Radio România Internațional

Tag: economic

  • Economic forecast for Romania

    Economic forecast for Romania

    The European Bank for
    Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has substantially improved its estimate
    on Romania’s economic performance for this year, and in a recent report it expects
    a 7.2% growth rate as opposed to the 6% estimated in June.


    Further on, in 2022, the
    European funds earmarked under the Recovery and Resilience Plan are expected to
    lead to an increase in investments and improvement of exports, which jointly
    with the predicted fiscal consolidation and the slow-down in private
    consumption may translate into a GDP growth by over 4%.


    However, EBRD cautions
    that these forecasts are rather tentative. The main risk, as far as Romania is
    concerned, is the pandemic, given that the country has the second-lowest
    vaccination rate in the EU.


    Other risk factors are
    the high prices for natural gas and oil, because Romania, just like other
    countries, is forced to offset the high electricity expenses for low-income
    households. Other alarm signs are related to possible disruptions in supply
    chains, and the depreciation of the national currency.


    According to the
    international financial institution, 3 south-eastern EU member states-Greece,
    Romania and Bulgaria-are currently seeing a significant economic recovery,
    after a rather difficult year 2020. In Romania’s case, domestic demand is the
    main engine for growth.


    On the other hand, the high prices for raw
    materials may undermine the post-pandemic recovery of European economies, insofar
    as they strongly affect the trade balance of energy-importing countries like
    Romania.


    According to the report,
    the high energy prices may be a test of the public’s support for a greener
    future. While global support was strong and growing in the past few years, in
    some economies, including Egypt, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Poland and Romania the
    support rate is lower than in the late 1990s.


    According to EBRD,
    economies in the region will see an average growth rate of 5.5% in 2021, which
    accounts for a 1.3% upgrade since the bank’s June forecasts. In 2022, as
    economies recover, the rate will slow down to an average 3.8%. These forecasts
    come with a high uncertainty element, given the risks entailed by the Covid-19
    pandemic, by a possible worsening of international circumstances and a more
    modest growth rate among the main trade partners.


    The EBRD was set up in
    1991 to invest in former communist states and assist them in the transition to a
    free market economy. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, EBRD became
    a major investor in Romania, where it focuses on funding infrastructure, improving
    productivity and consolidating the financial sector. So far the institution has
    invested nearly 9 billion euros in the Romanian economy, three-quarters of
    which went into the private sector. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • September 17, 2021 UPDATE

    September 17, 2021 UPDATE

    CORONAVIRUS The government Friday passed a resolution making
    the green certificate, attesting vaccination, negative testing or recovery from
    COVID-19, compulsory upon entering
    restaurants, gyms, or attending public and private events in areas where the infection rate is over 3 per
    thousand. This is the same digital certificate required this summer for travel
    within the EU. On Friday, authorities announced 4,478 new cases of COVID-19
    infection in 24 hours, from over 46,000 tests.
    In the same interval, 73 related fatalities were also reported and 762
    patients treated in intensive care. Bucharest exceeded, on Friday, the
    threshold of 2 per thousand inhabitants cumulated in 14 days, which brings the
    capital city in the yellow zone. Meanwhile, on Thursday the National Committee
    on Emergency Situations approved a new list of high-risk countries, valid as of
    September 19. Bulgaria and France are now back in the yellow zone, and Spain is
    listed as a green-zone country.






    CONNECTING EUROPE Romania needs to step up investments in the rail
    infrastructure, the European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said on
    Friday. Attending the arrival in Bucharest’s main railway station of Connecting
    Europe Express, a special train designed in the European Year of Rail, she
    explained that Romania must plan its investments well, come up to solid
    projects and manage these investments as efficiently as possible. I am aware of
    the situation of railways in Romania and I undertake to do everything in my
    power to help finance and develop it, the interim transport minister Dan Vîlceanu
    said in his turn. Connecting Europe Express will stop in stations in 26
    countries during its five-week, 20,000-km journey, before arriving in Paris on
    October 7. The train departed from Lisbon and, before reaching Paris, it will
    stop in Ljubljana, connecting the Portuguese, Slovenian and French presidencies
    of the Council of the EU.






    VISIT The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will be in
    Bucharest on September 27, the EC deputy spokesperson Dana Spinant announced on
    Friday. She added that in the coming days the Commission will complete its
    assessment of Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Under the Plan,
    Bucharest is set to receive over 29 billion euro, half of it in grants and half
    in loans. Romania plans reforms and investments in transports, environment,
    agriculture, healthcare, education, business environment, research, innovation,
    digitisation as well as resilience in crisis situations. According to the
    Commission, 18 states have already seen their national recovery plans approved,
    and 12 of them have already received the first instalments of the funds for
    investment projects.




    COURT Romania’s Constitutional Court will discuss on September 28 the notification filed by the Liberal Prime
    Minister Florin Cîţu’s Cabinet, in connection with an alleged constitutional
    conflict with Parliament concerning the no-confidence motion filed by the
    USR-PLUS alliance, a former junior coalition partner, and AUR, a nationalist
    party, in the opposition. The Government denounced Parliament’s alleged
    unconstitutional, disloyal and abusive behaviour towards the Government, as the
    no-confidence motion tabled by the latter had allegedly been initiated, tabled
    and communicated in terms that are against the Constitution. Pending the Court’s ruling, the debate and
    vote on the motion are in standby, Parliament decided.






    NEW
    MEDIA ART The
    biggest new media art event in Romania will be held on Saturday. iMapp
    Bucharest – Winners league is also among the top three international video
    mapping competitions. The works of teams from the US, Germany, Ukraine, Japan
    and Hungary will be presented on the world’s biggest screening area, namely,
    the façade of the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, of 23,000 sqm. The theme of
    this year’s edition is The Show Must Go On and celebrates through works that
    blend light, technology and music, the way in which people have been returning
    to normal life.








    NATO Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant-General Daniel
    Petrescu is taking part over September 17-19 in the conference of the NATO
    Military Committee, which brings together in Athens, Greece heads of military
    from Allied countries. Talks will tackle NATO operations, missions and
    activities. Additionally, the conference will also address means of
    implementing the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area, and NATO’s
    Warfighting Capstone Concept. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, the
    Military Committee will analyze the NATO 2030 initiative and all its military
    implications and opportunities. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romanians and their food habits

    Romanians and their food habits


    Food waste is one of the most worrying aftermaths of
    today’s consumerism, and Romania is not spared that scourge either. Food waste
    has become really troublesome so much so that in 2016 a bill was passed to
    fight food waste. Unfortunately, the implementation standards of the law are
    yet to be completed. Big quantities of food are being thrown in the litter bin
    by the Romanians, according to recent estimates. Such quantities are large
    enough to load more than 120,000 trucks each year. Food costs account for 40%
    of Romanians’ incomes, but unfortunately, 35 to 40% of the food ends in the
    litter bin. Clearer and more recent pieces of information have recently been
    made public thanks to a sociological survey carried in the summer and autumn of
    2020 by Cluj-Napoca’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary
    medicine, as part of an international project financed by the Francophone
    University Agency. The research focused on three countries, Romania, Republic
    of Moldova and Northern Macedonia. The results were not that much different
    from one country to the next, of the three aforementioned states. For instance,
    taking food habits into account, the vast majority of the respondents stated
    they more often than not made a shopping list, which speaks about prudence and
    precaution. Also, around 90% of respondents said they usually cooked at home,
    which, at least in theory, meant a lower degree of degradation for the food,
    since it was cooked as fresh as possible. However, the study carried by the
    university in Cluj only confirms earlier estimates on food waste in Romania. Cristina Pocol is the coordinator of the research team:

    Irrespective of their country of
    origin, respondents said they throw food away. 83% of Romanian respondents said
    that. A similar answer was provided by 78.8% of the respondents from Republic
    of Moldova, as well as by 67.2% respondents in Northern Macedonia. There are
    quite a few habits related to food waste. We wanted to find our whether
    respondents checked the expiry date of a certain food produce. Most of them
    said they never failed to do that each time they took their consumer’s
    decision. Then most of the respondents are very particular about the way they
    store their food, where and how they do that. And are somehow interested in
    avoiding food waste. Practically, it was very interesting for us to find out
    that, when asked how interested they were in avoiding the waste of food, for
    their most part they said they were very interested, and that it was a topic
    they really cared about. But that comes in stark contrast with their behavior.
    Okay, they are interested in the topic of food waste, but they throw food away.
    These two things just don’t add up. They do no know how to curb waste, they do
    not have the required methods to do that, meaning that for them, education to
    that end is in short supply. Let me just say that once again, most of them
    throw food away. Most of them are interested in the topic of food waste.
    However, we notice such a contradiction did exist. And the explanation I found
    for that was that they try, and have that in mind, but they do not put that
    into practice. They do not put that into practice for several reasons: they may
    have tried and failed in their efforts, and when it comes to that, we also need
    to see the reason why they failed.


    Also, according to the respondents of the survey,
    those who waste most of the food are the restaurants and the individual
    consumers, while economic operators come in third, especially the supermarkets
    where people mainly make their purchase. Cristina Pocol:


    We had a question related to the
    buying habits. We still noticed a behavior pattern which practically comes a s
    no surprise for us. For their most part, people do their shopping from the
    supermarket and the hypermarket. Very few people for the time being, opt for
    the small traders, for the short supply circuits. Most of them resort to the
    hypermarkets, and then they go to the marketplace. Very few of them use the
    short circuits or value the producer’s direct relationship with the consumer,
    which is very important in various respects. Actually, the retail gives you the
    opportunity to consume fresh and genuine products, Romanian products. So I
    believe there’s a lot more work to do when it comes to that, meaning we also
    need to carry education campaigns to that end. Nonetheless, it would be better
    to raise the consumers’ awareness on the importance of buying local.


    The sanitary crisis triggered by the COVID-19 virus
    did not change the buying habits in Romanian and Republic of Moldova. About two
    thirds of the respondents stated they could buy the same quantity of food with
    the same money. However, a change does exist, which occurred during the
    pandemic, but it was not the one we expected. Cristina Pocol:


    The crisis triggered by the
    COVID-19 virus prompted more than 10% of the respondents to throw more food
    away. I expected a totally different result. In my mind, the following
    mechanism was working: I thought that, since we had the lockdown, we were more
    careful about what we eat, how we eat and how we plan our shopping. That is why
    started off from the assumption whereby such a thing would have food waste
    reduction as a result. The outcome of the study has revealed otherwise. 10% of
    the respondents say they throw more during the pandemic. I tried to find
    explanations to that. Much larger stocks may have been made. That could be the
    main explanation. We all know what happened at the beginning of the sanitary
    crisis, when people went wild buying boxes of food, they bought food in very
    large quantities for fear they would be deprived of food supplies. That could
    be an explanation. That food could not be consumed straight away and in a
    relatively short period of time. So, part of it was disposed of. I believe the
    clear explanation for all that is the fact that, eventually, too much storage
    of food lead to waste.


    Meanwhile, some of the economic operators and civic
    associations stage awareness-raising campaigns for a within-bounds consumption
    rate and for the fated consequences food waste has on the economy as well as on
    the environment. InfoCons is an NGO that has staged such a campaign targeting
    the economic costs of food waste. Sorin
    Mierlea is the president of InfoCons. He believes that, if emphasis is laid on
    economic loss, the message for fighting food waste is easier to reach the
    public. Sorin Mierlea:


    First off, when we speak about food
    waste it is not the problematics we discuss, but we also need to consider the
    money we pay each time we buy food products that end in the litter bin
    afterwards. That kind of cost means hours of work while those hours of work
    eventually mean the life of every one of us. In another move, I believe that
    each and every one of us, in our capacity as consumers, need to have all the
    data and the info lest we have no choice other than saying we did not know
    anything about it. Therefore, InfoCons, jointly with other entities in other
    countries, since this it’s a cross-border project, has set out to raise the
    public opinion’s but also the public authorities’ awareness on the impact food waste may have.


    Held in schools, during the homeroom classes, also using digital resources, the InfoCons campaign offers the required tools so that the prospective consumers may be correctly informed on food waste.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)







  • Encouraging economic figures

    Encouraging economic figures

    The National Statistics Institute (INS) announced on Tuesday that Romanias GDP went up 2.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of 2020. The same figure was made public by the EU statistics office, Eurostat, which noted that Romanias economy in the first quarter of the year was the most dynamic in the EU.



    Also, according to the National Statistics Institute, the quarter-on-quarter economic growth rate was negative 0.2% in nominal terms, whereas the seasonally adjusted rate was zero.




    At the end of April, the National Strategy and Forecast Committee had operated an upward adjustment to its economic growth estimate for this year, and similarly improved figures came from the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund.




    After Tuesdays announcement by the INS and Eurostat, the Liberal PM Florin Cîțu spoke about the quickest economic recovery in history after the most severe crisis of the last century. He also said his right-of-centre coalition cabinet is working on new measures to ensure the post-pandemic economy is stronger and more competitive. And, PM Cîțu added, for the forthcoming years an economic growth rate is foreseeable that will “beat all previous estimates.




    The economic analyst Aurelian Dochia confirms that figures are better than expected:




    Aurelian Dochia: “We are already close to the maximum the Romanian economy saw in the first quarter of 2020. In other words, we have recovered all we lost last year, and the prospects for 2021 will likely be some of the best weve ever had.




    Marcel Ciolacu, the head of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, argues that what is truly historic is the collapse of peoples spending power. The Social Democrat mentioned 17% higher electricity bills, 9% more expensive fuel, skyrocketing food prices and an inflation rate above 3%, which, he says, has “ripped through the peoples incomes already frozen by PM Cîțu.



    His party colleague Mihai Fifor, a former defence minister, also states in a news release that behind the economic growth rate reported for the first quarter of the year as against the last quarter of 2020, publicised as a victory for the Liberals in power, is the truly relevant indicator, namely the comparison between Q1 2021 and Q1 2020. What PM Florin Cîţu sees as an accomplishment is in fact, according to Mihai Fifor, “the worst economic result for a first quarter in the past 5 years, worse even than last year when Romania went into lockdown. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • May 14, 2021 UPDATE

    May 14, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Roughly 3.8 million people have been vaccinated in Romania and two thirds of them have got the booster dose. In the last 24 hours a record-high number of 110,000 people have received a COVID-19 jab. All the Romanian territory is now in the so-called green zone as the epidemic has been contained in most of the regions. According to the Strategic Communication Group, in the past 24 hours 835 new SARS-CoV-2 cases have been reported, out of over 34,000 tests conducted nation wide. 105 people died, bringing the death toll up to 29,413. In Bucharest the infection rate dropped to 1.21 per thousand, and the number of vaccinated people is over 1 million. The vaccine roll-out continues, without the need for prior appointment, in all the centers across the country, including 10 drive-throughs in major cities. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă said on Friday that the goal of 7 million people vaccinated by August 1 is “realistic, but it depends not only on a good organisation but also on citizens willingness to get the vaccine. This has to do with the information provided to them, and in this respect Gheorghiţǎ appealed to opinion leaders to get involved in the vaccination campaign.



    RECOVERY In its National Recovery and Resilience plan (PNRR) Romania has included a number of reforms in several key areas and its pledges have been well received in Brussels, PM Florin Citu says. According to the head of the Bucharest executive, the plan is credible and doable and the cabinet members must work hard in the forthcoming period to complete the projects that are to be funded. During the visit he has recently paid to Brussels, the Romanian Prime Minister has assured the EU officials of Romania’s commitment to implementing the reforms comprised in the governing programme, in the fiscal-budgetary strategy, as well as in the convergence programme. Romania has pledged to present its PNRR by the end of May, with a one month delay against the original EU timeframe. Half of the EU members have so far presented their national plans for funding.



    RELAXATION PM Florin Cîţu Friday promised governmental support for the hospitality industry, an economic sector severely affected by the pandemic. He said a strategy will be implemented to promote Romanian tourism both domestically and abroad. The head of government said things will gradually return to normal, with a first stage scheduled to start on May 15, and the second one on June 1. The new measures include, among other things, the scrapping of mandatory face covering while outdoors, as of Saturday, except for crowded areas, and the lifting of the night curfew. Shops will also resume their normal opening hours. Meanwhile, the National Committee for Emergency Situations Friday approved 4 pilot events in the cultural field, with 3 opera shows and 1 theatre play welcoming viewers up to 70% of the halls seating capacity.



    POLL 45% of the Romanians intend to change their job after the pandemic, shows a recent poll conducted by an online recruiting platform. The main reason of the respondents is a higher pay. 11% want to go through a retraining programme whereas 9% are ready to leave the country. The categories standing the most chances to find a job are IT experts and qualified workers.



    MILITARY The national defence minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă had a meeting on Friday in Bucharest with gen. major David H. Tabor, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR). The two officials reviewed the security developments at the Black Sea, the Afghanistan pull-out calendar and bilateral cooperation avenues in terms of special operations forces. The expertise of our American partners in special operations will certainly improve the way in which our troops will adjust their strategic transformation process, so as to be prepared for any challenge, minister Ciucă said. He added that Romania acknowledged and appreciated the constant support of the US for the deterrence efforts regarding the Russian Federations aggressive actions and for ensuring stability at the Black Sea.



    PROGRAMME Eagerly awaited by many Romanians, a scrapping programme for home appliances started on Friday, with tens of thousands of people enrolling on the dedicated online platform. The programme will have 3 stages, starting with the more energy-consuming home appliances, fridges and washing machines. The total budget is over 15 million euro, and should include 200,000 beneficiaries, who will get vouchers ranging from 40 to 100 euros for scrapping their old appliances. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Optimistic IMF forecast

    Optimistic IMF forecast

    The global economy is set to recover from the 2020 slump more quickly than originally forecast, encouraged at present by the soundness of the US economy, according to the latest forecasts made public on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund.



    The contraction in 2020 was unprecedented, the IMF says, but in 2021 the global economy is projected to grow at 6%, moderating to 4.4% in 2022. “Even with high uncertainty about the path of the pandemic, a way out of this health and economic crisis is increasingly visible, Gita Gopinath, the chief economist of the Washington-based organisation said according to France Presse. The IMF nonetheless fears recovery will be uneven across countries.



    In the euro zone, the IMF forecasts are slightly increased: 4.4% this year. Germany is expected to see a 3.6% growth rate, France –5.8%, Italy – 4.2% and Spain – 6.4%.



    Worth noting however is that the rate is too slow to make up for last years 6.6% contraction, and Europe has to wait at least until the summer of 2022 to fully recover.



    The IMF has also improved estimates regarding the Romanian economy. Whereas in October the Fund expected Romaniato have a 4.6% growth rate this year, Tuesdays new projections point to a 6% increase. As for 2022, the IMF forecast is 4.8%.



    Inflation is also predicted to go up by an annual 2.8% in 2021 as against 2.5% according to the autumn forecast, and to slow down to 2.1% next year. The current account deficit in turn will likely go slightly down, to 5% of GDP in 2021 and 4.7% in 2022.



    The Liberal PM Florin Cîţu welcomes news as “fantastic, and sees them as a sign of the international monetary institutions confidence in the right-of-centre coalition government in Bucharest. In turn, the finance minister Alexandru Nazare says the IMF forecast confirms the Romanian authorities are on the right path.



    “The economic growth forecast by the IMF is only on paper and for the right-wing faction; for Romanian citizens, its poverty, the leader of the main opposition party in Romania, Social-Democrat Marcel Ciolacu argues on the other hand. He says utilities and food prices have skyrocketed, peoples spending power is dramatically low, the exchange rate for the Euro has reached 5 RON, and more than half of the countrys GDP relies on debt, which means that Romania does spectacularly in accounting terms, but fails to develop in economic and social terms. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • March 31, 2021 UPDATE

    March 31, 2021 UPDATE

    WB Romania’s economy is expected to grow by 4.3% this year after last year’s 3.9% contraction, says the latest World Bank report published on Wednesday. According to the same report, the economic growth would be supported by the improved economic activity in the second half of 2021. This economic growth will also depend on the success of the vaccination rollout, the political response to the medical crisis as well as by the EU performances. World Bank also expects a 4.1% economic growth for the next year with an inflation rate around 3% in 2021 and of 3.2% in 2022. Inflation is expected to go down to 2.9% in 2023.



    COVID-19 As many as 6,156 new COVID-19 infections were reported on Wednesday in Romania out of 41,000 tests. 14 counties are in the red zone, meaning they have infection rates above 3 per thousand. Ilfov County near Bucharest has the highest infection rate, over 9 per thousand, and the capital city is over 7 per thousand. The autorities also announced 129 deaths and 1,412 patients in intensive care, a new record since the start of the pandemic. Authorities have again pointed out that only through vaccination and observance of the prevention rules will Romania be able to get rid of the pandemic. According to physician Andreea Moldovan, state secretary with the Health Ministry, the third wave is different than the others, with a higher number of cases and increased gravity. In her opinion, if containment measures are relaxed or ignored by people, they would stay in force for longer. Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout is in full swing in Romania with over 2 million vaccinated; half of them with the booster dose.



    PROTESTS For the third night in a row, Bucharest and several big cities across Romania on Tuesday saw large-scale protests against the anti-Covid measures imposed by the authorities. Chanting anti-government slogans, the protesters called on the authorities to cancel the mandatory wear of face masks and reopen gyms and fitness facilities. Romanias president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday said that he understands the discontent of the Romanians after a year of restrictions, adding these measures are the only means that can help Romania to contain the pandemic. The Romanian president also said that protests are normal in a functioning democracy but violence, extremism and xenophobia are intolerable and completely unacceptable. The president’s statement came after clashes in some of Romania’s cities. Opposition leader Marcel Ciolacu said that people took to the streets out of poverty and despair caused by the ongoing medical crisis.



    TALKS The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu and the US secretary of state Antony Blinken Tuesday had talks over telephone about Romania’s contribution to NATO, energy security and the rule of law. Washington praised Romania for being a staunch NATO ally and for its commitment to strengthening security at the Black Sea, while Bucharest gave assurances these approaches would continue. The two officials also tackled the developing bilateral cooperation in the field of nuclear energy and the efforts to diversify gas supplies in Europe. Minister Aurescu mentioned the priority of Romania’s government related to the country’s OECD accession and voiced his belief that the US would support Romania’s intention. He also highlighted the interest in the rapid progress of the Visa Waiver programme and an increased US military presence in Romania.



    ANTI-SEMITISM The Chamber of Deputies Wednesday adopted a joint statement condemning anti-Semitic messages in Romania and attempts at rehabilitating war criminals. The response comes after actress Maia Morgenstern, head of the State Jewish Theatre in Bucharest, received death threats. Anti-Semitism is a threat to democracy, and acknowledging the past is a key element of responsibility, both in the present and in the future, reads the statement signed by the Deputies at the initiative of the representative of Jewish communities in Parliament, Silviu Vexler.


    AIR POLICE The Spanish Air Forces unit deployed to Romania in early February, at the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base, has completed its mission. The 130-strong team of pilots and technicians with 6 Eurofighter Typhoon conducted air police missions under NATO command jointly with Romanian Air Forces troops using F-16 and MiG-21 LanceR. The Spanish unit will be replaced by a British Royal Air Force unit currently being deployed to Romania. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • March 7-14, 2021

    March 7-14, 2021


    The evolution of coronavirus in Romania


    The government in Bucharest decided to extend the state of alert by 30 more days, coming into effect on March 14, as the number of COVID-19 infections rises. According to PM Florin Citu, all restrictions already in place are here to stay. In addition, night circulation is forbidden between 22:00 and 5:00, one hour earlier than before. Another decision limits occupation in tourist accommodation to up to 70% of capacity. This measure is mostly aimed at accommodation in areas with skiing or winter sports facilities. At the same time, in order to speed up the vaccination campaign and contain the pandemic, on Thursday the third stage opened for people in localities with a rate of infection of over 4.5 to a thousand inhabitants. This stage will be applied nationally starting Monday, in which anyone who wishes to vaccinate can do so as well. Romania has immunized over 1.3 million people since the start of the vaccination campaign, on December 27, and over half have had the follow-up. On Thursday, the authorities in Bucharest have decided to temporarily suspend the use of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine up until the end of the evaluation run by the European Medicines Agency. The decision comes after several European countries registered severe reactions, even deaths, after the administration of these vaccines, part of a certain allotment.



    Conclusions in the fire at the Matei Bals hospital


    The Romanian government will file a case with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate following the conclusion of the Control Body in relation to the fire at the Matei Bals Institute in Bucharest. Inspectors who investigated the area after the 29 January reached the conclusion that the fire was caused by the poor and antiquated infrastructure, the undersized wiring, and the poor supervision of the patients. We recall that over 20 people have died in the fire in one pavilion of the hospital, causing over 100 COVID patients to be relocated.



    The 2021 budget passes


    President Klaus Iohannis endorsed this week the state budget and social insurance law for 2021. According to the Presidency, investment, reforms, and economic growth are the pillars of the 2021 budget, observing all the principles of fiscal responsibility and sustainability of public finance. The budget deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP indicates a considerable effort towards budget consolidation, without unduly burdening citizens with new taxes, the release also indicates. Considerable amounts of money are earmarked for the transportation infrastructure, schools and hospitals, but also for managing the vaccination campaign, as well as the risks associated with the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major investments are aimed at supporting businesses, new opportunities for development, and creating better paying jobs, the document states. Last week, Parliament passed the budget bill in the form issued by the government, without accepting amendments. This year, the budget is based on an economic growth of 4.31%.



    Romania reports record economic growth for 2020 4th quarter


    Romania had the highest GDP growth of any EU country in the fourth quarter of the past year compared to the previous quarter. According to data published on Tuesday by Eurostat, the Romanian economy grew by 4.8% during that period. Previously, the Romanian National Institute of Statistics reviewed downwards its expectation for growth from 5.3% to 4.8% for the GDP in the last quarter of last year. It did not, however, adjust its estimate for 2020, according to which the Romanian economy shrank by 3.9% in real terms. The shrinkage in the GDP was caused by industry, trade, agriculture, and entertainment related activities.



    The authorities in Bucharest want to eliminate cumulative pensions


    Romania has launched a public debate on a bill to ban cumulative pensions with state wages. Minister of Labor Raluca Turcan announced that around 35,000 tax payers are receiving both a pension and a salary. There will be exceptions to this, however, such as teachers, members of the Romanian Academy, and elected officials. The bill also provides for the possibility of continuing work up until 70 years of age, applying to both state and private employees. Another bill was submitted for public debate, along with an emergency executive order, allowing for parents who return to work earlier than their parental leave allows to receive a higher bonus for returning.



    The Green Friday campaign is launched


    The Romanian Ministry of the Environment launched on March 12 the Green Friday initiative, encouraging the use of alternative transportation for going to and from work in order to reduce pollution, especially in the big cities. The campaign provides that every Friday people should not use their personal vehicles and go to and from work using public transport, bicycles, or just on foot. Minister of the Environment Tánczos Barna announced he would launch an invitation to everyone to take part, while town halls were extended a proposal to offer free public transportation on Fridays. (tr. C. Cotoiu)

  • November 23, 2020 UPDATE

    November 23, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 President Klaus Iohannis announced Monday that the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign will be endorsed by the Supreme Defence Council in the forthcoming period. On Monday Iohannis had talks with ministers of Defence, Healthcare and Interior Affairs to discuss the campaign. Under the strategy, priority groups will include healthcare staff, vulnerable people, and personnel in key sectors. Klaus Iohannis emphasised that once approved by relevant international bodies, the vaccines will be safe, efficient and are the only viable solution to end the pandemic. Romania will receive 10.7 million anti-COVID-19 shots from the European Commission in several batches. On Monday another 4,207 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 and 130 related deaths were reported in Romania. The national death toll has reached 10,177. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 422,825 people got infected with coronavirus, over two thirds of whom have recovered.



    ELECTION Citizens living in quarantined areas will be able to vote in the December 6 legislative election. On Monday Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said there will be no restrictions in this respect, adding that citizens infected with COVID-19 and those in quarantine or home isolation will be able to vote with the help of mobile ballot boxes. More and more towns and villages across Romania are going into lockdown as the infection rate continues to grow.



    CoD Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu Monday opened the 32nd meeting of the Council of Democracies (CoD), held online this year. Aurescu reiterated Bucharests firm commitment to promoting the principles of the Warsaw Declaration, and its support for countries undergoing democratic transition processes. Romania is holding the Council presidency until September 2021. Founded in 2000 and totaling 106 member states, the Council of Democracies is the widest platform for exchanging views and know-how in the field of global democracy.



    AID The European Commission approved a nearly 4.4 million EUR aid scheme for Romanian regional airports, to cover net losses incurred because of the pandemic between March and June this year. The scheme is open to Romanian airports with 200,000 to 3 million passengers per year.



    TELEWORK Almost half (48%) of the Romanians currently working from home say they appreciate no longer wasting time in traffic, but over 26% say their emotional state is worse, according to a survey made public by Reveal Marketing Research on Monday. Among the advantages of teleworking, 45% of the interviewees list the flexible working hours and 42% the time spent with their families. Also, although 79% of Romanians believe they are as efficient or even more efficient than they were at the office, 44% say they are now working more. The survey was conducted this October, and included 600 people from big cities who are working fully or partly from home.



    POLLUTION In Europe, better air quality led to a drop in the number of premature deaths between 2009 and 2018, but Europeans are still affected by air pollution, reads a European Commission report released on Monday. Six EU Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and Romania) exceeded the ceiling for fine particulate matter in 2018. According to the report, there remains a gap between EU’s legal air quality limits and WHO guidelines, an issue that the European Commission seeks to address with a revision of the EU standards under the Zero Pollution Action Plan. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • July 21, 2020

    July 21, 2020

    RECOVERY The 27 EU member states this morning in Brussels have reached an agreement on a historic economic recovery plan for the Union. The 750 billion euro post-crisis plan adds to the EUs multi-annual budget of 1,074 billion euro for 2021-2027. Of the 750 billion euros, 390 billion will be granted in subsidies to the countries worst hit by the corona crisis, while 360 billion euro will be available in loans. President Klaus Iohannis announced that Romania will receive 80 billion euros, to build schools and hospitals and upgrade major public systems.



    COVID-19 According to the latest report released by the Strategic Communication Group, the last 24 hours saw 994 new COVID-19 cases in Romania, bringing the total number to 39,133 since late February. 36 people died over the past 24 hours, with the total death toll standing at 2,074. As many as 1.087 patients have been released at their request, while nearly 300 others are still in intensive care. PM Ludovic Orban has once again called on citizens to comply with protection rules and to use face masks indoors. He said the authorities would not like to introduce new restrictions or measures that would impact the economy. The number of checks and inspections in crowded areas, such as markets, outdoor restaurants or public transport, has been increased.



    LAW In Romania, a new law on quarantine and self-isolation has taken effect today. The bill introduced by the Government was drastically amended by Parliament, after the Constitutional Court ruled that such restrictions can only be imposed by law, even in the case of COVID-19 patients. The Cabinet convened this morning to introduce the provisions of the new law in an executive order that extends the state of alert by 30 days, as of July 17. Under the new law, healthcare authorities may decide that patients be hospitalised for 48 hours, for an assessment of their state, after which doctors may either extend the hospitalisation period or send the patient home, if the risk of disease transmission is low. Patients may challenge in court the obligation to self-isolate. The same applies for quarantine measures, which concern people coming from high-risk areas or who have been in contact with infected people. The law also stipulates that doctors and nurses may be transferred to hospitals experiencing staff shortages, but only for 30 days, and they are entitled to bonuses for their work. The law defines the conditions for local or regional lockdowns, a measure that the authorities have been talking about recently.



    PANDEMIC With many restrictions lifted and the holiday season in full swing, the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has doubled in the past 7 weeks, to 15 million, of which 5.3 million active cases at present. Over 614,000 people died. The most affected countries remain the US, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, Peru, Mexico, Chile, and the UK. In Europe, the countries with the highest death tolls are the UK, Italy, France and Spain. Asia also sees large numbers of cases in India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The WHO warns that indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the world, accounting for nearly half a million people, are highly vulnerable and measures must be taken as soon as possible.



    MILITARY Two Romanian military vessels are taking part in a multinational exercise called “Sea Breeze 20, held between July 20 and 27 in Ukraines territorial sea, in the Black Sea international waters and the port of Odessa. Over 20 military vessels, 19 aircraft and nearly 2,000 troops and officers take part in this NATO exercise.



    SPORT The football sides FCSB from Bucharest and Sepsi OSK from Sfântu Gheorghe will be playing the Romanian Cup final on neutral ground in Ploiesti this Wednesday night. In the semi-finals, Sepsi outplayed CSM Poli Iaşi, and FCSB defeated Dinamo Bucharest. Last month, the domestic championship was resumed, after being suspended in March over the COVID-19 epidemic. Topping the standings is CSU Craiova, followed by defending champions CFR Cluj. All football matches in Romania are played without public access.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • A government plan for Romania’s economic recovery

    A government plan for Romania’s economic recovery

    Romania’s
    government and president on Wednesday launched an ambitious economic recovery
    plan under the name ‘Rebuilding Romania’. The plan, which unfolds on a period
    of 10 years and has a budget of 100 billion euros, is aimed at raising the
    standard of living of every citizen through massive investment and changing the
    country’s model of development.




    The
    plan is focusing on the country’s transport and energy infrastructure, its
    healthcare, investment in education, local development, agriculture,
    environment and sporting activities. The objective promoted by the Executive is
    to achieve convergence with the European economies so that the GDP at
    purchasing power per capita may reach 87% of the EU average in 2025. According
    to the initiators, the major difference would be the investment-based economic
    growth, which is supposed to replace the previous model based on consumption.
    Here is Prime Minister Ludovic Orban with more on the plan.






    Ludovic Orban: We
    want to invest in modernizing the transport infrastructure to raise the
    competitiveness of companies, in order to increase Romania’s investment
    attraction, which fosters the creation of fresh jobs, development and
    eventually revenues of the state budget. Romania is a rich country with
    resources and capitalizing on these resources must be done smartly through
    earmarking money to those activities and domains, which could make the most of
    all the resources Romania has




    Under
    the aforementioned plan, investment in infrastructure accounts for 60% out of
    the total 100 billion euros. The government has presented big infrastructure
    projects including 3000 kilometers of highway and the same number of railway by
    2030. The document includes rapid measures to provide assistance to big and
    small companies with 3 billion Euros worth of grants.




    The
    government pledges to shell out money from the state budget to provide
    assistance to companies, which resorted to technical unemployment, part-time
    and house working. Investment in hospitals and schools is also ambitious as the
    plan provides for the construction of three regional emergency hospitals,
    thousands of schools as well as kindergartens built or modernized. Here is the
    country’s president Klaus Iohannis.




    Klaus Iohannis: The Romanians deserve to have a highway
    network at European levels, a strong and reliable energy system at national and
    regional level, competitive industries and services. And we can have all these
    only by stepping up major investment projects in an effective, professional and
    transparent manner. However, any ambitious investment plan requires good
    funding and for this reason, European funds must become an essential pillar of
    our development.




    According
    to the Social-Democratic opposition, the government’s plan is only meant to
    attract votes in the upcoming election though, being ungrounded and based on EU
    funds without saying anything about how these funds are going to be attracted.




    (translated
    by bill)



  • March 18, 2020 UPDATE

    March 18, 2020 UPDATE

    Covid-19 Romania 260 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Romania by Wednesday. So far, 19 people have recovered. At national level, some 3,400 people are in quarantine facilities and are being tested. Another 23,679 people are self-isolating at home and under medical monitoring. New restrictions took effect in Romania on Wednesday, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. All restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other types of public facilities were closed for 30 days, in order to facilitate social distancing. Only drive-in, room-service and home delivery services will be allowed. All indoor activities, including religious and sporting events, are suspended, and so are services provided in beauty shops and spa facilities. The National Bank announced full support for the efforts of the banking system to assist individual and corporate clients affected by the crisis. Measures in this respect include facilities regarding ongoing loan payments and accessing new financing lines, and in case of growing demand, making sure that banks have uninterrupted cash flow for all operations, including ATM withdrawals, the central bank also said.




    Covid-19 world The head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Wednesday called the novel coronavirus an “enemy of mankind, as the virus has killed more than 8,000 people worldwide. The EU has closed its borders for non-EU citizens and has banned non-essential circulation in the Shengen area, in order to curb the spread of the pandemic, while several member countries have locked down cities or regions. The most affected country in Europe, Italy, where nearly 3,000 people died so far, is no longer capable of dealing with the situation in hospitals. The Republic of Moldova Wednesday reported the first death caused by COVID-19. Meanwhile, several countries have announced huge financial aid plans to fight the pandemic.




    Government The Romanian Government convened today for the first time since the president declared a state of national emergency in Romania on Monday. It was the first session of the Liberal Cabinet headed by Ludovic Orban. The meeting was held via conference call and focused on economic decisions, given the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government announced support for companies’ cashflows and for the employees who have been idled. Also, the deadline for local tax payments will be extended, and capacities for the production of sanitary materials and disinfectants will be enhanced. The financial impact of these measures is estimated at some 2% of the country’s GDP for the next three months, the Finance Minister Florin Citu has stated.




    Simulation Romanian MPs Wednesday organised an online voting simulation. It was a test for Thursday’s joint session, which will be held online for the first time. The participants will vote the decree under which a state of national emergency has been declared in Romania, and senators and deputies are to vote online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Constitution, Parliament can only endorse or reject the presidential decree. The debates will be held via conference call.




    Corridor Budapest will allow Romanian citizens to transit Hungary to get to Romania every night between 9pm and 5am, on designated routes set by the Hungarian authorities. The agreement was reached on Wednesday by Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu during a telephone call with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó, after large numbers of Romanians got stranded on Austrias border with Hungary. Thousands of Romanian, Bulgarian and other nationals were unable to transit Hungary, which closed its borders for foreigners. The Romanian foreign ministry also announced that 78 Romanian citizens were repatriated from Jordan on Wednesday.




    EUROVISION The 2020 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled to take place in May in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was cancelled over the coronavirus pandemic, the organisers announced on Wednesday. Romania was supposed to take part in the competition alongside 40 other countries. Roxen had been chosen to represent Romania with a piece called “Alcohol You. The Eurovision Song Contest is an event watched every year by millions on TV channels around the world.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 25, 2019 UPDATE

    November 25, 2019 UPDATE

    Congratulations — President Klaus Iohannis received messages of congratulation from the European leaders for obtaining a new term in office. The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said he was happy that Romania would continue to benefit from Klaus Iohannis’ responsible and trustworthy leadership while the president of the EC Jean-Claude Juncker expressed conviction that he could count on Romania’s active role in carrying on with the European project, adding that the Romanians’ powerful support for his unequivocal pro-European views came at an important time for Europe. Chisinau counts on a close cooperation with Bucharest after the reelection of Klaus Iohannis, said the president of the Republic of Moldova Igor Dodon. The Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski congratulated Klaus Iohannis underlining that the trust of an overwhelming majority of voters was very important for a new mandate. The Serbian president said Serbia was a sincere friend and a trustworthy partner of Romania, expressing persuasion that the good political relations will be accompanied by a better economic cooperation.



    Colectiv — The prosecutors of the National Anti-corruption Directorate on Monday called on the Bucharest tribunal to sentence the former mayor of Bucharest’s sector 4 Cristian Popescu to 15 years in prison for such crimes as abuse of office in relation to the issuance of operation authorization for the Colectiv nightclub. The Bucharest tribunal started hearing the closing arguments in the Colectiv trial. On trial among others are the mayor of the Bucharest sector in which the club was located, Cristian Popescu, the clubs owners and the pyrotechnic workers. The trial into the tragedy at Colectiv nightclub began in April 2016. After two years of delays based on procedural issues, the magistrate in charge of the case retired. The new judge sped up the hearings, setting weekly hearing dates. 64 people were killed in the fire, one committed suicide because of the trauma, and almost 200 suffered injuries.



    CSAT — The Supreme Council of National Defense of Romania convenes on Wednesday in Bucharest under the chairmanship of president Klaus Iohannis. High on the agenda of the meeting are issues related to proposals for the budget adjustment for institutions with responsibilities in national security in 2019, to the approval of the new chief of the defense staff as well as to Romania’s objectives at the NATO summit to take place in December in London. The meeting will also tackle the plan for use of the Romanian Defense forces which will be sent to missions and operations outside Romania’s borders in 2020. This is the first meeting of the country’s Supreme Defense Council which will be attended by members of the government led by the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban. The previous meeting of the Supreme Defense Council was held on July 30.



    Strasbourg — The Council of the EU adopted the list of persons who will occupy the position of European Commissioner in the future European Commission. Monday’s decision is the last stage ahead of Wednesday’s vote in the EP on the program and membership of the EC headed by Ursula von der Leyen. Adina Valean with the European People’s Party Group is the Romanian Commissioner who will manage the Committee on Transport. Member states decided that the new EC would start its activity on December 1 with 27 commissioners, without Great Britain, which refused to make a proposal for commissioner in the context of Brexit. (translation by L. Simion)

  • Women’s economic empowerment

    Women’s economic empowerment

    The latest EU statistics indicate that gender gaps still exist in the economy. And perhaps the most painful aspects are the ones related to womens access to jobs and incomes. In 2017, in the EU, mens incomes were 16% higher than womens, whereas in terms of pensions the figure goes up to 37%. The statistics indicate that women are still in a more vulnerable economic position than men. The situation has barely improved in the 25 years since the UN adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, seeking to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women.




    For centuries, women have provided unpaid work, consisting in household and family responsibilities. The problem, obviously, is not that these activities should be remunerated, but that they should be shared, in a fair manner, by the two partners in a household, rather than being a burden for the women alone. But again, EU statistics clearly indicate an imbalance in this respect as well




    According to the most recent report made public by the European Institute for Gender Equality this month, the Gender Equality Index for the labour market stands at 72 points out of 100. In Romania, this indicator is below the European average, standing at 68 points. More specifically, the employment rate among women is 61%, as against 79% for men. On the other hand, Romania has the smallest salary gap, with men earning on average only 3% more than women.



    Not the same is true however when it comes to pensions. In 2017, mens pensions were 63% higher in the 65-79 age bracket. In fact, the economic situation of the elderly, irrespective of gender, was the topic of an analysis run by the Social Monitor, a project initiated by Friedrich Ebert Romania based on data provided by Eurostat. Victoria Stoiciu with the Ebert Romania Foundation told us more:



    Victoria Stoiciu: “According to Eurostat figures, in 2018 in Romania 36.7% of the citizens over 65 years were subject to poverty risks. And women were the most affected. As many as 43% of the Romanian women were in this situation in 2018, as compared to 19% of the men. In fact, this is the highest poverty level among the elderly since 2009, when the economic crisis was fully felt. And this is very alarming. Although many have criticised the pension increases of the past few years, arguing that the national economy is unable to sustain them, data show that all these increases still fail to keep up with the needs of the elderly, and that poverty in this category is on the rise.



    What could be the reasons for the gender pension gap in Romania? According to Victoria Stoiciu, they are not different from the ones at work in the EU as a whole:



    Victoria Stoiciu: “This situation is caused by the gender differences in the labour market in Romania, which in turn are the result of structural disadvantages that Romanian women face and which reflect in their incomes after retirement. What are these structural disadvantages? First of all, women are less likely to participate in the labour market. The ratio of women who are employed has been systematically lower than the number of employed men. This is in part rooted in the traditionalist view that women should stay at home and take care of the family. But even when they have jobs, women work for shorter periods, and their salaries are constantly lower. And this obviously leads to discrepancies in terms of pension levels, because benefits are based on the amount contributed during the employment years. On the other hand, this also affects womens capacity to save money during their active years. And all these factors add to each other and womens systematic discrimination in the economy is the most evident after retirement.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 19, 2019

    June 19, 2019

    VISIT The Presidents of Romania and Egypt, Klaus Iohannis and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi respectively, had official talks today as part of the visit the head of the Egyptian state is making to Bucharest. The 2 leaders announced with satisfaction an increase in the volume of bilateral trade, and President Iohannis said closer cooperation is being discussed, both in bilateral terms and between the European Union and Egypt, in the field of social and economic development, research, the fight against terrorism, energy and migration. Informal negotiations are under way for an economic agreement between the EU and Egypt.




    JUSTICE The European Commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said in Bucharest on Wednesday that Romania will very soon become a Schengen member, because it has fulfilled most of its commitments. The EU official made this statement ahead of the EU – USA ministerial meeting on justice and home affairs, an event organised under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. Taking part are also the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourová, and European Commissioner for the Security Union, Julian King. For the first time, the US Attorney General William Barr is also attending the meeting. The US official had meetings yesterday with President Klaus Iohannis, with PM Viorica Dăncilă and with Justice Minister Ana Birchall. The agenda included topics of mutual interest in the field of justice. The US official also voiced his appreciation for the solid Strategic Partnership with Romania, which, he said, is the United States most reliable ally in the region.




    BUSINESS PM Viorica Dăncilă said on Wednesday that the French investments in Romania are proof that this is a favourable country for the business environment. Dăncilă is taking part in the French-Romanian Economic Forum, an event organised by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania as part of the Romania-France Season. “We have all witnessed of late a true economic upswing in the bilateral relation, with many successful projects that have helped push the French-Romanian trade to over 9 million euro last year, the Romanian PM said. France is the 5th largest foreign investor in Romania. Over 3,000 French businesses operate in Romania, employing a combined 120,000 people, and France is the 3rd most important market for Romanian exports and the 6th largest source of Romanian imports.




    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Dacian Cioloş, who was elected into the European Parliament on the lists of the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance, was chosen to lead Renew Europe, a pro-European group formed around President Emmanuel Macron following the May 26th European elections, and the 3rd largest group in the EP. “The presidency of Renew Europe group is just a step in the political construction we have been working to design for 2 years, Ciolos said. A former PM of Romania and former European commissioner for agriculture, Dacian Ciolos is the leader of PLUS party in Romania. The alliance formed by PLUS and Save Romania Union won 8 seats in the European Parliament, coming in 3rd in Romania after the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party.




    MEDICINES Bucharest is hosting, between June 19th and 21st, the second meeting of the Heads of Medicines Agencies – HMA II. The agenda includes topics of strategic importance in the field of human and animal health products. Attending the meeting are the heads of medicines regulation and control agencies in the European Economic Area, representatives of the European Medicines Agency, of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and of the European Commission. The first HMA meeting organised under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU was held in Timisoara in February.




    WEATHER Romanian meteorologists Wednesday issued a code yellow warning for heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and hailstorms, valid today in most parts of the country. Precipitation amounts will exceed 25 l/sq.m. The bad weather is expected to continue on Thursday. Experts also warn that thermal discomfort will remain high especially at noon time, with the temperature-humidity index sometimes exceeding the critical 80-unit ceiling.




    FOOTBALL Romanias youth football team Tuesday night won 4-1 against Croatia, in its first match in the European Under-21 football championship hosted by Italy and San Marino. In the same Group C, France defeated England 2-1. On Friday, Romania takes on England and France plays against Croatia. This is the 2nd participation for a Romanian youth football team in a final tournament, after the one in 1998, organised in Bucharest. The 4 top-ranking teams qualify into the 2020 Olympics.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)