former ambassador to the United States, a former foreign minister and former Social Democratic leader, Geoană also ran for presidency in 2009, when he lost to Traian Băsescu. Other candidates to  Romania’s presidency are all the leaders of the parliamentary parties: Marcel Ciolacu (Social Democratic Party – PSD), Nicolae Ciucă (National Liberal Party – PNL), Elena Lasconi (Save Romania Union – USR), George Simion (The Alliance for the Union for Romanians – AUR) or Kelemen Hunor (The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR). (AMP, LS)

  • Romania and international rating agencies

    Romania and international rating agencies

     

    The Romanian finance minister Marcel Boloş, who took part in Washington in the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, had talks with officials for the S&P and Moody’s rating agencies, which monitor fiscal and budgetary parameters around the world.

     

    The talks concerned Romania’s economic characteristics and the strategies to ensure macroeconomic stability.

     

    The agencies have reconfirmed our sovereign rating and stable outlook, but this does not mean there is no room for growth, minister Boloş posted on Facebook after the meetings. He mentioned that foreign investors tend to prefer countries with high ratings, because they view them as more stable.

     

    A good rating, Marcel Boloş insisted, facilitates access to funding in international capital markets for lower costs. Essentially, a country with a high rating is often regarded as a more viable and stable business partner, the finance minister also explained on his Facebook page.

     

    Boloş reiterated that, in order to improve economic competitiveness and to create an environment that encourages sustainable investments, measures are taken into account, such as fiscal consolidation, increased investments in infrastructure and education, encouraging private investments and promoting efficient and transparent economic government.

     

    On April 12, S&P reconfirmed Romania’s BBB-/A3 rating for long and short-term foreign currency governmental debt, as well as the stable outlook. According to the finance ministry, the decision to reconfirm the sovereign rating and the stable outlook relies on the moderate foreign governmental debt level and on the sound prospects for growth in the next two years. S&P also expects Romania’s commitments under the EU Recovery and Resilience Mechanism to continue to work as an anchor for Bucharest’s political reforms.

     

    In early November 2023, Moody’s also confirmed the ‘Baa3’ long-term rating and stable outlook for Romania. According to the agency, this was based on Romania’s robust medium-term growth prospects, supported by sound inflows of EU funding and foreign direct investments.

     

    The reconfirmed rating also reflects the debt burden and debt affordability indicators. These remain sounder than for other countries with similar ratings, although both are likely to gradually deteriorate in the coming years, due to the still high budget deficit and to growing interest costs.

     

    These positive developments are offset by weak institutional quality and susceptibility to geopolitical and foreign risks, Moody’s warned.

     

    Romania has an investment-grade rating from both international agencies. (AMP)

  • Romania’s economy under scrutiny by the European Commission

    Romania’s economy under scrutiny by the European Commission

    Romania is among the six states for which the European Commission published in-depth reviews on Monday, the aim being to assess whether the respective states are facing macroeconomic imbalances in the context of the European Semester. The other states are Cyprus, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden, which are part of the group of 12 member states selected in the Alert Mechanism Report 2024. Based on a set of indicators, the report was adopted last November in the framework of the autumn package of the European Semester – the EU framework for the coordination and supervision of economic and social policies. The other six in-depth reports, for France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Portugal, will be published in the coming weeks.

     

    As for Romania, the in-depth review shows that it continues to face vulnerabilities related to the accounts of public finances and the external balance. “Large public and current account deficits, as well as the high inflation rate, which are all above pre-pandemic levels, make the economy potentially vulnerable to shocks. There was some progress in narrowing the current account deficit in 2023, mainly on the back of monetary policy tightening and weaker private consumption. However, if the policies remain unchanged, the risks related to the external position are to remain high in the coming years, the European Commission warned. The document states that pursuing a credible fiscal consolidation strategy is the key priority of the policies aimed at mitigating the risks to the stability of the economy. This strategy will require the full implementation of the fiscal-structural reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, especially those aimed at a structural increase in government revenues and a much stricter budget execution than in recent years.

     

    The Commission believes that Romania’s macroeconomic vulnerabilities have expanded following the pandemic, in a context in which an extremely solid growth was recorded. The strong post-pandemic recovery in the economic activity, supported by the easing of the monetary policy and financial conditions, as well as the supportive fiscal stance led to a GDP growth of over 4% in both 2021 and 2022, higher than Romania’s potential growth rate. Inflation averaged 12% in 2022 and the current account deficit continued to grow to over 9% of the GDP, reflecting the energy price shock. Despite the extremely solid economic expansion and rising government revenues, the public deficit remained high at 6.3% of the GDP in 2022, down only slightly from 7.2% in 2021, following the rapid advance of government spending. So far, the review also shows, Romania has not faced difficulties in covering its financing needs, and its foreign exchange reserves seem generally adequate, covering almost 5 months of imports and more than 100% of the short- term external debt at the end of 2023. (LS)

  • June 2, 2023

    June 2, 2023

    Strike — The Romanian Education Minister, Ligia Deca, emphasized, on Friday, that all salaries in the education system will increase. She said that, through an emergency ordinance, a gross sum worth 1,000 lei (about 200 Euros) per month will be granted for the teaching and auxiliary teaching staff and, respectively, 400 lei (about 80 Euros) per month for the non-teaching staff. On Thursday, after the last round of negotiations with the government, the union leaders announced that the all-out strike in the Romanian education system would continue after Tuesday, when the mini-vacation ends. They again rejected the increases proposed by the Government, increases transposed in an emergency ordinance adopted on the same day. President Klaus Iohannis, who had shown readiness to negotiate a political agreement aimed at ending the strike, believes that the government has given the education system employees everything they asked for and that they no longer have reasons to protest.



    Visit — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis receives King Charles III today. The two will have face-to-face talks, and then a meeting with the state authorities, the civil society representatives and the Diplomatic Corps. The British ambassador to Bucharest, Andrew Noble, told AGERPRES news agency that the visit of the new monarch is private and that he will meet with President Iohannis as a courtesy gesture. It is the first time that a British monarch visits Romania. On May 6, Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He became king last September after the death of his mother Elizabeth II. As Crown Prince, Charles visited Romania several times, the first time in 1998, and declared himself an admirer of the country and especially of Transylvania, the historical province that bears the traces of the cultural heritage of the ethnic Germans who came to these parts 8 centuries ago. Charles got involved in preserving the Romanian cultural heritage, buying and restoring old houses in the countryside, which he saved from destruction. In 2015, the Prince of Wales Romania Foundation was launched, a charitable organization that supports the preservation of architectural heritage, agriculture and sustainable development in Romania. In 2017, the Presidency granted him the National Order “Star of Romania” in the rank of Grand Cross, in sign of “appreciation for his activity in Romania and for promoting the country’s image in the world”.



    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu meets, today, the Czech Karolina Muchova, in the third round at Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. The Romanian player defeated Muchova this spring in Madrid. Begu remained the only representative of Romania in the singles competition on the Parisian clay court. In the womens doubles, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk qualified for the second round on Thursday, after defeating the Russian pair Ana Blinkova/Varvara Graceva, in three sets. Ruse and Kostiuk will face Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium)/Shelby Rogers (USA) in the second round.



    Football – The former Romanian football champions, CFR Cluj (north-west) qualified for the Europa Conference League, after defeating FC U Craiova with a score of 1-0, after extra time, on Thursday evening. The CFR Cluj players will play in the third continental competition alongside the 2ndplaced team in the championship, FCSB (Bucharest) and the winner of Romania’s Cup, Sepsi Sf. Gheorghe. The title holder, Farul Constanta (southeast), will play in the Champions League.



    Moldova — On June 1, the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) was the host of the second summit of the European Political Community. The meeting was attended by 48 heads of state and government, who discussed security and peace, the development of economic and social infrastructure in Europe and resilience in the face of the threats caused by the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the European officials reiterated their support for the Republic of Moldova in order to achieve the commitments assumed as a candidate state for EU accession. The European Political Community is a new political coordination platform, which aims to promote political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest and to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent. The idea of ​​the initiative of a European political community belongs to the French President Emmanuel Macron, who, on May 9, 2022, presented this project to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, in full debates on the launch of Ukraines accession process. Five months later, the first summit of the European Political Community took place in Prague.



    Debt -The US Congress has approved a deal to lift the countrys borrowing limit, days before the worlds largest economy is due to default on its debt, the BBC reports. The bipartisan measure sped through the Senate, a day after it was approved by the US House of Representatives. President Joe Biden has said he will enact the measure into law. This will save the US from defaulting on its debt of more than 31 billion dollars, something considered catastrophic. The country is forecast to overshoot its current debt ceiling on Monday 5 June, according to the BBC.



    Project – The European program “Rendez-vous aux jardins” (“Meetings in the Gardens”) that has now reached the 20thedition, being organized by the French Ministry of Culture and coordinated, in Romania, by the National Heritage Institute is taking place between June 2 and 4,. “Rendez-vous aux jardins” is an event organized on the first weekend of June since 2003, following the European Heritage Days model, and aims to capitalize on the cultural and natural assets of each country. The project takes place in more than 2,300 parks and gardens in Europe, which open their gates to the public, some of which are exceptionally accessible, and which offer various activities for visitors of all ages. (LS)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend


    Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has disclosed the
    name of her new coach. Halep will be working with French coach Patrick
    Mouratoglou who for ten years had been training Serena Williams. Under his
    supervision, Williams won ten Grand Slam tournaments. Also, Serena Williams
    twice won the Australian Open and the Roland Garros tournaments, as well as the
    Wimbledon and the US open tournaments, three times each. Since February this
    year, Halep has been training at Mouratoglou’s Academy in Nice. We recall Halep
    stopped working with Adrian Marcu and Daniel Dobre, the two Romanians who
    trained Halep ahead of the Australian Open.


    In news from football, on Thursday Universitatea Cluj
    grabbed a 1-nil home win against Steaua București. It was the third round’s last
    fixture as part of the Second League’s Group 1. Petrolul Ploiești are at the
    top of the table with 51 points, followed by FC Hermannstadt, with 48. 3rd-placed are Universitatea Cluj, with 47 points, while Steaua are 4th-placed,
    with 41. Concordia Chiajna and Unirea Slobozia are 5th and 6th-placed,
    with 40 and 34 points, respectively. At the end of the championship, the first
    two teams will benefit from a direct promotion to League One. 3rd
    and 4th- placed teams will play a playoff fixture against League One’s
    8th and 7th-placed teams in Group 2. Steaua Bucharest are not officially entitled to being
    granted a promotion. Steaua belongs to the National Defense Ministry. According
    to the Sports Law, a public law club cannot play in League One, which is a
    professional competition.


    This coming weekend will see matches being played,
    counting towards the 4th round as part of League One’s Group 1/Group
    2 stage. In Group 2 on Friday, Academica Clinceni play Chindia Târgoviște,
    while Dinamo Bucharest face FC U Craiova. In Arad,
    on Saturday, Rapid Bucharest take on the local side UTA. On Sunday, FC Botoșani play a home game against Sepsi Sfântu
    Gheorghe. In Medias on Monday, Gaz Metan play CS Mioveni. Rapid and FC Botoșani are at the top of the table, with 29 points each,
    followed by Sepsi, with 27. With a
    minus of 13 points, Gaz Metan Medias are at the bottom of the table and are highly
    unlikely to avoid relegation. The same goes for Academica Clinceni, with a mere
    3 points on their record sheet. As of late, both teams have been repeatedly
    downgraded because of unpaid debuts. Four other teams are trying hard to avoid
    playing playoff fixtures. They are Dinamo, with 13 points, Chindia and CS
    Mioveni, each with 19 points, and FC U Craiova, with 22.


    In Group 1 on Saturday, in Pitesti, FC Argeș play Farul
    Constanța. In round 4’s derby, in Craiova, in the south, on Sunday Universitatea
    take on CFR Cluj. On Monday, FCSB face FC Voluntari. CFR Cluj are still at the top of the table, with 45 points. FCSB and Universitatea
    Craiova follow, with 37 and 33 points, respectively.


    (EN)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend


    Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has disclosed the
    name of her new coach. Halep will be working with French coach Patrick
    Mouratoglou who for ten years had been training Serena Williams. Under his
    supervision, Williams won ten Grand Slam tournaments. Also, Serena Williams
    twice won the Australian Open and the Roland Garros tournaments, as well as the
    Wimbledon and the US open tournaments, three times each. Since February this
    year, Halep has been training at Mouratoglou’s Academy in Nice. We recall Halep
    stopped working with Adrian Marcu and Daniel Dobre, the two Romanians who
    trained Halep ahead of the Australian Open.


    In news from football, on Thursday Universitatea Cluj
    grabbed a 1-nil home win against Steaua București. It was the third round’s last
    fixture as part of the Second League’s Group 1. Petrolul Ploiești are at the
    top of the table with 51 points, followed by FC Hermannstadt, with 48. 3rd-placed are Universitatea Cluj, with 47 points, while Steaua are 4th-placed,
    with 41. Concordia Chiajna and Unirea Slobozia are 5th and 6th-placed,
    with 40 and 34 points, respectively. At the end of the championship, the first
    two teams will benefit from a direct promotion to League One. 3rd
    and 4th- placed teams will play a playoff fixture against League One’s
    8th and 7th-placed teams in Group 2. Steaua Bucharest are not officially entitled to being
    granted a promotion. Steaua belongs to the National Defense Ministry. According
    to the Sports Law, a public law club cannot play in League One, which is a
    professional competition.


    This coming weekend will see matches being played,
    counting towards the 4th round as part of League One’s Group 1/Group
    2 stage. In Group 2 on Friday, Academica Clinceni play Chindia Târgoviște,
    while Dinamo Bucharest face FC U Craiova. In Arad,
    on Saturday, Rapid Bucharest take on the local side UTA. On Sunday, FC Botoșani play a home game against Sepsi Sfântu
    Gheorghe. In Medias on Monday, Gaz Metan play CS Mioveni. Rapid and FC Botoșani are at the top of the table, with 29 points each,
    followed by Sepsi, with 27. With a
    minus of 13 points, Gaz Metan Medias are at the bottom of the table and are highly
    unlikely to avoid relegation. The same goes for Academica Clinceni, with a mere
    3 points on their record sheet. As of late, both teams have been repeatedly
    downgraded because of unpaid debuts. Four other teams are trying hard to avoid
    playing playoff fixtures. They are Dinamo, with 13 points, Chindia and CS
    Mioveni, each with 19 points, and FC U Craiova, with 22.


    In Group 1 on Saturday, in Pitesti, FC Argeș play Farul
    Constanța. In round 4’s derby, in Craiova, in the south, on Sunday Universitatea
    take on CFR Cluj. On Monday, FCSB face FC Voluntari. CFR Cluj are still at the top of the table, with 45 points. FCSB and Universitatea
    Craiova follow, with 37 and 33 points, respectively.


    (EN)

  • March 31, 2017

    March 31, 2017

    BREXIT — The European Council President Donald Tusk has today presented EUs draft negotiating position as regards Brexit, making clear that Britain must start to deal with its split from Europe before talks on future trade terms. The document, sent to all 27EU members, states that there must be “sufficient progress” on withdrawal talks, including a divorce bill potentially running as high as 50 billion pounds, before negotiations on future relations begin. British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 on Wednesday with a letter calling for withdrawal and trade talks to start at the same time. Britain has chosen to leave the Union after 44 years of membership, during which time it has enjoyed a privileged status within the community bloc, pundits say.




    VISIT — The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles of Wales, has today ended his second official visit to Romania at the National Theatre of Bucharest, regarded as a cultural symbol of the country. Previously he had meetings with PM Sorin Grindeanu, with Crown Princess Margareta of Romania, Custodian of the Romanian Crown and with the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis awarded Prince Charles the “Romania Star” National Order, in Rank of Grand Cross, in token of appreciation for his activity in Romania and for helping promote the country’s image worldwide.




    VISAS — All Romanian citizens can travel to Canada without visas starting December 1st. The Canadian Ambassador in Bucharest, Kevin Hamilton, has said that he wants to dissociate the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement from the visa issue. In his opinion, these are two complementary but not identical things. Ambassador Hamilton has said that the Canadian officials evaluated Romania, they saw the progress made in terms of passport and migration regulations and concluded an agreement so that Romanian citizens will soon travel to Canada without visas. As regards the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, Kevin Hamilton has said that Romania is positioned so as to benefit directly from the agreement. We remind you that Romania and Bulgaria conditioned their signing of the agreement on the elimination of visas for Canada.




    DEBT — Romania has to pay over 39 million euros to the European Union in April, of the stand-by loan agreement taken out in 2009, with the entire amount representing interest rates and commissions. In 2017 Romania must pay 1.26 billion euros to the EU and the World Bank while by 2023 a total of 4.7 billion euros must be paid. We remind you that in 2009, in the context of the world financial crisis, Romania took out a 20-billion euro loan from the IMF and the WorldBank.




    ARREST – South Korea’s former president Park Geun-hye has been arrested and jailed today over high-profile corruption allegations that ended her four-year rule and prompted an election to find her successor. She is the first woman ever elected head of state in South Korea. Prosecutors accuse Park of colluding with a confidante to extort big businesses, take a bribe from one of the companies and commit other wrongdoing.




    APPOINTMENT – The former minister for the relation with parliament, Gratiela Gavrielscu, is today being sworn in as Environment Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. She will replace Daniel Constantin, the co-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, who was revoked from his positions in the government after his party, which is part of the government coalition alongside the Social Democratic Party, has withdrawn its political support. Gratiela Gavrilescu was an environment minister during the Social-Democratic government headed by Victor Ponta.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • November 30, 2016

    November 30, 2016

    ST. ANDREW’S DAY — Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic believers from all over the world, Romania included, are today celebrating St. Apostle Andrew. He is the first of Jesus Christ’s apostles who preached Christianity in the south of Romania. This way Saint Andrew is also considered the patron of the country. Saint Andrew preached in Dobrudgea and in today’s Ukrainian territory, in Great Scythia, and then in Byzantium. He then went to Greece and preached the Gospel, going up to Patras town where he died a martyr’s death. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Over 700 thousand Romanians named after St. Andrew celebrate their name day today.




    NATIONAL DAY — Celebrations marking Romania’s National Day have started today in Alba Iulia, in central Romania, with the ceremony of hoisting the flag in front of the Coronation Cathedral, one of the city’s landmarks. Also in Alba Iulia, the congress of Romanian spiritualuty, now at its 20th edition, continues, in the presence of foreign guests from 18 countries. The National Day will be celebrated across the country and abroad, including in theatres of operation, with parades, religious ceremonies, exhibitions of combat military technology and weapons and cultural events. The date of 1st of December 1918 remains a symbol for the union of all Romanians. Declared an official holiday after the anti-communist revolution of 1989, 1st of December marks the completion, at the end of World War I, of the creation of the Romanian nation state, following the union of all provinces with majority Romanian populations, that had been part of multinational empires.




    SECURITY — The security of the European Union and that of the Western Balkans are inseparable, so solutions can only emerge from a close cooperation among the countries in this region and the EU, Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu said on Monday in Warsaw, where he attended the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Visegrad Group and the Western Balkans. The meeting was also attended by the High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini, and by Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, and Slovenia. The V4 Ministers reiterated, among other things, their continued interest in and support for the Western Balkan countries on their EU path.




    PLANE CRASH – Brazil has declared three days of mourning after a plane carrying the Chapecoense football team crashed in Colombia, killing 71 players, journalists and crew members. Chapecoense were travelling to play the biggest game in the clubs history, the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana against Colombian side Atletico Nacional. The plane, a British Aerospace 146 that took off from Bolivia, was given priority to land but did not reach the airport, according to sources from the Columbian aviation authority. The plane lost contact with ground controllers at around midnight. The cause of the crash is yet to be established.





    UNEMPLOYMENT — The unemployment rate in Romania stood at 5.8% in October, according to the National Statistics Institute. The number of jobless people stood at 522 thousand in October, at the same level with September. On the other hand, the unemployment rate among men was by 1.8% higher than in the case of women. Also, the number of unemployed people aged between 25 and 74 accounted for 76% of the total number of people without a job, in the month of October 2016.




    DEBT — Romania has to pay over 1.26 billion euros in 2017 to the EU and the World Bank of the stand-by loan taken out in 2009, according to the Romanian Finance Ministry. Over 1.25 billion euros are to be paid back to the EU and only 9 million euros to the World Bank. This year Romania has paid 113 million euros to the EU and the World Bank, covering interests rate and commissions. Romania has to pay, until 2023, over 4.77 billion euros worth of debt to the two international bodies.




    LUFTHANSA – The strike of the Lufthansa pilots continues, with the air carrier cancelling around 1,700 flights over the past two days due to a fresh strike by pilots. Last week Lufthansa cancelled nearly 2,800 flights during a four-day walkout from Wednesday. Union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) wants an average annual pay rise of 3.7 percent for 5,400 pilots over a five-year period backdated to 2012. This is the he 14th walkout in a dispute that has cost the carrier hundreds of millions of euros since early 2014. For the second consecutive day, flights to and from Munich and Frankfurt have been cancelled on Bucharest’s Henri Coanda International Airport.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)