Radio România Internațional

Tag: exercise

  • July 22, 2019

    July 22, 2019

    CANDIDATE The president of the Social Democratic Party, in power in Romania, PM Viorica Dăncilă, is to have talks with the leaders of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, also in the ruling coalition, and of Pro Romania, the party headed by the former leftist prime minister Victor Ponta. The negotiations concern the forming of a coalition with a common candidate in the forthcoming presidential election. Viorica Dăncilă has recently said she would like a much broader support platform, including non-parliamentary parties, trade unions and NGOs, for the November election. Next week, the Social Democrats are scheduled to nominate their presidential candidate, who will be validated at a special congress on August 3rd.




    EXPORTS Romanias exports to the other 27 EU member countries went up 4.9% in January – April 2019, as compared to the corresponding period of last year, whereas imports from the Union grew by 7.5%, the National Statistics Institute reports. Romanias top 3 EU export markets were Germany (23.3%), Italy (11.1%) and France (7.4%). As for imports, the 3 largest partners are Germany (19.9%), Italy (9.2%) and Hungary (7.2%). In the first 4 months of the year, Romanias total FOB exports amounted to 23 billion euro, and total imports to 28.1 billion euro, up 8.3% since January – April 2018. The trade deficit was little over 5 billion euro, i.e. 1.3 billion euro more than in the corresponding period of last year.



    UKRAINE With more than half of the votes counted on Monday, the Central Election Committee in Kiev announced that president Volodymyr Zelenskys party, Servant of the People, won 42.47% of the votes in Sundays snap election, whereas the Opposition Platform for Life came second with 12.91%. Third-ranking are ex-president Petro Poroshenkos European Solidarity party and former PM Yulia Timoshenkos Batkivshcina party with around 8% each, followed by the newly formed Voice party founded by rock star Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, with over 6% of the votes. The other 15 parties in the race failed to meet the 5% threshold to get into parliament. Kiev also announced that the turnout was 49.84%, the lowest in the history of independent Ukraine.



    BREXIT The European Commission prepares a huge aid package for Ireland, in order to make up for the economic loss entailed by a no-deal Brexit, Reuters reports, quoting The Times. The EU is ready to ‘spend whatever is necessary to support the Irish government in case of any disruption of trade, a high-ranking source has said. Over the weekend, thousands of anti-Brexit protesters marched in London ahead of the expected announcement of Boris Johnson as the new prime minister. On Tuesday, the Conservative Party in power will announce the winner of the race for Theresa Mays replacement, and the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is largely viewed as the frontrunner. The Chancellor Philip Hammond, who is against a no-deal Brexit, announced his intention to step down if Boris Johnson becomes the new prime minister. The UK is set to exit the European Union on October 31st.



    MILITARY The 10th ‘Eurasian Partnership MCM Dive’ multinational exercise begins today in Constanta and along the Romanian Black Sea coast. Until Thursday, tens of military divers from Romania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia and the US will take part in explosive device search and identification drills, will conduct open, semi-closed and surface-supplied diving missions and target searches using underwater drones. This is the only annual multinational exercise organised in the west part of the Black Sea, designed to improve the training of NATO divers and of diving units from Peace Partnership member countries.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 10 June, 2019

    10 June, 2019

    Republic of Moldova. The first
    meeting of the government of the Republic of Moldova ( an ex-Soviet state with
    a majority Romanian-speaking population) led by the pro-European Maia Sandu
    takes place today despite a ruling by the Constitutional Court that invalidated
    the investiture of the new cabinet. The meeting is scheduled to take place in
    the Parliament building because the members of the new cabinet do not have
    access to the government, which is still controlled by the acting prime
    minister Pavel Filip, from the Democratic Party. A close aide of the
    controversial politician and businessman Vladimir Plahotniuc and appointed by the Court to take
    on the responsibilities of the president, thus replacing the pro-Russian
    Socialist Igor Dodon, Filip has announced the dissolution of Parliament and
    called early elections in September.




    Cabinet. Romania’s new ministers responsible for
    justice, European funds and for liaising with the Romanians living abroad are
    being sworn in today, according to the president’s office. At the weekend, the
    president signed the appointment of Ana Birchall as minister for justice,
    Roxana Minzatu as minister for European funds and of Natalia Intotero as
    minister for the Romanians abroad. Iohannis rejected the nomination of Titus
    Corlatean as deputy prime minister and asked prime minister Viorica Dancila to
    make a new proposal. The president considers Corlatean as the artisan of the
    disaster of the 2014 elections, when he was serving as foreign minister and
    when tens of thousands of Romanians living abroad were unable to cast their
    votes and said his reputation is not unblemished. The prime minister submitted
    these proposals on the 29th of May.




    Exercise. Around
    8,000 military from six countries (Albania, Bosnia and Hertegovina, Bulgaria,
    Romania, Hungary and the US) are taking part until the 24th of June
    in the Saber Guardian 2019 multinational exercise. The exercise is led by US
    Army Europe and the Romanian Land Forces and is hosted by Bulgaria, Romania and
    Hungary. Its main aim is to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity
    between partner and allied states in the face of any possible form of
    aggression, in particular through rapid mobilisation and deployment of troops
    anywhere in Europe. Shooting exercises are held at the shooting ranges in
    Cincu, Borduşani, Babadag, Smârdan and Râşnov.




    Trade. Romania’s trade deficit reached 5.038 billion euros in the first
    four months of the year, up 1.298 billion compared with the same period in
    2018, according to data published today by the National Institute for
    Statistics. According to these figures, exports stood at 23.066 billion euros
    between January and April 2019, while imports reached 28.104 billion euros.
    During the same period, exports went up by 3.8% and imports by 8.3% compared
    with the first four months of the previous year.








    IT. 20 companies are taking part in an economic mission to promote Romanian
    IT&C products in the United States, between the 10th and the 14th
    of June. According to the ministry for the business environment, trade and entrepreneurship,
    the Romanian companies will take part in the SelectUSA Investment Summit held
    in Washington between the 10th and the 12th of June and
    in the SelectUSA Spin-off held in San Francisco on the 13th and the
    14th of June. The main goals of the mission are to enhance the
    visibility of Romanian IT&C companies, promote Romanian products in the
    area of innovation technology, identifying new business opportunities and
    establishing long-term partnerships, according to a ministry press release.




    Football. Tonight, Romania face
    Malta away in a new Group F match as part of their campaign to qualify for the
    2020 European Championship. On Friday, Romania drew 2-all, also away, with
    Norway. In their first two group matches in March, Romania lost to Sweden in
    Stockholm 1-2 and defeated the Faroe Islands at home 4-1. Spain lead Group F
    with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, and Romania with 4. The two
    best-ranked teams in the group will qualify. Bucharest will host the draw for
    Euro 2020 on the 30th of November. The Romanian capital will also
    host four Euro 2020 matches, including three group matches and a quarterfinal.
    Also this month, Romania’s Under-21 side will be taking part in the European
    Championship final tournament hosted by Italy and San Marino. They are in Group
    C alongside England, France and Croatia.

  • June 3, 2019

    June 3, 2019

    POPE FRANCIS “May Virgin Mary extend her maternal protection to all the citizens of Romania, who throughout history have always placed their trust in her intercession. It is to the Mother of God that I entrust you all, and I pray for her to guide you on the path of faith, Pope Francis posted in Romanian on his Twitter account on Sunday night, after his visit to Romania. The 3-day apostolic and state visit was held under the motto “Lets walk together! Hundreds of thousands attended the public events held on this occasion in Bucharest, Sumuleu Ciuc, Iasi and Blaj.




    NATO The opening ceremony of Saber Guardian 2019 multinational exercise took place in Romania today. The exercise is designed to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity of the allied and partner states in the defence against any threat, particularly by ensuring quick mobilisation and deployment anywhere in Europe. The joint training sessions in Romania include vehicle road marches, several live fire exercises, air defence artillery training and medical training, all culminating in a river crossing. As many as 7,600 Romanian troops are taking part.




    EU Bucharest is hosting, on Monday and Tuesday, an informal meeting of the EU agriculture ministers, as part of the events held under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan is also attending the meeting. Research in agriculture and bioeconomy will be one of the main topics of discussion. In the context of negotiations on the multi-annual budget of the Union, Romania, as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU Council, believes the strategic planning of the common agricultural policy has the potential to consolidate the implementation of bioeconomy and to build synergies with agricultural policy and rural development instruments. While in Bucharest today, Phil Hogan is also scheduled to have a meeting with PM Viorica Dancila.




    FESTIVAL The 7th edition of Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival, organised by Radio Romania, begins in Bucharest today. Devoted to innovation in radio, the event brings together professionals from several countries. In this years edition, 41 radio drama productions are competing for the Grand Prize in the 3 sections: drama, shorts and binaural. The latter offers a new type of experience, namely 3D audio. The participating works provide an overview of the global cultural trends and styles in the field of radio work.




    VISIT The US President Donald Trump is on a state visit to Britain as of today. The agenda includes meetings with members of the Royal Family and a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The visit marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and takes place in the context of the Brexit crisis and of PM Theresa Mays forthcoming resignation. On Tuesday the US President will have meetings with the outgoing PM Theresa May and with business leaders, and on Wednesday he will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark June 6, 1944 when 160,000 British, American, French and other Allied troops landed in Nazi-occupied Normandy in WW2. Donald Trump will then travel to Ireland and France.




    TENNIS Number 3 in the world and defending Roland Garros champion Simona Halep is playing today in the French Opens 8th-finals against Iga Swiatek of Poland (104 WTA). If she wins, Simona will be playing the quarter-finals against the winner of the match pitting Amanda Anisimova of the USA (51 WTA) against Aliona Bolsova (137 WTA) of the Republic of Moldova. Also today, in the mens doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer are taking on Guido Pella/Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, in the quarter-finals.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Exercise Saber Guardian 2019 gets underway in Romania

    Exercise Saber Guardian 2019 gets underway in Romania

    Exercise Saber Guardian 2019 started in Romania on Monday. Its main goal is to stress the cohesion, unity and solidarity of the partner and allied countries, with a view to ensuring defense against any type of aggression, especially by means of rapid mobilization and response, anywhere in Europe. Included among the many different training events at Saber Guardian 2019, there are vehicle road marches, a medical exercise, multiple river crossings and an air assault.



    The Chief of the Romanian General Staff, General Nicolae Ciuca, gave Radio Romania more details about the multinational exercise:


    “The most spectacular are the combat shooting drills and the river crossings. These are all extremely complex and require thorough planning and coordination, in order to render them successful. There will be Patriot missile firing drills, at Cape Midia and other firing drills at the shooting ranges in Cincu, Babadag and Smardan. Also, another important moment will be the joint air assault drill, involving more than one thousand people.”



    In order to render international military training more effective, Saber Guardian is correlated with a number of other national and multinational exercises, so the total number of participants will stand at some 13,500. Attending are 14 allied and partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Great Britain, the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the US. 7,600 of the participants are Romanian.



    Saber Guardian was held every year between 2013 – 2017, and was hosted, in rotation, by Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. The exercise is included in the United States Army Europe and designed to improve the integration of multinational allied and partner combat forces.


    (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • May 21, 2019 UPDATE

    May 21, 2019 UPDATE

    Meeting — During Romania’s presidency of the Council of the EU, Bucharest hosted on May 20th and 21st the informal meeting of the environment ministers from the EU member states. The debates focused on the measures to be taken at European and international level to create the necessary framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Priorities target mainly the reduction of energy consumption. The European Commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries Karmenu Vella announced that soon the EC would adopt new guidelines for integrating ecosystem services in the decision-making and green infrastructure process, as regenerative and circular economy should be boosted and a durable agricultural policy promoted. The European official said the EU would make effective progress in the environmental field through the line ministers’ cooperation. The debates also approached biodiversity, the discussions highlighting the importance of integrating biodiversity targets within the relevant sectoral policies and strategies.



    Brexit – The British government approved PM Theresa May’s plan on Brexit, including the compromise measures that are to be included in the law that is to be voted on early next month. The draft law includes the idea of a temporary customs union until future general elections are held as well as measures to guarantee EU workers’ rights and to protect the environment. The passing of the Brexit law by the House of Commons is an almost impossible mission for the government, even though the measures proposed might persuade some of the Labour MPs to vote for it, newspapers write. Jeremy Corbyn pointed out he was opposed to the government’s proposal, considering it is not different from the previous one that has been already rejected 3 times so far. Also the euro skeptic Conservatives announced they would vote against it. The government also discussed preparations for a no-deal Brexit, which, at least for the moment, is still the version provided by the British legislation, unless a deal is reached by October 31.



    Kiev — Romania’s deputy Prime Minister Ana BIrchall on Monday participated in Kiev in the swearing-in ceremony of Ukraine’s president elect, Volodimir Zelenski. According to a government communiqué, Ana Birchall had a bilateral meeting with the Ukrainian official during which she reiterated Romania’s firm support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally-recognized borders. Strengthening security in the Black Sea region is a common objective, the Romanian official added. She approached the issue of the rights of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, highlighting the role of minorities as bridges between the two countries. Almost 500 thousand ethnic Romanians live in Ukraine, mostly on the Romanian territories annexed in 1940 by the former USSR and taken over in 1991 by Ukraine as a successor state. (translation by L. Simion)

  • May 18, 2019 UPDATE

    May 18, 2019 UPDATE

    NATO The North-Atlantic Alliances largest communications exercise Steadfast Cobalt 2019 begins on Sunday in Otopeni, near Bucharest. Taking part are over 1,200 Romanian and foreign military from 35 NATO IT&C structures, the Romanian Defence Ministry announces in a news release. Scheduled to conclude on June 2, Steadfast Cobalt 2019 is aimed at the joint training of troops in the provision of multinational support in NATO operations and at practicing the standard procedures required in order to ensure the interoperability of NATO human and technical resources.




    CYBER-CRIME The EU member states have adopted a mechanism enabling them to punish individuals or entities from outside the bloc that commit cyber attacks. It is for the first time that the EU responds to cyber attacks in this form. Under the new mechanism, Brussels will be able to introduce travel restrictions and to freeze the assets and accounts of suspected offenders.





    JOBS Rome is hosting until Sunday a job fair for the Romanians who seek to return to their home country. The executive president of the organising association, Casa România, Dorin Coman, explains that the project took shape after the organisation found out that Romania lacks 250,000 workers in constructions alone. According to him, an objective is to help Romanians come back home, to find accurate information about the developments in the country, about the jobs available and the salary level. Taking part in the fair are many Romanian companies, operating especially in the field of constructions. According to the Italian Statistical Institute, nearly 1.2 million Romanians were living in Italy in 2018.




    TRADE FAIR Romanian furniture producers are taking part for the 2nd consecutive year in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York – ICFF, an American global design platform. Between May 19 and 22, Romanian companies will president their products alongside more than 900 other participants from 72 countries. The Romanian pavilion is organised by the Ministry for the business environment, trade and entrepreneurship, jointly with the Romanian Furniture Producer Association. According to the Ministry, in last years edition the quality, the environment-friendly raw materials used, the innovative finishing and diversity of styles brought Romanian producers contracts of around 1 million UDS.




    HANDBALL The mens handball team CSM Bucharest Saturday won the Challenge Cup, defeating the Portuguese side Madeira Andebol SAD in the decisive leg of the finals, 26-20. In the first leg, in Portugal, the 2 teams had drawn, 22-22. Challenge Cup is the 3rd-tier inter-club competition in Europe. The current Cup holders are Potaissa Turda, from north-western Romania. Another 3 Romanian teams have also won the trophy so far: CSA Steaua Bucharest (in 2006), CS UCM Reşiţa (in 2007, 2008, 2009) and HC Odorheiu Secuiesc (in 2015), while CSU Bucovina Suceava was a finalist in 2009. In womens handball, CSM Bucureşti was kicked out from the Champions League quarter-finals by the French team Metz, after having qualified into the so-called Final Four for the past 3 years, and after having won the trophy in 2016.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 6, 2019 UPDATE

    March 6, 2019 UPDATE

    BUDGET – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday that he would send the 2019 budget bill back to Parliament. Previously, the President had challenged the bill in the Constitutional Court which ruled that the legislation in question is constitutional. Iohannis has refused to comment on the Court’s decision and has said that the 2019 budget is one of ‘national shame’, based on fake figures. Iohannis has pointed out that the budget presented by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the main party of the government coalition, is designed to serve mostly the political interests of a small group. His opinion is shared by the right of center opposition, who agree to the bill being resent to Parliament and who say that only a realistic budget can save economy and help regain investors’ trust. In turn, the Social Democrats have announced they will send for promulgation the same version of the bill adopted initially by Parliament, as it ensures the necessary resources for all important economic sectors. PSD accuses President Iohannis of telling lies when he criticizes the budget bill, which they say gives the healthcare system the biggest amounts this sector has ever got.




    MOTION – The vote on the simple motion filed by the right of center opposition, made up of the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, will be rescheduled after Wednesday’s plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies was suspended due to a lack of quorum. Social Democratic MPs have decided not to participate because, they say, the no-confidence motion includes untrue things, while the party leader Liviu Dragnea has explained that Toader’s situation will be discussed in the ruling coalition given that there is a state of discontent as far as he is concerned, which needs to be addressed with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), the junior partner in the ruling coalition. An independent supported by ALDE, Toader has also come under criticism from the Social Democrats, the main force in government, as well as from the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who support the government in Parliament. The Liberals, however, say that through the lack of quorum the ruling coalition puts pressure on Minister Toader to promote the legislative changes that the power wants. Even if the motion passes, only Prime Minister Viorica Dancila can decide if minister Toader is dismissed.




    EUROSTAT – In 2017, around 825,000 persons acquired citizenship of a Member State of the European Union (EU), down from 995,000 in 2016 and 841,000 in 2015, Eurostat has announced. Of the total number of persons obtaining the citizenship of one of the EU Member States in 2017, 17% were former citizens of another EU Member State, while the majority were non-EU citizens or stateless. Romanians (25,000 persons), Poles (22,000) and Britons (15,000) were the three largest groups of EU citizens acquiring citizenship of another EU Member State. Half of the Member States granted citizenship to more people in 2017 than they did in 2016. The largest relative increases were recorded in Romania (from 4,527 persons in 2016 to 6,804 persons in 2017. The naturalization rate is the ratio of the number of persons who acquired the citizenship of a country during a year over the stock of foreign residents in the same country at the beginning of the year. In 2017, the highest naturalisation rates were registered in Sweden (8.2 citizenships granted per 100 resident foreigners), Romania (5.9) and Finland (5.0), followed by Portugal (4.5), Greece (4.2) and Cyprus (3.9).




    EXERCISE – Two Romanian war ships are taking part this week in manoeuvres at sea together with two Turkish military vessels as part of the Mavi Vatan exercise conducted by the Turkish Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea, the chief of staff of the Romanian Navy has said. The two ships will carry out exercises in the Romanian territorial and international waters aimed at deterring asymmetric threats. The activity forms part of the provisions of the strategic partnership signed by Turkey and Romania in 2011. The bilateral training activities in which Romanian Navy military are also involved are included in a set of measures to discourage threats and risks to the security of NATO states, measures adopted at the NATO summit held in Brussels last year.




    TALKS – The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila is in Brussels for talks with representatives of EU institutions. On Wednesday she met the first vice-president of the European Commission Frans Timmermans to discuss the recent changes to the justice legislation in Romania. She will also have talks with the Commissions chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier ahead of the UKs scheduled date for leaving the European Union, March 29th. Talks will focus on the protection of the rights of EU citizens. Dancila is also expected to attend two events on equality of chances and the promotion of womens rights. This years edition of the Womens European Council is held in partnership with Romanias presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament and looks at ways to improve womens representation in politics and in leadership positions.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)


  • “Earthquake 2018” national exercise comes to an end

    “Earthquake 2018” national exercise comes to an end

    “Earthquake 2018” the largest civil protection drill in recent years in Europe, has given the Romanian authorities the chance to test their response capabilities and cooperation in case of a strong earthquake. The decision of choosing Romania was not taken by chance as together with Spain, Italy and Greece, the country is considered one of the most vulnerable EU countries to earthquakes. In the past two centuries Romania has seen 7 earthquakes measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale. The drill brought together all the structures that should intervene in the aftermath of a 7.5 earthquake followed by aftershocks, which would cause numerous victims and would wreak havoc mainly on capital Bucharest.



    Rescuers had to deal with difficult situations, with thousand of dead and wounded and people left without homes. The army mounted mobile hospitals and camps for the victims in the villages surrounding Bucharest. State-of-the art mobile hospitals have arrived from Israel, Italy and Norway, including Intensive Care Units, while Austria and Hungary sent in ambulances. According to Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations with the Romanian Interior Ministry, the drill was an investment in the training of rescue services to cope with real crisis situations. The exercise has also revealed a series of shortcomings that must be corrected.


    Raed Arafat: “Bureaucratic procedures must be simplified, communications must be improved, the command center better organized and there is going to be a detailed report on that. Then it’s our turn, I mean the Department for Emergency Situations jointly with the Inspectorate to come up with an implementation plan, of course after getting the green light from the Ministry, the Government.”



    The exercise was also attended by the EU’s Cypriote Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, who said he was impressed by the participants and resources deployed. In turn, the representative of the European Civil Protection Module, EU Modex, Bastian Harms, has evaluated positively both the professionalism of the Romanian rescuers and the readiness of the community partners to help Romania in case of a major earthquake. According to Bastian Harms we could never be ready enough to cope with situations like these, which means that we must continue our training at European level to get better at it, and a good example is what happened in Bucharest these days. It is difficult not only to provide assistance, Harms went on to say, but also to receive assistance, because you must be ready for it.



    Reports on the results of the exercise are to be made public also by experts from the specialized structures of NATO and the EU.

  • October 16, 2018

    October 16, 2018

    VISIT – President Klaus Iohannis state visit to Italy focuses today on economic aspects, after on Monday the talks with the President and PM of Italy concerned the importance of the Romanian community in Italy and Bucharests priorities during its presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. The President of Romania is taking part in the opening of the Romania-Italy business forum, an event designed to encourage the economic dimension of the consolidated strategic partnership. Also today President Iohannis will have a meeting with representatives of the Romanian community in Italy, the largest Romanian community abroad and the largest foreign community in Italy.



    DIPLOMATIC TOUR – While on an official working visit to the United Arab Emirates, the Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă had a meeting today with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the countrys vice-president and PM and the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. The 2 officials have assessed bilateral relations, with a focus on economic aspects. Viorica Dancila presented the main advantages of investing in Romania and encouraged the participation of Emirate companies in projects financed under current operational programmes, as well as in public-private investment partnerships. The Romanian PM also had a meeting today with Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) in Dubai. Romania gives priority to long-term cooperation with the UAE in fields such as industrial and civilian constructions, technology transfers, agriculture and food safety, nuclear and green energy, defence and IT, PM Dancila said. On Monday the PM of Romania was on a visit to Turkey, where she was received by the head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The 2 officials agreed last night in Ankara that Romania will continue to support Turkeys European accession efforts, and said the 2 countries are determined to work together to further develop their economic relations, to ensure security and fight terrorism. They have also signed 2 bilateral cooperation documents, in the field of healthcare and education.



    JUDICIARY – The Constitutional Court of Romania has today admitted part of the objection raised by President Klaus Iohannis to changes in the Law on local elected officials. The President argued that the changes introduce new penalties for local and county councillors, which were already regulated by the Conflict of Interests Act. The bill will therefore be returned to Parliament, which is to bring the unconstitutional articles in line with the ruling of the Constitutional Court. Also on Tuesday the institution admitted the objection raised by the head of state against the bill modifying the Law on the organisation and functioning of the Court of Accounts. On the other hand, the Constitutional Court postponed to October 25th the objections filed by the President and the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union in opposition, regarding changes to the Administrative Code. The head of state says the law has been endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies in a special sitting, which comes against the Constitution and violates the principle of bicameralism. President Iohannis also believes several articles are unclear, and he criticises the scrapping of incompatibility as an integrity criterion in selecting the members of the Cabinet. Also today, the Constitutional Court has deferred to October 24th the notifications submitted by President Iohannis, the Supreme Court, and the opposition parties, against changes to the Criminal Code and the Law on preventing, investigating and punishing corruption offences.



    EXERCISE – The “Earthquake 2018 national exercise organised by Romania has reached its 4th day. The simulation exercise involved all the structures with responsibilities in a major earthquake response situation in Bucharest. Rescuers practice responses to critical situations, with thousands of dead, injured and evacuated people. The Romanian Interior Ministry announced that the EU ModEx exercise was also initiated, focusing on the coordination and collaboration of healthcare service modules. This is the largest and the most complex exercise for medical modules as part of the European civil protection mechanism. Observers and participants from 26 EU member states are involved, as well as capabilities from non-EU member countries.



    INVICTUS – Romanias representatives in the 2018 Sydney Invictus Games will be meeting today the Defence Minister Mihai Fifor and the Chief of Staff, Gen. Nicolae Ciucă. The 15 Romanian military wounded in the line of duty are taking part, between October 17 and 29, in 6 individual sports events—archery, athletics, indoor rowing, powerlifting, road cycling, and swimming, and in the sitting volleyball event. Last year in the Invictus Games held in Toronto, Canada, Romania was represented by 15 wounded troops, in 6 individual events and 1 team event. In their first participation in the Games the Romanians won a gold, a silver and 2 bronze medals. Invictus Games is a sports competition first held in 2014, for national teams made up of veterans and troops wounded in theatres of operations.



    FOOTBALL – Romanias national Under-21 football team is playing tonight, on home turf, in Ploiesti, against Lichtenstein, in its last qualifier match for the 2019 European Championships in Italy. The other 2 matches scheduled in this group are Portugal vs. Bosnia and Wales vs. Switzerland. With 6 wins and 3 draws in its previous matches, Romania is top of the group with 21 points, and only needs a draw to qualify for its first under-21 final tournament in 20 years. Second comes Portugal with 19 points, and 3rd Bosnia with 18 points. The 9 preliminary group winners go straight into the final tournament, and playoffs will be held by the best 4 teams of the ones coming out second in the group stage.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 11, 2018

    June 11, 2018

    VENICE COMMISSION – A Venice Commission delegation is in Romania on a 2-day visit focusing on the changes to the justice laws. The delegation will have meetings with President Klaus Iohannis, with Parliament members, and officials from the Justice Ministry, High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor Generals Office, the National Anti-corruption Directorate, the Higher Council of Magistracy, judge and prosecutor associations and civil society organisations. Both President Iohannis, and the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have requested the opinion of this body, which comprises independent experts in constitutional law, with respect to the Romanian laws on the organisation of courts, the operation of the Higher Council of Magistrates and the status of judges and prosecutors. The requests came after the right-wing opposition, the media and civil society claimed that these laws are used by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in order to stop the fight against corruption and get control over magistrates.




    TRADE – Romanias exports totaled over 22 billion Euros in January – April 2018, while imports reached nearly 26 billion euros, according to data made public today by the National Statistics Institute. The trade deficit reached 3.7 billion euros in the first 4 months of the year, as against 3.3 billion euros last year. According to the Institute, in the first 4 months most of the imports and exports were accounted for by vehicles and transport equipment and other manufactured products.




    EXERCISE – A large-scale military exercise involving more than 800 Romanian and British troops is taking place until June 22 in the counties Braşov (in central Romania) and Prahova (in the south). The troops are training as part of Sarmis 18, which is coordinated by the Brasov-based 2nd Mountain Troops Brigade. Also taking part are members of Battalion 47 Communications and IT and 1st Battalion, The Rifles from the UK. The exercises are designed to simulate military interventions in case of hybrid threats.




    THEATRE – In Sibiu (central Romania), the 25th International Theatre Festival continues. This is the largest performing arts event in Romania and one of the most important in Europe. Today, on the 4th day of the festival, over 40 events will take place, including the opening of the performance exchange, a structure launched 22 years ago in Romania, which brings together companies and festival directors from around the world. Thousands of artists from over 70 countries are performing every day both in theatre halls and in unconventional venues.




    SUMMIT – The North-Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and US President Donald Trump are in Singapore, where they will hold a historic meeting tomorrow morning. The summit is the first one between a Kim dynasty member and a US president in office. The talks, whose outcome is uncertain, will focus on the achievement of a special agreement regarding, above all, a full, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in exchange for relaxing international economic and diplomatic sanctions. President Donald Trump has today voiced optimism about the eagerly awaited meeting, which was unimaginable just months ago, when Trump and the Pyongyang leader were exchanging harsh lines that made the world fear the worst.




    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, returns to Bucharest today, when she is to present her first Grand Slam trophy, won in Roland Garros on Saturday, to the Romanian public. We remind you that Halep defeated the American Sloane Stephens in the final.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 5, 2018

    March 5, 2018

    PROTESTS – Unionists in the public education sector have today called for a boycott of the first test in the mock exams taken by 8th graders ahead of middle school graduation, namely the Romanian language and literature test. Several schools in Romania boycotted the test. Some of the problems pointed out by teachers are the effects of the new salary scheme on their incomes, the method of calculating bonuses and the scarce funds for equipment purchases. On the other hand, the Education Ministry reminded trade union leaders that the employees in the system received a 20% pay raise on March 1 and that the collective bargaining agreement is being renegotiated. Trade unions promised not to initiate a labour conflict.




    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies is today discussing a new simple motion tabled by the Opposition against the Education Minister, Valentin Popa, whom Liberals accuse of unprofessionalism in tackling problems in the education sector. The National Liberal Party mentioned delays in salary payments, the lack of funds for investments, which might lead to schools being merged or dismantled. The vote on the motion is scheduled for Friday.




    MILITARY – Over 1,700 Romanian and foreign troops will take part, as of today until March 15th, in a large-scale multinational exercise, organised by the Romanian Navy, in Dobrogea (south-eastern Romania) and in the international waters of the Black Sea. Spring Storm 18 is based on a unique training concept which brings together the navy, air and land forces, as part of a NATO immediate assurance action plan adopted at the 2016 Summit. Romanian troops are training jointly with fellow military from the US, France and Bulgaria, and from partner countries like Georgia and Ukraine.




    CORRUPTION – The High Court of Cassation and Justice might pass a final ruling today in the case in which Ludovic Orban, the president of the National Liberal Party, the main Opposition party in Romania, is tried for influence peddling in view of obtaining undue benefits. Last month, Orban was found not guilty by a court of first instance. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate accuses Orban of having contacted a businessman in 2016, to request financial support for the local election campaign, in which Orban was running for Bucharest mayor general. Also today, the Supreme Court may pass the final ruling concerning the former chair of the Prahova County Council Mircea Cosma, and his son, former Deputy Vlad Cosma. The two have been sentenced by a court of first instance to 8 and 5 years in prison respectively, for bribe-taking, abuse of office and influence peddling. Vlad Cosma subsequently accused anti-corruption prosecutors of having tampered with evidence, which generated a huge political and media scandal in Bucharest.




    DEFENCE – The Secretary of State for defence policy, planning and international relations, Mircea Duşa, is taking part today and tomorrow in a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, the meeting focuses on permanent structured cooperation. The agenda also includes talks on military mobility and the European Defence Fund. The final session, focusing on the EU – NATO cooperation, will be attended by the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.




    ITALY – Italy is bracing up for a parliamentary make-up without a majority, after yesterdays legislative election. The reported turnout was about 73%. According to exit polls, no party or alliance will be able to form a government, and the media expect lengthy negotiations for the formation of a new Cabinet. Analysts note that two things are certain: the failure of the left-of-centre coalition in power up until the election, and the progress of populist and Euro-phobic parties. In fact, Nigel Farage, the former leader of Britains pro-Brexit movement, congratulated the Five-Star Movement, an anti-system party about to become the largest party in Italy, while the president of the French far-right National Front, Marine LePen, said the EU would have a terrible day in the wake of the elections in Italy.




    OSCARS – ‘The Shape of Water’ was the great winner in the 90th Academy Awards gala held on Sunday night, winning 4 categories: best picture, best director, best score and best production design. Gary Oldman and Frances McDormand won the top prizes for lead actor and actress, for their parts in ‘Darkest Hour’ and ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’, respectively.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 9, 2017

    October 9, 2017

    NATO — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said on Monday, at the autumn session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest, that Romania will continue to be a responsible NATO ally. Iohannis has also said that Romania became a relevant contributor to the security of the region and mentioned the country’s having allotted 2% of its GDP to defense this year, which will continue to do for the next 10 years. In his turn, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the Alliance is concerned with Russia’s military advance and its lack of transparency. Stoltenbeg has mentioned however that NATO has no intention to isolate Russia.




    CATALONIA — Spain’s Prime Minster Mariano Rajoy has said that his country will not be divided, because its national unity will be defended. In an interview with the German daily Die Welt, Rajoy has said he will do everything that he can, in keeping with the country’s laws, to prevent Catalonia from unilaterally declaring independence. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday, in support of Spain’s unity and against Catalonia’s break-up from Spain. Two million voters out of Catalonia’s 5.3 million inhabitants took part in the referendum on October 1st, with 90% of them favoring independence from Spain.




    SALARIES — The average salary in Romania went down by a little over 1% in the month of August against July, in terms of both net and gross value. Romanians got an average salary of 2,364 lei, which is over 500 euros, by 27 lei or 6 euros less than in the previous month. The IT sector is the best paid, with average salaries of 1,300 euros, while the smallest salaries are reported in the hotels and restaurant sector – around 300 euros. The unemployment rate at national level stood at 4.18% in August, the same as the previous month.




    EXERCISE — The Romanian Defense Ministry has announced that the multinational and inter-institutional exercise “CETATEA 2017” has started today and will end on October 18. Planned by the Romanian Army General Staff and coordinated by the Army’s IT&C Department, the exercise is aimed at testing, developing, assessing and confirming the interoperability of the command and control systems, communications, computers, information, surveillance and research. Alongside IT&C structures from the Romanian army, several NATO member countries are also participating in the exercise.




    DEBATES — An emergency debate regarding Ukraine’s controversial education law is held this week in Strasbourg, at the autumn session of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. The debate was initiated by the Romanian delegation with the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly and has been motivated by the new education law adopted in Ukraine, that restricts the rights of national minorities, including the Romanian one, to study in their mother tongue. Ukraine has announced it will submit the education law to the Council of Europe to be green lighted by experts while President Petro Poroshenko is expected in Strasbourg to offer clarifications on this matter.




    TENNIS — With a run to the final of the China Open in Beijing, Romanias Simona Halep became the new WTA World No.1 on Monday, October 9, when the updated rankings were released. The 26-year-old becomes the first player representing Romania to achieve this historic milestone since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975, and will be the 25th woman overall to hold the No.1 ranking. In the last 52 weeks, Halep has won the Madrid Open for the third Premier Mandatory title of her career, and reached the final of the French Open, the Italian Open and the Cincinnati Open, and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. This season, shes scored five Top 10 victories and has made the last eight in 11 of her past 13 tournaments. At the conclusion of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Halep became the active player with the longest streak of consecutive weeks ranked inside the worlds Top 10. Halep entered the Top 10 for the first time on January 27, 2014, and has been there ever since.




    FOOTBALL — Romania’s national football squad played on Sunday its last game counting towards the 2018 World Cup preliminaries. Cosmin Contra’s trainees drew 1-all against Denmark away from home. Romania ranked 4th in Group E. Poland is qualified to the World Cup, and Denmark will play in the playoffs.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)













  • September 4, 2017 UPDATE

    September 4, 2017 UPDATE

    PM’S HOUR – The head of the left-of-centre government of Romania, Mihai Tudose, held the Prime Ministers Hour in the Chamber of Deputies for the first time since taking office. The 5.6% economic growth rate reported in Romania is the best indicator for the state of the economy, Tudose said on this occasion. He also announced that the 2018 state budget bill would be sent to Parliament in November. The National Liberal Party, which had requested the PM to answer questions in Parliament, argues, among other things, that Romania has the deepest budget deficit in recent years, that revenues to the state budget are some 1.1 billion euro below forecasts and that the trade deficit widened by 30%.



    PARTNERSHIP – The Senate Speaker Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu announced on Monday that at his initiative the upper chamber of the Romanian Parliament would adopt a political declaration on September 12, to mark 20 years since Romania and the USA signed their bilateral strategic partnership. He added that the draft had been sent to the floor groups. Just days ago, the Ambassador of Romania to the USA, George Maior, said relations between Washington and Bucharest are at the highest level of implementation of the bilateral strategic partnership, in all its aspects, from defence and security to economy and culture. Nonetheless, Ambassador Maior said Romania seeks strengthened cooperation with Washington in the field of defence, and mentioned in this context that the Romanian Defence Minister, Adrian Ţuţuianu, would have a meeting with his American counterpart James Mattis on September 19.



    ENESCU FESTIVAL – The George Enescu International Festival, one of the most prestigious music events in Europe, continues in Bucharest. For 3 weeks, 80 concerts and other events will bring more than 3,000 of the best international artists to Bucharest and 7 other major Romanian cities. Radio Romania is the only media institution in the country to broadcast the concerts live, on its channels Radio Romania Music and Radio Romania Culture. First organised in 1958, 3 years after the famed Romanian composer had died, the George Enescu Festival was discontinued in 1971 by the communist regime, and was resumed in 1989. It has been held every 2 years ever since.




    EXERCISE – Between September 4 and 22, more than 100 Romanian troops are taking part in the 4th edition of Vigorous Warrior, a NATO medical exercise held this year in Lehnin, Germany, the Romanian Defence Ministry announced. Taking part in this exercise organised by the NATO Excellence Centre for Military Medicine are around 900 military from 27 NATO member and partner states.



    TURKEY – The actions of the Turkish authorities make it impossible for that country to join the European Union, the European Commission said on Monday, after the German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the halt of accession talks. Also on Monday, Turkeys Minister for European Affairs, Omer Celik, said that any talk of breaking off negotiations would be an attack on the founding principles of the European Union. Turkeys accession negotiations started in 2005, but are currently stalled because of the political developments in this country and of the authoritarian conduct that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accused of, Reuters comments.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 14, 2017

    June 14, 2017

    CABINET – The fate of the leftist Government of Romania, headed by PM Sorin Grindeanu, will be decided today in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party in power. The Committee will assess the performance of each Cabinet minister and a possible reshuffling. At the end of last week, the Social Democrat leader, Liviu Dragnea, who is also the head of the Chamber of Deputies, voiced his discontent with the work of several ministers, without disclosing any names. Dragnea also said he was not considering dismissing the entire Cabinet. In turn, PM Grindeanu said he had made his own assessment and he was content with the effects of the measures taken by his Cabinet. The Grindeanu Government took office after Decembers parliamentary elections.




    DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Gabriel Leş, and his British counterpart, Michael Fallon, are on a visit to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in south-eastern Romania. The two officials will have meetings with the pilots and technical staff working on the Typhoon aircraft of the Royal Air Forces, which have arrived in Romania for air policing missions. The planes are taking part in joint missions with MiG-21 LanceR aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces, until the end of August. According to a news release issued by the Defence Ministry, the RAF aircraft have been deployed to Romania as part of an Action Plan to ensure the NATO operational capability both in the northern and the southern part of the eastern flank of the Alliance.




    HEARINGS – The Mayor of Cluj in north-western Romania, Emil Boc, was heard by a special parliamentary committee investigating the circumstances of the 2009 presidential election. The prime minister of the country at that time and a loyal aide to then President Traian Basescu, who won a new term in office after defeating the former Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoană, Boc was the only one heard today. The head of the National Anti-Corruption Agency, Codruta Kovesi, refused to appear before the committee, but apparently she will receive a new invitation. The committee also requested a 60-day extension of the investigation and the postponement of the deadline for their report to early September. The committee was set up after the controversial journalist Dan Andronic, a political adviser to Basescu in 2009, made public allegations that the 2009 presidential vote had been tampered with.




    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, took part on Tuesday in Berlin in a conference on a decade of Romanian EU membership. On this occasion, he said that although Romania was not a founding member of the EU, it wishes to make a significant contribution to the future of the European project, so that the Union may remain an efficient and united community of values, playing a major role at world level. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will also be on a visit to Berlin between June 19 and 21, during which he will have meetings with his German counterpart, Frank – Walter Steinmeier, and with Chancellor Angela Merkel.




    NUCLEAR PHYSICS – The director for nuclear security at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering Research and Development in Măgurele, southern Romania, Mitică Drăguşin, Ph.D., is the first Romanian expert in nuclear decommissioning and the management of radioactive waste at the European Commission and parliament. The physicist was selected by the EUs Joint Research Centre. The Măgurele high power laser project is taking part in the World Expo 2017 in Kazakhstan, where the team will also present their offer in the field of decommissioning nuclear research facilities. The scientists in Măgurele are thus trying to generate top-level trade contacts to promote Romanian technologies and experts.




    HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball team has qualified to the World Championship due in December in Germany, after outplaying Austria 33-24 away from home on Tuesday night, in the second leg of the playoffs. In the first match, played on Friday at home in Oradea, Romania won 34-29. Romania is the only country to have taken part in all the 22 editions of the World Championship so far, and in 2015 it won the bronze medals.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 20, 2017

    April 20, 2017

    TIMMERMANS — First Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, is today on an official visit to Romania. The European official has meetings scheduled with PM Sorin Grindeanu and with the speakers of the two chambers of Parliament, Liviu Dragnea and Calin Popescu Tariceanu. Timmermans will hold talks with the leadership of parties represented in Parliament, as well as with the partners in the Mechanism of Cooperation and Verification in the judicial system. Timmermans will also be talking to citizens about future of Europe, centering on the White Charter, about the 60 year anniversary of the Rome Treaty, and the ten year anniversary since Romania joined the EU.



    GYMNASTICS — Romanian athlete Marian Dragulescu qualified in the floor event finals and the vault finals in the European Gymnastics Championships. The event is hosted by the Romanian city of Cluj, which wraps up on April 23. This edition is attended by 274 athletes from 37 countries. Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci is ambassador for the European Championships. The last edition of this event hosted by Romania took place in 1957. Stay tuned for more after the news.



    WEATHER — Bad weather will continue to afflict Romania over the next couple of days. Rain, snow, gales and low temperatures have caused the authorities to extend a code yellow until Friday at noon, taking into consideration the snow in the mountains as well. A code orange alert is in place until noon on Friday in the eastern and southern Carpathians as well, with winds expected to reach speeds of up to 80 to 90 km/h. Maximums today are between 0 and 12 degrees Celsius. The worsening of the weather has affected road traffic. Several flights have been delayed by the weather on Cluj International Airport. A few localities in the north and southeast were left without power.



    TENNIS — Romanias womens tennis team plays at home this weekend, taking on the UKs team, in a bid to hold on to their place in the world group in the Fed Cup. The games are scheduled for April 22 and 23, in the resort of Mamaia, on the Black Sea coast. Romanias team is made up of Simona Halep, 5th seeded, Irina Begu, 33rd seeded, Monica Niculescu, 47th seeded, and Sorana Cirstea, 61st seeded. The UK brings into play two top 100 players, Johanna Konta, 10th seeded, and Heather Watson, 72nd seeded. Romania and the UK have faced off five times so far in the Fed Cup, with the Romanians winning four times.



    MILITARY — Romanian officials from the government and the armed forces joined US Embassy officials at the firing range in Smardan, for the initiation of a new stage of the Justice Eagle 17 joint US-Romanian military exercise. Yesterday, in the first live fire exercise, hundreds of Romanian and US troops responded to simulated enemy fire. The exercise, concluding on May 5th, is the most important to take place on the eastern border of Romania. The US troops are part of the American land contingent in Europe, and are part of Washingtons commitment to strengthening collective security and cooperation in Eastern Europe, as part of the Atlantic Resolve operation.



    ALARMS — Romania continues its widest ranging exercise to test alarm system at a national level. Emergency sirens are being tested between 10 AM and 3 PM in 11 counties, after tests were carried out in Bucharest yesterday. The sirens are supposed to announce chemical accidents, air attacks, or severe flooding, and can be heard on a radius of around 500 meters. 7,700 such sirens are distributed around the country for civil protection. The exercise, concluding Friday, is supposed to measure speed of reaction in case of emergency, as well as coverage of alarms, in addition to response measure awareness.