Radio România Internațional

Tag: elections

  • June 19, 2024

    June 19, 2024

    Visit – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has today received his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, on the occasion of the latter’s official visit to Bucharest. “We have deep ties with Italy, an exceptional economic dynamic, and the soul of the relationship is the Romanian communities in Italy, very well integrated,” said Klaus Iohannis. At the same time, Iohannis expressed his appreciation for the solid community of Italian entrepreneurs in Romania. He pointed out that, last year, the two countries had bilateral exchanges worth 20 billion Euros. In terms of security, Klaus Iohannis stated that Romania and Italy would continue to work together to strengthen NATO’s deterrence role on the eastern front, as well as on the southern front. In turn, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, said that bilateral relations are excellent on all levels. According to a Presidential Administration press release, in 2024, Romania and Italy celebrate 145 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, as well as 60 years since these relations were taken to embassy level.

     

    Election results – The final results of the European Parliament elections were announced by the Central Electoral Bureau and published in the Official Gazette of Romania. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) – National Liberal Party (PNL) alliance ranked first with 48.5% of the votes, followed by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, with a little under 15%, the United Right Alliance, with 8.7%, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania with almost 6.5% and the SOS Romania party with a little over the required threshold of 5%. The independent candidate Nicolae Ştefănuţă was voted by 3.08% of Romanians and managed to obtain another European Parliament mandate. The voter turnout was 52.4%. The Central Electoral Bureau pointed out that, of the 33 MEP mandates going to Romania, 19 went to the PSD-PNL alliance, 6 to the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, 3 to the United Right Alliance and 2 to the SOS Romania Party and another 2 to the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

     

    Citizenship – The Romanian Senate has adopted, as the first chamber notified, a draft law to amend the Citizenship Law, initiated by the Government, which establishes that the Romanian citizenship can be granted, upon request, to a foreign person who is married and lives outside the borders with a Romanian citizen for at least 10 years. The current legislation stipulates that, in order to grant citizenship to a foreign citizen married to a Romanian citizen, he or she must live in Romania for at least five years, which represents, in the opinion of the initiator, ‘an obstacle’. The law also provides for the necessary measures needed to acquire the Romanian citizenship and for rules to prevent its fraudulent acquisition. Thus, biometric checks are provided for persons applying for being granted the Romanian citizenship. The draft law will be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, which is a decision-making body.

     

    Euro 2024 – Today, the European Football Championship in Germany schedules one match in Group B, Croatia-Albania, and two in Group A, between the host country team and Hungary and between Scotland and Switzerland respectively. We remind you that on Tuesday, in Group E, Romania defeated Ukraine 3-0, and Slovakia won 1-0 against Belgium. Romania’s next matches are on Saturday, against Belgium, and next Wednesday, against Slovakia.

     

    Champions League – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, from Bucharest, will play in the first preliminary round of the Champions League with the San Marino team AC Virtus 1964, according to the drawing of lots made at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. FCSB will play the first away match on July 9 or 10, and the decisive leg in Bucharest on July 16 or 17. The winner of Romania’s Cup, the second division Corvinul Hunedoara (south-west), will face the Hungarian vice-champions, Paksi FC, in the first preliminary round of the Europa League. Corvinul will play the first away match on June 11, with the second match being scheduled in Romania on July 18. (LS)

  • Who will represent Romania in the EP

    Who will represent Romania in the EP

      

     

    On Tuesday night, the Central Electoral Bureau presented the final results of the election for the European Parliament, held on June 9 in Romania. After more than a week of uncertainty, the Official Journal released the memo centralising the vote count and seat allocation, which is the official closure of the EP election.

     

    The latest figures only confirmed the ranking and the distance between the election contenders. First placed remains the alliance comprising the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, which also make up the ruling coalition in Romania, and which got 48.5% of the votes, securing 19 of Romania’s 33 seats in the European Parliament.

     

    Second came the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), in opposition, which was backed by 14.93% of the voters. AUR will send 6 MEPs in the European legislative body.

     

    The United Right Alliance ranks 3rd, having received 8.71% of the votes. Save Romania Union (USR), the People’s Movement Party and the Force of the Right thus secured 3 Deputy seats.

     

    The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, with 6.48% of the votes, and S.O.S. Romania Party with 5.03%, have barely made the threshold and will also contribute 2 MEPs each. Adding to them is Ştefănuţă Nicolae Bogdănel, a former USR member who ran independently and was voted by 3.08% of the Romanians.

     

    According to the Central Electoral Bureau, the turnout was 9,444,894, accounting for 52.4% of the total eligible voters in Romania. For the EP election, organised by Romania concurrently with its local elections, 18,955 polling stations were opened in the country and 915 abroad. The total number of valid votes cast in the polling stations abroad was 210,410.

     

    The Social Democrats and the Liberals won the election for the EP in the diaspora as well, with 21.35% of the votes, followed by the United Right Alliance with 16.34%, and by AUR, with 14.65%. S.O.S. Romania carried 13.52% of the votes, REPER Party 9.7%, the United Diaspora Party 7.05%, and the non-affiliated candidate Ştefănuţă Nicolae-Bogdănel 5.9%.

     

    Romania is to organise 2 more elections this year. In autumn, Romanians will be asked to elect the country’s president and the members of the national parliament. But while the general election date has already been set for December 8, the date of the presidential vote is still subject to negotiations between the Social Democrats and the Liberals in the ruling coalition. (AMP)

     

  • June 17, 2024 UPDATE

    June 17, 2024 UPDATE

     

    EURO 2024 – Romania defeated Ukraine on Monday, 3-0 in their opening Group E match in Munich, at the European Football Championship hosted by Germany. The goals were scored by Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus. The tournament brings together 24 national sides, divided into six groups. Romania will next play Belgium on 22nd June in Cologne and Slovakia on 26th June in Frankfurt. This is Romania’s 6th participation in the European Championship after 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. Romanian referees are also taking part in the tournament, with Istvan Kovacs as main referee, two assistant referees and a video assistant referee.

     

    SENATE – The Romanian Senate marked on Monday 160 years since its establishment, through a solemn meeting. Current and former leaders of the institution evoked its importance and role in the development of the Romanian state and democracy. The Senate Speaker, Nicolae Ciucă, said that a democracy is only as strong as parliament. “At the same time, a strong parliament is a parliament that enjoys the trust of the people. People’s trust is the foundation that determines the stability of the political regime,” he said. The interim speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfred Simonis, emphasized the role of the Senate in strengthening Romanian democracy.

     

    VISIT –  Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday started a two-day official visit to Bavaria, Germany, to mark the 25th anniversary of Romanian-Bavarian relations. He will coordinate on Tuesday, together with the Bavarian prime minister Markus Soder, the first joint meeting of the Romanian-Bavaria government. Foreign and European policy files, security, cooperation, social affairs and labor will be discussed. “The economic dimension is a pillar of our collaboration. Among the German states, Bavaria is the most important investor and commercial partner for Romania, with a trade volume of more than 8 billion euros”, Marcel Ciolacu said. “We want the big companies based in Bavaria in the automotive, engineering and aerospace industries to invest in Romania,” he also said. The Romanian community is the largest foreign community in Bavaria. According to official data, 213,000 Romanian citizens are settled there.

     

    SALARY –  The government is this week due to discuss draft legislation to adopt the European minimum wage in Romania. The bill transposes a European directive stipulating that the minimum wage in a country must account for at least 50% of the average income. The gross minimum salary in Romania currently stands at 660 euros and is set to go up to 740 euros from 1st July.

     

    CAMPAIGN – French political parties on Monday entered the election campaign for the snap elections which will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7. The early elections were called by President Emmanuel Macron, after he dissolved the National Assembly, following the European elections, when the far right won a resounding victory and the presidential party was severely punished by the electorate, mainly due to the decrease in purchasing power. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, last week President Macron explained his decision to dissolve the Assembly by the need for a clarification on the French political scene, after two years of tensions in Parliament, which blocked the activity of a government that lacked majority and especially after the result in the European elections. Macron called on moderate politicians to unite against the far right and far left. (EE)

     

  • June 12, 2024

    June 12, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS The alliance comprising the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party (currently in power in Romania) carried close to 49% of the votes in Sunday’s elections for the European Parliament, according to partial data released by the Central Electoral Bureau. Next came AUR party with nearly 15%, the United Right Alliance with 8.6 %, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania with 6.5% and SOS Romania party with 5%. One of the 33 MEPs to represent Romania in the European Parliament is non-affiliated. Local elections were also held in Romania on Sunday, with the Social Democrats winning the mayor and county council elections, followed by their Liberal partners and by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. In Bucharest, the incumbent mayor general, Nicuşor Dan, has won a new term in office, with the United Right Alliance and the Social Democrats securing the most seats in the Bucharest city council.

     

    INFLATION In Romania, the year-on-year inflation rate dropped from 5.9% in April to 5.12% in May, as foodstuff prices went up 1.24%, non-food prices rose by 6.38%, and services are 9.29% more expensive, the National Statistics Institute announced on Wednesday. The National Bank adjusted the inflation forecast for this year to 4.9%, from 4.7% previously, and expects the indicator to reach 3.5% by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, net investments in the national economy totalled some EUR 7 bln in the first quarter of the year, up 6.7% as compared to Q1, 2023, the institution also reports.

     

    UKRAINE As many as 95 investment projects are being discussed at the International Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin. Today, the participants discuss the funding for these reconstruction projects. So far the European Commission has announced agreements with various banks amounting to EUR 1.4 bln, and a EUR 1.9 bln assistance package. The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy Tuesday called for the consolidation of air defence in the face of Russian attacks. Attending the conference, the Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu said Bucharest supported Ukraine with electricity and was working to improve inter-connection. Bucharest has a regional approach, which also includes the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, Luminiţa Odobescu pointed out. The agenda of the conference in Berlin also includes Ukraine’s EU accession. We have more details after the news.

     

    NATO The German Armed Forces are contributing 2 operations centres and a PATRIOT combat squadron to NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence international exercise Ramstein Legacy 24, held in Romania and Bulgaria. According to the German Embassy in Bucharest, roughly 260 German troops and 100 vehicles traveled to the Romanian Black Sea coast. “We stand strong with our Allies to ensure the security of Romania and of our entire Allied territory,” the German Ambassador to Bucharest, Peer Gebauer, said after visiting the German military. After Romania and Bulgaria, Germany is the biggest troop contributor in this week’s exercise, alongside units from France, Finland, the UK, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey and Hungary near Constanţa, in south-eastern Romania. Units from Greece, Italy and Slovenia are also taking part in the Bulgarian section of the exercise, which is designed to improve interoperability and help integrate the NATO air defence forces into the NATO common air defence command structure.

     

    CONCERT The British alternative rock band Coldplay perform in Bucharest today and tomorrow. Some 50,000 fans are expected to attend each of the two concerts held on the National Arena as part of the band’s “Music Of The Spheres” world tour.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football team is in Wurzburg, Bavaria, where they will stay during the European Football Championship hosted by Germany and due to start on Friday, June 14. Romania plays in Group E and will take on Ukraine on June 17 in Munich, on Belgium on June 22 in Cologne, and on Slovakia, on June 26, in Frankfurt. Romania last took part in a European championship final tournament in 2016, in France. (AMP)

  • The post-election picture

    The post-election picture

    The Romanian Social Democrats have reasons to be happy after Sunday’s local and European elections because the results allow them to negotiate from a position of power any future political-electoral deals ahead of the presidential elections in September and the legislative elections in December.

    The Social Democratic Party has by far the largest number of mayor and local and county council seats, and together with their partner in the ruling coalition, the National Liberal Party, they won almost half of the votes for the European Parliament. Acting prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats Marcel Ciolacu hasn’t ruled out a political alliance with the Liberals, but the idea that his party won’t have a candidate in the presidential elections is not on the table. The Liberals have lost several county councils to their Social Democrat partners, but remain, as their vice-president Rareş Bogdan emphasised, Romania’s biggest party on the right, with almost 30% of the political vote. Bogdan said that because his party is a responsible party, it will not create internal chaos and instability by leaving the ruling coalition, as some have speculated in the wake of the not-so-good election results.

    The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania won the third largest number of votes for mayor and councils, with almost 7%, thanks to the proverbial discipline of ethnic Hungarian voters in Transylvania. The Union’s leader Kelemen Hunor says these are the best results obtained by his party in the last 20 years, even winning seats in the European Parliament.

    With their almost 15% in the European elections, the sovereignist and ultranationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians says the party is the main opposition force in Romania. The party’s leader George Simion said the Alliance won 6 seats in the European Parliament and will have councillors in all counties with the exception of Harghita and Covasna, which are home to large ethnic Hungarian communities, adding that the party is confident in the run-up to the presidential elections.

    Winning under 9% in the European elections, losing mayor seats and a generally poor political vote – is the grim outcome of the elections for the Save Romania Union, the main party in the United Right alliance. The party’s leader Cătălin Drulă has taken responsibility for the failure and stepped down, with Dominic Fritz, the newly re-elected mayor of Timişoara, taking over temporarily. The United Right remains, however, a force to be reckoned with in Bucharest, where it won most seats in the municipal council and where Nicuşor Dan, the candidate it supported, won a second term as city mayor. REPER, on the other hand, a centrist party created by the former prime minister Dacian Cioloş, missed all its election goals.

    What happened with both the Save Romania Union and REPER goes to show that in order to be successful in Romanian politics it’s not enough to be guided by principles and values. That’s even sometimes counterproductive, as shown by the SOS Romania Party, an aggressive, pro-Russian and anti-European conspiracy party that ended up with two seats in the European Parliament.

  • June 8, 2024 UPDATE

    June 8, 2024 UPDATE

    Elections – More than 40,000 employees of the Romanian Interior Ministry will be mobilized throughout the country to maintain order and public safety and to ensure protection measures at polling stations, on Sunday, when local and European Parliament elections are scheduled. According to the Interior Ministry, the electoral campaign took place under normal conditions, without serious events. The polling stations will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. The presidents of the polling stations can decide to extend the vote until 23:59, if there are people who did not have the time to exercise this right, but are inside or in the immediate vicinity of the station. Approximately 19 million Romanians are called to the polls in the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. Abroad there will be 915 polling stations, twice as many as compared to the EP elections five years ago, most of them being opened in Italy, Spain and Great Britain. Romania will send 33 representatives to the EP. For the first time, the data on the voter turnout will be presented in real time, online, on the election day, for each separate election, on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority. We remind you that this year the presidential election is scheduled in September and the legislative elections in December.

     

    European elections – Tens of thousands of people demonstrated, on Saturday, in Germany, the day before the European elections, against the extreme right, AFP informs. ‘Germany is diverse!’, ‘Stop the hate!’, ‘Down with racism!’, were the slogans written on the placards of the demonstrators in Berlin.  Demonstrations also took place in Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dresden, Munich, and Frankfurt. Despite the scandals that marked its campaign for the European Parliament, the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) hopes to achieve its best performance in this election on Sunday. The elections for the 720 members of the European Parliament are already taking place in several states of the EU. In the Netherlands, the vote took place on Thursday, and in Ireland the electoral process took place on Friday. The Czech Republic voted on Friday and Saturday. Voters from Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia also went to the polls. At the level of the European Union, more than 370 million voters are expected to go to the polls.

     

    Weather – Areas in southern Romania, including the capital Bucharest, will come under a Code Orange alert for scorcher and severe thermal discomfort on Sunday, and the warning is valid until Tuesday morning. Particularly high temperatures will be recorded for this time of the year, with highs ranging between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius. The weather will be scorching which leads to a heightened thermal discomfort, and the temperature-humidity index (ITU) will exceed the critical threshold of 80 units. Meteorologists warn that temperatures will remain particularly high in the coming days, especially in the southern and southeastern regions. Also, the National Meteorological Administration issued for the same period a Code Yellow alert for thermal discomfort and high temperatures in the east, south-east, south-west and center. On Sunday, the sky will be variable, with temporarily heavy clouds, showers, electrical discharges and short-term intensification of the wind, in the northwest and center. There will be torrential rains, storms and hail. The maximum temperatures will generally range between 26 and 37 degrees C, and the minimum between 11 and 22 degrees C.

     

    Denmark – Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office said on Saturday that she suffered a slight cervical strain following an assault on Friday evening when a man punched her in a market in Copenhagen, Reuters reports. ‘Apart from this, the prime minister is fine, but she is shocked by the incident,’ the official statement said. After the incident, Frederiksen was taken to the hospital for a check-up. All the official events that the Danish PM was supposed to attend on Saturday have been cancelled. The attacker, a 39-year-old man, was detained. The incident took place two days before the Danes went to the polls in the European Parliament elections. Three weeks ago, the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt. “I am shocked by the news of the attack on the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Violence has no place in our societies”, the Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, wrote on the X platform. (LS)

  • June 8, 2024

    June 8, 2024

    Elections – Today is a day of reflection in Romania, before the European Parliament and local elections that take place on Sunday. The polling stations will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m., compared to 9:00 p.m. in the previous elections. The presidents of the polling stations can decide to extend the vote until 23:59, if there are people who did not have the time to exercise this right, but are inside or in the immediate vicinity of the station. Approximately 19 million Romanians are called to the polls in the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. Abroad there will be 915 polling stations, twice as many as compared to the EP elections five years ago, most of them being opened in Italy (150), Spain (147) and Great Britain (104).  In the elections for the European Parliament, there are 15 candidates for one seat, and Romania will send 33 representatives to the EP. According to the data presented by the Permanent Electoral Authority, there are 20% fewer competitors in the local elections compared to four years ago. For both elections, over 102 million ballots were printed, and the Romanian authorities claim that they have taken all the necessary measures regarding the smooth running of the electoral process. For the first time, the data on voter turnout will be presented in real time, online, on election day, for each separate election, on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority. We remind you that this year the presidential election is scheduled in September and the legislative elections in December.

     

    EP elections – The elections for the 720 members of the European Parliament are already taking place in several states of the EU. In the Netherlands, the vote took place on Thursday, and exit polls showed an increase in the popularity of the extreme right, which would have obtained seven seats in the future European Parliament, compared to only one in the current legislature. In Ireland, the electoral process took place on Friday, as well as in the Czech Republic, where voting will continue today. Italian citizens will also vote for two days. Also today, voters in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia will go to the polls to nominate their future MEPs, while the rest of the EU countries will hold European Parliament elections on Sunday. Over 370 million voters are expected to go to the polls throughout the European Union.

     

    GDP – The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the euro zone and the European Union registered an advance of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data published by Eurostat. According to statistics, Romania’s economy recorded an evolution slightly above the European average, with a GDP growth of 0.4% in the first three months of the year, after a contraction of 0.6% in the last three months of 2023. The Eurostat data are similar to those previously announced by the National Institute of Statistics, which revised downwards Romania’s economic growth in the first three months of this year, to 0.4%, from 0.5% as previously estimated.

     

    Salaries – Almost 1.9 million employees in Romania will receive their salary increased by 284 lei (approx. 57 Euros), net value, from July 1, after the Romanian Government approved the increase of the gross minimum wage from 3,300 lei (approx. 660 Euros) to 3,700 lei (approx. 740 Euros) and raised from 200 lei (approx. 40 Euros) to 300 lei (approx. 60 Euros) the monthly amount exempt from the payment of the income tax. The executive believes that this approach will have positive effects on economic growth, the purchasing power of employees and will contribute to the reduction of undeclared work. However, the decision does not apply to employees in agriculture and the food industry, as legal provisions in force apply to these categories. The government representatives said that this increase is a step towards the adoption, as of November, of the minimum wage at the European level.

     

    Attack – The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu conveyed a message following the attack on his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, which took place on Friday in a Copenhagen square. “I am shocked by the news of the attack on the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Violence has no place in our societies”, Marcel Ciolacu wrote on the X platform today. Mette Frederiksen was attacked by a man on Friday, but no signs of injury are reported. The police announced that a man was arrested and the incident is being investigated, but did not provide further details. The incident took place two days before the Danes went to the polls in the European Parliament elections. Three weeks ago, the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt.

     

    Fraud – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is conducting investigations in Romania and Spain, in a case involving a fraud in public procurement of 10 million Euros. EPPO specifies in a statement that it is about European funds for the modernization of the water infrastructure and the improvement of energy efficiency. Several searches have been carried out so far in Hunedoara county (west), at a hospital and another public institution, thee beneficiaries of the funds, as well as in the Spanish region of Andalusia. The European prosecutors show that a group of companies from Romania, which also included a company from Spain, presented false documents and statements in order to receive the contracts for the execution of the works. (LS)

     

  • June 7, 2024

    June 7, 2024

    Elections – In Romania, Friday is the last day of the first electoral campaign in 2024. Citizens with the right to vote are expected, on Sunday, to go to the polls to choose both their representatives in the future European Parliament and in the local authorities. According to the data of the Permanent Electoral Authority, over 200,000 candidates have tried, starting from May 10, to convince voters to vote them. The oldest candidate is 100 years old, and the youngest is just over 23 years old. 11,386 people are running for mayoral positions. All in all, 207,389 candidates have registered for all the positions of local, county and municipal councilors, mayors and presidents of county councils. For the European Parliament elections, 12 political parties and electoral alliances and four independent candidates have registered, i.e. a total of 494 candidates, of whom the Romanians with the right to vote must choose 33 that will represent Romania in the European Parliament. The electoral campaign will end on Saturday morning, at 7:00 a.m.

     

    Relations – The Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Federation in Romania, Vladimir Lipaev, was received at the Romanian Foreign Ministry by the Secretary of State Ana Tinca, for the presentation of the copies of the accreditation letters. The representative of the Romanian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Russian Federation is solely responsible for the current state of bilateral relations and reminded the Russian diplomat that Romania condemns the war of aggression against Ukraine, which represents a brutal violation of international law, including the UN Charter. Vladimir Lipaev is a career diplomat. He has most recently been ambassador to Estonia, from where he was expelled in 2023.

     

    Gaza – 17 heads of state, including the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, have signed a joint statement asking Israel and Hamas to make any possible compromise for the ceasefire in Gaza. The call came after dozens of Palestinians died in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted 30 Hamas fighters that were hiding in a school, along with displaced people. The US State Department said that, although the Hamas fighters are known to be mixing with civilians, Washington is waiting for more information about the raid. Meanwhile, related to the ceasefire plan recently presented by the US President Joe Biden, the Hamas group claimed that it had not received any written commitment regarding any truce.

     

    Salary – Almost 1,900,000 employees in Romania will receive increased salaries by 284 lei (57 Euros) net value, from July 1, after the Romanian Government approved the increase of the gross minimum wage from 3,300 lei (about 660 Euros) to 3,700 lei (approximately 740 Euros) and raised from 200 lei (approximately 40 Euros) to 300 lei (almost 60 Euros) the monthly amount exempted from the payment of the income tax. The executive believes that this approach will have positive effects on economic growth, the purchasing power of employees and will contribute to the reduction of undeclared work. However, the decision does not apply to employees in agriculture and the food industry, as legal provisions in force apply to these categories. The government representatives said that this increase is a step towards the adoption, from November, of the minimum wage at the European level.

     

    Football–Romania’s national football team meets, this evening, in Bucharest, the team of Liechtenstein, in its last training match before the European Championship in Germany. On Tuesday, also in Bucharest, and also in a friendly match, the Romanian footballers drew 0-0 with the team from neighboring Bulgaria. In Group E of Euro 2024, Romania will meet Ukraine, on June 17, in Munich, then Belgium, on June 22, in Cologne, and Slovakia, on June 26, in Frankfurt. Officials of the Football Federation in Bucharest say that they are counting on a massive presence of Romanian supporters at matches, whether they come from the country, settled in Germany or in other countries of Western Europe. Romania last participated in a continental final tournament in 2016, and in a World Cup in 1998.

     

    Tennis– The pair Elena Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk (Romania/Ukraine) qualified for the semifinals of the doubles event of the Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros. The Romanian player and her colleague reached the semifinals after the withdrawal of their opponents from the quarterfinals, the Russians Mirra Andreeva and Vera Zvonareva. Today, in the semifinals, Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostiuk meet the Italian team Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, seeded 11. (LS)

  • June 6, 2024 UPDATE

    June 6, 2024 UPDATE

     

    STATEMENT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis is one of the 17 heads of state to sign a joint statement pleading for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It is time for the war to end and this deal is the necessary starting point, the statement reads. The signatories call on both parties to agree to the US president Joe Biden’s plan, which provides for a 6-week ceasefire in a first stage, accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from the densely populated areas of Gaza, and a hostage-prisoner exchange. In a second stage, whose details are yet to be set, a permanent end of hostilities and the release of all hostages would take place.

     

    WAGES The government of Romania Thursday approved an increase of national minimum wages to roughly EUR 740 as of July 1. Over 1.8 million employees are estimated to benefit from this measure. The EUR 40 tax deduction for minimum wages has also been raised to EUR 60. The government also passed a bill amending the Romanian Citizenship Act. According to the justice ministry, the measure was required in order to modernize the current legislative framework, to facilitate Romania’s participation in the US Visa Waiver programme, and to help complete benchmarks in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The new provisions concern the digitization of procedures, so that the application stages may be followed online, the introduction of a citizenship card, and the use of biometric identifiers such as face and fingerprints.

     

    D-DAY Scores of heads of state and government celebrated in Paris on Thursday the 80th anniversary of the Allied Normandy landings, a decisive moment in defeating Nazi Germany in WWII. The US president, Joe Biden, said Ukraine was invaded by a tyrant and promised his country and NATO would stand strong with Kyiv for as long as necessary in this conflict initiated by Russia. He vowed that the free world would not “surrender to bullies.” Attending the ceremonies in France were also King Charles and the French president Emanuel Macron.  They paid tribute to the 73,000 British troops who took part in the landings. Also present were WWII veterans, many of them over 100 years of age. Locals as well as lots of tourists were in attendance. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was not invited to take part because of his role in the invasion of Ukraine.

     

    VOTE Polling stations opened on Thursday in the Netherlands, the first country to vote in the elections for the European Parliament due over June 6 and 9. Roughly 370 million people are expected to vote in all the 27 EU member states in the following days. Analysts are forecasting a rise of far-right and Euro-sceptical parties amid frustrations caused by the rising cost of living, migration and green policies that are getting more and more unpopular. Like in most EU countries, in Romania the vote for the European Parliament is due on Sunday, concurrently with the local elections. Romania gets 33 seats in the European Parliament.

     

    BOOK FAIR Until June 16th, Romania will be attending the 83rd edition of the Madrid Book Fair with a national stand and 20 literary events. This has been Romania’s 13th participation in this large-scale event staged by the Romanian Cultural Institute through the National Book Centre and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Madrid, with support from the Ministry of Culture and the Romanian Embassy in Spain. Among the protagonists of the events there are writers Gabriela Adameşteanu, Eugen Barz, Aura Christi, Nichita Danilov, Cristian Fulaş, Miguel Gane, Stejărel Olaru, Radu Paraschivescu, Radmila Popovici, Andreea Răsuceanu and Radio Romania Journalist Corina Sabău.

     

    TENNIS The Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostyuk qualified without playing in the semis of the doubles contest in Roland Garros as Russians Mirra Andreeva and Vera Zvonareva failed to attend the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Ruse and Kostyuk have won a check of EUR 148,000 and 780 WTA points. This is the second Grand Slam semi-final for Ruse and Kostyuk after the Australian Open last year. In the semis Ruse and her partner will be playing the all-Italian pair, Jasmine Paolini/Sara Errani.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football team will be up against Lichtenstein in Bucharest on Friday night in their last training game before the European Championship in Germany. In another friendly on Tuesday our footballers managed a goalless draw against neighbouring Bulgaria. In Group E of Euro 2024, Romania will be playing Ukraine on June 17 in Munich, Belgium on June 22 in Cologne and Slovakia in Frankfurt 4 days later. Officials of the football federation in Bucharest say they expect a large number of Romanian football fans to attend, whether residents in Germany or in other Western European countries. Romania’s last participation in a European football tournament was in 2016 and in the World Cup in 1998. (AMP, bill)

  • Romania, before the local and European elections

    Romania, before the local and European elections

    Almost 19 million Romanians with the right to vote are expected to go to the polls on Sunday, June 9, when the elections for the European Parliament take place, as well as the local elections for the appointment of mayors, of the presidents of County Councils and of the municipal and local councilors. For this double election, the Bucharest administration is organizing almost 19,000 polling stations in the country and 915 abroad. Approximately 370 million citizens from the 27 EU member states are expected to elect their representatives in the EP. The most voters are in Germany, over 65 million, followed by those in France, 50.7 million and Italy, 47.3 million. In this ranking, Romania is on 6th position.

     

    According to the Statistical Office of the EU, Romania ranks 13th in terms of the number of people who could vote for the first time after reaching the required age, with over a million young people. The ballots for the local and European Parliament elections have already been sent to the polling stations in the country and abroad. 18 million were distributed in Romania, while 2.5 million abroad. The President of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă, explained that Romanians cannot vote in the country with a simple passport, but with an identity card or another equivalent document.

     

    At the same time, he briefly explained the voting procedure: “At 7:00 a.m. all polling stations will be ready for the voting process. The Romanians abroad will receive only one ballot, for the European Parliament elections. In the country, voters will receive five ballots, if they vote in the locality where they reside, and they have the right to vote for the local and European Parliament elections. They will place each of the five ballots in the five specially designated and inscribed ballot boxes and then leave the polling station.”

     

    Romanians who are not in the country on Sunday can vote in the European Parliament elections at any polling station abroad, the Foreign Ministry reported. The institution recommends that they should identify the nearest polling station on the mae.ro website and have a valid identity card. The distribution of the 915 polling stations organized abroad, a figure two times higher compared to the previous European Parliament elections, was directly proportional to the number of Romanian citizens in each country.

     

    The most stations will be in Italy, 150, followed by Spain, 147, and Great Britain, 104. There are also places where polling stations have not been established, either because the Romanian military personnel were withdrawn, or because the diplomatic mission was closed or moved, as is the case in Afghanistan, Mali, Sudan, Libya, and also in Rostov-on-Don, in Russia, and Odessa, in Ukraine. The first country where the polling stations will be opened is New Zealand, on Saturday at 10 p.m. Romanian time, and the electoral process abroad will take place depending on the time zone for 34 hours. The last stations will close on Monday morning, when voting closes on the West Coast of the US and in Canada, in Vancouver. (LS)

  • June 3, 2024 UPDATE

    June 3, 2024 UPDATE

     

    ELECTIONS This is the last week of campaign ahead of the European Parliament and local elections slated for this Sunday. Some 19 million Romanians are expected to go to the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. 915 stations have been set up abroad, twice as many as for 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. Polling station presidents can opt to extend the voting process until midnight, if there are still people queuing in 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. Romania will also host presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in December.

     

    DEFENCE ‘The EU’s strategic approach to the Black Sea region must include support for the countries in the region, which are facing hybrid threats and the spill-over of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,’ the Romanian defence minister, Angel Tîlvăr, said on Monday at a meeting with the interim chief of the European Commission representation in Romania, Mara Roman. According to the defence ministry, Angel Tilvar highlighted the support provided by Romania to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova. The participants emphasised the increasingly important role played by the European Commission in supporting EU member states in the defence and security area, and the need to further develop the relations between the EU and NATO.

     

    BANKING The foreign currency reserves of the National Bank of Romania reached a new all-time record, over EUR 65 bln at the end of May, up 4.1% compared to the previous month. According to the central bank, Romania’s international reserves (foreign currency plus gold) are currently around EUR 72.2 bln, 3.5% more than in April. The National Bank also announced that the payments for the public debt due in June amount to nearly EUR 148 mln.

     

    FLOODS 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 province of Udine (northeast). Searches for the third missing person continue. The young people were bathing in Natisone despite the ban, when water levels suddenly rose. Following the information sent by the Italian authorities, the Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed that two of the deceased were Romanian nationals, and conveyed its condolences to the bereaved families. Consular office representatives are constantly in touch with the local authorities in order to obtain information regarding the search operations for the third missing person, as well as with the families of the deceased citizens, and are 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.

     

    DIPLOMACY Romania is and will remain a supporter of Montenegro’s EU accession efforts, the Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu said in Bucharest on Monday, as part of a joint statement with her counterpart from Montenegro, Filip Ivanovic. The Romanian official added that the Western Balkans were a region of strategic importance, and political and security developments there have a direct impact on the security and prosperity of Europe as a whole. In this context, the two officials signed an Action Plan for cooperation between Romania’s and Montenegro’s foreign ministries in 2024-2025. ‘Montenegro and Romania have long-established friendship relations and are committed to further developing them,” Filip Ivanovic said in turn, adding that this commitment translated in the Action Plan for cooperation and thanking Romania for its support.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team is playing Bulgaria on Tuesday and Liechtenstein on Friday, June 7, in two friendly matches ahead of the European Championship due 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 Cologne, and finally Slovakia on June 26, in Frankfurt. Romania last took part in a European Championship in 2016 in France. (AMP)

  • The Week in Review 27-31.05.2024

    The Week in Review 27-31.05.2024

    Waiting for the first election in 2024

     

    This year, all four possible types of elections are held in Romania. And the first elections will be held on June 9, namely the combined local and European Parliament elections. 207,389 people aspire to the chance of occupying the seat of mayor, local or county councilor, County Council president or MEP. The youngest candidate is 23 years old, the oldest 100 years, Toni Greblă, the president of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, announced in a press conference on Tuesday. Voters will receive five ballots each and will be able to cast their vote until 10:00 p.m. local time. Under special conditions, the vote can be extended even until midnight. There are 3,186 mayoral positions throughout the country. And for the European Parliament elections, there are 14 candidates per seat: Romania will have 33 MEPs, just like in the current mandate. All Romanians over the age of 18, or who turn 18 on the election day, have the right to vote. 18,025,324 people are registered in the electoral register, of which 942,730 are Romanians residing abroad. 18,968 polling stations will be opened in the country, and a record number of 915 abroad. Of the 915 sections, most will be in countries where there are more Romanian citizens. There will be 150 polling stations in Italy, 147 in Spain, 104 polling stations in Great Britain, 87 in Germany, 67 polling stations in France and the Principality of Monaco, 52 in the Republic of Moldova, and 45 polling stations in the USA. In the local elections, you can vote only in Romania and only in the locality where voters have their domicile or residence. On the other hand, for the European Parliament elections one can vote anywhere, in the country or abroad.

     

    Budget deficit

     

    Romania’s budget deficit rose to 3.24% of the Gross Domestic Product after the first four months of this year. According to the data published this week by the Finance Ministry, the State had revenues of almost 183 billion lei (almost 37 billion Euros), but the expenses were approximately 240 billion (about 48 billion Euros), by over 57 billion lei more. According to the Finance Ministry, the April deficit was also influenced by the advance payment of pensions before the May 1st and the Easter mini holidays. Expressed as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, the expenses for this year registered a 2% increase compared to the same period of 2023, the ministry officials also stated. Romania’s budget this year is based on a deficit of 5% of the GDP, down from last year. On the other hand, in March, Romanians made 70% more new consumer loans compared to the same period of last year, and in the last 12 months lending to the population increased by more than 8%, according to the National Bank data. This trend of credit growth is normal as inflation and, implicitly, interest rates decrease.

     

    Day of Romanians Everywhere

    President Klaus Iohannis urged the preservation of Romanian identity, language and traditions, in a message on the occasion of Romanians Everywhere Day, celebrated since 2015, on the last Sunday of May. The head of state emphasized that it is necessary for the diaspora to remain a strong voice, heard both in Bucharest and in other capitals of the world. The government will continue to support Romanians abroad, declared Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who announced, among other things, that in July the agreement will be signed so that Romanians in Spain can have dual citizenship, and by the end of the year Romania will fully join the Schengen area. For their part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, recalled that the well-being and security of Romanian citizens abroad, as well as the permanent dialogue with the diaspora, must be priorities of Romanian diplomacy. The Day of Romanians Everywhere was marked by events hosted by important cultural institutions in Bucharest, within the “Here-There” Festival, in which more than 500 Romanians from the diaspora and historical communities, as well as from the country, were expected to participate. The Day of Romanians Everywhere is a form of recognition of the importance that the Romanian state gives to Romanian communities living outside the country’s borders.

    The last game of the Golden Generation

    On May 25, Romania’s Golden Generation in football played “For the last time together”. It was against the World Legends team coached by the famous José Mourinho, which it beat 3-2 after being beaten 2-0. The national team that brought so much joy to Romanians at the 1994 World Cup filled up a stadium, the National Arena being stormed by the more than 50 thousand ticket payers who came to pay tribute to those who, 30 years ago, established the highest national team performance – 5th place at the World Cup in the United States. The anniversary game was led by Ion Crăciunescu, the most highly awarded Romanian referee in history. Famous former Romanian internationals such as Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu, Miodrag Belodedici, Dan Petrescu, Ilie Dumitrescu, Florin Răducioiu, or Marius Lăcătuș were not absent from the field. In the world team that came to Bucharest for the match, other exceptional names – the Brazilian Rivaldo, the French Karembeu, the Bulgarian Stoichkov, or the Portuguese Nuno Gomes! The older Romanians revived memories, and for the generations coming after them was a memorable experience – noted the publication Gazeta Sporturilor about the farewell match of the footballers who wrote history for Romania.

  • May 29, 2024 UPDATE

    May 29, 2024 UPDATE

    Elections – The president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă, has made a series of clarifications about the ballot on 9th of June, when Romanian voters are casting their votes in the local and European Parliament elections, held on the same day for the first time. Over 200,000 candidates have registered in the competition for the local elections and 494 for the European Parliament. He said there will be almost 19,000 polling stations around the country and 915 abroad, double compared to the previous elections. The foreign ministry sent as early as last week the materials needed for the voting process to the Romanian diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. The list of voting stations abroad is available on the foreign ministry’s internet page in the section dedicated to the European Parliament elections. In another move, the Central Electoral Bureau said it would provide real-time updates online about voter turnout on election day.

     

    Measles – Romania has recorded over 16,500 new measles cases and 16 casualties in the last year, said the Public Health Institute in Bucharest. Most infections were reported in the centre of the country and in the capital city. The World Health Organization has published a report warning that measles cases are growing at an alarming rate around the world, amid a drop in vaccination rates. At over 60,000, the number of cases recorded in Europe this year is higher than in all of 2023. More than 56,000 cases were reported in the first three months of the year alone, as well as 4 deaths. According to the World Health Organization, Romania has the 5th highest rate of measles infections in Europe and the highest in the European Union, with some 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

     

    Bookfest – The 17th edition of the Bookfest International Book Fair was officially opened on Wednesday in Bucharest, in a ceremony attended by high-ranking officials from Romania and the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population). The fair brings together 200 exhibitors and 150 publishing houses from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, the guest of honor this year. Until Sunday, lovers of the written word will be able to attend over 400 events: book launches, debates, thematic workshops, games for children and a raffle with surprise prizes. A project co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, Bookfest International Book Fair is organized by the Association of Romanian Book Publishers. At the previous international editions, the guest countries were: Spain, Hungary, France, the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, the United States, Great Britain, Japan and Italy. Bookfest has local editions in Timisoara (west), Cluj-Napoca (north-west), Târgu Mures, Brasov (center) and another international edition in Chişinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova.

     

    Emissions – The European Council and the European Parliament adopted the final form of the zero-emissions industry law, which offers advantages for investments in clean technologies. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, through this document, the EU aims to obtain, by 2030, at least 40% of the production of clean technologies that it needs to be done on the territory of the EU. In order to reduce emissions, the law also provides for carbon dioxide storage projects, and European companies that produce oil and gas have very clear obligations to ensure these deposits for injection. The target is 50 million tons of carbon dioxide injected into these deposits by 2030. And, as Romania is the second European producer, domestic companies have the obligation to make available deposits for the injection of 9 million cubic meters.

     

    Chişinău – The visit of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to the Republic of Moldova is “a strong sign of support”, the Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Wednesday. During a press conference with Antony Blinken, she thanked the United States and other partners for the support given to the Republic of Moldova in order to strengthen energy security, modernize the agricultural sector and support exports. “Through unity and with the support of our partners, we will stand by our people and move forward,” Maia Sandu said.

     

    Acquittal – In Romania, the High Court of Cassation and Justice definitively acquitted the former Economy Minister, Adriean Videanu, and the businessman Ioan Niculae for setting up an organized crime group and for embezzlement in the Romgaz case. The damage was estimated by the prosecutors at over 60 million Euros. The defendants had also received an acquittal at the trial court, in December 2022, on the grounds that “the fact does not exist”, and on Wednesday, the panel of five judges rejected, with a majority, the appeals submitted by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism – DIICOT and the Romgaz Company. DIICOT claimed that Ioan Niculae’s company would have illegally received gas from Romania’s domestic production at very low prices, i.e. approximately a quarter of the market price. (LS)

  • May 19, 2024 UPDATE

    May 19, 2024 UPDATE

     

    CROATIA Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu Sunday congratulated Andrej Plenkovic, who was reconfirmed for a 3rd time as prime minister of Croatia. Marcel Ciolacu voiced his confidence that the Romanian-Croatian relationship will be further strengthened, as will relations within the EU and NATO. Following April’s elections in Croatia, PM Andrej Plenkovic’s party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 61 out of the 151 seats in Parliament, significantly above the 42 won by the Social Democratic Party. Andrej Plenkovic has been the prime minister of Croatia since October 2016.

     

    FORUM The 8th annual Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum will take place in Bucharest in the coming days. The event is organised by New Strategy Center, a Romanian think tank, with support from the national defence and foreign ministries and from the NATO Public Diplomacy Division. The conference focuses on the situation in Ukraine, as the scope and intensity of Russian attacks threaten the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state and the security of Europe on the whole. Political leaders, security experts and civil society representatives will try to identify means to help Ukraine withstand the Russian invasion.

     

    OIL Romania’s crude oil output dropped 3.4% in the first quarter of 2024, while imports went down 15.1% compared to the corresponding period in 2023. According to the National Statistics Institute, in Q1 2024 Romania produced over 682,000 tonnes of equivalent oil less than in the corresponding period of 2023, while crude imports exceeded 1.7 mln toe. According to the National Strategy and Forecast Commission, Romania’s crude output will be on a downward trend until 2026, with an average annual drop of 2.2%, as a result of the natural decline in deposits. On the other hand, the Commission predicts an increase in crude imports by an annual 4.1%.

     

    NUCLEAR The Cernavodă nuclear power plant’s Unit 1 has been shut down for regular maintenance works on Sunday, Nuclearelectrica announced. The company promised the works will be safe for the power plant personnel, for citizens and for the environment. The Cernavodă nuclear power plant, the only one in Romania, has 2 operational units with an installed production capacity of 700 MW. The 2 reactors in Cernavoda cover around 20% of Romania’s energy consumption. The plant uses the Canadian technology CANDU 6 (Canadian Deuterium Uranium), using natural uranium as a fuel.

     

    ROWING Romania’s Mihai Chiruţă qualified into the quarter-finals of the men’s skiff event in the last Olympic qualifier regatta held in Lucerne, Switzerland on Sunday. The Romanian rower had the 4th best time in the 5 series. The quarter-finals and the semis are scheduled on Monday, with the final to be held on Tuesday. The final’s top 2 rowers qualify for the 2024 Olympics. Romania, with 11 boats, is already the nation with the most teams qualified for the Paris Olympics.

     

    HANDBALL CS Dinamo Bucharest won Romania’s men’s handball Cup after defeating CSM Constanţa 23-19, on Sunday in the final. Dinamo also won the championship without any matches lost this season. This is the 8th Cup won by Dinamo, as against 2 for CSM Constanţa. (AMP)

  • End of European Parliament legislature

    End of European Parliament legislature

    In Strasbourg, the last plenary session of the current European Parliament (EP) has come to an end. The EP adopted several important directives. One of them establishes new rules that ensure that workers on online platforms have a fair professional status. They guarantee that a person working on online platforms cannot be fired based on a decision made by an algorithm or automated decision-making system. Instead, digital work platforms must ensure human oversight of important decisions that directly affect the people working on platforms.

     

    Also, new rules were adopted regarding the violation of traffic rules abroad. They expand the list of traffic violations committed by non-resident drivers. The list thus includes new elements, such as dangerous parking and overtaking, crossing the continuous white line, and leaving the scene of an accident. With around 40% of cross-border traffic offences currently going unpunished, MEPs are trying to get EU countries to cooperate more in finding foreign drivers who break the rules. The new rules oblige national authorities to answer the requests from another EU country without delay and within two months at most from collecting the necessary information.

     

    At the same time, the EP has given the green light to new rules forcing companies to reduce their negative impact on human rights and the environment. Slavery, child labor, labor exploitation, loss of biodiversity, pollution or destruction of natural heritage are among the negative effects targeted by the directive. The norms will apply to EU and non-EU companies and parent companies with more than 1,000 employees and a worldwide turnover of more than 450 million Euros. On the other hand, the first European norms on combating violence against women and domestic violence were also approved. The directive calls for stricter laws against cyber-violence, better support for victims and measures to prevent rape.

     

    The EP also adopted a revised law to improve air quality, which imposes stricter limits for 2030 for several air pollutants. Thus, the air quality indices will be comparable in all member states and access to justice and the right to compensation for citizens will be ensured if the rules are violated. Other adopted directives establish that the maximum limit of cash payments is 10,000 Euros, establish that agricultural farms with less than 10 hectares will not be penalized if they do not comply with the common agricultural policy and that certain types of single-use plastic packaging will be prohibited starting from January 1, 2030. We remind you that, between June 6-9, European Parliament elections will take place in the EU states. In Romania, they will be on June 9, together with the local ones. (LS)