Radio România Internațional

Tag: Government session

  • June 13, 2024

    June 13, 2024

    ELECTIONS – The process of centralizing votes and validating Sunday’s European Parliament and local ballots is expected to end today, the Permanent Election Authority says. After counting votes from over 97% of polling stations, PSD and PNL have jointly won over 70% of mayor seats. PSD ranks first in terms of the number of county councils won, followed by PNL, AUR and UDMR. The PSD-PNL alliance has also won the largest number of MEP seats having grabbed 48.57% of the vote, followed by AUR, the United Right Alliance and the SOS Romania party. The Central Election Bureau has dismissed a few hundred requests calling for a recount or the invalidation of the round of elections. The acting USR mayors of Bucharest Districts 1 and 2 have invoked election fraud and other irregularities, which their opponents from PNL and PSD respectively, who’ve won the election to the former’s detriment, have denied.

     

     

     

    CELEBRATIONS – Romania’s Defense Ministry is today marking the National Day of Romanian Heroes by hosting military and religious ceremonies in garrisons across the country, hero monuments and cemeteries. The ceremonies commemorated the heroes who gave their lives in the line of duty fighting in wars, missions or theatres of operation. Bells were rung today at noon in churches across the country. “We express our gratitude to the heroes who survived the horrors of World War II, those who opposed communist dictatorship and fought for freedom in the 1989 anti-communist revolution, playing a key role in toppling the totalitarian regime in Romania”, president Klaus Iohannis said in a message. The head of state also expressed recognition for everyone who is today part of Romania’s defense system. Paying homage to the heroes of the Great War, Romanian authorities declared the National Day of Romanian Heroes on the feast day of the Ascension of Christ in 1920. After 1990, this interwar tradition was resumed. Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians are today celebrating the Ascension of Christ, marking the ascension of Jesus to Heaven from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem 40 days following his Resurrection.

     

     

     

    DEFENSE – The EU Defense Ministers summit kicks off today in Brussels, the last such meeting ahead of the NATO summit in Washington. NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said the meeting will address allied measures and initiatives designed to support Ukraine, as well as Russia’s sabotage and disinformation activities in EU states. NATO wants to agree on the final details of the multiannual assistance plan for Ukraine, as well as on a second plan meant to boost the predictability and sustainability of arms industries in the long term. EU Defense Ministers will also hold talks as part of the Nuclear Planning Group. Russia has a dangerous rhetoric in this regard, has transferred nuclear capabilities from Belarus and has undertaken a number of exercises, Secretary Stoltenberg said. Regarding Russa’s hybrid actions, Jens Stoltenberg said we are witnessing an increasing number of coordinated actions. Some attacks were prevented by Member States by exchanging information, while arrests have been made in countries such as England, Germany, Poland or the Baltic States.

     

     

     

    GOVERNMENT – The Romanian Government is today expected to pass an emergency decree on creating a special environment budget designed to fund projects aimed at developing integrated waste management infrastructure. The government will also vote the administrative accord between the relevant Romanian and US authorities, signed in March 2023 in Bucharest, designed to implement the Social Security Agreement between Romania and the USA. Today’s agenda also includes a vote on Romania’s voluntary payment to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for 2024 and negotiations concerning a loan agreement on development policies for fiscal management and green economic growth between Romania and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

     

     

     

    G7 – G7 leaders are today convening in Italy to discuss ways of increasing economic pressure on Russia in response to its aggression in Ukraine. US president Joe Biden is expected to sign a new security agreement with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to support Kyiv in the long term, the BBC reports. On Wednesday, the USA extended existing economic sanctions in order to further hamper Russia’s war effort. A new plan is in the making, meant to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, although some EU states have expressed concern regarding the possible risks entailed by this plan. (VP)

  • December 28, 2023

    December 28, 2023

    SCHENGEN – The Interior
    Ministry has reached a political consensus with its counterparts in Vienna and
    Sofia for the partial extension of the Schengen Area to include air and
    maritime borders with Romania and Bulgaria starting March 2024. Negotiations
    are expected to continue in 2024 for the two countries’ full Schengen
    accession. On Tuesday and Wednesday, diplomatic talks were held at the level of
    the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries, with the participation of
    diplomatic missions to the EU, regarding a Justice and Home Affairs Council
    resolution that would make this political agreement legally binding. Talks will
    continue today. A positive decision on the two countries’ Schengen accession
    requires a unanimous vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council. We recall
    that last year the decision was postponed due to lack of unanimity in the
    Justice and Home Affairs Council regarding the Schengen accession of Romania
    and Bulgaria, due to opposition voiced by Austria and the Netherlands.




    GOVERNMENT – On its last
    session of 2023, the government is examining a draft decree on cutting public
    spending starting January 1, 2024. The number one measure is excluding all
    public sector employees who this year benefited from salary increases from the
    5% increase in salaries to be operated next year. The targeted institutions are
    the Finance Ministry, the national health insurance agencies, but also Education
    Ministry employees, whose salaries will go up 20% next year. The government
    wants to use the savings to increase low salaries in the public sector. Imports
    of sugar and flour from Ukraine are also on today’s agenda. The government this
    year passed an emergency decree setting clear terms under which Romanian
    companies can buy grain from Ukraine. The government wants to pass a new decree
    setting similar terms for the purchase of flour and sugar from neighboring
    Ukraine. Also today the government wants to adopt an emergency decree for the
    gradual introduction of new electronic ID cards, which will replace older ones
    that don’t comply with EU security standards.




    WAR IN GAZA – Israel is
    expanding its ground offensive to include Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza,
    warning the war against Hamas will last for months. Powerful bombings were
    reported in the camps of Bureij, Maghazi and Nuseirat, where dozens of people
    were killed in strikes in recent days. Heavy fighting is also continuing to the
    south, in the city of Khan Younis, whereas in the north, the IDF continues to
    uncover tunnel shafts used by Hamas. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent
    in Israel, the tunnels discovered yesterday were blown up by Israeli military
    engineers. Meanwhile, 22 of the 129 people still held hostage by Hamaz in Gaza
    have been executed, a spokesman of the Israeli government has announced. Hamas
    captured approximately 240 people in the October 7 surprise attack, which
    killed 1,200 people. Following a ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the
    United States, Hamas released 110 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians
    held in Israeli prisons.




    WAR IN UKRAINE – The United States
    has announced the disbursement of an additional 250 mln USD in military aid for
    Ukraine. International media writes this will be the last military aid package
    for Ukraine before a new vote in Congress, where the Republican majority has
    shown reluctance towards the initiatives of the Biden administration, which has
    promised Ukraine over 61 bln USD. It is imperative that Congress act swiftly,
    as soon as possible, to advance our national security interests by helping
    Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Said. This aid package includes
    air defense munitions, other components for air defense systems, additional
    ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, 155mm and 105mm
    artillery ammunition, anti-armor munitions, and over 15 million rounds of
    ammunition, according to a US Department of State release. Thank you for your
    help. We will win, the former head of the Ukrainian presidential administration,
    Andrii Yermak wrote on X. (VP)



  • June 16, 2023

    June 16, 2023

    GOVERNMENT – The
    freshly sworn-in Prime Minister, Social-Democrat Marcel Ciolacu is today
    holding his first meetings with members of his new cabinet, including deputy
    prime ministers Marian Neacșu and Cătălin Predoiu, Minister for Investment
    Adrian Câciu, Labor Minister Marius Budăi and Finance Minister Marcel Boloș.
    Also today, Prime Minister Ciolacu is holding talks with Education Minister
    Ligia Deca and representatives of education trade unions. In yesterday’s
    government session, Marcel Ciolacu announced his main priorities include
    slashing prices for basic foodstuffs and curbing inflation.




    STRIKE -
    Unionists of the national airline TAROM have threatened to launch a strike
    unless they receive a 15% salary raise. The Ministry of Transport has agreed to
    operate an 8% salary increase, provided this loss-incurring company is
    restructured. Representatives of the Sanitary Solidarity Federation on Thursday
    staged protest rallies near medical units across the country, calling for
    salaries and benefits in line with regulations in force and the relaunch of
    vacancy-filling contests in the healthcare system. Union representatives say
    that unless their grievances are heard and solutions are found, they will be
    organizing a work-in strike on June 27 and starting July 1 they will go on
    all-out strike. We recall that the strike action in the public education system
    was suspended on Monday after the Government pledged its commitment to raise
    salaries and provide bonuses to employees in the system.




    COMMITTEE – The Romanian-German mixed
    government committee on the German minority in Romania met on Thursday in
    Timișoara. On the sidelines of the session, the committee published a joint
    cooperation protocol for preserving the identity of German ethnics. The meeting
    was held this year against the backdrop of very intense Romanian-German
    relations, also as a result of the major contribution of the German minority in
    Romania. The committee agreed to boost bilateral relations in the fields of
    arts and culture by means of specific projects, to conserve German buildings
    and monuments in Romania, as well as to support German-language teaching by
    posting German teachers and developing applied sciences curricula. We recall
    Germany is Romania’s top trade partner, last year two-way trade standing at 40
    mln EUR, as well as Romania’s second-largest investor, with over 25,000
    companies with German capital participation and a total invested capital of 5.5
    bln EUR.




    VISITS – The Prime Minister of the
    Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, is paying an official visit to Bucharest on
    Saturday, government sources say. The Moldovan official will meet his Romanian
    counterpart, Marcel Ciolacu. The Romanian Prime Minister in turn is expected to
    pay his first external visit to Germany, where he will hold talks with
    Chancellor Olaf Scholz.




    FOOTBALL -
    Romania’s football team is today playing Kosovo in Pristina in Group I of the
    EURO 2024 preliminaries. Romania started the qualification campaign with two
    wins, 2-0 against Andorra and 2-1 against Belarus at home. On June 19, in
    Lucerne, Romania will take on the top-seed Switzerland. The first two teams in
    each group will qualify to the EURO 2024 championship to be hosted by Germany.




    WEATHER -
    Romanian meteorologists have issued warnings against stormy weather for western
    counties, in place until Saturday afternoon. Four counties in the southwest
    have been placed under a code red alert for heavy rain. During the interval,
    rainfall volumes are expected to exceed as much as 80 liters/square meter in
    isolated areas. Several counties in the south are already bracing for flash
    floods in the wake of the heavy rainfall of the last few days. Hydrologists
    have issued a code red alert against flash floods and heavy rainfall in excess
    of critical water levels, in place until Saturday afternoon for several rivers
    in the southwest. The highs of the day range between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.
    Warm weather and overcast skies are reported in Bucharest with slight chances
    of rain in the second half of the day. The noon reading in the capital city was
    30 degrees. (VP)

  • November 27, 2020

    November 27, 2020

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA
    – Another 8,499 new COVID-19 infections and 172 related deaths were reported on
    Friday in Romania. 457,848 people have been infected since the start of the
    outbreak and 10,884 people have died to the virus. 1,226 patients are in
    intensive care. 6,876 Romanians living abroad have tested positive for
    COVID-19, 127 of them have died. Several villages around the capital city are
    now in quarantine after the infection rate there has spiked. Doctors say the
    measures taken by the authorities are not enough to keep the pandemic in check.
    They ask for harsher restrictions, warning that the number of beds in intensive
    care units across the country is getting lower by the day. In another
    development, the National Authority for Consumer Protection has submitted seven
    notifications regarding uncertified masks in Romania, which have already been
    filtered through the EU’s rapid alert system. The Authority has recently put a
    trade ban on nearly 33 million such masks in Romania.




    COVID-19 IN THE WORLD
    – Over 61.3 million people around the world have got infected with SARS-CoV-2
    since the start of the outbreak, according to the latest worldometers.info
    update. Over 1.4 million people have died to the virus. In Europe, Germany
    announced plans to vaccinate 900 thousand people over the course of three
    months against COVID-19, after progress has been reported to organize the
    vaccination campaign. According to our correspondent on the ground,
    restaurants, cultural and entertainment venues remain closed, including for the
    winter holidays. Schools and nursery schools remain, however, open in Germany.
    In France, Health Minister Oliver Veran confirmed the immunization might begin
    at the end of December, underlining the need to make the process as transparent
    as possible, against the backdrop of high levels of coronascepticism in this
    country. Meanwhile the infection rate is going down in Spain. The authorities
    have called on the population to continue observing travel restrictions until
    the Government and regional authorities announce the set of special measures
    for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.




    RECOVERY – The
    Government in Bucharest has submitted for public consultation the national
    Recovery and Resilience Plan, a post-COVID economic recovery plan, under which
    Romania will receive €30 billion worth of European funds. The plan is designed
    to uphold an accelerated growth rate over the next four years. The European
    funds will be used to build new hospitals and hundreds of kilometers of
    motorway, to develop school infrastructure and digitize local administrations.
    Of the €30 billion, €14 billion represent non-refundable grants, while the rest
    accounts for low-interest loans the Commission has taken out on behalf of all
    Member States.




    GOVERNMENT – The
    Government is today convening in a new session, the second this week, aimed at passing an emergency decree introducing assistance measures for the hospitality
    sector, one of the hardest hit by the coronacrisis. The financial aid package
    includes grants tantamount to 20% of the losses incurred this year, which caps
    out at €800 thousand for a single business. Travel agencies also qualify for
    this programme. High on today’s Cabinet meeting is also the anti-COVID national
    vaccination strategy, recently made public by Bucharest authorities. President
    Klaus Iohannis said the Government should adopt the strategy before the
    country’s Supreme Defense Council meeting scheduled for next week. The
    Government will also discuss a law on granting emergency assistance to the
    families of the victims of the November 14 fire at the Piatra Neamţ Emergency
    County Hospital.




    BSEC – Romania’s
    Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is today presiding the 42nd meeting
    of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Black Sea
    Economic Cooperation (BSEC). Held in videoconference format, the event marks
    the end of Romania’s presidency of the Organization in 2020. Albania will hold
    the presidency of BSEC in the first half of 2021. According to a Foreign
    Ministry release, the Council meeting occasioned a review of all projects and
    initiatives launched under the Romanian presidency, which sought to boost
    economic cooperation in the Black Sea region and increase regional dialogue
    among BSEC Member States with a view to better deal with the social and
    economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.




    FOOTBALL -
    Romania’s champions CFR Cluj on Thursday lost nil-2 to AS Rome of Italy in
    Europa League Group A. In the other group fixture, Young Boys Berne of
    Switzerland defeated Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia. Rome tops the group tables with 10
    points, followed by Young Boys with 7 points, CFR Cluj with 4 points and CSKA
    with 1 point. In the next round scheduled for December 3, AS Rome will take on
    Young Boys while CFR will play CSKA. Eliminated from the Champions League
    preliminaries, CFR Cluj is Romania’s last representative in this year’s
    inter-club competitions. (V. Palcu)

  • November 6, 2019

    November 6, 2019

    SESSION – The new Liberal Government in
    Bucharest, led by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, is today convening for its
    first joint session. According to the Prime Minister, the agenda for today
    includes an emergency decree on reducing the number of ministries, from 24 to
    16. On Tuesday the newly-appointed ministers took over their portfolios.
    Ludovic Orban promised the new Government will engage in permanent dialogue and
    will take into account Romanians’ expectations. Orban’s Cabinet has replaced the
    outgoing Social-Democratic Government led by Viorica Dancila after the later
    did not survive a no-confidence motion in Parliament on October 10.




    TRANSPORT – Romanian haulers have pointed
    the serious issues reported on the Hungarian border in the last few days, where
    freight trucks wait in a 25-km-long line to cross the border. One of the
    biggest employers in the field has announced protests and the blocking of
    crossing points for light traffic. The Europa 2002 Association of Transport Employers
    from Arad say crossing the Hungarian border has never been harder, pointing the
    finger at Hungarian authorities, who starting November 1 have been performing
    detailed inspections of freight transport vehicles, which incrementally
    increases waiting times for crossing the border.




    PROTEST – Coal miners from Paroseni and
    Uricani on Jiu Valley continue to protest underground for the tenth consecutive
    day. Due to be laid off on January 1, miners demand the same rights as other
    employees made redundant in the sector, namely monthly redundancy payments for
    two years and the inclusion of this period on their seniority with the mining
    company. Trade unions say the 100 miners are determined to continue their
    protest, the longest in the last 15 years, until the Government passes an
    emergency decree that meets their demands. The matter could be settled in today’s
    Government session, which will discuss the passing of a decree. Laszlo Domokos,
    the head of a miners’ syndicate, is today in Bucharest discussing the miners’
    demands with representatives from the line ministry. At the end of 2017 the two
    mines were listed for shutdown and remand.




    TABLE TENNIS – Romania’s table tennis
    team, the defending European champions, is today playing its first match at the
    World Cup in Tokyo against Taiwan. Drawn in Group C, Romania will also play against
    Vanuatu on Thursday. The top two teams will qualify to the quarterfinals.
    Romania’s team is made up of Elizabeta Samara, Daniela Dodean Monteiro, Bernadette Szocs and
    Adina Diaconu. We recall that in September Romania reaped gold at the European
    Table Tennis Championships in Nantes, France, defeating Portugal in the final.




    HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s handball team Dinamo Bucharest on Wednesday
    is playing Kadetten Schaffhausen of Switzerland in Champions League Group D.
    The match has a major stake. If it wins, Dinamo will secure mathematical qualification
    to the playoff. Dinamo ranks first in the group tables with 10 points, followed
    by GOG Svendborg of Denamrk with 8 points, Kadetten of Switzerland with 6
    points, Wisla Plock of Poland with 5 points, Chehkovskie Medvedi of Russia with
    4 points and Kristianstad of Sweden with 3 points. The top two teams will
    advance to the next phase. In the women’s Champions League, CSM Bucharest has
    already qualified to the main group phase, while champions SCM Ramnicu Valcea
    on Sunday is playing SG BBM Bietigheim of Germany in Group C. Brest Bretagne
    Handball of France is top of the tables with 6 points, followed by Buducnost of
    Montenegro with 6 points, SCM Ramnicu Valcea with 2 points and SG BBM
    Bietigheim with 0 points. The top three teams will qualify to the main group
    phase.


    (translated by V.
    Palcu)

  • November 24, 2015

    November 24, 2015

    GOVERNMENT SESSION – An informal session of the new Government is today scheduled to address the draft budget for 2016. Government members must list priority projects for next year. The budget planning of the former Government provided for salary rises in the healthcare and education sectors. Parliament subsequently voted a 10% increase of all salaries in the public sector, although the law has not yet been ratified. The Finance Ministry is to establish whether these salary increases are sustainable, without exceeding the deficit target of 3% of the GDP.



    ISIS – French President François Hollande is today meeting in Washington with president Barack Obama, as part of diplomatic efforts to convince the worlds superpowers to join efforts in what he has termed ‘a unique international coalition against the Islamic State terrorist group. Ahead of his visit, the US State Department called on the US-led international coalition, comprising 65 states, to intensify efforts to combat the global network of the jihadist Islamic State. Yesterday in Paris, François Hollande agreed with British Prime Minister David Cameron to step up the offensive against the Islamic State, reiterating that his country is at war with this jihadist group. Tomorrow, the French presidents diplomatic effort to rally the support against the IS will continue in Paris, where he is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and subsequently on Thursday in Moscow, when François Hollande is to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.



    TERRORIST THREAT – The terror threat level for the Brussels Capital Region is being kept at the maximum of 4, the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has announced, adding that the Brussels subway service and schools would reopen on Wednesday, Reuters reports. The level 4 alert, pointing to a serious and imminent threat, was imposed for the Brussels region on Saturday night. The level 3 terror alert for the rest of Belgium will remain in place until November 30. Brussels authorities have announced the arrest of 21 people in the Brussels region and Liege as part of a full-scale counter-terrorist operation. The list of arrested does not however include Salah Abdeslam, the key suspect in the November 13 attacks in Paris.



    CONSULTATIONS – The president of the Republic of Moldova Nicolae Timofti is today resuming consultations with parliamentary factions in order to designate a new Prime Minister. He is today meeting with representatives of the Liberal-Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet, a party that so far has refused to take part in discussions around creating a new parliamentary majority with its partners from the former pro-Western coalition, the Liberal and the Democratic Parties. We recall the Government was disbanded at the end of last month in the wake of a no-confidence vote filed by the Socialist and Communist opposition, also voted by the Democratic MPs in the Moldovan Parliament.



    COLECTIV – 10 of the 39 people who suffered burn injuries in the Colectiv nightclub fire on October 30 in Bucharest are still in critical condition, the Health Ministry reports. So far 42 people have been released from hospital care, while another 39 were transferred to medical units abroad. At least 60 people were killed in the fire.



    VAT – Romanias VAT is one of the highest at global level and will still be placed in the first fifth of the global ranking even after its planned cut to 20% starting January 1, 2016, reads a recent study by the KPMG consultancy and audit company. At present, Romania ranks among the worlds top ten countries in terms of its VAT, standing at 24%. Hungary has the highest VAT in the world, 27%. On the other hand, Romania has one of the lowest flat corporate tax and income tax rates, standing at 15%, placing our country in the last fifth of the global ranking.



    RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT – The Russian Defence Ministry has today confirmed that the SU-24 fighter jet shot down by Turkish military belonged to the Russian army, claiming however the aircraft was flying in Syrian airspace. This contradicts the original announcement of Turkish authorities, who claimed the aircraft was violating Turkish airspace. This is not the first incident on the Turkish border with Russia since the latter began a military offensive on Syria. On October 3 Turkish fighter jets intercepted a Russian military aircraft in its airspace headed to Syria. At the time Moscow claimed the incident was the result of unfavourable weather conditions. On October 16, the Turkish military shot down a Russian-made drone that violated Turkeys airspace. Tensions between the two countries have escalated recently in the wake of a series of Russian airstrikes on Turkish-speaking areas in Syria, an allegation dismissed by Moscow.


    (translated by V. Palcu)