Radio România Internațional

Tag: freedom

  • May 3, 2024 UPDATE

    May 3, 2024 UPDATE

     

    EASTER        The Holy Fire for Orthodox Easter will be brought from Jerusalem on Saturday night and sent out to every parish in Romania. The Holy Fire is believed to be an Orthodox miracle, taking place every year on Holy Saturday in Jerusalem, at the end of Holy Week, a period of prayer when the faithful revisit the events of the last day in the life of Jesus Christ. On Friday night believers attend the Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross, when an epitaphios is carried to a low table in the church nave which represents the Tomb of Christ, with the epitaphios itself representing the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud.

     

    JOURNALISTS According to the latest annual World Press Freedom Index, released on Friday by Reporters without Borders organisation (RSF), Romania ranks 49th out of 180 countries, up from 53rd last year. RSF says Romania “boasts a diverse and relatively pluralistic media landscape, providing fertile ground for hard-hitting public interest investigations. But a lack of transparency surrounding media financing, especially by the state, as well as market difficulties undermine the reliability of information and trust in the media.” “The market is diversified but fragmented, with many TV channels whose sustainability is fragile. Editorial decisions are often subordinated to the interests of owners, transforming the media into a propaganda tool,” the Index also reads. In Romania, RSF also says, the media lack independence and suffer from attempts at interference, especially regarding the appointments of the heads of public radio and television, and the National Audiovisual Council. Political parties can obtain favourable media coverage in return for opaque media funding. Populist politicians have adopted an aggressive political discourse towards journalists, the organisation also finds.

     

    GAZA Negotiations continue for a ceasefire and a new prisoner exchange in Gaza. The talks take place amid threats that Israel would strike the border town of Rafah, where the last Hamas units are located. But Rafah also hosts half of the population of the Gaza Strip, and the international community has warned that a land offensive there would cause a humanitarian disaster. A high-level UN official said the funds for the reconstruction of war-hit Gaza may reach as much as USD 40 bln. The UN Assistant Secretary-General Abdallah al-Dardari told a press conference that the scope of the destruction is unprecedented. Meanwhile, Gaza-related protests carry on in universities in the US. The police cleared a pro-Palestinian protest camp at UCLA in Los Angeles, with at least 200 people arrested. In Washington, president Joe Biden said that while he would always uphold the right to free speech, order must prevail.

     

    FARMERS The European Commission has extended the temporary framework enabling member states to provide state aid more easily to the farmers affected by the impact of the war in Ukraine. The mechanism was introduced in March 2022, after Russia attacked Ukraine, which triggered skyrocketing energy and fertilizer costs. The temporary crisis framework allowed member states to earmark up to EUR 280,000 in aid to affected farms until June 2024, and up to EUR 335,000 to fishery and aquaculture enterprises, as a derogation from the EU’s strict state aid rules. The agriculture ministers in 15 member countries also demanded an increase from EUR 20,000 to EUR 50,000 of the ceiling for the aid granted to an enterprise without consulting Brussels, but the request was dismissed.

     

    DISTINCTION Romanians have received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Second of May from the Community of Madrid, for their integration and for representing a cultural and economic asset for the region. “Apart from being hard-working, Romanians with their effort and courage help us create jobs and opportunities for others,” said the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuos. “The Romanian community in Madrid is not only the largest foreign community here, but also the one that contributes the most to the social and economic development of the local society,” the charge d’affaires with the Romanian embassy in Madrid, Raluca Mihăilă, said in turn. More than one million Romanians are currently living in Spain.

     

    SPORTS The Romanian women’s handball champions CSM Bucharest Saturday take on the French side Metz, away from home, in the decisive leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. In the first leg, the French team won 27-24. Playing in the other quarter-finals are Gyor (Hungary) vs Kristiansand (Norway), Odense (Denmark) vs Bietigheim (Germany) and Esbjerg (Denmark) vs Ferencvaros (Hungary). In the men’s competition, Romania’s champions, Dinamo Bucharest, are up against the German side SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the semis of the EHF European League final tournament. The other semi-final is pitting defending champions Fuchse Berlin against another German team, Rhein-Neckar Loewen. In the quarterfinals, Dinamo outplayed the Danish side Skjern Handbold, after 28-27 in Bucharest and 38-34 away from home. (AMP)

  • March 14, 2024

    March 14, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS The ruling coalition in Romania convenes today to discuss a joint candidate in the election for mayor general of Bucharest. So far the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party have failed to reach an agreement on the topic. The 2 parties will however present a joint list of candidates for the elections for the European Parliament, due on 9 June, concurrently with the country’s local elections. The head of the European Commission’s representative office in Bucharest, Ramona Chiriac, the top nominee on this list, announced she would take unpaid leave to prepare her campaign. A career diplomat, Chiriac has nearly 20-year long experience in European affairs. The election campaign starts on 10 May and ends the day before the elections. Also this year, Romania will hold presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in December.

     

    TREASURE  In a debate on Thursday, MEPs called on Russia to fully return Romania’s national treasure, and urged the European Commission and other relevant EU institutions to support Romania in its efforts. This was the first discussion in the European Parliament concerning the Romanian national treasure illegally appropriated by Russia during WWI. The EU Commissioner for cohesion and reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said the treasure had been sent for safekeeping to Russia, but was never fully returned, either by the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation. The EU is prepared to support the Romanian authorities in fully recovering the treasure, should they request EU assistance, Elisa Ferreira said, but she warned that Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine entailed the suspension of cooperation mechanisms with Moscow. The EP debate on the treasure will be followed by a vote on a resolution in this respect. During WWI, Romania sent its national treasure for safekeeping to Russia, its only ally in the vicinity, but the Communist regime seized the assets and refused to return them. The National Bank entrusted Moscow with a total of 91.48 tonnes of pure gold.

     

    MEDIA The European Parliament passed the European Media Freedom Act, which is designed to protect journalists and media organisations in the EU from political and economic interference. According to the Radio Romania News and Current Affairs’ correspondent, under the new legislation member states will be obliged to protect journalists from governmental, political, economic and private interference, and all forms of interventions in editorial decisions will be banned. In order to ensure transparency with respect to mass media ownership, all channels, regardless of their size, will have to make public their ownership structure and their use of public funding.

     

    RECOVERY The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu Thursday announced that the ministers coordinating reforms would have a meeting next week with Celine Gauer, the European Commission’s director general of the Recovery and Resilience Task Force, to analyse major benchmarks in Romania’s 3rd payment request. He denied that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has reached a deadlock, and emphasised that Romania’s relation with the European Commission is quite good. Previously, the minister for European investments and projects, Adrian Câciu, also said the 3rd payment request was not frozen. The explanations came after information was leaked regarding the European Commission freezing the 3rd payment request under the NRRP for failure to meet certain benchmarks, which according to Save Romania Union in opposition were related to appointments in the management of state-owned energy corporations and the agency charged with monitoring state-owned companies. Under the NRRP, all these institutions, without exception, must operate in compliance with corporate governance principles. On Thursday the government approved changes to the multi-annual budget for the reforms and investments undertaken in the NRRP.

     

    AID The National Emergency Committee passed a resolution under which Romania is to grant international assistance to Jordan, consisting in medical equipment and supplies necessary for the operation of a field hospital in Gaza. The donated products and equipment come from the medical emergency inventory managed by the Inspectorate General for Emergencies, and were flown to the site by aircraft made available by the defence ministry.

  • December 21, 2023 UPDATE

    December 21, 2023 UPDATE

    December 1989 — On Thursday, Bucharest venued events commemorating the heroes who died for freedom in the anti-communist uprising 34 years ago. December 21, 1989 is considered the first day of the uprising in Bucharest, after the failed rally called by the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, followed by the setting up of barricades in the center of the city and the bloody repression of the anti-communist demonstrators. Launched a week before, in Timisoara (west) and extedned to other big cities, the Uprising culminated in Bucharest, on December 22, with the escape of Ceausescu from the headquarters of the central committee of the Communist party. Captured and tried summarily, Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were shot on December 25. Romania was the only communist country in Europe where the regime change was accompanied by a bloodshed. Over a thousand people were killed in December 1989. Young people must know that the freedom they have today was paid for with the lives of thousands of heroes, the PM Marcel Ciolacu said, emphasizing that the Romanian Revolution of December 1989 was the moment when the ideal of freedom defeated the terror strongly established among the population.



    Wind energy — The Romanian government approved, in Thursdays session, a draft law on the development of investments in the field of offshore wind energy in the Black Sea. According to the law the Energy Ministry is the authority in the field of offshore wind farms. “The adoption of a legislative framework for starting the exploitation of Romanias offshore wind resources is a vital step in ensuring Romanias energy independence and resilience, being, at the same time, something that Romania assumed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan”, shows a press release of the Energy Ministry which also writes that the World Bank data show that Romania has an offshore wind potential of 76 GW of installed power, being a favorable environment for the development of this type of renewable energy. Through this project, Romania is making progress in achieving the desired transition and decarbonization of the energy system, as well as in consolidating its status as a regional leader in the field of energy – the release states.



    Statistics – Romania ranks 1st in the EU in terms of the number of deaths from preventable and treatable causes, shows the EU State of Health report for 2023. In 2020, 358 preventable deaths per 100,000 inhabitants were registered in Romania, almost double the EU average (180 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) and 235 deaths from treatable causes per 100,000 inhabitants, 2.5 times higher than the EU average of 92 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Expenditure for healthcare per capita in Romania remains the lowest in the EU countries, while numerous categories are exempted from the payment of health insurance. Romania allocates only 6.5% of the GDP to health. Life expectancy at birth in Romania, increasing until 2019 to 75.3 years, decreased by almost 3 years to 72.8 years between 2019 and 2021, currently being the third lowest in the European Union and by 5.4 years lower than the EU average.



    Ukraine – The European Commission has allocated over 65 million Euros so that four member states can provide support to people fleeing the war started by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The money is made available to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania and comes from the Community Fund for Asylum, Migration and Integration. The money can be used, for example, to help Ukrainian refugees move from collective accommodation to private housing, for language and vocational training, and to access medical services. Currently, the European Union hosts over four million Ukrainians who benefit from temporary protection. (LS)


  • December 20, 2023

    December 20, 2023

    Budget – The Romanian Parliament meets today in a joint session to debate and vote on the state budget and the state social insurance budget, supported by the government majority made up of the Social Democratic Party — PSD and the Liberal Party – PNL. The social-democratic PM Marcel Ciolacu argued that the budget for next year is one of development and balance, a budget based on investments and which provides the necessary sums for the promised pension and salary increases. The opposition says that the budget is built on unrealistic figures, which will not ensure economic development.



    Evasion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies adopted new measures to combat tax evasion. Failure to withhold taxes and contributions, the accounting documents for fictitious expenses, keeping double accounting records or the use of cash registers that are not connected to the National Information Control System will be considered crimes. Punishments, which range from one to ten years in prison, are harsher for repeat offenders.



    Timisoara – The western Romanian city of Timişoara marks today 34 years since it declared itself the first city free of communism in Romania. To celebrate the victory against communism, several events are taking place today, including screenings of short films and documentaries, as well as a marathon tour at the Brâncuşi exhibition at the Art Museum. 34 years ago, after the bloody repression of the uprising that started on December 17, the big factories went on strike, and the workers lined up and gathered in the center of the city. In front of the crowd, the army withdrew to the barracks, the people arrested were released and the Romanian Democratic Front was established. Started in Timisoara, the people’s revolt against the regime led by the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu extended to several cities of the country. In the violent events that took place then, over 1,000 people lost their lives and around 3,000 were injured.



    Energy – The European Union extended several measures that should ensure the stability of energy prices and the supply of consumers. The European Commission says that the decision was made even if the member states have stored enough natural gas to avoid problems over the winter. The first measure refers to energy solidarity between EU countries, the second aims to shorten the deadlines for the approval of renewable projects, and the third imposes a temporary mechanism to correct possible high gas prices. The Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, said that the measures are taken preventively and that the market is currently stable.



    Odorhei – The administrator of the company that was undertaking works on the foundation of the boarding school in Odorheiu Secuiesc (central Romania), where the collapse of a wall on Sunday resulted in the death of a 17-year-old student and the injury of three others, was detained, on Tuesday, for 24 hours. He is being investigated for the crimes of manslaughter and bodily injury. The Prefect’s Office and the Education Ministry also ordered the start of investigations in the case of the building that housed almost 100 students, owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia and rented by the local public authority. The doctors are reticent regarding one of the victims, a 17-year-old student, seriously injured. She is in Intensive Care in critical condition. The other two injured girls are now better and will receive psychological counseling.



    Gaza – The UN Security Council postponed, again, for today, the vote on a new resolution on the war in Gaza, at the request of the US, dpa reports. The draft resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates calls for the suspension of hostilities in the Gaza Strip to facilitate more deliveries of humanitarian aid. Previously, several resolutions calling for a ceasefire failed in the UN Security Council, because the US opposed it. So far, the Council has adopted only one resolution with a humanitarian focus, a few weeks ago. On the ground, the Hamas terrorists resumed rocket launches from the Gaza Strip at Israeli targets. On the other hand, the Palestinian death toll reported in Gaza since the outbreak of hostilities in October has risen to 20,000. We remind you that the war broke out after the attack committed by Hamas against Israel, resulting in over 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians, and hundreds of kidnappings. (LS)


  • Happening in Romania

    Happening in Romania

    This week in Happening in Romania:


    American teacher Sean Cotter received the prize for the best translation of a Romanian book into a foreign language, The Romanian film Libertate – Freedom by Tudor Giurgiu was selected in several international film festivals in Europe and the US, this and much more in the next 10 minutes.

  • Nachrichten 21.07.2023

    Nachrichten 21.07.2023


    Bukarest: Die Regierungskoalition in Bukarest wird am kommenden Montag zusammenkommen, um den Plan für steuerliche Ma‎ßnahmen zu besprechen, den die Exekutive ab diesem Herbst umsetzen will, um den Haushalt auszugleichen und weitere Mittel für das Bildungs- und Gesundheitswesen zu sichern. Das Wirtschaftsumfeld fordert inzwischen Transparenz bei der Verabschiedung der Ma‎ßnahmen zum Abbau des Haushaltsdefizits. Nach Ansicht der Wirtschaft wird das Ergebnis der von der Regierung geplanten steuerlichen Ma‎ßnahmen zu Preissteigerungen, einer höheren Inflationsrate und Entlassungen führen. Es wird erwartet, dass die Regierung die Verbrauchssteuern weiter anheben, Steuererleichterungen abschaffen und andere Abgaben erhöhen wird, um ihr Haushaltsdefizitziel zu erreichen und den Verlust von EU-Fördermitteln in Milliardenhöhe zu vermeiden. Der Präsident des Nationalen Rates der kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen, Florin Jianu, hat die Regierung aufgefordert, die von ihr erwogenen Ma‎ßnahmen und insbesondere deren wirtschaftliche, soziale und politische Folgen sehr sorgfältig zu analysieren, und er hat davor gewarnt, dass die kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen über den Rückgang der Inlandsnachfrage und die immer teurer werdenden Kredite besorgt sind.



    Bukarest: Die Kontrollen, die in Pflegeheimen für ältere Menschen, Kinder und Menschen mit Behinderungen in ganz Rumänien durchgeführt wurden, befinden sich in der Endphase, und die Ergebnisse wurden von der Regierung veröffentlicht. Im Anschluss an die Untersuchungen wurden 47 Strafverfahren eingeleitet und mehr als 10.500 Geldstrafen verhängt, während 18 Pflegeheime geschlossen und 110 suspendiert wurden. Premierminister Marcel Ciolacu forderte Arbeitsministerin Simona Bucura-Oprescu auf, alle Leiter der Bezirksämter für Zahlungen und Sozialkontrolle, einschlie‎ßlich der Bukarester Zweigstelle, zu entlassen, bis die disziplinarischen Untersuchungen abgeschlossen sind. Er sagte, es seien harte Ma‎ßnahmen gegen diejenigen Staatsbediensteten erforderlich, die von den Unregelmä‎ßigkeiten in diesen Zentren wüssten und sie ignorierten.



    Au‎ßerdem forderte er die Arbeitsministerin auf, so schnell wie möglich einen Gesetzesentwurf vorzulegen, um die Situation in den Griff zu bekommen, und den Investitionsminister Adrian Câciu, dafür zu sorgen, dass die Pflegeheime in den Genuss europäischer Fördermittel kommen. Die Untersuchungen wurden durchgeführt, nachdem aufgedeckt worden war, dass organisierte kriminelle Gruppen die Bewohner von Pflegeheimen für ältere Menschen und Menschen mit Behinderungen ausbeuten und missbrauchen, u. a. durch Schläge, Beleidigungen, Hunger, Zwangsarbeit und Verweigerung grundlegender Hygienebedingungen.



    Bukarest: Russland wolle eine weltweite Nahrungsmittelkrise provozieren, indem es aus dem Abkommen über den Export ukrainischen Getreides über das Schwarze Meer aussteigt, sagte die rumänische Au‎ßenministerin Luminiţa Odobescu bei einem Treffen der EU-Au‎ßenminister in Brüssel. Sie sagte, die Mitgliedstaaten hätten Rumäniens Bemühungen anerkannt, den Export ukrainischen Getreides zu erleichtern, und angeboten, bei der Konsolidierung der Hafen- und Eisenbahninfrastruktur auf rumänischem Gebiet zu helfen, um eine Blockade des Getreidetransits zu verhindern. Die Europäische Kommission erklärte au‎ßerdem, dass die rumänischen Behörden einseitig beschlie‎ßen können, spezielle Korridore für den Transport von rumänischem Getreide zum Hafen von Constanţa einzurichten, nachdem die rumänischen Landwirte einen diesbezüglichen Antrag gestellt hatten. Es wird befürchtet, dass der grö‎ßte rumänische Schwarzmeerhafen überfüllt sein könnte, da die rumänischen Landwirte bessere Ernten als im letzten Jahr angekündigt haben, während die Durchfuhr von ukrainischem Getreide noch mehr Verkehr erzeugen wird.



    Rom: Das Berufungsgericht in Neapel, Italien, hat entschieden, Darius Vâlcov, den ehemaligen sozialdemokratischen Finanzminister Rumäniens und ehemaligen Bürgermeister von Slatina an Rumänien auszuliefern. Im Mai dieses Jahres wurde Darius Vâlcov wegen Einflussnahme und Geldwäsche, Straftaten, die er zwischen 2009 und 2013 begangen hatte, zu sechs Jahren Gefängnis ohne Bewährung verurteilt. Vor der endgültigen Verurteilung war er aus Rumänien nach Italien geflohen, wie auch andere Rumänen, die versuchen, den Strafen zu entgehen, die sie meist in Korruptionsfällen erhalten hatten. Zu den bekanntesten Fällen, in die Darius Vâlcov verwickelt ist, gehört der Fall der “Gemälde”, bei dem die Staatsanwälte rund 100 Kunstwerke entdeckten, die der ehemalige Minister über Unterhändler gekauft hatte. Mehrere Gemälde waren in falschen Wänden in einigen Gebäuden versteckt worden, die Vâlcov besa‎ß.



    Bukarest: Der Film Freedom von Tudor Giurgiu hat es in die offizielle Auswahl des Filmfestivals von Sarajevo geschafft und konkurriert um die Trophäe Heart of Sarajevo. Der von wahren Begebenheiten inspirierte Film erzählt eine wenig bekannte Begebenheit, die sich 1989 während der antikommunistischen Revolution in Sibiu ereignete. Letztes Jahr, als der Film noch in Produktion war, gewann Freedom den Preis der Jury bei den CineLink Industry Days, dem Programm des Festivals von Sarajevo für Projekte in der Entwicklung. Der Film wurde erstmals auf dem Transylvania International Film Festival in Cluj Napoca gezeigt und gewann den Publikumspreis für die beliebteste rumänische Produktion. Das Filmfestival von Sarajevo ist die grö‎ßte Veranstaltung dieser Art in Südosteuropa und eine der grö‎ßten in Europa. Es wurde 1995 während der Belagerung von Sarajevo während des Bosnienkriegs gegründet.

  • May 3, 2023

    May 3, 2023

    BANK The foreign currency reserves of the
    National Bank of Romania were in excess of EUR 53 bln at the end of April, up 0.21%
    compared to the previous month. The gold reserves stay at 103.6 tonnes. High
    forex reserves ensure investor confidence, analysts explain, adding that this
    was mostly due to EU fund receipts.


    UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment rate in Romania dropped slightly, from
    5.5% in February to 5.4% in March, but unemployment among youth remains high,
    at 22.2%, the National Statistics Institute reports. The number of people
    between the ages of 15 and 74 receiving unemployment benefits in March was over
    453,000, a decrease compared both to the previous month of this year and to the
    corresponding period in 2022. Among men, the rate was 5.8%, whereas the
    proportion of unemployed women was 5%. For adults aged 25 to 74, the
    unemployment rate stood at 4.4%.


    CORONATION Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of
    Romania, and the Prince Consort, will take part on Saturday in the coronation
    of King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
    the Royal House of Romania announced today in a Facebook post. In the 157 years of existence of the Royal House of
    Romania, the connection with the British royal family has been steady, based on
    admiration, respect and affection, both in its official dimension, representing
    the two nations, and in its private, family aspect, reads the post. The Royal
    House adds that this reliable relationship has spanned the 19th, 20th
    and 21st centuries and five generations.


    PRESS The World Press Freedom
    Day celebrated on the 3rd of May occasioned the opening of a special
    exhibition at the National Romanian Literature Museum in Bucharest. The event
    was organized jointly with the Romanian Union of Professional Journalists. The
    exhibition, which opens a series of events devoted to journalists in all fields,
    is intended as a starting point for a future Museum of Romanian Press. The World
    Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, and is
    designed to highlight the importance of and the need for freedom of expression.


    EDUCATION A draft law regulating higher education in Romania was
    approved by the specialist committee in the Chamber of Deputies, with a number
    of amendments. Among other things, grants and training programmes will be
    offered every year to Romanians from abroad who wish to study in Romania. Welfare
    grants may be received concurrently with other types of grants, should student
    meet relevant criteria. As for salaries, higher education institutions may
    increase salaries within their approved budgets. Fines have also been
    introduced, ranging from EUR 20,000 to 40,000, for those who sell BA, MA or
    doctoral theses online, in violation of intellectual property rights. The new
    laws on the undergraduate and higher education sectors will most likely be
    subject to voting in the Chamber of Deputies next week. The Senate is then to take
    its final vote.


    GRAINS The European Commission
    announced exceptional and temporary preventive measures on imports of
    a limited number of products from Ukraine. They concern only 4 products-wheat, maize,
    rapeseed and sunflower seed-and are designed to alleviate logistical
    bottlenecks concerning these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and
    Slovakia. Meanwhile, Romania will receive an additional EUR 30 bln
    to support farmers affected by the cheap grains imports from Ukraine. (AMP)

  • The pandemic and human rights

    The pandemic and human rights

    The world was shattered by the COVID-19 last year, and the pandemic and the containment measures taken by authorities around the world had an impact on everyone, sometimes deepening existing abuse and inequalities.



    This is the conclusion reached by Amnesty International in its latest report on human rights around the world. As regards Romania, the measures taken by the government to contain the spread of the disease raised human rights concerns including in relation to policing, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and the right to education, the report reads.



    In March 2020, Amnesty says, the government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It derogated temporarily from a number of rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the right to education and to freedoms of movement, expression and association.



    In terms of discrimination, a legislative proposal which would expand existing anti-discrimination legislation remained before the Senate at years end, Amnesty International found.



    A European Commission report in February quoted by Amnesty International found that Roma continued to face discrimination and segregation including in education, employment, access to housing and forced evictions. During the state of emergency, NGOs and the media reported several cases of unlawful use of force and allegations of ill-treatment of Roma by the police. Human rights groups and NGOs raised concerns about Roma being scapegoated during the pandemic and denounced “the rise of hate speech and racism targeting Roma in mass media and social media, especially by opinion leaders and public figures.



    As for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, in June, Parliament passed a law which, among other things, prohibited teaching and training about gender identity. The law, adopted without public debate, prohibited “activities aimed at propagating the gender identity theory or opinion, understood as the theory or opinion that gender is a different concept from that of biological sex and that the two are not always identical, Amnesty International says.



    The organisation also quotes a study by the NGO Caritas Romania, which highlighted the challenges faced by children from vulnerable groups while accessing remote learning during the March-June lockdown, with Roma among the worst affected. According to the study, an average of only 15% of children from marginalized groups participated habitually in online activities during the lockdown, the main obstacles including a lack of technical equipment, overcrowded homes with a lack of adequate study spaces, and the absence of support from parents to complete online tasks. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • European coordination on the freedom of movement

    European coordination on the freedom of movement

    Convened in an online summit, the leaders of EU member states, including the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis have called this week for keeping in place firm anti-Covid-19 measures and for stepping up vaccine rollout, so as to prevent the spread of new variants.



    Amid the threats posed by the British and South-African strains, national vaccination programmes are affected by delays in vaccine supplies. This is why the European Commission is seeking, among other things, a larger number of doses in the second quarter, increased deliveries from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, and approval of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine.



    The EC president Ursula von der Leyen voiced optimism that by the end of this summer 70% of the EU citizens, i.e. 225 million people, will have been vaccinated.



    Meanwhile, at the EU summit, the European leaders agreed that for the time being non-essential travel should remain restricted, but that the free movement of goods and services in the single market must be ensured, including by means of green corridors.



    Originally, the 27 had promised proportionate and non-discriminatory restrictions. But the emergence of the new variants changed the situation, prompting some 10 countries to introduce additional conditions for border crossing. In this weeks top-level EU meeting, however, the Commission requested 6 of them, including Germany and Belgium, to provide explanations for the measures that the EU finds disproportionate.



    At the same time, European leaders failed to overcome disagreements over a future vaccine passport. On the one hand, scientific uncertainties still linger, said the EC president, Ursula von der Leyen, who said the vaccines have not yet been proven to prevent transmission. On the other hand, as the French president Emmanuel Macron pointed out, such a document should not give special rights to those who get the vaccine, particularly since their number is still rather low.



    There are however countries like Greece and Cyprus, whose economies rely heavily on tourism, which plead for a vaccination passport ahead of the forthcoming summer season.



    Eventually, the 27 member states tasked the Commission to draft technical criteria for the issue of vaccination passports, a mission expected to take at least 3 months to complete. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • 5 November, 2019

    5 November, 2019

    Government. The 16 members of the Liberal
    cabinet in Bucharest led by Ludovic Orban are today taking over the ministries
    they will be in charge of, following the investiture by Parliament of a new
    minority government. After being sworn in before president Klaus Iohannis, the
    cabinet held a first informal meeting yesterday evening, in which Ludovic Orban
    asked his ministers to quickly make an assessment of the urgent problems. He
    has promised that the government will be open for permanent dialogue and will
    take into account the expectations of the Romanian citizens. We recall that the
    Liberal government has replaced Viorica Dancila’s Social Democratic government
    dismissed on the 10th of October following a vote of no-confidence.








    Protest. The miners from two mines
    in the Jiu Valley, in the centre-west, who barricaded themselves underground
    nine days ago continue their protest, despite some of them suffering from
    health problems. Some were taken to the hospital after being diagnosed with
    high blood pressure or high blood sugar. The miners, who will see their jobs
    terminated at the end of the year, are demanding an emergency order
    guaranteeing them the same rights as other sector employees who were laid off.
    They want a complementary monthly income for two years after lay-off and for
    this period to be added up to their pension. Trade unions say the miners are
    determined to continue their protest, the longest of its kind in the last 15
    years, until their demands are met. The process to close and clean up the two
    mines began at the end of 2017.






    Republic of Moldova. The ACUM bloc
    led by the Republic of Moldova’s pro-European prime minister Maia Sandu has won
    the biggest number of seats in the second round of the local elections on
    Sunday, said the president of the Central Electoral Commission, Dorin Cimil.
    ACUM has won 91 of the 384 mayor seats in contention. They were followed by the
    Party of Socialists close to the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon, with 83
    seats, including that of the capital Chisinau, and the Democratic Party led by
    the former prime minister Pavel Filip with 71 seats.




    Freedom House report. Governments are
    increasingly using social media to manipulate and spy on voters around the
    world, which is a worrying trend for democracy, according to a Freedom House
    report published on Tuesday. The organisation has found proof of advanced
    surveillance programmes on social media in at least 40 of the 65 countries assessed.
    In some states, the authorities simply block access to the internet to stifle
    dissent or resort to entire armies of professionals to manipulate online
    information and push fake news until it becomes viral, the report also shows.
    China is the worst case with respect to abuses against internet freedom, its
    government intensifying efforts to control information in the face of the
    protests in Hong Kong and ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen
    square massacre. In the US, law enforcement and immigration
    agencies expanded their surveillance of the public, eschewing oversight,
    transparency, and accountability mechanisms that might restrain their actions,
    the Freedom House reports also writes.




    Climate. France
    has expressed regret over Washington’s official notification of the United
    Nations with respect to its decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
    An official from the French president’s office has said that president Emmanuel
    Macron and the Chinese president Xi Jinping will sign a document declaring the
    irreversibility of the Paris accord, which was signed by almost 200 nations
    pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. US president Donald Trump’s
    announcement is not a surprise. He had said earlier that his country would exit
    the agreement. The announcement is the first step is a one-year-long process that
    ends one day after the US presidential elections. US secretary of state Mike
    Pompeo said the agreement was an unfair economic burden on the US. Under the
    Paris climate agreement, the pledges made by each country are voluntary and
    environmental groups hope the US, which is the second biggest producer of
    greenhouse gas emissions in the world, will rejoin the agreement with a new
    administration.

  • Romanians and the freedom of movement

    Romanians and the freedom of movement

    Romania is not far from joining the Schengen visa-free area and from inclusion in the Visa Waiver programme, the European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos said. He took part in Bucharest in a EU-USA ministerial meeting on justice and home affairs. The event was organized under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU.



    Dimitris Avramopoulos said Romania will be very soon a member of the Schengen area, given that it has met most of its relevant commitments. He also added that the day is not far when Romanians will be able to travel without a visa to the USA. Romania and 4 other EU member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia and Poland, are waiting to be included in the Visa Waiver programme. Dimitris Avramopoulos talked about the importance of the cooperation between the US and the EU in terms of border management, security and migration.



    In March, the EU announced that as of 2021 US citizens will need visas in order to travel into Schengen countries. The European Commission had repeatedly requested Washington to waive visa requirements for the citizens of the 5 EU member states, because under the EU rules, all European citizens must have equal rights.



    Attending the meeting in Bucharest was also the US Attorney General William Barr, who on the sidelines of the ministerial event also had talks with Romanian officials, including President Klaus Iohannis and PM Viorica Dancila. The latter requested the support of the US Attorney General for Romania to be accepted in the Visa Waiver programme.



    The Prime Minister also said the Government of Romania is determined to find the best solutions to carry on the reform of the judiciary and criminal legislation, in line with Romanias international commitments, as well as with the recommendations of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the Venice Commission, GRECO and the USA. The American official expressed his appreciation for the solid Strategic Partnership with Romania, which, he said, is the United States most reliable ally in the region.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 18, 2019 UPDATE

    April 18, 2019 UPDATE

    CABINET The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader Thursday announced his resignation, and said he would stay in the Ministry until the name of his replacement was published in the Official Journal. On Wednesday, PM Viorica Dăncilă sent President Klaus Iohannis the proposal for his replacement. The main partner in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party, nominated Deputy Eugen Nicolicea to replace him. The SDP decided to withdraw political support for the Justice Minister after he refused to pass controversial changes to the criminal codes. PM Viorica Dancila also made new nominations for the positions of Minister for Romanians Abroad and Minister for European Funds, along with the resignations of the Minister for European Funds, Rovana Plumb, and of the Minister for Romanians Abroad, Natalia Intotero. The two are running for the European Parliament in the upcoming elections. Deputy Oana Florea was nominated for the Ministry for European Funds, and Senator Liviu Brăiloiu for the Ministry for Romanians Abroad.




    CANNES The latest feature film by the Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu, “La Gomera / The Whistlers, has been included in the official competition of the Cannes International Film Festival. The film will have its world premiere in the 72nd edition of the Festival, to be held on May 14th to 25th. Cristi, a Romanian corrupt policeman involved in a 30-million euro deal with the mafia, gets to La Gomera Island, in Spain, to learn ‘El Silbo’, a whistling language used by the locals. The code will help him release a criminal arrested in Bucharest, the only one in the gang who knows where the money is kept. Corneliu Porumboiu has been awarded several times in Cannes, his “Police, Adjective having won in 2009 the Grand Prize and the FIPRESCI award in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section.




    ROMANIA – FRANCE Exhibitions at the National History Museum and the Museum of Art Collections, the 5th edition of Spotlight – the International Light Festival, and a Theo Lawrence & The Hearts concert, were included on Thursday in the opening programme for the Romanian section of the 2019 Romania – France Cultural Season. Romanias National Art Museum opens an exhibition entitled “Species of Spaces: the Societe Generale Contemporary Art Collection, in the presence of the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, the Culture Minister Valer-Daniel Breaz, his French counterpart Franck Riester and the Ambassador of France to Bucharest, Michele Ramis. Launched in November in France, the cultural dialogue between the 2 countries will continue in Romania until July 14th, with scores of performances, concerts, film screenings, literature-related events, exhibitions and roundtables held in more than 30 cities. The Cultural Season ended in France on April 16th and included events held in over 100 cities.




    MASS MEDIA Hatred towards journalists has triggered violence and an intense climate of fear, reads the 2019 World Press Freedom Index released on Thursday by Reporters without Borders NGO. The organisation warns that the number of safe countries for journalists continues to decline. According to the report, only 24 out of the 180 countries covered by the barometer are safe. First ranks Norway, for the 3rd year in a row, followed by Finland, Sweden and Netherlands, whereas the countries that rank the lowest in terms of press freedom are China, Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. Romania is placed 47th in the World Press Freedom Index, which says that part of the Romanian mass media have been gradually turned into propaganda tools, are under political control, with obscure funding mechanisms and editorial policies subordinated to the interests of their owners.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)