Radio România Internațional

Tag: governing program

  • February 16, 2023

    February 16, 2023

    QUAKE – The first Romanian rescuers
    deployed to Turkey in the wake of the February 6 quake have returned yesterday
    with two Spartain aircraft. The team managed to save 4 Turkish citizens trapped
    beneath debris, thus displaying compassion and restoring hope to those in
    despair, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said. In turn, Interior Minister Lucian
    Bode said the actions of Romanian rescuers confirm that Romania can provide
    support to every European citizen in critical need of help. 59 Romanian
    rescuers are still deployed to Turkey in support of local authorities. Romania
    also continues to send humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria addressing the
    millions of people affected by the quake. The death toll continues to rise and
    has exceeded 41 thousand. According to the UN, 9 million people in Syria and
    2.2 million in Turkey need help. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă earlier today
    announced the creation of an inter-ministry task force that will monitor
    developments with a view to preparing the proper response to emergency
    situations.


    VISIT – Chamber of Deputies speaker
    Marcel Ciolacu is as of today paying a two-day official visit to Rome, Italy.
    The Romanian official will meet his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Fontana today,
    as well as Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri. Tomorrow, Marcel Ciolacu will meet
    Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi as well as representatives of
    Romanian parishes in the Lazio Region.


    MOLDOVA – Moldova’s Prime Minister
    designate, Dorin Recean, is today expected to present before Parliament the
    structure of his Cabinet and his governing program. Most ministers in the
    Gavrilița Cabinet will preserve their portfolios, and only four ministers will
    be replaced. The Recean Cabinet should have no trouble getting Parliament’s
    investiture vote, given that the Action and Solidarity Party founded by the
    pro-European president Maia Sandu enjoys majority in Parliament, our
    correspondent in Chișinău notes. Moldovan officials explained the Cabinet swap
    was necessary due to the deteriorating security context, which Dorin Recean was
    the best suited person to handle, given his experience as Interior Minister and
    national security presidential adviser. This is one further argument presented
    by president Sandu earlier this week, when she announced the interception of a
    Russian plan to overthrow the government in Moldova. Chișinău pundits believe there
    might have been other reasons behind Natalia Gavrilița’s resignation, such as
    the slow-moving reform of the judiciary.


    TIMIȘOARA – Over 130 events will take
    place over February 17-19 in Timișoara as the city prepares to officially
    launch its program Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023. Timișoara
    mayor Dominic Fritz announced the opening event held in the Unification Square
    in the center will start with a symbolic moment whereby the city will receive
    the Melina Mercouri Award of the European Commission, traditionally bestowed to
    every European capital of culture that successfully complied with their
    candidacy obligations. We have a historic opportunity to shape public
    perception and do away with prejudice. Let us use Timișoara’s European story to
    create a new European destiny for Romania and rebrand the city on the map of
    Europe, the Romanian official said. According to Dominic Fritz, the program
    will comprise over 1,000 events to be held over the course of the entire year.


    FILM – The 73rd edition of
    the Berlin International Film Festival kicks off today in its traditional
    format after two year of pandemic-related restrictions. Opening the event,
    Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to deliver a live message in
    videoconference format. Some 400 features will be screened as part of the
    festival, which will end on February 26. Competing for the Golden Bear and
    Silver Bear awards are 19 features, 6 of which are directed by women. The
    Romanian production Mammalia directed by Sebastian Mihăilescu is competing in
    the Forum section. This year’s jury includes American actress Kristen Stewart
    and Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude, who won the Golden Bear in 2021 for his
    comedy Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn as well as the Silver Bear award in
    2015 with his historical feature Aferim!


    FOOTBALL – Romania’s football champions
    CFR Cluj are today playing Lazio Rome away from home in the first leg of the
    Europa Conference League round of 16 playoffs. CFR previously played Lazio in
    the 2019-2020 season in the Europa League group phase, when it managed to win
    against the Italian side at home. CFR is the only Romanian club left in
    European inter-club competitions. (VP)





  • July 7, 2017 UPDATE

    July 7, 2017 UPDATE

    G20 — Hamburg, in northern Germany, plays host to the G20 meeting. World leaders will discuss trade, climate change, as well as the North Korean nuclear threat. The main event was Friday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The German authorities have taken strict security measures, after security forces last night faced off against protesters against capitalism.



    INVESTIGATION — Anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi on Monday will appear before Parliament’s Committee charged with investigating the presidential election of 2009. Committee Chairman Oana Florea said unless Kovesi shows up, the Committee will refer the matter to the Ministry of Justice or take criminal action against her. This is the third time Kovesi has been summoned for a hearing to account for her actions in 2009, when she was Romania’s Prosecutor General. Kovesi claimed her absence was motivated by rulings of the Superior Council of Magistrates and the Constitutional Court. The Committee continues its investigation although the Prosecutor’s Office has recently closed its investigation. Both actions were started following revelations made by a controversial journalist, who claims the 2009 election was influenced by high-ranking officials including the heads of some important institutions. The election was won by Traian Basescu.



    GDP — Romanias GDP in the first quarter of the year was 5.7% higher than the similar period in 2016, according to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics issued on Friday. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, the GDP in the first quarter of 2017 was higher by 1.7% in real terms. In its latest report, the World Bank adjusted its prediction for economic growth to 4.4% for this year, compared to the figure issued in January, which was 3.7%. The IMF also adjusted its expectation for economic growth this year from 3.8 to 4.2%. In Bucharest, the National Forecast Commission said that this year Romanias economic growth was 5.2%.



    PROGRAM — The ruling coalition, made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, on Monday will decide on the governing program for the upcoming period. Attending the meeting will be Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and several members of his Cabinet. In another development, the Liberal Party has announced its plans to file a no-confidence motion against the newly-sworn in Government, unless the Cabinet gives up its plan to introduce a tax on turnover and the so-called solidarity tax.




    DISTINCTION — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Friday signed the decree whereby German MP Hartmut Koschyk is awarded the Romanian Star Order in Rank of Officer. The award was offered “as a sign of gratitude for his crucial contribution to consolidating Romanian-German relations in several fields, fostering a constructive approach to observing and preserving the cultural and linguistic identity of the German minority in Romania”. Koschyk is the representative of the Federal Government for immigrants and national minorities and co-chair of the mixed Romanian-German Government Committee on German ethnics in Romania. Awarding the distinction was the initiative of Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu.



    FESTIVAL — Over 150,000 people are expected to attend the Neversea music festival, taking place in Constanta this weekend, the biggest of the festivals taking place on the Romanian Black Sea beach this summer. The three-day event gathers over 100 famous artists, such as Tiesto, Afrojack, Jason Derulo, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Fatboy Slim, Years&Years, and Ella Eyre. At the same time, the village of Garana is the venue for the 21st edition of the International Jazz Festival, the most complex outdoor event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing to the stage 18 bands.



    TENNIS — The best-rated tennis player from Romania right now, Simona Halep, WTA no. 2, on Friday qualified to the round of 16 of the Wimbledon tournament. Halep knocked out Shuai Peng of China, 37 WTA, in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6. Halep will next play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Another Romanian tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, 63 WTA, will play Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 15 WTA on Saturday. In the men’s doubles, the pair made up of Florin Mergea and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has qualified to the second round, where they will play Julian Knowle and Phillipp Oswald of Austria. (Translated by V. Palcu)