Radio România Internațional

Tag: European Commission

  • European money for wind and photovoltaic installations

    European money for wind and photovoltaic installations

     

     

     

    On Wednesday, the European Commission approved a 3 billion Romanian State aid scheme to support onshore wind and solar photovoltaic installations to foster the transition to a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the state aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependency.

     

    The measure will be open to projects for the construction and operation of new installations for the generation of electricity from solar photovoltaic and onshore wind.

    The aid will be granted through competitive bidding procedures, before December 31, 2025.

    According to the European Commission, the scheme guarantees a minimum level of return to the beneficiaries. Moreover, the scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to accelerate the green transition and facilitate the development of certain economic activities.

    Also for the transition to clean energy, the Romanian Senate has recently adopted a bill initiated by the Government that establishes the legal framework for the development of investments in the field of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea. According to the initiator, by promoting this project, Romania will maintain and strengthen its position as an important energy producer in the region and will have an active and significant role in the transition to clean energy at the level of the European Union.

     

    We recall that the Ministry of Energy, referring to the World Bank estimates, has  recently mentioned that Romania has an impressive potential for offshore wind energy, estimated at 76 GW of installed power, which indicates a favorable framework for the development of this renewable energy sector. At the European level, an analysis by the Fraunhofer Institute shows that last year, wind installations were responsible for 19% of all electricity produced in the EU, which helped the EU ensure half of its total electricity production from renewable sources.

     

    According to Reuters, in its annual report, the WindEurope association described 2023 as the year of “significant improvement” in key areas of the European wind power sector, which faced difficulties in 2022 amid high inflation, interest rate hikes and volatility on the energy market, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Last year, according to official statistics, investments in offshore wind farms in Europe rose to 30 billion euros, compared to only 0.4 billion euros in 2022.

  • February 10, 2024

    February 10, 2024

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




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




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




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




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



  • European Commission issues economic forecast

    European Commission issues economic forecast

    The National
    Strategy and Forecast Commission in Bucharest has downgraded the economic
    growth forecast for 2023, from 2.8% to 2%, invoking the shrinking of the
    industry sector and the unexpectedly poor performance of the agriculture
    sector. The European Commission too revised its forecast for Romanian economy,
    from 3.2% as estimated in May, to 2.2%. The reasons behind the economic
    slowdown, according to the European Commission, include soaring inflation,
    which limits available revenues, tougher financial conditions and external
    demand. Next year, Romanian economy is expected to grow by 3.1%, below the
    spring forecast of 3.5%. In 2025, the economy will go up 3.4%.

    According to the
    Commission, over the next couple of years, economic growth will rely on robust
    increases determined by available income, a lower impact of rising interest
    rates and the resistance of consumption and public investment. While private
    consumption is expected to slow down, investments will remain the key
    contributor to GDP growth in the examined interval, the European Commission
    autumn report shows. As regards budget deficit, the Commission says it might
    reach 6.3% of the GDP in 2023, which would be tantamount to the level of last
    year. This would be a radical increase compared to the 4.7% estimate announced
    in spring. The European Commission expects the budget deficit to go down to
    5.3% of the GDP in 2024 and to 5.1% in 2025, as a result of fiscal
    consolidation measures that will take effect in January. Nevertheless, curbing
    the budget deficit based on these measures might be in part countered by
    personnel-related spending.

    The European Commission says that its forecast does
    not factor in the short-term potential impact of the pension reform the
    government is currently implementing. This will entail recalculating pensions
    and significantly increasing most of them. Romania is currently under excessive
    deficit proceedings, and unless it manages to bridge the gap between public
    spending and revenues, it risks losing dozens of billions worth of EU funds.
    With respect to inflation, the European Commission says the downward trend of
    inflation will produce effects only starting next year, once it falls in line
    with the targets of the Central Bank. For 2023, the European Commission expects
    a slight decrease in inflation, from an average of 12% in 2022 to 9.8%. The
    inflation rate is expected to go down to 5.9% in 2024 and to 3.4% in 2025. (VP)

  • EC vice-president in Bucharest

    EC vice-president in Bucharest

    The EC vice-president for values and transparency,
    Vera Jourova, was on an official visit to Romania on Monday, when she had
    talks with president Klaus Iohannis. The topics included the rule of law and reforms in the
    judiciary, as well as support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
    Another topic was Romania’s Schengen
    accession. The country’s inclusion in the border-free area remains on stand-by,
    after Austria vetoed the accession, which had already been postponed repeatedly.


    The EC vice-president also discussed the topic with
    PM Marcel Ciolacu, who thanked the EU official for the support given to Romania’s
    efforts in this respect. PM Ciolacu also discussed the rule of law, ways to
    fight disinformation and the digital transition.


    Vera Jourova also had a meeting with the justice
    minister, Alina Gorghiu, and the chiefs of the country’s major prosecutor’s
    offices. My message for the authorities is that Romania is doing well in terms
    of the judicial system. There are still new laws that must be implemented, and
    this must be done not for Brussels, but for the Romanian people, who need
    access to a very well designed judicial system, the EC vice-president said.


    The agenda of the talks also included the recommendations
    in the Rule of Law Report, the special pensions law and the measures to ensure
    human resources, given that as of next March around 600 new magistrates will
    join the system after passing the National Magistrate Institute exam and the
    magistrate exam based on 5-year length in service.


    We are careful to endorse predictable
    legislation, to have consistent activity in the National Anti-Corruption
    Directorate, to ensure the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and
    Terrorism Offences tackles important issues, from drug trafficking to human
    trafficking, Alina Gorghiu pointed out.


    Also on Monday, Vera Jourova visited the
    European Cybersecurity Competence Centre in Bucharest. The topics discussed
    there included Romania’s participation in the Digital Decade programme, the
    implementation of the reforms in the Digital Transformation component of the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the performance of the European Cybersecurity
    Competence Centre and the importance of cyber security.


    There is huge potential in this country, we have
    schools that train experts, and a large number of women compared to other
    member states, Vera Jourova said. She also mentioned that, under the National Recovery
    and Resilience Plan, EUR 5 bln are earmarked for digitisation, the 5G network,
    education, e-government and business digitisation. (AMP)

  • Discontent over Ukrainian grains

    Discontent over Ukrainian grains

    Heated talks were triggered in the latest European Parliament session by the issue of Ukrainian grain exports. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Polish Janusz Wojciechowski, stated that, in his opinion, the European Commission should extend the temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports in five EU neighboring states, given that the measure contributed to increasing exports outside the bloc



    The Romanian MEP Dacian Cioloş asked the members of the Commission to wake up to reality and appoint a special coordinator of the Union for the export of Ukrainian grains, to ensure that the shipments only transit the neighboring countries and are not sold there. The Union was not able to come up with a common decision, and Russia’s strategy of using food as a weapon to increase its political influence in the world is intolerable, he pointed out. The most vocal were, however, the Polish MEPs, who demanded serious measures to protect farmers in their country.



    Ukraine has become completely dependent on alternative EU routes for its grain exports after Russia pulled out in July from a one-year deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be transported safely through the Black Sea ports, now attacked by Moscow. As a result, farmers in neighboring states – Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia – have been faced with increased competition and serious blockages in their own markets. Thus, there is pressure to extend the ban, which would expire on Friday. The European executive announced, in May, temporary preventive measures that would ban grain sales in these five states, while allowing transit through their territory to markets outside the EU, mainly Africa.



    The Commission has allocated €156 million in compensation to affected EU farmers and raised almost €1.9 billion to improve alternative routes. Over 60% of Ukrainian grain transiting the EU passes through Romania, where farmers’ associations have threatened protests if the ban is lifted. The Romanian Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, suggested to the Commission to establish a system of subsidies for the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products outside the bloc. In his opinion, the restrictive measures had a positive effect on the grain market in Romania. The war in Ukraine forced local farmers to export grain at any price. However, their costs are much lower because they are exempt from customs duties, thus leading to unfair competition. (MI)




  • August 31, 2023 UPDATE

    August 31, 2023 UPDATE

    TALKS Romania’s Prime
    Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, will fly to Brussels on Friday for a new round of
    talks with the European Commission on the country’s budget deficit next year.
    The Executive in Bucharest would like a deficit over 5% and in order to
    convince Brussels, the Romanian Prime Minister is expected to propose a series
    of fiscal measures, including that of cutting the VAT quotas down to two and the
    elimination of some facilities. Ciolacu is expected to explain that a budget
    deficit over 5% is necessary as Romania had to support the neighboring Ukraine,
    affected by the war. Early this week, the European Commission held talks with
    government ministers from Romania. The conclusions of the aforementioned
    meetings have not been made public, but, according to some European sources,
    the Commission does not consider the measures proposed by the Romanian authorities
    who pledged to raise taxes and curb public expenses as being enough.






    VISIT A team of the European Commission is to visit Romania on
    Friday and Saturday for talks on ways to streamline the local capabilities handling
    the Ukrainian grain exports, after Russia has left the initiative regarding these
    exports through the Black Sea and is presently threatening maritime civil
    transportation. The expert team will be visiting the ports of Galati, on the
    Danube and meet representatives of the Lower Danube Administration, port
    authorities and pilots. The team will also travel to the Romanian Black Sea
    port of Constanta for talks with the representatives of the operators,
    transporters and grain traders here, the European Commission has announced.




    DAY A series of cultural events was staged simultaneously in
    Romania, the Republic of Moldova and the historic communities in the Diaspora
    to mark the Day of the Romanian Language on Thursday, August 31. Set by
    Parliament in Bucharest in 2013, the Day of the Romanian Language coincides
    with the national day in the Romanian-speaking, ex-soviet, Republic of Moldova,
    which thus pays homage to the local movement of national awakening. On August
    31 1989, during the soviet regime, the Parliament in Chisinau, picketed by
    about 750 thousand people, which accounted for a sixth of the country’s
    population at that time, decided the Romanian as the state language also
    shifting from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet.




    ITO As of Thursday the
    city of Timișoara in Western Romania is hosting the 7th edition of the
    International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO). Attending are clergymen from at
    home and abroad, MPs, ministers and academia. The conference will tackle a
    number of issues tied to universal history and culture, but also human
    trafficking and drug abuse. Religious services will be held, whereas a march
    will commemorate the young people killed in the 1989 anti-communist revolution.
    The International Meeting of the Orthodox Youth is part of the agenda of the
    Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023 programme. The next meeting
    will be held in Bucharest in 2025, marking 100 years since the establishment of
    the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate.




    (bill)

  • August 31, 2023

    August 31, 2023

    CREVEDIA – A new patient who suffered burns in last week’s explosions
    in Crevedia has died. According to the Health Ministry, the patient had
    sustained burns on 90% of his body. This is the third fatality reported in the
    wake of last week’s explosions at an LPG station in Crevedia. 5 people are
    still in critical condition: 2 are treated in Romania and 3 abroad. 22 patients
    hospitalized in Bucharest are stable while 19 were discharged. In today’s
    session, the government is expected to vote the provision of emergency
    financial aid to the families and victims of the tragic event. Several houses
    were affected by the blasts, of which 8 were destroyed. Intervention teams
    remain on-scene until the site is fully secured, whereas prosecutors have
    launched a number of criminal investigations.




    DEFICIT – Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel CIolacu is today
    discussing with European Commission representatives about Romania’s budget
    deficit for 2024. The government wants a deficit above 5%, and has prepared a
    number of fiscal measures to convince the Commission the target is feasible.
    The government thus wants to cut the number of VAT quotas to two and eliminate
    certain tax breaks. Marcel Ciolacu believes a deficit above 5% is necessary, in
    the context Romania has provided support to neighboring Ukraine. Earlier this
    week, the European Commission talked to Romanian ministers but has not yet made
    public its conclusions. According to EU sources, the Commission believes the
    Romanian government’s measures to increase taxes and cut back on public
    spending are not enough to meet the deficit target.




    ROMANIAN LANGUAGE DAY – Romanian Language Day is celebrated every
    year on August 31. Today, a series of cultural events are held on this occasion
    in Romania and neighboring Moldova. The Romanian Academy and the Moldovan
    Science Academy have organized a mixed scholarly meeting, held in both
    Bucharest and Chișinău. In the Moldovan capital-city, the meeting continued
    with the 12th edition of the World Conference on the life and works
    of Mihai Eminescu. In Bucharest, the Botanical Gardens hosted public reading
    sessions, while the city in Iași in northeastern Romania hosted a special event
    – The Great Dictation, addressing people who want to test their writing,
    grammar and spelling skills. Romanian Language Day is also marked by Romanian
    Cultural Institutes abroad by means of conferences, Romanian language, culture
    and civilization classes, book launches, concerts or exhibitions.




    ITO – The city of Timișoara
    (western Romania) is as of today hosting the 7th edition of the International
    Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO). Attending are clergymen from at home and
    abroad, MPs, ministers and academia. The conference will tackle a number of
    issues tied to universal history and culture, but also human trafficking and
    drug abuse. Religious services will be officiated, whereas a march will
    commemorate the young people killed in the 1989 anti-communist revolution. The
    International Meeting of the Orthodox Youth is part of the agenda of the Timișoara
    – European Capital of Culture in 2023 programme. The next meeting will be held
    in Bucharest in 2025, marking 100 years since the establishment of the Romanian
    Orthodox Patriarchate.




    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea on Wednesday advanced
    to the third round of the US Open after ousting Ana Kalynskaya of Russia, 6-3,
    6-4. The Romanian player thus matched her best performance at Flushing Meadows.
    In the next round, Cîrstea will go up against Elena Rybakina, world number 4.
    (VP)

  • August 30, 2023 UPDATE

    August 30, 2023 UPDATE

    MEASURES – The European Commission is yet to present its
    conclusions following this week’s talks with Romanian government
    representatives. According to EU sources, the plans and measures presented by Romanian
    ministers failed to convince the Commission they are enough to gap Romania’s
    budget deficit. The proposals for postponing or modifying budget deficit
    targets were also met with skepticism, all the more so as the situation in
    Romania is fragile in this sector and Romania is the only EU Member State
    facing infringement procedures in this respect. The opposition in Bucharest
    claims the European Commission allegedly said no to increasing the budget
    deficit because it distrusted the reform promises of the current government. In
    turn, representatives of the business sector have told European Commission
    representatives that a number of red lines must be drawn with regard to the
    current fiscal measures promoted by Romanian lawmakers. Companies want all fiscal
    modifications to be postponed to January 2024 at the earliest, while the
    government should announce fiscal measures at least 6 months before they take
    effect in order to ensure predictability in the business sector.




    CREVEDIA EXPLOSIONS – 19 of the almost
    60 people injured in Saturday’s explosions in Crevedia 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 still in critical 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.




    NETWORK – Prosecutors with the Directorate for Investigating
    Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in cooperation with the Romanian Police
    have shut down a segment of an global computer network that infected hundreds
    of thousands of computers in dozens of countries with a view to accessing the
    finances of their users. According to investigators, the victims were usually
    sent links which, once accessed, uploaded viruses to their computers, allowing
    hackers to copy financial records. The administrators of this network were
    allegedly paid 50 mln EUR in ransoms by the victims over 2021-2023.




    KOREA-ROMANIA RELATIONS – 2023 marks 15 years since the establishment of the
    Strategic Partnership between South Korea and Romania. During this time,
    economic relations have seen an exponential increase, the South-Korean
    Ambassador in Romania, HE Rim Kap-soo said in an interview during his visit to
    the headquarters of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation in Bucharest. As
    a result of intensified economic exchanges, two-way trade stood at 1.3 bln EUR
    last year. Last week, Seoul donated to Romania 81 pieces of lab equipment worth
    approximately 3.67 mln EUR, which will be used by the National Institute for
    Public Health. HE Rim Kap-soo explained this was a gesture of goodwill in light
    of the excellent cooperation between the two countries during the COVID-19
    pandemic, when Romania offered Seoul 1.5 million doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
    (LS & VP)





  • The price of energy, capped again

    The price of energy, capped again

    The Bucharest government has decided that energy prices will be capped this winter as well, as it was the case last season. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy must prepare, as soon as possible, the program for the cold season and present it to the government. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has asked the relevant ministries to prepare the energy program for the winter, both for the population and for companies, and to present it to the executive


    Government Spokesperson, Mihai Constantin:


    Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has asked the ministries to prepare the provision of energy in the cold season for the population and for economic production. Also, today an emergency ordinance was approved which ensures the settlement of some payments for energy suppliers, so that the system will continue to be perfectly functional, with capped prices for citizens, as it is today.



    Two years ago, energy prices began to rise spectacularly, worldwide, affecting both domestic and non-domestic consumers. The growth started following the COVID-19 pandemic and growing international demand. In 2022, Russia’s war against Ukraine and its unilateral decision to suspend gas supplies to some EU member states deepened the crisis, leading to record highs in energy prices. However, there are signs of stabilization this year, partly due to the policies and interventions of EU governments.After international prices fell, this trend is also observed in terms of electricity production.



    In this context, the European Commission and the World Bank have recommended that Romania give up capping energy prices, in order to balance public finances and comply with fiscal rules in 2024. In the country, electricity and natural gas prices have been capped since November 1 2021, due to the liberalization of the line market starting July 1, the same year.Those who benefited most from this capping were those with low consumption. Thus, currently, for electricity, there are ceilings of 68 bani (about 13 eurocents) and 80 bani (about 16 eurocents) per kilowatt hour for low (0-100 kWh) and medium consumption (100-255kWh) respectively. Those who consume more, that is over 300 kilowatt hours, benefit from a capped price of 1.3 lei (26 euro cents).



    Also, small and medium-sized enterprises, the food and pharmaceutical industry, community services and places of worship pay 1 leu per kWh (about 20 eurocents). Regarding the price of natural gas, it remains the same as before – household customers pay 31 bani (about 6 eurocents) per kilowatt-hour, and non-household customers pay 37 bani (about 7 eurocents). (MI)

  • July 5, 2023 UPDATE

    July 5, 2023 UPDATE


    CVM – The
    European Commission notified the European Council and the European Parliament
    over its plan to shut down the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for
    Romania and Bulgaria, which will be replaced by an annual report on the rule of
    law. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the European Commissioner for
    Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, who expressed confidence the mechanism
    will be lifted this year. In the last CVM report for Bulgaria, which was in
    2019, and Romania in 2022, the Commission already concluded that Bulgaria and
    Romania have made sufficient progress in meeting the commitments made at the
    time of their accession to the EU and that all CVM benchmarks have been
    satisfactorily met, Jourová said. In its rule of law report published on
    Wednesday, the Commission recommends Romania take measures at operational level
    to respond to remaining concerns related to the investigation and trial of
    justice-related criminal offenses, including corruption. At the same time, the
    Commission says Romania has reported significant progress in strengthening
    instruments that ensure the independence of the judiciary and tackle
    operational challenges of the National Anticorruption Directorate.




    VISIT -
    Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s visit to Germany continued on
    Wednesday with a meeting with representatives of the German business sector.
    The Romanian official later met the vice-president of the Bundestag, Katrin
    Göring-Eckardt, as well as members of the main parliamentary factions. Marcel
    Ciolacu highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation and the significant
    potential it offers, considering Germany is Romania’s top trade partner.
    Germany has expressed an interest to invest in the Romanian petrochemical sector,
    given the discovery of new gas deposits in Romania, as well as in the Romanian
    raw materials industry, in the context of the upcoming effort to reconstruct
    Ukraine. The Romanian Prime Minister pointed out Romania has numerous
    resources, as well as energy projects that should ensure Romania plays a key
    role in securing stability in the region, also underlining Romania’s potential
    in the agricultural sector. Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ciolacu met with
    representatives of the German defense sector. On the first day of his visit on
    Tuesday, Marcel Ciolacu met Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who reiterated his
    country’s support for Romania’s Schengen accession in 2023.




    EDUCATION -
    Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday promulgated the new Education laws.
    A former high-school teacher, Iohannis, has been promoting a programme known as
    ‘Educated Romania’ launched in 2016 and followed by a series of public debates.
    Solutions have been proposed for fighting school violence in the country’s
    pre-university education, to support the disadvantaged categories of students,
    curb school dropout and promote sports. Concerning university education,
    president Iohannis says the new legislative measures are going to bring the
    Romanian education up to international standards. The education laws have been
    promulgated after years of debates and at the end of a critical period in
    Romania’s education system, marked by the recent all-out strike of the
    teachers. In another development, upon the appeals session for the National Assessment
    exam counting towards the candidates’ high-school accession, 76.4% of the
    students have obtained passing results while 73% of the candidates have passed
    the baccalaureate exam.




    PROTEST -
    The Health Solidarity Federation announced new protests, including a work-in
    strike in several medical units on Thursday. Federation representatives want
    the government to modify the emergency decree passed last week so as to fully
    enforce the salary law for all health workers and increase salaries. The Federation
    wants real salary raises, based on last week’s decree, and the proper
    conditions to allow for this pay rise. Nearly 1,400 physicians want to
    terminate their on-call work agreements and some 6,400 employees want to give
    up shift work and legal holidays work schedules, the Federation also claims.




    GAUDEAMUS -
    The first summer edition of the book fair Gaudeamus Radio Romania kicked off in
    Brașov, central Romania. The event is part of the Gaudeamus caravan, a
    nationwide project that has been initiated and carried on by Radio Romania for
    more than 20 years. The present edition’s offer includes, the book fair itself,
    graphic and photo art, literary creation, all brought together into 40
    exhibition stands. This edition is expected to end on Sunday, July 9. (DB &
    VP)

  • Euranet Plus 2023 Summit with Josep Borrell

    Euranet Plus 2023 Summit with Josep Borrell

    In the context of the war in Ukraine and some apparent shifts in the bloc’s foreign and defence policies, Euranet Plus invited Josep Borrell Fontelles, the Commission vice-president and the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, into the studio.



    In a multilingual interview, host Beatriz Ríos took questions from journalists in our pan-European network: from BNR in Bulgaria, 100.7 in Luxembourg, Polskie Radio in Poland, Žiniu Radijas in Lithuania and euradio in France.





    For more information you can also follow our in-depth release on the website of the Euranet Plus project.



    Producing and broadcasting in 15 official EU languages, Euranet Plus provides EU-related content through its international, national and regional radio stations in 15 countries of the European Union.

  • European Commission cautions Romania

    European Commission cautions Romania

    The European
    Commission has again referred to the economic situation in Romania, at present
    the only EU Member State targeted by the excessive deficit procedure (EDP)
    based on evolutions prior to the pandemic. The warning comes as the Commission
    has published a set of general fiscal, financial and economic recommendations
    for each Member State. Brussels does not want to take other similar actions in
    the upcoming period, Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis says, arguing
    that a re-assessment of criteria to meet debt and deficit targets will be made
    this autumn and next year in spring. In particular, the Commission wants Member
    States to comply with recommendations in the European semester, vice-president
    Dombrovskis also pointed out, adding that investments should be doubled by a
    very firm control of current spending.

    As regards Romania, the European
    official said our country’s budget deficit for 2022 complies with the EU
    Council recommendations, which is why the EDP is kept in standby. But since
    there are substantially larger risks for the current year, more efforts are
    needed to attain the set targets, Valdis Dombrovskis went on to say. According
    to European officials, Romania is overspending at present, and needs to bring
    the budget deficit below 3% by 2024. The Commission’s recommendation is that
    the government should cut support measures in the energy sector, which are
    currently in place until the end of 2023, and use the resulting savings to
    curtail the deficit. Another recommendation is to ensure efficient governance
    and consolidate administrative capabilities so as to allow for a continuous,
    swift and constant implementation of the recovery and resilience plan. Romania
    was given six months to solve all the issues signaled by the Commission with
    respect to certain milestones or targets in the National Recovery and
    Resilience Plan, which it has not properly fulfilled. State Secretary with the
    Ministry of Investments and European Projects, Carmen Moraru explained that
    only the funds earmarked to these projects can be suspended, not the entire
    €2.8 bln representing the second installment disbursed to Romania. Referring to
    the current phase of its implementation, Carmen Moraru said the plan stipulates
    funding contracts worth €26 bln, addressing the ministries of development,
    transports, education and the environment, which launched major projects. (VP)



  • 7th meeting of the European Migration Forum

    7th meeting of the European Migration Forum

    The 7th meeting of the European Migration Forum took place in Brussels, a platform for dialogue on migration, asylum and the integration of migrants, organized by the European Commission, through DG Home, and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).



    About 200 representatives of the European institutions and some organizations and NGOs active in the field of migration and refugees participated in the event. Special guests at the Forum were Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, and Christa Schweng, President of the EESC.



    I spoke with Christa Schweng, President of the EESC:






    My next interlocutor was Anitta Hipper, the EU Commission’s spokesperson on home affairs, migration, and internal security:






    I also spoke with Ákos Topolánszky of Hungary, member of the Civil Society Organisations Group (Group III) of the EESC:






    My next interlocutor was José Antonio Moreno Díaz of Spain, member of the Workers Group (Group II) of the EESC:






    Catriona Graham is the Director of Advocacy and Partnerships – the World Organization of the Scout Movement. We have briefly discussed during the Forum:






    My last interlocutor was Michael McLoughlin of Ireland, member of the Civil Society Organisations Group (Group III) of the EESC:




  • Concerted action to curb energy reliance

    Concerted action to curb energy reliance


    Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union seeks to reduce its Russian gas imports by two thirds by the end of this year, and to fully eliminate them by 2027. Alternatives to Russian gas and solidarity between EU member states are seen as possible solutions on the short-term to counteract Gazproms decision to suspend gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described Moscows decision as blackmail and gave assurances that gas reserves are solid across the entire community bloc. Meanwhile, the EU is working on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which might target Russian oil, banks in the Russian Federation and Belarus, as well as more individuals and businesses.




    The EU assumes that some countries are capable of eliminating Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, whereas others, East-European countries in particular, are concerned by the possible impact such a decision might have on the market. For instance, Germany, one of biggest buyers of Russian oil in the world, seems willing to accept an embargo by the end of the year. In response to Russias invasion in Ukraine, Berlin reported major headway in curbing its reliance on Russian energy imports. According to some European diplomats, quoted by Reuters, countries such as Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia have some gas reserves. Moreover, the spokesman of Prime Minister Orbans cabinet claims it is important the EU should not accept sanctions that would prevent the import of Russian gas or oil in the future.



    As regards Italy, Azerbaijan announced it could double the volume of natural gas delivered to this country, although that would require increasing the transport capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. At the same time, countries in Eastern Europe are joining efforts to develop joint projects and share resources, with a view to countering Russias monopoly on the gas market and curb the EUs dependency on Russian gas. A pipeline linking Greece to Bulgaria is expected to be finalized by June, and will provide the two countries and their neighbors with new connections to the gas grid.



    As regards Romania, both president Klaus Iohannis, as well as Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, had talks on Friday with Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, about improving the energy inter-connection of the two countries. In turn, the United States announced in March they would supply Europe with an additional 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with a view to increasing transports to 50 billion per year over time. Experts say that this amount of LNG, although substantial, will not be able to fully replace Europes Russian gas imports, which currently stand at some 155 billion cubic meters per year. (VP)




  • The conclusions of the latest CVM report

    The conclusions of the latest CVM report

    The European Commission notes a positive trend in the reform of the judiciary and in the fight against corruption in Romania, but announces that it will continue to closely monitor the evolution of the situation until all objectives are met. The Commission published on Tuesday the report on the progress made by the Bucharest authorities under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism established since Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007, and whose purpose is precisely to signal possible failures and to propose remedies for the justice system.

    However, the Commission welcomes the fact that, this year, a new impetus was given in terms of reforming and correcting the transgressions that marked the period 2017-2019. As a result, the Community Executive says, progress has been made on all the CVM recommendations that have not yet been implemented, and many of them are close to being met if progress remains constant. In the vision of the European Commission, Romania must work on seven recommendations from 2018 and ten recommendations from 2017. The appointment early last year of the country’s attorney general and head of DIICOT, despite the negative opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy, is criticized by the Commission.

    The SCM gets a black ball too, among other things, for its ambiguous position on the shutting down of the Special department for investigating offences committed by the judiciary, the existence and functioning of which are considered to be of concern in Brussels. On the very day when the new MCV report of the European Commission was published, in Bucharest, the Constitutional Court upheld, however, its decision according to which this special department for magistrates is constitutional and can only be abolished by Parliament, through a new law. The Minister of Justice, Stelian Ion, promised to find solutions:

    We cannot expect the Court of Justice of the European Union to resolve our internal problems. We have been given all the freedom to do it. Also, we cannot expect the judiciary to solve these problems alone. Therefore, it is very important, as politicians, to find the solution for the rapid abolition of this Special department for investigating offences committed by the judiciary and I still consider that the Government project is the correct one, so I will try to convince my parliamentary colleagues to go for this solution. It is very important that we succeed in shutting down this department, which has been often criticized, including in this report.

    With regard to the fight against corruption, the European Commission stresses that the appointment of a new head of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) has led to institutional stability. The situation has improved compared to 2019, but the Directorate faces a number of challenges, one of which is the staff shortage, the Commission also says. (MI)