Radio România Internațional

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  • June 18, 2019 UPDATE

    June 18, 2019 UPDATE

    NO-CONFIDENCE The no-confidence motion against the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats was dismissed on Tuesday in the Parliament of Romania. Although apparently having more support than in the previous 2 attempts at removing Viorica Dăncilăs Cabinet, the Opposition failed to get the required 233 votes. According to the text of the motion, Romania immediately needs a government with a pro-European stand and focusing on the countrys development priorities, namely education, healthcare, public investments and attracting European funds. The signatories, the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, Peoples Movement Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, said Viorica Dăncilăs Cabinet must be dismissed over the repeated attempts at issuing emergency orders in the field of the judiciary and the poor handling of the EP elections. PM Dăncilă, who is also the interim president of the Social Democratic Party, had asked the Social Democrat MPs to attend the meeting, but to abstain from voting.




    VISIT While on a visit in Romania, the US Attorney General William Barr was received on Tuesday by President Klaus Iohannis. The head of state appreciated the substance and dynamics of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA, which has grown stronger over the past few years, and reiterated Bucharests commitment to strengthening it at all levels, from politics to defence and security and from judicial cooperation to the rule of law. In turn, the US official voiced his appreciation for the Strategic Partnership with Romania, which is the USAs most reliable partner in the region. Also on Tuesday, William Barr discussed with PM Viorica Dăncilă. During the meeting, Viorica Dăncilă requested the Attorney Generals support for including Romania in the Visa Waver programme, an aspect of particular importance to the Romanian authorities. PM Dăncilă also stated that Romania is committed to carrying on the Strategic Partnership with the US in the field of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters and to strengthening this cooperation through constant dialogue and a positive approach.




    COUNCIL The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis takes part on Thursday and Friday in a meeting of the European Council in Brussels, the Presidency announced on Tuesday. The agenda will mainly include aspects related to the appointment of the new EU institution leaders, the endorsement of the EU Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024, the new multi-annual financial framework, as well as the latest developments related to Brexit. On Friday Klaus Iohannis will also take part in a Euro Summit in an extended format. According to the Romanian Presidency, at the end of the 6 months that Romania held the rotating presidency of the EU Council, Iohannis will present the progress made in implementing the goals set by the European Council.




    BSEC The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu took part on Tuesday in the opening session of the high-level conference on cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation. The event was organised jointly by the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU and the Bulgarian presidency of the BSEC, with support from the European Commission. In his address, Teodor Meleşcanu expressed Romanias constant and firm commitment to stimulating regional cooperation in the Black Sea region, as an integral part of Romanias strategic profile. He also reiterated the importance attached by Romania to strengthening the cooperation between the 2 international organisations, so as to help better use the opportunities offered by the EU policies, initiatives and programmes towards the sustainable development of the Black Sea region.




    FOOTBALL Several Romanian football clubs found out their opponents for the first preliminary round of the European cups, following Tuesdays draw of lots in Nyon, Switzerland. The Romanian champions CFR Cluj are to play against FC Astana of Kazakhstan, in the Champions League. The first leg will be played in Kazakhstan on July 9th or 10th, and the return leg a week later in Cluj-Napoca. In Europa League, FCSB will take on Moldovas Milsami Orhei, with the first leg scheduled in Romania on July 11th and the second one in Moldova on July 18th. CSU Craiova takes on the Azeri team FK Sabail, also on July 11th, away from home, while the Romanian Cup winners FC Viitorul Constanta will go straight into the second round of the same competition.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 19, 2018

    June 19, 2018

    PRESIDENCY – President Klaus Iohannis has a meeting today with the EU ambassadors to Bucharest, to discuss the forthcoming Romanian presidency of the Union Council in the first half of 2019. According to a news release issued by the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis will state that a compromise solution for the multi-annual budget, must be balanced and meet both the new priorities of the Union, such as border protection, migration, the ERASMUS programme, innovation and defence, and keep a substantial level of funding for traditional policies such as cohesion and the common agricultural policy. The President will also express Bucharests determination to support the efforts to resume the full implementation of the Schengen system and will add that the consolidation of the visa-free area cannot be completed without full integration of Romania and Bulgaria.




    PRIME MINISTER – PM Viorica Dăncilă presents the joint Parliament Chambers with a progress report on Romanias preparations to take over the EU Council presidency in January 2019. “The talks occasioned by this presentation will be a substantial support to the Governments drawing up and adopting a first working programme for the Presidency, Dǎncilǎ said. She believes the Council presidency will be an opportunity for Romania to prove its capacity to contribute to re-launching the European project, by means of a powerful political vision and relevant administrative capacity.




    CODE – The changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure were endorsed on Monday by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making chamber of Parliament in this case, after having been passed by the Senate as well. 175 Deputies voted in favour and 78 against. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition announced they will refer the bill to the Constitutional Court.




    JUDICIARY – The Constitutional Court of Romania today discusses President Klaus Iohannis notification concerning changes to the Referendum Law. One of the claims is that the document includes provisions concerning the initiation and procedural steps in revising the Constitution, which fall outside its competence. Also today, Constitutional Court judges discuss the notifications filed by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union in opposition, as well as by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, concerning the bill on the statute of judges and prosecutors. The High Court argues that the phrasing in the new bill is too broad and imprecise making the law impossible to enforce.




    US-ROMANIA – Romanias deputy PM for strategic partnerships, Ana Birchall, has had a meeting today with Wess Mitchell, Assistant US State Secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, as part of the 6th annual political meeting for Romania-US Strategic Dialogue. Ana Birchall emphasised Romanias interest in identifying and implementing new joint projects contributing to the development and strengthening of the Strategic Partnership with the US. She pointed out the huge potential in the fields of energy, IT and film industry. On the other hand, she requested the support of the American side for Romanias Visa Waiver application and thanked the US for its support to Romanias efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and development. On Monday, in an address given at the University of Bucharest, the American official said Romania made progress towards a strong judicial system and must not backtrack on it. The US official added that the US appreciates the resilience of Black Sea countries, but also warned against the danger posed by the influence of Russia and China in the region.




    FOOTBALL – Romanian football champions CFR Cluj are finding out today their opponents in the second preliminary round of the Champions League, in a UEFA draw in the Swiss city of Nyon. The draw for the Europa League will take place tomorrow, with Romanian vice-champions FCSB (former Steaua Bucuresti) and Viitorul Constanta taking part. The Romanian Cup winners CSU Craiova will play straight into the third preliminary round.




    WORLD CUP – Poland-Senegal and Columbia-Japan, in Group H, and Russia-Egypt in Group A, are the football World Cup games scheduled for today. On Monday in Group A, Sweden defeated South Korea 1-0, while in Group G Belgium outplayed Panama, 3-0 and England beat Tunisia 2-1. The Panamanian goalie Jaime Penedo, playing for Dinamo Bucharest, is the only footballer from the Romanian championship taking part in the Russia World Cup. The last final tournament Romania took part in was in 1998.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • December 12, 2015

    December 12, 2015

    COUNTRY RATING– Moodys has changed the outlook on Romania’s Baa3 government ratings to positive from stable, a communiqué issued by the Romanian Finance Ministry on Saturday shows. According to the same source, the decision made by the agency reflects Romania’s significant progress in correcting its macroeconomic imbalances, reducing the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks and paving the way for robust economic growth. Moody’s forecasts Romania’s economic recovery to gain further momentum in 2016, thanks to a robust expansion of private consumption and investment as well as solid public consumption growth, which will allow real GDP growth to accelerate to 4.1% in 2016, from 3.5% in 2015. Moodys has also taken note of Romania’s sizeable fiscal adjustment in the recent past, leading to a significant reduction of the government’s fiscal deficit and contributing to a stabilization of the government’s debt-to-GDP ratio. In August, Fitch Ratings reconfirmed Romania’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ and ‘BBB’, respectively, with a stable outlook.



    DRAFT BUDGET– The Romanian Parliaments specialist committees continue debates on the state draft budget for 2016. The committees will also convene tomorrow, and the final vote is expected next Wednesday, in the plenary session of the Romanian Parliament. The Social Democratic Party has expressed satisfaction with the current form of the budget bill, saying that it respects the projection made by the former left wing government, in terms of fiscal relaxation and economic growth. In turn, the Liberals have said that, to a large extent, the budget is satisfactory under its current form, small adjustments being likely to be made during debates by the committees, without however expecting substantial changes.



    CORRUPTION- In Romania, Prince Paul Lambrino is today being brought to the Court of Appeal in Brasov, with the prosecutors making a temporary arrest proposal in a file on illegal return of property. He was taken into custody yesterday by the anti-corruption prosecutors, whereas a businessman and a lawyer are under home arrest, and four other people are placed under judicial control in the same lawsuit. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the indictees set up a criminal group which set as ultimate goal to obtain the properties unlawfully claimed by Prince Paul. The estimated value of the damage is some 136 million Euros. A number of politicians, including the Liberal Ioan Oltean, have been investigated recently for involvement in cases of illegal return of property or illegal compensation granted by the National Authority for Property Restitution.



    ADDRESS-Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, has made a request stating his wish to address Parliament next week, on December 16. The Presidential Administration has made public the presidents intention to speak before Senators and Deputies a year after he took office. Klaus Iohannis has sent a letter, in that respect, to the speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament



    SPORTS– Romanias national football team will find out its opponents in the 2016 European Championships in France, after the group stage draw in Paris. For the first time, there will be 24 participating teams, which will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. The 15th edition of the European Championships will unfold between June 10 and July 10. This will be Romanias fifth participation in a European Championship final tournament (1984, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016). Romanias best performance was in 2000, when it advanced to the quarter-finals from a group with Germany, Portugal and England before falling to eventual runners-up Italy.


    (Translated by: Diana Vijeu)