Radio România Internațional

Tag: Europa League

Weekend sportiv

Echipele de fotbal care reprezintă România în calificările pentru Liga Europa au debutat cu bine. În manşa întâi a primului tur preliminar, Universitatea Craiova s-a impus în Azerbaidjan, cu 3-2, în confruntarea cu Sabail, iar FCSB a câştigat, la Giurgiu, cu 2-0, în faţa echipei Milsami Orhei, din Republica Moldova.

Pentru craioveni, a fost prima victorie într-o cupă europeană din ultimii 26 de ani. Superioritatea oltenilor a fost clară, iar antrenorul Corneliu Papură crede că echipa sa putea marca mai multe goluri. Pentru Universitatea au înscris Alexandru Mateiu, Nicuşor Bancu şi Mihai Roman, în timp ce, pentru azeri, a înscris, de două ori, Aghabala Ramazanov. Manşa secundă se va juca la Craiova, în data de 18 iulie. Dacă trece de Sabail, Universitatea va juca în turul al doilea preliminar cu învingătoarea dintre Žalgiris Vilnius, din Lituania, şi Honved Budapesta, din Ungaria. Joi, maghiarii s-au impus, acasă, cu 3-1.

FCSB a plecat drept favorită în confruntarea cu Milsami Orhei. Echipa bucureşteană s-a impus graţie a două goluri marcate de Florin Tănase şi are în continuare prima şansă la calificarea în faza următoare. Scorul putea fi mai mare, dar FCSB a ratat mai multe ocazii clare de gol. Din minutul 72, vicecampioana României a jucat în inferioritate numerică, Lucian Filip primind al doilea cartonaş galben, la zece minute de la introducerea sa pe gazon. Dacă va trece de Milsami, FCSB va juca în turul al doilea preliminar cu învingătoarea dintre echipa armeană Alaşkert şi Makedonija Skopje, grupare din Macedonia de Nord. Armenii s-au impus joi, la Erevan, cu 3-1.

În acest weekend începe o nouă ediţie a campionatului primei ligi române de fotbal. Vineri, un singur joc: FC Voluntari — Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Sâmbătă, Astra joacă, la Giurgiu, cu FC Botoşani, iar CFR, la Cluj, cu Poli Iaşi. Duminică, Universitatea Craiova se confruntă, pe teren propriu, cu Academica din Clinceni, iar FCSB joacă, la Piteşti, cu FC Hermannstadt. Ultimele două jocuri — luni: Gaz Metan Mediaş cu Chindia Târgovişte şi Viitorul Constanţa cu Dinamo Bucureşti

12 July 2019
RRI Sports Club

CFR Cluj’s debut in the Champions
League was wrapped up in bad luck. In the first leg of the first preliminary
round, CFR Cluj sustained a nil-1 away defeat by FC Astana, the title holders
in Kazakhstan’s championship. CFR Cluj’s run on the pitch was poor and below
par. However, the Romanians controlled the game for the most part of it, but
were unable to create many scoring opportunities. Contrary to all
expectations, Astana’s Evgeny Postnikov
scored a goal on 68 minutes, when CFR Cluj’s Vinicius and Culio were totally
unable to stop the ball shot from the corner. On 81 minutes, CFR Cluj wasted
their greatest scoring opportunity as their French player Billel Omrani sent
the ball wide from home, having found himself all alone in front of the
undefended posts.

The Dr. Constantin Radulescu
stadium in Cluj-Napoca will host the return leg of the tie, on July 1,7
starting 9 pm. If they fail to qualify, CFR go straight into Europa League’s
second preliminary round.

This coming Thursday, Universitatea
Craiova will play their debut fixture in Europa League’s first preliminary
round. Universitatea travel to Azerbaijan, for a game against Sabail. 37-year
old Ghanaian footballer Michael Essien, who formerly played for Chelsea, Real
Madrid and Milan, is the star of Sabail. Also signed up by Sabail is Brazilian
footballer Enrico da Silva, who for many years played for Romanian teams.
Sabail has an artificial turf, which may be an advantage for the host team in
the match against Universitatea Craiova.

There is also another Romanian team
playing in the Europa League. In the southern Romanian town of Giurgiu, FCSB receive
the visit of Milsami Orhei, of Republic of Moldova. FCSB rank as favorites,
despite the fact that they ply 60 kilometers away from home, as the National
Arena in Bucharest is booked for several concerts. In the domestic
championship, FCSB will take on FC Hermannstadt, in a confrontation counting
towards the debut fixture of the domestic championship’s first round. The match
will be hosted by the southern Romanian town of Pitesti.

10 July 2019
RRI Sports Club

CFR Cluj’s debut in the Champions
League was wrapped up in bad luck. In the first leg of the first preliminary
round, CFR Cluj sustained a nil-1 away defeat by FC Astana, the title holders
in Kazakhstan’s championship. CFR Cluj’s run on the pitch was poor and below
par. However, the Romanians controlled the game for the most part of it, but
were unable to create many scoring opportunities. Contrary to all
expectations, Astana’s Evgeny Postnikov
scored a goal on 68 minutes, when CFR Cluj’s Vinicius and Culio were totally
unable to stop the ball shot from the corner. On 81 minutes, CFR Cluj wasted
their greatest scoring opportunity as their French player Billel Omrani sent
the ball wide from home, having found himself all alone in front of the
undefended posts.

The Dr. Constantin Radulescu
stadium in Cluj-Napoca will host the return leg of the tie, on July 1,7
starting 9 pm. If they fail to qualify, CFR go straight into Europa League’s
second preliminary round.

This coming Thursday, Universitatea
Craiova will play their debut fixture in Europa League’s first preliminary
round. Universitatea travel to Azerbaijan, for a game against Sabail. 37-year
old Ghanaian footballer Michael Essien, who formerly played for Chelsea, Real
Madrid and Milan, is the star of Sabail. Also signed up by Sabail is Brazilian
footballer Enrico da Silva, who for many years played for Romanian teams.
Sabail has an artificial turf, which may be an advantage for the host team in
the match against Universitatea Craiova.

There is also another Romanian team
playing in the Europa League. In the southern Romanian town of Giurgiu, FCSB receive
the visit of Milsami Orhei, of Republic of Moldova. FCSB rank as favorites,
despite the fact that they ply 60 kilometers away from home, as the National
Arena in Bucharest is booked for several concerts. In the domestic
championship, FCSB will take on FC Hermannstadt, in a confrontation counting
towards the debut fixture of the domestic championship’s first round. The match
will be hosted by the southern Romanian town of Pitesti.

10 July 2019
Romanian football sides eliminated from European competitions

The crisis faced by Romanian football is becoming even deeper. On
Thursday evening, the Romanian champions CFR Cluj and the vicechampions FCSB,
formerly known as Steaua Bucharest, failed to advance to the Europa League
groups, which means that Romania has no side left in the European club
competitions. Craiova and Viitorul had also been eliminated, in the preliminary
stages.

CFR, who had won their fourth championship title after a 6-year-long
wait, had great ambitions at the start of the European season, and were even
dreaming of playing in the Champions League groups, a feat they managed in fact
last year. This time around, however, their international season was cut short
after two defeats, first nil-2 away and then 2-3 at home on Thursday to
Luxembourg’s champions, Dudelange. This poor result from CFR, which is being
described by the press as the most shameful result in the history of Romanian
football, can be explained by the club’s debatable new transfers and change of
manager. Thanks to CFR, Dudelange has become the first football side from
Luxembourg to play in the group stages of a European competition. Dudelange’s manager
Dino Toppmoller told the press after the match that eight of his players have
other jobs besides football and that they’ll have to find a solution now they
will be playing three matches a week as part of the Europa League groups.

Another failure for Romanian club football was FCSB’s failure to
qualify for the Europa League groups, even though their opponents, Rapid
Vienna, were a strong team. FCSB lost 3-1 in Vienna. In their home match, they
were leading 2-0 and would have qualified but for a mistake by FCSB’s young and
inexperienced goalkeeper which allowed the Austrian side to score and thus qualify
for the next stage. The club’s eccentric financier George Becali described the goalkeeper’s
mistake as divine punishment for his own sins. Football experts, however,
prefer more rational explanations for the club’s defeat. Becali, they say, can
be blamed for a lot of things, but these refer mainly to the sometimes chaotic
way in which he decides what new players to sign in and his constant
interfering in the team’s line-up.

For Romanian clubs, failing to qualify for Europa League, where FCSB
at least have had a constant presence in recent years, means significant
financial losses, even amounting to a whole year’s worth of budget. At the same
time, Romania’s rating will be lower, which will make the path of the Romanian
sides to the two European competitions even more difficult. Thursday’s fiasco
complements the grim picture of domestic football. The national side did not
qualify for the World Cup in Russia and doesn’t look like it will return any
time soon to the top form it enjoyed 20 years ago.

31 August 2018
România, fără echipe de fotbal în competiţiile europene de club

Criza fotbalului românesc se adânceşte. Joi seara, campioana CFR Cluj (nord-vest) şi vicecampioana FCSB (fosta Steaua Bucureşti) au ratat calificarea in grupele Ligii Europa, lăsând România fără reprezentantă în competiţiile continentale intercluburi. Anterior, părăsiseră fazele preliminare Craiova şi Viitorul.

Cu un titlu – al patrulea – câştigat după o pauză de 6 ani, clujenii aveau ambiţii mari la debutul sezonului european, iar declarativ visau chiar la participarea în grupele Ligii Campionilor, acolo unde se mai calificaseră în trecut. Au încheiat, însă, prematur sezonul internaţional, cu o dublă înfrângere, 0-2 în deplasare şi 2-3, joi, pe teren propriu, în faţa campioanei din Luxemburg, Dudelange. Contraperformanţei clujenilor, puşi la zid de presă ca autori ai celui mai ruşinos rezultat din istoria fotbalului românesc, i se pot căuta explicaţii precum achiziţiile discutabile şi schimbarea de antrenor, nu însă şi justificare.

Graţie CFR, Dudelange face istorie şi devine prima echipă luxemburgheză prezentă în grupele competiţiilor continentale. Iar ca să se înţeleagă cât de dureros este acest rezultat pentru trupa ardeleană, merită reţinută declaraţia antrenorului din Luxemburg. “Avem 8 fotbaliști care lucrează, mai au joburi pe lângă fotbal. Trebuie să găsim o soluție. Vom avea 3 meciuri pe săptămână acum, trebuie să își reducă programul pentru grupele Europa League”, a spus Dino Toppmoller, antrenorul lui Dudelange.

Un fiasco este şi ratarea de către FCSB a prezenţei în grupele Ligii Europa, chiar dacă adversara, Rapid Viena, a fost de alt calibru şi nu o ilustră necunoscută pe plan european. FCSB pierduse cu 3-1 la Viena, dar a obţinut scorul calificării încă de la pauză, 2-0.

O gafă a tânărului şi neexperimentatului portar al vicecampioanei le-a oferit austriecilor golul calificării, iar excentricului finanţator al trupei bucureştene, George Becali, ocazia unei noi incursiuni în misticism. El a echivalat greşeala goalkeaperului cu o pedeapsă divină pentru propriile sale păcate. Analiştii preferă, totuşi, explicaţiile raţionale. Becali, spun ei, are vini mari, dar ele privesc exclusiv modul superficial, pe alocuri haotic, în care decide achiziţiile de jucători şi ingerinţa constantă, de notorietate în fotbalul autohton, în alcătuirea echipei.

Pentru cluburile româneşti, ratarea prezenţei în Liga Europa, acolo unde cel puţin FCSB s-a calificat constant în ultimii ani, înseamnă pierderi financiare importante, la nivelul bugetului pe un an. În acelaşi timp, României, ca ţară, îi va scădea coeficientul european, ceea ce va face şi mai dificil traseul formaţiilor româneşti spre grupele celor două competiţii continentale. Eşecul de joi întregeşte tabloul sumbru al fotbalului autohton. Naţionala a ratat Mondialul din Rusia şi nu dă semne că poate reveni curând în elită, acolo unde era în urmă cu 2 decenii.

31 August 2018
Fotbal flash

Campioana României la fotbal CFR
Cluj şi vicecampioana FCSB joacă în această seară în manşa a doua din play-off-ul Europa League. Ambele
echipe române vor evolua pe teren propriu şi ambele au nevoie de a recupera un
handicap de două goluri pentru a accede în faza grupelor. CFR Cluj întâlneşte
echipa luxemburgheză F 91 Dudelange, în tur, jucătorii din principat
impunându-se surprinzător cu scorul de 2-0. Campioana Luxemburgului a marcat prin
David Turpel, în minutul 67 şi Danel Sinani, în minutul 80. La Bucureşti, pe
Arena Naţională, FCSB se va duela cu echipa austriacă Rapid Viena, în tur
austriecii adjudecându-şi victoria cu scorul de 3-1. Golurile vienezilor au
fost marcate de Christoph Knasmullner, în minutul 4, Mario Sonnleitner, în
minutul 40 şi Stefan Schwab, în minutul 49, iar pentru bucureşteni a punctat
Harlem Gnohere, în minutul 47.

Antrenorul Laurenţiu Roşu, 42 de ani,
a fost numit în funcţia de selecţioner al echipei naţionale de fotbal Under 18
a României, formată din jucători născuţi începând cu 1 ianuarie 2001. Directorul
tehnic al FRF Mihai Stoichiţă a declarat că Roşu este cea mai potrivită alegere
la conducerea lotului U18. Ne dorim să avem performanţe la toate
loturile, de aceea obiectivul este calificarea la Turul de Elită care va avea
loc anul viitor, a afirmat Stoichiţă.

Clubul
de fotbal de liga 1 Dunărea Călăraşi i-a prezentat oficial într-o conferinţă de
presă, pe ultimii doi jucători legitimaţi, Alexandru Bourceanu şi Alexandru
Munteanu. Bourceanu a declarat că motivul pentru care a venit la Călăraşi este
legat de relaţia foarte bună pe care o are cu antrenorul Dan Alexa. De trei ori
campion al României cu FCSB, Bourceanu, în vârstă de 33 de ani, a evoluat în
carieră la formaţiile Dunărea Galaţi, FC Timişoara, Trabzonspor din Turcia şi Arsenal
Tula din Rusia. Munteanu a afirmat că doreşte să-şi ajute noua echipă să îşi
atingă obiectivele. În vârstă de 30 de ani, el a mai evoluat la echipele Gaz
Metan Mediaş şi Poli Timişoara.

30 August 2018
Fotbal flash

Campioana României la fotbal CFR
Cluj şi vicecampioana FCSB joacă în această seară în manşa a doua din play-off-ul Europa League. Ambele
echipe române vor evolua pe teren propriu şi ambele au nevoie de a recupera un
handicap de două goluri pentru a accede în faza grupelor. CFR Cluj întâlneşte
echipa luxemburgheză F 91 Dudelange, în tur, jucătorii din principat
impunându-se surprinzător cu scorul de 2-0. Campioana Luxemburgului a marcat prin
David Turpel, în minutul 67 şi Danel Sinani, în minutul 80. La Bucureşti, pe
Arena Naţională, FCSB se va duela cu echipa austriacă Rapid Viena, în tur
austriecii adjudecându-şi victoria cu scorul de 3-1. Golurile vienezilor au
fost marcate de Christoph Knasmullner, în minutul 4, Mario Sonnleitner, în
minutul 40 şi Stefan Schwab, în minutul 49, iar pentru bucureşteni a punctat
Harlem Gnohere, în minutul 47.

Antrenorul Laurenţiu Roşu, 42 de ani,
a fost numit în funcţia de selecţioner al echipei naţionale de fotbal Under 18
a României, formată din jucători născuţi începând cu 1 ianuarie 2001. Directorul
tehnic al FRF Mihai Stoichiţă a declarat că Roşu este cea mai potrivită alegere
la conducerea lotului U18. Ne dorim să avem performanţe la toate
loturile, de aceea obiectivul este calificarea la Turul de Elită care va avea
loc anul viitor, a afirmat Stoichiţă.

Clubul
de fotbal de liga 1 Dunărea Călăraşi i-a prezentat oficial într-o conferinţă de
presă, pe ultimii doi jucători legitimaţi, Alexandru Bourceanu şi Alexandru
Munteanu. Bourceanu a declarat că motivul pentru care a venit la Călăraşi este
legat de relaţia foarte bună pe care o are cu antrenorul Dan Alexa. De trei ori
campion al României cu FCSB, Bourceanu, în vârstă de 33 de ani, a evoluat în
carieră la formaţiile Dunărea Galaţi, FC Timişoara, Trabzonspor din Turcia şi Arsenal
Tula din Rusia. Munteanu a afirmat că doreşte să-şi ajute noua echipă să îşi
atingă obiectivele. În vârstă de 30 de ani, el a mai evoluat la echipele Gaz
Metan Mediaş şi Poli Timişoara.

30 August 2018
The Week in Review, August 5-11, 2018

Clashes at the rally of Romanian expats in Bucharest

Over 450 people, including 35 gendarmes, received medical treatment further to the clashes on Friday night at the rally in Victoriei Square, a gendarme spokesperson told a press conference on Saturday. Some 100,000 people gathered on Friday in front of the Government headquarters in Bucharest, at a rally of Romanian expats, joined by many locals. Also on Friday, in several cities in the country, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to voice their solidarity with the protest of diaspora members, chanting anti-government slogans. The protesters, disgruntled with the current government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, demanded the resignation of the cabinet and early elections. There were clashes between the protesters and the gendarmes, and the riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Police reported the presence of groups of provocateurs in front of the Government headquarters. The gendarmes moved in after some of their colleagues were attacked. The President of the country Klaus Iohannis firmly condemned the brutal police intervention against the protesters in Victoriei Square and said the Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, must immediately present explanations for how the ministry handled the events. Opposition leaders also criticised the response of riot police, and asked for the resignation of the Interior Minister. Previously, politicians in Power had said the Opposition should take responsibility for the rally.

Inflation likely to drop in 3rd quarter, National Bank says

The National Bank of Romania lowered its year-end inflation forecast from 3.6% to 3.5%. Estimates for 2019 were also cut, from 3% to 2.7%, Governor Mugur Isarescu announced. He explained that the inflation rate might get back into the range targeted by the central bank, unless new shocks appear, whose effects cannot be influenced by the monetary policy. On the other hand, Romanias economic growth rate forecast by the National Bank for this year is nearly 4%, as against 7% in 2017. Mugur Isarescu believes it is better for the economy to grow steadily on long-term, in keeping with its potential. With higher economic growth rates come more investments, higher productivity and better workforce, the central bank chief explained.

Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry present reports

After the recent presentation by PM Viorica Dancila of the performance of her Cabinet six months into its term in office, each ministry presented a report on its activity so far and on its projects for the near future. On Tuesday, the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and Defence Minister Mihai Fifor held press conferences to this end. In the field of diplomacy, one widely debated topic is the prospective relocation of Romanias embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. According to Teodor Melescanu, an analysis of the situation has been completed and will soon be sent to the Presidency, the Prime Minister and Parliament. As regards Romanias relations with Russia, he said bilateral dialogue must be based on the interests of both parties and comply with the principles and standards of international law. The Foreign Ministry also said that preparations for Romanias taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2019 were going as planned. As a NATO member, one of Bucharests priorities is to strengthen its position within this organization. The latest NATO Summit approved Romanias proposal to host a 3-star command centre. A special meeting was also organized, devoted to security in the Black Sea area, and Romania secured a considerable increase of NATO member naval forces in the region. Also in the defence sector, Mihai Fifor added that efforts continued to upgrade the equipment of the Romanian Army, for which 2% of the GDP has been earmarked. Some of the achievements of the first 6 months include the procurement of American missile systems and the start of procurement procedures for 4 multirole corvettes. The main challenge facing the Defence Ministry, Mihai Fifor also said, is the development of the Cantacuzino Military Healthcare Institute, whose situation has deteriorated in recent years. Authorities hope that its transfer under the authority of the Defence Ministry last December will be a new start for the institution.

Proactive environmental policies

The Romanian Minister of the Environment Gratiela Gavrilescu has announced several regional meetings with the general public to discuss waste management topics. The Minister has also added that 9,000 households without electricity will receive photovoltaic systems under a project called “The Centennial of Light. Authorities want electricity to be supplied to every single household in Romania, and the installation of the first PV systems might begin as early as this year. Another project run by the Ministry is the launch of a scrapping programme for home appliances. Gratiela Gavrilescu says the ministry has sufficient funding to initiate this programme. The exact worth of the vouchers to be awarded under this programme is to be decided on and made public by mid-August. On the other hand, in its meeting scheduled for August 20, the Government will discuss the proposed issue of 30,000 additional vouchers for the 2018 edition of the car scrapping programme. So far 21,000 vehicles have been purchased under this programme.

Romanian teams playing in Europa League

3 Romanian football sides played on Thursday the first leg of the 3rd preliminary round of Europa League. Vice-champions FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest) drew, 0-0, against the Croatian team Hajduk Split. Kicked out of the Champions League by the Swedish side Malmo FF, Romanian champions CFR Cluj won easily against the Armenian team Alashkert, 2-0. In turn, the winners of Romanias Cup, CSU Craiova, were defeated 3-1 by RB Leipzig of Germany. The return leg is scheduled for next week.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

11 August 2018
August 8, 2018 UPDATE

STRIKE – The employees of structures subordinated to the Romanian Ministry for Youth and Sports and national sports federations are on all-out strike as of Wednesday, after having picketed the Ministry for several days without receiving any response to their salary demands. They argue that they are unable to survive and even less so to support sports performances on monthly net salaries of around 290 euros. On the other side, Andrei Nourescu, adviser to the Youth and Sports Minister, says the Ministry has submitted repeated requests to the Labour Ministry, but that a pay raise in this sector is a long-term process, which might begin on January 1 with a 25% increase.

CINEMA – The village of Sfântul Gheorghe, in the Danube Delta, south-eastern Romania, Wednesday hosted further screenings as part of the “Anonimul International Independent Film Festival, including “The Secret of Happiness, directed by Vlad Zamfirescu. Taking part in the official competition are 6 Romanian and international feature films and 26 short films. Productions awarded in other festivals this year are also shown, while Q&A sessions and roundtables are organised on the sidelines of the festival. The Kazakh director Emir Baigazin will be the recipient of this years “Anonimul Trophy, for his contribution to the art of cinema.

FOOTBALL – Three Romanian sides are playing on Thursday away from home, in the first leg of the 3rd preliminary round of Europa League. Romanian vice-champions FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucuresti), take on Croatias Hajduk Split. Kicked out from the Champions League in the 2nd preliminary round, Romanian champions CFR Cluj are facing the Armenian side Alashkert, while the winners of Romanias Cup CSU Craiova are playing against RB Leipzig of Germany. The second leg is scheduled next week.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

8 August 2018
Sport Club RRI: Avancronica prezenţei româneşti în Europa League

Trei echipe de fotbal din România joacă, joi, în turul trei
preliminar al Ligii Europa. În manşa întâi, toate vor evolua în deplasare.

Deschide lista CFR Cluj, campioana României, care va
întâlni, la Erevan, echipa Alaşkert, campioana en titre a Armeniei. Jocul va
începe la ora 19.00. Clujenii pleacă evident, drept favoriţi, însă formaţia
gazdă este ambiţioasă şi poate pune probleme grupării ardelene. Dacă se impune
în dubla manşă cu Alaşkert, CFR Cluj ar urma să întâlnească în play-off
învingătoarea confruntării dintre formaţia poloneză Legia Varşovia şi gruparea
luxemburgheză Dudelange.

De la ora 19.30, Universitatea Craiova întâlneşte, în
deplasare, echipa germană RB Leipzig. Este confruntarea cea mai grea în care
este angrenată o formaţie română în această fază a competiţiei. Mai mult,
Craiova vine după o serie de rezultate neconvingătoare în campionatul primei
ligi române unde, după trei etape, ocupă locul 12, antepenultimul, şi nu a
câştigat încă nicio partidă. Dacă, prin minune, Universitatea elimină formaţia
germană, va întâlni, în play-off, învingătoarea dintre ucrainenii de la Zoria
Lugansk şi portughezii de la Braga.

Şi FCSB, vicecampioana României, are o misiune grea, dar nu
imposibilă. Echipa antrenată de Nicolae Dică va întâlni, în deplasare, de la
ora 21.45, formaţia croată Hajduk Split. Cele două grupări s-au mai întâlnit în
cupele europene, mai exact în faza grupelor Ligii Campionilor, în 1994, pe când
FCSB se numea Steaua. La Bucureşti s-au impus croaţii cu 1-0, iar la Split au
câştigat românii cu 4-1. Echipa care merge, acum, mai departe, se va confrunta
în play-off cu Slovan Bratislava, din Slovacia, sau cu Rapid Viena, din Austria.

8 August 2018
August 2, 2018

VISIT — British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson is today paying an official visit to Romania. He is meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Mihai Fifor. The two will visit Airbase 57 in Mihail Kogalniceanu, southeastern Romania, where they will meet with the flying and technical crews of the four Typhoon fighter jets of the British Air Forces, as well as with the Romanian military personnel at the base. A British military brigade comprising 160 soldiers is in Mihail Kogalniceanu until late August to undergo air policing missions under NATO command. Mihai Fifor and Gavin Williamson previously met in June on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers hosted by the Alliance’s main headquarters.

SWINE FEVER VIRUS — The owners of the animals slaughtered for being suspected of carrying the African swine fever virus will be compensated in the amount of 2 euros per kilogram, the National Food Safety Authority president Geronimo Branescu has announced. The authorities have called on the population to cooperate in order to prevent the spreading of this virus, for which no vaccine or treatment has yet been found. The number of swine fever holes is nearing 550, of which only 3 were identified in pig farms, while the remaining in local households.

EXTREME HEAT — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued several travel warnings for Greece, France, Portugal and Spain, currently affected by extreme weather phenomena. Greece, a popular holiday destination for Romanians, will see heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, hail and strong wind. Central and northern Portugal are today under a code red alert against extreme heat, in place until August 4. Temperatures are expected to hit 42 degrees in southern France until August 5. Meteorologists have also announced highs of up to 46 degrees Celsius in southwestern Spain. In Italy too, the Health Ministry has decreed a code red alert against extreme heat for 18 cities, including Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice. The wave of heat has also hit northern Europe, with Finland reporting the highest temperatures in the last hundred years.

HOLOCAUST — The “Elie Wiesel” Institute is todaying paying homage to the victims of the Roma genocide during the Holocaust. Over 74 years ago, some 3,000 Roma were exterminated in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On this occasion, the National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania warns that discrimination and racism are still affecting societies. In 2015 the European Parliament decreed August 2 as the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.

UNTOLD — The famous electronic music festival Untold kicks off today in Cluj-Napoca, central Romania. Some 350,000 people from Romania and another 75 countries are expected to attend the festival until August 5. This year organizers have set up 10 stages to host the 250 artists who will perform live, including The Chainsmokers, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Tujamo and Afrojack. Authorities say they have taken all measures in order to make Untold the safest festival in Europe. Over 1,100 gendarmes, police officers, firefighters and medical staff will ensure public safety and provide emergency care. Scores of video surveillance cameras have been set up around the stages.

FOOTBALL — Romanian champions CFR Cluj have been ousted from Champions League after drawing 1-all against Swedish side Malmo FF in the return leg of the second preliminary round. In the first leg CFR had lost nil-1. Romania’s champions will now play in the third preliminary round of Europa League, where they are expected to play either Sutjeska Niksic of Montenegro or Alashkert of Armenia. Also in Europa League, Romania’s vice-champions FCSB are today taking on NK Rudar Velenje of Slovenia in the second leg of the second preliminary round. In the first leg FCSB had won 2-nil. In the same phase of the competition, Viitorul Constanta is playing Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands. The first leg ended 2-all. Romanian Cup winners CSU Craiova will compete directly in the third round.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

2 August 2018
Nachrichten 25.07.2018

Rumänien schickte am Mittwoch ein Löschflugzeug und eine weitere Maschine zur logistischen Unterstützung der griechischen Behörden nach den verheerenden Waldbränden, bei denen an den letzten Tagen mindestens 79 Menschen ums Leben kamen und weitere 200 verletzt wurden. Auch andere Länder schickten Hilfe. Die Brände brachen vor dem Hintergrund der extremen Hitze von über 40 Grad und der ausgeprägten Trockenheit aus; der starke Wind von bis zu 75kmh führte zu einer schnellen Verbreitung. Die Behörden schließen jedoch auch einen kriminellen Hintergrund nicht aus. Als Reaktion auf die Waldbrände hat Ministerpräsident Alexis Tsipras eine dreitägige Staatstrauer angeordnet.

Die Weltbank hat eine Finanzierung von 50 Millionen Euro genehmigt, auf die Rumänien im Katastrophenfall zurückgreifen kann. Die Behörden sind somit fähig, bessere Maßnahmen zur Begrenzung der Risiken zu planen. Hintergrund ist neben den Folgen des Klimawandels auch die ausgeprägte Anfälligkeit des Landes gegen die Folgen von Erdbeben. In den letzten zwei Jahrhunderten stürzten bei starken Erdbeben zehntausende Gebäude ein, tausende Menschen kamen ums Leben. Über 75% der Gesamtbevölkerung und 65% der Stadtbevölkerung leben in erdbebengefährdeten Gebieten. 45% aller kritisch wichtigen Dienstleistungen in den Bereichen Verkehr, Energie, Wasserversorgung und Kommunikation liegen ebenfalls in solchen Regionen.

Der rumänische Außenminister, Teodor Melescanu, begrüßte am Mittwoch die Ernennung des neuen US-Botschafters in Bukarest, Adrian Zuckerman, der aus Rumänien abstammt. Die strategische Partnerschaft zwischen den zwei Ländern werde sich dadurch positiv entwickeln, so Melescanu. US-Präsident Donald Trump will den Rechtsanwalt Adrian Zuckerman für die Stelle des amerikanischen Botschafters in Bukarest nominieren. Das besagt eine Pressemeldung des Weißen Hauses. Zuckerman, der seit 1984 Mitglied der Anwaltskammer in New York angehört, ist im Alter von 10 Jahren aus Rumänien in die USA ausgewandert und spricht fließend Rumänisch. Der auf Immobilien spezialisierte Jurist steht seit zwei Jahrzehnten der Familie Trump nahe. Zuckerman muss noch vom Kongress angehört und bestätigt werden.

Der rumänische Staatspräsident, Klaus Iohannis, hat am Mittwoch eine Klage an das Verfassungsgericht eingereicht, in Bezug auf mehrere Änderungen des Strafgesetzbuches, die gegen die Verfassung verstoßen würden. Besagte Änderungen wurden in einer außergewöhnlichen Sitzung des Parlaments angenommen. Präsident Iohannis klagt auch über die Art und Weise, wie das neue Strafgesetzbuch vom Parlament angenommen wurde. Zu den umstrittenen Artikeln des Strafgesetzbuches gehören unter anderen die Neudefinierung des Amtsmissbrauchs und der organisierten kriminellen Gruppierung, und die Reduzierung der Verjährungsfrist bei verschiedenen Verbrechen. Präsident Iohannis äußerte sich besonders kritisch über die vom Parlament angenommenen Änderungen des Strafgesetzbuches – er bezeichnete sie als nicht nützlich oder sogar toxisch und schädlich, und sagte, er werde alle verfassungsmäßige Instrumente einsetzen, um besagte Gesetzesänderungen zu bekämpfen. Auch die Oppositionsparteien PNL, USR und PMP, sowie das Oberste Gericht Rumäniens reichten Verfassungsklagen gegen das neue Strafgesetzbuch ein. Das Verfassunggericht wird am 17. September darüber debattieren.

Rumäniens Premierministerin Viorica Dăncilă besucht ab Mittwoch den Westbalkan – vorgesehen sind Dialoge mit den Führungen in Montenegro und Mazedonien. Dabei geht es um die bilateralen Beziehungen auf der Basis der Unterstützung Rumäniens für den EU-Beitritt der zwei Länder sowie um die regionale Sicherheit. Während der EU-Ratspräsidentschaft Rumäniens im ersten Halbjahr von 2019 sieht Rumänien den Westbalkan als Schwerpunktthema an. Die stärkere Wirtschaftskooperation sei ein weiterer Punkt auf der Tagesordnung ihres Besuches, sagte Viorica Dăncilă.

Reinfall für Rumäniens-Fußballmeister CFR 1907 Cluj: mit 0-1 verlor der siebenbürgische Klub vor eigenem Publikum gegen Malmö FF aus Schweden. Das Spiel galt für die zweite Vorrunde der Champions League. In der Europa-League trifft der Vizemeister FCSB (früher Steaua Bukarest) auf die Slowenen vom NK Rudar Velenje. Ebenfalls auf eigenem Platz spielt Viitorul Constanta gegen Vitesse Arnheim aus Holland, nachdem die Mannschaft sich im Vorfeld gegen die Luxemburger von Racing Union durchsetzten. Pokalgewinner CSU Craiova spielt direkt in der dritten Runde der EL, sein Gegner ist der Gewinne der Auseinandersetzung zwischen RB Leipzig und BC Haecken aus Schweden.

25 July 2018
July 25, 2018

VISIT- The Romanian Prime Minister
Viorica Dancila is on a tour of the Western Balkans, which includes visits to
Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia. The political dialogue with officials
from the two countries will focus on reconfirming deep bilateral relations,
based on support for EU accession and on ensuring regional stability and
security, the Romanian PM has stated. Strengthening economic cooperation is another
goal, Viorica Dancila has also said, alongside the European agenda of the two
states, given the importance that Romania will pay to the Western Balkans region
during its presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of next year.

WILDFIRES – Athens has activated the EU
Civil Protection Mechanism following the wildfires that engulfed the Attica region,
keeling at least 79 people and wounding more than 200. Several countries have
already offered their help, including Romania, which has decided to send two
planes, one C-27 J Spartan, designed to extinguish fires, and a C-130 Hercules,
for logistical support. Three days of national mourning have been declared in
Greece. The wildfires were apparently caused by a heat wave, with temperatures
of over 40 degrees Celsius, and extended rapidly carried by powerful gusts wind
of up to 75 km per hour. Authorities are now considering that some of the fires
may have been started deliberately.

US AMBASSADOR – The US President Donald Trump has announced
his intention to nominate the New York attorney Adrian Zuckerman to the
position of ambassador to Bucharest, according to a communiqué issued by the
White House. Zuckerman was born in Romania and emigrated to the US with his
family at the age of 10. His Romanian is fluent and he is a partner in a New
York law firm specializing in real estate transactions. Zuckerman has been
close to the Trump family for two decades now, and he is also a known figure in
the business circles in New York. If endorsed by the US Congress, Adrian
Zuckerman will replace the current ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm.

WORLD BANK – The World Bank has approved a 50
million Euro funding to benefit Romania in case of disaster, given that the
country is extremely vulnerable to seismic risks. This loan will help improve
the resilience of emergency and response infrastructure and will strengthen
institutional capacity to plan investments aimed at reducing the risk of disasters
and adaptation to climate change. Romania is faced with one of the biggest
seismic risks in the EU, with thousands of lives lost and dozens of thousands
of buildings damaged in the earthquakes that have hit the area in the past two
centuries. More than 75% of the country’s population, including 65% of the
urban population, lives in areas of risk. Moreover, 45% of all critical
services – transport, energy, water and communication – as well as 70-80% of
Romania’s GDP are located in areas exposed to seismic risks. The World Bank set
up its office in Romania in 1991 and since then it has provided funding worth a
total of 13.6 billion Dollars, in the form of loans, guarantees and grants for
all the sectors of Romanian economy.

NATO – A group of NATO experts is in
the Republic of Moldova these days, for consultations on the implementation of
that country’s Defense and Related Security Capacity Building Initiative. NATO experts from the US and the UK have met
with the Defense State Secretary Radu Burduja. They have discussed the first
stage of the project, Moldova’s national security strategy and the action plan
for the implementation of the strategy by 2021. In June 2015, the Republic of
Moldova was accepted by NATO as part of the Defense and Capacity Building Initiative. The
latest polls show that the number of those who are in favour or against
Moldova’s joining the North-Atlantic Alliance is almost the same, standing at
some 30%.

WATER POLO – On
Tuesday, the Romania men’s national water polo team was defeated by Spain 12-7
at the European Water Polo Championship in Spain, so the Romanian squad will
only be able to play for the 11th or 12th place. Trained by the Serb Dejan
Stanojevic, in the next match Romania will play against the team losing the
game between France and Germany. The Romanians have failed qualification for
the quarter finals, after on Sunday evening, in play-off, they were defeated by
Montenegro 5 – 15. The 16 best national men’s water polo teams are
participating in the competition. At the previous edition, two years ago,
Romania ranked 10th, and the best results obtained in the European competitions
were the fourth place in 1993 and then again in 2006.

FOOTBALL – The
Romanian football champion CFR Cluj was defeated on Tuesday, on home turf, by
the Swedish squad Malmo FF, in the second preliminary round of the Champions
League. The team that will qualify for the third tour will play against the
winner of the match between Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria and Vidi FC
Szekesfehervar of Hungary and the eliminated team will play, in the Europa
League preliminaries, the winner of the game between Sutjeska Niksic of
Montenegro and the Armenian squad Alaskert. In the Europa League, the vice
champions FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest) will on Thursday take on
the Slovenians from NK Rudar Velenje. If it manages to qualify, FCSB will in
the next stage play against the winner of the match between Hajduk Split of
Croatia and the Bulgarian Slavia Sofia. Viitorul Constanta will play on home
turf against the Dutch Vitesse Arnhem, after they eliminated in the first round
Racing Union Luxembourg. In the third round, Viitorul would play with the winner
of the game between PAOK Salonika, trained by the Romanian Razvan Lucescu, and
the Swiss from FC Basel. The winner of the Cup of Romania, CSU Craiova, will
play straight into the third round of the Europa League, against the winner of the
match pitting the German RB Leipzig and the Swiss from BC Haecken.

25 July 2018
Sport Club RRI: Echipele române de fotbal, în cupele europene

Campioana României la
fotbal, echipa CFR Cluj, a debutat cu stângul în sezonul european. Formaţia
antrenatǎ de Edward Iordǎnescu a pierdut prima manşǎ a confruntǎrii cu echipa
suedezǎ Malmö, în turul doi preliminar al Ligii Campionilor. Gruparea
scandinavǎ s-a impus cu scorul de 1 la 0, prin golul marcat de Carlos
Strandberg în minutul 45.

Echipa românǎ a jucat slab,
cu mult sub aşteptǎrile suporterilor. Clujenii nu au reuşit, pe întreaga duratǎ
a partidei, sǎ tragǎ vreun şut pe spaţiul porţii adverse. Oaspeţii au fost mai
periculoşi, iar scorul putea sǎ fie mai categoric în favoarea lor.

Partida retur este
programatǎ miercuri, întâi august, la Malmö. Dacǎ reuşeşte sǎ învingǎ şi sǎ se
califice mai departe, CFR se va confrunta, în turul trei preliminar al Ligii
Campionilor, cu învingǎtoarea dintre campioana Bulgariei, Ludogoreţ Razgrad, şi
Videoton, campioana Ungariei. Dacǎ nu, va merge în turul trei preliminar al Ligii
Europa.

Joi, douǎ echipe din România
joacǎ în turul doi preliminar al Ligii Europa. De la ora 18, la Ovidiu,
Viitorul întâlneşte echipa Vitesse Arnhem. Anul trecut, gruparea olandezǎ a
reuşit calificarea în faza grupelor Ligii Europa. În clasamentul final al primei divizii olandeze, echipa
din Arnhem a ocupat locul 6 şi a trecut de un baraj special pentru a merge
cǎtre cupele europene, în care a învins formaţiile ADO Den Haag şi Utrecht.
Dacǎ trece de Vitesse, Viitorul va juca împotriva echipei care pierde în
confruntarea dintre PAOK Salonic, din Grecia, şi FC Basel, din Elveţia, din
turul doi preliminar al Ligii Campionilor.

De la ora 18.30, ora
Bucureştiului, FCSB întâlneşte, în deplasare, echipa slovenǎ Rudar Velenje.
Vicecampioana românǎ porneşte cu prima şansǎ în faţa formaţiei care s-a clasat
pe locul patruîn ultima ediţie a
campionatului sloven. Gazdele nu au trecut niciodatǎ de aceastǎ fazǎ a Ligii
Europa. FCSB, în schimb, a trecut, anul trecut, de faza grupelor, oprindu-se în
16‑imile de finalǎ ale Ligii. Invingǎtoarea dintre cele douǎ formaţii va
întâlni, în turul urmǎtor, echipa care se va impune în confruntarea dintre
formaţia croatǎ Hajduk Split şi gruparea bulgarǎ Slavia Sofia.

25 July 2018
July 19, 2018 UPDATE

Promulgation. Romania’s
President Klaus Iohannis has announced he has promulgated the law on judicial organization, after having exhausted all challenge procedures. Still,
the head of state has called on the Romanian Parliament to reintroduce the law
into the parliamentary circuit as of next autumn. The law is raising many
question marks and includes unclear provisions, which lack coherence and
predictability, the president has stated. He has also stressed that the justice
laws, promoted and endorsed by the left-wing coalition formed by the Social
Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, would de facto
push Romania far from the European values. We recall that last week, the Venice
Commission, in its preliminary opinion, drew attention to the fact that,
because of the changes brought to the justice laws, the independence of the
Romanian prosecutors and judges becomes questionable.

Forecast. The National Prognosis Commission has revised Romania’s economic
growth rate for this year down to 5.5% from 6.1% in its previous spring
forecast. The inflation rate has been revised up to 3.5% from 3.2% in spring.

Danube Region. Romania and Austria are to host the Secretariat of the EU Strategy
for the Danube Region, whose re-establishment was decided at a meeting of the
Monitoring Committee of the Danube Transnational Programme and the member
states national coordinators of the EU Strategy, an event held in Split,
Croatia. Beginning in September this year, Bucharest and Vienna will open two offices
of this body. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is a high-visibility
political project and Romania’s first large-scale initiative after joining the
European Union. According to a press release published in Bucharest, Romania’s
presidency of the EU Council in the first part of next year is an opportunity
to promote this important framework for macro-regional cooperation on the
agenda of the Union and to ensure the necessary financial allocations for the
priorities proposed for the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the other
macro-regional strategies.

Prices. In Romania, the price of
natural gas for domestic consumers will increase by 6% as of August 1st,
the National Energy Regulatory Agency announced on Thursday. Also on Thursday,
the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovoci announced that the Government is
discussing a draft decision regarding the flattening of the price of natural
gas from the domestic production until June 2021. The minister has also stated
that he would like the same thing for the price of fuels.

Culture. The Romanian Government on
Thursday approved the funding of two big cultural projects, worth a total of 12
million Euros. The two projects are E-culture: Romania’s Digital Library and
Historical Monuments, Strategic Planning and Optimized Public Policies. Under
the E-culture project 550,000 cultural resources will be included in Romania’s
digital library, and an IT platform for the digital library and a catalogue
titled ‘culturalia.ro’ will be created . Also, some 200,000 cultural resources
will be included in the europeana.eu portal. The second project’s outcome will
be a cultural heritage code, as well as a national strategy concerning the
preservation of historical monuments. The projects will benefit from European
non-reimbursable funding.

Brexit. The European Commission has called on the EU countries to
accelerate preparations for the situation in which Great Britain leaves the
union without a clear agreement. The Commission has stated that the failure of
negotiations would seriously affect government affairs and travels. The
European Commission believes that preparations must be made at all levels, so
as to cover all potential consequences, in particular with regard to borders,
transport and data transfers.

Broadcasting. Radio Free Europe says it will resume news programs in
Bulgaria and Romania in December this year in a bid to consolidate the media
landscape in these countries. The station, which is funded by the United States
Congress, will carry multi-media reports and analyses in Romanian and Bulgarian
and will collaborate with the local media to expand existing projects that
promote public accountability and debunk fake news. The station’s Romanian
language service opened in 1950 and ended in 2008, when Romania had already
become a member of the European Union and NATO. Historians view as essential
the station’s contribution to the erosion and final collapse, in 1989, of the
communist dictatorship in Bucharest. The station still has a Romanian language
service in the Republic of Moldova. Radio Free Europe broadcasts to 26 million
people in 20 different countries with restrictions on media freedom and
where professional journalism is not fully developed.

Pop music. 18 singers from 15 different countries will be vying for the Grand
Trophy of the Golden Stag Festival to be held in Brasov, central Romania,
between the 29th of August and the 2nd of September. The initial line-up was
15, but organizers decided to expand it following great demand. Romania has
three representatives, Dora Gaitanovici, Ovidiu Anton and Raluca Blejusca,
while the Republic of Moldova is represented by Lidia Isac. The Golden Stag
Festival this year celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special edition and
65,000 Euros worth of prizes. The festival will come to an end with a Romania
Centenary show featuring traditional Romanian music and contemporary
reinterpretations of his genre.

Football. The Romanian football squad Viitorul Constanta on Thursday
qualified for the second round of Europa League’s preliminaries, after a 0-0
draw in the match against Racing FC Union Luxembourg. In the first match, away
from home, the Romanians had won 2-nil. The other teams representing Romania in
Europa League are the vice-champion FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest),
which will play in the second round against the Slovenian squad NK Rudar
Velenje and the cup winner CSU Craiova, which will play straight into the third
preliminary round. Romania’s champions CFR Cluj will take on the Swedish team
Malmo FF in the second preliminary round of the Champions League.

19 July 2018