Radio România Internațional

Tag: Greece

  • The benefits of Romania’s belonging in the EU

    The benefits of Romania’s belonging in the EU

    In January Romania marked 17 years of EU membership. In the same month an INSCOP poll showed that 9 out of 10 Romanians are against the idea that their country should get out of the community bloc, as compared to 72% in January 2022. Entitled “Romania between national and European in the misinformation era. Economic Patriotism, values and conspiracy”, the survey, ordered by Funky Citizens organization, has revealed a 67% trust rate in the European Union as compared to 56% in January 2022. The aforementioned survey was the first conducted after the shock caused by the cancellation of the presidential election in December last year.

    As if to respond to those who denigrate community institutions, who aren’t few nowadays, the Romanian Minister of Investment and European Projects, Marcel Bolos, writes on Facebook: “In a time when extremist voices are trying to downplay the benefits of Romania’s belonging in the European Union, let’s not forget that development is not an issue of naïve pride, but of pragmatism. Romania didn’t grow out of nothing; it didn’t change overnight and certainly didn’t develop by denying opportunities.”

    Since its accession, Bolos says, Romania has got over 100 billion Euros in European funds, gross value. And this is the engine that has fundamentally changed the structure of our economy, the minister says. According to him, Romania no longer relies on a peripheral economy, being a country that is rapidly bridging gaps and which has overcome Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Greece in terms of the GDP per capita, which is an essential indicator for the standard of living.

    “Figures are extremely relevant; the value of the investment made is nearly equal to the GDP at the time of accession. If we are unaware of this we tend to blame the European bloc, but the fact that we are presently at the highest level of our development, is something that we owe to our EU and NATO membership”, Minister Bolos also says.

    According to him, the European funds Romania received are reflected in the country’s infrastructure, with nearly 900 kilometers of motorways and roads built in the past two decades. Over two million Romanians have been connected to the water & sewerage networks and according to Minister Bolos, over 100 thousand companies have benefitted from development grants, thousands of schools and hospitals have been refurbished, fitted with proper equipment and enlarged. Stable jobs have been created and fresh investment made.

    All these have given an impetus to the economy and the annual pace of the private investment in the economy tripled in 2024 as compared to the time of accession from 20 billion Euros to 70 billion, Bolos says.

    He believes that without European money, Romania would have remained stuck into an endless cycle of underdevelopment, being dependent on a national budget, which is insufficient for strategic development. “There is one reality only: the EU has been our partner in development. And by belonging in the European bloc, Romania has opted for progress”, Minister Boloş’ post says.

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  • February 21, 2025

    February 21, 2025

    VISIT Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is meeting the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels today. Talks over the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, a.k.a PNRR, as well as the global and regional security are high on the talks agenda. Bucharest’s objective is to renegotiate with the EU officials some targets in the country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience so that Romania may entirely absorb the funds allotted through the European mechanism. In Ciolacu’s opinion, there are a series of issues within the PNRR, which need adjustment to present-day realities. The head of the Executive believes that 2025 and 2026 are decisive years when Romania can entirely benefit from funding in the aforementioned plan.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions, FCSB, on Thursday night qualified for the Europa League’s round of 16 after a 4-1 win on aggregate against, PAOK Thessaloniki, a Greek eleven coached by Romanian Razvan Luceascu. FCSB won the first game in Greece 2-1 and also clinched a 2-0 win in Bucharest last night in front of over 50 thousand football fans. FCSB will be playing their first match at home on March 6 and return one a week later either against Olympique Lyon or Eintracht Frankfurt. Lots are being drawn today in Nyon, Switzerland.

     

    THEFT The Dutch police have announced they apprehended a 26 year-old man, who has become the fourth suspect in the theft of the Romanian ancient artefacts from the Drents Museum in Assen. According to police sources, the artefacts haven’t been recovered yet. We recall that on January 25, four extremely valuable golden artefacts part of Romania’s treasure, on display at the Drents Museum, were stolen. The museum was hosting the exhibition entitled “Dacia, the Kingdom of gold and silver”, which was supposed to close a day before the robbery.

     

    JOBS Romania’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, on Thursday announced that 18 hundred jobs of public and contract servants from the institutions subordinated and coordinated by the government would be axed. The premier referred to a massive drop in the number of the aforementioned jobs of 13.5%, which translates into the biggest cost-cutting initiative in the history of the Romanian government.

     

    BUDGET The Romanian government has approved a budget of roughly 240 million Euros for the preparation and staging of the presidential election on May 4 and 18. The money comes from the Budget Reserve Funds made available to the government and stipulated in the state budget 2025 – says a communiqué of the Executive. We recall the presidential election will take place in May after a first round held in December was annulled through a Constitutional Court ruling, which invoked interferences in the election process.

     

    RABLA Representatives of the Carmakers Association in Romania have proposed to the authorities a new form of the RABLA programme, which no longer includes the Classical and Plus variants. According to the aforementioned association, ecobonuses of higher value might encourage the population to purchase more electric cars and if ecobonuses are funded from green certificates, their value may become more important than the state budget funds. A lower ecobonus value for electric vehicles, which last year was halved at 5 thousand Euros, has caused a major market slump of roughly 32%.

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  • Steadfast Dart 2025

    Steadfast Dart 2025

     

     

  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    The Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam Tournament has reached its semifinals. Unfortunately, the last Romanian in the competition, Gabriela Ruse, failed to qualify for this stage of the competition in the women’s double. In spite of putting up a good show, she and her Ukrainian team mate Marta Kostyuk eventually conceded defeat in the quarterfinals to Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan and Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. The entire match lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes. Ruse and Kostyuk walked away with a check of 142 thousand Australian dollars and 430 WTA points in the doubles ranking. The pair has already played in two Grand Slam semis, one in Melbourne, in 2023, and another one in Roland Garros, in 2024.

    In the men’s basketball Group B of EuroCup, U-BT Cluj-Napoca secured a home win against Turk Telekom Ankara, 94-81. That was the last home match for the Romanian champions. The best U-BT player was American Dennis Seeley with 31 points. After 16 legs, U-BT ranks 5th in the standings with 9 wins and 7 defeats. Next Tuesday, U-BT will be up against Lietkabelis Panevezys, in Lithuania and on February 5th they will be taking on Aris Thessaloniki in Greece. The first two sides will directly qualify for the quarterfinals and the following four will be competing in the play-offs.

    The ice hockey side Fenestela 68 Sfântu Gheorghe on Wednesday obtained a surprising result in Romania’s National Ice Hockey Championship; a 3-2 away win against the championship’s leader, ACSH Gheorgheni. The Harghita side remains in the first place with 55 points out of 26 games, followed by Corona Braşov, with 53 points out of 23 matches.

    In a top game of the 15th leg of the National League in women’s handball, Corona Braşov, secured a 33-29 win against SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, one of Romania’s representative in the EHF European League. The second Romanian side in the continental competition, Dunărea Brăila, clinched a 30-22 victory against HC Zalau. Two sides playing for Romania in the Champions League have also obtained victories. CSM Bucharest has outperformed CSM Slatina, 41-29, while Rapid Bucharest has secured a 32-24 win against CSM Târgu Jiu. CSM Bucharest tops the ranking with 39 points, followed by Corona, with 31.

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  • August 18, 2024

    August 18, 2024

    WEATHER The weather remains extremely hot in almost the entire Romanian territory where meteorologists have issued a series of code yellow, orange and red alerts for extremely high temperatures and thermal discomfort. The most affected is the Timis County in western Romania, for which a code red alert has been issued. Temperatures there are expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius and the Temperature-Humidity index to go over the 80 unit threshold. An orange code alert has been issued for another ten counties in the country’s west and south, including the capital city Bucharest where the highs of the day are expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 31 degrees.

     

    PARIS An icon of the French cinematography, Alain Delon, died today at his home in Douchy surrounded by his three children and his family. The actor was a star of the golden era of the French cinematography, and shot to fame with the parts he played in ‘The Samurai’ and ‘Borsalino’. Once described as the most beautiful man in the movies, Alain Delon starred in some of the best French productions of the 60s, such as ‘The Leopard’ and ‘Rocco and his Brothers’. From the 1990s his film appearances grew rare and although he appeared in more than 90 films during the course of his career, he won only one Cesar Award in 1985 for ‘Our story’ by Bertrand Blier. ‘Le Parisien’ called Delon ‘a legend of the cinema’ while ‘Liberation’ described him as ‘a leading figure of cinema, the actor with crazy charisma’. Alain Delon’s last major public appearance was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival in 2019, when he delivered an emotional speech in which he appeared to bid farewell to cinema and his fans.

     

    ATHENS The Romanian firefighters who had joined the efforts of putting out fires in Greece were given a new assignment on Saturday; they are monitoring two regions in Attica. According to a press release by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), 16 firefighters with four fire engines have been deployed to Agia Kiriaki, while another 15-strong rescue team is getting ready to intervene in Rafina. Both teams are accompanied by Greek liaison officers, and according to IGSU, they are in stand-by, ready to intervene under the coordination of their Greek counterparts. The regions where the two Romanian teams have been deployed are known for being at higher risk of wildfires at this time of the year. Greece has applied for help from the European Union and is in a state of high alert after wildfires went out of control and have affected over 10 thousand hectares.

     

    BOOKFAIR The Gaudeamus book fair staged by our radio station is going on in Sibiu, central Romania. On the fair’s last day, on Sunday, people were invited to visit its 15 pavilions located in the city’s historical center known as the Big Square, and check on the huge offer of books, games, music and other educational materials. The fair is being attended by the most renowned publishing houses in the country. Besides its varied and huge book offer displayed on over 40 stands, the fair also included a series of editorial events, book launches and autograph shows, which are also available online at gaudeamus.ro.

     

    EXAMS Next week will be seeing the written exams of the second round of the Baccalaureate in Romania. On Monday students are to take exams in the Romanian language and Literature and in the following days in mathematics and history according to their chosen profile. The first results are to be listed on August 26th and the final ones after all applications have been solved, on August 30th. Over 33,600 students are to take their exams in this second round. Most of them, two thirds, are this year’s graduates. Over 78% of the students passed the baccalaureate exams in its summer session. The Ministry of Education plans to allow students to see their exam papers shortly after the grading so that they may decide whether to challenge results.

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  • August 17, 2024 UPDATE

    August 17, 2024 UPDATE

    WEATHER Meteorologists have issued code red alerts for extremely hot weather for seven counties in south-western Romania, whose residents are bracing up for temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius these days. Another eight counties and the capital city Bucharest are under a code orange alert for hot weather and a higher temperature-humidity index. The highs of the day here are to stay around 38 degrees Celsius, while in the rest of the territory they will range between 34 and 37 degrees.

     

    STATISTICS Greenhouse gas emissions caused by economic activities in the EU dropped in 20 member countries last year, remained stable in Cyprus and rose in Romania, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece and Slovenia. The most significant reductions of these gases have been reported by Bulgaria, over 15% and Germany 7%. The process of curbing the greenhouse gas emissions has affected Europe’s GDP, which grew only 0.3%, according to Eurostat. Out of the 20 countries, which managed to curb their gas emissions, eight have also reported a drop in GDP, whereas 12 have announced minor GDP growths.

     

    FAIR The Gaudeamus Book Fair staged by Radio Romania remains open in the historical center of the city of Sibiu in central Romania over the weekend. The 15 pavilion book fair has brought together over 40 exhibitors, which include some of Romania’s best-known publishing houses as well as a series of suppliers of books, games, music and other educational materials. Gaudeamus book fair also includes editorial events, book launches and autograph shows, which can be watched online at gaudeamus.ro.

     

    FIRES The Romanian firefighters who are helping in the efforts of putting out fires in Greece were given a new assignment on Saturday, namely to monitor two regions in Attica. According to a press release by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), 16 firefighters with four fire engines have been deployed to Agia Kiriaki, while another 15-strong rescue team is ready to intervene in Rafina. Both teams are accompanied by Greek liaison officers, and according to IGSU, are in stand-by, ready to intervene under the coordination of their Greek counterparts. The regions where the two Romanian teams have been deployed are known for being at higher risk of wildfires at this time of the year.

     

    MIDDLE EAST Talks regarding a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages held by the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip are to be resumed in Cairo next week around a fresh US proposal. The information is included in a joint statement issued in Doha by the USA, Qatar and Egypt, the main mediators between Israel and Hamas. Washington presented a roadmap, which includes several stages for the cessation of hostilities and the release of the hostages kidnapped during the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7th. Now the way is open to save lives, to help the population in Gaza and reduce regional tensions – the mediator countries say. In response Hamas rejected the new Israeli conditions – two Hamas representatives told France Press. According to them, the new conditions include the presence of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip along its border with Egypt. The war that followed the Hamas attack in October led to a disastrous situation for almost all the 2.4 million famished Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, the Israeli bombardments and onslaught have caused the death of roughly 40 thousand Palestinians, mostly civilians.

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  • August 13, 2024

    August 13, 2024

    Drought – The Agriculture Minister, Florin Barbu, requested the European Commission to grant urgent compensation to Romanian farmers, affected by the prolonged drought that Romania has been facing. According to him, over two million hectares of corn and sunflower crops have been compromised, the average loss being estimated at 200 – 230 Euros per hectare. He requested that the total budget of over 75 million Euros, intended for crops cultivated in the fall of 2023, be reimbursed to farmers through a single community legal act, which should include technical rules and sources of financing, both from the European Union, and additional national aids. The loss of income of agricultural producers endangers the viability of farms and Romania’s security interests, the minister Florin Barbu also said.

     

    Fires – On Tuesday Romania sent a second contingent of firefighters to support the efforts to fight the vegetation and forest fires affecting Greece’s Attica region. According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, 40 firefighters and two special extinguishing and rapid intervention vehicles were supplied to Greece by air and two other 3,000-liter forest fire extinguishing machines and 4 rescuers, by land. On Monday, the Inspectorate announced that a Romanian firefighter, who participated in putting out a fire in Greece, suffered superficial injuries to his face, but did not require specialized treatment. Emergency services in Greece are battling the biggest fire this year, with multiple outbreaks, spread over an area of ​​200 square kilometers of vegetation and forest northeast of Athens. Entire towns have been evacuated. Meteorologists have warned that almost half of the country will be under a code red alert for fire, due to high temperatures that will reach 40 degrees Celsius in many regions of the country, and to the strong winds. EU states, as well as Turkey and Serbia, sent firefighters, planes and intervention trucks to Greece, after the Greek government activated the European Mutual Civil Protection Mechanism.

     

    Mini-holiday – Romanians will have a new mini-holiday this week on the occasion of the Christian feast of the Dormition and the Day of the Romanian Navy, celebrated on August 15. The coast will be the favorite destination, the Black Sea resorts expecting one of the busiest weekends of this summer season, with an estimated number of over 140,000 tourists. According to statistics, the occupancy rate in the seaside hotels will be over 90%. 122 years after the first anniversary, the Romanian Naval Forces announce that the Day of the Romanian Navy will be celebrated in the Black Sea and the Danube cities as well as in Bucharest through various events that include demonstration exercises, technical and armament exhibitions, interactive workshops, cultural activities with maritime specificity as well as military music concerts.

     

    Tarom – The Romanian airline TAROM maintains the suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut until August 16, the national airline operator announced in a press release. The company suspended, as of August 6, flights to these destinations following the travel alerts issued by the authorities, the recent developments in the Middle East area and the deterioration of the security context in the region. “TAROM advises all passengers to follow the official communications for the latest updates and to contact the company to reschedule their trip to a later date. Passengers may also request a refund of the cost of the plane ticket”, the press release states.

     

    Baccalaureate – The autumn session of the Baccalaureate continues today and tomorrow with the assessment of language skills in an internationally spoken language. The written exams will start on August 19 with the Romanian language and literature. On August 20, the obligatory written test of the profile is scheduled, and on August 21, the optional written test of the profile and specialization. The first results will be published on August 26, and the final results will be issued on August 30. Almost 34,000 high school graduates registered for the autumn session of the Baccalaureate this year. In the summer session, the exam pass rate was a little over 78%.

     

    Barometer – Young people in Romania want to be supported in relation to the labor market, housing and access to education, as well as to guidance and career counseling, show the conclusions of an opinion barometer regarding the situation of youth and their expectations, carried out at the order of the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equality of Chance. Another conclusion is that, for young people, high incomes and job security are the most important aspects. Young people considered the quality of life problematic and in terms of mobility and emigration, the barometer shows that going abroad is still a desire for many young Romanians. (LS)

  • August 12, 2024 UPDATE

    August 12, 2024 UPDATE

    Inflation – The annual inflation rate in Romania rose in July, to 5.42%, from 4.94% in June, as the prices of foodstuffs went up by 1.71%, of non-foods by 6.92%, and of services by 8.52%, according to data published on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics. According to the source, the annual inflation rate in July 2024 compared to July 2023 calculated on the basis of the harmonized index of consumer prices was 5.8%. The National Bank of Romania (BNR) revised downwards the inflation forecast for the end of this year to 4.0%, from the previously estimated 4.9%, and anticipates that it will reach 3.4% at the end of 2025, according to the data presented on Friday by the central bank governor, Mugur Isărescu.

     

    Baccalaureate – In Romania, the autumn session of the Baccalaureate continues, with over 33,000 high school graduates having registered for the exams. Monday saw the assessment of language skills for the Romanian language, mother tongue and modern languages, as well as of digital skills. On Tuesday and Wednesday, language skills in an internationally spoken language will be assessed. The written exams will start next Monday, with the Romanian language and literature test. In the summer session, 78% of the candidates passed the Baccalaureate, and approximately 28,000 were rejected.

     

    Firefighters – The Romanian firefighters in Greece are participating in an action to extinguish a wildfire near the town of Varnava, located in the prefecture of Attica, about 40 km from Athens. According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in Bucharest, the mission is made difficult because of the rugged terrain, and the high temperatures and low humidity are helping the spread of the fire. According to the assessments of the Greek Civil Protection, the risk of fire remains very high in many areas of the country. There are several outbreaks near the capital, and some residents of the region have received evacuation orders. Tens of wildfires have broken out in Greece since Saturday, and firefighters are still struggling to put some of them out. Hundreds of wildfires have occurred this summer in Greece.

     

    Drought – Almost 600 localities have restrictions on drinking water supply due to the drought, shows a press release of the Romanian Waters National Administration. The most affected are four counties in the east of Romania. Also, several sectors of the Danube have entered the warning phase, and the filling coefficient in the 40 reservoirs is 78%, slightly down compared to last week. On the other hand, the fire that broke out on Friday in the “Iron Gates” Natural Park (south-west) has so far covered over 120 hectares and it seems that it is still expanding. Firefighters, gendarmes, representatives of the park and Romsilva are acting to stop the fire expansion. Their mission is very difficult because of the wind and the rugged terrain.

     

    Bonds – On Monday the Romanian Finance Ministry launched a new issue of treasury bills with one-year terms, and an interest rate of 5.8%, and treasury bonds with three-year terms, with an interest rate of 6.6%. The state securities can only be bought by natural persons until September 5, both online and at the Treasury offices or through the rural units of the Romanian Post. They are transferable and can be redeemed in advance, and the income obtained from investing in securities is non-taxable. The funds obtained by the Finance Ministry through this issue will be used to finance the budget deficit and refinance the public debt. (LS)

  • Interview with the Ambassador of Greece to Bucharest

    Interview with the Ambassador of Greece to Bucharest

    The Ambassador of Greece to Bucharest, H.E. Evangelia Grammatika, presented her credentials to the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on January 22, 2024.

     

    RRI’s Eugen Cojocariu has discussed with the Ambassador on various aspects of the relations between Greece and Romania, in an exclusive interview for Radio Romania International.

     

  • July 30, 2024 UPDATE

    July 30, 2024 UPDATE

    SENATE – The Romanian Senate was informed, on Monday, during an extraordinary session, about several normative acts adopted by the government that entered the parliamentary circuit. Among them, the draft law on the measures needed for the organization of this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections. The normative act aims to create a separate electoral infrastructure for the two types of elections, the method of appointing the members of the electoral offices, but also their payment at the level of allowances that the representatives of the electoral offices benefited from in the local elections of June 9. The deadline for tacit adoption expires at the end of September.

     

    FIREFIGHTERS – Requests made from abroad for Romanian firefighters are proof that the civil defense system is working, Romanian Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu said Tuesday. The statements were made on the occasion of the departure to Greece of a contingent of rescue firefighters from Romania. They have proven their ability to save lives, to protect communities, in the country and abroad, the official also said. The missions are carried out within the framework of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, with European funding, and the Romanian firefighters are requested for the 4th time in a row to send teams to Greece. This first contingent consisting of 40 firefighters have travelled to Greece, with 8 technical means. They will be replaced after a period of several weeks by two other series of firefighters. They will operate in the Athens area, to help the Greek authorities manage the situations caused by the fires.

     

     LEBANON –  Several countries, including Romania, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands, are urging their citizens to leave Lebanon urgently, due to growing concerns about a possible large-scale retaliation by Israel, after Saturday’s rocket attack that killed 12 young people on the Golan Heights, for which Hezbollah is blamed. At the same time, more and more airlines are suspending their flights on the Beirut route. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited, on Monday, the place where the rocket launched from Lebanon fell and stated that Israel’s response would be harsh. Hezbollah denies the accusation of having masterminded the attack. The White House has voiced confidence that a full-scale Israel-Hezbollah war could be avoided. In a conversation with the Israeli president, Itzhak Herzog, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of preventing an escalation. In turn, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, talked with Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, Hezbollah’s main ally, who warned that an attack on Lebanon would have serious consequences. The head of the Italian diplomacy has also spoken with his Israeli and Lebanese counterparts, and estimated that stopping violence is possible.

     

    PROGRAM – The Romanian Ministry of Economy announces the start of a new edition of the “Women Entrepreneur” program, intended to finance the activity of commercial companies in which a woman owns at least 50% of the shares. Registrations are open for a period of 45 days, but the term can be extended, depending on the availability of funds. For each approved file, funding can reach up to 40 thousand euros, the total budget being calculated for one thousand beneficiaries. The eligibility criteria refer to the length of time as a shareholder, the value of the contribution to the investment, or the profitability of the company in the last two years. The fields that are not eligible for this program are forestry and agriculture, but also the production of ammunition and armaments.

     

     AID –  500 tents and 2,000 blankets made available by the Romanian National Administration of State Reserves and Special Problems were offered free of charge to the Gaza Strip, the Department for Emergency Situations announced on Monday. The equipment was transported with the help of the European Commission, through the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. Romania has announced that, in this way, it continues to observe its international commitments, remaining a reliable partner to the states that face major emergency situations. We recall that on April 19, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu convened the National Committee for Emergency Situations, and a Decision was approved on granting free international assistance to the affected civilian population in Gaza.

     

     UKRAINE –  Washington has announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine, worth up to 200 million dollars. According to White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby, the package includes “key combat capabilities for Ukraine, including air defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems and artillery and anti-tank weapons”. The US Department of Defense also announces significant funding for the Security Assistance Initiative to support Ukraine’s long-term defense capability. Kyiv has been urging its allies for months to provide more air defense systems so that Ukraine can counter missile and drone attacks by Russian forces on its territory. The US has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022. (EE)

     

     

  • July 11, 2024

    July 11, 2024

    AGREEMENT Romania will today sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis announced in Washington on Wednesday night on the sidelines of the NATO summit marking 75 years since the alliance was founded. The Romanian official pleaded for stepped up assistance to Kyiv in the war against Russia. Five allied presidents and premiers, including Iohannis signed a joint statement on strengthening the air defence of that country. The participants in the present summit are expected to agree to step up support for other vulnerable partners affected by the war and by Russia’s aggressive behavior. One of these is the Republic of Moldova. New means of deterrence and defence for the allies, stepping up investment in the defensive sector, as well as intensified cooperation with partners from Asia-Pacific, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea are also high on the summit’s agenda.

     

    MATCH Romanian’s Cup holder, second leaguer Corvinul Hunedoara is today taking on the Hungarian side Paksi FC in an away game counting towards the first preliminary round of the Europa League. The decisive round has been scheduled in Romania on July 18th. Corvinul has come back to European Cups after 41 years. In UEFA Cup 1982-1983 they managed to defeat Grazer AK of Austria but were knocked out in the second round by FK Sarajevo of the former Yugoslavia. We recall that on Tuesday, Romania’s champions FCSB clinched a 7-1 away win against Virtus of San Marino in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. The return game is due in Bucharest next week.

     

    TALKS Romania’s constitutional court is today holding talks on a notification by the Higher Court of Cassation and Justice concerning the so-called ‘law of the fugitives’, which says that indicted people who refuse to show up at police stations within seven days will be considered fugitives and can serve up to 3 years in prison sentences. In the opinion of the High Court, the law would infringe upon the right to a fair trial and on individual liberties. The former leftist mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu, the former chief of Romania’s anti-mafia department DIICOT, Alina Bica, the son of the head of the Professional Football League, Mario Iorgulescu, or the grandson of Romania’s king, Carol ll are on the list of Romania’s most wanted fugitives. The fugitives’ countries of choice are Italy and Greece.

     

    FOOTBALL England’s national eleven has qualified for the finals of the European Football Championship EURO 2024 hosted by Germany after a 2-1 win against the Netherlands in the semis on Wednesday night. England will be up against Spain, which comes after a 2-1 win against the selection of France. We recall that Romania was knocked out in the last-16 by the Netherlands, which obtained a clear 3-0 win. Romania qualified for the last 16 after topping the group with a 3-0 win against Ukraine, a 2-0 defeat against Belgium and a one-all draw against Slovakia. Romania hadn’t made it to the eliminatory rounds of a continental or world tournament since the year 2000, neither had our footballers topped a group before EURO 2024.

     

    WEATHER And now a couple of things about the weather, which is extremely hot in Romania with a code orange alert that has been extended for the entire southern territory and whose inhabitants are bracing up for higher heat-stress indexes. The highs of the day are ranging between 36 and 39 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 34 degrees. The heat wave, which has recently hit Romania, is going to intensify in the following days. A red-code warning has been issued for half of the country starting Saturday, with temperatures between 37 and 41 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists have cautioned that although the alert expires on Monday, Romania will remain in the grip of extremely hot weather.

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  • Romania-Bulgaria-Greece trilateral

    Romania-Bulgaria-Greece trilateral

    Energy interconnection is the secret of better services and prices for our citizens, but it will also lead to the reconstruction of Ukraine – the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Tuesday in Varna, on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. He represented Romania at a meeting with counterparts from Bulgaria and Greece, which was also attended by representatives of the European Commission. The Romanian PM also wanted to emphasize that Romania was not currently importing gas, being energy independent, which is desirable, as soon as possible, for the whole of Europe.



    Marcel Ciolacu reviewed what was discussed at the trilateral meeting in Varna, in a press conference: “I would like to emphasize the need to build a new bridge on the Danube, between Giurgiu and Ruse, and also the need to increase the navigation capacity on the Danube, the Fast Danube project. In the case of both projects, together with Commissioner Vălean, we are trying, through the funds available to the European Council, to speed them up and meet the necessary deadlines. Also in the context of interconnectivity, we have also shown the challenges we face on the energy market, with a particular focus on supply security.



    Besides the importance of the start of negotiations for EU accession with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, the three Romanian, Bulgarian and Greek prime ministers also tackled the objective of solving the case of Romanias and Bulgarias accession to the Schengen Area. Romania complies with the accession criteria and wants that, in the next period, applied talks should take place with the two states – Austria and the Netherlands – which are still opposed to this approach – said Marcel Ciolacu.



    The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, welcomed the European initiative of the railway corridor from the Baltic and Black Seas to the Aegean Sea. And the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Nikolai Denkov, stated that Romania, Bulgaria and Greece want to join efforts to reach the level of development of rich European countries and be an example for the neighboring countries. The three officials also signed an agreement to increase trilateral cooperation in South-Eastern Europe.



    The document is meant to improve energy, digital and transport connectivity between Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, with a possible extension to the Republic of Moldova. The trilateral in Varna was the second in this format, after a previous first meeting in Athens, and the Prime Minister Ciolacu expressed hope that the next meeting will take place in Romania. (LS)

  • The Summit of the Three Seas Initiative

    The Summit of the Three Seas Initiative

    Romania reached its targets at the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, said, Wednesday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis, who was the host, in Bucharest, of the leaders of the European Union countries located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas. During the meeting, two permanent objectives of the Initiative were reconfirmed: reducing the development gaps between the region of the three seas and the rest of the Union, as well as increasing the regional contribution of the Initiative to the process of strengthening transatlantic ties. The talks in Bucharest mainly focused on three key fields of cooperation: transport, energy and digitization.



    Also in Bucharest, Greece became the 13th member country of the Three Seas Initiative, while Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova received the status of associated states. In a joint final statement, the leaders participating in the summit reiterated their unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, again condemning Russia’s aggression. They have pledged to play a key role in the reconstruction of Ukraine, taking due account of all the efforts made at the international and European Union levels.



    The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a video speech at the opening of the Three Seas Initiative summit, said he was strongly opposed to any further restrictions on Ukrainian grain exports, because his country still needs funds, in the context in which they have to survive after the multiple Russian attacks. From this perspective, at the meeting in Bucharest, the issue of creating new transport routes for grain from Ukraine was also addressed.



    After the summit, the 5th edition of the Business Forum of the Three Seas Initiative has been scheduled for Thursday. An opportunity for the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to have several meetings with delegations of important American companies on the sidelines of the Forum. Besides the digitization of the administrative system, the discussions focused on the development of research and innovation projects in such fields as artificial intelligence and cyber security. Also in Bucharest, the US special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry, recalled that Romania is among the first countries in the world and the first in Europe to introduce the innovative technology of small modular reactors. The American official warned that the goal of zero emissions by 2050 cannot be achieved without nuclear energy, and the technology of these reactors can contribute to accelerating the achievement of environmental targets. (LS)

  • August 30, 2023

    August 30, 2023

    Crevedia – 17 of the almost 60 people injured in Saturdays explosion, from Crevedia, in southern Romania, have been discharged from hospital, and the condition of a few others has improved – according to the latest information provided by the Health Ministry. However, 9 of the injured are in a serious condition. Six are being treated in hospitals abroad, and three in Romania. No other deaths were reported besides the two reported immediately after the LPG station blast. Meanwhile the authorities continue the damage assessment. Data so far shows that, following the explosions followed by a fire, 11 houses were affected, 8 of which were completely destroyed. Intervention teams are present at the scene of the disaster, and the firefighters continue to cool some LPG tanks left in the area. The security perimeter was also extended, because two of the tanks have gas leaks. Meanwhile, prosecutors are collecting documents for several open criminal cases.



    Diplomacy – The Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy continues today in Bucharest, with thematic plenary sessions, attended by guests from the government apparatus. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the themes to be addressed are: the contribution of Romanian diplomacy to the consolidation of the European project, economic development strategies, climate change, green and digital transition, the organization, abroad, of the three rounds of elections in 2024, with an emphasis on the smooth running of elections in the diaspora, the role of the Romanian missions in promoting cultural diplomacy and scientific cooperation. The theme of this years event is A firm foreign policy of Romania: managing challenges and maximizing opportunities. The Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy is traditionally organized every year, close to the Romanian Diplomacy Day, which, starting from 2005, is marked on September 1.



    Fires – Greece is on the 12th day of fighting the fire that broke out in the Dadia National Park, in the northeast of the country, a fire described by the European Union as the worst ever recorded in the community space. The fire is devastating the forest in this park included in the European Natura 2000 network, which shelters numerous birds of prey. 20 people have died so far, and more than 80 hectares of land have burned, France Press new agency writes. A spokesman for the European Commission underlined that 11 planes and a helicopter from the European fleet were mobilized, as well as over 400 firefighters. Romania sent a new 56-strong fire-fighting contingent. They will replace those who intervened in the area in the last nine days. We remind you that Greece has faced numerous wildfires this summer, which the government in Athens attributes to climate change.



    Symposium – On September 22, the 21st edition of the “George Enescu” International Musicology Symposium will take place in Bucharest, as part of the “George Enescu” International Festival and Competition, the organizers have announced today. Founded by the Union of Composers and Musicologists from Romania in 1967, the scientific symposium offers, this year, the opportunity to present valuable studies dedicated to Enescu’s creation as part of two sections. We remind you that the 26th edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival takes place, in Romania, between August 27 and September 24. One of the most important international classical music events worldwide, organized in Bucharest since 1958, the festival’s 2023 edition brings to the public over 3,500 of the worlds most famous artists and over 40 orchestras from 16 countries in 90 concerts.



    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Patricia Ţig has qualified for the second round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the Canadian Rebecca Marino 7-6, 7-6, on Tuesday, at the Flushing Meadows arenas in New York. In the second round, Patricia Ţig will be up against the American Jessica Pegula, world’s number three player. Instead, the Romanians Ana Bogdan and Gabriela Ruse lost in the first round at the US Open. Ana Bogdan was defeated by the American Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-4, and Gabriela Ruse, coming from the qualifications, was defeated by Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-4. Out of the five Romanian players on the main singles draw – Sorana Cîrstea, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan, Patricia Ţig and Gabriela Ruse – only Cîrstea and Ţig won in the first round. Sorana Cîrstea, who defeated the American Kayla Day 6-2, 6-3, will face the Russian Ana Kalinskaia in the second round. (LS)

  • Romanian firefighters abroad

    Romanian firefighters abroad


    This summer, Romania has been faced with successive waves of excessive heat, but not with wildfires, although the risk of their occurrence existed. Under these circumstances, the Romanian firefighters were on duty in European Union states seriously affected by fires, following the request of these countries for international assistance. Greece is one of the states that asked for support in fighting the fire. The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) in Bucharest informed that the Romanian firefighters successfully completed, on Tuesday, the mission extinguishing the fire in Alexandroupolis and were sent to the Dadia area for another intervention. There, they are acting to extinguish a fire on a front of more than 3 km, the General Inspectorate announced. 52 Romanian rescuers were involved in locating and extinguishing the fire that occurred near a hospital in Alexandroupolis. All in all, 56 firefighters, with ten firefighting trucks, a first response and command vehicle and a bus left for Greece on Monday following the request for international assistance, in the context of the existing forest fires in this country.



    The intention to provide support was announced on August 20 to the Emergency Response Coordination Center of the European Commission by Romanias Department for Emergency Situations through the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, in its capacity as national contact point. The Romanian firefighters are not on their first mission in Greece this summer. In the second part of July and the beginning of August, dozens of firefighters from Bucharest acted to extinguish the fires affecting mainland Greece and some islands. The Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu praised the rescuers for their selflessness, courage and effort. Romania and Europe are in solidarity with the Greek people, who are in need of support, and we hope that, together, we can bring things back to normal as soon as possible, the Romanian PM said at that time.



    On the other hand, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations announced that Romanian firefighters in the French island of Corsica were involved in extinguishing a forest fire that broke out near the town of Corte. It was the first mission of the Romanian firefighters in Corsica. In their mission, the Romanian firefighters intervened alongside the military and civilian fire-fighting crews of the host country. In order to carry out aerial reconnaissance missions and efficiently cover the entire affected area, 2 helicopters and 2 firefighting planes were assigned to the intervention. The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations reminds that, on August 15, Romania sent to the island of Corsica a specialized module to extinguish forest fires, made up of 20 soldiers. (LS)