Radio România Internațional

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February 11, 2022 UPDATE

NATO Romania, as a NATO member country and strategic partner of the US,
benefits from all the security guarantees that it needs, in the context of the
most serious crisis since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The statement was made
by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis on Friday, during a visit he made
together with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Alliance’s
Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, at the military base in Mihail
Kogalniceanu, south-eastern Romania. The officials met with military personnel
from allied nations deployed to Romania. In his turn, Stoltenberg said
the presence of NATO troops in Romania is important because it is a powerful
demonstration of NATO unity. Around 1,000 American military were relocated to
Romania, amid concerns raised by the Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian
border. France has also voiced willingness to deploy troops to Romania. A NATO
member since 2004, Romania was already hosting 900 American, 250 Polish and 140
Italian troops. A unit of the US Air Forces
in Europe (USAFE), comprising around 150 troops and 8 F-16 Fighting Falcons, will
have joint training missions with troops and aircraft of the Romanian
Air Forces for 2 weeks, as of Friday. According to a news release, the US
aircraft will also conduct enhanced air policing missions, jointly with Romanian
troops and with the Italian Air Forces unit deployed to Romania in December.

CORONAVIRUS The number of new Covid-19 infections continues to drop in Romania.
On Friday, the Group for Strategic Communication announced 22,737 new cases and
132 deaths, five of which from an earlier date. The Romanian authorities
consider easing the restrictions taken in the context of the pandemic, but in a
gradual manner, as did the countries that have already overcome the peak of the
current wave, the head of the Department for Emergencies, Raed Arafat, said.
The number of new cases is dropping, and if we stay on this trend, we could be
restriction free by Easter, Arafat said. In turn, the head of the immunization programme,
Valeriu Gheorghita, said that in the future vaccination against Covid-19 will
be seasonal, just like the flu vaccine, and adjusted to the strain in
circulation at a particular moment. The vaccination rate among adults stands at
50.5% in Romania at present, Valeriu Gheorghita said.

MOLDOVA A number of bilateral documents were signed in Chisinau on
Friday after a joint meeting of the Romanian and Moldovan governments,
including an inter-government agreement under which Romania is to provide EUR
100 million worth of non-reimbursable aid. The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă and
his Moldovan counterpart Natalia Gavriliţa also signed a joint statement on
strengthening cooperation in economy and investments. Other agreements concern
the building, maintenance, repair and use of a cross-border bridge in Ungheni,
and roaming and international call tariffs, cooperation in energy security,
digitisation, research and innovation and defence, justice and home affairs. The
Romanian PM emphasised that this is the most substantial openness ever seen in
bilateral relations, and promised that Romania will remain a determined and
vocal supporter of the Republic of Moldova’s EU accession efforts. In turn,
Moldova’s PM Natalia Gavriliţa
said her Cabinet has undertaken to provide a predictable and attractive
environment for investments in the country, in line with European best
practices.Nicolae Ciucă was received by the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, to
whom he conveyed Romania’s full support for the reforms she initiated in the
judicial field in particular.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (56 WTA) Friday defeated
Tereza Martincova (42 WTA) of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2, and qualified into
the semis of the Sankt Petersburg tournament. Martincova had won (6-7, 6-4,
6-4) her only previous match against Begu, in Tashkent in 2019. (A.M.P.)

11 February 2022
State aid for energy

On Thursday, the Romanian Government approved two aid schemes for energy producers and municipalities or inter-community development associations that produce or modernise gas installations. Dozens of millions of Euros will be earmarked for those investors who will use renewable sources of energy. Here is the Government spokesperson

Dan Carbunaru:

The two schemes are worth, together, some 82 million Euro. The potential beneficiaries are the companies that produce energy and the local administration units or inter-community development associations that produce or modernise equipment that produce power.

The Government is looking for solutions to keep supporting the big consumers of energy as well, such as the ALRO aluminium producer in Slatina, or Azomures, the largest producer of fertilisers used in the Romanian agriculture and industry.

Against the background of a big rise in energy prices, the big consumers are considering cutting down or even shutting down production. Through a memorandum, the Government has made concrete steps to extend the aid scheme for them. The Ministry of Energy has been authorised to discuss with EC representatives about carrying on with the aid scheme for the big consumers, in order to maintain both those companies competitiveness, and employees’ jobs.

Here is Dan Carbunaru again:

These state-aid schemes were implemented in Romania in the 2019-2021 period and were successful, as these companies have an annual contribution to the GDP of approximately 6%. However, an important element that we must consider are the jobs that such big companies benefiting from the aid must keep.

Managing the effects of the energy crisis remains among the main concerns of the Executive, Dan Carbunaru pointed out. The decision adopted by the Government is meant to support investments aimed at promoting the production of energy from less exploited renewable sources, namely biomass, biogas, geothermal energy, and the state aid scheme to support investments in high efficiency cogeneration. The two state aid schemes apply until December 31, 2023, and the amounts are allocated from European non-reimbursable funds provided by the European Regional Development Fund in proportion of 85%, and 15% public co-financing funds from the state budget. (MI)

11 February 2022
February 10, 2022 UPDATE

MILITARY President Klaus Iohannis and NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg
will visit the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base 57, the Romanian Presidency
announced. The 2 officials will also discuss with the troops deployed to the
military base and subsequently will have a joint press conference. Military
equipment for the US Task Force (TF) Cougar has already reached Romania. TF
Cougar will primarily consist of a
Stryker squadron relocated from Germany to Romania to protect the region in the
context of the Russia-Ukraine standoff. President Iohannis said
after a visit to the Headquarters Multinational Brigade South-East on Thursday
that the US and France deciding to strengthen their military presence in Romania
is a ‘firm sign of the coherence and consistency of Euro-Atlantic solidarity’ and
invited other Allied countries as well to consider contributing troops to the
multinational structures in Romania.

DRILLS Russia and Belarus Thursday began 10 days of military exercises near
the border with Ukraine and Poland. According to the Russian defence ministry, the drills are aimed at the tasks of repelling
external aggression while conducting a defensive operation, countering
terrorism and protecting common interests.
NATO is concerned that the Russian military build-up in Belarus is part of a
plan to attack Ukraine. Moscow denies plans to invade Ukraine, and says it will
pull out its troops from Belarus as soon as the drills are over. According to Radio
Romania’s correspondent in Moscow, Russia relocated troops and equipment from
as far as Siberia and the Far East, 10,000 km away, for the exercise in
Belarus.

GOVERNMENT The governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will hold their
first joint meeting in Chişinău on Friday, with the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă scheduled
to also have talks with president Maia Sandu and the Moldovan parliament
speaker Igor Grosu. A joint action and solidarity plan for the energy sector
will be put together within 6 months of signing a joint memorandum on energy
security, which is scheduled for Friday, the Romanian government spokesman Dan
Cărbunaru said. He added that a bill was passed on the mutual recognition of
diplomas. Over 12,000 students and 2,000 pupils from Moldova are currently
attending Romanian schools. The 2 governments are also to sign an agreement on
Friday concerning the building, maintenance, repair and use of a cross-border
bridge in Ungheni. Another agreement between the 2 states will concern roaming
and international call tariffs.

ECONOMY Romania’s economy went up by 6.3% in 2021, thanks to a
sound domestic demand, but the pace will slow down to 4.2% this year, to reach
4.5% in 2023, according to the winter economic forecast released by the
European Commission on Thursday. Last autumn the EC estimated Romania’s GDP
would grow by 7% in 2021, with rates of 5.1% and 5.2% forecast for 2022 and
2023 respectively. The most recent data concerning confidence in the economy
indicate positive, although moderated economic growth prospects, especially in services,
retail, constructions and industry. Private consumption is also expected to
recover in the second half of the year, when restrictions will be eased out and
inflation will slow down. Meanwhile, the EC substantially adjusted its 2022
inflation forecast for Romania, from 4% estimated in November to 5.3% this
winter, after a 4.1% inflation rate in 2021.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu Thursday managed a
spectacular win against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-0, which
secured her a place in the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Sankt
Petersburg, Russia. Another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian, lost to Aleksandra
Sasnovich of Belarus, 6-2, 6-3, and left the competition. (A.M.P.)

10 February 2022
February 10, 2022

Covid-19–Ro — 26,466 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been registered in Romania in 24 hours along with 139 deaths, the authorities informed on Thursday. The highest number of infected people since the beginning of the pandemic – 40,018 – was registered on February 1. On the other hand, the National Public Health Institute in Romania reports that, in the week January 31 – February 6, 51.4% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases were registered in unvaccinated persons. Of the vaccinated people, 43% got contaminated either immediately after immunization or more than six months after the last dose. More than three-quarters (78.2%) of the deaths reported were in unvaccinated people. Since the onset of the pandemic, 86% of all deaths have been in people over 60, and 54.6% of deaths in the male population. According to the National Public Health Institute 93.3% of the deceased had at least one associated comorbidity. All in all, since the outbreak of the pandemic, two years ago, over two million Romanians have been contaminated with the novel coronavirus and over 60,000 have died.

Covid–19-world — The state of New York on Thursday lifted the obligation of people wearing sanitary masks indoors, including in shops, restaurants and companies, given that the number of COVID-19 contaminations is declining sharply in the United States. In France, the so-called vaccination permit could be lifted in late March or early April, given the improved health situations, and the Czech Republic is largely relinquishing restrictions. Instead, many Britons have canceled their planned trips to Spain during the school holidays in the UK, because the authorities have asked for the full Covid-19 vaccination of children over 12 years of age. People fully vaccinated entering the UK no longer have to take a COVID test, but other countries maintain some of the restrictions, such as antigen or PCR testing or double vaccination, to avoid testing.

Troops — The first convoy with military equipment, belonging to the American detachment deployed in Romania as part of the US commitment to the allies on NATOs eastern flank, crossed the western border last night and is heading to Mihail Kogalniceanu base in the southeast of the country. In the coming days, part of the one thousand American soldiers who will be deployed in Romania will also enter the country. Earlier, the Romanian defense minister, Vasile Dîncu, had announced that about a hundred specialists had arrived, whose mission was to prepare the deployment of the contingent. Earlier this month, the US decided to send three thousand additional troops on the NATOs eastern flank, one thousand of whom come to Romania and 1,700 to Poland. France has also announced its readiness to send troops to Romania. A NATO member since 2004, Romania already hosts 900 American, 140 Italian and 250 Polish soldiers.

Plagiarism –Romania General Prosecutors Office has opened a criminal case in which it is conducting investigations, in rem, following a complaint alleging that the Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă plagiarized in his doctoral thesis. Last month, the Carol I National Defense University in Bucharest announced that the procedures for verifying compliance with quality standards and university ethics were initiated in the thesis defended by the current prime minister in 2003. The journalist Emilia Şercan, known as a hunter of plagiarists at the top of Romanian politics and administration, claims that at least 42 pages out of a total of 138 of Nicolae Ciucăs doctoral thesis are plagiarized, and the thesis as a whole is not a product of scientific research. Liberal Nicoale Ciucă is the third PM in Bucharest accused of plagiarizing in his doctoral thesis, after the Social Democrats Victor Ponta and Mihai Tudose.

Olympics – The Beijing Winter Olympics included eight finals in todays program, figure skating (mens singles), snowboarding (womens halfpipe and mens cross snowboarding), alpine skiing (mens combined), cross-country skiing (10 km womens – classic style), freestyle skiing (mixed team jumping), speed skating (womens 5,000m) and sledding (mixed relay). The only Romanian presence will be in the sledge relay event, in which Raluca Strămăturaru (womens singles), Valentin Creţu (mens singles) and Vasile Marian Gîtlan / Darius Lucian Şerban (doubles) are competing. Romania participates with 21 athletes in the 2022 Olympics, in seven sports: sledding, bobsled, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, biathlon and speed skating. (LS)

10 February 2022
Local authorities ask for Government’s support

The representatives of Romanias County Council associations, of the Romanian municipalities, cities and communes have asked for support from the Government to ensure the co-financing of the projects run by the local communities and have also asked for solutions regarding the huge energy bills received by institutions. During a meeting with the Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, the local authorities representatives have expressed their availability to be co-opted in consultations related to the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, so that the funding should be adapted to the needs of the communities.

They have warned that the failure to make the reforms needed to implement the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR will turn the local communities into victims. During the discussions, the mayor of Cluj-Napoca (northwest), Emil Boc, has proposed that the guidelines for implementing the Plan should be developed together with the local authorities, because they know best the problems of the communities. Moreover, he has pointed out that Romania will lose money from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR if it does not make the necessary reforms.

Emil Boc: Romania risks losing money from the PNRR, if the ministers do not make the reforms required under the PNRR. The collateral victims will be the local administrations. These reforms are not made somewhere outside Romania. They are made by Romania for Romanians. The reforms will make this country much more functional, with benefits for every citizen.

In turn, the mayor of Cugir (central Romania), Adrian Teban, has pointed out that, soon, smaller cities will no longer have money to pay energy bills, which have doubled and, in some cases, have even tripled.

Adrian Teban: “In small and medium-sized cities, the pressure on local budgets is very high, with the rising energy prices. Larger municipalities can afford it. But small cities are facing more pressure.

Regarding the communes’ problems, the local officials have also told the prime minister that in the future they will no longer have money to pay their employees, and the communes will be left without employees. On the other hand, the Government, through the Inter-ministerial Committee Coordinating the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, has promised to take steps to speed up reforms and continue efforts to implement the Plan.

Romania needs balanced modernization and development, so that the investments available through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as well as the other European and national funds, should benefit in a fair and integrated manner all communities and all citizens – the PM said during the meeting. At the same time, he has reviewed the measures taken by the Government to protect the population, the economic sectors and public institutions, such as the schools, hospitals and cultural institutions, from the effects of rising energy prices. (LS)

1 February 2022
Measures against aggressive drivers in Romania

The EU’s strategic framework
in terms of road safety over 2021-2030 has been designed to halve the number of
fatalities and serious injuries on European roads by 2030. Its objective for
2050 is zero fatalities and serious injuries.

A look at the preliminary
figures for the first six months of last year indicate a slight growth by 2% in
the number of road accident fatalities as compared to the same period in 2020,
a year affected by the impact of the pandemic over road circulation.

As compared to the years
2017-2019, to the 19% significant drop, have also contributed the new EU
policies and safety rules. The situation has improved in Romania as well. While
in 2019, the country was ranking first in the bloc in terms of road accident
fatalities, 96 per one million people, a year later the country came fifth in
the same ranking after Germany, France, Poland and Italy.

Data for last year has been recently presented by Interior Minister Lucian
Bode who underlined that ‘the entire road safety is a serious issue’ in
Romania, and its level is significantly lower than the European average. A
roughly 20% drop in severe road accidents has been registered and the number of
people seriously injured has been reduced by nearly 31% as compared to 2020
whereas the number of fatalities has risen by 8%.

In order to
improve the situation, an objective Romania has assumed including through its
recovery and resilience plan, the executive in Bucharest has amended road
traffic laws, which are now providing for higher fines and are clearly defining
aggressive driving.

So drivers exceeding
the 70 km/hour speed limit are going to have their driving licences suspended
for a period of 120 days and so will those infringing the rules at railway
crossings.

Here is
Interior Minister Lucian Bode.

Lucian Bode: The unjustified
circulation of vehicles on highway emergency lanes will be fined between 260
and 580 euros and the suspension of driving licence for 90 days. Turning and
driving backwards on highways are punishable with licence suspensions of 120
days.

The new laws
are also clearly defining the idea of aggressive driving, including the
excessive use of horns or headlights, handbrake turns as well as other forms of
road rage and aggressive driving. Fines for drivers in these cases who are also
to have their licences suspended for 30 days, can go up to 150 euros.

(bill)

28 January 2022
January 25, 2022 UPDATE

Holocaust — Promoting the fundamental rights and freedoms, respecting the historical truth and understanding the causes of such atrocities give us assurances that such crimes against humanity will never happen again, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Tuesday at the ceremony devoted to International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He underlined that the exacerbation of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, intolerance, racism and discrimination, the attempts to rehabilitate war criminals, as well as the relinquishing of the supreme values of humanity could bring back the tragic experiences of history. The Romanian president recalled that, in the streets of Bucharest, in January 1941, criminals vandalized and burned synagogues, shattered the destinies of thousands of innocent people through the most horrific tortures, all these horrors being part of a diabolical plan of mass extermination. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the virulence of anti-Semitic attacks and created a framework that led to the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation, president Iohannis said. (…) In turn, the PM Nicolae Ciuca, present at the ceremony, said that the Holocaust is a dark chapter of history, pointing out that it must not be forgotten and minimized. He paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and presented the contribution of the Jewish community to the development of Romania.

Ukraine — Ukraine is perfecting its backup plans for any possible scenario or Russian action. In a statement for Radio Romania, Deputy PM for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, mentioned the people’s strong wish for their country’s accession to NATO. It is crucial to us to see that the next steps of our country’s joining NATO materialize, on the occasion of the next summit. If the summit’s document does not include mentions of Ukraine’s future accession, this would be the equivalent Russia’s demand of stopping NATO enlargement,” the Ukrainian official said. On Monday, the situation caused by Russias aggressive actions in the vicinity of Ukraine and the Black Sea region was included on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels. The Romania Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu proposed his counterparts to consider the possibility of holding a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Kiev, as an expression of the EUs solidarity with Ukraine. He reiterated the importance of supporting the strengthening of the resilience of Ukraine and other Eastern partners, as well as of increasing the EUs involvement in finding political solutions to the prolonged conflicts in the Black Sea region.

Measures– The Bucharest Government on Tuesday passed a set of measures to support citizens and the economy, help preserve jobs and ensure a competitive economic activity, PM Nicolae Ciuca announced. The measures will be applied in February and March. “No one will pay more than 0.16 euro/kWh electricity and 0.06 euro/kWh natural gas, irrespective of consumption. Household consumers with up to 500 kWh electricity or 300 cubic meters of natural gas will pay 0.14 euros/kWh for electricity and around 0.04 euros for natural gas, taxes included, Ciuca explained. For non-household consumers, SMEs and the food industry, prices will be capped at 1 leu/ kWh for electricity and 0.07 euro / kWh for natural gas.

Coronavirus — 114,000 vaccine doses from Pfizer BioNTech Company for the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 arrived in Romania on Tuesday. The vaccination of this age group will begin on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 incidence rate continues to rise in Romania. The biggest number of new infections was confirmed in the Bucharest-Ilfov area, where the demand for testing is high. In order to respond to these requests as soon as possible, the Health Ministry decided to open 28 testing centers. A total of 19,685 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 24 hours were reported on Tuesday, along with 44 deaths. 650 people are in intensive care.

Transport — The employees of the Bucharest Transport Company suspended the protest action and resumed their activity on Tuesday, after five days in which the surface public transport in the Capital was blocked. We remind you that the strike was declared illegal by the Court, but the trade unionists have ignored the ruling. They were asking for salary increases and the resignation of the company’s manager, Adrian Crit. The latter told Agerpres news agency that, after five days of illegal protest that paralyzed the capital, the employees eventually understood that they cannot ignore the law and the obligations they have towards the people of Bucharest. The general mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, said that the talks would continue in order to improve the situation at the Bucharest Transport Company, depending on the available budgets. Previously, Nicusor Dan had argued that the protest had been politicized.

Corruption — The 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International shows that, despite official commitments, 131 of the 180 countries surveyed have made no significant progress in fighting corruption in the past 10 years. According to the report, Romania is no exception, and the perception of public sector corruption has been unchanged for a decade. With only 45 points out of 100, Romania remains among the most corrupt countries in the European Union, alongside Hungary (43 points) and Bulgaria (42 points). Transparency International’s analysis shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has given governments the opportunity to expand their executive power, hide public information and restrict citizens rights. In Romania, one of the most vulnerable areas was public procurement, with effects on the transparency of the public expenses during the pandemic. (EE)

25 January 2022
January 22, 2022

COVID-19 19,371
new Covid cases and 48 related deaths have been reported in Romania today. The
number of fatalities is over 10 times smaller than at the peak of the previous
wave of the pandemic, but the infection rate continues to grow, reaching 8.77
per thousand in Bucharest. The highest SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the capital
city (16.54 per thousand) was reached on 22nd October last year. The
worst-case scenario considered by the authorities predicts up to 70,000 new
cases per day in the first half of February. The health minister Alexandru
Rafila says that 173 outpatient Covid-19 evaluation centres are already
operational across the country, out of a planned 230.

NATO On Friday
NATO rejected Russia’s request for the pull-out of the Alliance’s troops in
Bulgaria and Romania, and denounced the concept of spheres of influence, NATO
spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. Russia requested guarantees from the US and
NATO that the Alliance would not enlarge further eastwards, and demanded the
withdrawal of the troops and equipment deployed to the countries that have
joined the organisation since 1997. Also on Friday, the Pentagon announced a
large-scale NATO naval exercise in the Mediterranean, amid tensions with
Russia, which also announced major naval manoeuvres, AFP reports. Poland’s PM
Mateusz Morawiecki called on European leaders to take a firm and united stand
against Russia, in the context of fears that Moscow might plan an invasion of
Ukraine. NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will provide Ukraine with
US-made anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles, the defence ministers of the 3
countries announced in a joint statement. In Romania, president Klaus Iohannis
has called a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council on Wednesday. The meeting
will focus on the security situation at the Black Sea and on NATO’s eastern
flank, and measures to develop resilience and response capabilities related to
the new security challenges.

CELEBRATION
The government of Romania celebrates today 160 years since the first government
of Romania was formed, after the union of the principalities of Moldavia and
Wallachia was officially recognised. On this occasion, on the walls of Victoria
Palace in the capital city Bucharest, which hosts the head offices of the
government of Romania, images will be projected during the evening, which are
relevant for this milestone in Romanian history, such as the Romanian flag, the
date when the first government of Romania was formed, namely 22nd of
January, 1862 and the name of the country’s first prime minister, Barbu
Catargiu. On Monday, which is a national holiday in Romania, 163 years since
the union of the Romanian Principalities will be marked. On 24th
January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, elected ruler of Moldavia the previous week,
was unanimously elected sovereign of Wallachia as well, and proclaimed ruler of
the United Principalities. During his rule, the institutional foundations were
laid for modern Romania.

SOCIAL Romania’s capital city Bucharest finds itself without above-ground public
transportation means on Saturday as well. It is for 3rd consecutive
day of strike for the Bucharest Transport Corporation, although a court ruled
the protest illegal. Unions stand by their demands, which include pay raises
and the resignation of the corporation’s CEO. Meanwhile, the government and
trade unions in public education are working to reach an agreement by 4th
February, following a first round of negotiations after teachers went on strike
on Wednesday. Unionists want pay raises, additional staff to be employed, and
6% of GDP to be earmarked for public education. Public healthcare unions are
also to discuss their demands next week with officials from the healthcare,
finances and labour ministries.

TENNIS The
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep qualified in the round of 16 of the
Australian Open, after defeating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, 6-2, 6-1, in the
3rd round of the tournament in Melbourne today. Halep (15 WTA and 14th
seed), won the match in 64 minutes. It was the 8th consecutive win
for the Romanian player this season. In the next round Simona Halep takes on Alizé Cornet of France (61 WTA). Also
today, another Romanian, Sorana Cîrstea, is playing in the 3rd round
against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, seed no 10. In the women’s doubles,
Jaqueline Cristian (Romania) / Andrea Petkovic (Germany) qualified in the 8th-finals,
having defeated the Slovenians Kaja Juvan / Tamara Zidansek, 6-4, 6-0, and are
next to play agaist Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) / Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

22 January 2022
New measures to reduce energy bills

Focusing exclusively on the topic of reducing the high electricity and gas bills, this years first meeting of the ruling coalition made up of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) put together the solutions found by these parties to the problem. The proposed solutions, however, mirrored the parties different visions. As urgent measures, to be enforced starting February 1st, the PSD proposed capping the prices and reducing the VAT from 19% to 5% for household electricity and gas consumers. The Social Democrats also came up with a set of measures such as the recalculation, without penalties, of the bills that have not been issued correctly, fining the abuse and over-taxing the profit of energy companies.

The Liberals, on the other hand, have announced they do not want just a short-term solution, but a plan with firm budget allocations to investment in energy. At the same time, PNL says that the measures in force, which they say reduce bills by 33%, must be implemented. The meeting ended with an accord and the Government is to take new measures to cut the energy and gas bills. PM Nicolae Ciuca: “The energy ceiling will decrease from 1 leu to 0.8 lei per KW. Also, the consumption limit to which this price applies will go up from 300 to 500 KW. The price of 1 leu per KW will be capped for SMEs. The cap for natural gas will go down from 0.37 to 0.31 lei per KW and the consumption limit for five months will be increased from 1,000 to 1,500 KW. ”

Moreover, all incorrect bills will be recalculated, without consumers being fined or disconnected. The measures for household consumers and SMEs will be applied from February 1st to March 31st and will be included in an Emergency Order adopted by the Government next week at the latest. Meanwhile, the National Authority for Consumer Protection has fined the energy suppliers that issued the bills for November and December 2021 without observing the rules in place and had them recalculate the bills. According to official data, although more than 90% of them observed the new legislation, one of the few suppliers that didnt, has contracts with 30% of the household consumers in the country. Another big supplier has announced that more than half of the bills it issued comply with the new regulations. (EE)

18 January 2022
January 4, 2022

CORONAVIRUS — Almost 4,000 new infections with Covid-19 have been reported today in Romania, more than double Monday’s figure. Also, 52 related deaths have been reported, of which 5 from a previous date. Health Minister Alexandru Rafila says that the number of infections in this 5th wave of the pandemic is expected to be double the one in the 4th wave, when there were 400,000 confirmed cases. Since the onset of the pandemic, over 1,8 million people in Romania had the infection, and almost 60 thousand died. The country has the second lowest immunization rate in the EU, after Bulgaria. Less than 7.9 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated, which is little over 40% of the eligible population. About 2 million of them have also received the booster jab.

ENERGY – Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca today held a working meeting with members of his cabinet and representatives of Transelectrica, Transgaz and Romgaz companies, to assess the stage of preparations for the winter season, from the perspective of the energy sector. According to the Government’s press office, the conclusion of the meeting was that the supply of electricity is ensured for essential services, household consumers and for other categories of consumers. Also, there are enough natural gas stocks to cover the demand.

COLLECTIVE – The Bucharest Court of Appeal on Monday postponed by two months, until March the 3rd, the final ruling in the case of those guilty of the tragedy of October 30, 2015, in Bucharest, when 65 people died in the fire that broke out during a concert in the Collective Club. In December 2019, the Bucharest Tribunal, the first instance court, gave sentences of up to 13 years in prison and the payment of total damages of over 50 million lei (10 million euros) to the victims’ families.

TOURISM – Romanian tourists have spent on the occasion of the New Year some 45 million euros on foreign travel destinations and 30 million euros on domestic destinations, according to a report of the National Travel Agencies’ Association. In Romania, the average stay was 2 to 3 nights and the tourists’ favourite destinations were the mountain resorts and the rural areas. The destinations preferred by travellers abroad were Egypt, Dubai, Zanzibar, the Dominican Republic, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Latin America. Around 10 thousand Romanians went on city-breaks to Europe, mostly to cities like Athens, Paris, Prague, Rome or Barcelona.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea has today qualified to the second round of Melbourne Summer Set 2 (WTA 250) after an easy win over Russian Varvara Graceva (6-0, 6-0). Also today, in the first round of Melbourne Summer Set 1, Romanian Jaqueline Cristian was defeated by Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (7), 6-2. The all Romanian team Simona Halep/Elena Gabriela Ruse lost in the first round of the women’s doubles at the Melbourne Summer Set 2, to the American-Czech pair Bernarda Pera/Katerina Siniakova, who are 2nd seeds, 6-2, 7-6 (2). In women’s singles, Ruse may be up against Simona Halep in the second round, if the latter gets past Australian Destanee Aiava. All these competitions are held ahead of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, due in Melbourne between January 17 and 30. (EE)

4 January 2022
November 26, 2021 UPDATE

Government — The coalition government in Bucharest, led by the Liberal Nicolae Ciuca and instated on Thursday, approved a budget rectification on Friday, the second of this year. The decision was considered an emergency, so as not to delay the payment of pensions and salaries next month. The Ministries of Finance, Health and Labor received money while the Agriculture and Transport Ministries lost funds. According to official data, the budget deficit remains at 7.13% of Gross Domestic Product. The autumn forecast shows an economic growth rate in Romania of 7% for the current year. On Thursday, in the inaugural meeting, an emergency ordinance on the reorganization of the government was adopted, because the new cabinet has two more ministries as compared to the previous one. The law also stipulates that the prerogatives of the two deputy prime ministers, from the parties allied with PNL, Sorin Grindeanu (PSD) and Kelemen Hunor (UDMR), are established by the decision of the prime minister. The ordinance also allows for occupying the vacancies in public institutions.

Covid — Romanian schools are beginning to receive noninvasive tests for rapid detection of the novel coronavirus. The first tranche, of about 6.5 million saliva tests, was distributed on Thursday, the Education Minister, Sorin Cîmpeanu announced. The rapid testing of preschoolers and students is set to begin next week and will be done twice a week for children attending classes. 1,958 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the last 24 hours and 160 deaths, of which 45 were registered before the reference period, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Friday. The National Public Health Institute announced that over 70% of the cases registered in the last week were in unvaccinated people. Since the start of the vaccination campaign, a little over 7.7 million people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

AWARD — The Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 2021 Summer Piotr Nurowski “Best European Young Athlete” Prize (PNP) in Europe, awarded by the General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees during an event hosted by Samorin, Slovakia. Aged 17, Popovici won gold in 2021 at the European Short Course Swimming Championships, and another three gold medals in European Youth Championships. He broke two world junior records in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, and ranked 4th at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 100m freestyle event. Enrolled at Dinamo sports club in Bucharest, Popovici fought for the prize against four other athletes, Sky Brown from Great Britain (skateboarding), Adriana Cerezo Iglesias from Spain (taekwondo), Viktoria Listunova from Russia (artistic gymnastics) and Adriana Vilagos from Serbia (athletics). The Piotr Nurowski award was created in memory of Piotr Nurowski, former President of the Polish Olympic Committee who died in a plane crash in 2010. In 2012, the Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache was voted 2012 Summer Piotr Nurowski “Second Best European Young Athlete”.

B9 – On November 25 and 26, Romania co-chaired with Poland the 3rd meeting of the defense ministers of the Bucharest 9 or Bucharest Format, representing Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The meeting in Bucharest was a continuation of the discussions held this spring, on the occasion of the B9 Summit held in Romania, with the extraordinary participation, in a videoconference, of the US President, Joe Biden. The agenda was structured in two main sessions: the first was dedicated to the results of the NATO summit in Brussels, of June, to the process of developing the new Strategic Concept of the Alliance and implementing the NATO 2030 agenda. The second session focused on cooperation between NATO and the European Union, the Strategic Compass, resilience and military mobility. The meeting in Bucharest takes place in an important context for the security and stability of the allied eastern flank and the Euro-Atlantic area, being an opportunity to send a clear message on the unity and solidarity of the states in this region, show a Defense Ministry communiqué. (LS)

26 November 2021
A government beyond egos

After a nearly 3-month long political crisis, Romania has
a new government with full executive powers as of Thursday. But its political
complexion is one that even the most skilled political analysts could not have
predicted a while ago.

In the autumn of 2019, after the Social-Democratic government
headed by Viorica Dăncilă was dismissed through a no-confidence vote, the
National Liberal Party, encouraged by president Klaus Iohannis himself, vowed
to send its political opponent, the Social Democratic Party, in opposition for
the next two parliamentary terms at least.

They managed to do so a year later, in December 2020, not
by winning the election but by building a governmental coalition of the parties
placed second, third and fifth in the vote-namely the Liberal Party, Save
Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).
The Social Democrats, who had actually won the largest number of seats in
Parliament, were forced into the opposition.

They saw an opportunity this September, when USR left
the ruling coalition over disagreements with ex-PM Florin Cîțu. The Social
Democrats leapt at the chance and tabled a no-confidence motion against the
remaining minority government.

Two failed attempts at forming a minority government followed,
one by USR and the second by the Liberals jointly with UDMR. The Liberals and
the Social Democrats, archenemies until recently, eventually sat down to
discuss a coalition government, together with UDMR and the ethnic minorities
group in Parliament.

On Thursday, the new government, headed by the Liberal
Nicolae Ciucă, easily secured Parliament’s vote of confidence and were sworn in
before the president. Putting one’s ego aside seems to have been one of the
themes of the day. President Klaus Iohannis pointed out:

Klaus Iohannis: People are sick and tired of crises, of promises. People
want action and results. I invite you to deliver.

In turn, PM Nicolae Ciucă, a retired general, promised:

Nicolae Ciucă: We undertake to do everything in our power to
improve Romania’s economic, social and healthcare situation. We have come to
understand that Romanians’ interests are above all egos and political enmity.

And the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu also
talked about leaving egos aside and taking urgent action to ensure Romania’s
stability:

Marcel Ciolacu: We will increase child allowances, pensions,
minimum wages and allowances for people with disabilities. Pensioners with the
smallest benefits will also receive aid to cover their bills this winter. We will
bring more money to the state budget, but also to the people.

The new ministers have already rolled up their
sleeves. We’ll see how it goes. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

26 November 2021
A new government for Romania

Designated by president
Klaus Iohannis for the second time in recent weeks to form a new government,
the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă managed this time around to persuade a majority of
MPs to endorse his team. This is thanks to the alliance of his party with the
Social Democrats, who hold the largest number of seats in Parliament, and with
the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), a junior partner
of the Liberals in the ruling coalition ever since the 2020 election.

The USR had also been
partners in the same coalition, but following disagreements with the Liberal PM
Florin Cîțu they decided to pull out nearly 3 months ago, and to back a
no-confidence motion tabled by the Social Democrats.

For the UDMR, things are
relatively simple: in the new government team, they get to keep the 3 ministries
they headed before (regional development, environment and sports) and receive a
deputy PM post as well.

The negotiations between
the Liberals and the Social Democrats, on the other hand, were rather
complicated. The 2 parties eventually agreed on a rotation of prime ministers between
them and managed to have the governing programme include vital measures which,
they claim, are eagerly awaited by their voters.

Such measures include
earmarking 7% of GDP for investments, implementing the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan and using the Anghel Saligny Investment Plan to
reduce development gaps between the country’s regions. Nicolae Ciucă also promises
to raise child allowances, minimum wages, and public pensions.

Virgil Popescu, who will
stay on as energy minister, announced that as of early next year the mechanism
protecting consumers from growing energy prices will be revised and measures
will be taken to ensure households and companies are not affected.

Sorin Cîmpeanu, who also
carries on his term in office at the education ministry, says his first
priority is to set up a committee to work on a new education law.

As much as 70 billion euro
will be invested in the next 10 years in transport infrastructure, says the Social
Democrat Sorin Grindeanu, who also promises full transparency in terms of
public spending at the transport ministry.

Another
Social Democrat, and the only woman in the new cabinet, Gabriela Firea, will be in charge
of a newly established ministry of youth and family.

In the context of the ongoing
pandemic, testing and encouraging citizens to go to the doctor as soon as
possible, alongside with providing proper healthcare services, are the
short-term measures planned by Alexandru Rafila, chosen by the Social
Democratic Party to head the healthcare ministry. Dr. Rafila also spoke about
the polarisation in the Romanian society and the rift between the vaccinated
and the unvaccinated.

The Liberal Cătălin
Predoiu, who was a justice minister in the past as well, says meeting the terms
of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is a goal for the new coalition,
along with dismantling the special section investigating offences in the
judiciary and the amendment of the laws regulating the justice system.

NATO, the EU and the strategic partnership with the USA are the pillars
of Romania’s defence and security policy, says the new defence minister Vasile
Dîncu, also backed by the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, whose priority
remains the consolidation of Romania’s role and standing in the EU and NATO. (tr.
A.M. Popescu)

25 November 2021
A new government for Romania

Designated by president
Klaus Iohannis for the second time in recent weeks to form a new government,
the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă managed this time around to persuade a majority of
MPs to endorse his team. This is thanks to the alliance of his party with the
Social Democrats, who hold the largest number of seats in Parliament, and with
the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), a junior partner
of the Liberals in the ruling coalition ever since the 2020 election.

The USR had also been
partners in the same coalition, but following disagreements with the Liberal PM
Florin Cîțu they decided to pull out nearly 3 months ago, and to back a
no-confidence motion tabled by the Social Democrats.

For the UDMR, things are
relatively simple: in the new government team, they get to keep the 3 ministries
they headed before (regional development, environment and sports) and receive a
deputy PM post as well.

The negotiations between
the Liberals and the Social Democrats, on the other hand, were rather
complicated. The 2 parties eventually agreed on a rotation of prime ministers between
them and managed to have the governing programme include vital measures which,
they claim, are eagerly awaited by their voters.

Such measures include
earmarking 7% of GDP for investments, implementing the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan and using the Anghel Saligny Investment Plan to
reduce development gaps between the country’s regions. Nicolae Ciucă also promises
to raise child allowances, minimum wages, and public pensions.

Virgil Popescu, who will
stay on as energy minister, announced that as of early next year the mechanism
protecting consumers from growing energy prices will be revised and measures
will be taken to ensure households and companies are not affected.

Sorin Cîmpeanu, who also
carries on his term in office at the education ministry, says his first
priority is to set up a committee to work on a new education law.

As much as 70 billion euro
will be invested in the next 10 years in transport infrastructure, says the Social
Democrat Sorin Grindeanu, who also promises full transparency in terms of
public spending at the transport ministry.

Another
Social Democrat, and the only woman in the new cabinet, Gabriela Firea, will be in charge
of a newly established ministry of youth and family.

In the context of the ongoing
pandemic, testing and encouraging citizens to go to the doctor as soon as
possible, alongside with providing proper healthcare services, are the
short-term measures planned by Alexandru Rafila, chosen by the Social
Democratic Party to head the healthcare ministry. Dr. Rafila also spoke about
the polarisation in the Romanian society and the rift between the vaccinated
and the unvaccinated.

The Liberal Cătălin
Predoiu, who was a justice minister in the past as well, says meeting the terms
of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is a goal for the new coalition,
along with dismantling the special section investigating offences in the
judiciary and the amendment of the laws regulating the justice system.

NATO, the EU and the strategic partnership with the USA are the pillars
of Romania’s defence and security policy, says the new defence minister Vasile
Dîncu, also backed by the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, whose priority
remains the consolidation of Romania’s role and standing in the EU and NATO. (tr.
A.M. Popescu)

25 November 2021
November 23, 2021

COVID – In Romania, on Tuesday, the authorities announced over 2,700 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Also, 273 deaths were reported, of which 34 are from previous days. More than 11,100 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, 1,539 being in ICUs. 150 of the ICU patients are vaccinated. A study by a Romanian medical company shows that the third vaccine dose increases by more than 10 times the number of antibodies as compared to the values recorded 6 months after the 2nd dose, having a very high efficiency against severe forms of COVID-19. The authors of the study say that the effectiveness of the third dose was noticed in all age groups without major differences between them.

Government program – In Bucharest, the prime minister designate, Nicolae Ciucă, is to submit, today, in Parliament, the governing program and the makeup of the new Government. The decision comes following the consultations that President Klaus Iohannis had, on Monday, with the parliamentary parties, at the end of which the interim Defense Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, was appointed Prime Minister. He is supported by a political majority that includes the PNL, PSD, UDMR and the Group of National Minorities.

PSD — The PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, was elected on Tuesday Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament. Cristina Prună representing USR also ran for this position. The ballot was secret. The position has been vacant since October 18, following the resignation of the former PNL leader Ludovic Orban after he lost the party leadership elections. According to the Rules of Procedure, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies is elected for the entire duration of the legislature. Also on Tuesday, the plenum of the Senate revoked Anca Dragu, representing USR, from the position of Speaker of the Senate, following the change of the parliamentary majority. The vote was secret, by card.

Survey – Romania climbed one position, to the 44th place out of 168 countries, in a world ranking made according to the quality of life and social welfare, but it is still on the last place among the EU member states, after Hungary and Bulgaria. Romania registered 78.41 points out of 100, a slightly higher score than in the previous year and is included in the ranking’s the third category, after Argentina, Hungary and Bulgaria, shows the study Social Progress Index (IPS) 2021 on the quality of life and social welfare, carried out by the non-profit organization Social Progress Imperative, with the support of Deloitte. Globally, Norway remains on top position with a score of 92.63 points. In 2021, the first places in the ranking, after Norway, are held by Finland and Denmark, and on the last placed Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

Visit – The Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population), enjoys overwhelming, lasting and cross-party support in Bucharest. ‘We are all dedicated to consolidating the bilateral Strategic Partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration and advancing on the path of reforms’, said Klaus Iohannis fresh from his meeting, in Bucharest, with his Moldovan counterpart, pro-Western Maia Sandu. He added that Romania would remain the closest friend of the Republic of Moldova. In her turn, Maia Sandu stated that she wanted to boost the partnership between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the Iași-Ungheni gas pipeline, operational from October 1, in the midst of the energy crisis. ‘We are counting on Romanias voice in the EU because European integration is our main objective’, the official from Chisinau also said. The agenda of talks also included, among others, institution consolidation, attracting investments, infrastructure projects, education, justice, and energy security. It is the first official visit the President of the Rep. Moldova pays to Romania, after the early parliamentary elections on July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS) by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of celebrating 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations this year, after Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow in 1991. (LS)

23 November 2021