Radio România Internațional

Tag: Enescu

  • September 17, 2024 UPDATE

    September 17, 2024 UPDATE

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    EUROPEAN COMMISSION – The EC president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled the new college of commissioners. Romania’s nominee for one of the 27 European Commissioner posts, the former minister for EU funding and incumbent MEP Roxana Mînzatu, was appointed Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness and will also be the new Commissioner for Skills, Education, Quality Jobs and Social Rights. In Bucharest, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu hailed the fact that Romania obtains for the first time since joining the EU  the position of Commission vice-president, and also the fact that Roxana Mînzatu will coordinate a major portfolio with a budget of 235 billion euros – a fifth of the Union’s budget. The team proposed by Ursula von der Leyen will next be interviewed by the European Parliament. Given the length of the procedures, the new commission might begin their term in office later than scheduled, possibly as late as December.

     

    COOPERATION – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies  passed the draft law on the Romania – Moldova cooperation agreement in the military field. According to the document, the two states will support each other in all aspects regarding the preparation and participation in multinational missions and operations under the auspices of the UN, OSCE, NATO or the EU. Deputy Daniel Gheorghe said that the Chisinau administration must give up the neutrality that keeps it captive in the ex-Soviet space, and that the agreement with Romania is a step towards standardization with the North Atlantic area.

     

    FLOODS – The government of Romania approved direct financial aid for the victims of the recent floods in the east of the country, which left 7 people dead and nearly 6,500 homes damaged.  People are still accommodated in the temporary sites arranged by the local authorities, and interior ministry personnel are helped by emergency inspectorate staff from other counties, who have brought over intervention vehicles and large capacity pumps to take out the water and mud from the flooded houses. Meanwhile, water and food supplies are being distributed to the victims, both from the state reserve and from private citizens and companies that have donated clothes, footwear, blankets and mattresses. The Red Cross also dispatched trucks with water and food to the area.

     

    DIPLOMACY – Romania will continue to stand by the Republic of Moldova on a bilateral level, on a European level in the negotiations for EU accession, but also in concrete aspects related to economic development, infrastructure consolidation and, above all, energy security, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu said Tuesday in Chisinau. The head of Romanian diplomacy co-chaired the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Partnership Platform for the Republic of Moldova. She said that the Platform was created with the goal of supporting both financially and sectorally the Republic of Moldova, seriously affected by the consequences of the war waged by Russia in Ukraine. In this context, a Joint Declaration of the Foreign Ministers of Romania, France, Germany and the Republic of Moldova was adopted, reconfirming the important role of this cooperation format and the joint commitment to support the Republic of Moldova in the European integration process, as well as in the efforts for economic development and consolidation of resilience. In Chisinau, the head of the Romanian diplomacy was received, along with the other ministers, by the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu.

     

    FUGITIVES – The Constitutional Court of Romania postponed, for Thursday, the discussions on the notification lodged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice with respect to the so-called Fugitives Act. The law endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies in November 2023 stipulates that citizens subject to a final court sentence who fail to turn themselves in within 7 days to be incarcerated are to be declared fugitives and receive a further 6 month to 3 year sentence. The supreme court believes the law comes against the right to fair trial and individual freedom. Sorin Oprescu, a former mayor of Bucharest, and Alina Bica, a former chief of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism Offences, are some of the high-profile officials who managed to leave the country in order to escape a prison sentence. Italy and Greece are the countries preferred by the fugitives.

     

    CLIMATE – Romania plans to be carbon neutral by 2045, as opposed to its previous target, 2050, according to a new version of the National Integrated Plan on Energy and Climate Change. Bucharest also intends to cover 38% of the country’s total energy demand from renewable sources by 2030. The energy ministry announced on Tuesday additional policies and measures to increase the share of renewable energy, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially and to implement innovating solutions in all economic sectors. The revised plan includes measures to cut emissions in essential sectors such as energy, transport, housing and industry, and aims to implement advanced technologies such as the use of renewable hydrogen.

     

    ENESCU – The 19th edition of the “George Enescu” International Classical Music Competition takes place in Bucharest until September 27, under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidency. Enrolled in this year’s competition are a record 667 musicians aged 13 to 35. The “George Enescu” International Competition, initiated in 1958, is one of the most important events of this kind in the world, providing a platform for rising musicians to prove their skills. Over the years, the competition has consolidated Romania’s standing in the global cultural arena, and is the only competition in the country affiliated to the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is one of the co-producers of the event.

     

     

     

     

     

  • September 17, 2024

    September 17, 2024

    EUROPEAN COMMISSION The EC president Ursula von der Leyen today unveiled the new college of commissioners. Romania’s nominee for one of the 27 European Commissioner posts, the former minister for EU funding and incumbent MEP Roxana Mînzatu, was appointed Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness and will also be the new Commissioner for Skills, Education, Quality Jobs and Social Rights. The team proposed by Ursula von der Leyen will next be interviewed by the European Parliament. Given the length of the procedures, the new commission might begin their term in office later than scheduled, possibly as late as December.

     

     

    FLOODS The government of Romania approved direct financial aid for the victims of the recent floods in the east of the country, which left 7 people dead and nearly 6,500 homes damaged. Hydrologists warn that the risk of flash floods is not over, and have issued code red, orange and yellow alerts for the counties already affected by heavy rainfalls and floods. People are still accommodated in the temporary sites arranged by the local authorities, and interior ministry personnel are helped by emergency inspectorate staff from other counties, who have brought over intervention vehicles and large capacity pumps to take out the water and mud from the flooded houses. Meanwhile, water and food supplies are being distributed to the victims, both from the state reserve and from private citizens and companies that have donated clothes, footwear, blankets and mattresses. The Red Cross also dispatched trucks with water and food to the area.

     

     

    LAW The Constitutional Court of Romania is to review today, after several postponements, a notification lodged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice with respect to the so-called Fugitives Act. The law endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies in November 2023 stipulates that citizens subject to a final court sentence who fail to turn themselves in within 7 days to be incarcerated are to be declared fugitives and receive a further 6 month to 3 year sentence. The supreme court believes the law comes against the right to fair trial and individual freedom. Sorin Oprescu, a former mayor of Bucharest, and Alina Bica, a former chief of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism Offences, are some of the high-profile officials who managed to leave the country in order to escape a prison sentence. Italy and Greece are the countries preferred by the fugitives.

     

     

    CLIMATE Romania plans to be carbon neutral by 2045, as opposed to its previous target, 2050, according to a new version of the National Integrated Plan on Energy and Climate Change. Bucharest also intends to cover 38% of the country’s total energy demand from renewable sources by 2030. The energy ministry announced on Tuesday additional policies and measures to increase the share of renewable energy, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially and to implement innovating solutions in all economic sectors. The revised plan includes measures to cut emissions in essential sectors such as energy, transport, housing and industry, and aims to implement advanced technologies such as the use of renewable hydrogen.

     

     

    ENESCU The 19th edition of the “George Enescu” International Classical Music Competition takes place in Bucharest until September 27, under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidency. Enrolled in this year’s competition are a record 667 musicians aged 13 to 35. The “George Enescu” International Competition, initiated in 1958, is one of the most important events of this kind in the world, providing a platform for rising musicians to prove their skills. Over the years, the competition has consolidated Romania’s standing in the global cultural arena, and is the only competition in the country affiliated to the World Federation of International Music Competitions. The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is one of the co-producers of the event.

     

     

    FESTIVAL The 12th edition of Bucharest Music Film Festival continues until September 22nd. The event has been redesigned to include concerts in a variety of music genres, from classical to jazz, film music and pop fusion, and it brings together hundreds of celebrated artists and orchestras. The festival is organised by the Bucharest City Hall’s cultural centre ARCUB, and is part of the Days of Bucharest series that marks 565 years since Bucharest was first mentioned in official documents. (AMP)

  • August 31, 2024

    August 31, 2024

     

    LANGUAGE The Romanian Language Day is celebrated today both in Romania and in the R. of Moldova, where this holiday was first introduced, to mark a return to the Romanian language and Latin alphabet in the former Soviet Republic. Special events are held on both sides of the river Prut. In a message posted on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis said the Romanian language is not just a set of words, but a means to pass on an invaluable cultural heritage that we are leaving for the future generations to cherish and enrich. As Mr. Iohannis emphasised, since last year the Romanian language has also been the official language of Moldova, after a law was promulgated by president Maia Sandu, replacing the phrase “Moldovan language” with the phrase “Romanian language.” This has been essential to restoring a historic fact, namely that Romanians living on both sides of the river Prut share a common language, culture and history, Iohannis said. According to him, Romanian is studied in 59 universities in 37 countries in the world. Public reading sessions, art exhibitions, film screenings, music recitals are organised by Romanian cultural institutes around the world to mark the Romanian Language Day.

     

    VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, signed in Chişinău on Saturday a joint declaration on bilateral cooperation to consolidate resilience in the Republic of Moldova. The document defines and strengthens bilateral cooperation in this critical area for consolidating and safeguarding democracy and stability in the neighbouring state. President Maia Sandu said Romania had invested massively in the development of Moldova and remained the staunchest supporter of its EU accession efforts at international level. In turn, Klaus Iohannis promised that Bucharest’s commitment to supporting Chisinau in any crisis, including in the energy sector, is firmer than ever. According to Iohannis, the hybrid war waged against the Republic of Moldova and its citizens is growing more intense and taking ever more severe forms. Romania will be the most reliable and active supporter of Moldova’s EU accession efforts, and I encourage all international partners to provide consistent and long-term support to this country and its citizens, Iohannis added. His visit to Chişinău took takes place as Romania and Moldova celebrate the Romanian Language Day on August 31.

     

    RATING Fitch Rating Friday reconfirmed Romania’s long- and short-term foreign-currency government debt rating at BBB-/F3 with a stable outlook, the finance ministry reports. According to the institution, the decision is supported by the capital inflow from the European Union, which sustains the country’s income convergence, foreign financing and macroeconomic stability, as well as a positive trend in the GDP per capita and in governance and human development indices, which are above ‘BBB’ category peers. The international institution’s decision reconfirms the confidence in the measures taken by the Romanian government to ensure public funding sustainability, the finance minister Marcel Boloş said. On the other hand, these strengths are balanced against large budget and current account deficits relative to peers, high budget rigidities, and a fairly high net external debtor position. The agency expects Romania’s economy to grow by 2.5% this year.

     

    ENESCU As of today, the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest is hosting the 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition, one of the best known and most prestigious competitions in international classical music. Until September 27, some of the world’s best performers, as well as up-and-coming artists and orchestras, will come together in Bucharest. Three competitions are held: cello, violin and piano. The novelty of the 2024 edition are the master classes. Held between September 23 and 27, they consist in conducting, violin, piano and cello workshops, coordinated by Maestro Cristian Măcelaru. The world-acclaimed Romanian artist is, among other things, the musical director of the National Orchestra of France, and of the Cincinnati Symphonic Orchestra. The opening concert, the 3 competition finals, 5 recitals given by jury members and by winners of previous editions, as well as the closing concert, will be aired live by Radio Romania Music. At the suggestion of Radio Romania Music, the 2024 George Enescu International Competition’s opening concert is included in the Euroradio Summer Season, one of the most important projects of the European Broadcasting Union, which airs concerts and recitals from the most important European festivals. The George Enescu International Competition was launched in September 1958. Alternating with the George Enescu International Festival, the Competition quickly grew into one of the most valuable events of this kind in Europe, and since 2002 it has been a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. (AMP)

  • August 11, 2024

    August 11, 2024

    Paris – The International Gymnastics Federation has officially confirmed that the Romanian Ana Maria Bărbosu receives the bronze medal in the floor final at the Olympic Games in Paris. The confirmation comes after the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), following the explanatory reports submitted by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. TAS allowed the Romanian gymnast to obtain the bronze medal, as the appeal filed by the American athlete Jordan Chiles was submitted beyond the regulatory deadline. Thus, the ranking of the floor final was changed, which is why Ana Maria Bărbosu climbed to third place, and the Romanian Sabrina Voinea to fourth. The American gymnast dropped to fifth place. On the other hand, the request made by Sabrina Voinea was rejected. The gold medal went to the Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, while the silver went to the American Simone Biles.

     

    Olympics – On Sunday the Romanian athletes are competing in athletics and wrestling at the Olympic Games in Paris. Romania dropped to 23rd place in the overall ranking, with nine medals: three gold, four silver and two bronze. Today is the last day of the Olympic Games and, this evening, the closing ceremony will take place at the Stade de France. Romania’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony will be Mihaela Cambei, silver medalist in weightlifting. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, the ceremony will not be without surprises and, according to the little information given to the press, the spectators will follow a sci-fi story: beings from space will try to bring back to life the missing Olympic Games. The closing ceremony is also intended to be a relay handover for the Summer Games due in 4 years’ time in Los Angeles.

     

    Earthquake – A 4.7 magnitude earthquake occurred, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, in the west of Romania, in the county of Arad, according to the information published by the National Research and Development Institute for Earth Physics. The earthquake occurred at a depth of five kilometers. This year, the strongest tectonic movement, of magnitude 4.3, took place in Vrancea county (east), in January, at a depth of 74 kilometers, and last year in February, an earthquake of 5.7 occurred in Gorj county (south-west), at a depth of over 6 kilometers.

     

    Untold – The biggest music festival in Romania, Untold, ends on Sunday in Cluj-Napoca (north-west). For four days, over 250 top national and international artists were invited to entertain tens of thousands of fans from all over the world. Among the guest artists are famous performers who have been to Romania before, such as Lenny Kravitz or DJ Salvatore Ganacci, as well as some new comers such as Sam Smith and Burna Boy. The latter is the only African artist who had two sold-out events, two years in a row, at the London Stadium. Numerous law enforcement agents are present in the area, their priority being to maintain order and combat drug trafficking.

     

    Enescu – The 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition starts on August 31, in Bucharest. This year, there was a historic record of entries to the Enescu Competition: 555 young people from 27 countries applied for the three sections of the competition – violin, cello and piano. Out of these, only 149 were selected to participate in the first stage of the competition. Each section will have two elimination stages, the semi-final and the final. The George Enescu International Competition is an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and financed by the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Culture.

     

    Inflation – In Romania, the inflation rate is to decrease towards the end of the year to 4%, a value lower than the one forecasted by the National Bank, namely 4.9%. The downward trend of this indicator will continue in 2025, reaching 3.4% at the end of the year, according to data presented by Governor Mugur Isărescu. He stated that the inflation forecast also took into account possible risks or uncertainties, including the conduct of fiscal and revenue policies, as well as the evolution of energy and food prices. The national bank governor also said that the inflation forecast was also the basis for the recent drop in the reference interest rate. The National Bank has recently reduced, for the second consecutive time, the monetary policy interest rate to the level of 6.5%/year from 6.75% per year. (LS)

  • September 24, 2023

    September 24, 2023


    FISCAL MEASURES – The Bucharest government will set in the upcoming days the final form of the package of fiscal measures for which it plans to take responsibility in Parliament. On Monday, a new meeting of the Economic and Social Council is scheduled, where talks between the executive and the social partners on the topic of fiscal reform will be held. A series of provisions in the new fiscal bill are contested both by trade unions and employers organizations. Criticisms focused, among other things, on the provision that allows employers to offer money instead of meal vouchers or holiday vouchers, while the Council of Foreign Investors claims that the planned taxation of turnover creates the prerequisite of unfair competition.



    CORRUPTION – Dumitru Buzatu, one of the oldest and most influential leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is under preventive arrest for 30 days, as of Saturday, in a case in which he is accused of bribery. President of the Vaslui County Council (east) and leader of the PSD organization in the county, Dumitru Buzatu had been detained by anti-graft prosecutors for receiving a 250 thousand euro bribe to favor a company to obtain a contract. He was a parliamentarian from 1992 until 2012 and was part of the circles of former head of the PSD, Liviu Dragnea, convicted a few years ago. After the arrest Dumitru Buzatu was expelled from the PSD.



    IMF – An International Monetary Fund mission will travel to Bucharest on Monday to assess, until October 4, the Romanian economy. The IMF experts will discuss with the Romanian authorities about economic policies and the latest developments in the field and will have meetings with representatives of the private sector and non-governmental organizations. At the end of the visit to Romania, it is expected that the international experts will present the conclusions in a press conference.



    COMPETITION – An electric car built by a team of students and professors from Cluj-Napoca (north-west) will participate, for the first time, in the most important profile competition in the world, organized in Australia. The event will start next month, on October 22, and will last seven days. The three-wheeled vehicle will be piloted by six students, one at a time, for two hours each. They will cover, in total, more than 3,000 kilometers in difficult conditions, in the desert. The solar vehicle is the third prototype built at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. It is extremely light, is made of carbon fiber and weighs about 200 kilograms.



    ENESCU – The “George Enescu” International Festival, one of the most important international classical music events, comes to a close today, after almost a month of concerts. The theme of the 26th edition of the festival was “Generosity through Music”. On the last day of the festival, the pianist Raluca Ştirbăt and the French violinist David Grimal will perform music by Enescu, in a recital held at the National Art Museum in Bucharest. The festival’s program included over 3,500 of the worlds most famous artists, over 40 orchestras from 16 countries, first performances and educational concerts for children



    HANDBALL – Romanias vice-champion in womens handball, Rapid Bucharest, is playing today at home against the Danish team Herning Ikast. In the previous match, Rapid defeated, also at home, the Polish team Zagblebie. On Saturday evening, the Romanian womens handball champion, CSM Bucharest, was defeated by the Hungarian team Gyor, 27-23, at home, in the Champions League’s Group A. The Romanians suffered their second consecutive failure, after a winning debut. CSM will play its next match on October 1, away from home, against the Swedish team IK Savehof. (EE)

  • September 22, 2023 UPDATE

    September 22, 2023 UPDATE


    MEASURES – After many discussions and negotiations, the government is preparing to assume responsibility in Parliament next week on a series of tax measures. The document aims to reduce public spending and fight tax evasion, tax high profits and big wealth and eliminate some privileges. Some of the provisions are opposed by employers associations and trade unions. On Thursday, over 500 prison workers staged a protest in Bucharest, unhappy with the measures included in the tax and salary package, their working conditions and staff shortages. Representatives of the National Trade Union Bloc held talks with the finance minister Marcel Boloş about the new tax provisions, receiving assurances that the latter will be implemented in a transparent manner and following fair assessment within each institution.



    TRAINING – A detachment of the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), made up of approximately 100 soldiers and four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, arrived on Friday at the 86th Air Base Lieutenant Gheorghe Mociorniţă in Borcea, south-eastern Romania. The American military will carry out Reinforced Air Policing missions, as well as joint training missions with soldiers and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces. The joint air policing and training missions contribute to enhancing the response and deterrence capacity, as well as to strengthening the interoperability between the Romanian and American air forces, according to a press release of the Defense Ministry in Bucharest. The arrival of the American aircraft was announced at the beginning of the month by the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, after fragments of Russian military drones used in the attacks on the Ukrainian ports on the Danube were found on Romania’s territory.



    MEETING – The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the US secretary of state Antony Blinken on Thursday hosted the ministerial meeting entitled Women, Peace and Security at the UN headquarters in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. In her address, Odobescu emphasised the need to involve women in the decision-making processes relating to domestic and international peace and security. She said the subject is all the more important in the context of the war in Ukraine, which substantially affects the women of that country.



    FESTIVAL – The George Enescu International Festival, one of the biggest classical music events in the world, is coming to an end on Sunday. First held in 1958, it is today in its 26th year and its theme this year was Generosity through music. The line-up brought together over 3,500 of the worlds best-known musicians and more than 40 orchestras from 16 different countries, and its programme featured first performances and educational concerts for children.



    BILL – Drivers caught driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol will no longer be able to drive for a period of up to ten years, according to a bill submitted by the Social Democratic Party. The bill also provides for higher penalties for activities related to trafficking in and using psychoactive substances. Using minors in drug-related activities will be considered an aggravating circumstance and a prison sentence can no longer be postponed. The bill will first be debated by the Senate. (EE/CM)



  • September 19, 2023 UPDATE

    September 19, 2023 UPDATE

    UN The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis
    takes part in the UN General Assembly in New York. On Wednesday Iohannis is
    expected to have a national intervention within the session’s general debates. On
    Tuesday, Romania’s Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu participated in the third
    meeting of the trilateral format EU – Saudi Arabia – the Arab League staged
    jointly with Egypt and Jordan on the sidelines of the 78th session
    of the UN General Assembly. According to a communiqué of the Foreign Ministry
    in Bucharest, the format’s main objective is to reignite the Middle East peace
    process and to protect the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine. The head
    of the Romanian diplomacy has voiced her full support for this trilateral
    format and underlined the need for the creation of a credible political horizon
    and the implementation of measures aimed at increasing trust, which could lead
    to overcoming the deadlock in the negotiations. The Romanian Foreign Minister
    has underlined the importance of maintaining the status quo of the Holy Places
    in Jerusalem with the special role of custodian played by Jordan.




    GAS A branch
    of the Romanian company Transgaz has started operating the gas transport system
    in the neighboring Republic of Moldova, including in Transdniester. Analysts in
    Chisinau say this translates as reducing the energy dependency on the Russian
    Federation. The local company Moldovagaz, controlled by the Russian giant
    Gazprom, so far had the monopoly over gas deliveries and transportation in that
    country and had opposed the separation of these two services, as stipulated by the
    Moldovan and European legislation. Transgaz director Ion Sterian has told Radio
    Chisinau that this became possible after Romania had invested 430 million euros
    in the gas transport network. Sterian has given assurances that in the
    following five years new investments will be made in streamlining the gas
    networks and in connecting the households, which do not have access to the
    aforementioned network at present.








    FESTIVAL The George Enescu International Music Festival
    in Bucharest has reached its final week. Until Sunday, the public are invited
    to attend free of charge classical music concerts held in the Festival Square
    near the Romanian Athenaeum, where celebrated orchestras from Romania and the
    Republic of Moldova will accompany famous soloists and instrumentalists. The
    Radio Romania Big Band conducted by Simona Strungaru, will give a concert on
    Friday. On Sunday, the last performance in the Festival will be given by the
    Camerata Regală orchestra with the percussionist Zoli Toth.




    GRAINS Bulgarian
    farmers carry on protests against resuming the imports of Ukrainian grains,
    accepted by the Bulgarian government after the European Commission decided not
    to extend the ban on such imports. In turn, Bucharest continues to allow the
    transit of Ukrainian grains, but has introduced a one-month import restrictions
    until Kyiv comes up with a plan for its exports. The measure persuaded Romanian
    farmers to give up their protests. Poland, Slovakia and Hungary unilaterally
    banned imports of Ukrainian grain, prompting Kyiv to complain against them at
    the World Trade Organisation.




    (bill)

  • 19.09.2023 (mise à jour)

    19.09.2023 (mise à jour)

    ONU – Le président roumain, Klaus Iohannis participe au sommet de la 78e session de l’Assemblée générale de l’Organisation des nations unies à New York. Il doit s’exprimer mercredi dans le cadre des débats généraux de la session. Mardi, la ministre roumaine des Affaires Etrangères, Luminiţa Odobescu, a participé à la troisième réunion du format trilatéral UE – Arabie – Saudite – Ligue des Etats Arabes, organisée avec la participation de l’Egypte et de la Jordanie, en marge de la 78ème session de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU. Dans un communiqué du Ministère roumain des Affaires Etrangères, le principal but de ce format porte sur la relance du processus de paix au Moyen Orient et sur la protection de la perspective des deux Etats, israélien et palestinien. La responsable de Bucarest a exprimé le soutien de la Roumanie à ce format trilatéral, tout en soulignant la nécessité de la mise en place d’un horizon politique crédible et d’une série de mesures censées renforcer la confiance et débloquer les négociations de paix. Luminita Odobescu a par ailleurs plaidé pour le maintien du statu quo sur les lieux saints de Jérusalem, tout en mettant en avant le rôle de gardien de la Jordanie.

    Fiscalité – Au bout de deux mois de négociations entre le PSD et le PNL, le ministre roumain des Finances a soumis enfin au débat public la proposition de loi concernant les nouvelles mesures fiscales et budgétaires. Au terme du nouveau projet, le taux de cotisation des micro-entreprises dont les recettes ne dépassent pas les 60.000 euros sera de 1%, tandis qu’à partir de cette somme il sera de 3%. Le même taux sera appliqué aux entreprises des domaines du logiciel, du juridique ou de l’assistance médicale. Les salariés du BTT et de l’Industrie alimentaire seront tenus pour payer leur contribution à la Sécurité sociale, tandis que les informaticiens devront payer un impôt sur le revenu pour les sommes dépassant les 10.000 lei, soit 2000 euros. Le gouvernement instaure aussi un taux d’imposition minimal sur le chiffre d’affaires dans le cas des grandes compagnies et une taxe supplémentaire d’1% pour les banques. L’Exécutif doit assumer sa responsabilité pour ce nouveau paquet législatif d’ici la fin du mois afin que les mesures soient mises en place à partir du 1 octobre. Selon les autorités, les nouvelles prévisions arriveront à faire baisser le déficit budgétaire, en écartant le risque que le pays se voit priver de milliards d’euros de fonds européens. Les élus de l’USR, d’opposition, ont déclaré déposer une motion de censure visant le paquet de mesures fiscales a annoncé le leader du parti, le député Cătălin Drulă.

    Fermiers – Les
    agriculteurs bulgares ont protesté ce mardi encore contre la reprise des
    importations de céréales ukrainiennes décidée par le gouvernement de Sofia
    suite à la levée de l’embargo par l’UE. Pour sa part, Bucarest a décidé
    d’autoriser de nouveau le transit des céréales ukrainiennes, mais il a mis en
    place une série de restrictions en vigueur un mois durant, le temps que l’Ukraine
    introduise des normes pour contrôler ses exportations. Par conséquent, les
    cultivateurs roumains ont suspendu leurs protestations. Rappelons que la
    Pologne, la Slovaquie et la Hongrie ont décidé à l’unisson de continuer à
    interdire les importations de céréales ukrainiennes en poussant Kiev à dénoncer
    la mesure auprès de l’Organisation mondiale du Commerce.

    Cannabis – Le Sénat de Bucarest a rejeté une proposition de loi censée autoriser la possession d’une quantité de cannabis de trois grammes tout au plus pour usage personnel. Initié par un groupe de députés non affilié, le projet voudrait remplacer les sanctions pénales par des amendes allant de 200 à 600 euros. La proposition sera soumise au vote de la Chambre des députés qui est la chambre décisionnelle dans cette affaire.

    Festival – Le Festival international de musique George Enescu, en est à sa dernière semaine. D’ici et jusqu’à dimanche, le public est attendu à une série de concerts organisés sur la Place du festival, près de l’Athénée roumain. L’entrée est libre et les spectateurs mélomanes pourront écouter des orchestres renommés de Roumanie et de République de Moldavie, accompagnant des solistes célèbres. Le Big Band de la radio sous la baguette de Simona Strungaru sera en concert vendredi soir. Dimanche, le dernier spectacle à l’affiche du festival sera l’orchestre de la Camerata royale qui accompagnera le fameux percussionniste, Zoli Toth.

    Météo – Il fait beau en Roumanie ce mercredi, avec des températures particulièrement élevées. Les maximas de mercredi iront de 22 à 31 degrés. 29 degrés et du soleil à Bucarest aussi.

  • August 30, 2023

    August 30, 2023

    Crevedia – 17 of the almost 60 people injured in Saturdays explosion, from Crevedia, in southern Romania, have been discharged from hospital, and the condition of a few others has improved – according to the latest information provided by the Health Ministry. However, 9 of the injured are in a serious condition. Six are being treated in hospitals abroad, and three in Romania. No other deaths were reported besides the two reported immediately after the LPG station blast. Meanwhile the authorities continue the damage assessment. Data so far shows that, following the explosions followed by a fire, 11 houses were affected, 8 of which were completely destroyed. Intervention teams are present at the scene of the disaster, and the firefighters continue to cool some LPG tanks left in the area. The security perimeter was also extended, because two of the tanks have gas leaks. Meanwhile, prosecutors are collecting documents for several open criminal cases.



    Diplomacy – The Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy continues today in Bucharest, with thematic plenary sessions, attended by guests from the government apparatus. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the themes to be addressed are: the contribution of Romanian diplomacy to the consolidation of the European project, economic development strategies, climate change, green and digital transition, the organization, abroad, of the three rounds of elections in 2024, with an emphasis on the smooth running of elections in the diaspora, the role of the Romanian missions in promoting cultural diplomacy and scientific cooperation. The theme of this years event is A firm foreign policy of Romania: managing challenges and maximizing opportunities. The Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy is traditionally organized every year, close to the Romanian Diplomacy Day, which, starting from 2005, is marked on September 1.



    Fires – Greece is on the 12th day of fighting the fire that broke out in the Dadia National Park, in the northeast of the country, a fire described by the European Union as the worst ever recorded in the community space. The fire is devastating the forest in this park included in the European Natura 2000 network, which shelters numerous birds of prey. 20 people have died so far, and more than 80 hectares of land have burned, France Press new agency writes. A spokesman for the European Commission underlined that 11 planes and a helicopter from the European fleet were mobilized, as well as over 400 firefighters. Romania sent a new 56-strong fire-fighting contingent. They will replace those who intervened in the area in the last nine days. We remind you that Greece has faced numerous wildfires this summer, which the government in Athens attributes to climate change.



    Symposium – On September 22, the 21st edition of the “George Enescu” International Musicology Symposium will take place in Bucharest, as part of the “George Enescu” International Festival and Competition, the organizers have announced today. Founded by the Union of Composers and Musicologists from Romania in 1967, the scientific symposium offers, this year, the opportunity to present valuable studies dedicated to Enescu’s creation as part of two sections. We remind you that the 26th edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival takes place, in Romania, between August 27 and September 24. One of the most important international classical music events worldwide, organized in Bucharest since 1958, the festival’s 2023 edition brings to the public over 3,500 of the worlds most famous artists and over 40 orchestras from 16 countries in 90 concerts.



    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Patricia Ţig has qualified for the second round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the Canadian Rebecca Marino 7-6, 7-6, on Tuesday, at the Flushing Meadows arenas in New York. In the second round, Patricia Ţig will be up against the American Jessica Pegula, world’s number three player. Instead, the Romanians Ana Bogdan and Gabriela Ruse lost in the first round at the US Open. Ana Bogdan was defeated by the American Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-4, and Gabriela Ruse, coming from the qualifications, was defeated by Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-4. Out of the five Romanian players on the main singles draw – Sorana Cîrstea, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan, Patricia Ţig and Gabriela Ruse – only Cîrstea and Ţig won in the first round. Sorana Cîrstea, who defeated the American Kayla Day 6-2, 6-3, will face the Russian Ana Kalinskaia in the second round. (LS)

  • August 8, 2023

    August 8, 2023

    PENSIONS The
    Romanian MPs are expected to interrupt their summer holidays and resume
    activity in order to amend the special pensions law, after some provisions have
    been deemed as unconstitutional, the country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu,
    has said. Ciolacu told a private TV channel the requests made by the
    constitutional judges would be subjected to talks in Brussels between the
    Romanian authorities and the European Commission representatives. Ciolacu has pledged
    to fly to Brussels this month to renegotiate several provisions in the
    country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience as well as the budget target
    of 4.4%. The government in Bucharest would rather the European Executive accepted
    a target of 5% of the GDP. The Prime Minister has explained that in the absence
    of a plan on curbing budget expenses and raising incomes, the budget would
    exceed 6.2%, which might prompt the EU to cut its funds for Romania.






    PILOTS 100 Romanian pilots, who in the past four months defended the NATO air
    space over Lithuania, are coming back home. There were many situations in which
    Russian Sukhoi warplanes were flying dangerously close to the NATO airspace and
    the Romanian pilots were sent to intercept those planes. The Romanians worked
    together with their colleagues from Portugal and NATO is permanently deploying air-force
    personnel and aircraft to that country as Lithuania doesn’t have its own
    fighter jets. Moreover, the area is notorious for the bold attempts of the
    Russian pilots to violate the NATO airspace. 16 years ago Romanian pilots were
    also involved in air policing missions in Lithuania on their upgraded MIG-21
    Lancers.








    SUPPORT
    Romania is ready to offer specialized assistance and support to the National
    Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking
    country, Romania’s National Defence Minister, Angel Tilvar, said in Chisinau
    during the talks he held on Monday with his Moldovan counterpart, Anatolie
    Nosatîi.
    The Moldovan servicemen have recently received from Romania Kevlar helmets,
    bullet-proof vests and all-terrain vehicles. The donation is part of Romania’s
    ongoing efforts to support the upgrading and streamlining of the defence
    structures in the neighbouring state. According to a press release by the
    Defence Ministry in Bucharest, the two officials have also tackled aspects concerning
    the latest developments in the regional security caused by the aggression war
    Russia is presently waging on Ukraine, with emphasis on the situations caused
    by the latest bombing of Ukraine’s ports on the Danube close to the borders
    with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.






    TENNIS Romanian
    tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, started off on the right foot at the WTA 1000
    tournament in Montreal, Canada with 2.800.000 dollars in prize money. The
    Romanian secured a two-set win 6-4, 7-6, against Varvara Gracheva of France in
    a match, which took place on Monday. In the second round Cirstea will be
    playing the winner of the match pitching Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic
    against Anastasia Potapova. If she won, the Romanian might play in the round of
    16 against top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, who plays Karolina Pliskova of the
    Czech Republic in the second round.






    FESTIVAL The
    24th edition of the international festival Enescu and the World’s
    Music kicks off today in the resort of Sinaia, southern Romania. Concerts are
    being held at the local casino, the city museum, the George Enescu Memorial,
    the Dimitrie Ghica park and the Catholic church. According to the organizers,
    this festival has been devoted to the young people and young orchestras and
    mainly to the winners of national and international contests. The event is also
    devoted to the famous Romanian artists who are involved in the process of
    training the young generation of musicians, as part of this Romanian project.
    The festival is due to end on August 31.


















    (bill)

  • November 27, 2022 UPDATE

    November 27, 2022 UPDATE

    NATO The president of
    Romania Klaus Iohannis will receive the
    NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, in Bucharest on Monday. Stoltenberg
    will chair the meeting of NATO foreign ministers hosted by the Romanian capital city as of Tuesday. Also on this
    occasion, the US state secretary Antony Blinken will travel to Bucharest, and
    will have meetings with president Iohannis, PM Nicolae Ciucă and the foreign
    minister Bogdan Aurescu. The NATO meeting, the
    first of this kind organised in Romania, focuses on
    supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion, energy security and
    implementing the Alliance’s new strategic concept.


    MLM A Munich Leaders
    Meeting (MLM) takes place in Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday. The Romanian
    foreign ministry is co-hosting this prestigious event, which is part of the Munich
    Security Conference (MSC). Attending will be over 75 senior officials from over
    25 countries, including current and former officials, experts, analysts and
    opinion leaders. The agenda includes relevant topics for international
    security, with an emphasis on developments in the Black Sea and Western Balkans
    regions. Other topics will be the European security architecture, implementing
    the new NATO Strategic Concept, hybrid threats, food security, and the energy
    crisis. The conclusions of the meeting in Bucharest will contribute to shaping
    the agenda of next year’s Munich Security Conference.


    NATIONAL DAY Events
    devoted to Romania’s National Day on December 1 begin in Alba Iulia on November
    30, with military and wreath laying ceremonies. On December 1, more than 850 troops
    will parade in Alba Iulia, including a French unit part of the NATO battlegroup
    deployed in Cincu, Braşov County. In Bucharest, over 1,500 troops and staff of the defence
    ministry, interior ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special
    Telecommunications Service and the Penitentiary Agency as well as vehicles and
    40 aircraft will take part in a military parade on December 1. According to a
    defence ministry news release, around 150 troops from Belgium, France, North
    Macedonia, R. Of Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal and the US, will also take
    part. Romanian military personnel on missions abroad will also organise special
    ceremonies.


    ENVIRONMENT The
    Romanian environment ministry launched a national forestation programme
    financed from EU funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The
    decision was made because forests cover less than 30% of the country’s surface,
    as against the European average of 40%. In some counties in the south and
    south-east of the country, the ratio is even have less than 5%. Farmers who no
    longer want to keep their farmland under crops may turn it into forests or
    shelterbelts. The government provides up to EUR 20,000 for a hectare of oak
    forest in plains areas and up to EUR 17,000 per hectare of shelterbelts, with
    an additional EUR 456 per year for each hectare of forest for 20 years.


    UKRAINE Heavy rainfall is expected in
    Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv as of Sunday, with sub-zero temperatures both
    during the day and at night. Millions of people in the city and the region
    around it are still without electricity and heat, after Russian shelling
    damaged the country’s energy infrastructure. The region of Dnipropetrovsk, in
    central Ukraine, was once again hit by 5 Russian missile strikes and heavy
    artillery attacks, the regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. Homes and
    other buildings were destroyed, but no victims were reported. However, in the
    southern region of Kherson, where the Russian troops pulled out 2 weeks ago, at
    least 32 people were killed in the bombings, the Ukrainian police reported.


    ENESCU The George
    Enescu International Music Festival was shortlisted for the prestigious International
    Opera Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of the opera world, the festival organisers have
    announced. The awards ceremony takes place on Monday at Teatro Real (Madrid,
    Spain). The 2021 edition was shortlisted in the Festivals section, alongside
    other top-level events in the world of international classical music, such as
    the Donizetti Festival and Garsington Opera.


    HANDBALL The men’s
    handball teams of Romania, Egypt, Algeria and Slovakia take part in this year’s
    Carpaţi Trophy, on December 28th and 29th in Oradea,
    north-western Romania, the Romanian Handball Federation announced. Egypt and
    Algeria are qualified to the forthcoming World Championships scheduled for January
    2023. Romania’s manager Xavi Pascual invited 24 players to convene for the
    competition on December 26th. (AMP)

  • November 27, 2022

    November 27, 2022


    NATO Bucharest will host on Tuesday and Wednesday a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. Attending will also be the foreign ministers of Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine and, for the first time, the Republic of Moldova. The war in Ukraine will be one of the main topics of the meeting. The conference will be co-chaired by the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, and NATOs secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. This is the first event of this kind organised in Romania since the country joined the Alliance in 2004 and the second NATO formal meeting in Romania since the 2008 summit. NATOs deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoană, says the event is a bridge between this summers summit in Madrid and the forthcoming summit in Vilnius, and a contribution made by Romania to the Alliances strategic thinking and response to the complex situation on the continent.



    MLM A Munich Leaders Meeting (MLM) takes place in Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday. The Romanian foreign ministry is co-hosting this prestigious event, which is part of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). Attending will be over 75 senior officials from over 25 countries, including current and former officials, experts, analysts and opinion leaders. The agenda includes relevant topics for international security, with an emphasis on developments in the Black Sea and Western Balkans regions. Other topics will be the European security architecture, implementing the new NATO Strategic Concept, hybrid threats, food security, and the energy crisis. The conclusions of the meeting in Bucharest will contribute to shaping the agenda of next years Munich Security Conference.



    NATIONAL DAY Events devoted to Romanias National Day on December 1 begin in Alba Iulia on November 30, with military and wreath laying ceremonies. On December 1, more than 850 troops will parade in Alba Iulia, including a French unit part of the NATO battlegroup deployed in Cincu, Braşov County. In Bucharest, over 1,500 troops and staff of the defence ministry, interior ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service and the Penitentiary Agency as well as vehicles and 40 aircraft will take part in a military parade on December 1. According to a defence ministry news release, around 150 troops from Belgium, France, North Macedonia, R. of Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal and the US, will also take part. Romanian military personnel on missions abroad will also organise special ceremonies.



    ENVIRONMENT The Romanian environment ministry launched a national forestation programme financed from EU funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The decision was made because forests cover less than 30% of the countrys surface, as against the European average of 40%. In some counties in the south and south-east of the country, the ratio is even have less than 5%. Farmers who no longer want to keep their farmland under crops may turn it into forests or shelterbelts. The government provides up to EUR 20,000 for a hectare of oak forest in plains areas and up to EUR 17,000 per hectare of shelterbelts, with an additional EUR 456 per year for each hectare of forest for 20 years.



    ENESCU The George Enescu International Music Festival was shortlisted for the prestigious International Opera Awards, the Oscars of the opera world, the festival organisers have announced. The awards ceremony takes place on Monday at Teatro Real (Madrid, Spain). The 2021 edition was shortlisted in the Festivals section, alongside other top-level events in the world of international classical music, such as the Donizetti Festival and Garsington Opera. (AMP)


  • 19.09.2022

    19.09.2022

    Justice – Durant les débats par articles qui se sont déroulés dans le cadre d’une réunion marathon deux jours durant, seulement quelques uns des 600 amendements déposés ont été adoptés. L’opposition accuse la politisation de la Justice et demande que les actes normatifs ne soient plus soumis au vote avant une opinion de la Commission de Venise suite à la saisine de l’Union Sauvez la Roumanie. Le ministre de la Justice, Catalin Predoiu affirme pourtant que l’élaboration des projets a pris en compte les avis de cette institution. Le prochain projet dans le paquet de lois de la Justice qui fera l’objet des débats au sein de la Commission parlementaire spéciale est celui qui gère l’organisation judiciaire.

    Belarus – Le ministère roumain des Affaires Etrangères a convoqué le chargé d’affaires par intérim du Belarus à Bucarest après les déclarations du président de cet Etat, Aleksandr Loukachenko selon lequel les Etats Unis poussaient l’Europe vers une confrontation militaire avec la Russie sur le territoire de l’Ukraine et que d’autres Etats, y compris la Roumanie y seraient directement impliqués. Bogdan Aurescu, le chef de la diplomatie roumaine a déclaré que « la Roumanie rejette fermement de telles affirmations inadmissibles qui alimentent la rhétorique reposant sur l’appel à la force et à la menace avec la force dans les relations internationales ». Le ministère des Affaires Etrangères de Bucarest rappelle que la Roumanie est un Etat membre de l’OTAN qui bénéficie de toutes les garanties sécuritaires qui y découlent.

    George Enescu – La dernière finale du Concours international George Enescu 2022 s’est achevé à Bucarest. Dans la section piano c’est Alexandra Segal d’Israël qui a remporté la Ière place. Le jeune musicien du Luxembourg, Benjamin Kruithof a remporté la section Violoncelle, et la roumaine Maria Marica la section violon. Dans la section de composition les gagnants ont été le sud-coréen, Shin Kim pour la musique symphonique et l’Italien Leonardo Marino pour la musique de chambre. Cette année, le Concours Enescu s’est déroulé sous la slogan « la musique de l’espoir » et a marqué le retour dans la salle de spectacles après deux ans durant lesquels les événements culturels se sont déroulées entièrement ou partiellement dans l’espace virtuel.

    Carburants – La coalition gouvernementale de Bucarest se réunit aujourd’hui pour débattre du maintien de la compensation de 50 bani, soit 10 centimes d’euros par litre de carburants, après la fin du mois en cours. Les autorités préparent des mesures d’économie de l’énergie dans le contexte de la baisse des livraisons de gaz de Russie et des efforts de réduire la dépendance énergétique du pays. Le premier ministre Nicolae Ciucă a annoncé que l’exécutif visait à introduire un programme censé stimuler le remplacement des ampoules classiques par des ampoules économiques. Ce qui plus est, chaque ministère doit présenter un plan de mesures visant la réduction du gaspillage énergétique. Entre temps, les dépôts de gaz de Roumanie ont atteint le seuil minimum de remplissage de 80% de leur capacité, conformément à l’objectif de l’Union européenne. D’ailleurs au niveau communautaire les stocks couvrent 84% de la capacité de stockage. Par ailleurs, l’Institut national de la statistique a annoncé que la Roumanie avait importé durant les sept premiers mois de l’année une quantité de gaz naturel de plus de 1,3 millions de tonnes, soit 17% environ inférieure à celle de la période similaire de l’année dernière.

    Funérailles – Les funérailles d’Etat de la reine Elisabeth II se déroulent aujourd’hui à Londres. 2 000 personnes y ont été invitées, dont 500 chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement, ainsi que de nombreux autres dignitaires étrangers. Le président roumain, Klaus Iohannis et sa majesté Margarita, la gardienne de la couronne de Roumanie et Radu le prince consort participent également aux funérailles de la souveraine britannique. Ces quatre derniers jours des centaines de milliers de britanniques ont passé de longues heures pour pouvoir passer par le cercueil de la reine, qui sera transféré aujourd’hui du Palais du Parlement à Westminster Abbey, où une cérémonie religieuse est prévue. Ensuite le cortège funéraire se dirigera vers l’Arc Wellington de Londres. Aucun avion ne survolera Londres durant cette période. Le dernier voyage de la reine Elisabeth II mènera jusqu’au Palais Windsor où elle sera enterré dans la crypte de l’église près de son époux, Philippe.

    Oradea – La ville d’Oradea située dans le nord-ouest de la Roumanie est arrivée sixième au classement des meilleures destinations touristiques, que ce soit pour un simple weekend ou pour une période plus longue, dans un classement réalisé à partir des votes de 500 000 touristes du monde entier, a annoncé le Ministre roumain du tourisme. Selon le classement Europe’s best destinations, Oradea est considérée comme un modèle parmi les destinations touristiques roumaines, avec son paysage architectural surprenant et la diversité de sa programmation culturelle. Le classement comprend des destinations touristiques situées dans toute l’Europe, et la Roumanie réussit à surclasser des pays comme l’Angleterre, l’Italie, la Grèce ou l’Autriche. Désignée cette année comme « la plus belle destination Art nouveau » d’Europe, Oradea mérite de se trouver sur la liste des destinations touristiques qu’il faut avoir visité au moins une fois dans sa vie, a ajouté le ministre.

    Manif – Des milliers de protestataires s’étaient réunis dimanche devant le siège du gouvernement de Chisinau, en République de Moldova voisine, pour dénoncer l’inflation à la hausse et la flambée des tarifs des carburants, demandant aussi la démission de la présidente pro-occidentale Maia Sandu. Selon l’agence de presse Reuters, ce fut la plus grande manifestation de cette petite république ex-soviétique depuis la réélection de Maia Sandu en 2020. A ce moment-là, celle-ci avait promis de lutter contre la corruption. « Moldova est actuellement en mort clinque, à cause des autorités actuelles », a déclaré Dinu Turcanu, un politicien d’opposition.

    Météo – Il fait particulièrement froid sur l’ouest, le nord et le centre du pays, alors que sur les autres régions, les températures touchent les moyennes pluriannuelles. Le ciel est couvert et il pleut sur les régions à l’intérieur de l’arc des Carpates. A plus de 1 600 mètres d’altitude, il y a des précipitations mixtes pluies – neige. Les maxima vont de 10 à 25 degrés. 20 degrés sous un superbe soleil d’automne à Bucarest.

    Vent – Le vent fort qui a soufflé dimanche à travers la Roumanie a produit aussi des bénéfices. Selon une annonce publiée sur la page Facebook du Système énergétique national, la consommation d’électricité du pays a été assurée en grande partie de sources éoliennes. Plus de 40% de la production énergétique du pays a été produite par des centrales éoliennes, 20% par des centrales nucléaires et 13% par des centrales hydrauliques – a annoncé le Système énergétique national.

  • September 4, 2022 UPDATE

    September 4, 2022 UPDATE

    School — Almost 3 million Romanian pupils and preschoolers will start school on Monday. Many changes mark the new school year. It will be structured into 5 modules, separated by 5 holidays. Mandatory tests are eliminated and the average mark obtained at the end of the secondary school is eliminated from the calculation of the admission-to-high-school average mark. Starting this year, end-of-module assessments are no longer mandatory, there will be only one average mark for each subject, and at the end of the year students can no longer be expelled. The Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu admitted that one of the problems of Romanian schools is the lack of fire safety certificates for many of them. Moreover, more than half of the educational units in the country, about 57%, do not have security services at the beginning of the school year.



    Berlin — The German government, currently faced with a cost-of-living crisis that many families cannot cope with, on Sunday announced a support package worth 65 billion Euros, DPA reports. The measures include a new, cheaper public transport ticket, a one-off sum of 300 and 200 Euros respectively for pensioners and students to pay the energy bill, an increase in allowances for the elderly or those unable to work, and an increase of 18 Euros in the child allowance. An amount of 300 Euros, also for the payment of energy bills, had already been agreed upon for working people. Moreover, the government will introduce lower tariffs for a certain basic ceiling of energy consumption, above which the price will increase. According to the head of the Bundesbank, the German central bank, the inflation rate, which reached 7.9% in August, is likely to reach 10% by the end of the year, a first since the 1950s. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Scholz government has already unlocked two aid packages for families, totaling around 30 billion Euros.



    Rowing — Romania won 9 medals, 5 gold and 4 silver, on Sunday, at the Under-23 European Rowing Championships in Belgium, in 11 finals. The Romanian athletes also obtained two fifth places. Romania participated with 12 crews and 38 athletes at the Under-23 European Championships in Belgium. Recently, at the European Rowing Championships, Romanian athletes won no less than 8 medals, 5 gold and 3 bronze, this being the biggest achievement obtained by Romanian rowers at an edition of the Continental Championships.



    Competition — The “George Enescu” International Competition started on Sunday with the concert of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic, conducted by Ainars Rubikis and of soloists who won the 2020-2021 edition, at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. The event, which this year takes place under the motto Music of Hope, marks 64 years since the first edition, opened on September 4, 1958. This year, 34 young musicians from all over the world qualified for the semifinals of the competition, in the sections Cello, Violin and Piano. 22 orchestral and chamber works will enter the competition in the Composition Section, where an Originality Award will also be granted. The winning works will be announced on September 18.



    Ukraine — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he had asked the EU to urgently allocate the next tranche of aid for his country and pressed for a new set of sanctions against Russia, during a telephone conversation with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Reuters reports. Zelenski, who warned Europeans to expect a tough winter due to the cuts in Russian oil and gas exports, also said he and Von Der Leyen coordinated their measures to limit Russias surplus profits from oil and gas sales. Earlier, the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihal said that Kyiv expected to receive a five billion Euro installment from the EU next week, in the form of macro-financial aid. (LS)

  • זכרון קורבנות השואה

    זכרון קורבנות השואה

    יום השואה הבינלאומי צוין על ידי הפילהרמונית גורג אנסקו בבוקרשט, עם שני קונצרטים בניצוחו של המנצח והמלחין הישראלי יואב תלמי, שביצע את חיבורו אלגיה לכלי מיתר, טימפני ואקורדיון “הרהורי דכאו” שהוקדשה לקורבנות מחנה ההשמדה דכאו.



    תוכנית האירועים מה-27 וה-28 בינואר כללה גם קונצרט מס. 20, לפסנתר ותזמורת, מאת מוצרט, הסולן Dimitri Malignan, וסימפוניה מס 20. מאת בטהובן.



    האלגיה ” הירורי דכאו” לכלי מיתר, טימפני ואקורדיון, בוצעה לראשונה בספטמבר 1997 עם התזמורת הפילהרמונית של ברגן, נורבגיה, גם אז בניצוחו של יואב תלמי.



    מאז, הוא בוצע על ידי יותר מ-20 תזמורות מ-10 מדינות. בתהליך חיבור האלגיה בנינו קולאז של תמונות חולפות מהעבר ומההווה. על הרקע מבוצע שיר גטו יהודי (“מתחת לשמי כוכבים”) על ידי רביעיית כלי מיתר, וכן חיבור צלו סולו מאת באך.



    הכל מתחיל עם קטע מאת גוסטב מאהלר כשהכל נגמר עם קטע אחר של אותו המלחין. צלילי האקורדיון מזכירים מישהו שנזרק מהרחוב לתוך הגטו. האלגיה נכתבה בחלקה בישראל, בחלקה בסן דייגו, והיא מוקדשת לסבא וסבתא שלי, שמעולם לא פגשתי, התוודה המלחין.