Radio România Internațional

Tag: draft law

  • Ban on amusement arcades near schools

    Ban on amusement arcades near schools

    The law limiting access to gambling was unanimously adopted on Monday by the Romanian Senate, which is the first chamber to which the bill was referred. The document, initiated by the opposition Save Romania Union — USR bans the operation of amusement arcades near schools, playgrounds, cultural centers and hospitals. Senators from all political parties revealed the importance of this project, aimed at reducing the disastrous effects of gambling on minors. The interim president of the Senate, the liberal Alina Gorghiu, believes that the legislation in the field must be stricter and stricter.



    Alina Gorghiu: “The most important change is the fact that a ban was introduced on the operation of amusement arcades on a distance of 300 meters from educational units and institutions, playgrounds for children, culture, art, health and social institutions and banking and financial institutions. Secondly, an amendment was adopted which stipulates that these slot machines can no longer be functional in bars”.



    For his part, the USR senator Sebastian Cernic showed that while in Romania there are no programs for the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction, the governments of other countries such as Belgium, Great Britain, Spain or Australia have drastically limited the exposure of young people to this risk. According to him, the document is probably the most important law for protecting the life and future of children.



    Sebastian Cernic: “We have to say Stop. It is necessary to clear the road to school or to the childrens playground of temptations and lies.”



    During the debates, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR senator Irina Kovács, a former high school director, stated that there are teenagers who unfortunately have become addicted to gambling only because these arcades are located near educational institutions.



    Irina Kovács: “We had cases of children who ended up developing addictions because the high school was surrounded by no less than five amusement arcades.”



    And the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR senator Rodica Boancă believes that such laws are necessary: “Gambling, drugs, alcohol consumption create vices that can endanger their life, that of the family”.



    In turn, the social democrat Radu Oprea believes that the draft law is a good initiative, but, unfortunately, it does not solve the problem of those who are addicted to gambling. Radu Oprea: “One of the good amendments is to remove slot-machines from bars and cafes, where young people can enter and where, if there is alcohol around, the idea of playing will definitely become more pressing”.



    After being adopted by the Senate, the bill will enter the debate of the Chamber of Deputies, which is a decision-making body. (LS)

  • October 13, 2020

    October 13, 2020


    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The infection rate
    has exceeded 2 per thousand inhabitants in the capital city Bucharest and another
    two counties. The rate stands at 1.5 in another 12 counties, where the
    authorities have introduced new restrictions. Yesterday, Prime Minister Ludovic
    Orban announced he would recommend the cancelling of private events, or capping
    the maximum number of attendants to 20. Many events organizers do not comply
    with health safety measures, the Prime Minister said. Another 2,069 new
    infections were reported in Romania on Sunday, most of these signaled in
    Bucharest and in Iaşi and Prahova counties. 56 new fatalities were also
    recorded, while 628 patients are in intensive care.




    COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Governments across
    the globe are talking about a second wave of the pandemic and introducing
    harsher restrictions to stop the virus from spreading. Over 38 million
    infections have been reported since the start of the pandemic 10 months ago. 29
    million of the people infected with the coronavirus have recovered. After being
    one of the most affected countries in the world in March this year, when it
    reported some 36,000 fatalities, Italy today has released an update of
    anti-COVID measures for the next month. Bars, restaurants and clubs in the
    Czech Republic will remain closed starting tomorrow until November 3, while
    most schools in this country will move to remote teaching. In Jerusalem, the
    Ministerial Committee for coronavirus is today convening to analyze the latest
    developments. Israel has entered the fourth consecutive week with restrictions
    in place at national level. Meanwhile, American researchers have reported the
    first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection, which takes the global number
    to five. The other cases of reinfection were reported in Belgium, the
    Netherlands, Hong Kong and Ecuador. The international community needs to do
    more to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF
    General Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.




    EUROPEAN COUNCIL – President Klaus
    Iohannis will be attending the European Council meeting held in Brussels on
    October 15 and 16. According to the Presidency, high on the agenda are hot
    topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, EU-UK relations as well as combating
    climate change. Concerning the ongoing health crisis, talks will focus on the
    current status of the pandemic, measures to limit the spread of the virus, the
    economic and social impact of the pandemic, economic recovery and the
    development of COVID-19 vaccines.




    ELECTION – Over 20,000
    Romanians living abroad have registered for postal voting for the December 6
    legislative election. Eligible voters residing abroad who wish to cast their
    votes in the election must register until October 22 on www.votstrainatate.ro.
    State Secretary with the Department for Romanians Worldwide, Ovidiu Burduşa,
    said there might be fewer voting polls this year set up abroad, due to the
    COVID-19 pandemic.




    STATISTICS – The National
    Liberal Party in power grabbed the highest number of votes at national level in
    the recent local election, both in terms of the number of city halls, 34.58%,
    and in terms of the local and county councils. According to data published by
    the Central Election Bureau, ranking second is the Social-Democratic Party in
    opposition, with a score of 30.34% of the total number of city halls. The
    Social Democrats outrank the Liberals in terms of mayor and county councilmen
    seats. Ranking third at national level is the Save-Romania Union, with a little
    under 7%.




    DRAFT LAW – Romanian deputies
    are today debating a draft law tabled by the Social Democratic Party on the
    payment of hazard bonus to teaching staff and auxiliary personnel, who are
    exposed to COVID infections. The hazard pay will stand at €400 and €300 per
    month, respectively. The beneficiaries will get the additional financial
    payment throughout any state of emergency or alert. The Chamber of Deputies is
    the decisional body in this case.




    QUALITY OF AIR – Environment
    Minister Costel Alexe on Tuesday is holding a press conference jointly with
    Minister for European Funds, Marcel Boloş. The two will be signing a funding
    contract for the modernization and expansion of the National Network for
    Monitoring Quality of Air. The project seeks to build a national air pollution
    forecast system for large urban centers. Earlier this year, Costel Alexe
    announced another 60 new monitoring stations will be added to the network, an
    investment worth € 3.17 million, of which €2.17 million is covered by the
    Environment Fund Administration, while the rest will be funded by the EU. Right
    now the network totals 148 operational stations, 8 of which in the capital city
    Bucharest.






    (Translated
    by V. Palcu)



  • Compulsory immunization in Romania

    Compulsory immunization in Romania


    Romanian society has had to cope with many delicate topics in recent months with a powerful dividing impact on society. Adding to that was the latest bill on the compulsory vaccination of children and adults. Kept under wraps by Parliament for years, MPs decided to bring the bill back in the limelight and pass it swiftly, apparently in reaction to the coronavirus crisis. In brief, the draft law stipulates that all vaccines included in the national immunization programme become compulsory. Other vaccines might become compulsory in an epidemiological emergency, with the exception of special cases where physicians confirm the vaccine is ill-advised. Parents will have to say whether they agree to vaccinate their children at birth. If parents say no and there is no certified medical opinion against taking the vaccine, family physicians will have to present the benefits of vaccination to the parents. If parents still refuse, then a group of specialists with the Health Ministry will provide counseling over the course of three months. If at the end of a year parents still refuse to vaccinate their child, they will be handed a warning and subsequently a fine of up to 2,000 euros.



    At the same time upon enrollment in nursery or primary schools the leadership of the schooling unit must ask parents to produce a certification attesting to the observance of the national vaccination scheme or the existence of medical exemptions or a timetable for administrating the missing vaccines. Another provision in the bill is that the Health Ministry must at all times have a stockpile of vaccines covering the demand for 18 months. Anti-vaccine supporters have been piling pressure on MPs, sending hundreds of messages asking them not to vote a law “that will subject children to forceful injections” imposed by “an occult global mass”. They are invoking freedom of choice as opposed to dictatorship, fearing vaccines might be genetically engineered. Considering 2020 is an election year, political parties have either overtly argued in favor of compulsory immunization, or decided to let each of their members vote his own way.



    The Social-Democratic Party and Pro Romania Party in opposition say they firmly support the compulsory vaccination of children that would protect them against epidemiological risks. The National Liberal Party in power and Save Romania Union in general favor the bill, although there have been some voices on both sides opposing the draft law. We recall that, according to UNICEF statistics, Romania reported some 19,000 cases of measles inflections over 2016-2019, a total of 60 people dying to the epidemic. Most cases were reported in unvaccinated children.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)




  • July 2, 2019

    July 2, 2019

    SUMMIT – EU leaders are
    today having a third round of talks in Brussels to decide on the new leadership
    of EU institutions. Initially they agreed on Socialist Frans Timmermans to take
    on the Presidency of the European Commission, instead of German
    Christian-Democrat Manfred Weber, who enjoyed the supported of the European
    People’s Party, who would instead be appointed European Parliament President.
    However, the deal brokered by Angela Merkel was discarded by the EPP, who are
    unwilling to give up on the Commission presidency. Manfred Weber does not,
    however, enjoy the support of the French liberals, who criticize his lack of
    experience. On the other hand, Frans Timmermans cannot rely on the support of
    states in the Visegrad group and Italy. Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva is
    runing for European Council President, yet after negotiations failed Prime
    Minister Boiko Borisov said she is out of the race. Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles
    Michel could be the next High Representative for Foreign Affairs, while
    Denmark’s Margarethe Vestager of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats could be
    the next First Vice-President of the European Commission. Representing Romania
    in the Summit is Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis.

    VISIT – Romania was, is and will
    remain the most constant and vocal supporter of Moldova, President Klaus
    Iohannis said earlier today after talks with Moldovan Prime Minister Maia
    Sandu, who is on a visit to Bucharest. The President said Bucharest will
    support at EU level financial assistance for the Republic of Moldova. In turn,
    Prime Minister Sandu said the Government wants to develop joint projects with
    Romania, and the European agenda is the defining characteristic of relations
    with Bucharest. Also today Maia Sandu met with her Romanian counterpart,
    Viorica Dancila, and with Chamber of Deputies Speaker, Marcel Ciolacu. Sworn in
    last month, Maia Sandu decided to pay her first external visit to Bucharest,
    although she previously announced she would visit Brussels. Another Moldovan
    official on Monday visited Bucharest, Foreign Minister Nicolae Popescu, who
    said Moldova is firmly and irreversibly on track to European accession. Last
    year, 68% of Moldova’s exports were to the European Union, while 20% were to
    Romania, Minister Popescu went on to say.

    DRAFT LAW – A draft law on voting abroad is under
    debate in the Judicial Committee of the Chamber of Deputies today. On
    Wednesday, the bill will be debated and voted upon in the plenary sitting of the
    Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. The Senate on
    Monday passed the bill, which provides for alternative voting procedures for
    Romanians abroad, such as extending the vote for three days and postal voting.
    The bill is aimed at allowing all Romanians to cast their vote and avoiding
    difficulties and delays, such that were reported in the recent European
    Parliament election.

    TENNIS – Four Romanian tennis players are today competing in the Wimbledon
    tennis tournament. Ana Bogdan is playing Johanna Konta of Great Britain. Sorana
    Cirstea will take on Amanda Anisimova of the United States. Monica Niculescu,
    the recipient of a wildcard, will play against Andrea Petkovic of Germany.
    Finally, Elena-Gabriela Ruse will go up against Julia Georges of Germany. On
    Monday, another two Romanians, Simona Halep and Mihaela Buzarnescu advanced to
    the second round where they will be pitted against each other. In the men’s singles,
    Marius Copil lost 1-3 to Guido Pella of Argentina.

  • Changes in Romania’s adoption procedures

    Changes in Romania’s adoption procedures

    The Senate of Romania Wednesday endorsed a draft law that revises the legislative framework on adoptions, by introducing provisions that speed up the process through which a child is declared available for adoption, make the assessment of prospective adopting families more flexible and do away with red-tape in the field.



    First of all, the bill no longer requires the authorities to identify a childs relatives up to the fourth degree, in cases where a childs individual protection plan decides that adoption is the best solution. The national adoption practice so far proved that this procedure lengthened the process through which an orphan child could find an adoptive family.



    The bill also makes adoption procedures more flexible for children above 14 years of age and for siblings who cannot be separated. The new legislation also ensures more flexibility in international adoption procedures.



    At the same time, the draft law introduces new financial incentives for the families interested in adopting older children, children with disabilities or siblings, and provides for financial aid to cover for the costs of childrens healthcare services, including psychological care. The adoptive familys transport and accommodation expenses may also be refunded under the new bill.



    According to one of the new amendments, an adoption case manager can decide that a child is available for adoption if the natural parents, who are at least 18 years of age, give their consent to the adoption within 60 days after abandoning the child. In such cases, adoption will be decided as the solution in the individual protection plan within 45 days after the natural parents have expressed their consent.



    The relevant social services authority is in charge with taking all the steps to identify the natural parents and to contact them, to keep them informed on the place where the child is living and on the options for the natural parents to stay in touch with the adopted children, as well as on what they can do for children to return to their natural families.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • December 13, 2017 UPDATE

    December 13, 2017 UPDATE

    KING The coffin with the dead body of Romania’s former sovereign Mihai the 1st arrived in Romania on Wednesday and was further taken to the Peles Castle in Sinaia, southern Romania where officials from Bucharest and from the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova presented their condolences. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, the country’s Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and the speaker of Parliament in the Republic of Moldova Adrian Candu have also signed in the book of condolences. People’s access to the Castle was restricted but many took to the streets to see the funeral procession and bid farewell to Romania’s last king who ruled their country between 1940 and 1947. The king is presently lying in state at the Royal Castle in Bucharest where everybody who wants to pay their respects is expected. King Mihai died in Switzerland at 96 on December 5th and is to be buried in Curtea de Arges, southern Romania, where all the Romanian kings have been interred.




    LAW The government of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking state, has endorsed a draft law on changing in the Constitution the name of the country’s official language from Moldovan into Romanian. Under the law, the syntagm ‘the Moldovan language using a Latin alphabet’ has been replaced by ‘the Romanian Language”. The country’s pro-Russia president Igor Dodon has described the decision to change the name of the official language as unacceptable. He has voiced conviction that the amendment will not get Parliament approval.




    SURVEY Roughly 16 thousand Romanian doctors have left the country to work abroad, particularly in EU countries, shows a survey published by the Coalition for the Rights of Migrants and Refugees, a group formed by several Romanian NGOs. According to the survey, Romania is in need of 600 GPs and 4,000 qualified doctors. On the other hand the number of employees in the research & development sector has dropped by 30% in the past 20 years. The survey has been conducted on the migration of highly qualified professionals in three areas: medicine, research & development and IT.




    BUDGET BILL The 2018 state and social security bills were being debated on in the joint budget and finance committees of Romania’s Parliament, with the final vote scheduled for December 21. The budget for 2018 was based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, a 3.1% inflation rate, an average exchange rate of 4.55 lei for the Euro and an increase in the average number of employees by 4.2%. Healthcare, education and investments are the priorities of the government in Bucharest if we look at the amount of funds these areas have been allocated in the 2018 budget bill. The budget bill is contested by the Opposition that has filed almost 4 thousand amendments to it.


  • August 20, 2017 UPDATE

    August 20, 2017 UPDATE

    ATTACKS IN SPAIN — The third day of mourning was observed in Spain on Sunday following the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, which killed 14 people and wounded over a hundred. Three Romanians are among the wounded. Meanwhile Spanish Prime Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said the terrorist group that orchestrated the attacks has been completely shut down, although further arrests are still a possibility. The Spanish Police announced it managed to eradicate a well-organized terrorist cell, planning a large-scale attack on Sagrada Familia Cathedral, the number one tourist site in Barcelona. Sagrada Familia on Sunday hosted a mass in Catalan, Spanish, Italian, English and French in memory of the victims of Thursday’s attack. Attending the mass was King Felipe the 6th of Spain. The king brought an homage to the victims in Las Ramblas district on Saturday.



    DRAFT LAW — The Government in Bucharest passed a draft law amending criminal legislation, by means of which seizing one’s assets becomes admissible only when the sentence passed is at least four years imprisonment. The draft law transposes a EU directive on asset forfeiture for people convicted for corruption into national law. Under the new law people who are convicted for embezzlement, abuse of office, conflict of interest or obtaining of undue benefits will lose the assets accrued in the five years before the sentence was passed, if these deeds resulted in the obtaining of financial benefits and if the sentence passed is at least four years in prison. Issued by the Ministry of Justice, the draft law will be submitted to Parliament for debate and approval.



    IMMIGRANTS — The Romanian Coast Guard has tracked down 25 Syrian immigrants and 3 Bulgarian guides trying to illegally cross from Bulgaria into Romania. The guides were supposed to take the group of immigrants to Bucharest, where they were bound for Germany. The Coast Guard handed the Syrians over to the Bulgarian authorities, under the bilateral protocol the two countries have signed. The vehicles they were found in were seized and an investigation is now underway.



    MILITARY EQUIPMENT — The US State Department has finished its assessment of Romania’s request to purchase High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems worth 1,25 billion dollars. The State Department has submitted the bid to the Congress. Romania has request 54 such systems along with related services and equipment. According to a press release, if Congress approves the sale, technical talks will ensue so as to decide on the final specifics of the purchase. Buying the system is part of the 8 key programmes stipulated in the national strategy for modernizing the Romanian Army over the 2017-2026 period. The Romanian state is also due to purchase Patriot missiles worth 4 billion dollars. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Will local officials be exonerated from responsibility?

    Will local officials be exonerated from responsibility?

    In recent years, against the backdrop of the fight against corruption, many high-ranking officials in the Romanian administration have been removed. From top players in the central administration, MPs, ministers and even an ex-prime minister to local officials, such as presidents of county councils or mayors of small communes, a lot of people have fallen victim, politically speaking, to the fight against corruption. That is why, there is no easy way for politicians to cover their backs without being noticed. The Senate has passed a draft bill amending the local administration law providing for local officials to have exclusive responsibility for the documents they issue, without the legal endorsement of the public institution’s secretary and without the signatures of civil servants with prerogatives in the field. As the senator of the Social-Democratic Party, the main ruling party, Ioan Denes, argues, the mayor’s signature reflects only the mayor’s authority, not expertise. Ioan Denes, secretary of the Senate Administration Committee:



    “This proposal and the amendments have made it clear for everybody, including those interpreting the laws, that the mayor’s signature is a signature authenticating the document he or she issued, and not an expert opinion regarding town-planning or other areas related to an administrative document issued by the local public administration.”



    The MPs of the Save Romania Union, USR, the second opposition faction in this country, voted against the draft law, warning that through that law, mayors might be exonerated from the responsibility of signing an administrative document. Florina Presada, a USR senator:



    “Though we believe that every civil servant should be responsible for the documents he or she signs, we also believe that the mayor should share that responsibility. This initiative is dangerous because mayors may be exonerated from the responsibility of countersigning or signing administrative documents. We demand that the errors made by the Committee be removed and we will call on Parliament, on our fellow senators to turn down the draft law.”



    The draft law was tacitly passed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate is the decision-making body in this case. As pundits note, the initiative fuels suspicions that being exonerated from the responsibility for his or her own signature, a mayor, whoever he or she might be, can very easily conceal his or her incompetence or intention to embezzle public money, the latter being a practice that has often been confirmed in court. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • April 6, 2017 UPDATE

    April 6, 2017 UPDATE

    CONFERENCE – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on Thursday that in a strong democratic society the majority and opposition must join forces for the benefit of the people. Iohannis made this statement at an international conference on The Interaction between political majority and opposition, in a democracy, organised in Bucharest by the Presidential Administration and the Venice Commission, with support from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Until Friday, the event will give the nearly 100 participants a platform to discuss the most difficult aspects of the interaction between power and opposition. At the end of the conference, the Venice Commission will draw up a report laying down core lines of action for how the political majority should interact with the opposition.




    DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Gabriel Les, announced on Thursday that the plan to equip the Romanian Army would be finalised within about a month. In an interview to Radio Romania, he said the Army would receive attack and transport helicopters, as well as new armoured carriers, given that the ones used at present are around 30 years old. The Ministry wants the national defence industry to be involved in all the Army equipping projects, Les added.




    DRAFT LAW – The draft law on the unified pay scales for the public sector was presented on Thursday in the leading structure of the Social Democratic Party, the main partner in the ruling coalition, and will be promoted as an initiative of the MPs in the ruling coalition. The president of the Social Democrats, Liviu Dragnea, said this would step up the endorsement procedure, so as to allow some of the pay rises in the bill to take effect as of July 1. Under the draft law, salaries will be gradually raised in the next 5 years, and will be calculated based on the national minimum wage. We have more on this after the news.




    CHEMICAL ATTACK – Over 85 people, including 30 children, were killed in the alleged chemical attack perpetrated in north-western Syria, according to a report made public on Thursday by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Also on Thursday, Turkey, which is hosting scores of the wounded, confirmed the use of chemical weapons. The nature of the substances has not been officially identified, but the World Health Organisation said some victims had symptoms associated with exposure to a category of neurotoxins. Several states, including France and the UK, claim that President Assads regime is behind the attack, but the latter denies the accusations. The Syrian civil war started in 2011 and killed 320,000 people.

  • December 5, 2015 UPDATE

    December 5, 2015 UPDATE

    The Romanian Ministry for Finances made public the draft budget for 2016. The ministries that will receive more money than in the previous financial year include the defence, interior, education, culture and healthcare. Fewer funds than in 2015 will be allocated for the transport, labour, justice and finance ministries. According to the bill, the budget revenues for next year will be nearly 0.8 billion euros higher than in 2015, while expenses will be 3.5 billion euro higher, and cover all the measures approved this year by the Government and Parliament. According to the Government, next year’s budget reflects a number of principles, including fiscal predictability, aimed at encouraging private investments and enhancing the confidence of the business community, efficient budget spending, improved transparency in spending public money and a transformation of the relationship between the state and taxpayers, in the sense of a more friendly attitude of public institutions towards citizens.



    The Romanian Health Ministry announced that all the victims of the October 30th fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub who are still in hospitals in Romania would be transferred abroad if their doctors recommend it and their families agree. The decision comes after the management of the Hospital for Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery in Bucharest admitted that three of the patients injured in the tragedy died from infections acquired in the hospital. Sixty people died in that fire and many others were injured. At present there are 31 patients in hospitals in Bucharest and 30 in clinics abroad. The protests against corruption in central and local administration that followed the tragedy led to the resignation of the Social Democrat Victor Ponta’s Cabinet.



    Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Christians in Romania Sunday celebrate St. Nicholas, also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. Born in the 3rd Century in the Middle East, he has a reputation for gift-giving, and a lot of miracles are attributed to him. Nearly 800,000 Romanians bearing his name are also celebrating their name day on Sunday. According to Romanian tradition, the evening before St. Nicholas’ Feast Day shoes are taken out, and during the night the Saint will put gifts in them.



    Romanian troops will be training for a week, as of Monday, together with military from the USA and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, at a shooting range in south-eastern Romania, which is hosting the Platinum Lynx 16.2 module of the Black Sea Rotational Force multinational exercise. The exercise is aimed at carrying on the joint training of troops, at enhancing the interoperability of participating forces and strengthening their partnership.



    The US Federal Bureau of Investigations officially rated as an act of terrorism the attack that killed 14 people and wounded 21 others on Wednesday in San Bernardino, California. The FBI chief, James Comey, said there are indications that the attackers were inspired by foreign terrorist organisations, but added that there is no evidence that they were members of a terrorist group.



    Romania’s national women’s handball team Saturday won its first match at the World Championship in Denmark, outperforming Puerto Rico 47-14. The next game, against Kazakhstan, is scheduled for Monday. The same Group D also includes Spain, Norway and Russia. The top four ranking teams in each group qualify into the eighth-finals. The World Championship is also a qualification criterion for the Rio Olympics, with the winner of this competition qualified to the Olympic Games and the teams ranking 2nd to 7th getting access to the pre-Olympic tournaments of April 2016. Romania is the only country which has taken part in all the World Championships final tournaments since 1957. The Romanians won gold in 1962 and silver in 1973 and 2005.