Radio România Internațional

Tag: foreign

Working in Romania

Police
workers with the General Immigration Inspectorate, jointly with regional
employment inspectorates, are implementing a campaign between October 16 and
20, aimed at updating foreigners who study in Romania on the terms for a
possible employment in the country as well as on their rights and obligations
as employees here. The campaign takes place in universities across the country.
According to the General Immigration Inspectorate, as many as 17,615 foreign
nationals are studying in Romania, most of them from the R. Moldova, Morocco
and Israel, enrolled mostly in Bucharest, Iaşi, Cluj and Timiş.

Romania
has the highest employment rate in the EU in agriculture, forestry and
fisheries, according to data made public by the EU statistics office, Eurostat.
The largest employers in this respect are in the counties of Vaslui, 61.7%, and
Neamţ, 51.4%. Eight out of the 10 regions in the EU with the highest
employment rates in these sectors are in Romania. Iaşi County, also in the
north-east of the country, had the highest number of employees in 2020 – 146,200,
followed by 4 other regions in Romania, with over 100,000 employees each. Only
2 other regions in the EU were included in the top 10 employers in agriculture,
forestry and fisheries, namely Sandomiersko-jędrzejowski in Poland and Almería in
Spain.

Europe
is struggling with an acute workforce shortage, and the solution is to improve
youth skills, said the executive director of the European Labour Authority,
Cosmin Boiangiu at the European Business Forum held in Timişoara, western
Romania. Boiangiu emphasized that there are imbalances between countries in
terms of employment rates, and that workers from third countries are being
brought into Europe in order to offset this shortage. There is high demand for
workforce in sectors such as health care, IT, constructions and transports. Manpower
is much needed and we are seeing this in Romania as well, to a growing extent,
the ELA chief said. He also added that EU authorities are interested in
implementing a number of strategies concerning labour mobility and flexibility,
and one of the solutions is for employment to be based on skills, rather than
on the work experience or the education level.

The
number of foreign employees in Cluj County rose by 3,000 in the first 9 months
of this year, the General Immigration Inspectorate announced. According to the
institution, between January 1 and September 30, Cluj immigration police issued
over 3,400 stay permits, 640 of them for Sri Lanka nationals, 544 for Nepal
citizens, 363 for Indian nationals, 242 for Bangladesh citizens, and the others
for citizens from other countries. 806 registration certificates and 96
permanent residence cards were also issued to EU citizens. During the same
period, 2,851 documents were issued for permanent and posted workers. As for
illegal residents, during this period 541 inspections were conducted, with the
police identifying 44 foreigners staying here illegally. (AMP)

19 October 2023
March 31, 2023

DEFENCE The strategic partnership between
the US and Romania has never been stronger, said the US secretary of defence,
Lloyd Austin, during the talks with his Romanian counterpart Angel Tîlvăr in
Washington on Thursday. According to a news release from the Pentagon, the US
official praised the excellent relations between the two countries’ armed
forces and thanked Romania for hosting thousands of US and Allied troops to
bolster deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank, and for its role as a leader in the
Black Sea region. The two officials condemned Russia’s reckless war of choice
in Ukraine and reiterated their firm support for Ukraine. The Romanian defence
minister is on a visit to the US for several days, and has meetings scheduled
with senior US officials in the following days.

B9 The meeting of foreign
ministers in the Bucharest 9 format carries on today in Łódź (Poland),
co-chaired by the head of the Romanian diplomacy Bogdan Aurescu and his Polish counterpart, Zbigniew Rau. On
Thursday, the Romanian official announced that the first high-level conference
on security in the Black Sea region will take place in Bucharest on April 13.
During the talks in Lodz, B9 ministers focused on the consequences of Russia’s
war of aggression against Ukraine at regional and Euro-Atlantic level, with an
emphasis on the need to continue supporting Ukraine and to consolidate
trans-Atlantic ties, the Romanian foreign ministry said. In his address, Mr.
Aurescu called on B9 ministers to maintain increased Allied attention and
involvement in the Black Sea region, which has strategic importance for the
entire Euro-Atlantic space, as well as to strengthen trans-Atlantic
coordination. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated Romania’s firm commitment to
further provide multidimensional support to Ukraine. He also encouraged the
Allies on the eastern flank to continue supporting Ukraine’s neighbours, which
are vulnerable to Russia’s aggressive moves, especially Georgia and the
Republic of Moldova, which is facing hybrid threats designed to destabilise the
country and to undermine its EU accession efforts.

VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă travels
to Sweden today, the country that holds the rotating presidency of the EU. His
agenda includes a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson. According
to Radio Romania’s correspondent, talks will focus on Russia’s aggression
against Ukraine and its impact on the countries in the region, on the
enlargement of the Schengen area, on the priorities of the Swedish presidency
of the EU Council and on bilateral cooperation, which PM Nicolae Ciucă has
recently described as very good. Nicolae Ciucă will also have a meeting with
the speaker of the Swedish parliament, Andreas Norlén. Also today, the Romanian
head of government will attend a public conference on Threats and
opportunities in the Black Sea region, which will also mark the end of his
visit to Sweden.

GREEN ENERGY The European Commission
vice-president Frans Timmermans travels to Bucharest today, for talks on
the European Green Deal and the bloc’s strategy to switch to a zero-emission
economy. The agenda of the visit includes meetings with president Klaus
Iohannis, with the environment minister Tánczos Barna, and with other
government officials. Frans Timmermans will also have meetings with civil
society members, to discuss ways to fight climate change in Romania and the
role of the European Commission in this respect.

AGRICULTURE
The European Commission intends to revise the amount of compensations granted
to farmers from 5 countries affected by the imports of cheap grains from
Ukraine. The Commission is to disburse another EUR 75 mln, of which Romania
might get EUR 15mln, in addition to the EUR 10mln earmarked already. In an open
letter to the government, Romanian farmers argue however that Romania has lost
a lot more because of the priority and advantages received by Ukrainian
producers in the European market.

TENNIS The Romanian player Sorana Cîrstea
(74 WTA) today takes on Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic (12 WTA), in the
semis of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami (Florida). Twice a Wimbledon champion (2011,
2014), Kvitova qualified into the semifinals on Thursday, when she defeated
Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in 3 sets. On Wednesday Sorana Cîrstea had outplayed Arina Sabalenka of
Belarus, no 2 in the world. This will be the 11th direct
match between Sorana Cîrstea and Petra Kvitova, with
the Czech athlete winning 6 of them so far. The winner will take on Elena Rybakina
of Kazakhstan in the final. (AMP)

31 March 2023
March 20, 2023 UPDATE

VISIT – On an official visit to the United Arab
Emirates, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis Monday had a meeting in Abu Dhabi
with his counterpart, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan. There are a lot of bilateral,
regional and global areas where we can cooperate quite well. There are huge
opportunities and I believe we both want to capitalize on them,’ the Romanian
official said during the meeting. President Iohannis suggested the two
countries may cooperate with a view to promoting environment education and skills
for the green transition. He also presented the goals of the Three Seas
Initiative that Romania will host this September in Bucharest, and the
opportunities it provides to private investments and investment funds,
encouraging the involvement of UAE investors. In turn, his counterpart pleaded
for the development of relations with Romania and for Bucharest’s active
presence at the COP28, a meeting scheduled to take place this year in the UAE. On
this occasion, the two countries’ relevant ministers and officials signed
bilateral documents in the fields of energy, cyber-security and education. On
Sunday president Klaus Iohannis visited Masdar City, a model of sustainable urban
development focusing on energy efficiency and environment protection.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign
minister Bogdan Aurescu Monday took part in the meeting of EU foreign ministers
(Foreign Affairs Council) and in a joint meeting of EU foreign and defence
ministers. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, the EU officials primarily
discussed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the implementation of the EU
Action Plan on the geopolitical consequences of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
On this occasion, Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the multifaceted consequences of
the security crisis generated by Moscow, with an impact beyond Ukraine, and
warned against destabilizing Russian actions against the pro-European
authorities in the Rep. Moldova. Mr. Aurescu voiced Romania’s support for
carrying on the Union’s support efforts for Ukraine, including the provision of
ammunition, and the need to further isolate Russia internationally and to
maintain pressure on Kremlin. The Romanian official also announced that this
April Romania and Ukraine will organise jointly a first high-level conference
on Black Sea security, under the Crimea International Platform. Also in
Brussels on Monday, at the international donor conference for Turkey and Syria,
in the aftermath of the February earthquakes, Minister Aurescu announced a new
financial assistance package totaling EUR 1.3 mln.

MOLDOVA The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă will travel
to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova this week, for a meeting with his
counterpart Dorin Recean. On this occasion, PM Ciucă will reiterate Romania’s
support for that country’s reforms, for consolidating its economy, resilience
and security and for its EU accession efforts. Meanwhile, in Chisinau, the
Supreme Security Council announced a number of decisions after Monday’s meeting
convened by president Maia Sandu in the context of the exceptional situation
in the judiciary. One of these decisions is to step up the creation of the
Higher Council of Magistrates, which is to become operational within 30 days. After
the meeting, Moldova’s president stated that some members of the system oppose the
cleaning of the judiciary and seek to continue using it to their own benefit. We
need a judicial system free from corruption, able to uphold justice and rebuild
people’s trust, Maia Sandu concluded. (AMP)

20 March 2023
March 19, 2023 UPDATE

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis, currently
on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, Sunday travelled to Masdar
City, a model of sustainable urban development with solutions centered around
energy efficiency and environment protection. The Romanian official was presented
solutions for transport and urban cooling and ventilation, building energy
generation and optimum usage of natural light in schools and research
institutions. The solutions tested in Masdar City may be an inspiration for
other cities increasingly interested in sustainability, including in Romania. Contributions
to these solutions come, among others, from Romanian researchers as well,
affiliated to research institutes in Masdar City, the Romanian presidency said
in a news release. President Iohannis will be in the UAE until Tuesday, at the
invitation of his counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The main
goals of the visit include strengthening the political and diplomatic dialogue
on topics of mutual interest, encouraging bilateral economic relations, which
are already on a significant positive trend, and attracting investments in the
Romanian economy through projects in fields like infrastructure, energy,
climate change, cybersecurity and food security.

REFUGEES The Romanian Border Police Inspectorate General
announced that on Saturday as many as 86,342 people entered Romania using
border checkpoints around the country. Of them, 8,510 were Ukrainian nationals.
Since February 10, 2022, two weeks before the Russian invasion of their
country, nearly 3.8 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most of them have
travelled further on to western European countries, but around 100,000 of them
have chosen to stay in Romania, according to the authorities in Bucharest.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian diplomacy chief Bogdan Aurescu takes part on
Monday in the Foreign Affairs Council, a meeting of EU foreign ministers in
Brussels. He will also attend the joint meeting of EU foreign and defence
ministers, as well as in a conference of international donors for Turkey and
Syria, in the aftermath of the February earthquakes. The Foreign Affairs
Council will focus on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the dialogue between
Belgrade and Pristina, the situation in Tunisia and the latest developments in
Iran. Bogdan Aurescu will plead for continuing multidimensional support for Ukraine,
both at EU level and from the member states, with a focus on the quick
provision of military equipment and training for the Ukrainian army. According
to the Romanian foreign ministry, Mr. Aurescu will also support a consolidation
of the sanctions against Russia and a more efficient implementation of current
restrictions.

MILITARY Over 3,000 troops from Romania and 12 Allied and partner
states will take part in the Sea Shield 2023 multinational exercise, the most
complex event planned and spearheaded by the Romanian Navy this year. Taking
part in the event between March 20 and April 2 are forces from Albania,
Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Portugal, UK, the Netherlands, the Republic
of Moldova, Romania, the US and Turkey. The exercise contributes to promoting
Romania’s interests and initiatives at regional and international level, as
well as to enhancing inter-operability among the participating countries. Sea
Shield, a complex concept designed for the training of NATO forces, was
proposed by Romania at NATO’s summit in Warsaw in 2016, to boost security on
the Eastern flank.

HANDBALL Romania’s women’s handball champions, Rapid Bucharest, were
defeated on Sunday by Slovenia’s Krim Ljubljana, 29-24, in the first leg of the
playoffs for the Champions’ League quarter-finals. The second leg takes place
in Bucharest. This is Rapid’s first presence in the Champions’ League, and the
match against the Slovenian champions is also the team’s first march in European
competitions with the Danish manager Kim Rasmussen, who replaced Carlos Viver (Spain).
If they qualify into the quarter-finals, Rapid will be facing Kristiansand (Norway).
Romania’s vice-champions, CSM Bucharest, have already qualified into the
quarter-finals, where they will take on the winner of the playoff between the
French side Brest and the Danish team Esbjerg. (AMP)

19 March 2023
January 27, 2023

ECONOMY
Romania reports a record-high GDP increase for last year, from EUR 240 bln in 2021 to nearly
EUR 290 bln, according to the National Strategy and
Forecast Commission. For this year, however, the institution estimates a
slow-down of the economic growth from 4.9% in 2022 to 2.8%. The inflation rate
is also expected to drop significantly by the end of this year, from 16.4% in
2022 to 8%, and consumption growth is also predicted to drop to 2.4%, compared
to 4.6% last year. The figures in the winter forecast, made public on Thursday,
are not different from the ones in the autumn report, released in October.

HEALTHCARE The number of respiratory infections in Romania dropped last
week by almost one-quarter compared to the previous week, to 103,000 cases, the
National Public Health Institute announced. The number is nonetheless 21%
higher than the average weekly rate in 2015-2020. According to statistics,
nearly 5,000 of them were flu cases. Since the start of the cold season, 36
people died from the flu, and nearly 1.5 million people got anti-flu vaccines.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian
foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a bilateral meeting in Sibiu today with his
Dutch counterpart, Wopke Bastiaan Hoekstra. The talks focused on Romania’s
Schengen accession and the ongoing efforts to further this important goal. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated that Romania’s accession will help strengthen
the security of the EU as a whole and will give credibility to the Union. In
turn, ministrer Hoekstra reiterated the Netherlands’ active support for this
process. Wopke Hoekstra also reconfirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to
consolidating NATO’s deterrence and defence posture on the
eastern flank, in the context of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, by
contributing troops to the NATO Battle Group in Romania. The 2 officials also
discussed the Romanian-Dutch bilateral relations. The meeting took place in the
context of the Dutch official’s visit to Romania for trilateral political
consultations in Bucharest, together with the French diplomacy chief Catherine
Colonna. Ahead of the talks, the 3 ministers made a joint visit to the French
and Dutch troops stationed at the Cincu military base as part of the NATO Battle
Group in Romania. In
Bucharest, Catherine Colonna will be received by president Klaus Iohannis and
PM Nicolae Ciucă.

COMMEMORATION
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory
of the Victims of the Holocaust, is marked every year on January 27, under a
resolution endorsed by the United Nations in 2005. In 1945, on January 27, Allied forces liberated
the largest Nazi extermination camp, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. According
to historians, the Holocaust resulted in the killing of 6 million Jewish people
in Europe and millions of other ethnics by Germany’s Nazi regime. Events and activities are organised on
this day every year at the UN headquarters in New York and UN offices around the world.
This year’s theme is Home and Belonging. In 2022, the UN General Assembly
adopted a resolution tabled by Israel, calling on all countries to condemn Holocaust
denial and anti-Semitism, especially on social networks.

TENNIS Gabriela Ruse (Romania) / Marta
Kostiuk (Ukraine) today lost to the defending champions, Barbora Krejcikova and
Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-2, in the doubles semi-finals of the
Australian Open. This is the best performance for Ruse and Kostiuk in a Grand Slam
event. Krejcikova and Siniakova hold a combined 6 Grand Slam doubles titles, 3
of them last year alone, when they only missed the Roland Garros. In the final,
the Czech players take on Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, of Japan, at their first
presence in a Grand Slam final after defeating Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula (US). (AMP)

27 January 2023
December 29, 2022

ENERGY The government of Romania passed a bill lifting the
obligation for owners of more than one house to submit sworn statements in
order to benefit from energy price caps. On the other hand, the government also
decided that the 10 Eurocent governmental discount on fuel prices will no
longer be applied as of January 1, 2023. PM Nicolae Ciucă promised that the
authorities are prepared to reintroduce this measure in the future, should
prices go up beyond citizens’ spending power.

FOREIGN POLICY In 2023, ‘Romania’s foreign ministry will continue to
give special attention to Romania’s Schengen accession and to joining the
Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OCDE)’. The announcement
was made by the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu in a Report on Romania’s
diplomatic activity released on Thursday. As far as 2022 is concerned, the
Report says the year was marked at both a regional and a global level by the
war of aggression launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The
report also covers the outcomes of the NATO Summit in Madrid in June 2022, and Bucharest’s
successful hosting of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers and of the Munich
Leaders Meeting in November 2022.

COVID The
European Commission organises today a meeting of healthcare officials to
discuss a coordinated EU approach of the surge in Covid cases in China, AFP
reports. After China loosened its strict zero-tolerance rules earlier this
month, which triggered an explosion of cases in the country, states around the
world are worried that new variants of the virus would spread from there. Italy
has already on Wednesday introduced compulsory testing for incoming travellers
from China, a measure also adopted by other countries, including the US and Japan.

UKRAINE Ukraine suffered
‘massive’ attacks involving over 120 Russian missiles on Thursday morning in
several cities including the capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian Army and Presidency announced.
Air raid alerts sounded across the country. According to Ukraine’s head of
intelligence services, the war is currently at a deadlock, as neither Ukraine
nor Russia are able to make significant progress. In an interview to the BBC, Kyrylo
Budanov said Russia was at a dead end, suffering significant losses, but he
admitted that Ukraine lacks the resources to move forward. He added that Kyiv
was waiting for more advanced weapons. Ever since October, Russia has been regularly
hitting Ukraine’s energy and other critical infrastructure. Kremlin warned that
there will be no New Year ceasefire in Ukraine.

SOLIDARITY
In the Republic of Moldova, neighbouring both Romania and Ukraine, lights will
be turned off in the government’s and other public buildings, in solidarity
with the millions of people in Ukraine left without electricity, water supply and
heating. Last week, the Rome Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House, the European
Parliament and the Wembley went dark in solidarity with Ukraine. In Bucharest, the
City Hall discontinued holiday lighting for one hour during the winter solstice
night.

HANDBALL Romania’s
men’s handball team takes on Algeria today in the 3rd place playoff
of the Carpaţi Trophy, a competition
traditionally hosted by Romania and taking place this year in Oradea. On Wednesday, Romania lost to Slovakia, 31-30, and
Algeria was defeated by Egypt 38-27. The trophy
final pits Egypt against Slovakia. (AMP)

29 December 2022
December 12, 2022 UPDATE

TALKS The vote in the JHA
Council is very problematic for all of us in Romania. I was disappointed and
upset following this vote, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis said on
Monday, after receiving the president of the Swiss
Confederation Ignazio Cassis in Bucharest. The Romanian president added that he
would most certainly raise the issue of Romania’s denied Schengen bid at the
meeting of the European Council due on December 15. Romania should be a part of
Schengen, the Swiss president said in his turn. The 2
officials discussed bilateral relations and economic cooperation, with an emphasis
on boosting investments and identifying new areas of cooperation, and exchanged
views on the latest international developments, including the war in Ukraine
and its implications for the energy market and global security.

FUNDING Romania’s PM Nicolae Ciucă Monday requested all ministries
and coordinating institutions to give maximum priority to completing the 51 benchmarks
and targets in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan related to the second
payment request, amounting to EUR 2.8 bln, which Romania is scheduled to submit
to the European Commission this month. This amount adds to the EUR 3.7 bln pre-financing
amount and to a first EUR 2.6 bln instalment already cashed in by Romania. We
cannot afford to deviate from our commitments, because a lot of elements
related to reform processes, investments and even economic stability depend on
us accessing this money, the PM said at a meeting of the inter-ministry
Committee Coordinating the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The Committee
also reviewed the progress with respect to the 55 targets and benchmarks due
for the 3rd and 4th quarters of this year, related to the
3rd payment request that Romania is scheduled to submit to the EC
this spring.

BUDGET In Bucharest, Parliament’s specialist committees Monday approved
the draft budgets of several ministries. The education, transport, development
and defence ministries will have higher budgets next year, while the energy,
justice and healthcare ministries will receive less money in 2023. The ruling
coalition said the budget bill is based on record high investments and accounts
for 7.2% of GDP. It takes into account an economic growth rate of 2.8% of GDP,
an annual inflation rate of 8%, a growing number of people in employment and a
lower unemployment rate of 2.7%. The opposition has criticised the budget bill.
Both the power and the opposition have submitted amendments. The final vote is
due on Thursday.

MOTION Save Romania Union in
opposition Monday tabled a simple motion against the interior minister Lucian
Bode, whom they see as responsible for Romania’s failure to join the Schengen free-movement
area. According to the party, Bode shares this responsibility with the
president Klaus Iohannis, with the parliamentary majority and the diplomacy in Bucharest.
USR also invited the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu to give Parliament
explanations on this topic. Several EU member states voiced their
disappointment with the denial of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession bids.
Moreover, the EU commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, said this would
be a priority of her term in office.

EU European democracy is under attack, the head of the European
Parliament Roberta Metsola said on Monday, voicing her outrage and sadness following
allegations of corruption in the European Parliament in relation to Qatar. In
turn, the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, Monday
called for EU institutions to be governed by the highest standards of
independence and integrity. The EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep
Borrell described the EP corruption allegations as being of the utmost
concern. Eva Kaili, a vice-president of the European parliament from Greece, and
3 other individuals were detained and charged in Belgium in an international corruption
investigation related to Qatar. The 4 were charged with participation in a criminal
organisation, money laundering and corruption.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Romanian diplomacy chief Bogdan Aurescu took part on Monday in Brussels in an informal meeting concerning the future of the Eastern
Partnership, organised at the initiative of Minister Aurescu and his counterparts
from Czechia, Sweden and Poland, and in a meeting of the Eastern Partnership
foreign ministers. In
his addresses, Bogdan Aurescu pleaded for revitalising the Eastern Partnership
and for adapting it to the new regional context, and reiterated Romania’s firm
and continuing support for it. He argued that the Eastern Partnership can make
a significant contribution to strengthening the stability, security and
prosperity in the Eastern Neighbourhood, by consolidating regional cooperation,
the security and resilience of partners and through an adequate joint response to
the challenges facing the region. Mr. Aurescu also emphasised that in the new
context generated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, a more robust
and more efficient security dimension of the Eastern Partnership is necessary.

MEETING The Romanian justice minister, Cătălin
Predoiu, had a meeting on Monday in Luxembourg with the head of the European
Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), Laura Codruţa Kovesi. According to the
Romanian justice ministry, the 2 officials discussed the protection of the EU’s
financial interests, the EPPO human resources issue and the broadening of the
Office’s powers to include the prosecution of breaches of EU sanctions. I am
confidence that an in-depth dialogue with the EPPO may lead to ideas and
solutions to make the cooperation between national and EPPO prosecutors more
efficient. After all, they all fight crime, which affects both the interests of
the EU and the national interests of member states, Catalin Predoiu said. (AMP)

12 December 2022
December 2, 2022 UPDATE

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus
Iohannis had a meeting in Athens on Friday with his Greek counterpart, Katerina
Sakellaropoulou, who reiterated Greece’s full support for Romania’s Schengen
accession. The two officials praised the very good relations between the two
countries, strengthened by cultural affinities and by a long common history,
and emphasized the close cooperation at EU, regional and international level. Given
the current security situation generated by Russia’s illegal military
aggression against Ukraine, they emphasized the importance of maintaining
trans-Atlantic unity and solidarity and reiterated the support that their
respective countries will continue to give to Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees,
as well as to the R. of Moldova. The Romanian president is in Greece for a
2-day official visit.

COMPANIES The number of new
companies running on foreign capital set up in Romania in the first 10 months
of the year is 30.7% higher than in the corresponding period of 2021, according
to the National Trade Registry Office. The 6,175 new companies have a combined
share capital of over USD 35 million. At the end of October 2022, 243,022
companies in Romania had foreign share capital. The largest number of companies
had Italian investors, but the highest capital value was reported for Dutch
companies. In related news, Romania’s software industry is growing steadily,
with the combined turnover in the sector expected to reach a record-high EUR 11
billion this year. According to a survey, the upward trend has been steady for
the past 10 years, and the growth rate almost tripled during this period. In
2021 there were over 30,000 software firms in Romania.

GAUDEAMUS The 29th edition of the
Gaudeamus Book Fair hosted by Radio Romania kicks off next week.
200 publishers will be exhibiting their latest and current releases in various
formats, addressing all age brackets and fields of interests, music as well as
educational games. 600 events have been announced in addition to various
related projects. Pavilions are also available online on gaudeamus.ro. The
Gaudeamus Book Fair is financed by the Ministry of Culture.

POLITICS The National Congress of the Alliance for the Unity of
Romanians (AUR), a nationalist party in opposition in Romania, Friday endorsed
its political promotion strategy for 2023. It includes building a mobile
hospital and organising medical caravans which would also present the party’s
views on the main areas of interest. The party president, George Simion, added
that some of the subsidies received by the party will be used for purchasing
school buses. The head of the party’s National Council, Claudiu Târziu, said
national reunification is AUR’s country project and requested the governments
of Romania and of the R. of Moldova to initiate immediate consultations in this
respect.

SCHENGEN The Dutch government Friday decided to agree with Romania’s
and Croatia’s Schengen accession, but will oppose the accession of Bulgaria, on
grounds that the country does not meet the required conditions. The Swedish
parliament’s committee for European affairs also voted in favour of Romania’s
accession. The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă and the foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu hailed the decisions concerning Romania. A possible enlargement of the Schengen
area is one of the topics on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council
meeting due on December 8. (AMP)

2 December 2022
November 29, 2022

NATO The foreign ministers of NATO member countries, partner countries
and of the 2 candidate countries are in Bucharest for a 2-day meeting. It is
the first meeting of this kind hosted by Romania since it joined the Alliance and the
first event held in a NATO eastern flank country since the start of the war in
Ukraine, Romania’s foreign ministry highlighted. The meeting comprises 3
working sessions, 2 of which will be attended by the Allies together with
Sweden and Finland. Taking part in the third session will also be the foreign
ministers of Bosnia – Herzegovina, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. The
first day of the meeting will conclude with a working dinner attended by the
foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, and the EU foreign policy chief,
Josep Borrell. The agenda of the meeting in Bucharest includes the
implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO summit in Madrid. The war in
Ukraine and the provision of long-term political and practical support from the
Allies will be the main topic of discussion. Other topics include energy security,
China, the strategic importance of the Black Sea region. NATO’s secretary
general Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Bucharest on Monday, and had meetings with
president Klaus Iohannis, PM Nicolae Ciucă and the foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu.

MEETING Bucharest is the capital of European and Euro-Atlantic diplomacy
and even beyond these regions, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu
said. Apart from the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Romania is hosting
these days, for the first time ever, a Munich Leaders Meeting. 75 top-level
governmental officials and foreign policy and security experts are discussing
the consequences of the war in Ukraine as well as other security issues in the
region. The 11th Aspen Forum also begins in Bucharest today, with
participants including the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The 2022 edition
of the Forum takes place in the context of the war in Ukraine, which has
affected the entire world both in economic and security terms, and which is not
expected to come to an end soon, therefore it will only deepen multiple crisis,
the Aspen Institute says in a news release posted ahead of the meeting. Also in
Bucharest, a new energy coordination task force is scheduled to convene. The
group comprises officials of G7 and other Allied countries, and is working to
mobilise or plan the supply of equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible.

PARTNERSHIP Ahead of the US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s visit to
Bucharest to take part in the NATO Council, the US Department of State hailed
the celebration of 25 years since the Strategic Partnership with Romania was
signed. A US Department of State news release mentions Bucharest’s contribution
to NATO and multinational operations, the fact that the country hosts several
NATO and American military structures, including the missile defence system in Deveselu.
I am very happy and proud to say that our strategic partnership has reached the
highest level in its quarter-century history, the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă
said in his turn, after the meeting with the US official in Bucharest. Twenty-five
years is a very important benchmark, which makes us aware that in 1997 a
generation was born which grew up and reached maturity concurrently with the
strategic partnership. I am confident that this generation will do everything
in their power to safeguard the freedom and rights we have secured and
democratic values, Mr. Ciuca also said. We have an unshakeable alliance, built
on shared values, and strong relations in the economic sector, including the
energy sector, Antony Blinken said, and also mentioned the academic and
cultural exchanges between the 2 countries.

NATIONAL DAY The Romanian Cultural Institute organises 50 events until December
10, to celebrate the National Day of Romania in 31 cities abroad. According to
the president of the Institute, Liviu Jicman, the events held in emblematic
locations in the respective countries place the works of Romanian artists among
the most important cultural landmarks of today and contribute to raising
awareness among foreign cultural and arts communities and the general public
with respect to the Romanian culture. On December 1, the National Day of Romania, a parade will be
organised in Bucharest and another one in Alba Iulia. On Monday the Parliament
celebrated 104 years since the Great Union in a special meeting. (AMP)

29 November 2022
November 27, 2022 UPDATE

NATO The president of
Romania Klaus Iohannis will receive the
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, in Bucharest on Monday. Stoltenberg
will chair the meeting of NATO foreign ministers hosted by the Romanian capital city as of Tuesday. Also on this
occasion, the US state secretary Antony Blinken will travel to Bucharest, and
will have meetings with president Iohannis, PM Nicolae Ciucă and the foreign
minister Bogdan Aurescu. The NATO meeting, the
first of this kind organised in Romania, focuses on
supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion, energy security and
implementing the Alliance’s new strategic concept.

MLM A Munich Leaders
Meeting (MLM) takes place in Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday. The Romanian
foreign ministry is co-hosting this prestigious event, which is part of the Munich
Security Conference (MSC). Attending will be over 75 senior officials from over
25 countries, including current and former officials, experts, analysts and
opinion leaders. The agenda includes relevant topics for international
security, with an emphasis on developments in the Black Sea and Western Balkans
regions. Other topics will be the European security architecture, implementing
the new NATO Strategic Concept, hybrid threats, food security, and the energy
crisis. The conclusions of the meeting in Bucharest will contribute to shaping
the agenda of next year’s Munich Security Conference.

NATIONAL DAY Events
devoted to Romania’s National Day on December 1 begin in Alba Iulia on November
30, with military and wreath laying ceremonies. On December 1, more than 850 troops
will parade in Alba Iulia, including a French unit part of the NATO battlegroup
deployed in Cincu, Braşov County. In Bucharest, over 1,500 troops and staff of the defence
ministry, interior ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special
Telecommunications Service and the Penitentiary Agency as well as vehicles and
40 aircraft will take part in a military parade on December 1. According to a
defence ministry news release, around 150 troops from Belgium, France, North
Macedonia, R. Of Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal and the US, will also take
part. Romanian military personnel on missions abroad will also organise special
ceremonies.

ENVIRONMENT The
Romanian environment ministry launched a national forestation programme
financed from EU funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The
decision was made because forests cover less than 30% of the country’s surface,
as against the European average of 40%. In some counties in the south and
south-east of the country, the ratio is even have less than 5%. Farmers who no
longer want to keep their farmland under crops may turn it into forests or
shelterbelts. The government provides up to EUR 20,000 for a hectare of oak
forest in plains areas and up to EUR 17,000 per hectare of shelterbelts, with
an additional EUR 456 per year for each hectare of forest for 20 years.

UKRAINE Heavy rainfall is expected in
Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv as of Sunday, with sub-zero temperatures both
during the day and at night. Millions of people in the city and the region
around it are still without electricity and heat, after Russian shelling
damaged the country’s energy infrastructure. The region of Dnipropetrovsk, in
central Ukraine, was once again hit by 5 Russian missile strikes and heavy
artillery attacks, the regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. Homes and
other buildings were destroyed, but no victims were reported. However, in the
southern region of Kherson, where the Russian troops pulled out 2 weeks ago, at
least 32 people were killed in the bombings, the Ukrainian police reported.

ENESCU The George
Enescu International Music Festival was shortlisted for the prestigious International
Opera Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of the opera world, the festival organisers have
announced. The awards ceremony takes place on Monday at Teatro Real (Madrid,
Spain). The 2021 edition was shortlisted in the Festivals section, alongside
other top-level events in the world of international classical music, such as
the Donizetti Festival and Garsington Opera.

HANDBALL The men’s
handball teams of Romania, Egypt, Algeria and Slovakia take part in this year’s
Carpaţi Trophy, on December 28th and 29th in Oradea,
north-western Romania, the Romanian Handball Federation announced. Egypt and
Algeria are qualified to the forthcoming World Championships scheduled for January
2023. Romania’s manager Xavi Pascual invited 24 players to convene for the
competition on December 26th. (AMP)

27 November 2022
November 27, 2022

NATO Bucharest will host on Tuesday and Wednesday a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. Attending will also be the foreign ministers of Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine and, for the first time, the Republic of Moldova. The war in Ukraine will be one of the main topics of the meeting. The conference will be co-chaired by the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, and NATOs secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. This is the first event of this kind organised in Romania since the country joined the Alliance in 2004 and the second NATO formal meeting in Romania since the 2008 summit. NATOs deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoană, says the event is a bridge between this summers summit in Madrid and the forthcoming summit in Vilnius, and a contribution made by Romania to the Alliances strategic thinking and response to the complex situation on the continent.

MLM A Munich Leaders Meeting (MLM) takes place in Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday. The Romanian foreign ministry is co-hosting this prestigious event, which is part of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). Attending will be over 75 senior officials from over 25 countries, including current and former officials, experts, analysts and opinion leaders. The agenda includes relevant topics for international security, with an emphasis on developments in the Black Sea and Western Balkans regions. Other topics will be the European security architecture, implementing the new NATO Strategic Concept, hybrid threats, food security, and the energy crisis. The conclusions of the meeting in Bucharest will contribute to shaping the agenda of next years Munich Security Conference.

NATIONAL DAY Events devoted to Romanias National Day on December 1 begin in Alba Iulia on November 30, with military and wreath laying ceremonies. On December 1, more than 850 troops will parade in Alba Iulia, including a French unit part of the NATO battlegroup deployed in Cincu, Braşov County. In Bucharest, over 1,500 troops and staff of the defence ministry, interior ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service and the Penitentiary Agency as well as vehicles and 40 aircraft will take part in a military parade on December 1. According to a defence ministry news release, around 150 troops from Belgium, France, North Macedonia, R. of Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal and the US, will also take part. Romanian military personnel on missions abroad will also organise special ceremonies.

ENVIRONMENT The Romanian environment ministry launched a national forestation programme financed from EU funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The decision was made because forests cover less than 30% of the countrys surface, as against the European average of 40%. In some counties in the south and south-east of the country, the ratio is even have less than 5%. Farmers who no longer want to keep their farmland under crops may turn it into forests or shelterbelts. The government provides up to EUR 20,000 for a hectare of oak forest in plains areas and up to EUR 17,000 per hectare of shelterbelts, with an additional EUR 456 per year for each hectare of forest for 20 years.

ENESCU The George Enescu International Music Festival was shortlisted for the prestigious International Opera Awards, the Oscars of the opera world, the festival organisers have announced. The awards ceremony takes place on Monday at Teatro Real (Madrid, Spain). The 2021 edition was shortlisted in the Festivals section, alongside other top-level events in the world of international classical music, such as the Donizetti Festival and Garsington Opera. (AMP)

27 November 2022
November 22, 2022

PENSIONS The
ruling coalition in Romania has decided to increase public pensions by 12.5%,
as of January 1. The increase applies for all pensions, regardless of level,
but low-income pensioners will also receive additional aid from the government,
provided in 2 instalments. Child allowances and the allowances for war veterans
and widows will be adjusted to inflation, while people with disabilities will
receive a 13th allowance, the ruling coalition also decided.

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis will make an official visit to Latvia
on Wednesday and to Lithuania on Thursday. On Friday, he will take part in a
summit with his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, and in an
international symposium. According to the Presidency, in Latvia Klaus Iohannis will
have talks with his counterpart Egils Levits, with PM Krisjanis Karins, and the
parliament speaker Edvards Smiltens. In Lithuania, the official agenda includes
consultations with president Gitanas Nauseda and the parliament speaker,
Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen.

NATO Romania will host for the first time, on November 29th
and 30th, a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers. The meeting will
have 4 sessions, focusing on the implementation of the Madrid Summit decisions,
on the war in Ukraine, on energy security and partners. Ukraine, the Republic
of Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as Finland and Sweden, were
invited to attend. It is for the first time that the Republic of Moldova takes
part in a NATO ministerial meeting. In fact, in this summer’s summit in Madrid,
NATO leaders announced measures to support Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina
in the current security context in Europe. The foreign ministers of the 3
countries are expected to discuss in Bucharest means to strengthen their
defence and resilience capabilities. The foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro
Kuleba, is also scheduled to attend the meeting in Bucharest.

AID Romania, France and Germany have agreed
on a new aid instalment to help the Republic of Moldova cope with the energy
crisis this winter. Officials of the 3 countries convened in Paris for the 3rd
ministerial conference of the Moldova Support Platform, initiated by Bucharest,
Berlin and Paris this spring. Moldova is to receive another EUR 100 mln in
international support to handle the consequences of the war in
Ukraine, including the energy crisis and the refugee inflow, and also to carry
on the reforms initiated in order to join the EU, the president of France,
Emmanuel Macron announced. The Romanian foreign minister said Romania intends
to pay a first instalment of EUR 25 mln by the end of this year, intended for
the implementation of projects in education, regional development, and public
utility services.

AUTOMOTIVE Romania is the EU’s six-largest car manufacturer, with an
average of over 40,000 vehicles per month. According to the latest report by
the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), nearly 50 million
cars were produced worldwide in the first 9 months of this year. China comes
first, with 16.3 million, followed by the US with 5.3 million. As many as 7.96 million
cars were produced in the EU during the same period, up 5.8% compared to 2021.
Germany tops the European ranking, with 2.4 million vehicles produced, which is
considerably less than the 3.4 million cars made in 2019. In Romania, the only
country where this year’s output was higher than in 2019, 376,000 cars were
made, of which some 60% were Dacia and 40% Ford. Recently, the Romanian
Carmakers Association announced that the national output went up 27.7% in the
first 10 months of the year, compared to 2021.

EARTHQUAKE Rescue teams in Indonesia
continue to search for survivors of Monday’s earthquake, in which hundreds of
people died or were injured. Many victims were school children. The 5.6 Richter
quake occurred at a depth of 10 km, and destroyed many buildings. According to Reuters,
Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific ring of fire, an area with many active
volcanoes that frequently produce tremors. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 off the
Indonesian island of Sumatra caused a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 14 countries,
with almost half of the victims reported in Indonesia.

FOOTBALL Today at
the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the defending champions, France, will play against
Australia, while two-times world champions Argentina take on Saudi Arabia. The
other matches scheduled for today are Denmark vs. Tunisia and Mexico vs.
Poland. On Monday England defeated Iran, 6-2, and in the same group the US and
Wales drew 1-1. Also on Monday, the Netherlands, who have played 3 world cup
finals without winning, defeated Senegal 2-0. (AMP)

22 November 2022
May 28, 2022

FILM The Romanian
filmmaker Alexandru Belc Friday night won the award for best director in the Un
Certain Regard section of the Cannes film festival, for his film ‘Metronome’. This is the first fiction feature of the
Romanian director, previously known for his documentaries ‘Cinema, mon amour’
(2015) and ‘8 March’ (2012). The Un Certain Regard section is
devoted to films with unusual styles by emerging directors seeking
international recognition. The awards in the official competition of the 75th
Cannes Film Festival will be presented tonight. Eighteen films compete for the Palme
d’Or trophy, including R.M.N by the Romanian director Cristian
Mungiu.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu was received
on Friday by the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of
a trilateral security meeting that brought together the foreign ministers of
Romania, Poland and Turkey in Istanbul. Erdogan commended Romania’s and
Poland’s management of the humanitarian crisis entailed by Russia’s aggression
in Ukraine, while Bogdan Aurescu highlighted Turkey’s role at the Black Sea. The
Romanian foreign minister also voiced support for NATO’s open door policy and
for the accession of Sweden and Finland. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bogdan Aurescu also emphasised the relevance
of the bilateral strategic partnership signed in 2011,
in the current geopolitical circumstances.

REFUGEES On Friday 8,730 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania, down 2.6%
since the previous day. A total of nearly 1,050,000 refugees have crossed the
border from Ukraine since the start of the conflict on February 24th.
According to the Romanian border police, measures have been taken to strengthen
border surveillance and to improve information and data exchanges with other
relevant institutions, in order to handle possible problems.

CHURCH The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, previously subordinated to the
Russian Patriarchy, announced it would separate from the latter as a result of
the invasion in Ukraine, and declared its independence and autonomy. This
historic move comes after Russia’s Patriarch Kirill voiced full support for
president Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Part of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church had already splintered from Moscow in 2019. Hundreds of priests have
recently signed an open letter calling for Kirill to be tried before a
religious tribunal over his stand regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

CONCERT London hosted on Friday night the first concert of the
Swedish group ABBA after 40 years. The show, the first in a series of 7, was
non-conventional in that it featured digital versions of the 4 artists. The
group has been preparing the performances since 2016, using state-of-the-art
technology. The musicians attended the show in London as members of the
audience. The band separated in 1982, but their music continues to sell, and recently they put out a new album,
called Voyage.

TENNIS The Romanian Irina Begu is playing today against Leolia
Jeanjean of France, in the 3rd round of the Roland Garros. On
Thursday Begu defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, to be
the only Romanian player left in the singles competition of the tournament in
Paris. (AMP)

28 May 2022
January 13, 2022

COVID-19 Nearly 10,000 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported for
the last 24 hours in Romania, along with 36 related deaths, the authorities
announced on Thursday. The incidence rate is on the rise around the country,
including in the capital Bucharest, where it passed 3 cases per 1,000
inhabitants, the city now being in the red tier. This means that restaurants,
cinemas, gyms and other venues can open at 30% capacity. Also, schools where
the vaccine uptake among staff is under 60% will switch to online teaching.
Some 1.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in Romania since the
start of the pandemic, and around 60,000 COVID patients died. Amid anti-vaccine
feelings fuelled by certain media outlets, politicians and opinion leaders,
Romania has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the EU.

PROTEST Public education staff are today picketing the headquarters of the
government and of the Social Democratic Party and National Liberal Party in
power. Trade unions in the sector are unhappy
with the government’s failure to increase wages as stipulated by the 2017
Salary Law. The protest is organised by the 3 major trade union federations in
the sector, which argue that the teachers’ net pay raise of only 13 euro per
month as of January 1 triggered overwhelming discontent among employees. The 3
federations are currently holding a poll to decide whether to go on strike over
the matter.

MEETING Europe’s security architecture is being
discussed today by the EU foreign and defence ministers, convening in a meeting
in Brest organised by the French presidency of the EU Council. EU defence
ministers will focus on the situation in Ukraine and the threat posed by
Russia’s military build-up on the Ukrainian border. Another topic on the agenda
is the Strategic Compass project, a roadmap for the Union’s security and
defence by 2030, which stipulates the deployment of 5,000 troops in crisis
situations by 2025. The talks in Brest will be followed by an
informal 2-day meeting of the EU foreign ministers, attended by the High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borell. Romania
is represented by Bogdan Aurescu. The agenda includes the security developments
in the Eastern Neighbourhood, the EU-China relations and the developments in Mali.
Bogdan Aurescu will present Romania’s assessment of the current security
situation and will reiterate the importance of preserving the unity of the EU
and of maintaining firm and credible deterrence measures concerning Russia.

OSCE The Permanent Council of the OSCE convenes
in Vienna today to carry on the dialogue between Russia, the US and its
European allies. After tense discussions in Geneva between the US deputy
secretary of state Wendy Sherman and Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei
Ryabkov, on Wednesday in Brussels NATO and Moscow found that deep differences
remain between their views on security in Europe. The West sees Moscow’s about
100,000 troops deployed on the Ukrainian border as an indication of an
impending attack on that country, a plan that Russia denies.NATO’s
secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said there is a real risk for a new armed
conflict in Europe, and added that it is up to Russia to de-escalate and
end the crisis. In turn, the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell accused Russia of
attempting to rebuild the Soviet bloc in Europe and to divide the US and Europe. Moscow,
on the other hand, says the military build-up is a response to the perceived
growing and threatening presence of NATO in its area of influence.

TENNIS The Romanian players taking part in the Australian
Open, due to begin on Monday, have found out their opponents. In the first
round, Simona Halep (15 WTA and 2018 Australian Open finalist) takes on
Poland’s Magdalena Frech. Sorana Cîrstea (38 WTA) will have a difficult match
against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic (21 WTA). Irina Begu (58 WTA) plays
against the French Oceane Dodin (96 WTA), and Jaqueline Cristian (73 WTA) will
take on Greet Minnen of Belgium (84 WTA), in her first match at the Australian
Open. Gabriela Ruse (82 WTA), also for the first time in Melbourne, will play
against the Italian Jasmine Paolini (52 WTA). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

13 January 2022
January 12, 2022 UPDATE

COVID-19 Romania reported
8,600 new Covid cases and 44 related deaths on Wednesday. The incidence rate is
on the rise around the country, including the capital Bucharest, where it
passed 3 cases per 1,000 inhabitants, the city now being in the red tier. This
means that restaurants, cinemas, gyms and other venues can open at 30%
capacity. Also, schools where the vaccine uptake among staff is under 60% will
switch to online teaching. The National Public Health Institute confirmed the
sustained community transmission of the Omicron variant, saying almost half of
the cases did not have contact with someone infected. In the meantime,
preparations are being made for opening outpatient Covid evaluation centres
around the country.

CORRUPTION The Interior Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Directorate
Wednesday conducted 25 home searches in the counties of Neamţ and Iaşi (north-east),
as part of investigations concerning forgery and fraud offences involved in the
obtaining of COVID vaccination certificates. Physicians and nurses received
bribes in exchange for fictitious vaccination certificates. Late last year the Anti-Corruption
Directorate announced that since the start of the pandemic 168 criminal cases
were initiated with respect to fictitious vaccination and other offences. According
to the institution, Romania saw the largest-scale frauds in the EU in this
respect, with over 3,000 fake COVID certificates issued at Petea border
checkpoint. Some 1.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in Romania
since the start of the pandemic, and around 60,000 COVID patients died. Amid
anti-vaccine feelings fuelled by certain media outlets, politicians and opinion
leaders, Romania has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the EU.

EU FUNDING Over 1.9 billion euros will be transferred to Romanian
government accounts on Thursday, as part of the loans given to Romania under
the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, after the targets for Q4 2021 were
reached, the Ministry for EU Projects and Investments announced. The funds will
add to the 1.85 billion euros in grants paid by the European Commission on
December 2, 2021. Bucharest is to receive over 29 billion euros under the
National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The loans in the programme will be used
for the funding of large-scale projects, including motorways, water supply and
sewage networks, the digitisation of SMEs and reforestation, the Ministry
explained.

GROWTH The
National Institute of Statistics confirmed its 0.4% estimate with regard to the
growth of the Romanian economy in the third quarter of last year compared with
the previous quarter, but changes were made to the share of investments and
consumption in GDP growth. Also, in the third quarter, the net added value saw
important changes in the sectors of information and communications,
constructions, financial mediation and insurances and real estate transactions.

ECONOMY The Romanian economy is expected to grow by 4.3% this year,
as against a 4.5% growth rate forecast in June 2021, reads the World Bank’s report
on Global Economic Prospects, released on Wednesday. For 2023, the World Bank
forecasts a 3.8% GDP growth for Romania, while for last year the institution
estimates the country’s economic growth rate stood at 6.3%. The institution
expects the global economy to grow by 4.1% in 2022 and by 3.2% in 2023.

FOREIGN POLICY
Romania will continue to develop as an active, trusted, involved and
respected member of the EU and NATO. Romania’s approach is focused on
continuity, based on the three essential pillars of its foreign policy:
consolidating the country’s role and influence in the EU and NATO and
developing and deepening the strategic partnership with the US, said
president Klaus Iohannis at his annual meeting with foreign diplomats in
Bucharest. He also said strengthening the US military presence in Romania is a
major goal. Given the recent security challenges, it is obvious that we need
stronger action in terms of defence and deterrence, the Romanian president
added. Iohannis also said Romania is worried about the security situation in
Ukraine and its implications for Euro-Atlantic security and added that Romania
will continue to support the efforts of the Republic of Moldova to join the
European Union. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

12 January 2022