Radio România Internațional

Tag: decrees

  • April 3, 2017

    April 3, 2017

    BORDER POLICE — The Romanian border police announced it would strengthen border control checks starting Friday. The documents of all people crossing the border will be cross-checked in national and international databases, therefore the authorities expect waiting times to spike. According to a press release, on April 7 the authorities will implement an amendment brought to the Schengen Borders Code, adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council, aimed at improving the security of the EU and its citizens. The Romanian border police says all measures have been taken to reduce waiting times and ensure functional border checks and is making efforts to ensure a balance between the security of citizens and border crossing flows.



    DECREES — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis today signed the two decrees for the appointment of the Ministers of the Environment and for Liaison with Parliament respectively. The swearing-in ceremony is due to take placer later today. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, a junior coalition partner in the Government led by Social-Democrat Sorin Grindeanu, nominated Gratiela Gavrilescu for the position of Environment Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Replacing Gavrilescu as the new Minister for Liaison with Parliament will be Viorel Ilie, also nominated by the Liberals and Democrats. One week ago the party leadership decided to withdraw political support for the party co-president, Daniel Constantin, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment, amidst tensions between him and the other co-president, Senate Speaker Calin Popescu-Tarcieanu.



    FAC — Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu is today taking part in the Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Luxembourg. The main topics on the agenda are Syria, Yemen and Libya. Talks will be held in presence of Arab League Secretary General Aboul Gheit. In addition, the meeting of the Group for Moldova’s European Action will be held on the sidelines of the meeting, at the initiative of Romania and France.



    ELECTION IN SERBIA — The acting Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday won the presidential election in Serbia. According to the Serbian Election Commission, Vucic grabbed over 55% of the vote, while the runner-up, current Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic, won only 15% of the vote. Seen as the new strongman of Serbian politics, Vucic is an ultranationalist turned pro-European Democrat. He pledged to support Serbia’s efforts to join the EU as well as maintain privileged relations with Russia. EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, has congratulated the president elect, whom he called a partner and a friend.



    MILITARY EXERCISE — Three Romanian warships carrying 200 military onboard and three Turkish warships are taking part in the “Starfish” bilateral military exercise. The exercise is aimed at increasing interoperability between Romanian and Turkish naval forces. While docking in the port of Constanta, the Turkish military will also bring floral tributes to the Cemetery of Turkish War Heroes in Slobozia, southern Romania, and will visit the Museum of the Romanian Navy.



    VAT — Tourism Minister Mircea Titus Dobre today said he would submit the necessary documents to the Finance Ministry with a view to cutting VAT to 9% for travel agencies. The Minister says the move will encourage local travel agencies and hopes for the price of travel packages to drop. Minister Dobre has warned it might take a while before travel agencies will benefit from the VAT slash, as the European Commission must sanction the move.



    PROTESTS — The Moscow Police on Sunday arrested 30 people taking part in an anticorruption rally, the latest after last week’s large-scale protests. Radio Romania’s correspondent reports that opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, the organizer of last week’s protests, who was already placed under 15-day arrest for resisting arrest, says he is in no way connected to the latest protest. According to the Police, a thousand people protested on Sunday as compared to the nearly 100,000 people who protested on March 26. On Friday, several dozen Romanians protested before the Russian Embassy building in Bucharest, as a token of solidarity with the anticorruption protests in Russia.



    ICE HOCKEY — Romania’s national hockey team on Monday is playing Belgium in Group A, second division, at the World Championship hosted by Galati, southeastern Romania. On Tuesday Romania will play Serbia, Iceland on Thursday, Australia on Friday and Spain on Sunday. Last year in Zagreb, Romania ranked last in Group B, first division, and was relegated to Group A, second division.



    WEIGHTLIFTING — Monica Csengeri and Elena Ramona Andries of Romania won five medals on Sunday, of which one gold, at the European Weightlifting Championships in Split, Croatia. In the 48 kg category in the snatch event, Csengeri won gold while Andries grabbed bronze. In the clean and jerk event, Csengeri won silver. In the combined total event, Csengeri won silver while Andries got bronze. Romania’s delegation at the European Championships totals 13 athletes. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • April 2, 2017 UPDATE

    April 2, 2017 UPDATE

    DECREES – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will sign on Monday the decrees regarding the appointment of two new ministers. Gratiela Gavrilescu will be the new Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister, at the proposal of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), who also nominated Viorel Ilie as Minister for the Relation with Parliament. We remind you that a week ago, the ALDE leadership decided to withdraw political support for the party’s co-president, Daniel Constantin, who was deputy PM and Environment Minister, against the background of misunderstandings between Constantin and the other ALDE co-president, Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu.



    VAT – The Romanian Minister of Tourism, Mircea Titus Dobre, has announced he will submit on Monday the necessary documents to the Finance Ministry so that the VAT for travel agencies be decreased to 9%. Minister Dobre has said he believes this is a way of boosting this sector and a measure likely to trigger a decrease in holiday packages. He has pointed out, however, that slashing the VAT will take time, given that the approval of the European Commission is also required.



    NATO – The Romanian Foreign Ministry hailed the celebration of the NATO Day on Sunday and said that Romania continues to be a beneficiary of the measures taken by the Alliance but also an important contributor to it, by taking part directly in the handling of threats coming from the eastern and southern flanks. On NATO Day, the Romanian Defense Ministry opened its gates to visitors. Also, there was a military ceremony dedicated to Romania’s accession to NATO, an outdoor exhibition of military equipment, as well as film screenings. Romania officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on March 29, 2004. The country celebrates NATO Day every year on the first Sunday of April.



    GENEVA — Romanian won 34 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 10 special prizes at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland. Romania also got 17 prizes awarded by foreign delegations. Romania participated at this year’s edition with 40 inventions funded by the state budget and 8 inventions financed from other sources. Over 2 thousand inventions were exhibited in Geneva this year.



    HEALTH — Romanian doctors who want to return to Romania will enjoy the assistance of a National Centre for Human Resources, set up within the Health Ministry. The Bucharest authorities have decided to open this centre after they received signals from Romanian doctors working in Germany and Britain that they want to return home, encoraged by the recent salary increase in the Romanian health system. The Health Ministry is also considering measures lilely to stimulate doctors to work in rural areas.



    INVESTIGATION — The controversial computer game Blue Whale will be analysed next week by the Control committee of the Romanian Inteligence Service (SRI), Liberal senator Cristian Chirtes has said. The Blue Whale game is believed to be encouraging people to kill themselves. It is believed that an administrator assigns ‘daily tasks’ to members, which they have to complete for 50 days. These tasks include self-harming, watching horror movies and waking up at unusual hours, but these gradually get more extreme. Several children and teenagers in Romania died or have been taken to hospital lately for trying to hold their breath, one of the tasks they received during the game. Romanian Police has recently initiated a prevention campaign, trying to raise awareness over the dangers that teenagers are exposed to in the online environment.



    GAS PRICE — The liberalization of the purchase price of natural gas for the population came into force on April 1st, and the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has already announced a 2% increase. Also as of April 1st, domestic consumers will be able to choose their provider of natural gas. The ANRE President Niculae Havrilet has told Radio Romania that the price liberalization for domestic consumers, which will bring more competitors into the market, will eventually lead to a drop in the price of natural gas.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)