Radio România Internațional

Tag: govt decision

  • August 27, 2020

    August 27, 2020

    Covid-19 Ro — 1,504 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in Romania as against the latest figures presented, following tests made at national level- the Strategic Communication Group announced on Thursday afternoon. This is the biggest number of cases reported in one single day. Also on Thursday 38 new deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 3,459. All in all, since the coronavirus outbreak in Romania, 83,150 cases of infection have been confirmed, 36,677 patients have recovered and 10,130 patients showing no symptoms were discharged from hospital 10 days after testing. 492 people are in ICUs.



    Decision — The Romanian government might decide today on the possible reopening of theaters, cinemas and restaurants. During Wednesday’s meeting with the PM Ludovic Orban the hospitality industry representatives called for the reopening of restaurants as of September 1. They have pledged to observe the European norms according to which only half of the total number of tables will be used and customers will wear masks all the time except for when sitting at the table. The government will also discuss the common order regarding the health protection rules during the election campaign.



    Chisinau — The Republic of Moldova marks on Thursday 29 years since the proclamation of its independence. On August 27, 1991 after the failed coup d’etat in Moscow, the Parliament in Chisinau, picketed by hundreds of thousands of people, voted for breaking away from the Soviet Union. The Republic of Moldova is set up on part of the Romanian eastern territories annexed by Moscow in 1940, following an ultimatum. Romania was the first country of the world to recognize the independence of the neighboring Moldova on the same day.



    Motion — The permanent bureaus of the Parliament’s two chambers decided on Thursday that the no confidence motion tabled by the opposition Social Democratic Party PSD against the Liberal government should be debated and voted on the last day of the extraordinary session, on August 31. The Social Democrats criticize the Liberal government for the way in which it managed the crisis caused by the pandemic. In turn, the government has notified the Constitutional Court over the tabling of a no confidence motion during the parliamentary break. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has accused PSD of trying to create political instability out of electoral reasons.



    Berlin – The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is participating in Berlin, as of today, in an informal 2-day meeting of the EU foreign ministers. A Romanian Foreign Ministry communiqué shows that the agenda of talks is comprehensive focusing on important foreign policy issues of the EU. The participants will tackle the situation in Belarus, the relations between the EU and Turkey also in the context of the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the relations between the EU and Russia. On the eve of the meeting, minister Bogdan Aurescu said that Romania would ask again for the punishment of those guilty of abuse against the citizens during and after the presidential election. The reprehensible actions of the power in Minsk cannot go unsanctioned by the EU, said the Romanian foreign minister who also said that Romania would allot 100 thousand Euros worth of aid for the civil society and independent journalists in Belarus.



    Football – Three Romanian football teams are playing today in the Europa League first preliminary round. FC Botoșani will play away from home against FC Ordabasy from Kazakhstan, FCSB will take on FC Shirak on home ground and vice-champions CS Universitatea Craiova will be up against FC Locomotive Tbilisi from Georgia. They will play one single match for qualification. On Wednesday evening Romania’s champions CFR Cluj were defeated at home by Dinamo Zagreb following penalty kicks in the second preliminary round of the Champions League. CFR will continue with matches in Europa League. (Tr. L. Simion)

  • More money for the local communities

    More money for the local communities

    In a last minute move, the interim Social Democratic government in Bucharest, which was dismissed last week through a motion of no confidence, approved a decision under which around 300 million Euros will be redistributed to local communities to ensure their functioning until the end of the year. It is a distribution to city halls of the sums broken down from the VAT, according to various expenditure chapters. As many as 1,600 localities will receive funding. However, the money is not enough for the needs of the local communities.



    According to the local administration representatives and to the government decision substantiation note, this autumn some 8.5 billion lei were needed for the local budgets to be closed, of which 4.7 billion lei (around 990 million Euros) are operating expenses and 3.8 billion lei (around 800 million Euros) are expenses for development.



    Outgoing finance minister Eugen Teodorovici has given assurances that the money will be allotted fairly, depending on the local communities’ needs and not on political criteria. He has explained that the final form of the government decision has taken into account the budget execution for September for each local community.



    Eugen Teodorovici: “This money distribution gives priority to ensuring the operating expenses such as personnel expenses, including expenses for people with severe disabilities and their personal assistants and the monthly entitlements for the people with disabilities. Money will also be granted to ensure the goods and services for keeping the education units, the child protection institutions and the public centers for people with disabilities. We’ll also cover other urgent expenses, which are necessary in 2019 and whose payment cannot be postponed.”



    There was also a suggestion to redistribute 23 million lei to all communes of Romania so as to ensure their functioning for at least three months. The outgoing finance minister has pointed out that the money will be granted to all localities, whether or not they requested it from the Finance Ministry. He believes that this year the government has made a historic money allocation to local communities and thus Romania can obtain a deficit of under 3% of the GDP at the end of the year.



    The government also approved the allocation from the reserve fund of the money necessary for heating during the winter season in several localities of Romania, including the capital Bucharest, which will receive 100 million lei. As regards the National Local Development Program, the situation will be sorted out at the next government meeting, so that all invoices submitted by the local communities to the Ministry for Development should be paid, minister Eugen Teodorovici added. (translation by L. Simion)

  • January 31, 2019 UPDATE

    January 31, 2019 UPDATE

    Flu epidemic — 63 people have so far died because of the flu in Romania, it has been announced in Bucharest. None of the victims had been vaccinated. Schools have remained open across Romania despite the flu epidemic declared on Wednesday. Classes are suspended only is more than 20% of the students come down with the flu. So far it has been decided that 14 schools and kindergartens from Bucharest and several others across Romania should be closed.



    Meeting — The Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan on Thursday talked with the British ambassador Andrew Noble about the latest developments regarding Brexit. Minister Dan underlined that the Romanian authorities’ priority was to protect the rights of the Romanian citizens from the UK. As regards the British citizens on Romania’s territory, the Romanian interior minister has given assurances that their rights will be respected irrespective of what happens with Brexit, in the spirit of the two countries’ mutual respect. In turn, the British ambassador said that these talks were welcomed by the British citizens in Romania and that they would continue, also at technical level, in accordance with the developments related to Brexit. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29.



    Brussels — The European Parliament on Thursday recognized, in Brussels, the opposition leader Juan Guaido as ‘the only legitimate interim president’ of Venezuela and called on the EU countries to do the same so as to adopt a ‘firm and common stand’ in a resolution voted by a large majority. They recognized the Venezuelan opposition leader as interim president until new elections can be called in order to restore democracy. The MEPs condemned the fierce repression and violence in Venezuela, resulting in killings and casualties and asked the Venezuelan authorities to halt all human rights violations. The Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who has been holding power since 2013, said no presidential election would be held in Venezuela. Juan Guaido is backed by tens of countries among which the US and other important countries from Latin America. Washington announced sanctions aimed at Venezuela’s oil industry while Moscow expressed its diplomatic support for Maduro. (news updated by L. Simion)