Radio România Internațional

Tag: Indian Wells

March 14, 2018 UPDATE

THE USE OF NERVE AGENT IN SALISBURY– The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed Romanias solidarity with Great Britain, after the poisoning of the former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and of his daughter, in Salisbury. British PM Theresa May on Wednesday announced that London severs its bilateral ties with Moscow and will expel 23 Russian diplomats. May also said Moscow is responsible for the incident. Great Britain had given an ultimatum to Russia, until Tuesday midnight, to provide explanations regarding the case. In turn, Russian Foreign Minister, Serghei Lavrov, said Moscow is “not guilty and “ready to cooperate during the investigation, on condition it has access to the incriminated chemical substance, a nerve agent. NATO has deemed the incident as a clear breach of international norms and agreements on chemical weapons and called on Russia to address the UKs questions. In another move, the EU leaders will hold talks next week on Skripals poisoning, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk announced on Wednesday.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Wednesday called on the Romanian Parliament to re-examine a bill which brings modifications, among others, to the juridical regime of the conflict of interest, applicable to MPs in the 2007-2013 time-span. The president claimed the overall public interest does not justify such as regulation, given that integrity standards are affected and doubts are cast on Romanias compliance with the commitments it has made as a EU member state. In December 2017, the Romanian Senate, as a decision making body, adopted a draft to amend the Law on the National Integrity Agency. In the adopted form, interdictions imposed on MPs for not observing legal provisions relative to the conflict of interest, in the 2007-2013 period, cease to exist.

CVM – European Commission representatives on Wednesday started their evaluation mission as part of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, scheduling meetings with members of the judiciary, Parliament and the Government. Their mission ends on March 16. The Ministry of Justice says that talks will focus on proposed changes to the Romanian judicial system, including the Criminal Codes and the Civil Code, along with analysing the strategy to develop the judicial system. The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was introduced in January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, in order to help the two countries overcome their drawbacks in the justice system and in terms of corruption. The authorities in Bucharest would like the Mechanism to be lifted in 2019.

JUSTICE – The special commission for the justice laws with the Romanian Parliament resumed its activity on Wednesday, starting debates on proposed changes to legislation on the status of prosecutors and judges, the laws regulating judicial organization, and the law regulating the Higher Council of Magistracy, following a negative ruling on the changes issued by the Constitutional Court. The commission is slated to bring a number of changes to the Criminal Codes. The situation of the Romanian justice system was the main topic for discussion in talks held in Bucharest early in March with the authorities by European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans. The controversy regarding proposed justice reform in Romania brought to the streets thousands of protesters in Romania and abroad, who demanded the judicial system preserve its independence.

FLU SEASON – In Romania, the number of flu-related deaths reached 100, according to the National Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control. Since the start of the flu season, some 1,200 flu-related cases have been confirmed. The total number of acute respiratory infections registered last week exceeded 140,000, that is 67% more than in the same week of 2017.

MOURNING – People across the world and the scientific and academic community mourn British visionary scientist Stephen Hawking, who passed away at the age of 76. Born on January 8, 1942, Stephen William Hawking has been compared to Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. His research attempted to align relativity theory with quantum theory, in an attempt to explain the creation of the universe and its inner workings. Hawking was diagnosed with a degenerative disease at the age of 21.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis star Simona Halep, leading the standings worldwide, qualified on Tuesday to the quarter finals of the Indian Wells, with 8 million USD in prize money up fro grabs, after she defeated Qiang Wang of China 7-5, 6-1. She will be facing against Croatian player Petra Martic, no.51 WTA. Halep won the Indian Wells tournament in 2015.(Translated by C. Cotoiu and D. Vijeu)

14 March 2018
March 12, 2018

HEALTHCARE – The Sanitas Federation has announced it will stage a protest in the Romanian healthcare system, which will culminate with an all out strike. Trade union representatives are discontent about a new payment scheme in the system and call for a 25% increase in the base salary for the medical staff and the elimination of the 30% ceiling for bonuses. Last month, health minister Sorina Pintea, said the medical staff will benefit from pay rises ranging from 70 to 170%. Subsequently, as of March, a senior consultant earns a net monthly salary of some 2,000 Euros.

TRILATERAL MEETING – Bucharest is today the venue for the Romania-Bulgaria-Greece trilateral meeting at the level of foreign ministers. The declared objectives of the meeting, are, at political level, dialogue on regional developments, and at economic level, cooperation in the domain of transport and energy infrastructure as well as general aspects of economic development. The trilateral meeting also has a regional stability component: fighting illegal migration, drug trafficking and organised crime. In 2010, the three countries adopted a joint declaration on the West Balkans. Also as part of the Trilateral, there is an understanding between the governments of the three countries in the field of internal affairs, meant to contain cross border crime and to have responses to urgent calls in case of calamities and natural disasters.

DEFENCE – The defence ministers of the “Bucharest 9 Initiative member states are today meeting in Bucharest. For three days, the meeting will be attended by officials from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, NATO officials and representatives of the US Department of Defence. The agenda of talks covers such issues as ways to consolidate NATOs deterrence and defence posture, laying emphasis on the eastern flank, with a view to getting a political decision at the NATO Summit due in summer. Other issues to be approached will be the adaptation process of the NATO Command Structure, risks and threats from the eastern neighbourhood of the Alliance, as well as ways to strengthen resilience on the Baltic Sea-Black Sea axis. Romania offered to host a NATO military command at the level of Army corps, to function alongside the other two already existing commands, at brigade level, in Craiova (in the south-west) and at division level in Bucharest. A decision will be made by the allies at the NATO summit due in Brussels in July.

SOVEREIGN FUND – The economy and budget committees of the Romanian Senate are starting debates as of this week, on setting up the Sovereign Development and Investment Fund. This is an instrument by which the government intends to fund strategic development projects in key domains such as infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, without producing an impact on the countrys budget deficit. Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has said he completed talks with Eurostat experts in this respect, and the draft law will be debated by the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament in the current legislative session. The Romanian State, through the Economy Ministry, will have the status of sole shareholder as long as the Fund is functioning. The fund will have as estimated value of over 10 billion Euros.

REP. OF MOLDOVA – The Central Electoral Commission is today making public the date for holding early local elections in two major cities in the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanians speaking population)- the capital city, Chishinau and Balti (in the north). Some political parties have already announced the name of their candidate or made public their stand on the ballot in the capital city. This election is regarded as the last test in preparation for the autumn electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections. The positions of mayor of the cities of Chishinau and Balti have been vacant since February, when the mayors of the two cities stepped down. The pro-Russian populist mayor of Balti, Renato Usatîi, left Moldova for Russia more than a year ago. He is being investigated in a file in which he is accused of having ordered the assassination of a businessman. In Chishinau, the pro-western Liberal mayor Dorin Chirtoaca is being investigated in a corruption file, which he says it is being fabricated. He was suspended from the position of mayor in the summer of 2017.

TENNIS – No.1 world woman tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep, has today qualified to the eighth finals of the Indian Wells, after defeating US player Caroline Dolehide (no. 165 WTA), 1-6, 7-6, 6-2. Following this victory, Halep is sure to remain on the first position of world tennis for a week. In the next stage, Simona will face the Chinese player Qiang Wang (no. 55 WTA). The two women tennis players have never met so far. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

12 March 2018
March 10, 2018

CONGRESS — Bucharest on Saturday is playing host to an extraordinary congress of the main ruling coalition party in Romania, the Social-Democratic Party. The Congress will occasion elections for the positions of executive president, secretary general and vice-presidents. The office of president, currently held by leader Liviu Dragnea, is not subject to vote, as all Social-Democratic branches across the country have expressed support for Dragnea. Running for the position of executive president of the party is Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who enjoys the support of the Bucharest-Ilfov regional organization and that of party leader Liviu Dragnea. On Friday, the party’s National Executive Committee validated all the 24 candidacies submitted. Attended by 4,000 delegates from all over the country, the Congress is also expected to see the adoption of several governance resolutions.

VISIT — Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu met in Zagreb with high-ranking officials, agreeing to boost bilateral relations between the two countries. Minister Melescanu attended the opening ceremony for the Romanian Honorific Consulate in Split, which will help support the Romanian community in the area and all Romanian citizens visiting Croatia. The Romanian official told Radio Romania that Bucharest and Zagreb agree on several topics of EU interest, such as identifying a viable solution that should ensure the proper functioning of the EU post-Brexit.

MILITARY – Over 1,700 Romanian and foreign troops are taking part until March 15, in a large-scale multinational exercise, organized by the Romanian Navy, in Dobrogea (south-eastern Romania) and in the international waters of the Black Sea. Spring Storm 18 is based on a unique training concept which brings together the navy, air and land forces, as part of a NATO immediate assurance action plan adopted at the 2016 Summit. Romanian troops are training jointly with fellow military from the US, France and Bulgaria, and from partner countries like Georgia and Ukraine.

FLU — The Romanian National Public Health Institute announced another two people died to the flu virus, raising the death toll to 90 across Romania. Health Minister Sorina Pintea says there is no reason to declare an epidemic at this stage.

BOOK FAIR — Romania is guest of honor at the International Book Trade Fair in Leipzig, Germany. Attending the events are writers Mircea Cartarescu, Nora Iuga, Andrei Plesu and Varujan Vosganian. The Ministry of Culture and National Identity is organizing some 60 events at Romania’s pavilion under the motto “Romania. Zoom In”, including a concert by Ada Milea, with lyrics translated into German by Herta Muller, the Romanian-born winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009. The International Book Fair in Leipzig started on Friday and will close on Sunday and is aimed at promoting contemporary literature.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the world’s no. 1 player, qualified to the third round of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, US, after defeating Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Simona will next play Caroline Dolehide of the United States. Another Romanian, Irina Begu, was knocked out in the second round by Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 7-6, 6-1. Sorana Cirstea will also play Venus Williams of the US in the second round.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

10 March 2018
08.03.2018

La Journée de la Femme – La contribution des femmes au développement de la société humaine est célébrée aujourd’hui, le 8 mars, dans de nombreux pays à travers le monde. Au début, la Journée internationale de la Femme était consacrée à la lutte des femmes pour obtenir des droits sociaux. Dans les pays de l’ancien bloc communiste, elle a été transformée en une fête des mères. A présent, c’est une occasion de faire le point sur les réalisations passées et de préparer l’avenir. La Journée internationale de la Femme est célébrée le 8 mars depuis 1975. Deux années plus tard, l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies adoptait une résolution qui reconnaissait la contribution des femmes aux efforts de paix et de développement et qui appelait à la fin de la discrimination et au soutien à la participation des femmes à la vie de la société.

Message – A l’occasion de la Journée internationale de la Femme, l’ambassadrice de France à Bucarest, Michèle Ramis, a souhaité rendre hommage, dans son message, aux femmes qui, au fil du temps, ont créé un dialogue dynamique entre les cultures roumaine et française par leur créativité, leur expressivité et leur originalité: « En ce 8 mars, Journée Internationale des Droits des Femmes, je souhaite rendre hommage à ces femmes qui ont tant œuvré pour le dialogue des cultures roumaine et française. Les écrivaines Martha Bibesco, Anna de Noailles et Hélène Vacaresco, la comédienne Elvire Popesco, la psychanalyste Elisabeth Roudinesco, la styliste Sonia Rikyel ou encore les sopranos Angela Gheorghiu et Leontina Ciobanu Văduva ont fait rayonner leurs créations et construit des ponts entre la Roumanie et la France. C’est précisément ce dialogue des cultures que la Saison France-Roumanie mettra à l’honneur à partir de décembre 2018, qui permettra de renforcer les liens d’amitié qui unissent nos deux pays depuis plusieurs siècles. Femmes artistes, femmes de lettres, femmes d’action apporteront à cette Saison leur contribution et leur regard propre, dans l’esprit de l’Appel du mouvement #JamaisSansElles en faveur de la mixité que j’ai eu le plaisir de signer. »

Notons aussi que le mouvement #JamaisSansElles est une initiative en faveur de la mixité, promue par une centaine d’entrepreneurs, personnalités de l’IT, des médias, de l’éducation et du monde politique, qui participent souvent aux débats et événements publics à sujet. Leur adhésion à ce mouvement implique aussi leur refus de participer aux événements auxquels les femmes ne sont pas invitées ou associées. Parmi les personnalités ayant rejoint ce mouvement figurent le président français Emmanuel Macron ou encore le ministre français pour l’Europe et les Affaires Etrangères, Jean- Yves Le Drian

Visite – Le président serbe Aleksandar Vučić, se trouve aujourd’hui à Bucarest, où il sera reçu par le chef de l’Etat roumain, Klaus Iohannis, et aura des entretiens avec la première ministre, Viorica Dăncilă, et avec le président de la Chambre des députés, Liviu Dragnea. Selon l’administration présidentielle, les deux chefs d’Etat évoqueront les moyens d’approfondir la coopération bilatérale au niveau politique, économique et sectoriel. Egalement à l’agenda de la réunion, l’appui que la Roumanie peut accorder à la Serbie dans son processus d’adhésion à l’UE, vu notamment que Bucarest assumera la présidence du Conseil durant le premier semestre de l’année 2019. Les présidents Vučić et Iohannis évoqueront également la question des minorités nationales des deux pays, ainsi que des aspects d’intérêt commun relatifs à la coopération dans les Balkans et les principales évolutions dans le dossier du Kosovo.

Diplomatie – Le ministre roumain des Affaires étrangères, Teodor Meleşcanu, fait, ces jeudi et vendredi, une visite officielle en Croatie. Aujourd’hui, il participera à l’inauguration du Consulat honoraire de Roumanie à Split et aura des rencontres avec les représentants des pouvoirs locaux et avec le président de la Chambre d’économie de la Croatie, Luka Burilović. Demain, le chef de la diplomatie roumaine aura des pourparlers avec son homologue croate, Marija Pejčinović Burić, ainsi qu’avec la présidente de la Croatie, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, avec le premier ministre Andrej Plenković et avec d’autres responsables de Zagreb. Le programme de la visite du ministre roumain inclut aussi une visite à l’Eglise orthodoxe roumaine de la capitale croate, mise à la disposition de la communauté roumaine par l’Eglise catholique de Croatie, et aussi une rencontre avec les dirigeants de l’Association des Roumains de Croatie.

Pourparlers – Le ministre roumain délégué aux affaires européennes, Victor Negrescu, a discuté hier avec David Davis, le ministre britannique en charge de la sortie de l’Union européenne du Royaume-Uni. Celui-ci se trouvait à Bucarest, dans le cadre d’une tournée dans les Etats membres de l’UE, en préparation de la réunion du Conseil européen. Un communiqué du ministère roumain des affaires étrangères précise qu’à cette occasion, les deux parties ont confirmé leur volonté de se mettre d’accord sur le texte de l’Accord de sortie le plus rapidement possible, afin d’ouvrir les négociations sur les futures relations bilatérales. Par ailleurs, les deux ministres ont souligné la nécessité d’une coopération approfondie entre l’UE et le Royaume-Uni, qui reflète leurs liens historiques étroits et les valeurs qu’ils ont en partage. Le ministre roumain aux affaires européennes, Victor Negrescu, a rappelé la priorité de Bucarest de protéger les droits des ressortissants roumains vivant en Grande Bretagne.

Grippe – En Roumanie, le nombre des personnes décédées à cause de la grippe saisonnière a progressé à 87, a annoncé le Centre national de suivi et de contrôle des maladies transmissibles. La dernière victime, une femme âgée de 87 ans, n’avait pas été vaccinée contre la grippe et souffrait aussi d’autres maladies. La ministre de la Santé, Sorina Pintea, a affirmé que l’on ne pouvait pas parler d’épidémie de pour le moment.

Tennis – La joueuse roumaine de tennis Irina Begu a eu un bon départ au tournoi WTA d’Indian Wells, aux Etats Unis, en battant la Serbe Aleksandra Krunic. Au deuxième tour, la Roumaine affrontera la Tchèque Karolina Pliskova, 5e tête de série. Dans ce même tour, la Roumaine Simona Halep, principale favorite du tournoi d’Indian Wells, jouera contre la sœur de Karolina, Krystyna Pliskova. Et puis, Monica Buzărnescu aura pour adversaire l’Américaine Jennifer Brady, tandis que Monica Niculescu et Sorana Cârstea se disputeront la victoire dans un match roumano-roumain.

Météo – Le redoux est installé dans la plupart des régions de la Roumanie. Des pluies éparses sont signalées dans le sud-ouest et le verglas peut faire son apparition en montagne. Les températures vont de 6 à 15 degrés, avec 14 degrés à midi dans la capitale.

8 March 2018
March 6, 2018

CRISIS — Romanian authorities have asked EU countries for support in ensuring the necessary amount of immunoglobulin for treating the population, after Bucharest authorities have activated the European Mechanism of Civil Protection. Health Minister Sorina Pintea said there is a severe immunoglobulin shortage on the market. State Secretary with the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat said Romania has also asked NATO for help. Discontinuities in supplying hospitals with immunoglobulin were generated after certain producers who accounted for over 80% of domestic demand chose to withdraw from the market.

ANTICORRUPTION — The Romanian state should retrieve €1 billion in assets seized as part of cases handled by the National Anticorruption Directorate, anticorruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi said earlier today. The chief prosecutor said that seizing assets refers only to those assets that are currently on Romania’s territory. Kovesi added however that criminals have worked a away around that, opening off-shore accounts. Romania’s fiscal authorities must quickly enforce these decisions, Prosecutor Kovesi added. In 2017 anticorruption prosecutors seized over €200 million worth of assets.

COOPERATION — Bucharest General Mayor Gabriela Firea on Tuesday told a press conference in Chisinau, held jointly with Moldovan Interim Mayor Silvia Radu, that the two parties agreed on a cooperation agreement to outsource certain public services, which is expected to improve public spending. Firea went on to say that the two municipalities want to cooperate in the field of urban regeneration. The Romanian official said her Moldovan counterpart expressed an interest to consolidate heritage buildings and wants to use the experience of Bucharest City Hall. In turn, Mayor Radu said Gabriela Firea’s visit to Chisinau is a step forward towards “developing the good relations” established in Bucharest on February 14, when the two sides signed a cooperation program between the two capital cities.

FLU — The number of people who died to the flu virus this season has reached 80, reads the latest update of the National Center for the Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases. An 80-year-old man died in Bucharest. He had not taken a flu vaccine and was suffering from a number of conditions. Over 1,700 flu cases were reported over the last week alone, as compared to 85 cases in the same period last year.

TALKS — Romania’s Transport Minister Lucian Sova today held talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto with a view to building a high-speed railway linking the two countries’ capital cities. According to a Transport Ministry release, talks were held on the sidelines of a Transport Summit at EU level hosted by Budapest. The two officials also approached topics of mutual interest in the field of road transport and transport infrastructure.

RUSSIAN SPY — The man who was recently admitted in critical condition at Salisbury hospital in southern England after being exposed to an unknown substance together with a woman is a former Russian spy working for the UK, the British media has revealed. The two were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury shopping center. The man is Sergey Skripal, 66, a former Russian army colonel working for the Russian intelligence. In 2006 Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in prison, accused of spying for Great Britain. He was granted refugee status in 2010 following a high-profile spy swap between Moscow, London and Washington. Moscow authorities claim Sergey Skripal was paid $100,000 for supplying the British intelligence service, MI6, with the names of Russian spies in Great Britain. 12 years ago, another Russian spy, Aleksander Litivenko, was poisoned in London. On his deathbed, Litivenko said Putin ordered his death, although the Kremlin denied any involvement.

ELECTION IN ROME — The political context in Rome remains unsettled after none of the political factions set up before the vote managed to grab enough votes in Sunday’s election that should allow them for form a Parliament majority. The Populist and Eurosceptic Five Stars Movement grabbed the largest share of the vote, 32%. The far-right North League won 17.7% of the vote. The center-right Attilio Fontana was elected governor of Lombardy region, while Nicola Zingaretti, representing the center-left, was elected governor of Lazio region. Parliament will convene on March 23 to elect the speakers of the two chambers. President Sergio Matarella will then start consultations to form a new Government.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, 71 WTA, is today playing Roberta Vinci of Italy, 147 WTA, in the last preliminary round in the women’s singles at Indian Wells, the US, a Premier Mandatory tournament totaling $8.6 million in prize money. Four Romanians have already qualified to the main draw. The world’s no. 1 player Simona Halep is seeded first and will play in the second round against the winner of the match pitting WTA 5th ranked Krystina Pliskova of the Czech Republic against a player performing in the preliminary phase. Irina Begu, 36 WTA, is playing Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia, 47 WTA, while Sorana Cirstea, 35 WTA, will also take on a player from the preliminary phase. Mihaela Buzarnescu, 38 WTA, will be playing Jennifer Brady of the United States, 86 WTA. Simona Halep won the Indian Wells trophy in 2015. (Translated by V. Palcu)

6 March 2018
14.03.2017

Travailleurs – Des représentants du gouvernement de Bucarest se rendront, du 15 au 17 mars, en Italie, en visite de travail, afin de vérifier les informations parues dans la presse au sujet de certains cas d’exploitation des ressortissants roumains travaillant dans les régions de Sicile et de Calabre. La ministre pour les Roumains de l’étranger, Andreea Păstîrnac et un officiel du ministère de l’Intérieur de Bucarest vont discuter avec les autorités locales italiennes, avec les représentants des Roumains travaillant en Italie, ainsi qu’avec ceux du milieu associatif qui milite en faveur de la défense des droits des travailleurs étrangers et lutte contre les abus à l’égard de ceux-ci. Un reportage publié dimanche par l’hebdomadaire britannique The Observer révèle que près de 7.500 femmes, surtout de Roumanie, qui travaillent dans la province sicilienne de Raguse sont victimes d’abus, y compris de menaces et d’agressions sexuelles.

UE – La commissaire européenne à la politique régionale, Corina Cretu, se rendra en Roumanie du 15 au 17 mars pour discuter avec les autorités roumaines et les représentants de la société civile du Livre blanc sur l’avenir de l’UE. Corina Cretu devrait également rencontrer les commissions réunies en charge des Affaires étrangères du Sénat et de la Chambre des députés de Bucarest, pour débattre des cinq scénarios proposés par la Commission européenne pour l’avenir de l’Union. Le président de la Roumanie, Klaus Iohannis, a récemment déclaré qu’une Europe à plusieurs vitesses n’était pas une bonne solution, vu qu’elle risque de produire la scission de l’Union. En échange, il a affirmé que Bucarest ne devait pas craindre les projets auxquels on travaille à des vitesses différentes.

Statistiques – La Roumanie dénombrait, au quatrième trimestre 2016, 5,24 millions de retraités, un nombre inférieur de 6.000 à celui enregistré au trimestre précédent, révèlent les données rendues publiques ce mardi par l’Institut national de la statistique. Selon la même source, le rapport entre le nombre moyen de retraités et celui des salariés a été de 9 à 10. Cet indicateur varie à travers le pays: si, dans la capitale, Bucarest, il y avait 5 retraités pour 10 employés, dans le comté de Teleorman, sud de la Roumanie, ce rapport était de 17 à 10. La pension de retraite dans le système public varie elle aussi, l’écart entre le montant minimum et celui maximum pouvant dépasser les 400 lei, soit environ 88 euros.

Justice – Les magistrats de la Haute Cour de Cassation et de Justice de Bucarest doivent juger aujourd’hui, en première séance, le dossier dans lequel l’ancien vice premier-ministre roumain et ministre de l’Intérieur, Gabriel Oprea, est accusé d’abus de fonctions. Selon les procureurs, en juillet 2015, il aurait utilisé de manière illégale les fonds du ministère qu’il dirigeait, le préjudice causé au budget de l’Etat s’étant élevé à 410.000 de lei (90 mille euros). Gabriel Oprea est également poursuivi dans une autre affaire, où il est accusé d’avoir abusé de son droit de recourir à un convoi officiel. Enfin, son nom figure aussi dans le dossier pénal ouvert à l’encontre de l’ancien maire du 2e arrondissement de Bucarest, Neculai Onţanu.

Contrebande – Les douaniers de Constanta, ville – port sur mer Noire, dans le sud-est de la Roumanie, ont saisi lundi des cigarettes de contrebande d’un montant de 2,5 millions d’euros, une saisie record pour ces cinq dernières années. Ils ont confisqué plus de 700 mille paquets de cigarettes transportés par un bateau venant de Thaïlande. En 2013, toujours à Constanta, les agents des douanes avaient saisi 10,5 millions de cigarettes provenant de Malte et qui devaient arriver en Ukraine.

Tennis – La paire roumano-néerlandaise Horia Tecău/ Jean-Julien Rojer s’est qualifiée lundi dans les quarts de finale du double messieurs du tournoi d’Indian Wells, aux Etats-Unis. Ils ont vaincu le duo Florin Mergea (Roumanie)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan) et ont perdu le match disputé dans les huitièmes de finale contre Gilles Muller (Luxembourg)/Sam Querrey (Etats-Unis). Au double dames, la joueuse de tennis roumaine Simona Halep, n.4 mondiale, a été éliminée en seizièmes de finale du tournoi d’Indian Wells.

Météo – Le temps reste instable
en Roumanie dans la plupart des régions, avec des pluies notamment sur le sud
et l’est du pays. Il neige en haute montagne, surtout dans les Carpates
orientales et méridionales. Le vent est plutôt fort dans le sud, l’est et sur
le relief. Les maximales de l’air doivent s’étaleront entre 6 et 14 degrés. 9
degrés à midi dans la capitale, Bucarest.

14 March 2017
March 13, 2017

Prime
Minister’s Hour. The Romanian prime minister Sorin Grindeanu will appear in the
Chamber of Deputies today at the Prime Minister’s Hour to give explanations
about his cabinet’s emergency orders no. 6 and no. 9 criticised by the
opposition and civil society. Both orders were passed by the Senate and are
next to be voted on in the Chamber of Deputies, which has decision-making
powers in this case. Order no. 6 refers to the financing of the National Local
Development Programme, while Order no. 9 eliminates expenditure caps for public
authorities. The National Liberal Party in opposition says these orders allow
the channelling of huge sums of money to the political clientele of the ruling
Social Democratic Party and cancels fundamental provisions of the fiscal
responsibility law. The Liberals called for the two emergency orders to be
immediately rejected.

Verdict.
The magistrates of the High Court of Cassation and Justice postponed for the 28th
of March a verdict in a case known as the Bute Gala involving the former
development minister Elena Udrea and seven other persons. They are accused of
bribe taking, abuse of office and attempt to use false documents and statements
to obtain European funds illegally. In essence, prosecutors accuse the
defendants of illegal use of public funds to finance a sports event organised
by a private company and signing a contract with this company to purchase
services although the law did not allow it. Previously, prosecutors requested
that Elena Udrea be given close to maximum sentence in prison, given that she
played the biggest role in the perpetration of the incriminated deeds. The
National Anticorruption Directorate also requested that the former economy
minister Ion Ariton be given a prison sentence. The former minister and MP
Elena Udrea is the subject of several other criminal investigations.

Migrant workers abuse.
Around
7,500 Romanian female farm workers in the Sicilian province of Ragusa, in
Italy, are victims of abuse, including threats and sexual violence, being
perpetrated with almost total impunity, according to an investigation published
by the British weekly The Observer. The authors of the article spoke to ten
Romanian women working on farms in Ragusa who described their exploitation and
sexual abuse as routine occurrences. They say they are forced to work 12 hours
a day in extreme heat, with no water and without pay and to live in degrading and unsanitary conditions in isolated
outbuildings. They are often subject to
physical violence, threatened at gunpoint and blackmailed with threats to their
children and family. Italy’s agriculture heavily relies on migrant labour,
including from the EU, with an estimated 120,000 migrants working in southern
Italy.

Justice. Romania’s
Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar today said he had no intention to resign as
suggested by the justice minister Tudorel Toader. The latter said he would
assess the activity of the Public Ministry in the next two weeks and did not
rule out the possibility to sack Lazar and the head of the National
Anticorruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi.

Republic of Moldova. Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian
socialist president of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a
majority Romanian-speaking population, makes a trip to Moscow on Friday and
Saturday, his second since coming to power less than three months ago. He said
he would attend a Moldova-Russia business forum looking at the potential for
investment and partnership. Dodon may also meet Russian officials. Commentators
say, however, that this appears to be a purely electoral visit aiming to secure
Russia’s support for the Socialists in next year’s parliamentary elections.
During his visit to Moscow in January, Dodon said he was considering denouncing
his country’s association agreement with the European Union and expanding ties
with the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the federalisation of the Republic
of Moldova as a way of bringing peace to the pro-Russian break-away region of
Transnistria, in the east of the republic.

Sports. World no.
4 Simona Halep of Romania qualified for the third round at Indian Wells, a US
tournament worth almost 7 million dollars in prize money. She will next play
world no. 26 Kristina Mladenovic. Another Romanian player, Irina Begu, no. 32
in the world, was eliminated in the third round by world no. 3 Karolina
Pliskova. In the men’s doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and
Jean-Julien Rojer made it to the second round and will next face the all-British
pair Andy Murray and Daniel Evans. Florin Mergea also qualified for the second
round together with his doubles partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and will next play
Gilles Muller and Sam Querrey.

In other sports
news, the defending Romanian and European women’s handball champions CSM
Bucharest on Sunday defeated the Danish side Team Esbjerg, 25-20, in their
final match as part of the Champions League main round Group 2. In the
quarterfinals, CSM will face the Hungarian side Ferencvaros Budapest.

13 March 2017
March 10, 2017

SPRING COUNCIL — EU leaders are today convening in Brussels in the 27-member format, without Great Britain, to discuss the future of the EU. The main topic on the agenda for talks is the multi-speed Europe, one of the solutions proposed by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Representing Romania, President Klaus Iohannis said, before leaving, that Romania believes in a strong, united and solidary EU, opposing a multi-speed Europe. The president argued it would be counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union. In turn, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu shared this view while taking part in the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. On the other hand, an increasing number of MEPs on all sides of the political spectrum are saying that the EU is already moving at different speeds and has subdivisions, such as the Schengen Area or the Eurozone. European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans told Radio Romania that any member state, including Romania, will be able to join the so-called “closer cooperation groups”. The debate process will end with a joint Declaration to be adopted at the EU Summit in Rome on March 25.

UNITARY PAY LAW — Negotiations continue at the Labour Ministry in Bucharest between the Government and trade unions regarding the unitary pay law. On Friday, trade unions from the field of culture said they agree with the new pay scheme, adding there will be pay rises of up to 40%, benefitting especially employees with low salaries. Negotiations on the unitary pay draft law have already been carried out with trade unions in the defense, public order and healthcare sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st next year. According to the Labour Minister Vasilescu, state employees’ salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the healthcare sector.

TRAVEL FAIR — The Ministry of Tourism is promoting Romania at the International Travel Fair in Berlin, which is running through Sunday, having Botswana as official partner. Some 40 travel agents and representatives of city halls and associations from Romania are taking part of the largest travel event in the world. Attending the opening event, Romanian Tourism Minister Mircea Dobre met with the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai. The Romanian official outlined Romania’s plans to promote our country at international level.

OLTCHIM — Romanian Economy Minister Mihai Tudose has assured the people living in Ramnicu Valcea, southern Romania, whose income depend more or less on the local petrochemical works facility that the enterprise will continue to operate after being privatized. The Minister said he favors any bid that provides for the continuous functioning of the unit, ruling out the selling of parts of the facility. Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea is the last petrochemical company in Romania, and one of the biggest of its kind in southeastern Europe. 10 years ago Oltchim exported over a third of its products to 80 countries all over the world. The facility is currently insolvent. After several failed privatization attempts, the creditors’ assembly adopted a new plan to sell all or parts of its assets organized in bundles, with no obligation on the part of the buyer to take over the company’s 2,000 employees.

VACCINES — A new law on vaccination will be submitted for public debate within a month, the Health Minister Florian Bodog has announced. Once adopted, the law will force parents to comply with mandatory child vaccination schemes. The initiative was prompted against Romania’s dropping rate of vaccination, which has recently caused serious epidemics. Referring to the shortage of vaccines, Minister Bodog announced he signed the purchase contracts for hexavalent and tetravalent vaccines, while the vaccine against Hepatitis B will be purchased with EU funds. As regards the pneumococcal vaccine the Ministry will soon take action to renew its supplies.

ATTACKS — A man injured seven people with an ax on Thursday evening at the Dusseldorf train station in Germany, three of whom are in critical condition. According to the German Police, the attacker is a 36-year-old male from the former Yugoslavia with mental problems. Germany is on high terrorist alert, particularly in the wake of December’s attack at a Christmas market in Berlin, which killed 12 people. In another development, two people were killed and a third was seriously wounded in a bar shooting in Basel, northwestern Switzerland. The attackers managed to escape.

SOUTH KOREA — The Constitutional Court of South Korea today ruled to remove President Park Geun-Hye from office in the wake of a massive corruption scandal, France Press reports. The Court claims Park’s actions seriously impaired the spirit of representative democracy and the rule of law. The South Korean President tried to cover up the illegal businesses of a close friend, accused of demanding millions of dollars to large industrial groups. Under the law, snap elections will be held within 60 days. Supporters of Park gathered to protest outside the Court building, two of them being killed in clashes with the riot police.

RUGBY — Romania’s rugby team is on Saturday taking on Belgium away from home in the fourth round of Rugby Europe Championship, the competition replacing the European Nations’ Cup, the second continental rugby competition after the Six Nations’ Tournament. So far, Romania has defeated Russia away from home and Spain on home turf, but lost surprisingly to Germany away from home. Romania is ranked 2nd after Georgia, while Belgium is bottom-of-the-table. Romania is ranked 16th in world rankings at present.

TENNIS — Three Romanian tennis players will tonight play in the second round at Indian Wells, a tournament totaling some 7 million dollars in prize money. The world’s no. 4 player, Simona Halep, will take on Dona Vekic of Croatia, 86th WTA. Monica Niculescu, 45th WTA, will play Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, 16th WTA, while Irina Begu will take on Louise Chirico of the US, 65 WTA. The fourth Romanian player, Patricia Tig, 99th WTA, was eliminated in the first round of the main draw to Mariana Duque Marino of Columbia, 112th WTA. In the men’s competition, Marius Copil, 111th ATP, will take on Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the first round of the main draw. (Translated by V. Palcu)

10 March 2017
10.03.2017

Europe – Les chefs d’Etats et de gouvernements de l’UE se penchent aujourd’hui à Bruxelles, à 27, donc sans la Grande Bretagne, sur la manière dont le bloc communautaire fonctionnera à l’avenir. Principal sujet à l’agenda: la variante d’une Europe « à plusieurs vitesses », une des solutions proposées par le chef de la Commission européenne, Jean-Claude Juncker, pour relacer l’Union après le Brexit. La Roumanie est représentée à Bruxelles par le chef de l’Etat, Klaus Iohannis, qui a réitéré avant son départ que Bucarest croyait à une UE forte, unie et solidaire et s’opposait au scénario des vitesses multiples. A son avis, ce serait complètement contreproductif pour l’UE d’accepter des projets accessibles uniquement à certains Etats membres. Un point de vue partagé par le premier ministre roumain, Sorin Grindeanu, et soutenu lors de sa participation à la réunion du Parti des Socialistes Européens. Par ailleurs, de plus en plus de politiciens européens, quelle que soit leur couleur politique, affirment qu’en réalité, l’UE a déjà plusieurs vitesses et qu’il existe ce que l’on appelle « des cercles » à l’intérieur de l’Union, tels l’espace de libre circulation Schengen ou la zone euro. En même temps, le premier vice-président de la Commission européenne, Frans Timmermans, a déclaré pour Radio Roumanie que tout Etat membre, y compris la Roumanie, pourra intégrer ces « groupes d’étroite coopération » s’il le souhaite. Les conclusions des débats de Bruxelles seront présentées dans une déclaration pendant le sommet anniversaire de Rome, prévu le 25 mars.

Salaires – Les négociations entre le gouvernement et les syndicats se poursuivent ce vendredi à Bucarest. Aujourd’hui c’est le tour des représentants du domaine de la culture de participer aux débats. Hier, lors des négociations avec les syndicats de l’Education, la ministre du Travail, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, a fait savoir que les salaires de tous les employés du secteur public allaient inclure en tant que bonus un voucher de vacances et deux défraiements de repas. Le niveau total des bonus ne pourra pas dépasser les 30% pour les institutions qui ne disposent pas de leurs propres revenus, pour ne pas causer de problèmes au budget de l’Etat, a encore expliqué la ministre. Les syndicalistes des secteurs de la défense, de l’ordre public et de la santé ont déjà fait connaître leurs positions sur la loi de la grille unique des salaires. Le document devrait être adopté avant le 1er juillet et commencerait à produire des effets à partir du 1er janvier 2018. La ministre du Travail, Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, a précisé que les salaires du secteur public seraient majorés progressivement jusqu’en 2021, seuls les salariés du système de santé allant bénéficier d’une hausse salariale intégrale l’année prochaine.

Pétrochimie – Le ministre roumain de l’Economie, Mihai Tudose, a assuré les habitants de la ville de Râmnicu Vâlcea (sud), dont les revenus dépendent directement ou indirectement du combinat pétrochimique Oltchim, que la compagnie ne serait pas fermée après son rachat. Il a précisé que toute offre visant à faire fonctionner le combinat serait prioritaire. Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea est la dernière société fonctionnelle dans le domaine de la pétrochimie de Roumanie et un des plus grands fabricants de produits chimiques en Europe du Sud-Est. Il y a 10 ans, plus de 3 quarts de ses produits étaient exportés dans 80 pays. A présent, le combinat fait l’objet d’une procédure d’insolvabilité. Après plusieurs privatisations non réussies, l’assemblée des créanciers a approuvé un nouveau plan de vente de la société, qui pourrait être divisée en paquets d’actifs fonctionnels, soit une vente par morceaux, sans aucune obligation de transférer les quelque 2000 employés aux acheteurs.

Vaccins – En Roumanie, un nouveau projet de la loi de la vaccination sera soumis au débat public dans un mois tout au plus, a fait savoir le ministre de la Santé, Florian Bodog. Une fois la loi adoptée, les parents seront obligés de respecter les schémas de vaccination des enfants. Cette initiative survient dans le contexte où le taux des vaccinations est à la baisse en Roumanie depuis plusieurs années déjà, causant des épidémies qui ont entraîné la mort de nombre d’enfants. Par ailleurs, plusieurs vaccins manquent en Roumanie depuis plusieurs mois, le ministre de la Santé ayant annoncé que des contrats avaient été signés pour deux d’entre eux. Pour le vaccin anti-pneumococcique – les procédures d’achat démarreront au plus tôt. Pour celui contre l’hépatite B, un mécanisme européen a été activé, a encore précisé le ministre.

Tourisme – Le ministère du Tourisme de Bucarest fait la promotion de la Roumanie au Salon internationale de Tourisme de Berlin. Y participent 40 agences de tourisme et représentants de municipalités et d’associations roumaines. Présent à l’événement, le ministre roumain, Mircea Dobre, s’est entretenu avec le secrétaire général de l’Organisation mondiale du tourisme, Taleb Rifaï. L’occasion pour le responsable roumain de présenter les initiatives de promotion de notre pays au niveau international.

Tennis – Trois joueuses de tennis roumaines évoluent aujourd’hui au 2e tour de la compétition d’Indian Wells, aux Etats-Unis. Simona Halep, directement qualifiée dans cette étape, rencontrera la Croate Dona Vekic (n° 86 WTA). Monica Niculescu affrontera Timea Bacsinszky de Suisse, alors qu’Irina Begu jouera contre Louise Chirico des Etats – Unis. Dans la compétition masculine, le Roumain Marius Copil s’est qualifié, pour la première fois dans sa carrière, au tableau principal du tournoi de simple au tournoi ATP Masters d’Indian Wells. Il affrontera aujourd’hui l’Argentin Horacio Zeballos (73e).

Rugby – La sélection nationale de rugby de la Roumanie rencontrera samedi à Bruxelles l’équipe nationale de la Belgique, dans la 4e étape du Championnat d’Europe de rugby, compétition qui remplace à compter de cette année l’ancienne Coupe d’Europe des Nations. Jusqu’ici, la Roumanie a vaincu la Russie et l’Espagne, mais elle s’est inclinée devant l’Allemagne. La sélection nationale de Roumanie se classe 2e dans son groupe, après la Géorgie, alors que la Belgique est en dernière position. Dans la hiérarchie mondiale, la Roumanie occupe la 16e place, alors que la Belgique – la 27e.

Météo – Les météorologues roumains annoncent de la pluie, du vent fort et de la neige en montagne de vendredi jusqu’à dimanche soir. Le sud, l’est et le centre du pays seront sous la pluie, alors qu’en montagne on attend des précipitations mixtes, notamment de la neige. Aujourd’hui les températures sont à la baisse sur l’ensemble du pays, les maximales allant de 6 à 13 degrés. 7 degrés et de la pluie à midi à Bucarest.

10 March 2017
March 9, 2017 UPDATE

SPRING COUNCIL – European leaders, including Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday re-elected Donald Tusk as European Council president. Other topics on Fridays agenda are employment, economic growth and competitiveness, migration, institutional matters, as well as the EUs foreign relations. The Council will convene on Friday in the 27-member formula, without Great Britain. Before the Spring Council meeting, President Iohannis reiterated the fact that Romania believes in a strong, united Union, and opposes the idea of a multi-speed Europe. According to the Romanian head of state, it would be completely counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union.

MEETING – Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu on Thursday met in Brussels with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. The two discussed mainly about the Governments priorities and bilateral cooperation in the economic, social and cultural fields. On this occasion, the two agreed that Prime Minister Grindeanu should pay an official visit to Vienna for a comprehensive discussion on the future of the EU, given that Romania will be taking over the rotating presidency of the EU in 2019, from Austria. Talks were held on the sidelines of the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. Prime Minister Grindeanu insisted on the need to reform the EU and explained that cohesion funds and the Common Agricultural Policy are extremely important for Romania. The Romanian Prime Minister also met with French President Francois Hollande, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini and with the president of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanshev.

MOLDOVA – Moldovan officials on Thursday sent a letter to Moscow signaling a series of abuses against Moldovan MPs, Government members, special service employees and governing coalition politicians. According to a Parliament release, the complaints were voiced during the meeting between Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu and Russian Ambassador to Chisinau, Farit Muhametshin. The letter describes the way Moldovan officials are abusively detained upon entry into Russian Federation, interrogated, searched and subjected to humiliating treatment. The harassment of Moldovan officials and their being monitored internationally by means of Russias bilateral relations with third countries have escalated after investigation made headway into the the laundering of some 22 billion dollars from the Russian Federation via a Moldovan Bank.

HEALTHCARE – Since its EU accession in 2007, Romania has been faced with a mass exodus of medical staff, drawn by higher salaries and better work conditions to Western Europe, Reuters reports. The effect are telling, as Romania ranks among the EU states with the lowest number of doctors, although it ranks amongst its first in terms of the number of medical school graduates. Some 30% of positions in Romanian hospitals are vacant, while a third of Romanians have insufficient access to basic medical care. Former Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu is quoted as saying that entire cities lack a family physician. In 2016 the Health Ministry came up with a multiannual plan providing, among other things, for simplifying recruitment procedures and assistance for those who are not willing to practice medicine in rural areas, but the current Government has not adopted it yet, Reuters reports.

UNITARY PAY LAW – Salaries in Romanian education will grow, on average, by 57%, said the president of the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation Marius Nistor after todays negotiations with the Labour Ministry on the unitary pay law. On Friday, the talks will continue with trade unions from culture. So far, ministry officials have discussed with representatives of the defense, public order and health-care sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st, next year. According to the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, state employees salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the health-care sector.

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW – The 87th Geneva International Motor Show opened its doors on Friday. For ten days, visitors will have the opportunity to admire 900 automobiles, of which 148 are European and even world firsts. There are some 180 exhibitors attending the show in Geneva this year, an event supported by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. At the Romanian stand, visitors can see the Stepway version of the Dacia Logan MCV make, the fourth most successful of the range. Also, Renault has come up with a new concept, Zoe e-Sport, a super sport version of the electric model, and Peugeot-Citroen is displaying in Geneva the Peugeot 3008, declared the car of the year in Europe.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, ranking 11th in the ATP classification, has for the first time reached the main draw of the ATP Masters tournament in Indian Wells, the US, with 6.9 million dollars in prize money. In Thursdays qualifiers, he defeated the American Denis Kudla, no. 130 in the rankings, and will play in the first round against the Argentinean Horacio Zebalos (73 ATP). In the same tournament, the Romanian Monica Niculescu, no.45 in the WTA rankings, has qualified for the second round, after defeating another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, no. 66 in the classification. In the next round, Monica will play against the Swiss Timea Bacsinzky, no. 16. The best ranked Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 4 in the WTA classifications, will go straight to the second round to play against the winner of the match between the Croat Dona Vekic and the American Alison Riske. Irina Begu (31 WTA), also of Romania, will meet in the second round the US player Louise Chirico (65 WTA) and Patricia Tig (99 WTA) will play in the first round against the Colombian Mariana Duque Marino (112 WTA). (Translated by M. Ignatescu and V. Palcu)

9 March 2017
09.03.2017

Salaires – Les leaders des syndicats enseignants de Roumanie devraient se rendre aujourd’hui au ministère du Travail, pour la reprise des négociations sur la loi de la grille des salaires dans le secteur public. Demain, ce sera le tour des syndicats de la culture de discuter avec les représentants du ministère, tandis que les syndicalistes des secteurs de la défense, de l’ordre public et de la santé ont déjà fait connaître leurs positions. La loi mentionnée devrait être adoptée avant le 1er juillet et commencerait à produire des effets à partir du 1er janvier 2018. La ministre du Travail, Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, a précisé que les salaires du secteur public seront majoré graduellement jusqu’en 20121, seuls les salariés du système de santé allant bénéficier d’une majoration salariale intégrale l’année prochaine.

Sommet – Le Président de la Roumanie Klaus Iohannis participe, aujourd’hui et demain, à Bruxelles, au Conseil européen de printemps, dont l’agenda inclut des sujets liés à l’emploi, à la compétitivité et la croissance économiques, à la migration, à des aspects institutionnels ainsi qu’aux relations étrangères de l’Union européenne. Une réunion à 27, sans le Royaume Uni, est prévue pour demain. Les dirigeants de l’UE éliront aussi le président du Conseil européen pour la période 1er juin 2017 – 30 novembre 2019. Le président Klaus Iohannis a rappelé que la Roumanie croyait en une UE forte, unie et solidaire, et qu’elle rejeté l’idée d’une Europe à deux vitesses. Le chef de l’Etat roumain considère que ce serait entièrement contreproductif si l’UE n’acceptait que des projets accessibles à seulement quelques-uns de ses membres Le premier ministre roumain Sorin Grindeanu se trouve lui aussi dans la capitale belge, où il participe à une réunion du parti des socialistes européens. Les leaders socialistes se pencheront, entre autres, sur des aspects concernant l’avenir de l’UE, post Brexit.

Automobile – Le Salon de l’automobile de Genève ouvre aujourd’hui ses portes au grand public. Pendant dix jours, les visiteurs pourront regarder de près 900 voitures, dont 148 sont des premières mondiales ou européennes. La 87e édition du Salon de Genève rassemble plus de 180 exposants, l’événement bénéficiant du soutien de l’Organisation internationale des constructeurs automobiles. La marque roumaine Dacia expose la version Stepway de son break Logan MCV. Le groupe français Renault, qui détient aussi la marque Dacia, arrive à Genève avec, entre autres, une version sportive de sa voiture électrique Zoé, alors que l’autre producteur de l’Hexagone, PSA, présente sa Peugeot 3008, élue voiture de l’année en Europe.

Tennis – Le joueur de tennis roumain Marius Copil (111e mondial) s’est qualifié, pour la première fois dans sa carrière, au tableau principal du tournoi Masters d’Indian Wells, aux Etats Unis. Dans les qualifications, il a eu raison de l’Américain Denis Kudla, et affrontera au premier tour l’Argentin Horacio Zeballos. Dans la compétition féminine, la Roumaine Monica Niculescu a vaincu sa compatriote Sorana Cârstea et s’est qualifiée au deuxième tour, où elle rencontrera la Suissesse Timea Bacsinszky. Une autre Roumaine, Patricia Ţig affrontera au premier tour aussi la Colombienne Mariana Duque Marino. La meilleure joueuse roumaine du moment, Simona Halep (4e mondiale) jouera directement au deuxième tour, où s’est également qualifiée Irina Begu.

Météo – Les températures ont baissé partout en Roumanie, où il pleut notamment sur l’ouest et le nord-ouest. Les maximales du jour vont de 8 à 18°. 8° à midi, à Bucarest

9 March 2017
March 9, 2017

SPRING COUNCIL Romanias President Klaus Iohannis is attending today and tomorrow the Spring Council in Brussels. Iohannis has stated that the main topics on the meetings agenda are employment, economic growth and competitiveness, migration, institutional matters, as well as the EUs foreign relations. The Council will convene on Friday in the 27 formula, without Great Britain. One important issue on the agenda is the election of the European Council President for a term that will last from June 1st 2017 till November 30th 2019. President Iohannis has reiterated the fact that Romania believes in a strong, united Union, and opposes the idea of a multi-speed Europe. According to the Romanian head of state, it would be completely counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union. The Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu is in Brussels too, where he is attending the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. The socialists leaders are debating, among other things, topics relating to the future of the EU, after Brexit.

UNITARY PAY LAW Salaries in Romanian education will grow, on average, by 57%, said the president of the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation Marius Nistor after today’s negotiations with the Labour Ministry on the unitary pay law. Tomorrow, the talks will continue with trade unions from culture. So far, ministry officials have discussed with representatives of the defence, public order and health-care sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1^st in order to show effects as of January 1^st, next year. According to the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, state employees’ salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the health-care sector.

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The 87th Geneva International Motor Show has opened its doors today. For ten days, visitors will have the opportunity to admire 900 automobiles, of which 148 are European and even world firsts. There are some 180 exhibitors attending the show in Geneva this year, an event supported by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. At the Romanian stand, visitors can see the Stepway version of the Dacia Logan MCV model, the fourth most successful of the range. Also, Renault has come up with a new concept, Zoe e-Sport, a super sport version of the electric model, and Peugeot-Citroen is displaying in Geneva the Peugeot 3008, declared the car of the year in Europe.

40 HOLY MARTYRS Christian Orthodox and Catholic believers are today celebrating the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste. This is the most popular spring celebration, before Easter. The 40 martyrs were soldiers in the Roman army and were sentenced to death in the year 320 for their faith. They were killed in Sebaste, Armenia, during the anti-Christian persecution inflicted by Emperor Licinius. On this day, those who do not have a saint name, celebrate their name day. Also today is the day of the Anti-communist political detainees. Masses will be held in churches to honour those who suffered during the communist regime for their determination to defend their faith in God and the dignity of the Romanian people.

ROMANIAN ART Romanian painter Adrian Ghenies work “Self Portrait as Charles Darwin” was sold by Sothebys in London for 3.2 million pounds. On Tuesday, another two of his paintings were sold by Christies for 2.2 million: “The Hunter” and “Pie Fight Study”. Adrian Ghenie, aged 39, has had an incredible ascent to fame in the past years. In October 2016, his painting titled “Nickelodeon” was sold at an auction for 9 million dollars. The young painter is on the short list of all big auction houses in the world, and his works have been purchased and exhibited by famous museums across the world.

INDIAN WELLS The Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, ranking 111th in the ATP classification, has for the first time reached the main board of the ATP Masters tournament in Indian Wells, the US, with 6.9 million dollars in prize money. In Thursdays qualifiers, he defeated the American Denis Kudla, no. 130 in the rankings, and will play in the first round against the Argentinean Horacio Zebalos (73 ATP). In the same tournament, the Romanian Monica Niculescu, no.45 in the WTA rankings, has qualified for the second round, after defeating another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, no. 66 in the classification. In the next round, Monica will play against the Swiss Timea Bacsinzky, no. 16. The best ranked Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 4 in the WTA classifications, will go straight to the second round to play against the winner of the match between the Croat Dona Vekic and the American Alison Riske. Irina Begu (31 WTA), also of Romania, will meet in the second round the US player Louise Chirico (65 WTA) and Patricia Tig (99 WTA) will play in the first round against the Colombian Mariana Duque Marino (112 WTA).

9 March 2017
March 8, 2017

INTL WOMENS DAY – The International Womens Day is celebrated today in many countries. In Romania, where according to the latest data made public by the National Statistics Institute more than 10 million women live, women are celebrated in a series of debates, exhibitions, concerts, book launches and other events. The European Parliament is hosting a meeting of the Committee on Womens Rights and Gender Equality, with the theme Womens Economic Empowerment: Lets Act Together! the International Womens Day was first marked in the early 20th Century, after an organisation sponsored a meeting on womens rights in New York.

EUROPEAN COUNCIL – A “multi-speed Europe as a solution to give fresh impetus to the European project after Brexit will be the focus of talks at the European Council meeting due on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, where Romania will be represented by President Klaus Iohannis. The two-speed Europe idea, backed by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, is also strongly supported by France and Germany, which were joined on Monday in Versailles by Italy and Spain. Romania will oppose this plan, as the President pointed out once again on Tuesday in Bucharest. In turn, the Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu will present Romanias stand in Brussels today, at the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. Other countries are also concerned with the prospect of becoming second-level member states. These include the members of the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), who have already opposed Brussels policy on migration.

RESIGNATION – The former prime minister of Romania, Deputy Victor Ponta, has today announced he is submitting his undated resignation from the Social Democratic Party, and leaving it to the party president Liviu Dragnea to make a decision in this respect. Ponta added that he and Dragnea no longer worked together. Dragnea replied that he would never agree with the ex-PM leaving the party. The announcement comes after many speculations in the media regarding the cold relations between the two leading Social Democrats. In 2015, Ponta became the first PM in office to be subject to criminal investigations for corruption offences, and in the same year he stepped down as head of the party and of the government, amid massive street protests. Dragnea took over the presidency of the Social Democratic Party. In 2016, Dragnea himself received a suspended 2-year prison sentence, for attempted election fraud, and is currently on trial in a separate corruption case.

MILITARY – The Atlantic Resolve and Poseidon 2017 multinational military exercises continue today at the “Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in south-eastern Romania and in the Black Sea. For the first time, 8 American helicopters are taking part in the drills. They were deployed from several European countries, as part of the US commitment to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO. This is the first such unit deployed to Eastern Europe, as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which brings together over 2,200 troops, 86 helicopters and over 700 pieces of military equipment sent from several American ports to Germany, Latvia and Romania. Also today, a sea survey vessel, Alexandru Cătuneanu is conducting research training at sea.

ITB BERLIN – 40 tour-operators from Romania are taking part until Sunday in the Berlin Travel Trade Show, the largest such fair in the world. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Tourism Ministry, destinations from around the country will be presented. Romanias stand will also host egg painting demonstrations, and folk costume and traditional jewellery design workshops. During a Romanian-themed evening, traditional Romanian music, dance and cuisine will be introduced to visitors. The Tourism Minister, Mircea-Titus Dobre, is taking part today, on the first day of the trade show, in the Silk Road Ministers Meeting, an event organised by the World Tourism Organisation. Tomorrow, the Romanian official will have meetings with his counterparts from Poland, Serbia, and Ukraine, and then he will give an address at the Danube Salon, a conference devoted to joint tourism projects by riparian countries. Romania has been taking part in this trade show since 1970.

TENNIS – The Romanians Sorana Cirstea (66 WTA) and Monica Niculescu (45 WTA) are playing against each other today in the opening round of the Premier Mandatory tournament of Indian Wells, in the USA, with 6.9 million US dollars in prize money. Three other players from Romania, Simona Halep (4 WTA), Irina Begu (32 WTA) and Patricia Tig (99 WTA) are also playing in the tournament. Halep and Begu are playing in the second round. Last year Simona Halep was eliminated from the quarter-finals of this tournament by world no. 1 Serena Williams.

8 March 2017
13.03.2016

Conférence — Le président de la Chambre des députés du Parlement de Bucarest, Valeriu Zgonea, participe à Berlin à une conférence internationale consacrée à la lutte contre l’antisémitisme. M. Zgonea préside la session intitulée « Réponses officielles et gouvernementales à l’antisémitisme ». Les participants à la conférence, dont le premier vice-président de la Commission européenne Frans Timmermans, la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel, le président du Bundestag Norbert Lammert et la directrice générale de l’Unesco Irina Bokova, se penchent sur des sujets tels le discours antisémite disséminé sur Internet ou encore pratiques de lutte contre l’antisémitisme dans les communautés musulmanes.

Migration — Un nouvel équipage roumain s’est joint aux missions de patrouille en mer Méditerranée, dans la lutte contre la migration illégale. Le ministère de l’Intérieur de Bucarest informe qu’un hélicoptère de type Eurocopter appartenant à l’Inspection générale de l’aviation, et un équipage de quatre pilotes, prendront part à l’opération conjointe « Poseidon Rapid Intervention », mise en place par l’Agence européenne FRONTEX, aux côtés d’autres équipages aériens, maritimes et terrestres, de 26 pays. Les Roumains seront présents sur l’île grecque de Samos, pour une période de deux semaines. La Roumanie a une contribution importante aux actions de sécurisation des frontières de l’UE organisées par FRONTEX ; elle prend part aux missions contre l’immigration illégale dans les eaux territoriales italiennes et hellènes et à la frontière entre la Serbie et l’ex-République yougoslave de Macédoine.

Elections — Environ 13 millions d’Allemands sont appelés ce dimanche aux urnes, pour des élections régionales dans les Etats régionaux de Bade-Wurtemberg, Rhénanie-Palatinat et Saxe-Anhalt. Ce sont des élections test, à 18 mois des législatives, qui pourraient marquer l’ascension de la droite populiste, aux dépens des partis traditionnels, notamment des conservateurs de la chancelière Angela Merkel. Plus d’un million d’immigrants sont entrés en Allemagne en 2015 ; la crise des réfugiés a bouleversé la scène politique, mettant en danger la position de leader incontestable détenue par Mme Merkel depuis dix ans. Les Allemands sont de plus en plus nombreux à se tourner vers la droite populiste, qui demande principalement la fermeture des frontières. Créée il y a seulement trois ans pour contester leuro, lAlternative pour lAllemagne (AFD) est pressentie comme la grande gagnante de ces scrutins, créditée dentre 9% et 19% des intentions de vote selon la région.

Palais — Des centaines de personnes ont visité samedi le Palais Primăverii de Bucarest — ancienne résidence de la famille du dictateur Nicolae Ceauşescu, ouvert au public à partir de ce week-end, 26 ans après la chute du communisme en Roumanie. Le Palais Primăverii, construit entre 1964 et 1965, dispose de plus de 80 chambres, d’une salle de cinéma et d’une piscine. La réouverture du palais s’inscrit dans la campagne « Votre droit de savoir », coordonnée par le vice premier ministre Vasile Dîncu, avec l’appui du Secrétariat général du gouvernement et de la Régie du protocole d’Etat.

Film — Le film hongrois « Le fils de Saul », dans lequel joue aussi l’acteur roumano-hongrois Levente Molnár et récemment récompensé de l’Oscar du meilleur film étranger, vient de sortir en salle en Roumanie aussi. Le film raconte l’histoire de Saul, un prisonnier juif de Hongrie, forcé par les nazis de nettoyer les chambres à gaz d’Auschwitz, en 1944. Dans le film, Saul fait tout pour soustraire le corps dun adolescent, qu’il soupçonne être son fils afin de lui offrir une sépulture décente. L’acteur Levente Molnár, de la troupe du Théâtre magyar d’Etat de Cluj-Napoca, y joue le rôle du meilleur ami de Saul.

Handball — L’équipe nationale de handball féminin de Roumanie rencontre aujourd’hui en déplacement la sélection de Norvège, championne européenne, mondiale et olympique en titre, dans le match retour comptant pour le Groupe 1 de qualification au Championnat d’Europe de décembre prochain. Le match aller a été remporté par les Roumaines sur le score final de 25 à 20. Les tricolores, entraînées par le Suédois Tomas Ryde, occupent actuellement la première place dans leur groupe, suivies par les Norvégiennes, les Bélarusses et les Lituaniennes, et sont très proches de la qualification au tournoi européen final. La nationale de handball féminin de Roumanie participera aussi au tournoi préolympique d’Aarhus, au Danemark, aux côtés du pays hôte, de l’Uruguay et du Monténégro. Les équipes qui occuperont les deux premières places, se qualifieront aux Jeux Olympiques de Rio du mois d’août.

Tennis — Les joueuses de tennis roumaines Simona Halep et Monica Niculescu se sont qualifiées au troisième tour du tournoi d’Indian Wells, aux Etats Unis. Lundi, elles affronteront la Russe Ekaterina Makarova, pour Simona Halep, et la Polonaise Agnieszka Radwanska, pour Monica Niculescu.

Météo — En Roumanie, le ciel est couvert au-dessus de l’est, du sud et du sud-ouest où des pluies éparses sont signalées. Les températures de la mi-journée vont de 6 à 15°. 8°, à Bucarest, à midi. Une vigilance orange aux inondations sur le Danube est en vigueur jusqu’au 18 mars.

13 March 2016
12.03.2016 (mise à jour)

Conférence — Le président de la Chambre des députés du Parlement de Bucarest, Valeriu Zgonea, participe à Berlin à une conférence internationale consacrée à la lutte contre l’antisémitisme. M. Zgonea préside la session intitulée « Réponses officielles et gouvernementales à l’antisémitisme ». Les participants à la conférence, dont le premier vice-président de la Commission européenne, Frans Timmermans, la chancelière allemande, Angela Merkel, le président du Bundestag, Norbert Lammert, et la directrice générale de l’Unesco, Irina Bokova, se penchent sur des sujets tels le discours antisémite disséminé sur Internet ou encore pratiques de lutte contre l’antisémitisme dans les communautés musulmanes.

Tennis — Les joueuses de tennis roumaines Simona Halep et Monica Niculescu se sont qualifiées au troisième tour du tournoi d’Indian Wells, aux Etats Unis. Simona Halep, tête de série n° 5, a remporté une victoire facile devant l’Américaine Vania King, 6-1 6-1. Monica Niculescu a eu besoin de trois sets pour vaincre la Britannique Heather Watson, 6-4 2-6 6-2. Au troisième tour, les adversaires des Roumaines seront Ekaterina Makarova, pour Simona Halep, et Agnieszka Radwanska pour Monica Niculescu.

Rugby — La sélection de rugby de Roumanie a eu raison de la nationale d’Allemagne, 61 à 7, dans un match disputé à Iasi (est de la Roumanie) et comptant pour la Coupe européenne des nations — deuxième échelon continental après le Tournoi des six nations. Antérieurement, les tricolores avaient aussi vaincu le Portugal (39 à 14), la Russie (30 à 0) et l’Espagne (21 à 18). La semaine prochaine, les rugbymen roumains se déplaceront à Tbilissi, où ils affronteront la Géorgie, dans le match derby de la compétition.

Météo — Le ciel sera couvert sur l’est, le sud et le sud-ouest de la Roumanie où des pluies faibles seront signalées dans les prochaines 24h. Dimanche à la mi-journée les températures se situeront entre 6 et 15 degrés. Une vigilance orange aux inondations est en vigueur sur le Danube.

12 March 2016