Radio România Internațional

Tag: grants

  • September 3, 2024

    September 3, 2024

     

    PARLIAMENT The Parliament of Romania has convened for the last session in its current term, given that general elections are due to take place on December 1, the National Day of Romania. One of the priorities is a bill raising the pension tax threshold to EUR 600. The bill is being reviewed and voted on today in the Chamber of Deputies, and is to take effect on October 1. Meanwhile, the Senate voted on a bill under which Romania will donate a PATRIOT missile system to neighbouring Ukraine. The bill was also endorsed by the lower Chamber under an emergency procedure.

     

    GRANTS The Romanian foreign ministry (MAE) announced the results of the selection of non-EU students to receive grants from the Romanian government this academic year. A record-high number of applications have been received (81,914, from 160 countries on 5 continents), which according to a news release reflects the growing interest of students in the educational opportunities provided by Romanian universities. The applications have been submitted online, at www.studyinromania.gov.ro, between January 16 and March 16, 2024. Selection criteria included academic excellence, geographic diversity and gender equality, as well as Romania’s foreign policy interests in relation to the applicants’ home countries. The 500 grant beneficiaries will go to prestigious university centres in the country (Braşov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Craiova, Iaşi, Sibiu, Timişoara and others) and will study a variety of fields, such as international relations, engineering, law, computer sciences, performing arts, economy, business or education sciences.

     

    CYBERATTACK Personal data stolen in a cyber-attack targeting the Timişoara City Hall, local police and tax agency have been put up for sale by hackers on a Telegram channel. The discovery was made by the founder of a consulting platform for corporate victims of cyber-attacks. The Mayor of Timişoara, Dominic Fritz, has neither confirmed or denied the personal data theft, and said he was waiting for the relevant authorities to investigate the matter. After the attack that took place 10 days ago, the City Hall announced that the institution took counter-measures and managed to prevent the entire system from being compromised. The institution also said at that point that there were no indications that personal data had been extracted. Online tax payments were subsequently discontinued.

     

    FACILITIES The Romanian government would collect nearly EUR 2 bln if at least 15% of the taxpayers with debts to the authorities accessed a facility that extinguishes penalties, under a draft emergency order posted by the finance ministry. The bill exempts debtors from the payment of interest and penalties provided that they pay their back taxes by November 25. For individuals with debts up to EUR 1,000, half of the overdue amount may be written off, if the remaining 50% is paid. According to the ministry, the total debts to the state budget at the end of June reached around 10% of the country’s GDP. Debts to local authorities amounted to nearly RON 22 bln, debts to the social security funds to RON 4 bln, and debts to the public health insurance funds were close to RON 8 bln.

     

    AUTOMOTIVE The number of new cars registered in Romania in the first 8 months of the year was 106,534, up 6.35% compared to the corresponding period of 2023, according to the Vehicle Registration and Driving License Directorate quoted by the Romanian Carmakers Association (ACAROM). Broken down by car make, the largest number of new registrations was reported by Dacia (more than 32,000), followed by Toyota (9,206), Hyundai (6,961), Skoda (6,938), Renault (6,873), Volkswagen (6,352), Ford (4,503), Mercedes (3,689), BMW (3,420) and Suzuki (3,301).

     

    TRANSPORT Air freight transport increased in Romania in the first half of 2024 by 7.4%, compared to the corresponding period of last year, more specifically from 24,400 tonnes to 26,200 tonnes, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute. For both domestic and international shipments, the largest cargo quantities were registered on Bucharest’s Henri Coandă Airport, followed by Avram Iancu Airport in Cluj-Napoca (north-west), and Traian Vuia Airport in Timişoara (west).

     

    TENNIS The Romanian tennis players Irina Begu and Anca Todoni have qualified in the 8th-finals of the WTA 125 tournament in Montreux (Switzerland). Irina Begu (34 yo, no. 130 WTA) only needed 68 minutes to beat the 19-year old Swiss player Celine Naef (177 WTA), 6-0, 6-3. Anca Todoni (aged 19, no. 136 WTA) won 6-2, 6-4 against Maja Chwalińska of Poland (172 WTA), in a 1.5-hour match. The two Romanian players won USD 2,000 each and 15 WTA points. In the 8th-finals, Begu takes on Laura Pigossi of Brazil (141 WTA), and Todoni plays the winner of the match pitting seed no. 1 Maria Lourdes Carle (Argentina) against Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (Andorra). Miriam Bulgaru is also to play against Italy’s Camilla Rosatello in the main draw of the tournament. (AMP)

  • EU assistance for road transport operators

    EU assistance for road transport operators

    With fuel prices steadily rising recently, the European
    Commission has decided to provide support to Romanian road transport operators,
    which have repeatedly asked for assistance.


    The commission
    approved a EUR 60.7 million Romanian scheme to support companies active in road
    transport of goods and passengers. The
    Commission found that the Romanian scheme is necessary, appropriate and
    proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.


    The scheme was
    approved as part of the Temporary Crisis Framework for state aid, adopted by the
    institution in March this year, in line with the Treaty on the Functioning of
    the EU, which admits that the Union’s economy is facing major disruptions.


    According to
    an EC news release, under this aid scheme Romania will support its road
    transport sector, severely affected by the fuel prices increase caused by the
    current geopolitical crisis and the related sanctions. This is an important
    step to mitigate the economic impact of Putin’s war against Ukraine,ˮ said
    Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president in charge of competition policy.


    The measure
    will be open to companies of all sizes active in road transport of goods and
    persons with a valid community license that are affected by the current crisis.
    The beneficiaries will be entitled to receive limited amounts of aid in the
    form of direct grants of maximum EUR 400,000 per company, paid by the end of
    this year.


    With a view
    to ensuring legal certainty, the Commission will assess before that date if the
    scheme needs to be extended. Moreover, during its period of application, the
    Commission will keep the content and scope of the Framework under review in the
    light of developments regarding the energy markets, other input markets and the
    general economic situation.


    The
    Temporary Crisis Framework includes a number of safeguards, such as proportional
    methodology, requiring a link between the amount of aid that can be granted to
    businesses and the scale of their economic activity and exposure to the
    economic effects of the crisis. Member States are invited to consider, in
    a non-discriminatory way, setting up requirements related to environmental
    protection or security of supply when granting aid for additional costs due to
    exceptionally high gas and electricity prices. (AMP)

  • May 7, 2022

    May 7, 2022

    Visit – Jill Biden, the wife of U.S. President Joe Biden, continues her visit to Romania today. In Bucharest, she met with Carmen Iohannis, the wife of Romanias President Klaus Iohannis, and she will pay a visit to a school that hosts Ukrainian refugee students. Also today, Jill Biden is to meet with Government members, with the staff of the American Embassy, as well as with humanitarian aid workers. On Friday, the first day of her visit, Jill Biden met with the U.S. and NATO soldiers at Mihail Kogalniceanu base (southeast). The American presidents wife is on a tour which will also include Slovakia, to show the US’s commitment to Ukrainian refugees. She is accompanied by the Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Karen Donfried. The delegation also includes former U.S. Ambassador to Bucharest between 2009 and 2012 Mark Gitenstein, currently U.S. Ambassador to the EU and his wife Elizabeth Gitenstein.



    Refugees — Ukrainian children refugees in Romania will be able to be registered in a computer application, regardless of whether they are with their family or not. The platform will be developed and adapted by the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities in collaboration with UNICEF Romania and the non-governmental organization “Save the children”. Since the beginning of the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine, almost 40,000 children from the neighboring country have arrived in Romania, who have crossed the border with their parents or unaccompanied. The application, which has been successfully used in the case of other states amid the influx of refugees caused by the war, provides that the authorities should know about the location of the Ukrainian children left in Romania, even if they are with their parents or relatives. At least 80,700 people, including more than 8,000 Ukrainian citizens (up by 4.3% compared to the previous day), entered Romania through the border crossings on Friday. Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, over 860 thousand Ukrainians have crossed the Romanian border, most of them transiting to other countries.



    Grants – The Romanian Government has decided to grant non-reimbursable loans worth 300 million Euros to companies operating in agriculture and the food industry. The authorities pre-notified the European Commission about the state aid scheme, and the relevant minister Marcel Boloş is convinced that the community forum will approve the request without any problems. Companies will receive non-reimbursable loans for working capital, in order to buy raw materials or fuels. The measure will support seasonal works in agriculture and will combat the rise in fuel and chemical fertilizer prices.



    Ukraine — The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously approved a declaration giving ‘strong support’ to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ‘in working out a peaceful solution’ to the war between Russia and Ukraine. In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine that will provide additional ammunition consisting in artillery, radars and other equipment, but he warned that the funds earmarked for weapons destined for Kyiv are now ‘virtually depleted.’ On Sunday, the G7 leaders will have a virtual meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine, which will also be attended by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Germany, the country holding the organizations presidency this year, announced. On the ground, Kyiv is still making diplomatic efforts to rescue the remaining fighters in the Azovstal steelworks, the last Ukrainian forces’ stronghold in the port city of Mariupol, after fifty civilians were evacuated on Friday by a new humanitarian convoy. Also on Friday, the Russian troops continued to launch rocket attacks on regions in southern Ukraine. On the other hand, about two and a half months after being recognized by Russia, the self-proclaimed peoples republics of the East, Donetsk and Luhansk, have appointed ambassadors to Moscow. After the failure to conquer Kyiv, Russias war effort is currently focused on supporting and expanding Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.



    Campaign – The Representation of the European Commission in Romania has launched the communication campaign “Faces of European solidarity”, in the context of the anniversary of Europe Day on May 9th, when the signing of the Schuman Declaration of 1950 is marked. It is a photo exhibition by photojournalists documenting the solidarity of Romanians with people who left Ukraine following the Russian invasion. The campaign will run for a month, and the photos will be exhibited in Bucharest in different spaces, at the metro stations, the Henri Coanda Airport, and also in the online environment.



    Paris – Emmanuel Macron was sworn-in on Saturday at the Elysee Palace as President of France for a new five-year term, AFP reports. In a short speech, he called for continued action to make France a more independent and powerful nation. We remind you that Macron won the second round of the presidential elections, on April 24, in front of the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, with 58.55% of the votes. On Sunday, he will take part in the festivities marking the anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945. On Monday, Europe Day, he is expected in Strasbourg to address the European Parliament. Emmanuel Macron will then travel to Berlin on the same day to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, this being his first trip abroad after being re-elected.



    SPP — On the Day of the Protection and Guard Service (SPP), the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă conveyed a message showing his appreciation and respect for the professionalism of the specialists of this essential structure in the national security system. 32 years after its establishment, SPP successfully manages all the missions entrusted to it, benefiting from the trust of the Romanian institutions, as well as of the institutions within NATO and the EU member states. The modernization process and the permanent adaptation to the challenges they have to manage, together with the devotion of the SPP professionals, prepares the ground for strengthening this elite structure of the Romanian state, the prime minister said. SPP ensures the protection of Romanian and foreign dignitaries during their stay in Romania, and also the security of their work offices and residences. (LS)