Radio România Internațional

Tag: elections in Romania

July 5, 2024 UPDATE

ELECTIONS – Ruling coalition parties PSD and PNL decided that the first round of the presidential election will take place on November 24, with the second round slated for December 8. In addition, coalition leaders decided that the parliamentary election will take place, for the first time, on December 1, the National Day of Romania. The government decision regarding the election timetable was adopted during Thursday’s government session. This week, opposition parties took part in consultations launched by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The presidential election was supposed to take place on September 15, following an original agreement reached by PSD and PNL, but the Liberals later disagreed with this date. So far, the two parties have not announced their presidential candidates.

CENTRAL BANK – The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania on Friday decided to reduce the monetary policy interest rate from 7% to 6.75% per year starting July 8. At the same time, the Central Bank decided to lower the interest rate for Lombard loans from 8.00% to 7.75% per year, as well as the interest rate for deposits from 6.00% to 5.75% per year. The Bank decided to maintain the mandatory minimum reserve rates for liabilities in national and foreign currencies of credit institutions at the current levels. The monetary policy rate was unchanged since January last year, when the Bank increased the interest rate from 6.75% to 7% per year. According to the Central Bank, the annual inflation rate accelerated its decline in the first two months of the second quarter of 2024, dropping to 5.12% in May, below the forecast level.

TRILATERAL – On the sidelines of the Romania – Republic of Moldova – Ukraine Trilateral meeting in Chișinău, the foreign ministers of the three states signed a joint resolution presenting their common vision with respect to the current security context. The meeting represented a new opportunity of expressing support for Ukraine, for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, in the context of the war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu said. The common goal remains to ensure international support for comprehensive, just and sustainable peace, the Moldovan Foreign Minister said in turn. In addition, the three officials also signed a memorandum on combating disinformation and foreign interference.

SCHENGEN – Hungary, the country that currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, claims that it does not understand Austria’s continuous opposition to the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Since the two countries have fulfilled all requirements and tests in recent years, Hungary will call on the Council to greenlight their Schengen accession this year, the Hungarian Interior Minister told a press briefing attended by journalists from all over Europe. The Budapest official also said that, over the course of his mandate, Hungary will advocate its own vision on border defense as the key solution to the issue of illegal migration.

ELECTIONS IN THE UK – Labor Party leader Keir Starmer is the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was formally appointed to form a new government by King Charles III on Friday, following his party’s landslide victory in Thursday’s parliamentary election. A former human rights solicitor, Starmer entered politics only nine years ago. He thus becomes the third prime minister in less than two years of Charles’ reign, after Conservative leaders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Keir Starmer will lead the country after 14 years of Conservative rule and a number of crises, including austerity measures, Brexit, the pandemic, rampant price hikes and successive government changes. Prime Minister Starmer seeks to re-launch economic growth, restore public services, strengthen employee rights, reduce immigration and bring Britain closer to the European Union, without however referring to Brexit, a topic he refrained from approaching in the election campaign. The Labor Party grabbed 412 mandates, well above the threshold of 326 that ensures the absolute majority needed to form a government. With only 121 mandates compared to the 365 secured five years ago, the Conservative Party recorded its worst election score since the start of 20^th century. (VP)

5 July 2024
July 4, 2024

ELECTIONS – The PSD-PNL ruling coalition has today reached consensus on the exact dates of the presidential and parliamentary elections following the talks Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had earlier this week with political parties. Thus, the first round of the presidential election will be held on November 24, with the second round slated for December 8. The parliamentary election has been scheduled for December 1. Originally, the Social-Democrats and the Liberals agreed to organize the presidential election in September, but the latter changed their mind. We recall local and European Parliament elections were held on June 9.

FOURTH OF JULY – Romanian-American friendship is stronger than ever, evidence of which is the Strategic Partnership between the two states, the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said in a message marking the national day of the United States. “Happy Independence Day to the United States of America and the American people”, the president wrote on X. On Wednesday, the head of state attended a reception organized by the American Embassy in Bucharest. In her opening remarks, US Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec referred to the long-lasting friendship between the two countries and the nearly 30 years of strategic partnership, built on shared democratic values, trade relations, strong interpersonal relations and security and defense cooperation. “As NATO allies and partners, our commitment to Romania is unwavering and essential to protecting our shared values and way of life”, Ambassador Kavalec added. The theme for this year’s reception was the world of film and cooperation between the two states’ film industries.

SURVEY – Europeans continue to stand with Ukraine and its efforts to fight off the Russian invasion, are overall in favor of supplying weapons but oppose the deployment of troops to the former, a European Foreign Affairs Council survey reads. 20,000 Europeans were interviewed as part of the survey, the majority arguing the war in Ukraine will end through a negotiated truce, and Ukraine will not prevail on the battlefield. Ukrainians and Estonians interviewed believe, however, that the Ukrainian army will be victorious. Most Ukrainians oppose the idea of Ukraine conceding Russian-held territories in exchange for NATO accession. Additionally, nearly half of Ukrainians fear the United States could negotiate directly with Russia without Kyiv’s consent should Donald Trump get re-elected at the White House this autumn.

WHITE HOUSE – US president Joe Biden has no intention of withdrawing his candidacy for a second term at the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has told journalists. Meanwhile, Americans continue to ponder Joe Biden’s mental health after his disastrous performance in last week’s debate against Republican Donald Trump. The Democrat president stays in the race, Jean-Pierre told a briefing. Aged 81, president Biden on Friday will give an exclusive interview to ABC News, and the White House promised the president will hold a press conference next week to show he’s able to speak freely with no teleprompter. According to a survey published on Tuesday by the CNN, 75% of Americans believe the Democratic Party would have bigger chances of winning the November election were they to replace Biden as their candidate.

QUALIFIERS – Romanian football champions and Cup winners FCSB and Corvinul Hunedoara are tonight playing in the Romanian Supercup. Both teams are this month competing in European interclub competitions. In the first preliminary round of Champions League, FCSB will play AC Virtus 1964 of San Marino. In the first preliminary round of Europa League, Corvinul Hunedoara will take on Hungarian vice-champions Paksi FC. In the second preliminary round of UEFA Conference League, CFR Cluj will play FC Neman Grodno of Belarus, while Universitatea Craiova will play the winner of the match pitting PFC Botev Plovdiv of Bulgaria against Maribor of Slovenia. (VP)

4 July 2024
June 13, 2024

ELECTIONS – The process of centralizing votes and validating Sunday’s European Parliament and local ballots is expected to end today, the Permanent Election Authority says. After counting votes from over 97% of polling stations, PSD and PNL have jointly won over 70% of mayor seats. PSD ranks first in terms of the number of county councils won, followed by PNL, AUR and UDMR. The PSD-PNL alliance has also won the largest number of MEP seats having grabbed 48.57% of the vote, followed by AUR, the United Right Alliance and the SOS Romania party. The Central Election Bureau has dismissed a few hundred requests calling for a recount or the invalidation of the round of elections. The acting USR mayors of Bucharest Districts 1 and 2 have invoked election fraud and other irregularities, which their opponents from PNL and PSD respectively, who’ve won the election to the former’s detriment, have denied.

CELEBRATIONS – Romania’s Defense Ministry is today marking the National Day of Romanian Heroes by hosting military and religious ceremonies in garrisons across the country, hero monuments and cemeteries. The ceremonies commemorated the heroes who gave their lives in the line of duty fighting in wars, missions or theatres of operation. Bells were rung today at noon in churches across the country. “We express our gratitude to the heroes who survived the horrors of World War II, those who opposed communist dictatorship and fought for freedom in the 1989 anti-communist revolution, playing a key role in toppling the totalitarian regime in Romania”, president Klaus Iohannis said in a message. The head of state also expressed recognition for everyone who is today part of Romania’s defense system. Paying homage to the heroes of the Great War, Romanian authorities declared the National Day of Romanian Heroes on the feast day of the Ascension of Christ in 1920. After 1990, this interwar tradition was resumed. Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians are today celebrating the Ascension of Christ, marking the ascension of Jesus to Heaven from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem 40 days following his Resurrection.

DEFENSE – The EU Defense Ministers summit kicks off today in Brussels, the last such meeting ahead of the NATO summit in Washington. NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said the meeting will address allied measures and initiatives designed to support Ukraine, as well as Russia’s sabotage and disinformation activities in EU states. NATO wants to agree on the final details of the multiannual assistance plan for Ukraine, as well as on a second plan meant to boost the predictability and sustainability of arms industries in the long term. EU Defense Ministers will also hold talks as part of the Nuclear Planning Group. Russia has a dangerous rhetoric in this regard, has transferred nuclear capabilities from Belarus and has undertaken a number of exercises, Secretary Stoltenberg said. Regarding Russa’s hybrid actions, Jens Stoltenberg said we are witnessing an increasing number of coordinated actions. Some attacks were prevented by Member States by exchanging information, while arrests have been made in countries such as England, Germany, Poland or the Baltic States.

GOVERNMENT – The Romanian Government is today expected to pass an emergency decree on creating a special environment budget designed to fund projects aimed at developing integrated waste management infrastructure. The government will also vote the administrative accord between the relevant Romanian and US authorities, signed in March 2023 in Bucharest, designed to implement the Social Security Agreement between Romania and the USA. Today’s agenda also includes a vote on Romania’s voluntary payment to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for 2024 and negotiations concerning a loan agreement on development policies for fiscal management and green economic growth between Romania and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

G7 – G7 leaders are today convening in Italy to discuss ways of increasing economic pressure on Russia in response to its aggression in Ukraine. US president Joe Biden is expected to sign a new security agreement with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to support Kyiv in the long term, the BBC reports. On Wednesday, the USA extended existing economic sanctions in order to further hamper Russia’s war effort. A new plan is in the making, meant to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, although some EU states have expressed concern regarding the possible risks entailed by this plan. (VP)

13 June 2024
June 11, 2024 UPDATE

ELECTIONS – The United Right Alliance (ADU) grabbed 27% of Sunday’s vote for the Bucharest City General Council, followed by the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) with 26.5% and the National Liberal Party (PNL) with over 12%, according to partial results published by the Permanent Election Authority. Nicușor Dan, an independent candidate backed by the United Right, won a new term as mayor general of Bucharest with 47% of the vote. The incumbent mayors of Bucharest Districts 1 and 2, Clotilde Armand and Radu Mihaiu, have invoked irregularities in the organization of Sunday’s ballot, calling for a recount amidst suspicion of fraud and threatening to file criminal complaints. At national level, PSD won the largest number of mayor offices, local and county councils, followed by their ruling coalition partners from PNL. Their alliance has grabbed nearly half of total votes. The ultra-nationalist AUR party came in second in the European Parliament election.

B9 – On the sidelines of the B9 summit in Riga, president Klaus Iohannis said Russia remains the biggest threat to European security, and that NATO states must be ready to act accordingly. The president co-chaired the summit alongside his counterparts from Latvia and Poland. B9 states on the NATO eastern flank should be prepared as regional developments demand increasing attention and coordination, the president also said. Klaus Iohannis added that support for Ukraine must continue for as long as it’s necessary, and that other vulnerable NATO partners, in particular the Republic of Moldova, should in turn benefit from assistance to consolidate resilience. Attending the Bucharest 9 summit in Riga was also the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The meeting was held ahead of the NATO summit in Washington, marking 75 years since the establishment of NATO. B9 comprises Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and the Baltic States. The group was founded following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 at the initiative of Poland and Romania with a view to consolidating security on NATO’s eastern flank.

UKRAINE – The two-day international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine has kicked off in Berlin. Representing Romania is Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu. The conference brings together representatives of national governments and the private sector, including 10 heads of government. On the sidelines of the event, Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, called on private businesses to help rebuild Ukraine at the end of the war. According to World Bank estimates, Ukraine will need 500 bln USD over the next 10 years. Referring to the incentive companies would need to invest in Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz spoke about Ukraine’s potential in such fields as renewable energies, IT and the pharmaceutical industry. Germany will send anti-air defense systems, missiles and ammo to help shore up Kyiv’s defenses against Russian attacks on cities and critical infrastructure. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is also attending the conference in Berlin, where he is expected to hold talks with Olaf Scholz and other high-ranking German officials. On Saturday and Sunday, the Ukrainian president will travel to Switzerland to attend a high-level peace conference bringing together representatives from over 90 countries and organizations, with the exception of Russia and China.

CSAT – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has called a meeting of the country’s Supreme Defense Council (CSAT) on June 20 in Bucharest. The agenda includes an analysis of the transfer of a PATRIOT system to Ukraine, as well as Romania’s objectives for the NATO summit in Washington. The Council will also discuss troops and equipment Romania can contribute to missions and operations outside its national territory in 2025, as well as about the status and prospects of the conflict in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s unwarranted aggression that spells consequences for Romania as well. The Supreme Defense Councill will also examine other hot topics on the national security agenda.

ESTIMATES – Romania’s economy will report a 3.3% economic growth rate this year and 3.8% in 2025, similar to January forecast, the World Bank’s latest report published on Tuesday reads. According to the document, Romania’s GDP growth is also expected to stand at 3.8% in 2026. In May, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD modified its forecast on Romania’s economic growth in 2024, warning that taxation remains the biggest vulnerability. Romania’s GDP is expected to grow by 3.2% this year, in line with September 2023 estimates, EBRD officials say. In 2025, GDP growth is expected to stand at 3.4%. In turn, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its estimate on Romania’s economic growth, from 3.8% in October 2023, to 2.8% according to its April forecast. (VP)

11 June 2024
June 4, 2024 UPDATE

RESERVES – The currency reserves of the Central Bank exceeded 65 bln EUR at the end of May, the National Bank of Romania reports. Gold reserves stood at 7,200 bln EUR. Romania’s currency and gold reserves totaled over 72,200 bln EUR at the end of last month.

ELECTION – Romanians in Italy will be able to vote in the largest number of polling stations opened abroad for the European Parliament elections slated for Sunday. Iulian Ivan, the Foreign Ministry representative for the elections abroad, says polling stations were set up depending on the number of citizens in each country. 150 stations will be available in Italy, 147 in Spain and 104 in Great Britain. No stations were organized in certain countries and cities, such as Afghanistan, Mali, Sudan, Libya, Rostov-on-Don in Russia or Odesa in Ukraine, either because no military staff are present in the area, or because the diplomatic mission on the ground was closed or relocated. Polling stations will open at 7 AM on election day and close at 10 PM, with the possibility of extending voting hours until midnight. Voters at home will also take part in the local election. We recall presidential elections are slated for September and parliamentary elections for December.

CHECKS – Random border checks will be carried out on Italy’s land, maritime and air borders over June 5-18, ahead of the G7 Summit scheduled to take place in this country, Romania’s Foreign Ministry announced. Border checks will be intensified close to the summit to be hosted by Apulia Region over June 13-15, Radio Romania’s Rome correspondent reports. Romanian citizens in Italy can request consular assistance by calling the numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Rome. Emergency requests can also be submitted to the special numbers of the consular offices in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin, Bari and Catania.

MEETING – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday met Montenegro’s Foreign Minister, Filip Ivanovic in Bucharest. The head of state reiterated Romania’s relentless support for the EU integration efforts of Montenegro and the Western Balkans, an area of strategic importance for Euro-Atlantic space and European security and stability, the Presidency reports. President Iohannis also reiterated Romania’s readiness to provide bilateral expertise in the field of European integration.

PROTEST – Romanian farmers taking part in Tuesday’s protest in Brussels have called for an overhaul of the Green Deal, saying the terms of the current Common Agricultural Policy endanger farmers’ activity and food safety. Farmers from 9 EU Member States took part in the protest action, also demanding the lifting of the free trade agreement with Latin America, a deal the EU is yet to sign. Should the document be ratified, cheap agricultural products that don’t observe single market regulations will reach EU markets, resulting in unfair competition for community products. According to Radio Romania’s Brussels correspondent, this will put EU farmers further at a loss following facilities provided to Ukrainian products and grain across community space.

TENNIS – The pair made up of Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine on Tuesday advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles at the French Open after ousting Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand, 6-1, 6-4. In the next round, Ruse and Kostyuk will take on the all-Russian pair Mira Andreeva / Vera Zvonareva. Also in the round of 16, Monica Niculescu of Romania and Cristina Bucșa of Spain were knocked out by Emma Navarro of the USA and Diana Schnaider of Russia at the end of three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. (VP)

4 June 2024
June 3, 2024

ELECTIONS – It’s the last week of campaign ahead of the European Parliament and local elections slated for this Sunday. Some 19 million Romanians expected to hit the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. 915 stations have been set up abroad, twice compared to the European Parliament elections five years ago. Polling stations will open at 7 AM and close at 10 PM, one hour later compared to previous rounds of election. The presidents of the polling stations can opt to extend the voting process until midnight, if there are still people standing in line or inside the station. According to the Permanent Election Authority, the total number of candidates for the local and European Parliament elections is close to 208,000. For the first time, voter turnout updates will be provided in real time on election day, for each separate ballot, on the website of the Permanent Election Authority. We recall Romania will also host presidential elections in September and legislative elections in December.

DISCOVERY – The bodies of the two Romanians reported missing at the end of last week following flash floods and rising river levels have been found in Italy. The bodies of two of the three missing Romanian young people who drowned on Friday in Natisone River, were found in the Udine province (northeast). Search operations to retrieve the third missing person continue. Young people were bathing in Natisone despite the ban, when water levels suddenly rose. Following information sent by Italian authorities, the Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed two of the deceased were Romanian nationals, conveying its condolences to the bereaved families. Consular office representatives constantly maintain dialogue with the local authorities in order to obtain information regarding search operations for the third missing person, as well as with the families of the deceased citizens, ready to provide consular assistance depending on requests and in line with their attributes. The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced Romanian citizens can request consular assistance by calling the numbers of Romania’s Consular Office in Trieste.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional Court of Romania is today discussing a referral of the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the Law approving the Government’s emergency decree on extending the terms provided for insolvency prevention and insolvency procedures. The law stipulates that, in the case of economic operators in strategic branches of the national economy, who have reached an arrangement with creditors upon the entry into force of this law, the length of the agreement or the restructuring plan can be extended, at the debtor’s request and based on sound reasons, for a maximum of 5 years.

MINIMUM WAGE – The Government this week is expected to pass a bill on increasing the national minimum wage from approximately 660 EUR to 745 EUR. The draft law has already been submitted for public debate. Stakeholders can submit their proposals, suggestions and opinions regarding this bill on the website of the Labor Ministry. Currently, some 760,000 people from the total number of employees active on the labor market earn minimum wages in Romania, and that number is expected to exceed 1.8 million after the increase. In addition, the 40 EUR tax deduction is maintained until the end of the year. Talks are underway with Finance Minister, Marcel Boloș, to increase this amount to approximately 60 EUR, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said. At the same time, the Government is ready to help employers by supplementing the budget for SME Plus, a national support scheme addressing small- and medium-sized enterprises. Also, the government continues to restructure its institutions, with the head of government calling on the relevant ministers to step up the pace in order to complete the process across all ministries by the end of the month.

GYMNASTICS –Romanian athlete Andrei Muntean won bronze in the parallel bars final on Sunday at the Artistic Gymnastics Challenge World Cup in Koper, Slovenia. He was outranked in the final by Ukrainian Ilya Kovtun and Hsi Hung Yuan of Taiwan. Andrei Muntean is the only representative of Romania qualified in the men’s artistic gymnastics competition at the Paris Olympics.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team is playing Bulgaria tomorrow and Liechtenstein on Friday, June 7 in two friendly matches ahead of the European Championship expected to kick off on June 14 in Germany. Bucharest will host both matches. Romania was drawn in Group E alongside Ukraine, Belgium and Slovakia. The national team will play Ukraine on June 17 in Munich, Belgium on June 22 in Köln, and finally Slovakia on June 26, in Frankfurt. Romania last took part in a European Championship in 2016 in France. (VP)

3 June 2024
Public sector trade unions voice grievances

The Labor Ministry in Bucharest has submitted to public debate a draft law that provides for a 10% increase in the salaries of certain public sector workers this year in two installments, June and September respectively. According to the bill, employees of cultural institutions and the Trade Registry, diplomats, defense workers, as well as those from city halls and institutions on the payroll of the Government and Parliament, are to receive higher salaries. The staff of county agencies for environmental protection and the agency for environmental protection of the municipality of Bucharest are also expected to benefit from increases. The impact on the state budget is estimated at over 200 mln EUR, an amount that should be obtained through restructuring and the reduction of spending on goods and services. For the first time, the head of the PSD-PNL coalition Cabinet, Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu, said the Government cannot afford to grant a bigger increase, in line with an analysis conducted by the Finance Ministry. A 10% salary increase is also expected to be granted to museum employees or those in the government’s structures. The latter reacted negatively to the government’s proposal, in addition to employees of the environmental agencies.

Environmental workers from Bacău (east) and Mehedinţi (southwest) counties protested for several hours on Wednesday, calling for the alignment of salaries in the territory with those in the center, as well as a 20% pay rise. Protesters accused the government of promoting a discriminatory salary policy that does not take into account their real needs. Unless inequities are eliminated, more radical forms of protest will follow, including suspending the issuance of permits for large projects, such as those involving national or European funds, environmental workers have warned. Employees of the Caraş-Severin County National Archives Service (southwest) also organized a spontaneous protest at the start of the week, criticizing the salary inequities between county and central services. The protest consisted in the termination of the activity and the suspension of public services. Although a process was initiated in January to standardize salaries in several public sectors, the employees of the National Archives were overlooked, one employee says. The Government faces additional pressure from certain categories of public sector employees who consider themselves wronged in comparison to other public sector workers, most of whose salary demands were met by the government, and it also has to deal with a sizable budget deficit. All that amidst an election whirlpool this year in Romania, which starts on June 9 with the local and European Parliament elections, continues in September with the presidential election and ends in December with the parliamentary election. (VP)

23 May 2024
March 11, 2024

ROȘIA MONTANĂ – The Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources has four months to appeal last week’s ruling issued by the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Romania’s favor in the Roșia Montană legal dispute. The miner had sought damages worth 6.7 bln USD after Romanian authorities decided to block exploitation works at the Roșia Montană gold mine, which in the meantime was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Canadian company had plans to extract some 300 tons of gold and some 1,600 tons of silver. The court decided Romania is under no obligation to pay damages, and instead must receive court fees and other arbitration-related costs totaling 9.4 mln EUR. The government in Bucharest hailed the decision and thanked all those who made efforts to protect state interests.

VEHICLE TAX – New regulations took effect today regarding the fares and period of availability for taxed vehicles in Romania. Taxes are now issued for periods of 1 or 10 days, 1, 2 or 12 months. The 1-day tax costs 2.5 EUR, the 10-day tax costs 3.3 EUR, the 2-month tax costs 8.4 EUR, while the cost for the 12-month tax remains the same – 28 EUR for vehicles, 96 EUR for trucks and freight vehicles with a gross weight under 3.5 tons, and 320 EUR for multi-passenger vehicles capable of carrying up to 23 people. The National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNADNR) says text payments are suspended until March 21 pending the introduction of the updated fares and new availability periods.

PROTEST – Health sector employees are today staging a large protest action in Bucharest. The group of protesters will march from the Government building in Victory Square to the buildings to the Health and Labor ministries and then to the Palace Parliament, representatives of the Sanitary Solidarity Trade Federation say. Unionists are disgruntled with low salaries, despite the Government’s decision last week to increase salaries in the health sector by 20% in two equal installments, starting March and June. The increase is hardly enough to cover inflation, Federation members say, arguing the government’s emergency decree contains no provisions regarding bonuses or the hourly rates of on-call work.

CANDIDATE – The executive council of the PSD-PNL ruling coalition is today convening to agree on the final draft of the list of joint candidates enrolled in the European Parliament election, as well as on the joint candidate for the Bucharest City Hall election. Both parties have conducted surveys to identify the best-suited candidate. On the other hand, the United Right Alliance in opposition is expected to notify the Ombudsman today to refer the government’s latest emergency decree on the joint organization of the European Parliament and local elections to the Constitutional Court. Alliance representatives say they identified certain provisions in the said decree in breach of the Constitution and previous Constitutional Court rulings.

OSCARS – The 96^th edition of the Academy Awards Gala was held last night in Los Angeles. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” swept the board, winning the awards for best picture, best directing (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy). The story chronicles the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the atomic bomb. Emma Stone won her second Academy Award for best actress for her role in “Poor Things”. The first Oscar in the history of Ukraine was awarded to the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”. Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo, performed the song “Time to Say Goodbye”, in memory of celebrities who passed away last year, including Tina Turner, Matthew Perry and Ryan O’Neal.

TENNIS – After a break of a year and a half, tennis player Simona Halep is expected to return to court. Halep left for Miami on Monday morning, where she will debut at the WTA 1000 tournament hosted here over March 17-31. Halep’s last official match was in August 2022. Outside WTA rankings, Halep was awarded a wildcard from Miami Open organizers, which puts her on the main draw. We recall Simona Halep was allowed to return to court after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping suspension from 4 years to 9 months. Halep’s team of lawyers succeeded in proving she had been unintentionally exposed to a contaminated supplement, which caused her to fail the doping test. (VP)

11 March 2024
March 10, 2024 UPDATE

ROȘIA MONTANĂ – Romania has won the legal dispute against the Canadian miner Gabriel Resources, launched in 2015, following a ruling of the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), made public on Friday. The Romanian state is thus under no obligation to pay damages to the Canadian mining company, and instead must receive over 7 mln EUR and another 1 mln USD in court fees and other arbitration-related costs. The decision can be appealed over the next four months. Gabriel Resources sought damages worth 6.7 bln USD, invoking huge losses caused by the Romanian authorities’ decision not to start exploitation works at the Roșia Montană gold mine, where the Canadian miner had allegedly invested sizable amounts of money. In 2021, Roșia Montană was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which blocked any further attempts at resuming mining operations. The team of Romanian lawyers explained Romania made constant efforts to observe the rights of both investors and of Romanian citizens, arguing the court of arbitration factored in the numerous challenges related to environment protection and other social, cultural and economic challenges facing the mining project, ruling that the Romanian authorities fulfilled their regulation obligations as best as possible in a very difficult context.

ELECTIONS – The Government of Romania has adopted an emergency decree on the timetable of the elections in Romania. The document stipulates the joint organization of the local election with the European Parliament election on June 9. The election campaign is set to begin on March 12. Lawmakers say hosting the two ballots on the same date will spell numerous benefits and will boost voter turnout. The president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the measure sought to observe the Constitution, the provisions of the Venice Commission and the relevant legislation. The election will occasion the use of a special automated system, administered by the Special Telecommunications Service, to monitor voter turnout and prevent illegal voting. The presidential election will be held in September while the election for the Romanian Parliament will be held in December.

TOURISM – In 2023, tourism in the EU exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest Eurostat report. The number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation reached 2.9 billion, accounting for a 1.4% increase compared to 2019. Slovakia and Czechia recorded the highest growth in terms of nights spent by international guests, with both countries experiencing an increase of 29% in 2023 compared to 2022. The Netherlands and Romania followed, each with a 23% increase, while Croatia recorded a modest growth of 2%. Eurostat data points to a rebound in tourism nights from spring 2022 onwards. The overall trend for 2023 indicates an increase in total number of nights spent, reaching a record number of nights spent and approaching 3 billion annual nights.

PROTEST – Over 5,000 members of the Sanitary Solidarity Trade Federation will be staging a protest in front of the Government, Parliament, Health and Labor Ministries buildings on Monday. Their top demand is the increase of salaries above the rate of inflation. Trade unionists also want a sensible increase in purchasing power and proper pay for hard working conditions. The trade federation says the protests are also targeted against the government’s latest emergency decree on certain salary increases which, federation representatives say, would introduce new inequities while deepening existing ones. (VP)

10 March 2024
March 10, 2024

ROȘIA MONTANĂ – Romania has won the legal dispute against the Canadian miner Gabriel Resources, launched in 2015, following a ruling of the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), made public on Friday. The Romanian state is thus under no obligation to pay damages to the Canadian mining company, and instead must receive over 7 mln EUR and another 1 mln USD in court fees and other arbitration-related costs. The decision can be appealed over the next four months. Gabriel Resources sought damages worth 6.7 bln USD, invoking huge losses caused by the Romanian authorities’ decision not to start exploitation works at the Roșia Montană gold mine, where the Canadian miner had allegedly invested sizable amounts of money. In 2021, Roșia Montană was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which blocked any further attempts at resuming mining operations. The team of Romanian lawyers explained Romania made constant efforts to observe the rights of both investors and of Romanian citizens, arguing the court of arbitration factored in the numerous challenges related to environment protection and other social, cultural and economic challenges facing the mining project, ruling that the Romanian authorities fulfilled their regulation obligations as best as possible in a very difficult context.

ELECTIONS – The Government of Romania has adopted an emergency decree on the timetable of the elections in Romania. The document stipulates the joint organization of the local election with the European Parliament election on June 9. The election campaign is set to begin on March 12. Lawmakers say hosting the two ballots on the same date will spell numerous benefits and will boost voter turnout. The president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the measure sought to observe the Constitution, the provisions of the Venice Commission and the relevant legislation. The election will occasion the use of a special automated system, administered by the Special Telecommunications Service, to monitor voter turnout and prevent illegal voting. The presidential election will be held in September while the election for the Romanian Parliament will be held in December.

TOURISM – In 2023, tourism in the EU exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest Eurostat report. The number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation reached 2.9 billion, accounting for a 1.4% increase compared to 2019. Slovakia and Czechia recorded the highest growth in terms of nights spent by international guests, with both countries experiencing an increase of 29% in 2023 compared to 2022. The Netherlands and Romania followed, each with a 23% increase, while Croatia recorded a modest growth of 2%. Eurostat data points to a rebound in tourism nights from spring 2022 onwards. The overall trend for 2023 indicates an increase in total number of nights spent, reaching a record number of nights spent and approaching 3 billion annual nights.

OSCARS – The 96th Oscars Awards Gala will be hosted on Sunday night in Los Angeles. The biographic thriller “Oppenheimer”, written, directed and produced by Christopher Nolan and staring Cilian Murphy in the male lead, has received the most nominations in 13 categories. The film tells the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his contribution to the development of the atomic bomb. Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Things”, staring Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter, has received 11 nominations. The western drama “Killers of the Flower Moon”, produced and directed by Martin Scorsese, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone in the main leads, is ranked 3rd in terms of nominations, competing in 10 categories. With five nominations, Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” hopes to upset all odds after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2023. The nominees for best picture also include Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro”, a chronicle of the life of composer Leonard Berstein, Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” as well as Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest”, a spine-chilling chronicle of the careless life of a family of Nazis, living the life of their dreams in a villa next to the Auschwitz camp. (VP)

10 March 2024
March 9, 2024 UPDATE

ROȘIA MONTANĂ – Romania has won the legal dispute against the Canadian miner Gabriel Resources, launched in 2015, following a ruling of the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, made public on Friday. The Romanian state is thus under no obligation to pay damages to the Canadian mining company, and instead must receive over 7 mln EUR and another 1 mln USD in court fees and other arbitration-related costs. The decision came as a surprise, after in recent weeks ruling coalition politicians said Romania is expected to lose the legal battle. President Klaus Iohannis has welcomed the announcement and congratulated the team of experts supporting Romania’s cause. “It wouldn’t have been fair for every public sector employee and pension in Romania to pay for the mistakes of politicians who acted against the country’s best interests”, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in an online post. The ruling in Romania’s favor came as a result of the efforts of the team of experts at the Finance Ministry, led by Marcel Boloș and his team of lawyers, PNL leader Nicolae Ciucă said in turn. From the opposition, USR president Cătălin Drulă accused the PSD-PNL ruling coalition of having caused a public hysteria in recent weeks by encouraging a toxic campaign claiming Romania will be forced to pay billions of EUR in damages. The decision can be appealed over the next four months. Gabriel Resources sought damages worth 6.7 bln USD, invoking huge losses caused by the Romanian authorities’ decision not to start exploitation works at the Roșia Montană gold mine, where the Canadian miner had allegedly invested sizable amounts of money. In 2021, Roșia Montană was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which blocked any further attempts at resuming mining operations.

ELECTIONS – The Government of Romania has adopted an emergency decree on the timetable of the elections in Romania. The document stipulates the joint organization of the local election with the European Parliament election on June 9. The election campaign is set to begin on March 12. Lawmakers say hosting the two ballots on the same date will spell numerous benefits and will boost voter turnout. The president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the measure sought to observe the Constitution, the provisions of the Venice Commission and the relevant legislation. The election will occasion the use of a special automated system, administered by the Special Telecommunications Service, to monitor voter turnout and prevent illegal voting. The presidential election will be held in September while the election for the Romanian Parliament will be held in December.

ROAD FATALITY RATES – The European Commission on Friday published preliminary figures on road fatalities for 2023. Around 20,400 people were killed in road crashes in the EU last year, a small 1% decrease compared to 2022. Despite some progress since the baseline year of 2019, few Member States are on track to meet the EU and UN target of halving the number of road deaths by 2030. Since 2019, the number of road deaths has scarcely fallen in Spain, France and Italy, while it has risen in Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden. The overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly, with the safest roads still found in Sweden (22 deaths per one million inhabitants) and Denmark (27/million). Bulgaria (82/million) and Romania (81/million) reported the highest fatality rates in 2023. The EU average was 46 road deaths per million inhabitants.

WAR IN UKRAINE – Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has announced, following his meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that Turkey offers to host a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine. The two officials discussed the current phase of the war. Turkey will greatly contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine at the end of the conflict, president Erdoğan added. In turn, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia will not be invited to the first meeting, although Moscow will be able to send its representatives to subsequent meetings, once peace roadmap has been agreed with Ukraine’s allies at the meeting scheduled to take place in Switzerland. Turkey is a member of NATO and has supporter Ukraine’s territorial integrity, although it maintained cordial relations with Russia and engages in periodic talks with both parties to the conflict.

MARCH 9 – The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, a group of Christian Roman soldiers who were sentenced to death and froze on the lake of Sebaste (Lesser Armenia, present-day Turkey) are commemorated each year on March 9. They died in 320, during the Christian persecution campaign of Emperor Licinus. According to tradition, an 8-shaped typed of traditional pastry called “mucenici” are baked on this occasion and offered as alms to the poor. Also on March 9, Romania commemorates the anti-communist political prisoners of 1944-1989. Religious services are held to commemorate those who suffered under the communist dictatorship, as well as those who died in communist extermination sites. The city of Timișoara (western Romania) saw the opening of the exhibition “The Pitești Phenomenon – The True face of Communism in Romania”, hosted by the 1989 Revolution Memorial. The exhibition presents a chronology of violent actions of the communist regime at the Pitești penitentiary, where over 600 political prisoners, mostly students, were tortured in the 1949-1952 period. Some original objects are also on display. (VP)

9 March 2024
March 1, 2024

VISIT – Romanian Senate Speaker Nicolae Ciucă is today paying an official visit to Moldova for talks with the pro-European administration. Nicolae Ciucă will meet Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu, as well as Moldovan president Maia Sandu. Ciucă and Grosu will plant saplings in the Botanical Gardens in Chișinău. Yesterday, Nicolae Ciucă congratulated the Moldovan leadership for their “responsible and balanced approach to security issues, particularly at a time ridden with regional challenges”, a reference to the war in neighboring Ukraine.

STATISTICS – Romania has a record-high number of 5.75 million employees, former Labor Minister Marius Budăi has said, claiming that “public investment and state subsidies have helped create new jobs and ensure decent wages”. The net average salary in Romania has exceeded 1,000 EUR, the Social-Democrat politician says.

ELECTION – Candidates in the European Parliament election can also enroll in the local election, according to a draft emergency decree on the joint organization of the two ballots, recently launched for debate by the Interior Ministry. The elections will be held on June 9. To prevent two officials from holding office at the same time, the mandates of newly elected mayors will be validated on September 27, when the mandate of the current local officials is set to expire. At the same time, acting mayors and county council presidents will be allowed to run on behalf of a political party other than the one they represented in the previous round of election. The PSD-PNL government says the joint organization of local and European Parliament elections will ensure greater participation in the European ballot and help curb public spending. We recall the presidential election will be held in September whereas the parliamentary election has been slated for December.

MEETINGS – Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu will attend the Party of European Socialists Congress, hosted by Rome on Friday and Saturday. The Congress is expected to adopt the joint Socialist platform ahead of the European Parliament election and designate the candidate for the European Commission presidency. A meeting of the European S&D Group will be held in Bucharest in April. Next week, the Romanian Liberal Party is also expected to host the European People’s Party Congress, to be attended by some 2,000 participants.

OECD – The OECD has this week given its first formal approval regarding Romania’s bid to join the OECD, the Romanian Finance Ministry reports. The Working Party of Senior Budget Officials conducted a review of Romania’s progress on December 19, 2023. At the time, the Finance Ministry presented the reforms Romania has undertaken to align its economic policies to OECD standards and practices in the field of budget governance. Being part of the OECD is not just about having access to top-quality expertise in a large array of fields, but also comes with opportunities, such as attracting foreign investment, boosting innovation and competitiveness, Finance Minister Marcel Boloș said.

NAVALNY – The Russian police are patrolling the Moscow cemetery where the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, is expected to be entombed later today. The funeral is held two weeks since Navalny died in a Siberian prison. His death generated suspicion and allegations from his supporters and some Western leaders, who accuse Vladimir Putin of being responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny, commonly seen as the Kremlin’s public enemy no. 1. The Kremlin denied all accusations. A climate of fear now reins in Russia, with Moscow harshly punishing opponents and critics, although it is unclear how many Russians will come to pay their respects, whether they will be allowed inside the church and how security forces will ensure crowd control, international media writes.

MĂRȚIȘOR – Romanians celebrate the coming of spring on March 1, also known as Mărțișor. The symbol of this popular holiday is the March trinket, usually an item of jewelry accompanied by a red and white string. Traditions associated with Mărțișor were inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017. (VP)

1 March 2024
February 29, 2024 UPDATE

TRANSNISTIA – Senate Speaker Nicolae Ciucă on Thursday met with Oleg Serebrian, Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration. “The Transnistrian question needs a peaceful and sustainable solution, in line with international law and with the observance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, without hindering its European track”, Nicolae Ciucă later wrote on Facebook. The Romanian official congratulated the Moldovan administration “for its responsible and balanced approach to this complex issue, particularly at a time ridden with regional challenges”. The so-called Congress of Deputies in Tiraspol passed a resolution calling on the Russian State Duma to take action with a view to protecting separatist Transnistria, in the context of what signatories have described as growing pressure from the Republic of Moldova. The Russian Foreign Minister says the protection of inhabitants of Transnistria is key to Moscow. The United States firmly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders, the US Department of State spokesman, Matthew Miller said in response.

ELECTIONS – The first round of the presidential election in Romania will take place on September 15, and the second, if necessary, on September 29. The leaders of the governing coalition (PSD and PNL) also decided that the European Parliament elections will take place concurrently with the local election, on June 9, whereas parliamentary elections will be held on December 8. Initially, the Social-Democrats and the Liberals wanted to organize the European Parliament election during two days for the Romanians abroad, but they gave up this option. Such a measure would have violated the constitutional right of Romanians at home, who would have had only one day to vote.

JOBS – 1,200 young and adult Ukrainian refugees, asylum seekers in neighboring Romania, as well as Romanians from vulnerable categories will be helped to find a job, to be independent from an economic and social point of view. The “World Vision Romania” foundation is launching a project through which people will be advised, will learn the Romanian language, receive support for recognizing their diplomas, benefit from grants to support entrepreneurial initiatives and support vouchers to stimulate integration on the labor market. Almost 160,000 Ukrainians filed for forms of legal protection from the Romanian state, with some 80,000 Ukrainians currently registered as residing in the country at the start of the month. Half of them say that they want to get a job or start a business in Romania.

DUST – A large plume of Saharan dust will transit Romania’s territory, which is expected to lead to an increase in the volume of suspended particles and by extension atmospheric pollution, the Romanian Environment Ministry announced. According to the national grid monitoring air quality, the largest concentrations of dust will be reported in the west and southwest, where suspended particles will be associated with rainfall. Traces of this reddish dust can be observed on vehicles and other outdoor objects.

FENCING – Romania’s men’s sabre team on Thursday won gold at the U20 European Championships hosted by Naples, Italy. In the finals Romania defeated France 45-36. Made up of Casian Cîdu, Vlad Covaliu, Mihnea Enache and Radu Niţu, Romania trounced the Netherlands in the round of 16, ousted Germany in the quarterfinals and defeated Spain in the semifinal. Amalia Covaliu won bronze in the women’s sabre event. In the women’s epee team finals, Romania ranked 8. (LS & VP)

29 February 2024
February 10, 2024

ELECTIONS – The ruling
coalition wants to organize the local election on June 9, simultaneously with
the European Parliament election. Social-Democrats also want the national parliamentary
election to be held concurrently with the first or second round of the
presidential election. Social-Democrat leader and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu
wants a clear timetable backed by the coalition. The opposition has criticized
the idea, saying it would refer a potential decision to the Constitutional
Court. AUR president George Simion says such a decision would breach
international recommendations. In turn, USR announced it will notify the Venice
Commission regarding the decision to merge the election less than six months
before the date of the vote. European Parliament elections, local elections,
parliamentary elections and presidential elections will be held in Romania in
2024.

FARMERS – The European
Commission on Friday adopted a financial assistance package worth 241 mln EUR
addressing Romanian farmers in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The aid
will be disbursed until June 30 as direct grants and will not exceed 280
thousand EUR for each beneficiary. The measure addresses Romanian farmers, in
particular those who grow winter grain and rapeseed and who risk going
insolvent due to the difficulties the grain market is experiencing as a result
of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measure is necessary, adequate and
proportional to remedy a serious disruption of the Romanian economy, the
European Commission argues. Romania was also allotted 34 mln EUR from the EU
Solidarity Fund to compensate damages incurred after the 2022 drought. The
funds were wired in December 2023, and Romania must implement this aid over the
next year and a half.

MOLDOVA – Moldovan
authorities have started examining the degree of compliance of national
legislation with regard to EU law. The first field under scrutiny will be the
judiciary, the deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina
Gherasimov has said. The Moldovan official believes the next four months will
consist of an evaluation of the EU legislation concerning other chapters as
well. According to experts, the European Integration Office must be rendered
operational as soon as possible in order to effectively interact with
institutions in Brussels and speed up the accession process. We recall the
Republic of Moldova applied for EU accession in March 2022 and was given EU
candidate status in June 2022. In December 2023, EU leaders decided to
officially launch EU accession talks with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

BUDGET
REFORM – The European Parliament and individual EU Member States have reached
an agreement on Friday regarding a reform of the EU budget, designed to
guarantee a recovery of public finance while at the same time preserving
investment, AFP reports. After over two years of debates, the initiative is
criticized for its complexity and is rejected by left-wing politicians, who argue
it is meant to introduce austerity in Europe. The agreement is expected to
enable Member States to apply the new rules this year when drafting the
national budgets for 2025. The new regulations will help restore balance and
viability in the sector of public finance while at the same time advancing
structural reforms, promoting investment, fostering economic growth and
creating new jobs, the Belgian presidency of the EU Council informs. The reform
also seeks to overhaul the Stability Pact elaborated at the end of the 1990s,
which caps government deficit at 3% of the GDP and public debt at 60% of the
GDP. Considered too harsh, the framework was never truly observed and was
labeled obsolete. Debt-ridden countries in southern Europe such as France
insisted on making the system more flexible, while frugal countries in
northern Europe rallied around Germany’s call for tighter budget regulations.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis
player Ana Bogdan (65 WTA) is taking on another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian
(81 WTA), in the semi-finals of the Transylvania Open hosted by Cluj-Napoca,
offering over 267 thousand USD in total prizes. Previously, Ana Bogdan defeated
the top seed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands (45 WTA) in a dramatic game, 2-6,
7-6, 7-6, whereas Jaqueline Cristian ousted Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia (656 WTA), 6-3, 7-5.
Ana Bogdan leads 2-0 head-to-head, having defeated Cristian in 2012 in Istanbul
and in 2023 in Parma. In the other semi-final match, Harriet Dart of Great
Britain (103 WTA) is playing Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic (78 WTA).
In the women’s doubles, the Romanian pair Jaqueline Cristian / Andreea Mitu
lost to the American pair Caty McNally / Asia Muhammad, 6-3, 6-2 in the
semi-finals. (VP)

10 February 2024
April 3, 2020

CORONAVIRUS IN
ROMANIA – The death toll of the COVID-19 virus in Romania has reached 116, the
Group for Strategic Communication has announced today. The latest victim is a
70-year-old man from Mures County with a history of cardio-vascular disease and
high blood pressure. There are 2,738 confirmed cases in Romania, of whom 267
have recovered, while over 15,400 people are in quarantine and some 115,000 in
isolation. The number of Romanians living or working abroad who have tested
positive for COVID-19 has reached 217, 126 in Spain, 57 in Italy, 14 in France,
7 in Germany and 4 in the UK. Since the onset of the outbreak 25 Romanians have
lost their lives abroad, of whom 9 in Italy alone.

FINES – Starting today
an emergency decree takes effect in Romania, introducing higher fines for
people that don’t observe emergency security measures. Minimum fines for
natural persons have increased from 20 to 415 euros while maximum fines from 1,035
to 4,150 euros. Fines for legal entities
that don’t comply with military decrees have increased from 205 to 2,050 euros,
up to a maximum of 14,500 euros. Moreover, additional sanctions have been
introduced for people who don’t abide by legal provisions, such as the seizure
of any goods that make the object of an offence, access denial to the said
goods by putting them under seal, temporary suspension of activity, the
shutdown of construction works and the re-establishment of certain design
works. The additional sanctions can be taken depending on the nature and
seriousness of the offence.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE
WORLD – Over a million people have tested positive for coronavirus in the
world, the global death toll standing at 54,000 people, a recent report shows.
A quarter of cases have been reported in the US, where the pandemic is
spreading swiftly. Italy is the country where most people have died, 14,000,
followed by Spain with 10,000 deaths, the US with some 6,000, France with over
5,000 and China with 3,300 dead. The World Bank has announced it would allocate
160 billion dollars over the next 15 months to help countries fight the
pandemic. The money will be used to protect the poor and the vulnerable and
will support the business sector and the economic recovery process.

NATO -
Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is today attending an informal video-conference
of NATO foreign ministers. The meeting will focus on the crisis caused by the
coronavirus pandemic, in the context of the latest developments at European and
global level. NATO ministers will discuss the possibility of coordinating at
consular level in order to continue to repatriate non-resident EU citizens, as
well as the strengthening of EU’s role in the field of international
cooperation and the provision of humanitarian aid, combating disinformation and
the importance of European solidarity. Yesterday, during a similar
video-conference, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu underlined the important role
of emergency air missions aimed at ensuring the transport of medical equipment,
stating that Romania was the first allied state to make use of NATO strategic
air transport capabilities in order to bring the necessary equipment and
materials from South Korea.

COMMISSION
– The European Commission is intensifying its response capacity against
COVID-19, proposing the creation of a solidarity instrument worth 100 billion
euros called SURE, which will help workers maintain their incomes and will
support businesses. Loans will be handed out based on guarantees provided by
Member States and will be directed to the areas facing most difficulties.
Available to all Member States, SURE will support partial unemployment schemes
and similar measures in order to help Member States protect their jobs,
employees and people carrying out independent activities. The Commission is
also proposing the redistribution of all available structural funds for this
year in order to help meet the needs of European healthcare systems.

ELECTION
– The Liberal Government will most likely postponed the early elections slated
for June, as the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible for such a
democratic process to be held in the best possible circumstances, Liberal Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban has said. A state of emergency was declared in Romania
on March 16 and quarantine measures have been in place since last week. The
early elections were scheduled for late June, while legislative elections were
due this November. The epidemic is expected to peak over April 20 – May 1, the
risk of spreading getting lower after this period, Orban went on to say. The
Romanian official will consult with the other parties regarding a date for the
early elections, based on the evolution of the pandemic. In another
development, Health Minister Nelu Tataru said movement restrictions could be
lifted in stages, starting mid-May.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

3 April 2020