Radio România Internațional

Tag: defence

September 13, 2023

Schengen. In her state of the union address in the European Parliament
in Strasbourg, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
said Bulgaria and Romania proved that they are part of the Schengen area,
showcasing best practices on asylum and returns. She urged that the two
countries be admitted to the free movement area without further delay. Earlier,
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola told
the European Parliament that delaying the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to
Schengen translates into restrictions to their right to freedom of movement and
additional costs for their economies. The Romanian government plans to request
compensations from the European Union arguing that keeping the country outside
Schengen leads to economic losses of up to 2% of GDP. In July, European MPs
passed a resolution urging for Romania’s and Bulgaria’s admission into Schengen
by the end of the year. Spain, the current holder of the EU presidency, also
put this objective on its list of priorities. The decision must be taken by the
heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states and Austria is the
only country still opposed.

Defence. The Romanian defence ministry has begun
building shelters for the residents of Plauru, the village in Tulcea county, in
south-eastern Romania, near the border with Ukraine, where fragments were found
of Russian drones used in strikes on Ukrainian river ports. A detachment of army
engineers are building two concrete air-raid shelters, which will be then
handed over to the local authorities. In another move, the residents of eight
villages in the area last night received their first text alerts on their
mobile phones warning them that objects may fall from the air given the strikes
of the Russian army against Ukraine. The message was sent following a decision
by the National Committee for Emergency Situations. People are advised to keep
calm and take refuge in their cellars or in civil defence shelters. The defence
ministry today said new possible drone parts were found in Tulcea county
scattered over several dozen metres.

Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep said she would appeal
her 4-year ban from professional tennis on doping charges. She was suspended
for two separate violations of the anti-doping regulations. Aged 31, Halep has
24 tournament titles to her record, including two Grand Slam trophies, at
Roland Garros in 2018 and at Wimbledon one year later. First suspended provisionally
in October last year, she has repeatedly denied consciously ingesting the
banned substance for which she was charged and has criticised the delaying of
the case.

Football.
Romania defeated Kosovo last night at home, 2-nil, in Group I as part the
qualifying matches for the European championship to be hosted by Germany next
year. In other group fixtures, Switzerland defeated Andorra 3-nil and Israel
defeated Belarus 1-nil. Switzerland top the group with 14 points, followed by
Romania with 12 and Israel with 11. The two best-ranked teams in each group
will qualify for the final tournament. The last time Romania played at a European
championship was in 2016, while their last World Cup qualification was back in
1998. (CM)

13 September 2023
Romania condemns strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine

“Romania firmly condemns Russias repeated attacks on innocent people and civilian infrastructure, including grain silos in the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail. With these blatant violations of international law, Russia continues to jeopardise global food security and the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.”

This statement by the Romanian foreign minister Luminița Odobescu comes after new attacks by Russian forces against the Danube River ports that have been the main export route for Ukrainian grains since Russias withdrawal from the Black Sea Initiative last month. This UN-backed initiative secured safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea, but Moscow refused to extend it.

The reason put forth by Russia at the time was the breach of the deal component that facilitated the export of Russian grains and fertilisers, indirectly affected by the Western sanctions against Moscow.

Ever since, Russia has been regularly hitting Danube River port facilities, close to the border with Romania. The first drone strike on the two ports came on July 24, and destroyed several warehouses and other port infrastructure. Before striking the Danube River ports, the Russian forces had for several weeks attacked Ukraines Black Sea ports, especially Odessa, from where Ukrainian grains had been previously shipped.

In Bucharest, the defence ministry also condemned firmly the repeated attacks against regions inhabited by civilian population and attacks against Ukraines critical infrastructure.

“The war of aggression started by Russia against Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law,” says the defence ministry, also adding that its structures monitoring the national airspace have not identified any military threats against Romanian territory or the countrys territorial waters.

Nonetheless, the defence ministry says it has enhanced vigilance measures in keeping with its national strategies and that it constantly monitors Romanias national territory and its maritime and airspace, jointly with NATO forces, in an effort to strengthen the defence of the entire eastern flank and to deter possible aggressions against NATO member countries. (AMP)

17 August 2023
Romania-Moldova military cooperation

Romania is ready to provide specialist assistance and
support for the army of the Republic of Moldova in a number of areas, said its
defence minister Angel Tîlvăr on Monday during an official visit to the Moldovan
capital Chişinău. He attended the official handover of his ministry’s latest
donations to the Moldovan army consisting in ballistic protection equipment,
such as Kevlar helmets and bulletproof vests, as well as all-terrain vehicles.
This donation is concrete proof of Bucharest’s determination to contribute to
ensuring the resources needed to equip the military of the army of the
neighbouring state, said minister Tîlvăr. He said the donation forms part of
Romania’s continued efforts to help the Republic of Moldova endow its army with
modern equipment.

The Romanian official travelled to Chişinău following
an invitation from his Moldovan counterpart Anatolie Nosatîi. The two held
talks on the bilateral cooperation in the area of defence and in a wider
regional context, as well as in the context of NATO and the European Union. The
developing security situation following Russia’s war of aggression against
Ukraine was also tackled, with emphasis on the situation caused by the Russian
strikes against Ukrainian ports on the river Danube, very close to the borders
with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

Romania’s full support for Moldova moving closer to
the European Union was also reiterated, as well as the importance of Moldova’s
taking part in projects carried out under the South Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial, a regional initiative currently chaired by Romania
from July this year until July 2025. On this latter subject, ministers Tîlvăr
and Nosatîi evaluated the concrete steps Moldova needs to make in order to
prepare its accession to this regional body for political and military
consultation. You can count on our full support, so that the goal of joining
the South Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial
may be achieved during Romania’s term as chair of this body. Moldova’s accession
as a full-fledged member of this initiative would strengthen its position on a
regional and international level and provide new oportunities for military
cooperation with the countries in the region, said Angel Tîlvăr.

Noting the positive results of the recent meeting of
the Romanian-Moldovan joint military commission held at under-secretary level
in Târgu Mureş, in central Romania in June, Tîlvăr concluded: The bilateral
cooperation in the area of defence has reached a very good level, and this can
only please us and encourage us to continue at this accelerated pace. (CM)

8 August 2023
August 8, 2023

PENSIONS The
Romanian MPs are expected to interrupt their summer holidays and resume
activity in order to amend the special pensions law, after some provisions have
been deemed as unconstitutional, the country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu,
has said. Ciolacu told a private TV channel the requests made by the
constitutional judges would be subjected to talks in Brussels between the
Romanian authorities and the European Commission representatives. Ciolacu has pledged
to fly to Brussels this month to renegotiate several provisions in the
country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience as well as the budget target
of 4.4%. The government in Bucharest would rather the European Executive accepted
a target of 5% of the GDP. The Prime Minister has explained that in the absence
of a plan on curbing budget expenses and raising incomes, the budget would
exceed 6.2%, which might prompt the EU to cut its funds for Romania.

PILOTS 100 Romanian pilots, who in the past four months defended the NATO air
space over Lithuania, are coming back home. There were many situations in which
Russian Sukhoi warplanes were flying dangerously close to the NATO airspace and
the Romanian pilots were sent to intercept those planes. The Romanians worked
together with their colleagues from Portugal and NATO is permanently deploying air-force
personnel and aircraft to that country as Lithuania doesn’t have its own
fighter jets. Moreover, the area is notorious for the bold attempts of the
Russian pilots to violate the NATO airspace. 16 years ago Romanian pilots were
also involved in air policing missions in Lithuania on their upgraded MIG-21
Lancers.

SUPPORT
Romania is ready to offer specialized assistance and support to the National
Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking
country, Romania’s National Defence Minister, Angel Tilvar, said in Chisinau
during the talks he held on Monday with his Moldovan counterpart, Anatolie
Nosatîi.
The Moldovan servicemen have recently received from Romania Kevlar helmets,
bullet-proof vests and all-terrain vehicles. The donation is part of Romania’s
ongoing efforts to support the upgrading and streamlining of the defence
structures in the neighbouring state. According to a press release by the
Defence Ministry in Bucharest, the two officials have also tackled aspects concerning
the latest developments in the regional security caused by the aggression war
Russia is presently waging on Ukraine, with emphasis on the situations caused
by the latest bombing of Ukraine’s ports on the Danube close to the borders
with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

TENNIS Romanian
tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, started off on the right foot at the WTA 1000
tournament in Montreal, Canada with 2.800.000 dollars in prize money. The
Romanian secured a two-set win 6-4, 7-6, against Varvara Gracheva of France in
a match, which took place on Monday. In the second round Cirstea will be
playing the winner of the match pitching Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic
against Anastasia Potapova. If she won, the Romanian might play in the round of
16 against top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, who plays Karolina Pliskova of the
Czech Republic in the second round.

FESTIVAL The
24th edition of the international festival Enescu and the World’s
Music kicks off today in the resort of Sinaia, southern Romania. Concerts are
being held at the local casino, the city museum, the George Enescu Memorial,
the Dimitrie Ghica park and the Catholic church. According to the organizers,
this festival has been devoted to the young people and young orchestras and
mainly to the winners of national and international contests. The event is also
devoted to the famous Romanian artists who are involved in the process of
training the young generation of musicians, as part of this Romanian project.
The festival is due to end on August 31.

(bill)

8 August 2023
August 7, 2023

Spending. The government is this week planning
to adopt an emergency order to cut public spending. The fifty measures
envisaged include reducing the number of management and under-secretary positions,
the merger of various institutions and eliminating holiday vouchers for some
budget employees. According to estimates from the finance ministry, this would
save the state budget more than 1.2 billion euros by the end of the year. The
government is also planning an emergency order introducing a number of tax
changes aimed at increasing budget revenues. Talks on the subject are still
ongoing between the two parties in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic
Party and the National Liberal Party, amid criticism from the business
community.

Summit. Romania will continue to
stand by Ukraine as long as it takes to win this war, said the presidential
advisor and former foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu at the Ukraine peace talks
in Saudi Arabia. Any future solution for peace must guarantee Ukraine’s security
within its internationally recognised borders and the freedom to hold sovereign
elections, free of interference, the Romanian official also said. According to
the BBC, the summit’s final declaration only refers to the decision to hold
further peace talks. The summit was attended by senior officials from dozens of
countries, including Brazil, India, China and South Africa, with Russia not
invited.

Defence. The Romanian defence
minister Angel Tîlvăr is today making an official visit to the Republic of
Moldova following an invitation from his counterpart in Chişinău, Anatolie
Nosatîi. According to the defence ministry in Bucharest, the agenda of talks
features the stage of bilateral cooperation in the area of defence, as well as
issues related to cooperation in a NATO and EU context and in the region, from
a security perspective and amid the challenges arising from Russia’s war of
aggression against Ukraine.

Pensions. Romanian senators and
deputies are to return to Parliament this week to again amend a bill adopted at
the end of June on the special pensions enjoyed by a number of professional
categories in Romania, such as magistrates, the military and the police. Prime
minister Marcel Ciolacu said he summoned a special session of Parliament as a
number of articles of the bill were declared unconstitutional last week.
According to official figures, the number of special pensions is growing, with
over 10,000 recorded in July, up from the previous month. The highest special
pension amounted to around 4,300 euros. Romania has committed to reforming the
special pensions system in order to receive the recovery and resilience funds
allocated by the European Union.

Bank. The board of the National Bank of Romania
is meeting today to discuss issues of monetary policy. At last month’s meeting,
it maintained the monetary policy interest rate at 7% a year and said it
expected the inflation rate to drop over the coming months. On Friday, the
ROBOR three-month index used to calculate variable interest rates in the national
currency went up to 6.43% from 6.41%, according to data published by the
National Bank.

Travel. The Romanian foreign ministry has warned
Romanian citizens currently in Norway or planning to travel there that the Norwegian
authorities have issued a series of weather alerts until 10th
August. Red and orange codes are in place warning of heavy rain, strong winds,
flooding, landslides and fires. The storms that hit southern Norway are estimated
to be the strongest in the last 25 years. (CM)

7 August 2023
July 9, 2023

POLICE Romanian policemen last week enforced 19 European arrest
warrants and 589 people, who are the subject of alerts in the Schengen
Information System, have been located on Romania’s territory. According to a
Romanian police communiqué, 30 documents and 45 vehicles sought by the Schengen
partners have been seized in Romania to be used as evidence within legal
procedures. At the same time, 199 people wanted by the Romanian authorities
have been identified by foreign partners on their territory, the communiqué
also says.

DIICOT The situation in several old people’s homes in Ilfov County,
close to Bucharest, where prosecutors have identified organized crime groups
who were exploiting and mistreating old and disabled people is being analyzed
by the government today. The country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is
having talks with several ministers about the measures needed so that suchlike
situations may not repeat. According to the DIICOT prosecutors, the residents
of the aforementioned institutions were forced to do some of the most
humiliating works and the inspections, which could have ended their suffering,
used to be announced beforehand by the defendants’ accomplices in state
institutions. According to DIICOT prosecutors, the group would have siphoned
off 740 thousand Euros from several social assistance directions in Ilfov and
Bucharest. Some of those involved have been placed in temporary custody for 30
days, whereas other defendants in the same file have been placed under house
arrest or judicial investigation. Prime Minister Ciolacu has called for the
resignation of the boards of the National Agency for Payment and Social
Inspection with the Ilfov County Agency and also for checking in old people’s
homes around the country. Prefect offices have already announced the setting up
of committees to do the checking.

SUMMIT Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will be participating in
the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, the presidential
administration in Bucharest has announced. The summit is to include three
high-level meetings of the North-Atlantic Council, in formats, which also include
Ukraine, the European Union as well as NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners. At the
summit, the Romanian president is expected to underline the fundamental
importance of continuing the implementation of the Madrid decisions on
strengthening the allied defence and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank.
Iohannis will also reiterate the robust support for Ukraine, including its
NATO’s accession, as well as for the most vulnerable partners, especially for
the Republic of Moldova. According to the same sources, the head of the
Romanian state will be also referring to the need for having the importance of
the Black Sea region in the Euro-Atlantic security reflected in the allied
documents and decisions. In Vilnius, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is
expecting that most allies announce their commitment to increasing defence
budgets to over 2% of the GDP starting next year. He said in Brussels that 11
member countries, Romania included, had already fulfilled this commitment.

TENNIS The Romanian pair, Ana Bogdan/Jaqueline
Cristian is today taking on Lidia Morozova of Belarus and Ingrid Martins
Gamarra of Brazil in the second round of the Wimbledon doubles after their
Saturday’s win against Danielle Collins and Alison Riske-Amritraj of the USA. The
Romanian-Ukrainian pair, Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostiuk has also qualified for
the second round and will take on Miriam Koloziejova and Marketa Vondrousova of
the Czech Republic on Monday. Romania is no longer represented in the main
draw, after Sorana Cirstea lost to Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.

FAIR The Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair is due to end in Brasov,
southern Romania today. During the five-day event, the almost 40 exhibitors have
put on displays thousands of books for all tastes and ages, music, educational
games and self-development books. The event has also included book launches,
conferences and debates attended by local writers and not only by them. Adrian
Lesenciuc, poet, prose and essay-writer as well as literary critic has been the
honorary president of the present edition.

(bill)

9 July 2023
June 20, 2023

VISIT Romania’s Foreign Minister,
Luminita Odobescu, was received on Monday night by the President of the
Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu. The talks between the two officials have
focused on the Republic of Moldova’s European agenda and regional security.
According to sources with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Minister Odobescu has
pointed out that the unprecedented openness in the bilateral area in recent
years has allowed for the rapid progress of all cooperation initiatives, mainly
of those with direct relevance in the area of strengthening stability and
support for the republic’s development. Minister Odobescu has given assurances
on Romania’s staunch commitment to promoting in a rapid manner the assistance
projects for Chisinau, in terms of its comprehensive connection to the European
area through Romania. The head of the Romanian diplomacy has hailed the
significant headway made by the authorities in Chisinau in the reforms area,
focusing on meeting the recommendations made by the European Commission in June
last year, when the country was granted the statute of EU accession candidate.

RULE The Constitutional Court of
the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova has ruled as
unconstitutional the SOR party founded and led by oligarch Ilan Sor. The party
has been accused of actions that run against the rule of law, jeopardizing the
sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova, being funded from
abroad and backed by the Russian secret services. The party leader fled to
Israel after having received a prison sentence for his involvement in the theft
of one billion Euros from the Republic’s banking system. From there he
initiated jointly with the party’s vice-president Marina Tauber a series of
anti-government protests. We’ll have more on this after the news.

MESSAGE The Romanians have shown unprecedented
solidarity, offering a space of safety and calm to the Ukrainian refugees,
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in his address on the World Refugee Day. In
March 2022, we got the clear picture of terror, on the cratered streets and
destroyed buildings in the cities of Bucha and Irpin. We understood the horror
lived by the desperate families forced to flee the war. Over 4.6 million Ukrainians,
mostly women and children, have chosen our country as their refuge, Ciolacu
wrote on Facebook. According to him, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine,
the Romanians have proven their support and generosity in the face of terror’.

FOOTBALL Romania’s national
football side ended in a two-all draw their away game against Switzerland in
Group 1 of the Euro 2024 qualifiers. The visitors dominated the game and even
got the upper hand two-nil, but our footballers managed an unexpected comeback
and levelled the scoring towards the end of the game. In the other Group 1
matches, Belarus secured a 2-1 win against Kosovo and Israel also obtained a
2-1 victory against Andorra. Switzerland tops the table in Group 1 and is
followed by Romania, the first two positions, which ensure qualification for
the final tournament in Germany.

MEETING During the International Paris Air Show Le Bourget earlier this week,
Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr had a meeting with General James B.
Hecker, commander of the Allied Air Command in Europe. The Romania-USA
Strategic Partnership is one of the main pillars of the national policy of
security and defence together with NATO and EU membership’, Minister Tîlvăr recalled.
Among other things, the Romanian minister voiced his appreciation for the US
contribution to ensuring defence and deterrence on the Allied eastern flank
mainly through the deployment of troops and capabilities to Romania as well as
for the support offered to Romania so that the country can purchase F-16
fighters from the Norwegian army. Also in Paris, the Romanian Defence Minister
participated in a Conference entitled European Air and Missile Defence and held
talks with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

(bill)

20 June 2023
June 8, 2023 UPDATE

STRIKE Trade unions in Romania’s education system have
planned another protest rally on Friday amid dissatisfaction with the
government’s response to their claims. In the meantime, the Executive on
Thursday endorsed a memorandum regarding the pay rises granted to the personnel
in the country’s education system under the new pay law. In this way the
Executive is guaranteeing this domain will be a top priority. Romania’s Liberal
Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciuca has given assurances the salary of a beginner
teacher will be based on the average medium salary, as the protesters requested.
The memorandum also refers to a holiday bonus according to the teachers’ salaries,
as well as to other bonuses. In another development, field minister Ligia Deca
has announced that applications for the Baccalaureate and the national
assessment exams for 8th graders will be extended until June 13 and
the competency tests from the Baccalaureate exam will take place over 14 – 23 June.

FUND The EU Modernization Fund made
available 2.4 billion Euros for 31 projects in seven beneficiary countries,
including Romania, in order to help them streamline their energy systems, cut
greenhouse gas emissions in energy, industry and transport as well as to
improve energy efficiency, the European Commission announced on Thursday. This has
been the highest sum made available so far and will give an impetus to Europe’s
ecological transition According to the European Commission, these investments
are helping the member states to reduce their dependency on fossil fuel from
Russia, meet their climate and energy objectives for 2030 and contribute to the
EU’s long-term commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Additional
investment has been made in Romania, 1.1 billion euros, the Czech Republic 1
billion euros as well as in countries like Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia, Latvia
and Lithuania. The sums made available on Thursday, have brought the total
payment from the aforementioned fund to roughly 7.5 billion euros, benefitting
10 eligible member countries.

GROWTH Romania reported an economic growth
rate of 2.3% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the similar period
of 2022, according to provisional data published today by the National
Institute of Statistics. Thus, the estimated Gross Domestic Product was over
312 billion lei (about 62 billion Euros). Among others, wholesale and retail
trade, motor vehicle and motorcycle repair, transport and storage, as well as
constructions contributed to the increase in the GDP. The World Bank estimates
that Romania’s Gross Domestic Product will register, this year, a growth of
2.6%. The IMF has revised significantly downward the estimates regarding the
growth of the Romanian economy in 2023, from 3.1 to 2.4%.

DEFENCE The Commander of the U.S. European
Command, General Christopher G. Cavoli, and the Romanian Chief of Defense
Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, are the hosts of the Central European Chiefs of
Defense Conference, on Thursday and Friday, in Bucharest. The chiefs of defense
from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and
Hungary are participating in the meeting. Nine military leaders of the US
National Guard are also present, the Romanian Defense Ministry reports. The
event includes topics on security challenges and aims to intensify military
cooperation relations to ensure stability in the region.

(bill&LS)

8 June 2023
Allied support for Ukraine

EU member states have managed to supply, in just the
past few days, one-quarter of the artillery shells promised to Ukraine for the
entire year. In Tuesday’s meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels,the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said the European
bloc provided Ukraine with some 220,000 shells and 1,300 missiles. He also said
the Union mobilised EUR 10 bln to be able to provide military support to
Ukraine, of which EUR 5.6 bln under the European Peace Facility and the balance
from the military industry and member states.

NATO also carries on ammunition deliveries. Attending
the EU meeting, the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg pointed out that,
over the past few months, Ukraine received Leopard, Challenger and Abrams heavy
tanks. The UK has sent modern long-range missiles, while other Allies, including
the US, Germany, Poland and the UK have started training Ukrainian pilots for
the F-16 aircraft to be supplied to Kyiv.

Also attending Tuesday’s meeting in Brussels, the
Romanian defence minister Angel Tîlvăr said the current context proved that the
defence budget must be increased. In this sector, there are no expenses, but
investments, and Romania has understood this, Angel Tîlvăr said:

Angel Tîlvăr: Romania’s reputation is improving
steadily, thanks to its consistency and to the fact that it understands that in
defence it’s not about spending, but about investing. And the situation today
proves that we have made the right decision when we increased the budget to 2% over
the past 6 years. And the 2.5% of GDP earmarked this year for defence enables
us to purchase or produce further equipment and high-tech capabilities able to
meet citizens’ expectations that the Army must ensure peace, predictability and
stability.

According to the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr, the
talks in Brussels revealed enhanced cohesion between the EU and NATO:

Angel Tîlvăr: The NATO secretary general taking part
in the EU meeting was important, because the discussions we had and the fact
that there were nuances in our solidarity led to enhanced cohesion in terms of
the cooperation between the European Union and NATO.

On Monday, one day before the meeting of EU defence
ministers, Brussels also hosted a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers. For
Romania’s diplomacy chief, Bogdan Aurescu, this was an opportunity to point out
that Romania supports uninterrupted support for Ukraine at all levels,
concurrently with further sanctions and international isolation for Russia. (AMP)

24 May 2023
May 10, 2023

EDUCATION Trade
unions in Romanian public education organise a protest rally in Bucharest today, as a way to sound
the alarm on the problems facing the Romanian education sector. The unions demand pay raises in the sector, as well as an
annual increase in investments in order to improve the relevant infrastructure
and equipment. Unionists also warn that a poll
is under way among education staff, with respect to an all-out strike starting
on May 22. Meanwhile, new draft
education laws are being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies for a first vote,
after the specialist committee introduced a number of amendments to the
original bills, including a national plan to curb violence in schools.

VISIT The PM of the Republic of Korea, Han
Duck-Soo, is on a visit to Bucharest today, and is scheduled to have meetings
with president Klaus Iohannis and with PM Nicolae Ciucă. The 2 prime ministers
are to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Romanian Maritime Port
Authority and the Busan Port Authority. The Korean official is also scheduled
to have a meeting with the Chamber of Deputies speaker, Marcel Ciolacu.

DEFENCE The Romanian chief of defence,
general Daniel Petrescu, is taking part today and tomorrow in the meetings of
the NATO Military Committee and the EU Military Committee, respectively. Defence
chiefs from the 31 Allied states, with the Swedish chief of defence as a guest,
will look at the dynamics of the war in Ukraine. Talks will focus on analysing
the implementation of measures aimed at strengthening NATO’s defence and deterrence
posture, ahead of the decisions to be made at the NATO Summit in Vilnius. The
participants will also look at ways to continue supporting Ukraine. Another
major topic of the meeting is the analysis of member and partner states’
participation in EU missions and operations.

INDEPENDENCE Romania celebrates its
National Independence Day today. On May 10, 1877, Prince Carol I, who would
subsequently become the first king of Romania, signed the country’s
Proclamation of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. The document had been
read in Parliament the day before by the foreign minister Mihail Kogălniceanu, and
endorsed by Parliament’s two chambers. The occasion is celebrated in Bucharest
with a ceremony at the Heroes Monument in front of the National Defence
University, while military and religious ceremonies are also held in cities
across the country.

EUROPE In a message on Europe Day, celebrated on May
9, president Klaus Iohannis said Romania is a mature and responsible member
state, with a solid and credible European profile, recognised and appreciated
by our partners. In turn, PM Nicolae Ciucă said Romania is part of the
solution to the security challenges that the EU is facing, and that now is the
time for Romania to be acknowledged as a full Schengen member.

TRANSPORT The European Commission for
Transport, Adina Vălean, is in Romania today and tomorrow, to hand over to
Romanian beneficiaries 2 grants for military mobility, in Constanta, in the presence of the
Romanian transport minister Sorin Grindeanu, the European Commission announced.
The two projects concern the design and building of the Ungheni bridge and
upgrading the railway infrastructure in the port of Constanţa, a critical
element of the EU – Ukraine solidarity lanes. (AMP)

10 May 2023
May 4, 2023 UPDATE

COURT After an
unexpected visit to the headquarters of the International Criminal Court in the
Hague on Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has called for
setting up a special court to deal with ‘crimes of aggression’. Zelensky has
delivered a speech entitled ‘There is no peace without Justice’ during which he
says that Russian president Vladimir Putin will have to appear before an
international war crimes tribunal after Ukraine wins the war. The International
Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes charges in
March. On Wednesday, Zelensky attended a summit of the Nordic countries in
Helsinki.

MEETING A two-day trilateral meeting
Romania -The USA – the Republic of Moldova on defence issues was held in
Bucharest. The event was also attended by representatives of the British
Ministry of Defence. The Romanian State Secretary for Defence Policy and
International Relations, Simona Cojocaru says that under the present security
context, the Republic of Moldova has been exposed to hybrid threats and to
Russia’s propaganda and misinformation campaigns and supporting the neighboring
country in strengthening its resilience and defence capabilities is a strategic
priority for Romania. The support proved today by Romania, the USA and the UK
shows very clearly the Republic of Moldova is not alone in this process, Simona
Cojocaru went on to say. In another development, the European Foreign Ministers
on Thursday approved a support package for the Republic of Moldova’s defence
sector of 40 million Euros and also 30 million for Georgia.

MOURNING Serbia
declared three-day mourning in memory of the victims of the massacre committed on
Wednesday at a school in Belgrade, where a 14-year-old schoolboy shot dead
eight children and the school’s security guard and wounded six other classmates
and a teacher. He is believed to have stolen the gun of his father, who
admitted he had trained him at a shooting range. The minor’s father was
arrested. The incident caused immense shock in Serbia, where, despite the large
number of weapons owned by the population, gun incidents are rare. In the wake
of the massacre, president Aleksandar Vučić announced a number of measures,
including lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 and tougher
arms and ammunitions regulations.

IMPORTS Romanian
agriculture minister Petre Daea on Wednesday briefed his visiting Ukrainian
counterpart Mykola Solskyi on a European Commission decision from 2nd
May to introduce exceptional and temporary preventive measures on imports of a
limited number of products from Ukraine. These involve wheat, maize, rapeseed
and sunflower seeds and are aimed at easing the logistical blockages involving
these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The new
European Commission regulations will be in place in all member states until 5th
June. The first meeting between the two ministers took place in Bucharest on 21st
April. They agreed to hold weekly talks on the amounts of products leaving
Ukraine for transit, to provide Romania with complete and accurate data.

(bill)

4 May 2023
Focus on the eastern flank

Fifteen companies from 11 countries, Romania included, have been identified as able to start production in the defence industry, in the context of the EUs 3-pillar plan to boost ammunition deliveries to Ukraine.

EUR 1 bln will be disbursed to plants for deliveries from existing stockpiles. Another EUR 1 bln will be spent to help ammunition plants replenish depleted stockpiles, while the 3rd pillar aims at increasing the blocs defence industrys capacity for the longer term.

Romanian facilities are among those that will be able to help cover Ukraines ammunition demand, but they need investments. This is one of the reasons why the European Commissioner for internal market, Thierry Breton, has traveled to Romania and had meetings with senior officials.

After his talks with PM Nicolae Ciucă, the European Commissioner said he was confident Romania would be able to play an even more important role in the EU defence industry, and added that Bucharests earmarking 2.5% of GDP for defence this year proves that Romania understands that this expenditure contributes not only to protecting the country, but to protecting the European continent as well.

Thierry Breton also said that, given that the EU has committed to support Ukraines efforts to withstand Russias aggression, we must make sure we have the capacity to deliver the equipment and ammunition it needs, including by boosting EU production capacity.

In turn, PM Nicolae Ciucă emphasized that strengthening the defence industry would help improve Romanias resilience and capacity to handle future challenges.

After the meetings with Romanian officials in Bucharest, the European Commissioner visited two defence industry factories run by Romarm, Romanias chief producer and provider of military equipment and services, present in over 50 other markets in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Romarm is currently trying to revamp its production units, either through partnerships with private companies, or through EU funded projects.

Also in Bucharest these days is the chair of NATOs Military Committee, admiral Rob Bauer, for talks focusing on the security situation at the Black Sea, on NATOs deterrence and defence missions, and on this years main training events.

He discussed with the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu the preparations for the NATO summit due in Vilnius in July and the implementation of the decisions made at the Madrid summit. While at the headquarters of the Romanian Defence Ministry, Rob Bauer also had talks with the line minister, Angel Tîlvăr, and with the chief of general staff, gen. Daniel Petrescu.

NATO remains a core pillar of Romanias security policy, Daniel Petrescu said, and added that the Romanian Army is always improving its quick and efficient response capacity. Since its first day as a NATO member, Romania has proved its dedication to the Alliance, and has made it clear it understands the value of collective defence, admiral Rob Bauer pointed out in turn. (AMP)

13 April 2023
April 11, 2023 UPDATE

NATO
Romania’s National Defence
Minister Angel Tîlvăr and
Chief of Staff, General Daniel Petrescu will be meeting in Bucharest on
Wednesday Admiral Robert Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, who is
paying a visit to Romania over April 11th and 14th . According to a communiqué
by the Ministry of Defence, talks will be focusing on the security situation in
the Black Sea area as well as on NATO’s missions and operations. On Tuesday,
the Defence Ministry and the Chief of Staff talked to the commands of the
structures deployed to various operation theaters in Kosovo and
Bosnia-Herzegovina and with the Romanian troops currently doing missions in
Bulgaria, Lithuania and Poland. The Romanian troops presented the assessment of
the security situation in their areas and the stage of their missions. Your
efforts are contributing to our peace, to everybody’s peace actually,
particularly at this time when our region has been deeply troubled by the
Russian invasion in the neighboring Ukraine, the Defence Minister says.

VISIT The European Commissioner for internal market Thierry Breton will
be paying a visit to Bucharest on Wednesday, the European Commission
Representation to Bucharest has announced. The European Commissioner will be
having talks with Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciuca and the president of the
Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu. The EU official will be also visiting the
future headquarters of the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre jointly
with the Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization, Sebastian Burduja.
Also on Wednesday, Breton will be visiting two major plants specialized in
equipment and gears for the defence industry in southern Romania.

DEFENCE
Romania continues to act firmly, united and efficiently alongside its allies
and partners to promote security and stability in the Black Sea region, an area
of strategic importance for Euro-Atlantic security. The announcement was made
by president Klaus Iohannis in a statement released after a meeting of the
Country’s Supreme Defence Council which he chaired today in Bucharest. The
fundamental aspect remains national security and supporting Ukraine and the
Republic of Moldova contributes directly to the consolidation of Romania’s
security, the statement also writes. Maintaining a consistent and
multidimensional support for the neighbouring Ukraine, as part of NATO and the
European Union, is of critical importance for ensuring the success of efforts
to defend this state. The meeting also analysed the development of Romania’s air
force. According to the statement, the modernisation of the air force will
continue with the purchase of latest generation F-35 aircraft. The achievement
of robust, credible, interoperable, flexible and efficient air defence
operational capabilities aimed both at fulfilling the commitments deriving from
the NATO and EU membership and at discouraging possible aggression, is an
essential condition for fulfilling Romania’s defence policy objectives, the
statement also reads.

IMF The IMF has revised the forecast for
Romania’s economic growth this year from an initial estimate of 3% down to
2.4%. According to the new IMF calculations published on Tuesday, Romania is
expected to register a 3.7% growth next year. The IMF believes that inflation
in Romania will this year stay around 10.5% after a 13.8% last year and price
hikes will significantly slow down only in 2024, when the inflation rate is
expected to be under 6%.

(bill)

11 April 2023
April 10, 2023 UPDATE

DEFENCE The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis has convened a
meeting of the country’s Higher Defence Council on Tuesday. The security
situation at the Black Sea, triggered by Russia’s aggression on Ukraine and the
foreign interference in Moldova’s democratic process are on the agenda. The
development of the Romanian military aviation will also be discussed.

CEREMONY We will always rely on the Romanian Army, on our
servicemen who, together with our allies, will ensure the defence of Romania
and of NATO’s eastern flank, PM Nicolae Ciucă said in the eastern Romanian
town of Focsani on Monday. He attended a ceremony celebrating 140 years since
the Union of Principalities 282 Brigade was set up. The PM reiterated that
near Romania’s borders, a long-term war of attrition is taking place, which is
a challenge for the free world, for democracy, for a rule-based world. The 282
Brigade carries forward the military traditions of the 6th Infantry
Division established on April 1, 1883, and stationed in Focşani. Throughout its
existence, the 6th Infantry Division took part in the Balkan War and
the 2 world wars, while in recent times structures within the brigade
participated in many operations in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

DIASPORA Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca Monday took part in the opening ceremony
of the conference Smart Diaspora 2023 – Diaspora in higher education, science,
innovation and entrepreneurship, held in Timisoara, western Romania. Around
400 participants from the Diaspora, 550 from Romania and 300 from the member
universities of Timisoara University Alliance are expected to attend the 38
workshops held for 4 days on topics such as education, psychology, global
economy, governance, smart cities, intercultural communication and many others.
The guests from the Diaspora come from more than 30 countries, most of them in
the EU, but also from the US, Britain, Moldova, Japan, Singapore and Australia. President Klaus Iohannis has
sent a message saying education is the key to Romania’s sustainable
development.

EDUCATION The new education bills have reached the Chamber of
Deputies for review. In the case of undergraduate education, new mandatory Language
and communication and Math and sciences exams have been introduced for 2nd, 4th
and 6th grade students, while the bill on higher education provides for an
extension of doctoral studies from 3 to 4 years. The leaders of the ruling
coalition have promised to pass the new legislation by the end of Parliament’s current
session.

HOLY WEEK Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers all over the world,
including Romania, a mostly Orthodox country, have entered the Holy Week, the
last week before Easter. Holy Week services are attended by large crowds.
Romanian pilgrims have already arrived at the holy places in Jerusalem,
Nazareth and Bethlehem, for the religious service on Easter Sunday, according
to RRI’s correspondent in Israel. This year, Catholic and Protestant Christians
celebrated Easter a week before the Orthodox and Greek Catholics. On Sunday,
during his traditional Easter address before the large crowds gathered in St.
Peter’s Square of the Vatican, Pope Francis condemned the numerous obstacles in
the way of world peace and called on the international community to put an end
to the conflict in Ukraine and to all other conflicts in the world.

CUSTOMS The customs authorities in Romania and the neighbouring
Republic of Moldova have approved a Common Action Plan designed to help
streamline cross-border travel during the Easter holidays, more precisely
between 7 April and 7 May 2023. According to the Romanian Customs Authority, in
order to handle the surge in traveller numbers, the two authorities will increase
the number of customs workers and identify and earmark separate lanes to
redirect and speed up passenger travel. (AMP)

10 April 2023
March 31, 2023

DEFENCE The strategic partnership between
the US and Romania has never been stronger, said the US secretary of defence,
Lloyd Austin, during the talks with his Romanian counterpart Angel Tîlvăr in
Washington on Thursday. According to a news release from the Pentagon, the US
official praised the excellent relations between the two countries’ armed
forces and thanked Romania for hosting thousands of US and Allied troops to
bolster deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank, and for its role as a leader in the
Black Sea region. The two officials condemned Russia’s reckless war of choice
in Ukraine and reiterated their firm support for Ukraine. The Romanian defence
minister is on a visit to the US for several days, and has meetings scheduled
with senior US officials in the following days.

B9 The meeting of foreign
ministers in the Bucharest 9 format carries on today in Łódź (Poland),
co-chaired by the head of the Romanian diplomacy Bogdan Aurescu and his Polish counterpart, Zbigniew Rau. On
Thursday, the Romanian official announced that the first high-level conference
on security in the Black Sea region will take place in Bucharest on April 13.
During the talks in Lodz, B9 ministers focused on the consequences of Russia’s
war of aggression against Ukraine at regional and Euro-Atlantic level, with an
emphasis on the need to continue supporting Ukraine and to consolidate
trans-Atlantic ties, the Romanian foreign ministry said. In his address, Mr.
Aurescu called on B9 ministers to maintain increased Allied attention and
involvement in the Black Sea region, which has strategic importance for the
entire Euro-Atlantic space, as well as to strengthen trans-Atlantic
coordination. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated Romania’s firm commitment to
further provide multidimensional support to Ukraine. He also encouraged the
Allies on the eastern flank to continue supporting Ukraine’s neighbours, which
are vulnerable to Russia’s aggressive moves, especially Georgia and the
Republic of Moldova, which is facing hybrid threats designed to destabilise the
country and to undermine its EU accession efforts.

VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă travels
to Sweden today, the country that holds the rotating presidency of the EU. His
agenda includes a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson. According
to Radio Romania’s correspondent, talks will focus on Russia’s aggression
against Ukraine and its impact on the countries in the region, on the
enlargement of the Schengen area, on the priorities of the Swedish presidency
of the EU Council and on bilateral cooperation, which PM Nicolae Ciucă has
recently described as very good. Nicolae Ciucă will also have a meeting with
the speaker of the Swedish parliament, Andreas Norlén. Also today, the Romanian
head of government will attend a public conference on Threats and
opportunities in the Black Sea region, which will also mark the end of his
visit to Sweden.

GREEN ENERGY The European Commission
vice-president Frans Timmermans travels to Bucharest today, for talks on
the European Green Deal and the bloc’s strategy to switch to a zero-emission
economy. The agenda of the visit includes meetings with president Klaus
Iohannis, with the environment minister Tánczos Barna, and with other
government officials. Frans Timmermans will also have meetings with civil
society members, to discuss ways to fight climate change in Romania and the
role of the European Commission in this respect.

AGRICULTURE
The European Commission intends to revise the amount of compensations granted
to farmers from 5 countries affected by the imports of cheap grains from
Ukraine. The Commission is to disburse another EUR 75 mln, of which Romania
might get EUR 15mln, in addition to the EUR 10mln earmarked already. In an open
letter to the government, Romanian farmers argue however that Romania has lost
a lot more because of the priority and advantages received by Ukrainian
producers in the European market.

TENNIS The Romanian player Sorana Cîrstea
(74 WTA) today takes on Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic (12 WTA), in the
semis of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami (Florida). Twice a Wimbledon champion (2011,
2014), Kvitova qualified into the semifinals on Thursday, when she defeated
Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in 3 sets. On Wednesday Sorana Cîrstea had outplayed Arina Sabalenka of
Belarus, no 2 in the world. This will be the 11th direct
match between Sorana Cîrstea and Petra Kvitova, with
the Czech athlete winning 6 of them so far. The winner will take on Elena Rybakina
of Kazakhstan in the final. (AMP)

31 March 2023