Radio România Internațional

Tag: European Affairs

  • November 13, 2018

    November 13, 2018

    STRASBOURG – The European Parliament is today voting upon a resolution on the observance of the rule of law in Romania. According to Radio Romanias correspondent in Strasbourg, the resolution brings together the standpoints of the EP following last months debate, also attended by Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă, whose focal point of the talks was the reform of the judiciary and the protests in Romania against the changes to the justice laws. The text of the resolution calls on the Romanian Parliament and Government to counteract any measures which might decriminalise corruption in office, to fully implement the recommendations of the EC, GRECO and the Venice Commission and to refrain from making any reform which might put in jeopardy the observance of the rule of law, including the independence of the judiciary. The resolution also notes reasons of concern on political restrictions of mass media liberties and condemns what its calls the violent and disproportionate intervention of the gendarmes and of the police in the August 10 protest of the diaspora, against the government made up of the Social Democratic Party –the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.



    CVM – The European Commission is today making public a new CVM report on Romania. The document makes an X-ray analysis of the justice system and of the fight against corruption, reviewing the measures that have been taken in these domains. According to European sources, in the current document, the EC calls on Bucharest to observe the recommendations made by the Venice Commission on the recent changes brought to the justice laws and the criminal codes. The Venice Commission considers that the two codes have been adopted through a fast and non-transparent legislative process. As regards the Criminal Code, the most important ascertainment is that it decriminalises facts related to THE abuse of office, which makes almost impossible the sentencing of those guilty. Also in the new CVM report, the European Commission calls for the revision of the instruments of the fight against corruption and wants to re-launch the process of nominating the chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, by promoting prosecutors with a rich experience in the fight against corruption. It is also recommended that the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy in the procedure to remove from office and nominate chief prosecutors to be mandatory and not consultative, as is now. In brief, the European Commission wants the CVM to be lifted by the end of its mandate. The CVM is a process of regulated verification of the progress that Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria are making in reforming the judiciary and fighting corruption. The mechanism was instated when the two countries joined the EU, on January 1, 2007.



    NOMINATIONS – Ecaterina Andronescu has today been nominated by the National Standing Bureau of the Social Democratic Party, the senior party in the ruling coalition in Romania, for the position of education minister. The seat has been vacant since September, after Valentin Popa tendered his resignation. Also, state secretary with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, George Ciamba, was designated to replace Victor Negrescu as minister delegate for European Affairs. Negrescu stepped down at end of last week. Romania will take over on January 1, the presidency of the EU Council and Victor Negrescu had responsibilities relating to the whole project, involving preparations. PM Viorica Dăncilă has today told a press conference that in spite of the newly created situation after the resignation tendered by Negrescu, Bucharest is ready to hold the half-yearly rotating presidency of the EU Council. Yesterday, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, voiced concern about the latest developments at the level of the government, which might affect, in his opinion, Romanias capacity to take over the presidency of the EU Council.

    POVERTY – The
    lowest decrease in the number of people at risk of poverty as a result of unemployment
    benefits from the state or dwelling aid was registered last year in Greece (16%)
    and Romania (17%), data released by Eurostat on Tuesday show. In nine member states
    the decrease rate was below 25%, whereas the European average stood at some 32%. According to the latest report made
    public by Eurostat last month, over a third (35.7%) of Romania’s population was
    at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2017, a worse situation in the EU being
    registered only in Bulgaria, where 38.9% of the population runs this risk.

    EBRD – Transparency
    in drafting government policies in the 38 countries where the European Bank for
    Reconstruction and Development is activating has not improved since the start of the decade, with some
    exceptions, like Kazakhstan, Romania and Ukraine, the annual transition report
    issued by that financial institution shows. The document underlines the progress made by
    countries in six key domains, from competitiveness and resilience, to the way
    they are governed. According to the
    latest forecast issued this month by EBRD, Romania’s economy will register a
    growth rate of 4.2% in 2018, to go down to 3.6% next year. EBRD is one of the major
    institutional investors in Romania. The
    bank has invested so far some 8 billion Euros in the country, in over 400
    projects. In 2017 alone, EBRD invested some 550 million Euros in Romania. Over
    500 million have been invested in the private sector, thus reaching the highest
    level of investment in the past seven years.


    GAUDEAMUS- The 25 edition of the Gaudeamus International Fair, a landmark of the book market in Romania, an event organised by Radio Romania opens its doors on Wednesday. Gaudeamus 2018 will unfold under the auspices of a triple anniversary: the Great Union Centennial, 9 decades since the first broadcast was aired by Radio Romania, one of the oldest radio stations in Europe and the 25th edition of the Gaudeamus Fair.

  • November 8, 2018

    November 8, 2018

    Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is today concluding her visit to Qatar after having previously travelled to Oman/ Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan is attending in Washington the EU-US ministerial meeting in the field of Justice and Home Affairs



    GOVERNMENT– Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is today concluding her visit to Qatar after having previously travelled to Oman. The tour was aimed at boosting bilateral political dialogue and economic cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council member states. Dancila has invited business people from the two countries to come and make investments in such key sectors as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and healthcare. On Wednesday Viorica Dăncilă presided an economic forum in Doha, where she presented the main projects and business opportunities which can be developed and capitalised on through public-private partnership, as well as the Romanian authorities intention to cooperate tightly with business people in the area. In another move, Viorica Dancila underlined Romanias geostrategic position and the upward course followed by the economy in recent years.



    JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS – Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan has today started a two day visit to Washington, where she attends the EU-US ministerial meeting in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. During this high level meeting, Carmen Dan will present the priorities of the future Romanian presidency of the EU Council in the field of home affairs. The EU is represented in Washington by the interior and justice ministers of the Austrian presidency of the EU Council, members of the Romanian delegation, as our country will hold the presidency of the EU Council as of January 1 2019, and by the commissioners for migration, home affairs and security



    CYBER SECURITY – The minister delegate for European affairs, Victor Negrescu, has presented in Brussels Romanias strategy in the field of cyber security, ahead of Romanias taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on January 1, 2019. According to Negrescu, Romania is a leader in the domain and has companies which area ready to cope with current challenges, and during its term in office, the country wants to set up a platform of cooperation at international level in the field of cyber security. Negrescu has also said that Bucharest wants to contribute to the projects launched by the European Commission, to reforming European structures in the field and to boosting cooperation at European level in the field of cyber security. Romania is also intent on developing education in the field of cyber security and to provide real support for entrepreneurs in the field, the official has also said.



    LABOUR MARKET – Conditions on the labour market continue to be tense whereas skills and qualifications are not harmonised with the employers needs and the number of employees is insufficient, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu said on Thursday, when he made public the Quarterly Report on Inflation. According to the official, investment-related activities slowed down in the second quarter of the year, because of evolutions in the domain of constructions, and the lack of progress in infrastructure inhibits economic growth. Mugur Isarescu has also said that the National Bank of Romania maintains the inflation rate forecast for the end of the year at 3.5%, but it changed upward, to 2.9%, the forecast for next year.(Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • March 21, 2018

    March 21, 2018

    EUROPEAN AFFAIRS — The minister delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu, on Tuesday attended a meeting of his EU counterparts, held in Brussels. The focal points on the agenda of talks included preparations for the European Council meeting of March 22-23 and the stage of implementing the decisions issued by the European Council of December 2017. According to the communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, during the meeting, Negrescu briefed his European partners on the organisation demarches made by Romania before taking over the Presidency of the EU Council, that it will hold in the first half of 2019. As regards Brexit, the result of negotiations has confirmed that European citizens, including the Romanian ones and their family members who settle in Great Britain during the transition period, will enjoy the same rights as the EU citizens who are already living there.



    EP ELECTIONS — The future elections for the European Parliament will be held over May 23-26, 2019, according to a decision issued by the EU European Affairs ministers who gathered in Brussels to attend the General Affairs Council. European parliamentary elections are held every five years. The structure of the new European Parliament will have 705 seats, as compared to 751 at present. The difference is the result of Great Britain’s leaving the community bloc. 46 of the 73 seats held by Britons will be slashed and the rest of 27 will be distributed to the EU member states which are under-represented in the European Parliament. Romania will hold 33 seats, that is one more seat than in the current legislature.



    HEARINGS — The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, has been heard today by the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest in a file in which he is tried for inciting to abuse of office. Three defendants, who have already pleaded guilty in the same file, have also been heard today. The file refers to the employment of two PSD members at the General Social Welfare and Child Protection Directorate in Teleorman County, in the south, when the incumbent Social-Democratic leader was the County Council President. According to the anti-corruption prosecutors, the two employees didn’t go to work and didn’t carry out any of the activities stipulated in their employment agreement, actually doing their job exclusively at the headquarters of the PSD county organisation, led by Liviu Dragnea. He also got a suspended two-year sentence in another file, for attempted electoral fraud.



    HANDBALL — Romania’s national women’s handball team is today meeting Russia, away from home, at Togliatti, in its third match of the Euro 2018 qualifiers. The round match will be played in Cluj, north-western Romania on Sunday. With two earlier wins, the Romanians coached by Spaniard Ambros Martin are leading the group with 4 points, followed by Russia and Austria, with 2 points each, and Portugal with zero points. The first two teams in the group will qualify for the final tournament due in France in December.



    TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu (no. 70 WTA) is today facing Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, no. 75 WTA, in the first round of the WTA Miami tournament. Also today, another Romanian, Irina Begu, no. 37 WTA will meet for the first time Danielle Collins of the US, no.93 WTA. On Tuesday, Mihaela Buzarnescu was defeated in two sets by Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens. First seeded Simona Halep, no 1. WTA and Sorana Cîrstea, no. 33 WTA, have already qualified for the second round. The Miami Tournament offers nearly 8 million dollars in prize money up for grabs. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • The Europe Direct Internship and Scholarship Gala

    The Europe Direct Internship and Scholarship Gala

    The Europe Direct Information Center of Bucharest, hosted by the European Institute in Romania, offers undergraduates and graduate students in Bucharest universities the possibility of specializing in European affairs. Recently, Bucharest hosted the second edition of the Internship and Scholarship Gala. 20 young students or graduates were awarded social media scholarships. The scholarship is a month, with the possibility of extending it to 3 months, by mutual agreement of the parts, depending on the activities of the center, the scholarship holders availability and willingness to get involved. We found out more about this project from Diana Filip, coordinator of the Europe Direct Center of Bucharest:


    “This is a program we began in early 2014. The first scholarships were granted in 2014, and we thought that the interns who work at the European Institute and the Europe Direct Center should be rewarded for their work, considering that they work alongside us 3 to 6 hours a day. We make a selection, once or twice a year, depending on the number of people we need and the number of applications we receive. The number of places available is two per month, we had 20 places this year and in 2015, while in 2014 we had fewer places because the program started later. The call for applications is posted on our website. This is a European opportunity that we also disseminate on social media too, on Facebook and Twitter. The applications get sent by e-mail and have to contain a CV, a form we supply which has to be filled in with details of interest to us. Also, they should submit a creative paper on a European topic, focusing on the European priorities of that particular year. Recently, we have just finished the call for applications under the 2016 scholarship program.



    Madalin Blidaru studies political science and had a scholarship at the Europe Direct Center in June last year.



    “I had the opportunity to get up to speed on everything about Europe, to see what goes on in the European Parliament and how this is received in Romania, to see what activities the European Commission has, including opportunities for financing, which are promoted among citizens, opportunities for young people, scholarships, study programs, and other EU news. This internship was on communication. It was an interesting one, because we know how useful it is for information to reach citizens, younger and older alike. When I was there I interacted with people who were there to get information on various topics on the European agenda. At school I specialized mostly in European studies, therefore this internship helped me organize my knowledge, and it also helped me with my exams.



    Ioana Vorochevici is also a political science student, and is working on her PhD right now:



    “I was on a one-month internship at the Europe Direct Information Center last year. It was an extremely useful internship, both in terms of technical elements learned there related to social media, but also in terms of the new perspectives I encountered due to taking part in events. I am very grateful for the opportunity I have, and I hope to continue my collaboration with the Center.



    Marina Penciu is a doctoral student with the University of Bucharest School of History, and in spring last year she had the opportunity of getting an internship with the European Institute:



    “This was one of the most productive activities I have taken part in outside school, especially considering that I very much liked the centers mission. I think it is very important how you communicate with citizens, and not generally and declaratively, but punctual, concrete communication, in a manner which is easily understood by them. We tried to transform the EUs general messages in punctual, clear, concise messages to help citizens understand Europe better. I think people have to understand what the purpose is, and what leverage they have, as citizens of the Union, especially in this crisis context. We have to become aware that, in the end, the European project is to everyones advantage. In my PhD thesis I focus on international organizations, not the EU, but NATO. I believe, however, that working in an international organization, such as the EU, is one of the ideal jobs right now. I think this type of job is most suitable for our way of being and for the plans our generation has.



    The Europe Direct network is one of the main instruments used by the European Commission to inform its citizens and communicate with them at local level. Ioana Marchis – coordinator of the Europe Direct network in Romania – urges students to register for the scholarships offered by the European Commission Representation in Romania too:



    “The Commission has lots of programs running in partnership or through the relevant state institutions. This project, called Europe Direct, runs in all member states. Practically there are 550 such centers as the one in Bucharest, all over Europe. Romania has 31 such centers. On this occasion, I invite interns to also apply for an internship at the Representation. This opportunity is open for applications until June- July, and I hope as many of you will show passion and will get involved in all that has to do with communication, the topic of our internship. At this point we, at the European Commission, are starting to work on some reference terms, namely what we would like to happen with these centers over the next financial framework.



    Some of the people who took part in these European communication courses managed to get jobs in this domain. They are communicators for European policies for Romania.


    (Translated by C. Cotoiu)