Radio România Internațional

Tag: football

  • THE WEEK IN REVIEW

    THE WEEK IN REVIEW

    Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, at the European Council meeting in Brussels

    The leaders of the EU countries, including the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, met in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss topics such as Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, EU competitiveness, migration and foreign affairs. Also on the agenda was the European Union’s support signal, which it must give at the highest level for the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the upcoming elections and the referendum through which the population is asked if they want to join the EU. It is one of the points for which Romania insisted on appearing both in the debate and in the final declaration of the summit. A second element that Romania insisted on is the one in which the European leaders ask the European Commission to analyze the reasons why energy prices in Eastern and Southern Europe tend to be higher than those in the rest of the EU bloc. One of the problems would be the poor interconnectivity of the market and the blockage that occurs in the central region of Europe. Thus, countries like Romania cannot take advantage of the moments when the European market offers better prices. Migration, however, was a hot topic, given that the phenomenon continues to put pressure on the EU borders. On Wednesday, President Iohannis participated in the European Union – Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, held in Brussels. This first edition of the Summit represented a defining moment for the consolidation of the Strategic Partnership between the two regions and laid the foundations for in-depth cooperation in the upcoming period. The joint partnership focuses on the security, sustainable development and prosperity of the two regions, by stimulating bilateral trade and investments, energy cooperation and combating climate change and also on increased connectivity, including in the digital field and interpersonal contacts. Iohannis, pleaded for the updating and expansion of the contractual framework in the field of trade and investments, also supporting steps for visa liberalization. Romania is interested in improving connectivity between the two regions, through the development and expansion of some projects, such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and under the umbrella of the Global Gateway, which would allow for a more efficient joint use of new technologies, energy sources and critical materials.

    The European Commission provisionally approved Romania’s third payment request for PNRR

    The European Commission has provisionally approved Romania’s third payment request for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, but expects to receive additional information from the Bucharest Government, within a month, in order to make the full payment. According to the European Commission’s assessment, Romania has met only 62 of the 68 reform or investment milestones, which is why they propose the partial suspension of the payment until additional clarifications are provided. If they are considered sufficient, the Commission will make the full payment of the two billion euros. If not, the European Commission will make a partial payment to Romania, and our country will have a second period, this time of six months, to meet the outstanding milestones. The European Commission is going to say exactly the amount that will not be transferred to Bucharest from the payment request, in the amount of 2,700,000,000 euros. The Minister of Investments and European Projects, Adrian Câciu, said that the Government is already working to fulfill all the requests. Among the milestones achieved are the stimulation of energy efficiency in industry, the reform of the public pension system and investments to improve the energy efficiency of the existing building stock.

    Romanian politicians under corruption charges

    On Thursday, anti-graft prosecutors began to search the office of MP Nelu Tătaru, at the Municipal Hospital in Huşi (east), where he works as a surgeon. The searches take place after, at the beginning of the week, the Chamber of Deputies partially lifted the immunity of the former minister, accused of taking bribes from patients this year. Nelu Tătaru says that he is not guilty and that he has never conditioned the medical act on receiving material benefits. The former Minister of Health was stripped of all his political positions and was excluded from the lists for the parliamentary elections. On Wednesday, the Permanent Bureau of the Romanian Senate, during an online meeting, decided that the request to lift the parliamentary immunity of senator Eugen Pîrvulescu should be sent to the Legal Commission for the preparation of a report, and that it should be submitted to the vote of the plenary on Monday, October 21. Last week, Senator Eugen Pîrvulescu was placed under criminal investigation  in a case in which he is accused of instigation to influence peddling.

    Victories for Romania in international football competitions

    Romania’s youth team qualified for the 2025 European Under-21 Football Championship, after defeating Switzerland 3-1, on Tuesday evening, in Bucharest, in the last match of Group E of the preliminaries. The Romanians thus secured their fourth consecutive presence at an U-21 final tournament. Also on Tuesday evening, the Romanian national football squad defeated the Lithuanian team, 2-1, in Kaunas, in the Nations League C League (Group 2). It is the fourth victory of the Romanians in this tour, after the ones against Lithuania at home, Cyprus and Kosovo. Romania leads the group with 12 points. The Nations League will also have a direct effect on the European preliminaries for the 2026 World Cup.

  • October 16, 2024

    October 16, 2024

    PNRR The European Commission has provisionally approved Romania’s third payment request for its National Resilience and Recovery Plan known as PNRR. The Commission is waiting to receive additional information from the government in Bucharest within a month in order to make the whole payment. According to the EC’s assessment, Romania had met 62 out of the 68 requirements related to reforms and investment, which led to the temporary suspension of payment until explanations were provided. If these explanations are considered enough, the Commission is expected to make the entire payment of 2 billion Euros.

     

    UKRAINE Romania can play the role of a logistic hub in Ukraine’s reconstruction – says the president of the Romania-Ukraine  Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, Nasty Vladoiu, who has recently attended the Forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Bucharest. In turn, Ana Tinca, state secretary for strategic affairs with Romania’s Foreign Ministry, has reiterated Romania’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and the significant importance attached to Ukraine’s reconstruction. In this context she underlined the special attention paid to cross-border projects and connectivity in the fields of transport and energy, as well as the trilateral cooperation also involving the Republic of Moldova. The official has also mentioned the EU’s major support in the country’s reconstruction, urging the business community to use the instruments and programmes available at EU level.

     

    SUMMIT Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis is in Brussels to participate in the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit and the European Council proceedings due on Thursday and Friday. Subjects high on the agenda are Ukraine, the war in the Middle East, the EU competitiveness, migration, foreign affairs and the Republic of Moldova. The European leaders are also expected to tackle the latest evolutions of the war in Ukraine, as well as ways of helping the Ukrainian people. They will also discuss the alarming situation in the Middle East and ‘the risks of escalating violence in the region’. Talks will also focus on the Republic of Moldova’s EU accession as well as migration-related policies.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side clinched a 2-1 win against Lithuania in an away game counting towards the Nations League’s Group C on Tuesday night. This has been Romania’s fourth win after those against Lithuania at home, Cyprus and Kosovo. Romania tops the group with 12 points followed by Kosovo, which outperformed Cyprus 3-0 and has three points less than our side. Romania will be playing Kosovo on 15 November, and taking on Cyprus three days later. The Nations League will have a direct effect over the European preliminaries for World Cup 2026. In another development, Romania’s Under 21 squad has qualified for the European Championship 2025 after a 3-1 home win against Switzerland also on Tuesday. They have thus managed to secure their fourth consecutive presence in a final Under 21 tournament.

    (bill)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Attention-grabbing this coming weekend is the football match pitting Romania against Cyprus. The game will be played in Larnaca and counts towards the third round of the Nations league’ third tier, Group C2. Media in Bucharest has mentioned that roughly 4,000 Romanian supporters are expected to go the stadium, given that the arena playing host to the game has a seating capacity of 8,000 seats.

    The Romania national squad is fresh from two winning confrontations in the Nations League’s first two rounds in September. We recall Romania won the game against Kosovo, 3-nil away, also winning the match against Lithuania at home, 3-1. In the first round, Cyprus defeated Lithuania away from home, 1-nil, then sustained a nil-4 home defeat by Kosovo. The history of the direct confrontations between Cyprus and Romania includes 9 wins for Romania, 3 draws and a win for Cyprus. Head-coach Mircea Lucescu’s trainees’ set target is to obtain six points in two games

    Matches counting towards the Champions League in women’s handball are scheduled at the weekend. In Group A on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud play a home game against Croatia’s Podravka Koprivnica. According to the as-it-stands table, Gloria are 5th-placed, with two points. With zero points on their record sheet, Podravka and Denmark’s Nykøbing Falster are at the bottom of the table. CSM Bucharest play an away game in Ljubljana, against Krim. Holders CSM are 4th-placed with three wins and one defeat so far. Krim are 2nd-placed, after four consecutive wins.

    In Group B, Rapid Bucharest on Sunday play an away game against Danish team Odense. Rapid have won their first match in the group, against Buducnost Podgorica, at home, and drew against Vipers Kristiansand, away. Then Rapid went no less than eight goals down in the home game against Ludwigsburg, then away from home, Denmark’s Team Esbjerg were seven goals clear in the match against Rapid Bucharest.

    Notwithstanding, Rapid are highly likely to get back into shape: we recall that in the domestic championship this past Wednesday, Romania’s vice-champions trounced SCM Universitatea Craiova, 26 to 17. Also on Sunday, in Europe’s second tier league the EHF European League, in a match counting towards the second preliminary round, Sport Club Municipal Râmnicu Vâlcea play the second leg against Slovak team Dunajská Streda. In the first leg, the Romanian team, won, 28-26.

  • Sports weekend

    Romanian football team FCSB have succeeded their second consecutive win in Europa League’s ongoing season. On Thursday, FCSB grabbed a 1-nil away win against Greek challengers PAOK Thessalonica. The only goal of the match was scored by Daniel Bîrligea, in the first half’s added time.

    FCSB had a hard time on the pitch as on 55 minutes captain Darius Olaru was eliminated, having been twice yellow-booked. Greek champions PAOK, head-coached by the Romanian Razvan Lucescu, never ceased to attack until the end, yet FSCB put on a heroic defensive game and managed to maintain their advantage. So after two rounds in the Europa league, FCSB are among the very few team that have so far won all the points at stake, rubbing shoulders with Lazio, Lyon, Tottenham and Anderlecht.

    On Sunday, play FCSB in the Romanian Super league’s 12th round, facing Gloria Buzău at home. On Friday, UTA Arad are pitted against Petrolul Ploieşti, while Farul Constanţa play Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday top-of-the-table team Universitatea Cluj play an away match against Unirea Slobozia, while CFR Cluj play a home game against Poli Iasi. Also on Saturday, Oţelul Galaţi take on Universitatea Craiova at home. In Sibiu on Sunday, Hermannstadt play Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, while FC Botoşani face Rapid Bucharest, at home.

    Three Romanian women’s handball teams this coming weekend will play their fixtures in the Champions League’s fourth round. In Group A on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud play an away fixture against Hungary’s Ferencváros. On Sunday, CSM Bucharest play a home game against Danish side Nykøbing Falster. In the National Handball League’s derby on Wednesday, CSM Bucharest succeeded a 33-30 home win against Gloria Bistrita. Romanian title holders CSM Bucharest took their revenge, having sustained a 26-30 away defeat by Gloria Bistrita on September 7, in the Champions League’s first round.

    According to the Champions League’s Group A rankings, after three rounds, CSM Bucharest are 4th-placed, with 4 points. Gloria have two points and are 5th-placed. In Group B on Sunday, Rapid Bucharest ply an away game against Danish opponents Team Esbjerg. Romania’s vice-champions so far have three points on their record sheet and are 4th-placed in the group’s as-it-stands table.

  • October 3, 2024

    October 3, 2024

     

    DEFICIT The Romanian minister for investments and European projects, Adrian Câciu, said a 7-year plan to reduce the budget deficit would be presented by the October 15 deadline set by the EC. According to Câciu, the plan is accompanied by reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The measures mainly consist in cutting unnecessary expenditure by public institutions and improved collection of government revenues.

     

    EUROPEAN COMMISSION The commissioners nominated by member states and by the EC president Ursula von der Leyen will be interviewed by the European Parliament’s specialized standing committees next month. According to France Presse, the new College of Commissioners might therefore take office in early December. Romania’s representative Roxana Mînzatu was nominated for executive vice-president for skills, education and culture, quality jobs and social rights.

     

    YOUTH European youth born in 2006, including in Romania, may enroll in the 2024 DiscoverEU programme, which provides free travel across the Union. A dedicated European Commission webpage is available for young people to enroll in order to win one of the 35,000 free travel permits and discount accommodation and meal cards. Each permit allows for one trip between March 2025 and May 2026. Winners may choose certain destinations in Europe, including ones on the DiscoverEU cultural route that connects EU capital cities, UNESCO sites and European heritage sites. Applications may be submitted until October 16. More than 300,000 youth have benefitted from this programme since its launch in 2018.

     

    WB The country partnership framework between the World Bank and Romania for 2025-2029 was launched in Bucharest. PM Marcel Ciolacu says that in the next 3 years the estimated funding for Romania from the WB group will be over USD 6 bln, in favourable financial terms. The money is intended to help bridge the gap between the more developed and integrated urban communities and the poorer and more isolated rural environment. A USD 500 mln loan agreement has also been signed, for the funding of disaster risk management policies.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions, FCSB, play tonight away from home against PAOK Thessaloniki in the Europa League group stage. In the first round, the Greek champions coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu were defeated by Galatasaray Istanbul, 3-1 in Turkey, while FCSB won against RFS (Latvia) 4-1 in Bucharest. (AMP)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    Corona Brasov ice hockey team as part of the Erste Liga regional competition’s derby, in Budapest on Sunday defeated Hungarian opponents Ferencváros, 5-3, in a re-enactment of Erste Liga’s 2023 final. Scoring for Corona were Hungarian player Daniel Koger, the Russian Albert Zaghidulin, the naturalized Russian Evgheni Skacikov, who scored two goals, and US player Jared VanWormer.

    Also on Sunday and in extra-time, ACSH Gheorghieni secured a 3-2 home win against Ujpest Budapest. In their most severe defeat in recent years, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc were outclassed, nil-8, by DEAC Debrecen at home.

    In men’s basketball domestic championship, CSM Oradea grabbed a 72-61 away win against defending champions U-BT Cluj Napoca. For the latter team it was the debut game in the domestic championship’s ongoing season. CSM Oradea’s best basketball player was the Romanian international, US-born Kristopher Jameil Richard, with 22 points and 4 recoveries. U-BT Cluj Napoca’s most efficient scorer was NBA team Oklahoma City Thunder’s former player, Zavier Marquis Simpson of the USA, with 20 points, 6 recoveries and 4 assists.

    Matches counting towards the Romanian Super league football championship’s 11th round were played at the weekend. On Friday, Petrolul Ploiesti secured a 4-1 home win against Fc Hermannstadt, then in Bucharest, Dinamo and FC Botosani drew, 2-all. On Saturday in Iasi, in the east, the local side Politehnica defeated Universitatea Cluj, 1-nil. UTA Arad grabbed a surprising 3-1 win against CFR Cluj, away. Also on Saturday, in Bucharest, the match pitting Rapid against Otelul Galaţi ended in a blank draw.

    In Buzau on Sunday, the local side Gloria grabbed a 1-nil home win against Farul Constanta, then FCSB defeated Sepsi OSK, 1-nil, away. Universitatea Cluj are still at the top of the as-it-stands-table, with 22 points. Following in descending order are Otelul Galati and Petrolul Ploiesti, with 18 points each. The former team have a pending match on their record sheet.

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

     

     

    Romania’s football champions, FCSB, Thursday begin their autumn European season. The Bucharest team coached by Elias Charalambous (Cyprus) plays in Europa League, after 4 qualifier rounds.

     

    They first took part in the qualifier rounds of the top-tier continental competition, the Champions’ League, defeating the San Marino champions, AC Virtus Aquaviva, 7-1 away from home and 4-0 on home turf in the first round. In the next round, they outplayed the Israeli champions Maccabi Tel-Aviv, 1-1 in Bucharest and 1-0 away from home, in Hungary. The 3rd round of the Champions’ League qualifiers saw FCSB’s first defeat, to the Czech champions, Sparta Prague, after 1-1 in Prague and 2-3 at home. This sent the Romanian side to the Europa League playoffs, in which they beat the Austrian team LASK Linz, 1-1 in Austria and 1-0 on home turf.

     

    On Thursday, FCSB play their first match in Europa League, with a new format as of this year. In the competition’s main group stage, the Romanians will play against 8 teams, four of which will travel to Bucharest.

     

    The first match will be against the Latvian team Riga Futbols Skolas (RFS). The Baltic team also reached the competition’s main group after having lost to Bodø/Glimt (Denmark) in the Champions League qualifiers, and in the Europa League playoffs they defeated Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus).

     

    FCSB are next to play on home turf against Midtjylland (Denmark) on November 7, Olympiakos Piraeus, on November 28, and Manchester United on January 30, 2025. As for their away matches, the Romanian champions will take on PAOK Thessaloniki (coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu) on October 3, against Glasgow Rangers on October 24, against Hoffenheim on December 12, and Qarabag (Azerbaijan) on January 23.

     

    Worth mentioning is also that by the end of last week FCSB had managed to sell around 34,000 sets of tickets for their home matches in Europa League. According to gsp.ro, this means profits of some EUR 3.4 million for the Bucharest-based team. (AMP)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

     

    This weekend saw matches in the 3rd round of the women’s handball Champions’ League group stage. On Saturday, in Group A, CSM Bucharest defeated the Croatian side Podravka Koprivnica away from home, 29-28. The Romanian champions’ top scorers were Cristina Neagu and Monika Kobylińska (Poland), with 6 goals each. In the same group, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud lost to Krim Ljubljana (Slovenia), 35-30, in Gloria’s second defeat in a row. The Russian player Valeria Kirdiasheva scored the largest number of goals (9) for the hosts. CSM is currently ranking 4th in the group, with 4 points, and in the next round due on October 6 they will be facing the Danish side Nykøbing Falster. Gloria are ranked 5th, with only 2 points, and are next to play Ferencváros in Budapest, on October 5.

     

    In Group B, Rapid Bucharest played at home on Sunday against the German team Ludwigsburg, the defending vice-champions. The guests won by a crushing 37-29, with Anđela Janjušević as the Romanian vice-champions’ top scorer (8 goals). Rapid is currently ranked 4th in the group, with 3 points, and will play their next match away from home, against the Danish side Team Esbjerg, on October 6th.

     

    In ice hockey, all the 3 Romanian teams taking part in the regional competition Erste Liga won their respective matches on Sunday, against Hungarian teams. The winners of last year’s competition, Corona Braşov, defeated Jegesmedvék 5-4 at home, after penalty shootouts. Also at home, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc won 5-4 against Budapest Jégkorong Akadémia. The other Romanian club in the competition, ACSH Gheorgheni, defeated Hungary’s FEHA19 5-2. Top of the standings are Corona, with 11 points in 4 games. Next come DEAC Debrecen, with 9 points in 3 matches.

     

    This weekend the 10th round of the Romanian football Super league also took place. On Friday in Botoşani the local team, Fotbal Club and Gloria Buzău drew, 3-all. Another draw, 1-all, was also the result of the match pitting Oţelul Galaţi against Dinamo Bucharest. And Saturday also brought 2 draws: Hermannstadt Sibiu vs CFR Cluj (0-0) and FCSB Bucharest vs Petrolul Ploieşti (0-0). On Sunday, Farul Constanţa defeated Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 2-1 on home turf, and Universitatea Cluj drew against Universitatea Craiova, in Cluj (1-1). The last 2 matches are scheduled for tonight: UTA Arad vs Poli Iaşi and Unirea Slobozia vs Rapid Bucharest. Top of the current ranking are Universitatea Cluj, with 22 points, and Oţelul Galaţi, with 17 points. (AMP)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

     

    The Romanian tennis player Miriam Bulgaru won the WTA 125 tournament in Bucharest, which ended on Sunday. She won the final against Kathinka von Deichmann, of Liechtenstein, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. This has been Bulgaru’s best performance so far, for which she was rewarded with USD 15,000 and 125 WTA points.

     

    Saturday and Sunday saw matches in the second round of the women’s handball Champions League. In Group B, Romanian vice-champions Rapid Bucharest Sunday managed a notable performance, with a 30-30 draw away from home against the Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand, last year’s League champions. Top scorers for Rapid were Albertina Kassoma with 6 goals and Eliza Buceschi (5 goals). In the next round, Rapid will take on Ludwigsburg (Germany), on Sunday in Bucharest.

     

    In Group A, on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud lost their away game against the French team Metz, (26-28). Top scorer for the Romanian side was Danila So Delgado with 8 goals. On Sunday, in Bucharest, CSM won against Storhamar (Norway), 32-28. The Romanian champions’ best player was Elizabeth Omoregie (8 goals). This Saturday, Gloria plays at home against Krim Ljubljana (Slovenia), while CSM Bucharest will face Podravka Koprivnica in Croatia.

     

    The 9th round of the Romanian football Super League also took place this weekend. On Friday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe won 3-0 on home turf against FC Botoşani, and Dinamo won in Bucharest, 1-0 against Unirea Slobozia. Saturday brought 2 draws: Gloria Buzău vs Otelul Galaţi (0-0) and Petrolul Ploieşti vs Farul Constanţa (1-1). On Sunday, Politehnica Iaşi defeated Universitatea Craiova (2-0), while CFR Cluj and FCSB drew (2-all) in Cluj. The last 2 matches in this round were scheduled for Monday, UTA vs. Hermannstadt and Rapid Bucharest vs. Universitatea Cluj. Universitatea Cluj top the ranking so far, with 18 points, followed by Oţelul Galaţi, with 16 points. (AMP)

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Romanian women’s handball team Gloria Bistritsa grabbed a 24-22 away win against Rapid Bucharest. The fixture counted as the derby of the National Women’s Handball League’s third round. Florentin Pera’ s trainees had the lead all throughout the game, so much so that in the first half Gloria Bistritsa were six goals clear of Rapid. Gloria Bistritsa’s top player was Brazilian goal keeper Renata Lais De Arruda, with 18 saves. Gloria’s most efficient scorer was another Brazilian, Tamires Morena, with 5 goals scored. Rapid’s top scorer was the French Aissatou Kouyaté, who scored 5 goals. Gloria is fresh from another great win they grabbed on Saturday in the Champions League, against CSM Bucharest. In the domestic championship, 2023 title holders, CSM, in Bucharest on Wednesday grabbed a 38-24 win against Magura Cisnadie.

    In news from football, Emil Săndoi is Politehnica Iaşi’s newly-appointed head coach. Sandoi’s debut match is this coming Sunday’s fixture pitting Politehnica Iasi against Universitatea Craiova, the team where Emil Sandoi made a name for himself in domestic football. The match counts towards the Romanian Super League’s 9th round. The round’s debut fixtures on Friday will see Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe playing FC Botosani on home turf, while in Bucharest, in a match hosted by the Triumphal Arch Arena, Dinamo Bucharest faces Unirea Slobozia.

    The Romanian athletes who in 2024 walked home with medals won in the Olympic and Paralympic games, on Wednesday were decorated by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Among them, swimmer David Popovici and rowers Ancuţa Bodnar, Simona Radiş, Andrei Cornea and Marian Enache. A couple of sports officials and head coaches have also received distinctions. The many-time rowing champion and currently the president of the National Sports Agency, Elisabeta Lipa, was granted the Star of Romania Order in the rank of Grand Officer. The Olympic fencing champion in 2000, the President of the Olympic and Sports Committee, Mihai Covaliu, was granted the Star of Romania National Order in the rank of Knight.

  • September 10, 2024

    September 10, 2024

     

    EC – Romania could receive, in the future European Commission makeup, the portfolio for social rights and housing, a position also with competences related to salaries, pensions and benefits, according to Romanian government sources. According to the same sources, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had a discussion with the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, in which MEP Roxana Mânzatu also participated, the latter being Romania’s proposal for the position of European Commissioner. Ursula von der Leyen will announce  the allocation of portfolios in the future European Commission on Wednesday.

     

    SENATE – The Romanian Senate starts debating an emergency order that sets a three-day deadline for toxicology test results, following the testing of drivers in traffic. If the results of the anti-doping tests, carried out only by forensic medicine institutions, will not be ready in time, the drivers will get their driving licenses back. Also in the Senate, the draft law on the introduction of the European minimum wage in Romania is being debated by the expert committees. The normative act establishes a new mechanism by which the minimum salary will be updated annually, so that it accounts for at least half of the average salary. On the other hand, deputies from the labor committee have on their agenda this week several legislative projects with measures for people with disabilities, which concern facilitating their access to public transportation or to polling stations.

     

    CARMAKING – At the Dacia-Renault factories in Pitesti (southern Romania) a program of voluntary departures has begun, with employees being compensated with substantial sums of money, proportional to their seniority in the unit. The management of the factory hopes to thus reduce the staff by several hundred employees, especially from the sections that will be reorganized following some automation processes. The premiums are 22,000 lei for seniorities of up to two years and can reach 150,000 lei for those with more than 16 years. During the campaign of voluntary departures two years ago, approximately 500 employees benefited from these financial rights.

     

    CHISINAU – 16 national theaters from Romania and the Republic of Moldova have met starting today until September 22, in Chisinau, where the 9th edition of the “Reunion of Romanian National Theaters” is taking place. During this period, the public in the Moldovan capital  can take part in 46 cultural events, indoor and outdoor performances, eight radio show auditions and six premieres. There will also be book launches, meetings with people of culture and personalities from the theater world. The event in Chisinau takes place under the slogan “European Connections” and benefits from the high patronage of the presidents of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, Klaus Iohannis and Maia Sandu, respectively. The guest of honor of the festival is the “Ivan Franko” National Drama Theater from Kyiv.

     

    FOOTBALL  – The Romanian national football team defeated the Lithuanian national squad, 3-1, on Monday evening, in Bucharest, in Group C2 of the Nations League. Winners also in Kosovo, on Friday ( 3-nil), the Romanians are group leaders, with 6 points. Romania will play the following matches next month, on October 12 against Cyprus and on October 15 against Lithuania, both away. The 2024/25 Nations League will also have a direct effect on the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The best four group winners from the Nations League, excluding the teams that finished in the top two places in the qualifying groups, will participate in the play-off matches for the 2026 World Championship, along with all 12 second place teams from the classic preliminaries.

     

    SCHOOL– In Romania, the new school year comes with a series of important provisions. Students from the 8th and 12th grades will finish school earlier, and the exam calendar, both for the National Assessment and for the Baccalaureate, has been changed. For those who will not take the exams, the courses will last 36 weeks and will end on June 20, 2025. Also from this year, students will receive a grade at the end of each module, access to education institutions will be prohibited with the mobile phone and special rooms will be created for students who disturb classes. In the new school year, the national plan to combat school violence is applied in all education units in Romania.

     

    COMPETITION – The HBFS Robotics team of the Politehnica Bucharest National University of Science and Technology  returned to the country with two gold, two silver and one bronze medals from the biggest robotics championship in the world, “RobotChallenge” 2024, held in Beijing, China. More than 5,000 participants from 31 countries  took part in the competition. Romania ranked fifth in the general ranking of countries in terms of number of medals obtained, leaving behind numerous states with tradition and influence in the field of robotics.

     

  • September 5, 2024 UPDATE

    September 5, 2024 UPDATE

    VISIT Romania supports Israel’s right to self-defence – Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said during the meeting he had on Thursday with the head of the Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Radio Romania correspondent, Ciolacu voiced concern regarding the security situation and the danger of regional escalation. The Romanian Prime Minister paid a working visit in Israel where he was accompanied by the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Economy. It was the second visit, Ciolacu paid to Israel since October 17th last year, ten days after Israel had been attacked by the Islamist group Hamas.

     

    DONATION The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday promulgated a law on donating a US surface-to-air Patriot missile system to third parties. The law, which was earlier endorsed by Parliament, refers to the donation, agreed upon with the US partner, of such a system to the neighboring Ukraine, a country currently invaded by the Russian troops. The new law enables the Romanian government to commence the required moves aimed at rebuilding the country’s ground-based air-defence capabilities by submitting the contracts on the purchase of another Patriot missile system to the US government.

     

    TOURISM The total number of tourists who got accommodation in Romania’s travel structures in the first seven months of this year stood at 7.666 million, 3.8% higher than the same period in 2023, data released by the National Institute for Statistics shows. According to official statistics, between January 1 and July 31 2024, Romanian tourists accounted for 82.9 % out of the total number of arrivals, whereas the number of foreign tourists stood at 17.1%. The cities with the largest number of visitors were Bucharest, Constanta in the south-east and Brasov in central Romania. Most of the foreign tourists came from Germany (128,900), Italy (117,800) and Israel (83,100). 81.1 % of the foreign tourists came from EU countries.

     

    MOLDOVA Moldova’s EU accession process would make good progress next year during Poland’s term at the helm of the EU Council, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during his Wednesday’s visit to Chișinău. The Polish official met his Moldovan counterpart, Dorin Recean, and held a speech in Parliament in Romanian, boycotted by the pro-Russian opposition. Donald Tusk then met the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, who argued that Poland is a clear example of how EU integration can transform a country. The presidents of Romania and Baltic States also paid visits to Chișinău last week to express support for Moldova’s EU accession efforts. In October, the Republic of Moldova will host a referendum regarding the country’s EU accession, jointly with the presidential election.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team is playing its debut match in the 2024-2025 season of Nations League on Friday. In the first group fixture, Romania will play Kosovo away from home, while on September 9 it will take on Lithuania at home. Romania’s group, C2, also includes Cyprus. The top position ensures direct promotion to League 2 in the next season of Nations League, while teams in second place will play promotion playoffs. Teams in last place will be directly relegated to League D, while teams in third position will play in C2 the next season. Nations League standings also impact the European preliminary matches for the 2026 World Cup. Romania’s new headcoach is Mircea Lucescu, who returns to the national squad after 40 years. We recall Edward Iordănescu resigned at the end of EURO 2024, a tournament where Romania reached the round of 16.

    (bill)

     

  • September 4, 2024 – UPDATE

    September 4, 2024 – UPDATE

     

    VISIT PM Marcel Ciolacu makes a one-day visit to Israel on Thursday, to express solidarity with the authorities of that country in the current context in the Middle East. He is accompanied by the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu, and by the economy minister, Radu Oprea. The Romanian PM will have a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and will be received by the Israeli president, Itzhak Herzog, and the Parliament speaker. The Romanian delegation travels to Israel on a military aircraft.

     

    DEFENCE A meeting of the B.9 defence ministers will be hosted by Bucharest this September, under a resolution passed by the Government on Wednesday. B.9 meetings are held regularly at head of state, foreign minister and defence minister level, as “opportunities to harmonise” member states’ national positions on topics to be included on the agenda of NATO summits and assemblies. Launched at the initiative of Romania and Poland in 2015, the Bucharest 9 format is a platform to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the Allies on NATO’s eastern flank: Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

     

    BUDGET The Romanian government Wednesday passed measures to improve the collection of budget claims, to better utilise the funds earmarked for public services and to support investments implemented by local and central authorities from foreign financing sources. Bonuses are stipulated for those who pay their taxes on time. Another set of measures concerns taxpayers with debts at the end of August 2024. In their case, interests and late filing and late payment penalties are written off, provided that the principal debt is paid by November 25, 2024. The budget deficit target for this year could be reached, the finance ministry says, if measures are implemented to improve the collection of debts to the state budget, which were over EUR 14 bln at the end of August. Economists expect the budget deficit to be over 7% of GDP this year.

     

    UKRAINE Ukraine needs “fresh energy” after two and a half years of war against Russia, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, to explain an on-going government reshuffle that includes the country’s foreign minister, AFP and Reuters report. The reshuffle is the largest in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, 5 other ministers and deputy PMs, as well as the official in charge of the privatization of state assets, have submitted their resignations to Parliament. Dmytro Kuleba has been one of the most vocal Ukrainian officials since the start of the war against Russia. He has constantly requested stronger Western assistance for Ukraine, and has tried to win over the countries wooed by Moscow, especially in Africa and Asia.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team Friday begin their new season in the UEFA Nations’ League. The Romanian footballers will play their first match away from home against Kosovo, and on Monday, September 9, they will face Lithuania at home. Cyprus is also part of Romania’s group, C2. First place in the group means direct promotion to League B in the next edition of the League, while second place leads to play-offs for promotion. On the other hand, the 4th place leads to direct relegation to League D, while the 3rd place keeps the national team in League C for the next edition as well. Being ranked in the League of Nations groups also has a direct influence on the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Championship. The new coach of the national team is Mircea Lucescu, who returns to this post after almost 4 decades. Edward Iordanescu left the post after Euro 2024, in which Romania qualified for the round of 16. (AMP)

  • September 4, 2024

    September 4, 2024

    Amnesty – The Romanian government is analyzing, in today’s meeting, the draft emergency ordinance regarding tax amnesty for companies and individuals. The document provides bonuses for those who pay their taxes on time as well as for those who decide to pay certain arrears. The budget deficit target for this year could be reached, say the Finance Ministry representatives, if several categories of measures were implemented to improve the collection of budget debts, because at the end of August the arrears to the state budget of natural persons and legal entities exceeded 71 billion lei (over 14 billion Euros). The state wants to recover these arrears, asking the debtors to pay their main debt by November 25, and consequently interest, penalties and all related accessories will be cancelled. On the other hand, natural persons, authorized natural persons and professionals who have debts smaller than 5.000 lei (1,000 Euros) can benefit from a special amnesty. The draft ordinance also provides for measures that curb spending on goods and services, as well as spending on investments. Economists anticipate that the budget deficit will exceed 7% of the GDP this year.

     

    Green Corridor – The ‘Green Corridor’ project is a matter of national security and a bold response to the energy problem, to the need to diversify energy resources in the eastern flank region, the Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja said in a press conference on Tuesday. The Energy Ministry organized, on Tuesday, a meeting of the Energy Ministers from the states involved in the implementation of the “Green Corridor” project, the 8th edition, with the participation of the European Commission (EC). The countries participating in this project are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. The “Green Corridor” project provides for the construction of a direct current cable that will connect the first four states. Bulgaria had a guest status at the ministerial meeting in Bucharest.

     

    Football – Romania’s national football team starts, on Friday, the new season of the League of Nations. The Romanian footballers will play the first away match against Kosovo, and on Monday, September 9, they will face Lithuania at home. Cyprus is also part of Romania’s group C2. First place means direct promotion to League B of the next edition of the League of Nations, while second place leads to the play-off for promotion. At the same time, the 4th place leads to direct relegation to League D, while the 3rd place keeps the national team in the same League C for the next edition as well. Being ranked in the League of Nations groups has a direct effect on the European preliminaries for the 2026 World Championship. The new coach of the national team is Mircea Lucescu, who returns to this post after almost 4 decades. Edward Iordanescu left the position of selector after Euro 2024, the edition in which the Romanian team qualified for the round of 16.

     

    Ukraine – The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, submitted his resignation on Wednesday, announced the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanciuk, according to Reuters. Stefanciuk said the resignation is to be discussed by lawmakers soon after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said changes were taking place in the government to consolidate and achieve the results Ukraine wants. AFP previously reported that at least six Ukrainian politicians, including ministers, submitted their resignations on Tuesday and a presidential adviser was dismissed ahead of the announcement of a major government reshuffle after two and a half years of war with Russia. Several ministers have already submitted their resignations on Tuesday evening, especially those in the strategic industry, Oleksandr Kamişin, responsible for armament production, in the justice field, Denis Maliuska, and in the environment field Ruslan Strileţ.

     

    Stock exchange – The stock market in Romania is registering one of the highest growth in Europe, and investors are optimistic about the continuation of this trend. BET, the reference index of the capital market in Romania, consisting of the shares of the 20 most valuable companies from different fields of activity, had, in the last 12 months, a return of almost 40% and was ranked 5th among the more than 90 stock indices tracked by the Bloomberg agency. Despite the decline recorded in August, the BET index is close to its all-time high, having risen in 13 of the last 15 months. The listing in 2023 of the state company Hidroelectrica, whose initial public offering raised 1.8 billion dollars, brought even more foreign investors to Romania. After the success recorded, the Romanian state is now analyzing the sale of shares in other companies it owns, such as the Bucharest National Airports Company (Compania Nationala Aeroporturi). Experts believe that the capital market in Romania could be raised, next year, from the status of a frontier market to an emerging market. And all this in the context in which investors are carefully watching the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for December, as well as how the government in Bucharest intends to reduce one of the largest budget deficits in the European Union. (LS)

  • August 30, 2024 UPDATE

    August 30, 2024 UPDATE

    Visit – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be paying a formal visit to Chişinău at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. The visit comes against the background of the two countries’ celebrating the Day of the Romanian language on August 31st. Iohannis is expected to deliver a firm message of support and encouragement for the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova in their efforts to modernize and democratize the country and for the irreversible implementation of the rule of law and the European roadmap – the presidential administration has announced. The president will also be making an appeal to international partners to carry on their multidimensional assistance to the Republic of Moldova mainly in the context of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine and all the risks entailed by this situation.

     

    Sanctions – Romania supports the adoption of new sanctions against Russia. During Thursday’s informal meeting, in Brussels, of the European Foreign Ministers with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, the Romanian FM Luminiţa Odobescu emphasized that the pressure on Moscow must be maintained and the military and energy support given to Ukraine must be continued. The issue of military aid for Kyiv was also discussed on Friday at the informal meeting of the defense ministers of the member states. The agenda of the meeting also included the operational commitments carried out under the auspices of the Common Security and Defense Policy, the EU’s level of preparation in the field of defense and the prospects for the development of the EU Satellite Center. The Secretary of State for Defense Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, who represented Romania, highlighted the essential role of the European Union Military Assistance Mission to support Ukraine (EUMAM UA), as well as of the European Peace Facility. She also reiterated the existence of challenges in the extended Black Sea region, caused by the Russian Federation’s war of aggression.

     

    Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB, qualified to the Europa League groups after the victory obtained, on Thursday evening, in Bucharest, against the Austrian team LASK Linz, with the score 1-0, in the decisive leg of the play-off. The first leg had ended in a draw, 1 all. The vice-champions CFR Cluj (north-west) failed to qualify to the Conference League groups, after losing, away from home, score 3-0, the play-off decisive match against the Cypriot team FC Pafos. In the first leg, Cluj won 1-0. The English team Manchester United and the Scottish team Glasgow Rangers are among FCSB’s opponents in the main phase of the Europa League, according to Friday’s drawing of lots in Monaco. The other opponents of FCSB are the Greek teams PAOK Thessaloniki and Olympiakos Piraeus, FC Midtjylland – the champion of Denmark, Qarabag FK – the champion of Azerbaijan, the German team Hoffenheim and FK RFS – the champion of Latvia.

     

    Internship – 148 young Romanians finished the government internship program that started on July 1 on Friday. For two months, they worked in government departments, ministries and other central public institutions. Mihai Ghigiu, the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, told them that they are needed in the public administration. He showed that the average age in the administration will reach 50 years, which means that in the next 6-7-8 years many areas will be left without specialists. Mihai Ghigiu encouraged the young people to go and study abroad, and to use the acquired knowledge in Romania. (LS)