Radio România Internațional

Tag: fund

  • European Money for Romanian hospitals

    European Money for Romanian hospitals

    The government in Bucharest on Thursday approved the
    timetable of signature procedures by the end of the year for the funding contracts
    of several hospitals in Romania.


    The field of healthcare is one of a maximum interest
    and concern for all citizens to which we must give the appropriate attention as
    well as our responsible commitment in order to achieve what we have announced
    up to this moment – the country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said. According
    to Dan Carbunaru, spokesman for the Romanian Executive, the programme focuses
    on the construction and fitting of 7 new county hospitals and also for the refurbishment
    or reconstruction of other 20 public city hospitals.


    Dan Cărbunaru: The total
    sum to fund this programme stays around 2 billion Euros and will be covered from
    European funds through both the Health programme and the European Investment
    Bank. The timetable is pretty tight and involves the publication of the
    guidelines by 15th May and the appeals until 10th July so
    that all the funding contracts be signed by the end of the year.


    According to the Minister of Investment and European
    Projects, Marcel Boloş, the deadlines set the opportunity for accessing funds
    through the Operational Health Programme. The programme, which was endorsed in
    late November by the European Commission, is a multi-fund programme with a
    total allotment of 5.8 billion Euros.


    It’s for the first time Romania benefits from a
    Health programme to support mass investment in its hospital infrastructure, in
    high-quality medical services and in training the medical personnel – Marcel Boloș said after the endorsement of the
    project by the community executive.


    According to the Minister, the Romanian medical system
    will be rebuilt on this budget so that the Romanians may benefit conditions,
    services and personnel at the level of the European countries with
    high-performing public healthcare systems.


    Also worth noting is the fact that investment, from
    the blueprints to the construction and fitting of these medical facilities with
    the appropriate equipment, must be ready until June 2026.


    A recent survey conducted by World Bank experts shows
    that Romania runs the risk of losing three major projects from the National Recovery
    and Resilience Plan due to the delays in various stages of the projects such as
    research, tenders and works. One of these projects that can be lost is the
    funding of the aforementioned 27 hospitals. Opposition in Romania and experts have
    repeatedly cautioned against the delays in the process of approving the list of
    the hospitals included in the programme, which was eventually endorsed by the
    government in Bucharest in February.


    (bill)

  • European funding for green transition

    European funding for green transition

    The European Commission has announced
    that in its second year of operation the Modernisation Fund disbursed a
    total EUR 4.11 bln in support of 61 projects in 8 beneficiary countries.


    Romania received the largest amount, nearly one-third
    of the total-EUR 1.39 bln. The project financed in Romania is aimed at building
    8 photovoltaic parks and 2 power plants, as well as at upgrading the country’s
    energy networks.


    Payments have also been made to Croatia, Czechia,
    Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia. According to the EC, the
    Modernisation Fund is designed to support EU member states with
    lower revenues in their clean energy transition. The projects will contribute
    to the modernisation of energy networks, to reducing greenhouse emissions in
    the energy sector, industry, transport and agriculture, and to improving energy
    efficiency.


    The support provided to these investments, the
    Commission says, will help the beneficiary member states to reach their
    environment and climate targets for 2030 and to step up the EU’s green
    transition.


    Last year, the Fund disbursed nearly EUR 900 mln to 8
    beneficiary countries, and complemented other EU financing instruments like
    the Cohesion Policy and the Just Transition Fund. The Modernisation
    Fund operates under the responsibility of its beneficiary countries, in
    close cooperation with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.


    For the next investment cycle, countries may submit
    investment proposals in order to obtain assistance from the Modernisation Fund
    by 19th January 2023 for non-priority proposals and by 16th
    February 2023 for priority proposals.


    For Romania, next year’s main challenge will be
    related to the spending of EU funds, including those under the National
    Recovery and Resilience Plan ,where 41% of the EUR 29 bln earmarked to
    the country will be channelled into the green energy transition.


    The head of the Romanian Investors Association
    Cristian Pârvan says the top concern for the business community and
    policy-makers should be the accessing of EU funding, by reaching the benchmarks
    and targets undertaken under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and by
    submitting, selecting and funding viable projects:


    Cristian Pârvan: The business community is trying to
    make progress in its mission and obviously to make profits. But it is facing
    lots of challenges, from those in the energy sector to those related to
    workforce, and to the fact that for the time being the European economic
    solidarity is just an aspiration, rather than translating in pan-European
    projects.


    Cristian Pârvan also says that a firm, coherent and
    targeted policy may take Romania to a higher development level. (AMP)

  • THE WEEK IN REVIEW 25 April – May 1

    THE WEEK IN REVIEW 25 April – May 1


    Vaccination, “the only way out of the pandemic


    The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis Tuesday once again called on citizens to get the COVID-19 vaccine, stating that this is the only way to end the pandemic. As many Romanians vaccinated means getting rid of restrictions and returning to normal, the head of state pointed out. In turn, PM Florin Cîţu reiterated that the government targets 5 million Romanians vaccinated by 1 June, and that as of that moment we will be able to talk in different terms about returning to normal.



    Florin Cîţu: “For us there is no other way. The only solution, if we want to go to concerts again, to have family gatherings, to go on holiday abroad or in Romania, to go to restaurants, to the cinema, to the theatre, to do everything we used to do, is for us to get the vaccine. This vaccination campaign is a campaign for life, for ourselves, for returning to normal.



    In turn, an inter-ministry committee working for Romanias return to normal as of 1 June, 2021, had a new meeting highlighting the need to gradually adjust the lifting of containment measures to each sector of the economy. The group also discussed the progressive reopening of the hospitality sector, as the vaccine rollout continues.



    Meanwhile, several drive-through vaccination centres have been opened in the country, where people can get the vaccine without previous appointments. Moreover, between 7 and 9 May an anti-COVID vaccination marathon will be organised in Bucharest, after the operation proved a success elsewhere in the country. At present around 1,000 vaccination centres are active, with a combined capacity of over 120,000 people immunised daily.



    The number of daily new COVID-19 cases has dropped across the country, and this week a number of containment measures are being lifted. The number of patients in intensive care is also dropping, and so is the number of COVID-related deaths. Of the total number of Romanians infected since the start of the pandemic, over 90% have recovered.




    Talks on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan


    The ruling coalition in Bucharest agreed on a National Recovery and Resilience Plan with projects worth 29 billion euro. The Plan will be submitted to Brussels as of 10 May, when final negotiations with the European Commission will be held. PM Florin Cîţu announced that no project will be dropped, but that the funding for some investment lines will be reduced, after Romania received comments from the EC especially concerning projects related to irrigation systems, natural gas networks and motorways.



    The prime minister said there are no problems in the negotiations with the Commission, but that Brussels asked for more details regarding Romanias plan. In turn, the minister for investments and European funding Cristian Ghinea said, discussions continue on all the components, and the European Commission has this kind of dialogue with all member countries.



    Cristian Ghinea: “We are trying to adjust to as many of the Commissions comments as possible, and we have even brough allocations in line with these comments. As for the projects that are our priorities, even if the Commission has a different opinion at this time, we will move forward with them.



    According to the Romanian official, several countries are to submit their National Plans after the end of April, the original deadline set by the Commission. Meanwhile, the vice-president of the EC Margrethe Vestager announced that she had a “constructive meeting with the Romanian minister concerning the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and said progress has been made.




    Protection for Romanian workers abroad


    At the suggestion of the labour ministry, the government passed an emergency order providing better protection for the Romanians working abroad. The order includes new obligations for recruitment agencies and for providers of relevant services, which grant additional protection to Romanian citizens.



    One provision is that mediation services for Romanians getting employment abroad should be free of charge, and that employment contracts should be provided in Romanian as well. Romanian workers are also to receive their written employment contracts before leaving the country. The labour minister Raluca Turcan also mentioned that transport companies must comply with certain requirements:



    Raluca Turcan: “When transport companies take over Romanian workers who got jobs abroad, they must be grouped together depending on the chosen job. Also, when they take over workers for a particular country, a company must drop them at the employers site.



    The order passed by the government also provides for tougher penalties for breaching the law.




    Supreme Defence Council discusses Black Sea, Afghanistan situations


    Romania will pull out its troops from Afghanistan in coordination with the other NATO members, beginning 1 May. All the 615 troops and over 80 tonnes of materials and equipment will be brought back on Romanian and NATO military aircraft, the Presidency announced at the end of Tuesdays meeting of the Supreme Defence Council. The withdrawal will be phased and spread across the forthcoming months. In the anti-terrorist mission in Afghanistan launched shortly after the 9/11attacks in the US, 27 Romanian troops lost their lives.



    In the same meeting the Supreme Defence Council also decided that Romania would continue to promote efforts to strengthen the Allied posture in the country and in the region, in a responsible manner and in line with international law. Moreover, concerned with the recent build-up of Russian troops at Ukraines eastern border, Romania is interested in solving the protracted conflicts in the Black Sea region, and the foreign ministry has presented the EU with some initiatives in this respect, the presidency also said in a news release. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • March 13, 2021 UPDATE

    March 13, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 On Saturday the Strategic Communication Group reported nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases in Romania, with 79 new deaths and over 1,200 patients in intensive care. The total number of infections so far is over 855,000, with the death toll standing at over 21,400. As of March 14, Romania extends the state of alert by another 30 days, amid growing numbers of COVID-19 cases. All restrictions valid so far will be maintained, and a night curfew will be in place between 10 pm and 5 am, one hour longer than at present. Accommodation facilities in mountain resorts will only be allowed to receive guests at 70% of their capacity. Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout continues, with nearly 1.4 million people immunised since late December, most of them with the Pfizer vaccine. Romania has temporarily suspended the use of an AstraZeneca vaccine batch, but continues to use doses from other batches. The decision came after several European countries reported severe side effects and even deaths among people who have received doses from the respective batch.




    PANDEMIC The World Health Organisation said there are no reasons not to use the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, after several European countries announced they had suspended it as a precaution, according to WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris. The European Commission calls on states to follow the advice of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which says that so far nothing points to higher blood clot risks in people having received the AstraZeneca shots. Meanwhile, the “digital green passport project to be presented in Brussels on Wednesday will only take into account the COVID-19 vaccines authorised by the EMA, a senior EU official said on Friday. Four vaccines are authorised for use in the EU at this point–Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford and Johnson & Johnson. The Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, used in Hungary even by PM Viktor Orban, is not included, and neither is Russias Sputnik V, ordered by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and under EMA assessment since March 4. Around the world, according to worldometers, over 119 million people have so far caught the virus. Some 95 million people recovered and more than 2.6 million died.




    FRIGATE The Romanian frigate ‘Regina Maria’ Saturday joined the Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG-2), operating in the Black Sea. The frigate, with a crew of 238, will carry out NATO monitoring missions along with 5 other vessels from Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Turkey, as part of SNMG-2, subordinated to the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM).




    CRASH An An-26 military aircraft flying from Kazakhstans capital city Nur-Sultan crashed on Saturday while landing on Almatî Airport. Four of the 6 people on board died, according to the countrys ministry for emergencies. The Russian news agency Interfax quoted one source as saying the aircraft was part of Kazahstans border service in the Committee for National Security.




    MOLDOVA The president of R. of Moldova Maia Sandu presented the government with a set of measures to help the economy overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Under the plan, small enterprises and farmers would have easier access to financial resources thanks to a Loan Guarantee Fund. Maia Sandu explained in a Facebook post that the Fund would be increased to over 1.5 billion Moldovan leu. Procedures will also be simplified, the Moldovan president promised, and added that she was counting on solidarity on everybodys part, including banks.




    HANDBALL The best Romanian womens handball teams, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea and CSM Bucharest, played on Saturday against each other in the second leg of the Champions League eighth-finals. The Bucharest side moved up into the quarter-finals, although they lost to SCM Ramnicu-Valcea 27-21. In the first leg, CSM Bucharest had won 33 – 24, playing away from home. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Measures to restart the economy

    Measures to restart the economy

    Romanias economy will emerge from this crisis with a different structure, but more efficient and more competitive, the finance minister Florin Cîţu believes. According to him, measures to support production capacities have been taken from the very beginning.



    For SMEs, heavily affected by the corona crisis, a programme called IMM Invest has been initiated, designed to provide funding for current operations or for investments by means of state guaranteed loans.



    Originally launched on April 17, the platform crashed immediately as hundreds of thousands of users tried to access it per minute. On April 28, the IMM Invest platform, now operated by the Special Telecommunications Service, was once again operational. And nearly 20,000 entrepreneurs applied online from the first hour of operation.



    But funding will not be granted on the first come, first served algorithm, as the honorary president of the National SME Council, Ovidiu Nicolescu, explains:



    Ovidiu Nicolescu: “An applicant has to prove its capacity to use this money in a productive, profitable manner, and that it will be able to repay the loan. Amounts will not be broken down by economic sector, there would be no point in doing so.



    The president of the National Guarantee Fund for SMEs, Dumitru Nancu, also warns that it will be up to banks to decide which applications will be approved:



    Dumitru Nancu: “A total of 22 banks are taking part in this 15-billion lei fund. The bank will be the one that will analyse whether the entrepreneur—the small or medium enterprise—is creditworthy, according to the banks own rules. Once a loan is approved, the request is forwarded to the Guarantee Fund, which covers 90% of the loan guarantee.



    The government covers 100% of the financing costs, and the amounts that can be applied for are substantial. Entrepreneurs may apply until the end of the year and until the earmarked budget of around 3 billion euros is used up.



    The programme is backed by all political parties, and the emergency order regulating the operation of IMM Invest was passed by Senate on Tuesday without major changes.



    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy, Energy and the Business Environment approved a 3-month extension of the application period in a programme called Start-Up Nation, to September 28, 2020 at the latest.



    The ministry explained that the decision is aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the restrictions introduced during the state of emergency on the SMEs accepted into the Start-Up Nation programme. Currently in its 3rd year of implementation, Start-Up Nation is an initiative under which the government supports newly-established businesses.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)