Radio România Internațional

Tag: election

  • January 28, 2023

    January 28, 2023

    COOPERATION
    France and the Netherlands are eagerly waiting
    for Romania’s Schengen accession as soon as possible. This is one of the main
    elements in a joint statement on security cooperation signed in Bucharest on
    Friday by the foreign ministers of the 3 countries. The message was also
    highlighted by the Dutch diplomacy chief, Wopke Hoekstra, in the bilateral
    talks with his Romanian counterpart, Bogdan Aurescu. The 2 officials, together
    with the French foreign minister, Catherine
    Colonna,Friday visited the Getica National Joint Training Centre in
    Cincu, where French and Dutch troops are deployed as part of the NATO Battle
    Group created in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, after the
    trilateral talks concerning Moscow’s armed aggression, Catherine Colonna said
    Ukraine must be helped to defend itself, to regain its independence and
    sovereignty. In Bucharest, the foreign officials were also received by
    president Klaus Iohannis and PM
    Nicolae Ciucă.


    CINEMA Two
    Romanian films, ‘Metronome’ by Alexandru Belc and ‘M.R.I.’ by Cristian Mungiu, are
    in the competition of the Gothenburg International Film Festival in Sweden, which
    started on Friday. According to the Romanian Cultural Institute in Stockholm,
    the event brings together around 400 works from around the world every year,
    with 160,000 viewers attending. ‘Metronome’, the debut feature of the director Alexandru
    Belc, is a love story in 1972 communist Romania, and critics describe it as a
    social and historical analysis of a generation forced to live in a society
    marred by suspicion and distrust. Cristian Mungiu’s ‘R.M.N.’ is set in a
    Transylvanian village, where a small factory hires new workers, troubling the
    apparent peace of the locals. The over 40-year old
    film festival in Gothenburg is the most important such event in the
    region.


    SURVEY As many as 80% of Romanian consumers allow the use of their
    personal data for advertising purposes, according to a survey conducted on the
    European Data Protection Day. The latest data in the Survey on the usage of ITC
    in households and by individuals indicate that 1 of 2 Europeans aged between 16
    and 74 do not allow the use of their personal data for advertising purposes
    when using the internet. As many as 46% reported having allowed only restricted
    access to their location or having denied access to their data altogether. The
    countries where the use of personal data for advertising is mostly denied by
    users include the Netherlands (73%), Finland (70%), Denmark and Germany (63%
    each), Spain (62%). At the opposite pole, the lowest rates were reported in
    Bulgaria (10%), Romania (20%), Greece (29%), Slovakia (30%) and Latvia (32%).


    ELECTION
    Petr Pavel looks set
    to win the runoff of the presidential elections in the Czech Republic, ahead of
    ex-PM Andrej Babis, AFP reports. Polling
    stations opened on Friday and close today. Petr
    Pavel, 61, a retired general who held a senior NATO post, is running as an
    independent candidate and has the support of the right-of-centre government. Billionaire
    Andrej Babis, 68, who was the country’s PM between 2017 and 2021, promised to
    force the government to help citizens handle the rising inflation. The winner
    of the vote will replace the controversial Milos Zeman, who had had close ties
    with Moscow before changing course during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.


    WEATHER In Romania, weather experts issued code orange and yellow alerts
    for heavy snowfalls, snowstorms and rainfalls in over 20 counties in the east
    and centre of the country. The bad weather left thousands of households without
    electricity, road, railway and air traffic was disrupted and several national
    and county roads were closed. (AMP)

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Sports flash 31.03.2022




    Welcome to Sports flash. I am Eugen Nasta




    Brazilian handball player Eduarda Amorim got
    transferred to Romanian title holders CSM Bucharest. Amorim will play for CSM
    until the end of the season. So far the Brazilian has been signed up by Russia’s
    Rostov Don. Teams from Russia and Belarus have been edged out of the European
    cups, which enables their foreign handballers to get transferred to other clubs
    by the end of the season. Amorim is officially allowed to play for CSM even in
    the Champions League’s quarterfinals, when CSM Bucharest take on Danish
    opponents Team Esbjerg. In 2013, 36-year-old Eduarda Amorim was designated the World
    Championship’s best handballer. In 2014, Amorim was designated the world’s handballer by the International Handball Federation. In 2020, the Handball-Planet publication
    designated Eduarda Amorim the best handballer of the decade.


    Time now for news from football. According to the Italian
    sports publication Corriere dello Sport quoted by Agerpres, Romanian defender Stefan
    Radu was a whisker away from being granted a contract extension by his current team,
    Lazio. We recall that in the summer of 2021 Radu got his contract with Lazio extended
    by only one year, with the promise that in 2022 he will be granted another 12-month
    contract, so that the Romanian can end his career with Lazio. 35-year-old Stefan
    Radu has been playing for Lazio since 2008, when he got transferred from Dinamo
    Bucharest. Stefan Radu boasts 422 caps for Lazio, a record high for the Romanian.
    Of those, Radu had 346 caps in Serie A.


    Romanian Football Federation’s acting president, Răzvan
    Burleanu, is highly likely to be the winner of a new term in office in the
    election for the same position, to be held on April 12. Burleanu is the only candidate
    in the race, as the files’ selection commission turned down candidacy files submitted
    by Sorin Răducanu and Gabriel Şeitan. Razvan Burleanu has been at the helm of
    the Romanian Football Federation since 2014. Back then Burleanu outclassed rivals
    Vasile Avram, Gheorghe Chivorchian and Sorin Răducanu.

    (EN)




  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Sports flash 31.03.2022




    Welcome to Sports flash. I am Eugen Nasta




    Brazilian handball player Eduarda Amorim got
    transferred to Romanian title holders CSM Bucharest. Amorim will play for CSM
    until the end of the season. So far the Brazilian has been signed up by Russia’s
    Rostov Don. Teams from Russia and Belarus have been edged out of the European
    cups, which enables their foreign handballers to get transferred to other clubs
    by the end of the season. Amorim is officially allowed to play for CSM even in
    the Champions League’s quarterfinals, when CSM Bucharest take on Danish
    opponents Team Esbjerg. In 2013, 36-year-old Eduarda Amorim was designated the World
    Championship’s best handballer. In 2014, Amorim was designated the world’s handballer by the International Handball Federation. In 2020, the Handball-Planet publication
    designated Eduarda Amorim the best handballer of the decade.


    Time now for news from football. According to the Italian
    sports publication Corriere dello Sport quoted by Agerpres, Romanian defender Stefan
    Radu was a whisker away from being granted a contract extension by his current team,
    Lazio. We recall that in the summer of 2021 Radu got his contract with Lazio extended
    by only one year, with the promise that in 2022 he will be granted another 12-month
    contract, so that the Romanian can end his career with Lazio. 35-year-old Stefan
    Radu has been playing for Lazio since 2008, when he got transferred from Dinamo
    Bucharest. Stefan Radu boasts 422 caps for Lazio, a record high for the Romanian.
    Of those, Radu had 346 caps in Serie A.


    Romanian Football Federation’s acting president, Răzvan
    Burleanu, is highly likely to be the winner of a new term in office in the
    election for the same position, to be held on April 12. Burleanu is the only candidate
    in the race, as the files’ selection commission turned down candidacy files submitted
    by Sorin Răducanu and Gabriel Şeitan. Razvan Burleanu has been at the helm of
    the Romanian Football Federation since 2014. Back then Burleanu outclassed rivals
    Vasile Avram, Gheorghe Chivorchian and Sorin Răducanu.

    (EN)




  • January 30, 2022

    January 30, 2022

    Covid- 19 Ro — The number of new cases of Covid-19 remains high in Romania, but it is declining sharply after a period of 4 consecutive days with over 30,000 new cases, the days with the highest incidence of new cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic. On Sunday, more than 19,660 new cases of COVID-19 were reported along with 52 deaths. The Health Minister, Alexandru Rafila, said that next week the number of daily cases is going to exceed 40,000 and that the pandemic will subside hardly after 10 days. With many people infected and a high transmissibility rate, especially of the Omicron strain, the authorities are looking for ways to facilitate access to testing and treatment for decreasing the pressure on hospitals and ambulance services. A quick test can be done for free in 4,000 family doctors offices across Romania and at a minimum price in 138 lei in pharmacies. 861 people are in ICUs. Almost 8 million people have been fully vaccinated so far.



    Covid world — More and more cases of coronavirus infection have been reported among athletes and delegations arriving in Beijing, where the Winter Olympics will begin next week. Five members of the Canadian delegation have been quarantined. The rules are much stricter than at last years Tokyo Summer Olympics. In Beijing, athletes, team officials and journalists are only allowed in hotels, media centers and competition venues. So far, 23 cases of infection have been identified among athletes and officials, most of them at the airport, where all those arriving in China must be tested. Then, daily tests are made for everyone present at the Olympic Games who are locked in what is called a “closed loop system”. On the other hand, Russia and Ukraine reported on Saturday the highest number of COVID cases since the onset of the pandemic. Kiev has announced more than 37,000 cases, while Russia has exceeded 100,000 infections for the first time. In Europe, more and more countries are facing a record number of coronavirus cases, amid the spread of the Omicron variant.



    Ukraine– NATO does not intend to deploy soldiers in Ukraine, a country that is not a NATO member, in case of a Russian invasion, said Sunday NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. There is a difference among being a NATO member and being a strong and much appreciated partner, such as Ukraine, he added. The UK announced that it would propose NATO a “major” deployment of troops, warships and fighter planes in Europe. In her turn, the French Defense Minister, Florence Parly, reiterated that Paris was ready to send hundreds of soldiers to Romania. Washington will soon send troops to Eastern Europe as well, the US President Joe Biden said. The US has already alerted 8,500 troops to join NATOs rapid reaction force in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, Germany is sending three Eurofighter planes to Romania in February and March, in the context of boosting NATOs presence in Eastern Europe. The German planes will be integrated into the Italian contingent which has been already in Romania since last month, consisting of another four Eurofighter planes that perform air policing missions. Moscow has mobilized more than 100,000 troops and a large amount of fighting equipment on Ukraines borders, but says it does not want a war. If the former Soviet republic is invaded, Russia risks unprecedented economic sanctions, the West warns.



    Romania-NATO – Romania, as a NATO member, is not in a position to enter the war at the moment, even in the worst scenario, in which Russia would invade Ukraine, the Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu told a TV station. He explained that Romania is a member of a strong defense system, and the NATO Treaty provides for possible military intervention if a country that is a member of the Alliance is attacked. Ukraine is not a NATO member, it is trying to become one, so it does not have this status yet, Vasile Dîncu added. Asked if Romanian men, especially young men, should be afraid that they will be drafted, in the context of the situation in the region, he underlined that not even Ukraine mobilized its reservists.



    Rome — The Italian President Sergio Mattarella was re-elected on Saturday for a second seven-year term in office, obtaining an absolute majority of votes from the 1,009 senators, deputies and regional officials called to vote. He was congratulated by the Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who also asked him to remain in office for the well being and stability of the country. Mattarella, 80, unexpectedly agreed to remain president and prevent a power void, as the parties failed to nominate another candidate to win a majority in parliament. Mattarella had repeatedly stated that he wanted to retire. He is the second most voted head of state in the history of Italy after Sandro Pertini in 1978. With a career spanning more than four decades, Sergio Mattarella entered politics after the assassination of his brother by the Sicilian mafia. He held four minister seats and was a judge in the Supreme Court before being elected president in 2015. The Italian Republic has so far had 12 presidents. (LS)

  • Landmarks of Romanian historical identity

    Landmarks of Romanian historical identity




    All
    things considered, the foundation of Romania, as it is today, was laid in early
    1859. Specifically, that meant the twofold election of colonel Alexandru Ioan
    Cuza, on January 5th and 24th, as the ruling prince of Moldavia
    and Wallachia, in then the capital of the two Romanian Principalities. The
    person of a single ruling prince was the epitome of a tremendous amount of
    effort the elites had made, for two generations, in a bid to build a Romanian
    state following the modern European model.


    We
    have made an attempt to reminisce the key moments of that age at national but
    also at international level. Joining us in our endeavour was historian Marian
    Stroia, of the Romanian Academy’s Nicolae Iorga Institute of History.


    Marian Stroia:

    For the south-eastern space, the most important event with a strong
    bearing on the situation of Romanian principalities is the Crimean War,
    1853-1855. It was a pretext the Russians resorted to, so that they could put pressure
    on the Ottoman Porte to grant rights to the Ottoman Empire’s Christian nations.
    In effect, it was a mere pretext for their expansionist tendency towards
    central and eastern Europe.


    The
    Romanian elite and the Romanian society were caught between three empires that
    meant no good for Romania, as it was at that time. They were the Austria-Hungarian,
    the Tsarist and the Ottoman Empires. Through negotiations, the elite succeeded
    to find the most favourable of the three empires.

    Historian Marian Stroia:


    We can say that, broadly speaking, the Ottoman Porte was more receptive
    to Romanians’ wants and needs and was also less conservatory than Russia. All modernization
    efforts the Romanians had attempted after 1848 benefitted from its low-key
    support. Whereas Russia, at the other end of the scale, sought to impede all
    reformist attempts. During his reign, colonel Cuza tried to avert any situation
    that could jeopardize the young Romanian state in its relationship with Russia.


    In 1855,
    Russia was defeated in the Crimean War. The Treaty of Paris in 1856 provided
    great novelties as regards the historical destiny of the Romanian space.

    Marian Stroia:


    After 1856, there is another crucial moment. Just as Dumitru Bratianu had told
    his brother, Ion C. Brătianu, in 1849, when Russia would get soft, then
    the Romanians could achieve all their national objectives. The most important consequence
    of the year 1856 meant that the Romanian space was no longer under the Russian-Turkish
    suzerainty, being under the protectorate of the great European states. At one
    fell swoop, the political situation changed, making it possible for a much wider
    context to occur, for the development of the domestic political energies.


    The
    strongest domestic energies were indeed unleashed. The Unionist, Europhile party
    was the most tumultuous one, being capable of writing memorable pages of
    history at that time.

    Marian Stroia:


    The Ad-hoc
    (purpose-held) election of 1857 made the most important event in the domestic
    Romanian space. On that occasion, the Romanian nation’s political identity
    landmarks were expressed. Among them, definitely worth mentioning here, apart
    from political autonomy, neutrality and the separation of state powers, is the fundamental
    issue of the foreign prince, viewed as a necessary prerequisite of the young Romanian
    state, in a bid to draw its own roadmap towards independence. That was point
    number 4, which was no less important than the others, the enthronement of a
    foreign prince. Ruler Alexandru Iona Cuza’s reign was an intermediary stage in
    the Romanians’ undertaking to gain their national independence.


    The
    Romanian elites came up with a simple geopolitical and geostrategic scheme. Lying
    at the crossroads between the three empires, Moldavia and Wallachia had to look
    for support outside the zone where empires clashed. The ultimate solution to
    the quest for support was France, the great model of modern ideas, the
    staunchest carrier of the message of the universality of man and his rights.
    Today, historians have unanimously agreed that Romania was a creation of
    France.

    Marian Stroia once again, with the details.


    A crucial role in the Romanians’ endeavour to carry the union through and
    forge their own way to independence, that was played by France. Cuza had
    Western training. In 1845-1846 he graduated from the Stanislas College in the
    French capital. His own shape-up as well as the shape-up of the entire unionist
    movement of 1848 were closely linked to the West and to France, especially. For
    the Romanians, the most consistent support was provided by the French state,
    then headed by Napoleon III. It is something that cannot possibly be denied.


    The Union
    required certain forms of sacrifice, made by the elites and the grassroots
    alike, according to their possibilities. However, the example was set by the
    elites.

    The historian Marian Stroia:


    For its greater part, the Romanian elite back then was inspired
    by a complete material disinterest and by an utterly unusual patriotic spirit. Costache
    Negri, one of Cuza’s aides and the Principalities’ ambassador to Constantinople,
    had a complete state financial support for his funeral, so he didn’t even have
    enough money for his own interment. And when Ion C. Brătianu left for
    Dusseldorf to obtain Carol de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen’s candidacy for the throne
    of the Principalities, he had to sell two of his estates so that he could pay for his
    trip and his stay in the Sigmaringens’ German residence.


    Cuza
    was jointly elected on January the 5th and the 24th,
    1859, in Moldavia and Wallachia. That clearly meant both principalities were definitely
    taking a European path.

    (EN)


  • January 3, 2022 UPDATE

    January 3, 2022 UPDATE

    CORONAVIRUS – PM Nicolae Ciuca on Monday had a working meeting with people in charge with managing the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the latest evolutions of the disease in the country and across the EU were discussed. Measures to protect the population, keep schools open and the economy running were also tackled. 1756 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Romania in the last 24 hours, out of 30 thousand tests. 18 people died in the same interval for Covid-related causes. The capital Bucharest registered the biggest number of new infections — 146. According to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics, the infection rate in Romania has gone up slightly to 0.60. The total number of patients treated in Romanian hospitals is close to 2,500, of whom 403 in intensive care. Public health specialists and authorities are warning that some 100 cases of infection with the Omicron variant have already been confirmed across the country, and estimates show that it will become dominant within the next two weeks. The bleakest of the wave 5 scenarios speaks of around 25 thousand new cases per day in the peak period and a huge pressure on the health-care system. The vaccination pace continues to be extremely low. In Romania, a little over 7.8 million people have been fully vaccinated since the start of the vaccination campaign.



    REGISTRY – The Permanent Electoral Authority in Romania has announced that the total number of citizens entitled to vote, included in the Electoral Registry on December 31, 2021 is 18,875,052. Of them, 18,105,818 have their domicile or residence in the country while 769,243 have their domicile abroad. The Electoral Registry is a national IT system that registers and updates the ID data of the Romanians entitled to vote and the constituencies where they can cast their ballot.



    DIASPORA – Of all the citizens of the 27 member states of the European Union, in 2020, Romanians in the diaspora sent home the largest sums of money. According to Eurostat data, the approximately 3.6 million Romanians living and working abroad officially sent home about 3.4 billion euros, while the Spaniards sent 2.9 billion euros and the Poles 2.8 billion euros, these being the states with the highest revenues in remittances in 2020. According to Eurostat, at the level of the entire European Union, the volume of remittances decreased by 9% in 2020 compared to 2019. In Romania the decrease was of only 7% as compared to 50% in Hungary and 71% in Bulgaria.



    COURT – Romanian cases pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) have dropped from 7,500 at the beginning of 2021 to less than 5,000. According to Judge Iulia Motoc, if this pace continues, “in 2022 we can hope that Romania will no longer be the fourth country in terms of the number of ECHR cases”. Most of the cases pending before the ECHR are still about detention conditions, the ECHR judge Iulia Motoc has said.



    HANDBALL – Romanias mens national handball team has gathered to train for the preliminary qualifying tournament of the World Championship, on home turf in Cluj-Napoca (northwest). Between January 7-9, 2022, the Romanians will take on the national teams of Israel, Cyprus and the Republic of Moldova. Last week, Romania played, also in Cluj, two training matches with the Turkish national team, and won both of them. The friendly matches replaced in the program of the two teams a new edition of the traditional Carpathian Trophy, which was canceled, as several members of the Swiss and Iranian teams tested positive for Covid-19. The coach of the Romanian team is the famous Spanish Xavi Pasqual, who won the Champions League with Barcelona three times. (EE)

  • Geo-politics in today’s Romania

    Geo-politics in today’s Romania


    Neighbouring Republic of
    Moldova is a former Soviet republic, with a predominantly-Romanian-speaking
    population. The Republic of Moldova gained its independence 30 years ago.
    Notwithstanding, Moldova is still searching for a better future for its
    citizens. The number of its citizens is dwindling by the year; Moldovans have
    been opting for leaving the country to relocate to Western Europe, in the hopes
    they will find a better live there. It is the dismal aftermath of the policy decision-makers
    in Chisinau have been implementing for a number of years. Such a policy caused
    a great number of problems, mostly economic. However, a fresh breath of hope
    for the better has been recently provided by Maia Sandu’s gaining accession to power.
    She is a reformist, pro-European president, dead set on implementing a
    thoroughgoing series of modern reforms for the state and its institutions. And
    the chances to achieve that are all the greater as the recently-instated
    government in Chisinau is literally fine-tuned in its bid to work with the president.
    The parliament, for its part, is also dominated by a majority that also offers
    its backing for Maia Sandu’s reformist endeavour. And at that, the high-ranking
    authorities in Bucharest have been quick to offer their unconditional support to
    the Republic of Moldova. Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu has recently
    been a guest on a Romanian state-run TV program. While on the show, Minister Aurescu
    recalled that on July 23rd this year, he was the first EU high-ranking
    official to have been on a visit to Chisinau, on the sidelines of Maia Sandu’s
    winning the early parliamentary election. Aurescu also stated he held talks
    with officials on the Republic of Moldova for the bi-lateral cooperation to be
    relaunched. Foreign Affairs Minister Aurescu also stated, QUOTE, All we have done
    this year, and let me remind you that last year, the first head of state to
    have visited the Republic of Moldova when Maia Sandu won the election was Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis, all that we did this year was to try, immediately after
    the snap election that brought to power the new pro-reform, pro-European
    majority, to support the reformist efforts, UNQUOTE.


    We can say we have reached a point
    where the priorities of the bi-lateral agenda can no longer be overlooked and
    we have noticed there already has been a mutual interest on the part of the
    elites, and not only on the part of citizens, as in effect, for a long time citizens
    somehow had been ahead of the authorities, as for various reasons the latter failed
    to cooperate and were unable to materialize all those tendencies populations living
    on both banks of Prut river have always had. It is the assessment provided by former
    presidential adviser in Chisinau, Vlad Turcanu, in a Radio Romania program.


    Vlad Turcanu:

    The authorities
    in Chisinau have initiated, as of this autumn, once with the snap election on July
    11 and once a new government was instated, sweeping reforms in all the fields of
    activity, practically, and they are aware that, without the contribution of such
    friend states as Romania, that is not going to be easy at all. Take, for
    instance, the gas crisis, about which we can say it has already ended, even
    though we can still speak about lingering setback issues. But in those days of uncertainty,
    a great many things mattered, for the atmosphere in Chisinau and for the safety
    of the political endeavour in Chisinau, like the support signals sent from
    Bucharest and other European capital cities. And, from my point of view, it is
    no mean feat to be aware of the fact that, in the event of a force majeure circumstance,
    you can receive natural gas from Romania through a gas line, built with the
    help of Romania, whose contribution to that was significant. In the Republic of
    Moldova, there are many vulnerabilities, in the energy system, in the IT or the security systems, which Republic of Moldova’s foes will never
    cease to capitalize on. Such categories of risk, which for long have been ignored,
    will resurface, and the expertise Romania holds in those as well as in other
    fields will be extremely useful for the transformations we have initiated here,
    in the Republic of Moldova.


    Republic of Moldova’s pro-European
    government has been instated with a wide majority of parliamentary votes in favour,
    63 in 101. The government will have to prove it is capable of
    implementing the reforms it pledged it would carry through, Vlad Turcanu also
    said. The former presidential adviser went on to say that, as Republic of Moldova
    emerges out of the isolation that has been introduced in recent years, several projects
    are beginning to take shape, a clear example for the Republic of Moldova moving
    in the European direction and being also set to solve all those problems that
    have accrued. And at that, Romania’s help is very important.

    Vlad Turcanu:


    The lines
    of cooperation are quite a few. Romania’s and Republic of Moldova’s Foreign
    Affairs Ministers have signed a roadmap on the priority cooperation areas, the
    education ministers in turn signed an agreement on the mutual recognition of diplomas,
    certificates and scientific titles. But the most important element on the infrastructure
    agenda is Republic of Moldova’ s being reconnected to the EU electricity
    system. Because it is here that one of the vulnerabilities lies, that I was speaking
    about. The Republic of Moldova has been contracting electric energy from the
    Cuciurgan Power Plant, built on the left bank of River Dniester on the territory
    of the unrecognized Dniester Republic. And that, for Republic of Moldova, has
    been a major setback all the time, because it had to be extremely careful with
    its relationship with the Russian federation, lest they find themselves cut off
    from the power grid, completely.


    Republic
    of Moldova’s roadmap is extremely specific. It focuses on each and every field
    of interest for the bilateral relation. The document was signed as part of Maia
    Sandu’s recent visit to Bucharest this year, against the backdrop of the
    three-decade anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. The document seeks
    to implement everything required for meeting a series of major set targets for
    the following period. Such targets pertain to the stimulation of Republic of Moldova’s
    European Integration and to a deeper interconnection of Republic of Moldova’s with
    European Union area. Also, the economic and social development will be
    stimulated, so that Moldovan citizens can benefit from truly European standards
    with respect to everything related to life, society, administration and the
    justice system. And, last but not the least, the document stipulates the mutual
    desire to strengthen the two states’ common provinces of language, culture and
    history.


    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)

  • New leaders for USR party

    New leaders for USR party

    The
    merger between Save Romania Union and Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS)
    concluded with the congress held this weekend. The third-largest party in
    Parliament will be known from now on, more simply, as USR.


    Dacian
    Cioloş, former EU commissioner for agriculture and Romania’s PM after the 2015 Colectiv
    tragedy, will be the party’s president until 2023, when the current leading
    team is to be assessed and the strategy for the 2024 legislative and
    presidential elections put together.


    High-profile
    politicians are also among the party’s new vice-presidents: former leader Dan
    Barna, who lost the election for party president by a small margin, Vlad
    Voiculescu, Cătălin Drulă and Claudiu Năsui, all of them members of the
    coalition government until the recent clash with Florin Cîţu’s Liberals.


    Dacian
    Cioloş has the ambitious goal of making USR Romania’s top right-of-centre party:


    Dacian Cioloş: Our
    goal is to be prepared in 2024 to become the country’s leading right-wing party.
    This means we have to grow as a party, to strengthen our public voice and to
    increase our membership.


    The
    former party leader Dan Barna lost to Cioloş, but his team is the one that has
    a majority in the party’s National Bureau. He insisted on the need for unity:


    Dan Barna: We
    are a team that will move on together and will make USR Plus a strong party, a
    party that will matter in any kind of negotiations in the coming months and
    years.


    A party
    created on the foundations of an NGO joined by civil activists, young employees
    in multinational corporations and businesspeople, USR has aimed from the very
    beginning to be different from traditional parties like the Social Democrats
    and the Liberals. However, ideological affinities with the Liberal Party gave
    rise to the coalition formed shortly after last year’s parliamentary election,
    a coalition also joined by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.


    After
    the justice minister Stelian Ion, a USR member, was dismissed, his party colleagues
    left the cabinet and tabled a no-confidence motion to dismiss PM Cîţu, blamed
    for causing the coalition to break up.


    USR
    say they will return to the government provided that the Liberals appoint
    another prime minister. But the negotiations between the two parties depend
    entirely on whether Florin Cîţu’s minority government survives the
    no-confidence motion, due for vote on Tuesday.


    According
    to commentators, USR would benefit from staying in opposition until the
    elections of 2024. But since the former NGO has already had a taste of power
    and some experience in governing, the Liberals may find it easier to convince
    them to return as partners in a ruling coalition. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romania’s Liberals have new leaders

    Romania’s Liberals have new leaders

    As
    of Saturday, PM Florin Cîţu is the president of the National Liberal Party, the
    leader of the ruling coalition in Bucharest, after defeating his former party chief
    Ludovic Orban. The two spared no efforts during the battle for supremacy, and
    commentators agree that the competition degenerated, severely damaging the
    party image and, more importantly, virtually obstructing the work of the
    government.


    This
    comes at a time when Romania is faced with yet another shortage of intensive
    care beds for severe COVID cases, and with a dramatic increase in energy prices. The
    Liberals’ new president, Florin Cîţu, sees his election as the starting point
    of a trend that will change the country.


    Florin
    Cîţu    : I promise to be the president of all
    Liberals, regardless of your vote. We are a united party and will use all our
    resources against our political opponent, the Social Democratic Party. You should
    know that this was not just a campaign, it was a movement, started within the
    National Liberal Party, a movement that will change Romania for the better.


    While
    for 60% of the participants in the Liberals’ congress Florin Cîţu is the
    solution, for their former partners in the ruling coalition, USR PLUS, he is
    the problem. USR PLUS left the right-of-centre coalition after the justice
    minister Stelian Ion was dismissed out of the blue, and said they would not
    return in the government unless Florin Cîţu gives up the PM post.


    Without
    USR PLUS, Cîţu’s Cabinet has no parliamentary majority to back it, and risks
    being dismissed if the no-confidence motion tabled by USR PLUS and the
    nationalist party AUR is validated by the Constitutional Court and passed in
    Parliament. This
    is precisely why the new Liberal leader announced negotiations with all
    political parties, to put together a parliamentary majority to support his
    cabinet.


    The
    Social Democrats in opposition seem to want Cîţu dismissed as well. They say
    the days of the current government are numbered and that, in case the USR PLUS
    – AUR motion fails, they have drafted their own no-confidence motion. The
    Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu had this to say:


    Marcel
    Ciolacu    : Definitely, as soon as the Constitutional Court greenlights the
    motion, the Social Democratic Party will vote in its favour. If the Court
    dismisses the motion, we will immediately table our own motion against the
    government and will invite the other parties to back it.


    A
    minority government is not a novelty in Romania. A government made up of the
    Liberals and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, unofficially
    backed by the Social Democrats, and headed by Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, was in
    power between 2007 and the elections of 2008. The price was high, however: the
    government had to give up all major reform projects and to adopt populist
    measures, lacking financial support.


    The
    same threatens to be the case at present as well, although Florin Cîţu promised
    adamantly to put an end to irresponsible public spending and to streamline public
    administration. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • September 25, 2021 UPDATE

    September 25, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The number of COVID
    cases continues to rise in Romania, with more than 7,000 daily new cases
    reported for several days in a row. Nearly 10,000 SARS-CoV-2 patients are in
    hospitals, 264 of them children, while 1,195 patients are in intensive care. Nationwide,
    hundreds towns and villages are on the red list of places with infection rates
    of over 3 per thousand. The capital Bucharest is also on the list, and as of
    today additional restrictions are in place in the city. The digital COVID
    certificate is required for participation in certain events, and even so indoor
    weddings and similar events are to be attended by 200 people at most, while
    restaurants, performance halls, pools and the like operate at half their
    capacity and only accept COVID certificate holders. As the number of infections
    grows, Romanians get more open to immunisation, with over 14,000 people having
    received a shot in the last 24 hours.


    LIBERALS
    The Liberals’s president for the next 4 years is PM Florin Cîţu, who won the
    race against the former party chief Ludovic Orban. The winner got some 60% of
    the votes of the around 5,000 delegates
    from all party branches in the country attending the Congress held Saturday in
    Bucharest. The National Liberal Party is a united party as of today, Florin
    Cîţu said after the results were made official. I promise I will be the
    president of all Liberals, regardless of your vote today, he added. Ludovic
    Orban congratulated Florin Cîţu for his victory, and said on Monday he would
    step down as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. President Klaus Iohannis was also present at the
    congress. The two ran harsh campaigns, with unprecedented
    attacks against each other. At stake is more than the party presidency, and Saturday’s
    battle will also decide the governing formula and the parliamentary majority.


    FRIGATE The Romanian frigate
    Queen Marie has concluded its participation in the NATO Operation Sea
    Guardian, in the Mediterranean. During the 3 weeks of commanding the NATO
    vessel unit, Queen Marie inspected over 800 ships in the
    Mediterranean. The IAR Puma Naval helicopter on board of the frigate
    contributed to the early identification of suspicious vessels. Also taking part
    in Operation Sea Guardian were vessels, aircraft and submarines from
    Romania, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain and Germany, and the missions contributed
    to strengthening security in Europe’s southern flank.


    SALARY Romanians last year
    earned gross salaries of roughly 1,030 euros, the National Statistics Institute
    announced, up 7.4% since the previous year. Net salaries, averaging at 650
    euros per month, also increased by 7.7%. The best paying sectors are IT&C, finances
    and insurance, public administration and the energy sector. At the opposite
    pole are the hospitality industry, agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the
    real estate market.


    AIRCRAFT The Canadian military aircraft sent to Romania in
    early September have carried out their first intercept in an air policing mission,
    NATO announced. The pilots of the 188 Hornets, jointly with Romanian Air Forces
    units, intercepted on September 23 two Russian Sukhoi 24 Fencers over the Black
    Sea near Romanian air space. The Russian aircraft were monitored by the Allied
    pilots once the visual identification was confirmed, the Allied Air Command
    also announced.



    DIASPORA A Romanian Foreign
    Ministry official discussed with members of the Romanian community in Italy
    about improving consular services, as many diaspora members are unhappy with
    the difficult and often unfriendly procedures required by the Romanian
    authorities. The head of the ministry’s Consular Department Valentin Muntean
    presented the reforms planned by the authorities, in a hybrid meeting attended
    by all the general consuls in Italy and around 40 representatives of Romanian
    associations in that country. The participants tackled means to modernise and
    broaden the consular network, to simplify procedures, to upgrade and optimise
    the digital platforms and systems used by the Romanian authorities, and to
    reduce red-tape. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • September 25, 2021

    September 25, 2021

    COVID-19 The number of COVID
    cases continues to rise in Romania, with more than 7,000 daily new cases
    reported for several days in a row. Nearly 10,000 SARS-CoV-2 patients are in
    hospitals, 264 of them children, while 1,195 patients are in intensive care. Nationwide,
    hundreds towns and villages are on the red list of places with infection rates
    of over 3 per thousand. The capital Bucharest is also on the list, and as of
    today additional restrictions are in place in the city. The digital COVID
    certificate is required for participation in certain events, and even so indoor
    weddings and similar events are to be attended by 200 people at most, while
    restaurants, performance halls, pools and the like operate at half their
    capacity and only accept COVID certificate holders. As the number of infections
    grows, Romanians get more open to immunisation, with over 17,000 people having
    received a shot in the last 24 hours.


    LIBERALS
    The Liberals are today
    electing their president for the next 4 years, in a Congress attended among
    others by President Klaus Iohannis. Thousands of delegates from all party
    branches in the country are choosing between the incumbent party chief Ludovic
    Orban and PM Florin Cîţu. Ludovic Orban argues he is a sure bet for the party,
    and that his goal is to rebuild the image of the party and citizens’ confidence
    in it. He says the National Liberal Party should support Romanian businesses
    and reaffirm and promote individual rights and liberties. His challenger says
    he has entered the competition in order to build and unify the Liberal Party.
    I strongly believe only a Liberal Romania can ensure the wellbeing of its
    citizens, Florin Cîţu argues, and says his priorities are to revise the
    Constitution, to ensure the country joins the Schengen visa-free area, to boost
    investments and motivate entrepreneurs. The two ran harsh campaigns, with
    unprecedented attacks against each other. At stake is more than the party
    presidency, and today’s battle is to also decide the governing formula, the
    parliamentary majority and the holders of the prime minister and Chamber of
    Deputies speaker posts.


    FRIGATE The Romanian frigate
    Queen Marie has concluded its participation in the NATO Operation Sea
    Guardian, in the Mediterranean, and is docking today in the Black Sea
    port of Constanţa. During the 3 weeks of commanding the NATO vessel unit, Queen
    Marie inspected over 800 ships in the Mediterranean. The IAR Puma Naval
    helicopter on board of the frigate contributed to the early identification of
    suspicious vessels. Also taking part in Operation Sea Guardian were
    vessels, aircraft and submarines from Romania, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Turkey,
    Spain and Germany, and the missions contributed to strengthening security in
    Europe’s southern flank.


    SALARY Romanians last year
    earned gross salaries of roughly 1,030 euros, the National Statistics Institute
    announced, up 7.4% since the previous year. Net salaries, averaging at 650
    euros per month, also increased by 7.7%. The best paying sectors are IT&C, finances
    and insurance, public administration and the energy sector. At the opposite
    pole are the hospitality industry, agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the
    real estate market.


    ELECTION In Germany, the last
    electoral rallies were held ahead of Sunday’s election, in which over 60 million
    citizens are to elect the 20th Bundestag (the single-chamber federal
    parliament). According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, this historic election
    may see the end of the 16-year leadership of Angela Merkel’s Conservatives. The
    incumbent chancellor, who stepped down as party president, urged her supporters
    to vote for Armin Laschet, the Christian Democratic Union candidate, to ensure
    the stability of the country. However, all recent polls indicate that the
    incumbent finance minister Olaf Scholz, the candidate backed by the Social
    Democratic Party (SPD) is ahead of Laschet. The election marks the end of the Merkel
    era, and press agencies note that given the tight race, the next government may
    require an alliance of 3 parties.


    DIASPORA A Romanian Foreign
    Ministry official discussed with members of the Romanian community in Italy
    about improving consular services, as many diaspora members are unhappy with
    the difficult and often unfriendly procedures required by the Romanian
    authorities. The head of the ministry’s Consular Department Valentin Muntean
    presented the reforms planned by the authorities, in a hybrid meeting attended
    by all the general consuls in Italy and around 40 representatives of Romanian
    associations in that country. The participants tackled means to modernise and
    broaden the consular network, to simplify procedures, to upgrade and optimise
    the digital platforms and systems used by the Romanian authorities, and to
    reduce red-tape. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • 24/09/2021 (mise à jour)

    24/09/2021 (mise à jour)

    Coronavirus en Roumanie — En Roumanie, vendredi a été le troisième jour consécutif avec plus de 7 000 nouveaux cas d’infection au coronavirus recensés en 24 heures, la plupart à Bucarest. 145 décès des suites de l’infection au virus SARS-CoV-2 enregistrés en 24 heures s’y sont ajoutés. Dans les unités de soins intensifs, le nombre de malades de Covid-19 a franchi le seuil de 1 100 personnes, dont 16 enfants, une situation qui n’a plus été enregistrée depuis début mai. Dans 60 villes et plus de 350 communes à travers le pays, y compris la Capitale, le taux d’infection a dépassé le seuil des 3 cas par mille habitants dépistés en 14 jours. Bucarest entre dans le scénario dit rouge, qui présuppose toute une série de restrictions. A mesure que la situation épidémiologique empire, la vaccination commence à reprendre. En tout, plus de 10 millions de doses de vaccin anti-Covid ont été administrées en Roumanie, depuis le début de la campagne de vaccination. La directrice du Centre national de suivi et de contrôle des maladies transmissibles, Adriana Pistol, a déclaré vendredi que le seul variant identifié ces deux dernières semaines par séquençage a été le variant Delta.



    Pays à risque — Sur toile de fond de la flambée des cas de contamination, la Roumanie entre sur la liste jaune des pays à risque épidémiologique, a décidé le Comité national pour les situations d’urgence. Il a aussi mis à jour la liste des pays à risque, et qui entrera en vigueur le dimanche 26 septembre. Désormais dans la zone rouge l’on retrouvera la Croatie, la Lettonie, l’Autriche, la Bosnie-Herzégovine. La Grèce, Chypre, la Norvège, le Liechtenstein, le Kazakhstan ou encore l’Azerbaïdjan passeront sur la liste jaune. La liste verte comporte, elle, des pays tels le Portugal, l’Islande et le Japon. A noter que les personnes vaccinées ne doivent pas observer de quarantaine en arrivant en Roumanie depuis des pays se trouvant sur les listes rouge ou jaune.



    Politique — En Roumanie, le Parti national libéral (PNL), le principal parti de la coalition gouvernementale, élit ce samedi son nouveau leader dans le cadre d’un ample congrès. Les candidats en lice sont Ludovic Orban, l’actuel chef du parti et président de la Chambre des députés, et Florin Cîţu, le premier ministre. Le président roumain Klaus Iohannis, issu du même parti, sera présent lui aussi au congrès pour soutenir le premier ministre. Au bout d’une campagne électorale dure au sein du parti, Ludovic Orban a déclaré être prêt à remplacer Florin Cîtu en tant que premier ministre. Ce dernier accuse l’actuel leader libéral de s’être servi de son conflit avec l’Union Sauvez la Roumanie – PLUS (USR-PLUS) dans sa lutte politique pour la direction du parti. Pour rappel, USR-PLUS a récemment quitté la coalition gouvernementale, après avoir retiré son soutien au premier ministre Florin Cîţu. La semaine prochaine, le second tour en ligne des élections est prévu lieu au sein du parti dont les membres doivent élire leur futur chef en optant soit pour Dacian Cioloş, soit pour Dan Barna, les deux co-présidents en exercice. Au premier tour, déroulé aussi en ligne, Dacian Cioloş, député européen, a réuni 46 % des voix, alors que Dan Barna, ancien vice premier ministre, a obtenu 43 % des suffrages ; un troisième candidat, Irineu Darău, a réuni 10 % des voix.



    Diplomatie — Le ministre roumain des Affaires étrangères, Bogdan Aurescu, a participé à réunion ministérielle de l’Alliance pour le multilatéralisme, tenue en marge de la 76e réunion de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU. A cette occasion, le chef de la diplomatie roumaine a souligné l’importance de protéger l’environnement, notamment dans le contexte de la pandémie de coronavirus. « Les changements climatiques, la dégradation de l’environnement et de la biodiversité doivent être abordés en tant que défis interdépendants », a-t-il déclaré. Cette réunion a été aussi l’occasion de se pencher sur des sujets et des défis à relever au niveau mondial, tels la lutte contre la pandémie, les droits de l’homme et l’égalité des genres, la lutte contre les changements climatiques ou encore la prévention de la détérioration de la biodiversité. Notons aussi que la réunion ministérielle de l’Alliance pour le multilatéralisme est une initiative franco-allemande lancée en 2019. Cette année, ses hôtes ont été le ministre de lEurope et des Affaires étrangères de la République française, Jean-Yves Le Drian, et le ministre fédéral allemand des Affaires étrangères, Heiko Maas.



    Rentrée universitaire — Le lundi 27 septembre, c’est la rentrée universitaire en Roumanie. Sur toile de fond de la pandémie, dans plusieurs université, telles « Babeş-Bolyai » de Cluj-Napoca (centre-ouest), l’université de l’Ouest de Timişoara ou encore « Alexandru Ioan Cuza » de Iaşi (nord-est), les cours théoriques seront dispensés en ligne, alors que les séminaires et les travaux dirigés dans les laboratoires auront lieu en présentiel. En revanche, les cours des facultés de l’Université de Bucarest seront dispensés en format hybride, soit simultanément en ligne et en présentiel. Des normes sanitaires seront imposées dans le contexte de la pandémie. Dans les campus estudiantins, les étudiants vaccinés auront la priorité et le nombre de places sera réduit. Selon les données du ministère de l’Education, à l’heure actuelle, 78 % des professeurs des universités de Roumanie, soit plus de 24 000 personnes, sont vaccinés.



    Salaires — En 2020, les Roumains ont touché un salaire moyen brut de 5 123 lei (1 000 euros environ), soit une hausse de 7,4 % par rapport à l’année précédente, fait savoir l’Institut national de la statistique. Les secteurs d’activité les plus profitables, avec des revenus supérieurs à la moyenne, sont les technologies de l’information et de la communication, le domaine financier et celui des assurances, l’administration publique ou encore la production et la distribution d’électricité. Au pôle opposé l’on retrouve l’hôtellerie et la restauration, l’agriculture, la sylviculture, la pêche et l’immobilier. A comparer avec l’année 1990, l’indice du revenu salarial réel a été de 225 % plus élevé en 2020, constate également l’Institut national de la statistique.



    Tennis — Kate, la duchesse de Cambridge, a rencontré vendredi Emma Răducanu, lors d’un événement spécial destiné à fêter les nouveaux champions de tennis du Royaume-Uni. Răducanu, 18 ans, dont le père est Roumain, est maintenant célèbre après être devenue la première joueuse britannique à avoir remporté un tournoi du Grand Chelem après 44 ans. L’activité de la Fédération britannique de tennis est placée sous le patronage de la duchesse de Cambridge, qui vient souvent dans la loge royale de Wimbledon. La victoire d’Emma Răducanu à l’US Open, où la joueuse était issue des qualifications, a été saluée par la reine Elizabeth II.





  • September 20, 2021 UPDATE

    September 20, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The COVID certificate has become mandatory
    in Romania as of Monday for participants in various indoor events in all areas with
    an infection rate between 3 and 6 per thousand. The green pass proves the
    holder has been fully vaccinated, recovered from the disease or tested
    negative, and grants access to indoor events like theatre and cinema shows,
    sporting competitions, weddings or baptism ceremonies. Children under 6 are
    exempt. Authorities in Bucharest Monday announced 3,342 new infections out of
    over 21,000 tests conducted. 78 new Covid-related fatalities were also reported,
    while 952 patients are presently in ICUs. Over 100 towns and villages in
    Romania have infection rates of over 3 per thousand. Only 19 beds are currently
    available nation-wide for COVID patients, except for those set aside for people
    with certain medical conditions and testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. According
    to the Strategic Communication Group, the capital city Bucharest has no more
    beds available at the moment.










    DRILL As of Monday, almost
    400 troops from Romania, Portugal and Poland with over 65 pieces of military
    equipment are participating in a drill called Green Scorpions 21.3 hosted by
    the National Training Centre ‘Getica’ close to Brasov, in central Romania.
    According to sources with the Defence Ministry, the drill’s main goal is the
    joint training of troops, raising the level of interoperability between NATO
    members as well as the setting up of some joint battle techniques, tactics and
    procedures for the successful accomplishment of missions. The command is
    provided by infantry battalion 22 jointly with Portuguese and Polish detachments.






    ELECTION The Foreign
    Ministry in Bucharest has announced it does not recognize the legitimacy of the
    election for the Russian Parliament held in the annexed region of Crimea. The
    Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated its support for the
    sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring Ukraine, recalling that
    Romania does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of
    Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Moscow. Bucharest also notes with regret
    that Russia has opened polling stations in Transdniester against the will of
    the constitutional authorities in Chisinau, a fact that runs against the
    sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. According to
    the Central Electoral Commission, president Putin’s party, United Russia, is
    preserving its majority in the State Duma following the parliamentary election
    held for three days. United Russia got around 50% of the votes, but this
    accounts for over 300 of the 450 seats in Russia’s parliament, allowing the
    party to pass laws and implement reforms with no support from other political
    forces. Second came the Communist Party with some 19% of the votes. The
    nationalist LDPR party and the Fair Russia party also got into parliament,
    alongside a new party called New People, seen by some as a Kremlin project
    designed to divide Putin’s opponents.











    MEETING The
    Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, and the country’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan
    Aurescu Monday attended the 76th session of the UN General Assembly
    in New York. For the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the
    event has been attended in person by heads of state and governments of UN
    countries. Romania’s participation at the highest level in the UN sessions
    reconfirms Bucharest’s support for pragmatic and effective multilateral
    diplomacy as a landmark of Romania’s foreign policy, as well as the Romanian
    contribution to international and UN activities. On the sidelines of the event
    in New York, the country’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu will be attending a
    number of multilateral meetings. According to the Foreign Ministry in
    Bucharest, special attention will be paid to bilateral meetings with
    counterparts from countries in the Caucasus, Central, East and South Asia, the
    Middle East, Africa and the Pacific area. (tr. A.M. Popescu, D. Bilt)

  • June 21, 2021 UPDATE

    June 21, 2021 UPDATE

    Covid-19. Authorities in
    Bucharest announced, on Monday, 26 new cases of coronavirus infection in more
    than 9,400 tests performed. Also, 4 Covid-19 related deaths were reported.
    Currently, there are 158 patients in intensive care. During the peak of
    the last wave of infections in spring, there were almost 40,000 new cases per
    week. The vaccination campaign continues, though at a much slower pace. On
    Monday, authorities announced that 20 thousand doses had been administered in
    the past 24 hours. Some 7 thousand people got the first dose, and 13 thousand
    the second. Since December 27, 2020, when the campaign started, more than 4.6
    million people have been vaccinated in Romania. Of them, 4.3 million have
    received both doses.








    EC. The European
    Commission approved, on Monday, an aid scheme worth 610,000 Euros launched by
    the Romanian authorities to support companies active in the independent
    cultural sector, in the context of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a
    EC press release reads. The measure was approved under the State Aid Temporary
    Framework. The aid will take the form of direct grants. The purpose of the
    scheme is to make up for the lack of liquidity faced by the beneficiaries due
    to the restrictive measures that the Romanian Government had to implement in
    order to limit the spread of the coronavirus.






    Schengen. As of next
    month, Romania and Bulgaria will have limited access to the Schengen
    information system. The Visa Information System will be available for
    consultation, but no changes will be allowed. The decision was made after both
    countries successfully completed a series of technical tests. Full access to
    the Schengen information system will become possible after Bulgaria and Romania
    are fully integrated into the free movement area, the European Commission says.
    Earlier this month, the Commission said it supported the rapid entry of
    Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia into the Schengen area. At present, 22 Member
    States of the Union, together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
    Switzerland, are part of this border control-free area.










    Holy Trinity. Orthodox
    Christians and Greek Catholics in Romania celebrated, on the second day of
    Pentecost on Monday, the Feast of the Holy Trinity, a day dedicated to
    Christian monotheism, according to which the Father, the Son and the Holy
    Spirit are three persons in one God. The Christian tradition attributes to the
    three divine persons specific works. The Father created the world out of
    nothing. Jesus Christ saved it from sin. The Holy Spirit blesses people who
    want to have a relationship of faith with God. Faith in the Holy Trinity is a
    dogma established at the first ecumenical synods in the fourth century, when
    the wrong theories called heresies, which introduced hierarchy into the Holy
    Trinity, were fought against. Since then, the Christian faith admits that the
    three persons of the Trinity are equal and in a relationship of absolute love.
    Almost 25,000 police, firefighters, gendarmes and border guards were mobilized
    in Romania to ensure the safe running of the public events held during
    Pentecost.












    Election. The first round
    of France’s regional and departmental elections, postponed by three months due
    to the pandemic and held on Sunday, was marked by an unprecedented absenteeism
    and mixed results. The right-wing Republican party seems to be ranking first after
    the first round. The next positions would be left and far right. The
    presidential party La République en Marche suffered a severe defeat compared to
    its expectations, as it hoped to get around 15%, but managed to get only
    10-11%. The daily Le Figaro talks about a real disaster in terms of turnout.
    Between 66 and 68% of the electorate did not go to the polls. Commentators talk
    about several reasons, including a warning to President Macron, ahead of next
    May’s presidential election. (MI)

  • June 19, 2021

    June 19, 2021

    RAINFALLS A person died and another one went missing, thousands of households were flooded or left without electricity following recent heavy rainfall in Romania. According to the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations, 49 towns and villages and the capital city Bucharest were affected by last nights rainfalls. An orange-code alert for further precipitation remains in place in most of the country until Sunday night, and flood warnings have also been issued in some regions.



    COVID-19 The number of new Covid-19 cases
    in Romania
    continues to drop, with 63 new infection cases reported on Saturday, and 164 patients
    in intensive care. Hospitals are gradually resuming their regular activity and,
    according to some managers, they are better prepared for a possible surge in
    cases. Meanwhile, experts warn against the risk of a 4th wave of the
    coronavisur pandemic in Romania. These experts include Romania’s representative
    in the World Health Organisation Alexandru Rafila, who says that with the
    current vaccination trend, only 7 million people at most will have been
    immunized by autumn, which is below the authorities’ target. So far some 4.6
    million people have received at least one dose of anti-Covid vaccine.



    DEFICIT The EUs Economic and Financial Council extended to 2024 the deadline for Romania to put an end to the excessive deficit situation. The Council said that an extension to the original deadline for Romania to correct its public deficit would be important in order not to compromise the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendation also says that, in order to meet the new deadline, Romania would need to achieve a general government deficit target of 6.2% of GDP next year, 4.4% of GDP in 2023, and 2.9% of GDP in 2024. Romania is expected to present the European Council with a report on its strategy regarding these targets by 15 October, the Romanian Finance Ministry announced.



    OECD The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu reconfirmed Romanias commitment to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as soon as possible. Aurescu had a meeting on Saturday with the organisations new secretary general, Mathias Cormann, on the sidelines of the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya (Turkey). On the same occasion, the Romanian diplomat discussed the Black Sea security situation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.



    IRAN Hardliner Seyyed Ebrahim Rais al-Sadati won Fridays presidential election in Iran from the first round, with over 62% of the votes, according to preliminary results made public today. A former magistrate, the Conservative al-Sadati is close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Reuters comments. The new president will have to resume the negotiations started in Vienna for the restart of the 2015 deal regulating the countrys nuclear activities.



    TENNIS Horia Tecău (Romania) / Kevin Krawietz (Germany) qualified into the doubles final of the tennis tournament in Halle (Germany), ATP 500, after defeating the Belgians Sander Gille / Joran Vliegen, 7-6, 7-5. Tecău and Krawietz are playing their 3rd final this season, after having lost the ones in Rotterdam and Barcelona. Also in tennis, the Romanians Monica Niculescu and Elena Gabriela Ruse Friday qualified into the doubles final of the ITF tournament in Nottingham (UK). They will play against the Australians Priscilla Hon and Storm Sanders.



    FOOTBALL The European Football Championship continues. Today, Hungary is scheduled to play against France in Budapest, in Group F, Portugal takes on Germany in Munich, in the same group, and Spain plays against Poland in Seville, in Group E. on Friday, Sweden defeated Slovakia 1-0, in Sankt Petersburg, in Group E; Croatia and the Czech Republic drew 1-1, in Glasgow, in Group D, while in London, also in Group D, the match between England and Scotland ended in a blank draw. The Czech Patrik Schick is currently the championships top scorer. The Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen was discharged from hospital, after successful surgery, 6 days after collapsing on the pitch 43 minutes into the match against Finland. (tr. A.M. Popescu)