Radio România Internațional

Tag: growth

  • Economic growth in Romania

    Economic growth in Romania

    Romania
    reports the highest economic growth rate in the European Union compared to the
    previous quarter, on the same level with Cyprus, while other member states have
    seen growth rates below 1% or even negative rates.


    The
    first estimates made public by the National Statistics Institute indicate that
    in the 3rd quarter of the year, the Gross Domestic Product went up 1.3%
    compared to the previous quarter and by 4.7% compared to Q3 2021. The data, the
    institution explains, was adjusted by seasonality and number of working days.


    For
    the first 9 months of the year, the economic growth was estimated at 4.3% compared
    to the corresponding period of last year.


    With
    the new data included in the quarterly reports, the Statistics Institute has
    revised downwards both the growth rate for the first quarter of this year, from
    6.4 to 4.4%, and the rate for the second quarter, from 5 to 3.9%, compared to
    the corresponding previous quarters.


    The
    economic analyst Constantin Rudniţchi believes that, while Romania’s economy
    has a strong seasonal factor to take into account, such substantial corrections
    are not desirable, because they may have a negative impact on companies’
    business plans.


    Constantin
    Rudniţchi: An investor interested in opening a business in Romania may take
    this decision based on this 6.4% economic growth rate, because obviously such a
    rate, quite exceptional under the current circumstances, makes a market
    attractive to investors. But if the growth rate is smaller, only 4%, of course
    they will think twice. So these figures may influence an investment decision.


    Economic
    growth figures also influence all the decisions concerning pensions and wages, and
    if statistics change so much, it means those decisions were mistaken, which is
    by no means a good thing for the economy, Constantin Rudniţchi also says.


    An
    incurable optimist, the PM Nicolae Ciucă promises Romania does not risk a
    recession:


    Nicolae
    Ciucă: We have taken measures to strengthen the economy, to keep it in balance
    so as not to go into recession. The data we have available at this point
    clearly indicates that by the end of the year Romania may well have a roughly
    5% economic growth rate, and for next year we expect an economic growth rate of
    around 1.5%.


    Nonetheless,
    forecasts coming from major international financial institutions are rather
    gloomy and point to a slowdown of the global economy. And a perfect storm, i.e.
    a mixture of elements such as the war in Ukraine, the rise in energy prices and
    the inflation pressure, may hit hard some national economies. (AMP)

  • Quarterly inflation report

    Quarterly inflation report

    In May this year the National Bank of Romania forecast
    a 12.5% inflation rate for the end of this year and 6.7% for the end of next
    year. Three months later, estimates were pointing to higher figures, i.e. 13.9%
    for 2022 and 7.5% for end 2023.


    These days, the central bank came up with new figures,
    and adjusted its inflation forecast to 16.3% for this year and 11.2% for next
    year, with the rate expected to go down to around 4% in September 2024.


    Price increases have slowed down in the last few
    months, central bank experts say, but significant differences compared to last
    year will remain. According to the National Bank’s quarterly inflation report,
    made public on Monday, a decrease in inflation will depend on a number of variables,
    particularly the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the developments
    related to raw materials, energy and food prices.


    Governor Mugur Isărescu: As far as the war in Ukraine
    is concerned, our position is, so to say, slightly positive, although not fully
    optimistic. The effects of the war will be gradually mitigated, we do not
    expect major declines. As for raw materials, data indicate prices are beginning
    to settle. Bottlenecks in global value-added chains are likely to dwindle,
    there are no indications of a resurgence of COVID infections, and the
    macroeconomic policy mix is positive. So far we’ve worked well with the
    government and the normalisation of the monetary policy continues.


    Mugur Isărescu also said that key interest rate
    increases in Romania have been comparable to the measures taken by other
    central banks in the region. Interest rates are not very high in Romania
    compared to other countries, and the national currency is one of the most
    stable in the region, the governor explained, and added that, had the currency
    depreciation put further pressure on the inflation, the situation would have
    been a lot more difficult, as we see in Hungary, for example.


    In Romania, interest rates have been raised gradually,
    and the central bank sought to allow time for those who had taken out loans in
    the national currency to get used to the new levels and with the fact that the
    age of negative or very small interest rates is over, Mugur Isărescu
    pointed out. The central bank official also voiced confidence that next year Romania’s
    economy will only see slower growth, rather than technical recession, i.e. two
    consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, but that this mainly depends on
    the government’s ability to attract EU funding. (AMP)

  • Prices surge in Romania

    Prices surge in Romania


    For several months now, prices have been on an upward trend in Romania, worsening living standards especially for low-income citizens, who struggle to cope with the surges.



    On the other hand, according to data made public by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat), Romania is one of the countries with the highest increases in agricultural yield, 25%, alongside Bulgaria and Czechia. The EUs agricultural yield went up 8% in 2021 compared to the previous year. According to Eurostat, Romania is one of the 7 member states with substantial contributions to the blocs agricultural yield.



    And still, foodstuff prices have grown significantly this past year. Of these, sugar is one of the products with the highest price increase (62%). According to the National Statistics Institute (INS), sunflower oil prices also rose by nearly 44%, and potatoes are now sold for over 40% more.



    In the non-foods category, the highest rises are reported for natural gas (40%), electricity (27%), heating (23%) and fuel (20%). Telecoms services are 0.76% less expensive, which is the only price decrease reported in October this year since October 2021.



    Meanwhile, INS data indicate that the annual inflation rate was slightly lower in October than in the previous month, reaching 15.32%. The National Bank of Romania expects inflation to go up moderately towards the end of the year, and then to gradually go down to one-figure levels in the first half of 2024.



    The central bank says the prospective reversal of the annual inflation trend after the plateau in the last quarter of 2022 relies on a dampening of global shocks in terms of supply, including the implementation of energy price-capping mechanisms until August 2023. According to the National Bank, the escalation of the war in Ukraine and the ever stricter sanctions against Russia nonetheless generate uncertainties and significant risks to economic operations, and implicitly to the medium-term inflation trends.



    The European Commission also expects Romania to reach an inflation peak at the end of this year, followed by a decrease below 10% in 2024. It is one of the reasons why, the Commission says, the countrys economic growth rate will slow down to 1.8% next year and to 2.2% in 2 years time.



    In the second quarter of 2022 and subsequently, the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the high inflation rate, the tightened monetary policy and close control on cash flows is expected to have significantly slowed down the countrys economic growth. Nonetheless, the European Commission has upgraded its economic growth estimates, from 3.9% this summer to 5.8% in its autumn forecast made public last week. (AMP)


  • September 28, 2022

    September 28, 2022

    ECONOMY The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has
    upgraded its estimates on Romania’s economic performance in 2022 and 2023, but warns that a significant slow-down is expected next year,
    according to a report made public on Wednesday. According to the new forecasts,
    Romania’s economy is expected to grow by 5.4% this year and 1.9% next year, a
    significant improvement from the 2.9% for 2022 and negative 1.1% for 2023,
    estimated in May. EBRD is a major institutional investor in Romania, running
    nearly 500 projects with a combined budget of close to EUR 10 billion.


    TRADE Trade
    exchanges between Romania and the US reached USD 5.4 billion last year, as
    against USD 2.4 billion in 2011, according to a report released by the American
    Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania, AmCham, as part of the U.S. -
    Romania Economic Forum on Wednesday. Direct and indirect US investment in
    Romania went up from USD 6.5 billion in 2019, to USD 7.5 billion in 2020. The
    US is Romania’s 5th-largest trade partner, accounting for 6.8% of the country’s
    international trade, and the largest outside the EU. The biggest US investments
    in Romania by turnover are in manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare. As
    many as 900 companies in Romania are running on US capital, ranking 3rd after
    Hungary and the Czech Republic.


    PLAGIARISM The University of
    Bucharest says the plagiarism accusations against the education minister Sorin
    Cîmpeanu must be analysed thoroughly, outside any type of pressure, by the
    relevant bodies in the university in question and other public institutions. The
    University condemns any measure that breaches academic ethics and integrity. In
    turn, the National School of Political and Administrative Studies condemns all
    forms of plagiarism and highlights that the education minister’s decision to
    dismantle the National Council Attesting
    University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates is not constructive and does not
    contribute to a true reform of the education sector. On the other hand, USR and Force of the Right MPs, in
    opposition in Romania, have tabled a simple motion entitled Romania
    educated to steal. Sorin Cîmpeanu is a disgrace for education. Plagiarism
    allegations against the education minister have been circulated in the media. Cîmpeanu
    denied the allegations and argued that they are a move to undermine the
    education laws.


    JUDICIARY A special parliamentary committee on the justice laws today
    carries on talks on the draft statute regulating the judge and prosecutor
    professions. On Tuesday, the committee accepted some amendments brought by the
    National Liberal Party (in power) and the Higher Council of Magistrates, but
    dismissed all the amendments tabled by the opposition. USR and AUR parties
    requested changes in judge and prosecutor secondment and delegation procedures,
    and in the procedures for dismissing magistrates. The bill is next to be
    reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies. This is the 3rd act in the
    justice law package to be discussed by the committee, after the ones concerning
    the Higher Council of Magistrates and the organisation of courts, which have
    already been endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is the
    decision-making parliamentary body in this respect.


    UKRAINE Ukraine’s foreign ministry Wednesday called for a substantial
    increase of Western military support, one day after the so-called referendums
    regarding the annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions by Russia. The ballots have
    been criticised by a large part of the international community, France Presse
    reports. Kyiv also urged all countries and international organisations to
    condemn Kremlin’s illegal actions in the territories occupied in Ukraine. The
    pro-Russian authorities in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk,
    Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Tuesday announced the votes were in favour of the
    annexation by Russia. In the next stage, Russia’s parliament is to vote on a
    document making the integration of the 4 regions in the Russian Federation
    official. The EU announced it would
    never recognise the results of the referendums. (A.M.P.)

  • Romania reports surprising economic growth

    Romania reports surprising economic growth

    Romanias economy grew by 5.8% in the first semester of this year, compared to the same period of 2021, the National Institute of Statistics announced, thus taking experts by surprise. At the same time, in the second quarter, the Gross Domestic Product recorded an appreciation of 2.1% compared to the previous quarter. Finally, compared to the same quarter of 2021, the GDP increased in the same period of 2022 by 5.3%. The good news was also confirmed in Brussels: Romania recorded, among the EU member states for which data are available, the second most significant economic growth in the second quarter of 2022, as compared to the previous three months, of 2.1 %.



    Only the Netherlands, whose growth was in the same range, had a bigger growth rate of 2.6%. Economic growth was also registered in Sweden, Spain, Hungary and Bulgaria, while decreases in the economic growth rates were recorded in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Portugal. As compared to the second quarter of last year, the GDP increased by 3.9% in the euro zone and by 4% in the European Union between April and June 2022, with all EU member states for which data are available reporting increases. Eurostat confirms, in the case of Romania, the annual growth rate of 5.3% in the second quarter of 2022, after an annual growth of 6.4% in the first three months.



    The economy grew steadily in the second quarter, despite pessimistic expectations, Ziarul Financiar reports, noting, however, that, lately, economists have shown that they like being taken by surprise. Institutions that conduct economic analyzes have increased the growth forecasts for the Romanian economy in recent months. For instance, the European Commission, in the summer forecast, had increased the estimate for the entire year 2022 from 2.6 to 3.9 %, thanks to the solid growth in the first quarter, the previously quoted publication writes. The biggest surprise is the 2.1% growth in the second quarter, according to analysts. “With everything that is happening around us, it is an exceptional result”, economist Aurelian Dochia told Ziarul Financiar.



    “It is a very big surprise for us too, but the surprise is even bigger for the market”, says Ionuţ Dumitru, the chief economist of an important private bank. Industry, which accounts for 20 % of GDP, is reporting loss in mid 2022, the constructions sector is barely moving, agriculture, due to the drought, will have a negative contribution to the GDP, and household consumption has increased by a little over 3%. So, what is the explanation for growth? Ziarul Financiar asks. Economist Laurian Lungu believes that the main effect comes from the price index and, partially, from investments. The important thing is what will happen in the second part of the year, Laurian Lungu thinks. He estimates that the economy has not entered a period of contraction, though, even if people received employment contracts, wage increases are below the level of inflation, which has reached almost 15%, and will affect consumption. (LS)

  • July 14, 2022 UPDATE

    July 14, 2022 UPDATE

    PARADE The National Day parade in France was marked this year by the
    war in Ukraine. Troops from 9 countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including 12
    from Romania, paraded jointly with French military as a token of the unity of
    NATO Allies and of solidarity with Ukraine, Radio Romania’s correspondent in
    Paris reports. According to her, this year’s celebrations unfolded under the
    motto ‘Partager la flame’ (Divide the Flame), with a dual meaning: to pay
    homage to Hubert Germain, the last member of the French resistance against the
    Nazi occupation, who died this year, and to hail the Olympic flame ahead the
    Olympic Games Paris is due to stage in 2024. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis Thursday
    sent president Macron a letter of congratulations and wishes of prosperity for
    the French people. Iohannis highlighted the solidity and consistency of the
    Strategic Partnership between Romania and France, built on common values and
    excellent cooperation both at bilateral level and within the EU and other
    international bodies. Bucharest celebrated France’s national day with a
    reception at the French Embassy, attended by Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae
    Ciuca and by senior French officials.


    ECONOMY Thanks to a
    surprising 5.2% growth rate in Q1, the European Commission decided to update
    its estimates on Romania’s economic growth this year, from 2.6% forecast in
    March to 3.9% in its summer economic forecast made public on Thursday. The Commission
    also operated a downward adjustment of its forecast for 2023, from 3.6% to 2.9%,
    given that the growth trend is expected to slow down both globally and at EU
    level. Private consumption and investments are expected to be the main growth
    engines both this year and the next, whereas net exports will lead to a deeper
    trade deficit, the Commission says.


    VISIT Germany’s
    foreign minister Annalena Baerbock will be on an official visit to Bucharest
    and Constanţa on Friday, the German embassy in Bucharest announced. Annalena
    Baerbock will co-chair the second ministerial conference of the Support
    Platform for the Republic of Moldova together with her Romanian counterpart,
    Bogdan Aurescu and the French state secretary for development, Francophonie, and international partnerships Chrysoula
    Zacharopoulou. Also on Friday Annalena Baerbock will have meetings with PM Nicolae
    Ciucă and foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, focusing on bilateral and European
    policy topics. In the Black Sea port of Constanţa the German official will
    discuss with local officials and representatives of German companies about
    Ukraine’s grain exports via Constanţa.

    CENSUS The deadline for finalising the national population
    and housing census has been extended by a week, from July 17 to 24, as the
    current completion rate is below 90%. The organisers are hoping to bring the
    rate up to 100% using fixed census locations and door-to-door operators. For the
    first time in Romania, a first stage of the national census was conducted
    online, with 11 million respondents registered, which is little under half of
    the estimated resident population of Romania.


    DRILL Over July 14 and 25 three Romanian warships take part in the
    international exercise ‘Breeze 22’ staged and coordinated by the Bulgarian Navy
    in the country’s territorial and the international waters of the Black Sea and
    the Bulgarian port of Burgas. This year’s edition of the exercise has brought
    together navy and air forces from Albania, Belgium, France, Georgia, Italy,
    Latvia, Poland, Turkey and the USA. The drill is aimed at strengthening
    tactical interoperability between the navy personnel and participating units
    and at practicing conventional and non-conventional war procedures.


    UKRAINE Addressing an international conference on the war crimes in
    Ukraine held in The Hague, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
    Thursday requested the creation of a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s
    invasion of Ukraine. The country’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba also asked
    for a special court trying the crime of aggression, defined as an attack by one
    state against another. All we want is for the crime of aggression to not go
    unpunished, Dmytro Kuleba said during the same conference. Political,
    diplomatic and judicial leaders from around the world convened on Thursday for
    a conference on the crimes committed in Ukraine since February 24. The European
    Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders mentioned that 20,000 investigations
    concerning war crimes in Ukraine have been opened. Around 14 European countries
    are investigating these crimes, and a European Joint Investigation Team has
    been set up, he added. Russia denies the abuses of which its troops are being
    accused, which include shelling civilians, executions, and rapes, and in
    exchange accuses Ukraine of crime wars. Meanwhile, scores of civilians were
    killed or wounded on Thursday in a Russian missile attack on the town of Vinnytsia,
    in central Ukraine. (AMP)

  • The war in Ukraine and its most serious economic consequences at world level

    The war in Ukraine and its most serious economic consequences at world level


    The war in Ukraine this year will have its negative influence on economic growth worldwide, but also on inflation, with the process being extended next year as well, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has warned. In its most recent report on world economic prospects, the organisation did not rule out an aggravation of the situation, or the occurrence of other shocks capable of creating even more confusion as far as the present economic order is concerned.



    OECD, which brings together 38 developed countries whose economy is expanding, worldwide, postponed its annual economic forecast report, usually published in March, because of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine which began on February 24, the reason behind the postponement being the uncertainty as regards the conflict’s evolution and economic aftermath.



    OECD has predicted a 3 % economic growth at world level, as against the previous forecast, standing at 4.5 %. Next year, the economic growth is set to become even slower, standing at 2.8 % as compared to the initial 3.2 % forecast. Concurrently, inflation will definitely take its toll on economies and on the population’s purchase power, because worldwide, inflation is expected to stand at 8.5%, twice as much as compared to previous predictions. We’re witnessing the humanitarian crisis unfolding, a crisis leaving behind thousands of dead people, forcing millions of refugees to leave their homes and posing a serious threat to the economic recovery we have all been expecting after two years of pandemic, the report also shows. Russia and Ukraine’s major influence on world economy is provided by the two countries’ role as a supplier of raw material for several markets. All told, the two countries supply almost 30% of the export of wheat at world level, 15% of corn, 20% of fertilizers, minerals and natural gas, 11% of the export of oil. Then the supply chains at world level hugely depend on the Russian and Ukrainian export of rare metals and gas. The prices of all those raw materials have gone up after the war begun, all that with serious consequences on the economies of many countries. The sheer blocking of wheat exports could have as its aftermath a serious food crisis capable of causing real humanitarian catastrophes in some of the developing countries. Furthermore, the crisis of farm cultivations fertilizers will cause a poor farm yield, which will enhance the food crisis.



    Hugely dependent on massive energy imports from Russia, the European Union will be the most affected by the consequences of the conflict at its borders. According to the OECD report, the Euro zone will have a 2.6 % growth this year, and of 1.6 % in 2023, as previously the OECD forecast pointed to a more than double economic growth.



    A sudden prospective blocking of Russian gas deliveries to Europe, a constant growth of energy prices or the disturbance of supply chains could have devastating effects on European economies. The inflation skyrocketing could cause a sudden increase in interest rates to the central banks, posing an even more serious threat to the already feeble economic recovery, the report also shows.


    (EN)





  • Between stagflation and economic growth

    Between stagflation and economic growth

    Romania’s economic status is growing ever more disquieting,
    amid pessimistic forecasts by the central bank and the European Commission’s
    economic report, which estimates that central and eastern European countries
    will have higher inflation rates this year than the rest of the EU. According to
    Brussels, after a strong, 5.9% growth rate in 2021, Romania’s economy is likely
    to slow down to 2.6% this year, as inflation erodes people’s incomes and Russia’s
    aggression in Ukraine affects economies, supply chains and investments.


    For next year, the European Commission expects economic
    growth to pick up slightly, to 3.6%, following a possible drop in inflation. Unemployment
    is predicted to stay at around 5.5 %, with prices likely to reach a peak this
    year and gradually go down in 2023. Meanwhile, the public deficit will reach 7.5%
    of GDP this year, possibly dropping to 6.3 % in 2023.


    According to EU officials, this year’s inflation will
    get to a record-high 8.9% in Romania, almost double the 4.1% rate in 2021, and
    will slow down to 5.1% in 2023.


    In turn, the National Bank confirms the rise in
    inflation and does not expect it to go below 10% until the second half of next
    year. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Institute confirms that in the first
    quarter of this year the economic growth rate stood at over 5% compared to the
    previous quarter and 6.5% compared to the first quarter of last year. Nonetheless,
    the central bank adviser Lucian Croitoru believes that in the forthcoming
    period Romania might be facing stagflation. This is more dangerous than extended
    inflation, in that it also involves stagnant economic output.


    Lucian Croitoru: The first half of the word comes from stagnation.
    Which is not necessarily the same as recession, it might only be a slow, 1.5-2.5%
    growth, which is not something we are used to in Romania. So I think this is
    very possible. On the one hand, short-term inflation encourages production, even
    stimulates a rise in budget revenues, but mind you, this is fuelled by
    inflation and is not going to last. On the other hand, the war may entail lots
    of challenges, it is unpredictable, we have no forecasts on how a conflict like
    this may end, with so many factors involved. But, as Hemingway put it, inflation
    and war are always solutions to policies lacking principles.


    If the Romanian economy
    enters the predicted stagflation period, prices and unemployment will rise,
    expenditure will be low, life will be ever more expensive and economic
    difficulties will deepen. (AMP)

  • April 27, 2022

    April 27, 2022

    REFUGEES Romania firmly condemns the blatant violation by Russia of
    Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as its international
    obligations pursuant to international laws, Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae
    Ciuca said during the talks he had with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal
    in Kyiv on Tuesday. Ciuca has today announced that Romania is considering the
    possibility of opening new border checkpoints at the border with Ukraine. The
    number of Ukrainian refugees who came to Romania on Tuesday rose by 50% as
    compared to the previous day – says the General Border Police Inspectorate.
    3,655 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania at the country’s border with Ukraine
    and 1,372 at the border with the Republic of Moldova. Since the onset of the
    Russian invasion, on February 24th, until Tuesday 792,715 Ukrainian
    nationals have entered Romania.








    HOLOCAUST Six
    torches are to be lit tonight at the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Day
    ceremony. Six million Jews were killed in Europe during the Holocaust, the most
    shameful page in the history of mankind, says Radio Romania correspondent in
    Israel. President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett are going to
    deliver speeches to the memory of the victims and the torches, a symbol for the
    six million Jews who died in Nazi concentration camps are to be lit by Holocaust
    survivors from Hungary, Lithuania, Austria, the Netherlands and Poland. Barbel
    Bas, president of the German Bundestag, is this morning visiting the World
    Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem in Jerusalem accompanied by the speaker
    of the Israeli Knesset, Mickey Levy.








    PLAN Romania has
    accomplished all the objectives in the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience
    (PNRR) it assumed jointly with the European Commission, the Romanian Minister
    of the Economy Florin Spataru says adding that when it comes to the reforms chapter,
    certain aspects must be reanalyzed in the following period and that will
    contribute together with investment to a major jump of the Romanian economy,
    which has the ability to see a fourfold economic growth by 2030. This growth
    will become possible if the principles included in the resilience plan are
    observed and funds intelligently used. According to the minister, money isn’t
    the only opportunity offered by the PNRR, but also the principles of economic
    and administrative reforms and all these converge towards a re-industrialized Romania,
    according to the principles of green economy and through digitization.








    SUPPORT Defence Minister Vasile Dincu has
    reiterated Romania’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
    Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. The Romanian official
    spoke within the Ukraine Defence Consultative Group hosted on Tuesday by the US
    air base in Ramstein, Germany. Dincu had a brief meeting with his Ukrainian
    counterpart Oleksii Reznikov whom he assured of our country’s full support for
    Ukraine and the readiness of keeping a constant and open dialogue whenever necessary.
    In Ramstein, the USA and their allies have pledged to support Ukraine by
    providing heavy artillery equipment. The event was held at the initiative of US
    Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and involved the participation of scores of
    defence ministers and chiefs of staff.






    COURT Legal Committees in
    the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest are today interviewing the
    candidates proposed by parties for the new judges of the country’s
    Constitutional Court. MPs will be voting the new candidates next week as the mandates
    of three of its judges are due to end in June this year. They are Valer
    Dorneanu, proposed by the Chamber of Deputies, Mona Pivniceru, proposed by the
    Senate and Daniel Morar proposed by the country’s president. Made up of nine
    judges appointed for a nine-year mandate, which cannot be extended or renewed,
    a third of the judges of the Constitutional Court is being renewed every three
    years. In another development, upon the request of the USR Parliamentary group,
    Finance Minister Adrian Caciu is today participating in a fresh session of political
    debates during the so-called ‘The Government Hour’. High on the agenda is the
    diminished purchasing power of the Romanians, public finances and Romania’s
    macro-economic balances.




    (bill)

  • April 8, 2022

    April 8, 2022

    MINISTER Romania’s former Minister of Tourism Elena Udrea will
    today be taken to a court in Bulgaria as part of the procedures to extradite
    her to Romania. She was apprehended on Thursday night close to the border with
    Greece, after the authorities in Bucharest had put out an APB on her. Elena
    Udrea had left the country on Thursday morning right before getting the court’s
    six-year prison sentence for bribery and abuse in office in the Bute Boxing
    Gala case. Border police said the former minister legally left the country as
    no interiction had been issued before her departure. We’ll revert to the topic
    after the news.






    UKRAINE The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the head
    of the EU diplomacy Josep Borell are today travelling to Kyiv for talks with
    Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. On Thursday the UN General Assembly
    voted for suspending Russia from the UN Council of Human Rights for severe and
    repeated human rights violations. 93 countries have voted in favour of the
    resolution proposed by the USA, 24 countries were against it and 58 abstained.
    The decision has been made after the discovery of hundreds of dead, many with
    torture marks, and summary executions in the regions recaptured by the
    Ukrainian troops. Russia denies that its troops have killed civilians. The
    Kremlin says the decision to suspend Russia from the aforementioned UN council
    is illegal and politically-motivated. Russia steps up its attacks in Ukraine’s
    southern and eastern regions while Ukrainians are trying to evacuate the
    citizens in the regions affected by the war. Two Russian missiles have hit a railway
    station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk killing 30 people and wounding
    another 100, the Ukraine’s railway company has today announced. The station was
    used in the evacuation of refugees from the areas bombed by the Russian troops.
    In another development, the mayor of Mariupol says that over 100 thousand
    people must be urgently evacuated from the city. On Thursday, the World Health
    Organisation confirmed over 100 attacks against health services in Ukraine and
    called for the access of humanitarian convoys to this city currently besieged
    by the Russian troops.






    DECISION In its session today, the second this week, the government in Bucharest
    is deciding ways in which the Romanian citizens who are hosting Ukrainian
    refugees may benefit from discounts. The hosts must fill in an application with
    the local public authorities specifying the number of people they host, their
    surnames and Christian names, and the period of time they offer accommodation
    to the refugees. The Romanians who are hosting Ukrainian refugees can get up to
    14 Euros per person per day. Since Russia started its invasion of Ukraine, 650
    thousand Ukrainian nationals have entered Romania.






    GROWTH Romania last year registered a 5.9% economic growth as compared to 2020
    – according to the latest provisional figures published by the National
    Institute for Statistics INS. Data reveals a smaller contribution of investment
    to economic growth last year, from 0.9% to 0.6 %. The INS data has also
    revealed a 0.1% drop in the last quarter of 2021 as compared to the previous
    one.






    COVID-19 Over 17 hundred new Covid-19 infections have been reported in
    Romania today, a lower number than the previous day. Authorities have also
    announced 9-related fatalities and over 21 hundred people are presently in
    hospital care. 227 of them are being treated in ICU’s. At the same time the
    number of flu infections is on the rise, doctors say and some of the cases
    needed hospital treatment.




    (bill)

  • Economic growth estimates for 2022 go down

    Economic growth estimates for 2022 go down

    The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis in
    Bucharest has revised down its economic growth forecast for this year to only
    4.3%, 0.3% down as compared to its previous estimate. The forecast is mainly
    based on the growing inflation rate, presently at 8% and expected to hit two-digit
    figures shortly, but also takes into account the fifth wave of the Coronavirus
    pandemic and the energy crisis.


    Authors of the aforementioned forecast have explained that all the estimates
    have been done without taking into account a potential conflict caused by the
    geopolitical tensions at the border with Ukraine.


    The 4.3% growth has been done in keeping with the higher
    energy prices, which may hamper activity especially in the chemical and steel
    industry, known to be major energy consumers.


    At the same time, dysfunctional supply chains, which
    contribute to price hikes on the market, are believed to continue. Even if such
    dysfunctionalities are diminished, they will continue to affect the car and
    electric equipment manufacture.


    Services are expected to register a low increase, especially
    in the household sector, whereas constructions are to see a more significant
    development than estimated in autumn. Growth in this sector is expected to become
    visible against the same period last year, when activity slowed down but also
    because of an envisaged impetus given by the incoming European funds.


    The Commission has also forecast lower growth in private
    consumption and investment against the previous estimates. Research has also been
    made on the impact of the energy price hike upon the inflation rate, which translates
    into higher consumer prices.


    This increase is to be felt less in February thanks to the
    new regulations aimed at capping these prices, but is to gain momentum in
    April.


    Slight
    increases are also expected in July and at the beginning of the cold season.
    Estimates point to an inflation rate of 9.5% at the end of the year within the annual
    average of 9.9%. The estimates don’t take into account other protection measures
    for the population though. Suchlike measures are to be quantified in the commission’s
    further forecasts.


    According
    to data released on Tuesday by the National Institute for Statistics, Romania saw
    a 5.6% economic growth last year whereas its GDP dropped 0.5% in the last
    quarter of 2021 as compared to the previous quarter, but rose 2.2% against the
    same period of 2020.


    (bill)



  • February 10, 2022 UPDATE

    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.)

  • January 12, 2022 UPDATE

    January 12, 2022 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Romania reported
    8,600 new Covid cases and 44 related deaths on Wednesday. The incidence rate is
    on the rise around the country, including the capital Bucharest, where it
    passed 3 cases per 1,000 inhabitants, the city now being in the red tier. This
    means that restaurants, cinemas, gyms and other venues can open at 30%
    capacity. Also, schools where the vaccine uptake among staff is under 60% will
    switch to online teaching. The National Public Health Institute confirmed the
    sustained community transmission of the Omicron variant, saying almost half of
    the cases did not have contact with someone infected. In the meantime,
    preparations are being made for opening outpatient Covid evaluation centres
    around the country.


    CORRUPTION The Interior Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Directorate
    Wednesday conducted 25 home searches in the counties of Neamţ and Iaşi (north-east),
    as part of investigations concerning forgery and fraud offences involved in the
    obtaining of COVID vaccination certificates. Physicians and nurses received
    bribes in exchange for fictitious vaccination certificates. Late last year the Anti-Corruption
    Directorate announced that since the start of the pandemic 168 criminal cases
    were initiated with respect to fictitious vaccination and other offences. According
    to the institution, Romania saw the largest-scale frauds in the EU in this
    respect, with over 3,000 fake COVID certificates issued at Petea border
    checkpoint. Some 1.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in Romania
    since the start of the pandemic, and around 60,000 COVID patients died. Amid
    anti-vaccine feelings fuelled by certain media outlets, politicians and opinion
    leaders, Romania has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the EU.


    EU FUNDING Over 1.9 billion euros will be transferred to Romanian
    government accounts on Thursday, as part of the loans given to Romania under
    the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, after the targets for Q4 2021 were
    reached, the Ministry for EU Projects and Investments announced. The funds will
    add to the 1.85 billion euros in grants paid by the European Commission on
    December 2, 2021. Bucharest is to receive over 29 billion euros under the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The loans in the programme will be used
    for the funding of large-scale projects, including motorways, water supply and
    sewage networks, the digitisation of SMEs and reforestation, the Ministry
    explained.


    GROWTH The
    National Institute of Statistics confirmed its 0.4% estimate with regard to the
    growth of the Romanian economy in the third quarter of last year compared with
    the previous quarter, but changes were made to the share of investments and
    consumption in GDP growth. Also, in the third quarter, the net added value saw
    important changes in the sectors of information and communications,
    constructions, financial mediation and insurances and real estate transactions.


    ECONOMY The Romanian economy is expected to grow by 4.3% this year,
    as against a 4.5% growth rate forecast in June 2021, reads the World Bank’s report
    on Global Economic Prospects, released on Wednesday. For 2023, the World Bank
    forecasts a 3.8% GDP growth for Romania, while for last year the institution
    estimates the country’s economic growth rate stood at 6.3%. The institution
    expects the global economy to grow by 4.1% in 2022 and by 3.2% in 2023.


    FOREIGN POLICY
    Romania will continue to develop as an active, trusted, involved and
    respected member of the EU and NATO. Romania’s approach is focused on
    continuity, based on the three essential pillars of its foreign policy:
    consolidating the country’s role and influence in the EU and NATO and
    developing and deepening the strategic partnership with the US, said
    president Klaus Iohannis at his annual meeting with foreign diplomats in
    Bucharest. He also said strengthening the US military presence in Romania is a
    major goal. Given the recent security challenges, it is obvious that we need
    stronger action in terms of defence and deterrence, the Romanian president
    added. Iohannis also said Romania is worried about the security situation in
    Ukraine and its implications for Euro-Atlantic security and added that Romania
    will continue to support the efforts of the Republic of Moldova to join the
    European Union. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • December 22, 2021

    December 22, 2021

    COMMEMORATION Events related to the commemoration of the
    heroes of the 1989 anti-communist revolution in Romania are continuing in
    Bucharest today. 32 years ago Bucharest became the center of the national
    uprising, which ended up with the ousting of the country’s dictator Nicolae
    Ceausescu and the demise of his communist regime. Romanian president Klaus
    Iohannis has conveyed a message on the day marking the Victory of the Romanian
    Revolution and Freedom. ‘December 1989 paved the way of our country towards democracy,
    allowed its NATO and EU accession, the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership
    with the United States and Romania’s becoming a regional security provider.
    None of these would have been possible without the anti-communist revolution,’ says
    Klaus Iohannis the president of Romania who described as shameful the fact that
    in 32 years no one paid for the terrible massacre that preceded the collapse of
    the communist regime. According to him, the country’s legal system must not
    take a break until the guilty ones are brought to justice.








    LAWS Parliament’s specialised committees are today
    expected to give the greenlight for the drafts of the state budget and the
    national insurance. The PSD-PNL-UDMR majority wants to submit the two drafts to
    Parliament tomorrow so that they may get the final voting by Christmas. The
    budget of the ministries and central institutions have so far passed the
    specialised committees without amendments and all those proposed by the
    opposition have been rejected. The budget is based on an estimated growth rate
    of 4.6%, a GDP of 260 billion euros and an annual inflation rate of 6.5%.








    FORM Over 160
    thousand people have filled in passenger locator forms since the application
    was launched, most of them on Bucharest’s International Airport Henry Coanda.
    Starting December 20th all travellers arriving in Romania must fill in the
    digital locator form, also known as plf, a document adopted by 18 other EU countries.
    In another development the latest data released by authorities in Romania,
    shows another 851 Covid infections and 62 related fatalities. 7.7 million
    Romanians have been fully vaccinated in Romania so far.








    PROTEST Romanian police have detained two people and fined
    another 200, organisers and participants in the Wednesday’s protest staged by
    supporters of AUR, an ultranationalist political party with seats in
    Parliament, which has an anti-vaccine agenda. Protesters on Wednesday forced
    their way into the Parliament’s building courtyard in an attempt to prevent the
    authorities from introducing the green certificate in workplaces. Investigation
    is under way in an attempt to find the other violent protesters and a parallel
    line of investigation is trying to find out why the riot police were unable to
    contain the protesters.






    (bill)

  • November 16, 2021 UPDATE

    November 16, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The coronavirus epidemic stays on a downward trend in Romania. On Tuesday the
    authorities reported 4,128 new Covid infections out of over 55,000 tests, which
    accounts for a 7.41% positive rate. Another 397 related fatalities were also
    reported, including 54 that had not been recorded in the system earlier. Some
    14,000 Covid patients are currently receiving hospital treatment, including
    almost 1,700 in intensive care. The incidence rate is on the decrease in
    Bucharest, dropping to 5.34 cases per 1,000 inhabitants on Tuesday. In related
    news, non-invasive testing is due to begin in schools for children and
    teachers. At the moment, almost three quarters of Romanian schools and kindergartens
    are holding in-person classes, the rule being that only schools with a
    vaccination rate among their staff of at least 60% can reopen for in-person
    teaching, the rest holding classes on line. As for vaccination, the pace has
    dropped steadily in recent days, compared to a peak of over 110,000 doses
    administered on 27 September. Nearly 7 million Romanians are fully vaccinated
    at present.




    SCHOOLS Legal and financial education have become
    compulsory skills in primary and middle schools in Romania. President Klaus
    Iohannis Tuesday signed a law amending the Education Act, to include these
    areas in the national curriculum. The document also includes financial and
    legal education in the teaching programmes of local lifelong learning community
    centres. In a first stage, these subjects can be introduced as optional school
    subjects only, because national curricula must be approved by the Education
    Ministry.




    ECONOMY Romania,
    Hungary and Lithuania have the biggest annual growth rate in the European Union
    in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year,
    according to preliminary data published by the European statistical office
    Eurostat. GDP grew in the EU by 3.9%, with Romania at 8%, Hungary at 6.1% and
    Lithuania at 6%. However, according to the latest figures published by the
    National Institute for Statistics, Romania’s economic growth rate slowed down
    to 0.3% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter. In the first
    nine months of the year, GDP grew by 7.1% compared with the same period last
    year. Economic experts say the growth rate will slow down even more this autumn
    and winter, while the inflation rate may go up to 8% in the context of the
    current political crisis.




    EU Romania’s
    foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu attended a ministerial meeting of the Eastern
    Partnership held in Brussels, where EU foreign ministers agreed to expand the
    criteria for imposing new sanctions against Belarus. The new sanctions would
    target those involved in weaponising the plight of migrants. The European Union
    is accusing Belarus of intentionally creating a migrant crisis on the border
    with Poland and the Baltic countries in retaliation to the Union’s earlier
    sanctions against the regime in Belarus for its crackdown on the opposition.
    Minister Aurescu presented Romania’s stand on the strategic priorities of the
    Eastern Partnership post-2020 and called for a consolidation of the security
    dimension in the Eastern Neighbourhood, as well as for greater involvement from
    the EU in solving the frozen or protracted conflicts in this region.




    MILITARY The EU is considering a joint military force of up to 5,000 troops by
    2025, to intervene in a number of crises without needing to rely on the US,
    according to a draft strategic plan, Reuters says. The EU
    Rapid Deployment Capacity should include land, sea and air capabilities. Two decades after the EU leaders first agreed to
    set up a force of 50,000-60,000 troops, which never became operational, the
    strategy drafted by the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell is the most concrete
    effort to create an independent military force that does not rely on US assets.
    Not all the 27 EU member states would have to contribute troops, but a
    consensus would be required for any deployment. Since 2007, the EU has had
    battlegroups of 1,500 troops available, but they have never been deployed, in
    spite of efforts to use them in Chad and Libya.





    Radio and TV Parliament
    approved the new leadership of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation,
    which Radio Romania International also forms part of. With the support of the
    Social Democratic Party, the new director general at Radio Romania isRăzvan-Ioan
    Dincă, a former National Opera director who has a court of first instance
    conviction for abuse of office and false statement but who was later acquitted.
    The leadership of the Romanian television was also appointed, with the
    journalist Dan Cristian Turturică becoming the new director general, with the
    support of the National Liberal Party. The members of the new boards are
    appointed for a 4-year term and have to take an oath in Parliament. (tr. A.M. Popescu)