Radio România Internațional

Tag: Golden Stag Festival

August 25, 2019 UPDATE

MEETING – The Chamber of Deputies will
convene over the coming days to debate the possibility of eliminating amnesty
and pardon as well as Emergency Decree 114, providing for a series of economic
and fiscal measures. The opposition considers the decree to be the most toxic
instrument in Romanian economy. The Social-Democrats say the decree also
provides for an increase in pensions starting September 1, as well as capping
natural gas and electricity prices for home consumers.

CANDIDACIES – About
one thousand Social Democrats from the PSD, number one in the government
coalition in Bucharest, on Saturday convened in a congress to launch the
candidacy of Romania’s incumbent Prime Minister Viorica Dancila for the
presidential election in November. The country’s incumbent president Klaus
Iohannis has also announced his intention to run for a second term in office
with support from the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party. Dan
Barna, leader of the opposition USR-PLUS, will also run for the presidential
seat and so will Calin Popescu Tariceanu, leader of ALDE, part of the present
ruling coalition. The former Culture Minister Theodor Paleologu is the
candidate of the People’s Movement Party, voted unanimously on Sunday by the
party’s national college, upon the proposal of former president Traian Basescu.

MINISTERS – Saturday’s
National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party also adopted
proposals for the ministers the Prime Minister is going to submit to president
Iohannis on Monday. The party’s secretary general, Mihai Fifor will be heading
the Interior Ministry, Ana Birchall will become Deputy Prime Minister for
Strategic Partnerships while MP Iulian Iancu will be Deputy Prime Minister in
charge of economic affairs. Dana
Girbovan had been proposed for the Justice Ministry, but the move attracted a
lot of heat from the opposition who recalled that Girbovan was a staunch
supporter of the justice reforms that had been proposed by PSD and ALDE with
the alleged intention to gain control over the magistrates and hinder the
anti-graft fight.

GOLDEN STAG – The
2019 Golden Stag trophy went to Eliza G of Italy. 12 artists from ten countries
competed for the trophy. The jury decided on Saturday to award 1st
prize to Sara De Blue of Austria, 2nd prize to Ralfs Eilands of
Latvia, and 3rd prize to Monika Marija of Lithuania. Alfie Arcuri
got the award for best interpretation of a Romanian song, awarded by the
Romanian television and radio corporations. The Golden Stag Festival started in
1968 and continued for 18 editions, the last staged in 2018. Radio Romania is
co-producer of the festival.

PROETNICA – The
Pro-Etnica Intercultural Festival came to a close on Sunday in Sighisoara. For
five days traditional ensembles of Italian, Greek, German, Roma, Macedonian,
Serbian, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Jewish communities performed live on stage. Craftsmen’s
workshops and national minority pavilions were open all throughout the
festival. The 17th edition of the Festival also introduced the
Literary Salon, a place devoted to national minority writers presenting their
works, organizing debates, readings as well as book launches.

TENNIS – Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep, world no. 4, on Tuesday will be playing Nicole
Gibbs of the US in the first round of US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament
of the year. Another four Romanians have made it to the main draw. Sorana
Cirstea (106 WTA) will play Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, Monica
Niculescu (105 WTA) will play Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, Mihaela Buzarnescu
(136 WTA) will play Andrea Petkovic of Germany, while Ana Bogdan (147) will play
Harriet Dart of Great Britain. In the men’s competition, Marius Copil (96 ATP)
will take on Ugo Humbert of France.

VOLLEYBALL – The
Romanian national women’s team on Saturday grabbed its first win in the 2019
European Championship, defeating Hungary 3-1 in Group C. On Friday, Romania had
lost nil-3. Romania will next play Croatia, Estonia and Azerbaijan.

(Translated by V.
Palcu)

25 August 2019
August 25, 2019

MEETING – The Chamber of Deputies will
convene over the coming days to debate the possibility of eliminating amnesty
and pardon as well as Emergency Decree 114, providing for a series of economic
and fiscal measures. The opposition considers the decree to be the most toxic
instrument in Romanian economy. The Social-Democrats say the decree also
provides for an increase in pensions starting September 1, as well as capping
natural gas and electricity prices for home consumers.

CANDIDACY – About
one thousand Social Democrats from the PSD, number one in the government
coalition in Bucharest, on Saturday convened in a congress to launch the
candidacy of Romania’s incumbent Prime Minister Viorica Dancila for the
presidential election in November. The country’s incumbent president Klaus
Iohannis has also announced his intention to run for a second term in office
with support from the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party. Dan
Barna, leader of the opposition USR-PLUS, will also run for the presidential
seat and so will Calin Popescu Tariceanu, leader of ALDE, part of the present
ruling coalition. Also during the congress, the PSD’s National Executive
Committee has also adopted proposals for the ministers the Prime Minister is
going to submit to president Iohannis on Monday. So, the party’s secretary
general, Mihai Fifor will be heading the Interior Ministry, Ana Birchall will
become Deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Partnerships while MP Iulian Iancu
will be Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs. Dana Girbovan had been proposed for the
Justice Ministry, but the move attracted a lot of heat from the opposition who
recalled that Girbovan was a staunch supporter of the justice reforms that had
been proposed by PSD and ALDE with the alleged intention to gain control over
the magistrates and hinder the anti-graft fight.

GOLDEN STAG – The
2019 Golden Stag trophy went to Eliza G of Italy. 12 artists from ten countries
competed for the trophy. The jury decided on Saturday to award 1st
prize to Sara De Blue of Austria, 2nd prize to Ralfs Eilands of
Latvia, and 3rd prize to Monika Marija of Lithuania. Alfie Arcuri
got the award for best interpretation of a Romanian song, awarded by the
Romanian television and radio corporations. The Golden Stag Festival started in
1968 and continued for 18 editions, the last staged in 2018. Radio Romania is
co-producer of the festival.

PROETNICA – The
Pro-Etnica Intercultural Festival came to a close on Sunday in Sighisoara. For
five days traditional ensembles of Italian, Greek, German, Roma, Macedonian,
Serbian, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Jewish communities performed live on stage.
Craftsmen’s workshops and national minority pavilions were open all throughout
the festival. The 17th edition of the Festival also introduced the
Literary Salon, a place devoted to national minority writers presenting their
works, organizing debates, readings as well as book launches.

TENNIS – Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep, world no. 4, on Tuesday will be playing Nicole
Gibbs of the US in the first round of US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament
of the year. Another four Romanians have made it to the main draw. Sorana
Cirstea (106 WTA) will play Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, Monica
Niculescu (105 WTA) will play Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, Mihaela Buzarnescu
(136 WTA) will play Andrea Petkovic of Germany, while Ana Bogdan (147) will play
Harriet Dart of Great Britain. In the men’s competition, Marius Copil (96 ATP)
will take on Ugo Humbert of France.

VOLLEYBALL – The
Romanian national women’s team on Saturday grabbed its first win in the 2019
European Championship, defeating Hungary 3-1 in Group C. On Friday, Romania had
lost nil-3. Romania will next play Croatia, Estonia and Azerbaijan.

(Translated by V.
Palcu)

25 August 2019
July 12, 2019 UPDATE

ROMANIA -
FRANCE RELATIONS – Romania is a key partner of France in the
region, French Ambassador to Bucharest Michele Ramis said on Friday at the
reception celebrating the National Day of France. Michele Ramis congratulated
Romanian authorities for their successful presidency of the Council of the EU.
The French official recalled that in 2019 bilateral relations were marked by
the Romania – France culture season, which comes to an end on Sunday. The series
of events were a success, especially with the young generations, with over 800
events held in 160 cities across France and Romania, Ambassador Ramis went on
to say. Michele Ramis also referred to the over 2,300 French businesses
operating in Romania, which make up for some 120,000 jobs. The National Day of
France was also celebrated in Iasi, Brasov, Cluj and Timisoara.

PRESIDENCY – The Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest on Friday
hosted a gala concert, marking the end of the Romanian Presidency of the
Council of the EU. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila presented the main results of
Romania’s term in office. Romania fought for a Europe for all, one that
promotes unity in diversity and where hatred and discrimination have no place,
Prime Minister Dancila said. Romania’s record at the helm of the Council of the
EU includes the completion of 90 legislative files and the adoption of 84
conclusions of the Council, on topics of common interest. Some 2,500 events and
meetings have been organized, of which 300 in Romania. The Romanian official
pointed out the Romanian presidency achieved its set goals and was appreciated
by all European partners.

EU – Former
Social-Democrat MEP Ioan Mircea Pascu, proposed by the Government for the
position of interim Commissioner for Regional Policy, was designated a member
of the Commission, although he will not be holding any portfolio. The same will
go for Estonia’s candidate, Kadri Simson. The decision was taken by European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, considering the short duration of the
two candidates’ term in office. On October 31, the new European Commission is
expected to take office. Under the regulation, Juncker interviewed the two
candidates on Thursday and assessed their skills. Ioan Mircea Pascu and Kadri
Simson will also appear on Wednesday before the European Parliament committee
chairmen, while Parliament will vote on their appointment on Thursday in
Strasbourg. Aged 70, Ioan Mircea Pascu is due to take over the regional policy
portfolio from Corina Cretu, who has won an MEP seat in the new Parliament on
behalf of the Pro Romania Party. Ioan Mircea Pascu has been an MEP since 2007,
the year of Romania’s EU accession.

ENVIRONMENT – Losing
biodiversity is one of the global issues facing all societies today, said the
Romanian Minister of the Environment, the Deputy Prime Minister Gratiela
Gavrilescu, at the first informal meeting of environment ministers organized
under the Finish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Gratiela Gavrilescu has
recalled that during the Romanian Presidency, which ended on June 30th this
year, biodiversity was a priority, and efforts were made to push forward
negotiations on the LIFE Programme post 2020, as well as to find common points
in the preparation for the post – 2020 Global Framework. The EU’s long-term
strategy with regard to climate change was a major objective for Bucharest, the
Romanian minister has stated, adding that the EU must keep acting, both
internally and externally, and support actions in the field by means of a large
number of cooperation instruments, including financial.

GOLDEN STAG – 12 artists from ten countries will compete
for the Grand Trophy of the Golden Stag Music Festival in Brasov, central
Romania, which starts on August 22nd. The finalists are Tamara of Georgia,
Ralfs Eilands of Latvia, Veronica Liberati of Italy, Florin Raduta of Romania,
Anna Odobescu of the Republic of Moldova, Alfie Arcuri of Australia, Renate of
Romania, Cynthia Verazie of Cyprus, Eliza G of Italy, Syuzanna Melqonyan of
Armenia, Monika Marija of Lithuania and Sara de Blue of Austria. Carrying on a
50 year long tradition, besides their own pieces, the competitors will also
perform a song in Romanian. The first edition of the festival was held in 1968.
In time, it became the largest international music festival organized in
Romania and has enjoyed performances by famous artists such as Diana Ross, Amalia Rodrigues, Julio Iglesias, Dalida, Sheryl Crow, Tom
Jones, Juliette Greco, Vaya con Dios, Coolio, Christina Aguilera, Cliff
Richard, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Martin, Kelly Family, Patricia Kaas, Gilbert
Becaud, Josephine Baker, Toto Cutugno, Enrico Macias, Boy George, James Brown,
Ray Charles, UB 40, Scorpions or Pink.

TENNIS – Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep, no.7 in the WTA rankings, and the American Serena
Williams, no. 10 WTA, on Saturday are playing the final of the Wimbledon
tournament, the third Grand Slam of the year. On Thursday, in the semifinals,
Halep defeated the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (8WTA) 6-1, 6-3, and Williams beat
the Czech Barbora Strycova (54 WTA), 6-1, 6-2. This is the first time that
Halep has qualified to the Wimbledon final, and the fifth grand slam final on
her record sheet. She is the second Romanian to play the Wimbledon final, after
Ilie Nastase, in the men’s singles, who lost the finals back in 1972 and 1976.

(Translated by M.
Ignatescu & V. Palcu)

12 July 2019
September 1, 2018

PSD– The leadership of the Social Democratic Party, PSD, the main party in the ruling coalition, has gathered in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Neptun, to attend a session of the National Executive Committee. A meeting of the parliamentary groups in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will also be held there. A 7 month activity report by the cabinet led by Viorica Dăncilă and the stage of implementation of the measures included in the governing program are the focal points of the talks held by the Social-Democrats. Also, the PSD leadership, jointly with the parliamentary groups will establish a strategy for the autumn parliamentary session, having the pension law as a priority. The Social-Democrats should also decide who will be the care-taker at the Research and Innovation Ministry or whether or not they will make a new nomination for this portfolio and submit it to the President, after the line minister, Nicolae Burnete tendered his resignation on Friday.

FINANCES – The Romanian Finance Minister, Eugen Teodorovici, considers it a good omen the fact that Standard & Poor’s rating agency has confirmed the rating and stable outlook of the Romanian economy, thus confirming that Romania continues to be attractive to foreign investors. Standard & Poor’s confirms Romanias rating for long and short terms debts in hard currency and local money at BBB-A-3, with a stable outlook. According to the agency, the rating is supported by the moderate level of the foreign debt and by solid growth perspectives. However, the GDP per capita stood at 10,000 USD in 2017,one of the lowest in the EU. Standard & Poor’s analysts claim the low level of incomes and wealth are impacting Romanias rating, just like many other factors like the budget deficit, the poor institutional and governmental efficiency and last but not least political uncertainty. As regards 2018, Standard & Poor’s expects the real growth of the GDP will slow down to 4.3%, against the backdrop of a consumption which will get back to normal and a decreasing external demand.

MARCH – The participants
in the Centennial March, who started their journey on July 1 in Alba Iulia,
central Romania, the symbolical venue for the Great Union of 1918 , have today
reached Chișinău, the capital of the
Republic of Moldova, the final point of the march, which will host a big
Centennial assembly. They have marched some 1,300 km and have made stopovers in
places of high significance for WWI and the reunification of Romania. 34 Romanian
citizens participating in the March have reached Chishinau after being allowed
to cross the border into the Republic of Moldova. The only one who was denied
access to the Republic of Moldova is the leader of the Action 2012 Movement, George
Simion, the organiser of the March, whom the customs authorities accuse of aggressive
and inadequate behaviour. He has rejected the accusations. The leader of the
Unionist Platform Action 2012, George
Simion, had previously been declared persona non grata in the Republic of
Moldova, in 2015 and 2016. The Moldovan ambassador to Bucharest has been
invited to provide explanations on the reasons for which the Romanian citizens
were initially denied access to the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian Foreign
Ministry had earlier declared it was attentively and concernedly watching the
situation emerging at the border with the Republic of Moldova and had demanded explanations.

MULTINATIONAL EXERCISE – Some 40 Romanian military of 61st Mountain Troops Brigade “General Virgil Bădulescu are taking part in the Multinational Exercise “Rapid Trident 18 which is unfolding in Yavoriv, Ukraine, over September 1-15. The drills which are organised by the United States Army Europe, USAREUR, jointly with the Ukrainian Armed Forces are aimed at training military for the planning and execution of coalition-led multinational operations, at brigade and battalion level.

ASF-
Bulgaria has reported a first outbreak of African swine fever, ASF, in a
household in the north-east. The
Bulgarian government has recently erected a 133 km long fence alongside its
border with neighbouring Romania, to stop wild boars from entering into
Bulgaria. In Romania, some 800 ASF outbreaks have been confirmed in Romania since June. The Bucharest
authorities continue to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and
pigs have been culled in the areas where the presence of the virus has been
confirmed, that is in a quarter of Roumania’s counties. The authorities have
imposed preemptive restrictions on the sale of pork and veterinary -safety
checkpoints have been set up on the
borders of the counties where the virus has been confirmed. The Romanian government has given assurances
the affected pig owners will receive
damages.

GOLDEN STAG– The central Romanian city of Braşov this evening will be hosting the award gala of the Golden Stag International Festival. Apart from the big trophy, at this years anniversary edition which celebrates the Great Union Centennial and the festivals 50th anniversary, the 18 singers running in the contest, among whom three Romanian nationals, also stand the chance to win one of the special prizes, for best rendition of a Romanian piece, the prize of the city of Brasov, the publics award, the press prize and the prizes of the Public Radio and Television Corporations. The gala will also include some special recitals, one given by Edwin Marton who will be playing his Stradivarius violin, another one by Eleni Koureira, a member of the jury and the representative of Cyprus at Eurovision, by The Motans and Carla’s Dreams. Another long awaited moment is also the recital given by Nicole Scherzinger, a member of the band Pussycat Dolls.

GEORGE ENESCU FESTIVAL – As from today, Bucharest is hosting the 16th edition of the George Enescu International Festival. No less than 270 budding musicians from 39 countries, among whom 22 from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, will compete in the four sections – Composition, Violin, Cello and Piano. This is the 60 year anniversary of the festival dedicated to the famous composer, violinist, pianist and conductor George Enescu. The festival, which comes to a close on September 23, will bring to the public a number of exceptional recitals with three great musicians, who are going to also be members on the festival’s jury. Among the guests are Italian violinist Salvatore Accardo, Swedish pianist Peter Jablonnski and British cellist Raphael Wallfisch.

1 September 2018
July 19, 2018 UPDATE

Promulgation. Romania’s
President Klaus Iohannis has announced he has promulgated the law on judicial organization, after having exhausted all challenge procedures. Still,
the head of state has called on the Romanian Parliament to reintroduce the law
into the parliamentary circuit as of next autumn. The law is raising many
question marks and includes unclear provisions, which lack coherence and
predictability, the president has stated. He has also stressed that the justice
laws, promoted and endorsed by the left-wing coalition formed by the Social
Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, would de facto
push Romania far from the European values. We recall that last week, the Venice
Commission, in its preliminary opinion, drew attention to the fact that,
because of the changes brought to the justice laws, the independence of the
Romanian prosecutors and judges becomes questionable.

Forecast. The National Prognosis Commission has revised Romania’s economic
growth rate for this year down to 5.5% from 6.1% in its previous spring
forecast. The inflation rate has been revised up to 3.5% from 3.2% in spring.

Danube Region. Romania and Austria are to host the Secretariat of the EU Strategy
for the Danube Region, whose re-establishment was decided at a meeting of the
Monitoring Committee of the Danube Transnational Programme and the member
states national coordinators of the EU Strategy, an event held in Split,
Croatia. Beginning in September this year, Bucharest and Vienna will open two offices
of this body. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is a high-visibility
political project and Romania’s first large-scale initiative after joining the
European Union. According to a press release published in Bucharest, Romania’s
presidency of the EU Council in the first part of next year is an opportunity
to promote this important framework for macro-regional cooperation on the
agenda of the Union and to ensure the necessary financial allocations for the
priorities proposed for the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the other
macro-regional strategies.

Prices. In Romania, the price of
natural gas for domestic consumers will increase by 6% as of August 1st,
the National Energy Regulatory Agency announced on Thursday. Also on Thursday,
the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovoci announced that the Government is
discussing a draft decision regarding the flattening of the price of natural
gas from the domestic production until June 2021. The minister has also stated
that he would like the same thing for the price of fuels.

Culture. The Romanian Government on
Thursday approved the funding of two big cultural projects, worth a total of 12
million Euros. The two projects are E-culture: Romania’s Digital Library and
Historical Monuments, Strategic Planning and Optimized Public Policies. Under
the E-culture project 550,000 cultural resources will be included in Romania’s
digital library, and an IT platform for the digital library and a catalogue
titled ‘culturalia.ro’ will be created . Also, some 200,000 cultural resources
will be included in the europeana.eu portal. The second project’s outcome will
be a cultural heritage code, as well as a national strategy concerning the
preservation of historical monuments. The projects will benefit from European
non-reimbursable funding.

Brexit. The European Commission has called on the EU countries to
accelerate preparations for the situation in which Great Britain leaves the
union without a clear agreement. The Commission has stated that the failure of
negotiations would seriously affect government affairs and travels. The
European Commission believes that preparations must be made at all levels, so
as to cover all potential consequences, in particular with regard to borders,
transport and data transfers.

Broadcasting. Radio Free Europe says it will resume news programs in
Bulgaria and Romania in December this year in a bid to consolidate the media
landscape in these countries. The station, which is funded by the United States
Congress, will carry multi-media reports and analyses in Romanian and Bulgarian
and will collaborate with the local media to expand existing projects that
promote public accountability and debunk fake news. The station’s Romanian
language service opened in 1950 and ended in 2008, when Romania had already
become a member of the European Union and NATO. Historians view as essential
the station’s contribution to the erosion and final collapse, in 1989, of the
communist dictatorship in Bucharest. The station still has a Romanian language
service in the Republic of Moldova. Radio Free Europe broadcasts to 26 million
people in 20 different countries with restrictions on media freedom and
where professional journalism is not fully developed.

Pop music. 18 singers from 15 different countries will be vying for the Grand
Trophy of the Golden Stag Festival to be held in Brasov, central Romania,
between the 29th of August and the 2nd of September. The initial line-up was
15, but organizers decided to expand it following great demand. Romania has
three representatives, Dora Gaitanovici, Ovidiu Anton and Raluca Blejusca,
while the Republic of Moldova is represented by Lidia Isac. The Golden Stag
Festival this year celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special edition and
65,000 Euros worth of prizes. The festival will come to an end with a Romania
Centenary show featuring traditional Romanian music and contemporary
reinterpretations of his genre.

Football. The Romanian football squad Viitorul Constanta on Thursday
qualified for the second round of Europa League’s preliminaries, after a 0-0
draw in the match against Racing FC Union Luxembourg. In the first match, away
from home, the Romanians had won 2-nil. The other teams representing Romania in
Europa League are the vice-champion FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest),
which will play in the second round against the Slovenian squad NK Rudar
Velenje and the cup winner CSU Craiova, which will play straight into the third
preliminary round. Romania’s champions CFR Cluj will take on the Swedish team
Malmo FF in the second preliminary round of the Champions League.

19 July 2018