Radio România Internațional

Tag: European Parliament elections

  • June 18, 2024

    June 18, 2024

    GOVERNMENT – The governments of Romania and the State of Bavaria are today convening in a joint session marking 25 years of bilateral ties. The two delegations will sign a memorandum on entrepreneurship, SMEs and startups. The agenda of the meeting also includes the Schengen Area, migration, security cooperation, the war in Ukraine, as well as Moldova’s EU integration. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and his Bavarian counterpart, Markus Söder, will hold bilateral talks, followed by a private meeting. Of Germany’s federal states, Bavaria is Romania’s biggest investor and trade partner, two-way trade exceeding 8 bln EUR.

     

     

    MEETING – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is meeting his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday in Bucharest. According to the presidency, the Italian president’s visit continues top-level exchanges after the Romanian president’s visit to Italy in 2018, the first after a 45-year break, as well as in the context of the joint Romanian-Italian government session hosted by Rome over February 14-15 this year. Romania and Italy this year celebrate 145 years of diplomat ties, as well as 60 years since relations were elevated to the rank of Embassy. The two officials will also tackle developments at European and global levels, focusing on the EU Strategic Agenda and security topics.

     

     

    LAW – The Constitutional Court of Romania is today examining a notification from the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the so-called “Law on Fugitives”. At the end of 2023, the High Court referred to the Constitutional Court the Law on modifying and amending the 2009 Criminal Code Law, passed by the Chamber of Deputies in 2023. The said law stipulated that people with final sentences who do not turn themselves in to undergo imprisonment procedures within seven days of the sentence being passed are considered fugitives and risk an additional prison sentence of 6 months up to 3 years. The law allegedly violates the right to fair trial and the right to individual freedom, the High Court argues. Former Bucharest Mayor General Sorin Oprescu and former chief prosecutor of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, Alina Bica, are two examples of Romanian officials who managed to flee Romania to elude prison sentences. Italy and Greece are the top destinations for fugitives from the law.

     

     

    BACCALAUREATE – The Romanian Baccalaureate continues today and tomorrow with the oral examination in the Romanian language. High-school pupils will then undergo the maternal and foreign language examinations as well as the computer skills test. The written exams are scheduled to start on July 1. Education Ministry officials say they have undertaken additional security measures to reduce the possibility of fraud. CCTV surveillance systems will be used to monitor all examinations, while the evaluation of written exams will be available on the digital platform only.

     

     

    EXHIBITION – Italy’s capital-city Rome is hosting an exhibition featuring Romanian traditional costumes and ceramic items from the collections of the Romanian Village Museum, alongside other exhibits from the Museum of Civilizations in Rome. Open until July 14, the exhibition also marks the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse, celebrated on June 24.

     

     

    ELECTIONS – European heads of state and government met face to face, for the first time since the European Parliament elections, to negotiate the highest positions in European institutions. The current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is favorite to be entrusted with a new term at the helm of the Commission, backed not just by the winner of the European Parliament elections, the European People’s Party, but also enjoying the support of most heads of state or government in Europe. The former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa is credited expected to be designated President of the European Council, while the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, will reportedly be appointed High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

     

     

    EURO 2024 – Turkey is today playing Georgia while Portugal will take on Czechia in Group F fixtures. On Tuesday, in Group E, Romania grabbed a 3-0 win against Ukraine, while Slovakia won 1-0 against Belgium. (VP)

  • Romania after the local and European Parliament elections

    Romania after the local and European Parliament elections

    Romanian voters passed the most important test, that of their turnout, in the first episode of this year’s election marathon: over 9.4 million Romanians voted in Sunday’s ballot for the European Parliament and around 9 million in the local elections, which raised total turnout above 50%. According to data presented by the Central Electoral Bureau, most voters are aged 45-64, the fewest aged 18-24, while women voted in greater numbers than men. The parties of the ruling coalition, the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), advanced joint lists for the European Parliament, which were voted by over half of citizens who hit the polls. The alliance of Romania’s largest traditional parties is followed, at a great distance, by the ultra-nationalist sovereigntists from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and the United Right Alliance, created around the Save Romania Union (USR). The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) was the last political party to secure representation in the upcoming European Parliament. The vote across the country confirms the supremacy of PSD and PNL, who secured most county councils. They are followed, still at a great distance, by AUR and the United Right.

     

     

     

    In a landscape clearly dominated by mainstream parties, Bucharest continues to stand apart. The race for the mayor general’s office was won by the incumbent mayor, the independent candidate Nicuşor Dan, with over 40% of the vote. Social-Democrat Gabriela Firea hoped to return as Mayor General, but she lost by a great margin. Cristian Popescu Piedone also aspired to win the general mayor’s office. He lost, but attained his real goal: his party, the Social-Liberal Humanist Party (PUSL) secured representation in the Bucharest General Council, while Piedone’s son won the race for the Bucharest District 5 City Hall.  In Cluj, the Liberal Emil Boc won his 6th term in office, USR mayor Dominic Fritz secured a new mandate in Timişoara, Craiova will continue to be administered by the Social-Democrat Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, while Liberal Vergil Chițac will remain mayor of Constanţa. To a large extent, political dialogue ahead of the presidential and parliament elections slated for later this year depends on the results of the local and European Parliamentary elections.

     

     

     

    With respect to the European Parliament elections elsewhere in Europe, in ex-communist member states, the extreme right was less successful than in the West, Reuters reports. Far-right and extremist parties won the elections in France, where they caused a political earthquake, but also in Austria and Italy, and came second in Germany and the Netherlands. The Euro has already depreciated against the US Dollar, and Bloomberg says the deteriorating political climate in Europe is likely to add more pressure on the single currency. (VP)

  • Eurobarometer ahead of the European elections

    Eurobarometer ahead of the European elections

    Romania recorded the second largest increase in the voting intention in this year’s European elections compared to 2019, after the Czech Republic, standing at 74%, which is by 19% more than in the latest elections five years ago, according to a Eurobarometer report made public on Wednesday. Nevertheless, Romania is not part of the first third of EU states in terms of number of people who plan to cast their vote in the European elections scheduled for June. Asked whether they would vote in the European elections if the polls were to take place next week, almost three-quarters of Romanians said they would probably vote and only 6% said they probably wouldn’t vote. Almost half of Romanians continue to have a totally positive image of the European Parliament, just like last autumn, although the share of people who have a negative image has increased to 19%.

     

    At the same time, more than half of Romanians would like the European Parliament to play a more important role in the future, a share similar to the EU average, while 37% would like the institution to play a less important role. Moreover, over a half of  Romanians say that, for them personally, it is important to vote in the European elections, 40% say that the vote has a medium importance, while 5% say that the election is not that important.

     

    More important for Romanians is the vote in the national elections, about which 63% say it is highly important, one third that it is of medium importance and only 3% that it is of low importance. Romanians also believe that the main themes that should be discussed in the European election campaign are the support for the economy and for the creation of new jobs, public health and also the fight against poverty and social exclusion.

     

    Asked what values the European Parliament should defend, as a priority in the next five years, the Romanians placed first democracy, respect for national identities, culture and traditions in the member states and solidarity between the EU member states and its regions. 45% of Romanians believe that things are heading in the right direction in the EU, well above the European average, while 41% say that things are heading in the wrong direction (the EU average is 49%).

     

    Only 34% of Romanians believe that, in general, things are going in the right direction in the country, while 57% say that things are going in a wrong direction. However, Romanians are more optimistic than the EU average that their living standard will increase in the next five years and less pessimistic about their living standard decreasing during this period. Also, Romanians are more optimistic than the EU average that the country’s economy will be better in a year, but they are at the same level in terms of confidence in the future of the EU. Finally, according to the Eurobarometer, most Romanians believe that their country has benefited from joining the EU, while 30% do not believe that. We remind you that in Romania, the European parliamentary elections will take place on the same day with the local ones, on June 9.

  • February 9, 2024

    February 9, 2024

    Farmers. The Bucharest
    government has approved a support package for farmers, including loans with
    lower interest rates and electricity subsidies. On the other hand, Romania will
    benefit from 34 million Euros from the Solidarity Fund of the European Union, in
    support for the damages suffered as a result of the drought of 2022. The money
    was already transferred in December of last year, and Romania has one and a
    half years to implement the provision of
    this aid.




    Elections. Merging European
    Parliament elections and local elections on June 9 is on the agenda of the PSD-PNL
    governing coalition in Bucharest. According to some political sources, the Social
    Democrats also proposed combining the elections for the national Parliament
    with the first or second round of the presidential elections, which would
    complement the first scenario. The opposition is vehemently against these
    initiatives. The Save Romania Union has announced that it has started the
    proceedings regarding the notification of the Venice Commission for a point of
    view on mergin European Parliament and local elections less than six months
    before the election date. We recall that, this year, all four types of
    elections are taking place in Romania – parliamentary, European, local and
    presidential.




    Borders. The first two
    scanners out of the 26 that Romania is buying with European money have already
    arrived in the country and will be functional at the end of this month, Finance
    Minister Marcel Boloş announced on social media. They will be located at the
    border points with the Republic of Moldova Giurgiulesti and Albița (east) and
    will scan the goods entering the country. The minister added that, by the end
    of the year, eight scanning systems will be available in Romanian customs.











    Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appointed General Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, replacing General Valery Zaluzhny. The head of state said it was time for changes and that the dismissed general should remain in his team. After the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer, Zaluzhny warned that the war had reached a stalemate, in the stage of a conflict of attrition and that, in order to achieve victories, his country needed weapons technologically superior to the Russian ones and new troops. International media note that Valery Zaluzhny is more popular among Ukrainians than Zelensky. In another move, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has threatened the United States with a global war, which would bring the whole of humanity to the brink of extinction, if Washington sends troops to Ukraine. In an interview to the controversial American journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin claims that Russia will fight to the end to defend its interests.


    BRD. BRD CEO Maria
    Ruseva, did not want to comment on the recent information covered by the media regarding
    the possible intention of Groupe Société Générale to sell the bank owned by
    Romania. She specified, instead, that BRD – Groupe Société Générale continues
    to aim for third place on the Romanian banking market, where, last year, it
    obtained a net profit of 1.66 billion lei (the equivalent of over 33 million of
    euros), up by 24%. The bank estimates that this year it will pay between 100
    and 120 million lei for the new tax applied to banks. In Romania, BRD – Groupe
    Société Générale operates a network of 451 units, and the total assets of the
    bank amounted, at the end of March 2023, to 70 billion lei.






    Polo. Romania’s
    national water polo team was defeated by the Italian team 16-10 in its last
    match in Group D of the World Championship in Doha, Qatar. In the first two matches,
    the Romanians lost to Hungary and outclassed Kazakhstan 25-3. Romania ranks
    third in the group, after Hungary and Italy. The winners of the groups qualify
    directly for the quarter-finals, and the teams in the second and third
    positions are in for a play-off for the quarters. Last month, Romania finished
    in 8th place at the European Championship in Croatia.




    Football. Romania’s
    national football team will play in Group C2 of the 2024-2025 edition of the
    Nations League, alongside Kosovo, Cyprus and Lithuania or Gibraltar,
    according to the draw made on Thursday evening in Paris. The group matches are
    scheduled in the fall of this year. Until then, Romania will participate, in
    June, in the final tournament of the European Championship, organized in
    Germany. The Romanians are part of Group E, where they will take on Belgium,
    Slovakia and the winner of the playoffs, in which Ukraine, Israel, Bosnia and
    Iceland will participate. (MI)











  • Romania and the EU

    Romania and the EU

    Seven in ten Romanians believe EU membership has a positive effect, while six in ten Romanians say community institutions directly impact their lives. This is one of the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Parliament. New job opportunities, higher living standards and EU efforts to keep the peace are some of the benefits participants outlined. According to the survey, 75% of interviewees would vote if European Parliament elections were held next week, one of the highest percentages at EU level. European citizens interest in this election has gone up lately, and could be a sign the European Parliament enjoys citizens trust, European Parliament president Roberta Metsola has argued. “Throughout these past five years, we have listened. And the European Parliament has delivered. We are fighting against poverty, social exclusion and climate change, to create jobs and to defend EU values, such as democracy, human rights and the freedom of speech”, the European official said.




    According to the Eurobarometer, over half of Romanians see EU membership as a positive element. Despite a slightly lower confidence rate compared to the EU average, Romanians know when the upcoming European Parliament election will take place, which is over June 6-9, 2024. In Romania, voter turnout for the European Parliament election of 2019 was a little over half of eligible voters. An INSCOP survey also shows that most Romanians support Romanias EU and NATO membership. A quarter, however, believe Romania should leave the EU, and a fifth say it should leave NATO. As regards the two ongoing wars, over 35% of Romanians claim Hamas is responsible for the conflict in Gaza, while nearly half believe Russia is the main culprit in the war in Ukraine. Analysts say this speaks to a decreasing number of people who blame Russia for the war in Ukraine, also showing a balance in terms of people who believe either Ukraine or Russia will emerge as victor. It should also be said that nearly a third of participants believe deploying more NATO and US troops to Romania would anger Russia, while 57% of Romanians say this is a good thing. An equal percentage of Romanian citizens regard Russia as a threat to Bucharest. According to the INSCOP survey, only 1 in 2 Romanians would defend their country in case war broke out, a clear divide at society level. (VP)




  • What do citizens expect from the upcoming European election?

    What do citizens expect from the upcoming European election?

    Elections for
    the European Parliament will be held next May in all EU states. Migration from
    outside the community area, with its toxic effects represented by the populist
    and nationalistic currents, deviations from the principles of the rule of law,
    the EU budget or the Brexit effects will dominate the campaign in many EU
    countries. A Eurobarometer survey made
    public on Monday sheds light on the expectations of Europeans
    for the May 2019 European election and what would motivate them to cast their
    vote. The results of the survey show that the presence of a bigger number of
    young people and women on the candidate lists and better information on the
    current European Union are factors that would prompt European citizens to cast
    their vote. It also shows that most EU citizens are worried that disinformation
    campaigns, data breaches and cyber attacks will interfere with electoral
    processes. Almost two thirds of the respondents voiced concern at the
    difficulties encountered by certain categories to exercise their right to vote,
    such as the disabled or the elderly, while more than half of them voiced concern
    at a potential foreign influence on the election, such as that of criminal
    groups or third countries. Romanians are among the most concerned Europeans as
    regards the transparency of election campaigns, with the greatest concerns
    emerging from their own experience.


    In
    the three decades of post-communist democracy Romania has been dealing with
    attempts to rig the elections, influence the vote, with manipulation or
    multiple voting. All these have been reflected in Monday’s Eurobarometer. Almost
    two thirds of Romanians – way over the
    European average of below 50%- fear that
    people who are not entitled to vote will go to the polls or that there will be
    people who will cast their vote twice. A similar number of Romanians fear that
    people are constrained to vote in a certain way, that elections will be
    manipulated via cyber attacks or that votes will be bought and the final
    results manipulated. All these make Romanians the most concerned voters in the
    EU. The main factors that would persuade Romanians go to the polls are more
    young people on the candidate lists, a better information on the EU and its
    impact on people’s lives, more women among the candidates and an enhanced
    presence of candidates from less represented political groups.


    Our research shows that people
    are really worried about disinformation. The good thing is that more and more
    citizens are critical of the information they are offered, and well aware of
    the dark forces that would like to manipulate what they read, think and
    ultimately vote for. For the legitimacy of our European democracy it is
    essential that citizens use their right to vote. And that’s why we all, EU
    institutions and Member States, must protect our elections and bolster our
    democracy, Frans Timmermans, First
    Vice-President of the European Commission has said.

    (Translated by E. Enache)

  • January 17, 2017

    January 17, 2017

    ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE A special commission of the Romanian Intelligence Service has today announced that the analysis of the activity carried out by the first deputy-director Florian Coldea has revealed no elements that would constitute violations of laws or regulations in force. Florin Coldea was suspended last week, and his responsibilities were taken over by the director of the institution Eduard Hellvig, following accusations made by the former deputy Sebastian Ghita, who had accused Coldea of illegal activities. The executive board of the Romanian Intelligence Service has decided to put the first deputy director back in office. However, Coldea has asked to be released from office and placed at the disposal of the institution, invoking reasons that have to do with military dignity and honour. The Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service has asked Romanias President Klaus Iohannis to grant Coldea the reservist status.



    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT The 751 Members of the European Parliament are electing in Strasbourg today their new president, who will replace the German Social-Democrat Martin Schulz. The election is going to be tight, given that the pro-European parties have not managed to find an agreement on a single candidate to represent them. Therefore, there are six politicians now running for the seat of president: three Italian, one Belgian, one British and one Romanian from the Eurosceptics group. The Romanian candidate is Laurentiu Rebega, vice-president of the Europe of Nations and Freedom group, co-presided by the French nationalist Marine Le Pen. The new president of the European Parliament will start working right after the validation of the voting. The 14 Vice-Presidents and 5 Quaestors will be elected tomorrow.



    BREXIT The British Prime-Minister Theresa May is to present in London today the list of Brexit priorities. Downing Street sources say that Mrs. May prefers a full divorce, rather than an agreement under which Great Britain would be half in half out of the EU. The British PM is thus very likely to announce that Great Britain will leave the single market, the European Customs Union and the European Court of Justice. She will also insist on the need for her country to sign its own trade agreements with the Commonwealth countries, the Asian giants and the US. Seven months after Britains historic vote in favour of the Brexit, Theresa May promises to start the exit procedure by the end of March. Negotiations with Brussels will last two years.



    MOLDOVA The new president of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Russia socialist Igor Dodon, is today holding talks in Moscow with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Moldovan president wants to obtain the lifting of restrictions on the import of Moldovan agricultural products. Restrictions were imposed by Moscow in the aftermath of Moldovas signing an association agreement with the EU. The president also hopes that the status of the 500,000 Moldovan citizens working in Russia will be regulated. Another issue is that of Transdniestrs debt to Gazprom, standing at 4 billion dollars. The Transdniestr issue will be approached also against the background of the recent meeting between the president of Moldova and the new leader in Tiraspol Vadim Krasnoselski. Transdiestr came out of Chisinaus control in 1992, after an armed conflict that claimed hundreds of lives, settled by the intervention of the Russian troops on the separatists side.



    ATTACK The man who shot and killed 39 people on New Years in a club in Istanbul has been arrested in a neighborhood of the European part of the city. According to authorities, the perpetrator, an Uzbek aged 34, member of a terrorist cell in Central Asia, has admitted his guilt. Another four people have been detained in this case, a Kirghiz, the owner of the apartment he was caught in, and three women. More than half of the victims of the attack were foreign citizens, from Israel, India, Lebanon, France, Tunisia, Belgium, Kuwait and Canada. The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State organization, as an act of retaliation against Turkeys involvement in Syria.



    NATO The Romanian Army Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca is attending the proceedings of the 176th NATO Military Committee in Brussels. According to the Romanian Defense Ministry, the agenda of the meeting includes topics such as the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and the recent threats against NATO. Also, sessions will be held devoted to NATOs partnerships with Ukraine and Georgia.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN Two Romanian tennis players Monica Niculescu and Ana Bogdan have today lost matches in the first round of the Australian Opens singles. Niculescu was defeated 2-1 by the Russian Ana Blinkova and Bogdan lost 2-0 to Elena Vesnina, also from Russia. On Monday, in the inaugural round, Sorana Carstea beat 2-nil the Russian Irina Hromaceva, and Irina Begu defeated in three sets Iaroslava Svedova of Kazakhstan. Another two Romanian players have been eliminated. Simona Halep, number 4 in the WTA rankings, was surprisingly defeated by the American Shelby Rogers, ranked 57th in the same classification. Patricia Tig was eliminated by the Puerto Rican Monica Puig, in two sets.