Radio România Internațional

Tag: French

  • On Romanians, from a different perspective

    On Romanians, from a different perspective

     

    A book has been released recently, first in French and a few years later in Romanian as well, in which the French writer Christine Colonna-Cesari, who has been living in Romania for a while, guides readers towards in-depth knowledge of our country in “Ils sont fous ces roumains! L Eldorado Roumain!”.

     

    Romania has been known internationally as the country where many Europeans took shelter in the interwar period. Christine Colonna-Cesari, who came to Romania after she retired in 2018, told us more about the perception foreigners have of our country:

     

    Christine Colonna-Cesari: “In 2018 I decided to leave France and retire in Romania, because it was a country and a culture that I had long known and appreciated. My plan was to carry on my work as a writer and book editor, I have several books selling in France. I had long intended to put together a nice album showcasing the beauty of Romania, which is still little known in France, where rather stupid stereotypes about this still exist. And I wrote this book in 2019, and then I managed to have it published in Romanian as well.”

     

    What does a foreigner find surprising when reaching Bucharest?

     

    Christine Colonna-Cesari: “It is quite surprising, first of all, as I already mentioned, the signs are very different from the ones in France, so it’s quite easy to get lost. Street names and numbers are not easy to see, there are no big signs everywhere, but as far as I could see for Romanians this is not a problem. They are used to it. And there are also other surprising things, which make a big difference. One thing that may seem like a detail is the practice of giving people their change when shopping. When a retailer doesn’t have the right coins to give back to a buyer, they don’t see it as a big deal, and this is something you don’t see in France. For instance, if you want to buy something and you don’t have all the small change you need or the retailer doesn’t have it, it’s not a problem, everything is business as usual. You don’t see that in France, and the first time this happened to me here I asked the clerk for the change, and they were not happy. So it took some time for me to realise that this is part of the local customs. One other aspect is Romanians’ space-time management, which is completely different from the way the French do it. Here, people live more outside time, so their commitments related to appointments, dates, times get changed completely at the last minute. And for the French visitors who are not used to this, it is rather disturbing and annoying. But we get used to it and eventually come to understand that this is how things are done here. So these are the first shocks, mainly.”

     

    In spite of this, once the initial shock wears off, Christine Colonna-Cesari says the country is charming:

     

    Christine Colonna-Cesari: “After that, adjustment is quite easy. I speak English, and most Romanians are very good English speakers, so this helped me a lot. Secondly, the people are very nice and welcoming. You don’t see here the social violence that we have in France so I had no problems adjusting. I would like people to remember what I tried to express in this book. The depths of Romanians’ souls, the depths of their sensibility and creativity. To my mind, Romanians are more drawn to the spiritual than the French are. Romanians are a very artistically inclined nation. You can see more colours here than in France. People have a relationship with nature, with flowers, for instance, they have a fantastic relationship with flowers. I’m always surprised to meet men in the street with huge flower bouquets, you don’t see that in France. Romanians are also a very polite nation, there are small details that may seem insignificant but when you come from France you notice that people don’t push you at the underground or in the street, as they do in France. Public areas are clean, which is not the case in Paris, in particular. It’s like going back in time, in the ‘60s in France, a long-gone gentleness and a certain quality of life, the respect and civilisation that we lost in France and that I’ve come to find here.”

     

    We also asked Christine Colonna-Cesari about the French-speaking readers’ response to her book:

     

    Christine Colonna-Cesari: “The book was met with surprise and enthusiasm. Everybody says, I had never imagined this is what Romania is like, thank you for showing us Romania from this perspective. Overall, the response is a mix of enthusiasm, congratulations and amazement. People open their hearts and they want to come share these experience, and many of them actually do that. I have French friends who told me, ‘what you describe here is 1960s France, the same respect and gentle way of living.’ But my book is a lot more than that. I am a very observant person, and I tend to think about what happened in the past and make connections with history. Western Europeans rarely understand what Eastern Europe is about, what its values are. They don’t realise this, so they make judgements based on their own criteria, and I would like these values to go beyond borders, to help them understand the foundations of human culture in the past few centuries.”

     

    Apart from the writer’s experiences in Romania, the book also comprises a second part, made up of reports with 220 lovely photos documenting encounters with exceptional people doing exceptional things. (AMP)

  • Romania at the Francophonie Summit

    Romania at the Francophonie Summit


    Romanias modern history is closely tied to France.



    Since the mid-19th Century, after half a millennium of Ottoman control, the pro-Western elites of the Romanian Principalities studied mainly in Paris. A key player in the geopolitics of the time, the Emperor Napoleon III Bonaparte had an essential role in the union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859. The Italian-French doctor Carol Davilla came to Bucharest in 1853, at the age of 25, and stayed here, to build Romanias civilian and military medical system from scratch.



    A French unit led by the general Henri Berthelot fought together with the Romanian army in the First World War, at the end of which all the provinces with a majority Romanian-speaking population, previously incorporated in the neighbouring multinational empires, came under the control of Bucharest. After the Soviet-backed communist regime came to power in Romania following WW2, France became the one of the destinations of choice for the Romanians who managed to escape into the free world.



    For all these reasons, Romania joining the Francophonie movement shortly after the fall of the communist dictatorship in 1989 was quite a natural decision. In September 2006, Bucharest even hosted a Francophonie Summit.



    Romanias participation in the 2022 Francophonie Summit, held just days ago in Tunisia, focused on strengthening the countrys cooperation with French-speaking countries, particularly African ones, in the fields of economy and education. In an interview to Radio Romanias correspondent in Djerba, the state secretary with the foreign ministry Traian Hristea, who represented Romania at the summit, outlined Bucharests areas of interest:



    Traian Hristea: “The most important sector in which we can have a major impact is the IT and cyber security, two fields in which Romania has excellent performances and where Romanian companies are already present in the African market and the potential for growth is a lot higher than we would have expected. Another field is, obviously, industry, the automobile and spare parts exports, which may see a recovery after a period of absence. Not least, we should look at the foodstuff market. Africa is a continent with a great future, and I think we can capitalise not only on the transfer of goods, commodities and services, but also on the fact that a lot of youth from these countries come to Romania to study, and they pay for their education. So we are talking about financial transfers from these countries to Romania.”



    At the request of the president of France Emmanuel Macron, the Djerba Declaration also includes a reference to the Russian invasion of Romanias neighbour, Ukraine. (AMP)


  • November 17, 2022 UPDATE

    November 17, 2022 UPDATE

    BUDGET The
    government of Romania Thursday approved this year’s second public budget
    adjustment, with an approx. EUR 104 million increase
    in revenues and a similar increase in
    expenditure. According to the government, the budget adjustment covers
    compulsory spending, operating expenses and social assistance expenses. Funds
    have also been rechanneled for implementing programmes with an impact on the economy
    and which support households and companies. Financing is also ensured for the
    state aid provided to the farmers whose crops were affected by drought this
    year. According to the autumn macroeconomic forecast on which the adjustment is
    based, the government’s news release also reads, Romania’s GDP is expected to
    reach RON 1,396.2 bln in 2022 (as compared to RON 1,372.5 bln taken into
    account in the first budget adjustment).


    INFLATION The annual inflation in the EU continued to grow in October
    to reach 11.5%, as against 10.9% in September. The member states with the
    highest rates are Estonia (22.5%), Lithuania (22.1%), Hungary (21.9%) and
    Latvia (21.7%), according to data made public on Thursday by the Eurostat.
    Compared to September, the annual inflation rate dropped in 11 member countries,
    remained stable in 3 countries and went up in 13 member states, including in
    Romania (from 13.4% to 13.5%). As many as 18 member countries, Romania
    included, reported for September an annual inflation rate above 10%. The member
    states with the lowest inflation rates in September were France (7.1%) and
    Spain (7.3%). In October 2021, the year-on-year inflation rate in the European
    Union was 4.4%, and in Romania it was 6.5%. In Romania, the National Statistics
    Institute had previously announced that the year-on-year inflation dropped this
    October to 15.32%, from 15.88% in September, with a 20.58% rise in foodstuff
    prices, non-food prices going up 14.37%, and service prices 8.31% more expensive.
    Just days ago, the National Bank of Romania also released its quarterly
    inflation report, according to which the rate is expected to reach 16.3% by the
    end of this year and 11.2% next year.

    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu
    Thursday had talks with his counterpart, Jean Asselborn, during his visit to
    the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The two officials discussed Romania’s Schengen
    accession and the security situation at the Black Sea. Bogdan Aurescu also
    mentioned, in a joint press conference, the importance of the Republic of
    Moldova’s European accession, and said on Monday he would co-chair the third
    Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova, in Paris, together with his
    French and German counterparts. The Romanian official also thanked Luxembourg
    for its plans to deploy a 25-troop unit as part of the NATO Battle Group in
    Romania. The decision is pending the approval of Luxembourg’s parliament.


    MILITARY A second shipment of French military equipment, specifically Leclerc tanks,
    reached Braşov County (central Romania). The equipment is intended to strengthen
    the NATO Battle Group (Battle Group Forward Presence-BGFP) stationed in Cincu,
    the Romanian ministry of defence (MApN) said. A first convoy of French military
    equipment, consisting in armoured vehicles, arrived in Romania on October 23.


    ASSESSMENT A mixed team of experts from the European Commission and some member
    states, including the Netherlands, will be in Romania this week to assess the
    country’s readiness for Schengen accession. According to the Bucharest
    government, the visit is voluntary, similar to the one that took place between
    October 9 and 11. On Wednesday, the European Commission requested that Romania,
    Bulgaria and Croatia be part of the Schengen Area without
    delay. The EC points out that Romania has a solid and high-quality border
    management and is involved in international cooperation in border police
    matters.


    HANDBALL Two Romanian players, Cristina Neagu and Crina Pintea, were
    nominated for the all-star team of the European Women’s Handball Championship
    hosted by North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia and due to conclude this
    Sunday. According to the EHF website, Cristina Neagu is nominated for the left
    back position, and Crina Pintea for line player. Neagu announced on Thursday that
    the EHF Euro 2022 was the last in her career, and that it had not ended as she
    had dreamt, after Romania finished only 12th. With 303 goals, Cristina
    Neagu is at the top of the combined all-time goal scorers’ list for Women’s and
    Men’s EHF EURO events. Romania has taken part in all the EHF Euro editions so
    far, with one exception (2006), and its best performance was a bronze medal in 2010. (AMP)

  • October 23, 2022

    October 23, 2022

    MILITARY The
    first shipment of French military equipment to join the NATO battle group deployed
    to Cincu, in central Romania, reaches the country on Sunday, the defence
    ministry announced. A second convoy, comprising a Leclerc main battle tank
    company, is set to arrive in November. The NATO Battle Group Forward Presence
    in Romania (BGFP) was created in May by transforming the Allied multinational
    elements of the NATO Response Force deployed to our country. Upon France’s
    proposal to take over the framework-nation role, the French battalion deployed
    to Romania, considered the Spearhead of the Very High Readiness Joint Task
    Force (VJTF), built up the BGFP on our national territory by integrating, on
    rotational basis, Belgian and Dutch troops. BGFP contributes to the increase of
    the Romanian military cooperation with France and, implicitly, to the consolidation
    of the Euro-Atlantic space security on the Eastern Flank. Cooperation with the
    strategic partners and the deployment of relevant combat structures on national
    territory contribute to the increase of defence and deterrence capacity in the
    context of the Ukraine war and the Black Sea region crisis, the defence
    ministry explains.


    BORDER Romania’s
    border police announced that over 97,000 people entered Romania on Saturday, of
    whom more than 9,500 were Ukrainian nationals, up 15.6% since the previous day.
    According to current data, over 2.6 million Ukrainian citizens have entered
    Romania since February 10, and nearly 4,400 of them have applied for asylum
    here.


    NRRP Romania is
    set to receive EUR 2.6 bln in the coming days under the National Recovery and
    Resilience Plan, to be channelled into the country’s economic recovery. The
    funds are transferred after the European Commission authorised the payment of
    the first instalments of the non-reimbursable aid and loan components. Romania submitted
    the first payment request in May, after meeting the targets and benchmarks for
    the 4th quarter of 2021. In September, the European Commission’s assessment of
    these targets was approved and submitted to the Economic and Financial
    Committee, which also approved it. The Romanian minister for investment and
    European projects Marcel Boloş believes this is just the beginning of a long
    road, which, if successfully completed, will translate into investments in
    motorways, railways, schools and hospitals. The next payment request will
    amount to EUR 3.2 bln, for which over 50 targets will have to be met, related
    to the first half of this year. Romania may access a total of nearly EUR 30 bln
    under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, of which it has already
    received 2 pre-financing instalments amounting to a rough EUR 3.8 bln.


    COAL Romania has
    increased its coal output to mitigate the energy crunch. The amounts extracted
    in the first 8 months of the year went up 1.7% and imports rose by 13.5%, the
    National Statistics Institute reports. The National Strategy and Forecast
    Commission estimates for this year a coal output 10% higher than in 2021 and a
    2.8% rise in imports. For 2023, the Commission forecasts an 8% increase in
    output.


    CHINA The Chinese
    president Xi Jinping was re-elected on Sunday as leader of the ruling Communist
    Party, thus becoming China’s strongest leader since Mao Zedong, the founder of
    the Chinese communist regime, international news agencies report. Xi Jinping was
    appointed for a 3rd five-year term in office by a largely reshuffled Central
    Committee, and is very likely to be re-elected president as well in March. ‘China cannot develop without the world, and the world also
    needs China,’ he said, and praised what he called the two miracles achieved
    by his country-rapid economic development and long-term social stability. Xi
    Jinping appointed many of his close allies in the Standing Committee, a 7-member
    group in power in China. The all-powerful Politburo includes no women among its
    members for the first time in 25 years.


    HANDBALL The
    Romanian women’s handball champions, Rapid Bucharest, play at home today
    against Storhamar, of Norway, in a Champions’ League Group B match. Rapid is
    3rd in the ranking, after the Hungarian side Gyor and the French side Metz. On Saturday, vice-champions CSM Bucharest
    lost their first game in the group, away from home, to defending champions
    Vipers Kristiansand of Norway, 35-29. CSM ranks 3rd in Group A, after the
    German side Bietigheim and Kristiansand. (AMP)

  • October 1, 2019 UPDATE

    October 1, 2019 UPDATE

    MOTION A no-confidence motion against the Social Democrats minority government headed by Viorica Dancila was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday by the Opposition. The document, initiated by the Liberals, is backed by Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Peoples Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Pro Romania, and, according to the president of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, even by some Social Democrats. Entitled “In order to rebuild Romania, the Dancila Cabinet must be dismissed immediately! the motion was signed by 237 MPs, and it needs 233 votes in order to pass. The ruling party claims however that it will not be endorsed, because it fails to come up with a governing programme and a PM. Viorica Dancilas party lost the majority in Parliament after its junior partner, ALDE, left the ruling coalition in late August.




    COMMISSIONER MEP Dan Nica is Romanias main nomination for European Commissioner, the president of the Social Democratic Party Viorica Dăncilă said on Tuesday at the end of the partys National Executive Committee meeting. She added that Gabriela Ciot, secretary of state with the Foreign Ministry, will be the back-up nomination, if the European Commission wants a woman for a commissioner. PM Dăncilă explained that Romania will do the same as Hungary in terms of the new nominations: should Hungary come up with 2 candidates, so will Romania. The decision comes after the European Parliaments committee on legal affairs (JURI) rejected Rovana Plumb as a Transport Commissioner designate, nominated by Romania, and the candidate nominated by Hungary for Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy.




    EUROPALIA The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis and King Philippe of Belgium Tuesday visited in Brussels an exhibition on Brâncuşi, opening the Europalia International Art festival. This is the most important exhibition devoted to the Romanian sculptor in the past decades, and the highlight of this Festival, in which Romania is the guest of honour. Until February 2, 2020, Europalia comprises events held in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Britain. Apart from exhibitions, the events include theatre, dance and music performances, visual art and literature projects, and more than 100 film screenings.




    OLYMPIAD Romanian students won 9 prizes in this years International French Language Olympiad, hosted by Chişinău, the Republic of Moldova. In the competition held between September 27 and 30, the Romanian team won 3 first prizes, 3 second prizes and 3 third prizes. The International French Language Olympiad brought together students from 6 La Francophonie member countries, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Moldova and Romania. The competition is included in the official agenda of the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 3, 2019

    June 3, 2019

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




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




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




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




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




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


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Romanian-French Strategic Partnership

    The Romanian-French Strategic Partnership

    Romanias Schengen accession has been the focal point on the agenda of the talks in Bucharest between Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and the French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. President Iohannis has said the countrys Schengen accession, which has been postponed since as early as 2011, amid reservations expressed by some of the EU member states towards the justice system reform, remains an important objective for Romania. Iohannis expressed his hope that France will support a favourable decision in this respect.



    In turn, the French official said there is no barrier from his country to Romanias prospective accession to the free movement area. In another move, president Iohannis underlined the excellent state of bilateral relationships, in a year rich in significance: the 10-year anniversary of the Bilateral Strategic Partnership Declaration, the launch of the Romania-France Cultural Season, and Romanias celebration of the Great Union Centennial Anniversary, a landmark to which France had a major contribution.



    The Presidency of the EU Council, which Romania will hold in the first half of 2019, and topics on the European agenda have also been among the focal points of the talks. Earlier, the French official held talks with his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Meleşcanu, on the situation in Syria following the chemical attack in the town of Douma last week, blamed by Western capitals on Damascus. Romania firmly condemns the use of chemical weapons in any circumstances, particularly when used against civilians, the Romanian foreign minister has said. He has also underlined that Romania supports the idea of creating an independent body to investigate the incident.



    In his turn, Le Drian has said the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian war has crossed the red line. The French official has added that the attack was very well documented in terms of the number of victims and the volume of damage and that France is determined to take action. As regards the Bilateral Strategic Partnership, Teodor Meleşcanu has said:



    Teodor Meleşcanu: “The Strategic Partnership between Romania and France, as well as its Roadmap, have had a major contribution to deepening the bilateral relationship in key domains. We have also discussed about our common efforts to update the Roadmap, which might be signed as early as the end of 2018.



    Referring to the stage of bilateral relations, the French foreign minister has said that in the forthcoming period, special emphasis will be laid on dialogue on EU and defence-related issues and on economic development. The latter is approached in the context in which bilateral trade exceeded 8 billion Euros last year.


    (translated by: Diana Vijeu)