Radio România Internațional

Tag: Francophone Games

  • August 1, 2023

    August 1, 2023

    MARKUP – The markup for 14 categories of foodstuffs is curbed for a
    limited period of three months according to a government decree adopted in late
    June. Prices for dairy products, meat, vegetable and fruit are therefore
    expected to go down. Farmers will not be obliged to set a cap on prices,
    government officials say. Failure to observe the new legislation will incur
    fines up to 400,000 EUR.




    CAR SCRAPPING – A new car scrapping scheme
    was launched in Romania with a view to scrapping old vehicles owned by
    individual car owners. Apart from the funds provided by the Environment
    Ministry, accounting for 80% of the program’s budget, local authorities also
    contribute 20%. Whereas the first phase in April was addressed to City Halls,
    in the second phase individual car owners can apply. The deadline for
    applications is set for August 31 or until the funds are depleted. The number
    of beneficiaries was set according to the population of each administrative
    unit. The program was supposed to kick off in 2022, but has been repeatedly
    delayed.




    3SI – Bucharest will host a new Summit
    of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) on September 6, held under the high
    patronage of president Klaus Iohannis. The summit will be followed by the 3SI
    Business Forum. Attending will be Senate Speaker Nicolae Ciucă and Prime
    Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The 3SI brings together 12 EU member states from the
    Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech
    Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and
    Slovenia. Political and economic support for Ukraine will rank high on the
    summit’s agenda.




    BORDER POLICE – The Border Police
    announced increased traffic on Romania’s borders despite additional measures to
    ease traffic. The overcrowding of borders is owed to many Romanians in the
    Diaspora coming home to spend their summer holidays with their families and
    friends, while many Romanians choose holiday destinations abroad. The
    authorities urge drivers to use all border crossing points. The Arad Border
    Police spokesman Alexandru Dincă said that border police staff are working at
    full capacity and additional control lanes have been added depending on the
    dynamic of traffic flows. At the same time, mobile control stations will be
    deployed in order to ensure optimal border crossing.




    UNEMPLOYMENT – The unemployment rate
    stood at 5.4% in June, down by 0.1% compared to May, the National Statistics
    Institute reports. The number of unemployed stood at nearly 445 thousand in
    June, a decrease also compared to the same period of 2022. Broken down in terms
    of gender, the unemployment rate for men exceeded that of women by 0.8%. Youth
    unemployment stands at some 22%.




    JUSTICE – Justice Minister Alina
    Gorghiu met with US Ambassador in Romania, Kathleen Kavalec. The agenda for
    talks included bilateral judicial cooperation, combating human trafficking and
    the digitization of the justice system in Romania. Minister Gorghiu said the
    Strategic Partnership with the USA is key to promoting human rights and the
    rule of law. The Romanian official hailed the good level of bilateral relations
    in the justice field, and suggested new areas of cooperation, such as legal
    education in Romanian schools. Alina Gorghiu highlighted the importance of a
    predictable legislation for the development of the business sector and boosting
    foreign direct investment in Romanian economy. The Romanian official expressed
    Romania’s firm commitment to combat corruption and implement the
    recommendations of the 2022 Rule of Law Report of the Venice Commission. With
    regard to human trafficking, Alina Gorghiu said the Justice Ministry has
    fulfilled its obligations as per the 2022 Report on Human Trafficking and other
    country-specific reports in this field.




    SPORT – Romanian athletes on Monday won
    five medals – three gold, one silver and one bronze – at the Francophone Games
    held in Kinshasa, Congo. In wrestling, our athletes scooped two gold medals,
    one silver and one bronze. Romania’s table tennis team also won gold after
    defeating Tunisia in the final. On Sunday, Romania grabbed three medals – two
    gold and one silver – in the free wrestling competition. Romania thus ranks
    first in the medal standings with 7 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze, followed by
    Morocco and Cameroon. 57 Romanian athletes represent Romania at the 9th
    edition of the Francophone Games in athletics, women’s basketball, free
    wrestling, African wrestling, road bicycle racing, table tennis and judo. The
    competition is hosted by Congo over July 28 – August 6. (VP)







  • July 26, 2017

    July 26, 2017


    BRUSSELS – The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader is meeting in Brussels today with the First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans. The two officials will discuss the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and its prospects. The agenda of talks also includes the package law on the judiciary, which Tudorel Toader wants to see passed by the Romanian Government by September 1st. The meeting with Frans Timmermans was agreed upon during the visit that Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has paid to Brussels recently.



    MOLDOVA – The European Peoples Party (EPP) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) have today denounced the deterioration of the rule of law and democratic standards in the Republic of Moldova. In a joint statement, the EPP and ALDE leaders Joseph Daul and Hans van Baalen respectively, call on the EU to reassess the agreement of association with this former soviet state, with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population. They are accusing the ruling democrats and the socialists headed by the pro-Russia president Igor Dodon of autocratic tendencies. Daul and van Baalen say that the Alliance made up of the Democratic Party of Moldova and the Socialist Party of Moldova has stubbornly rejected the recommendations made by the Venice Commission and has changed the election system. The two parties also condemn the growing number of acts of intimidation and harassment targeting the pro-European opposition and the use of selective justice to quiet them down, as it has happened with the liberal mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, arguably accused of corruption.



    NATO – A British fighter from the Mihail Kogalniceanu base in south-eastern Romania has been sent to intercept two Russian Tupolev bombers which were flying across the Black Sea, close to the NATO airspace. According to the British media, the NATO combined air operations centre in Torrejon, Spain, was the one that ordered the plane to intercept the Russian fighters. There are four British Typhoon aircraft at Mihail Kogalniceanu, and their role is to carry out patrol missions across the Black Sea.



    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has voiced Romanias full support for a mediation by Kuwait of the crisis in the Gulf region. He has appreciated the measures taken by the Emir of Kuwait, the Sheikh Sabah Ahmad al Jaber Al-Sabah to ease the tension by bringing the parties to the negotiation table and by starting a political dialogue between Qatar and its neighbours. The latter accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism. Melescanu made the statement during a meeting he had with Kuwaits ambassador to Bucharest, Talal Mansour Alhajeri. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the two officials discussed the current stage of Romanian – Kuwaiti cooperation, with focus on prospects of boosting political dialogue and cooperation within international organisations.



    EXTREME WEATHER – One person has died and 30 have been wounded by storms in various parts of Romania. Heavy rainfalls, hail and strong winds have left dozens of localities without electricity. Houses and yards have been flooded, hundreds of trees have been felled down, breaking electricity poles, cars and roofs, and many roads have been covered in mud. For today, weather experts have announced variable skies and scattered rain showers in the north and east. In the hilly and mountain areas though, heavy rains, thunderstorms and powerful winds continue.



    FRANCHOPHONE GAMES – On Tuesday, Romanian athletes won a golden medal and one silver at the 2017 Francophone Games in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Both medals were won in the mens javelin throw event. Romania has so far won 18 medals: 5 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze. This year Romania is participating in the games with 57 athletes in 6 events. At the previous edition, hosted by Nice, France, Romania won 23 medals. Previously Romania used to take part in both segments of the games, sports and culture, but this year it is only active in the sporting events.



    FOOTBALL – Romanias football champion FC Viitorul Constanta is today taking on APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus, in the first leg of the Champions Leagues third preliminary round. On Tuesday, in the same stage of the competition, Romanias vice-champion FCSB (former Steaua Bucharest) ended in a draw, 2-2, the match against the Czechs from FC Viktoria Plzen. On Thursday, in the Europa League, also in the third preliminary round, CS Universitatea Craiova will meet the famous AC Milan, Dinamo Bucharest will play against Athletic Bilbao, and Astra Giurgiu will take on the Ukrainians from FK Oleksandria. All matches are hosted by Romania. The return games are scheduled for next week.