Radio România Internațional

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  • November 29, 2022

    November 29, 2022

    NATO The foreign ministers of NATO member countries, partner countries
    and of the 2 candidate countries are in Bucharest for a 2-day meeting. It is
    the first meeting of this kind hosted by Romania since it joined the Alliance and the
    first event held in a NATO eastern flank country since the start of the war in
    Ukraine, Romania’s foreign ministry highlighted. The meeting comprises 3
    working sessions, 2 of which will be attended by the Allies together with
    Sweden and Finland. Taking part in the third session will also be the foreign
    ministers of Bosnia – Herzegovina, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. The
    first day of the meeting will conclude with a working dinner attended by the
    foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, and the EU foreign policy chief,
    Josep Borrell. The agenda of the meeting in Bucharest includes the
    implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO summit in Madrid. The war in
    Ukraine and the provision of long-term political and practical support from the
    Allies will be the main topic of discussion. Other topics include energy security,
    China, the strategic importance of the Black Sea region. NATO’s secretary
    general Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Bucharest on Monday, and had meetings with
    president Klaus Iohannis, PM Nicolae Ciucă and the foreign minister Bogdan
    Aurescu.


    MEETING Bucharest is the capital of European and Euro-Atlantic diplomacy
    and even beyond these regions, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu
    said. Apart from the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Romania is hosting
    these days, for the first time ever, a Munich Leaders Meeting. 75 top-level
    governmental officials and foreign policy and security experts are discussing
    the consequences of the war in Ukraine as well as other security issues in the
    region. The 11th Aspen Forum also begins in Bucharest today, with
    participants including the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The 2022 edition
    of the Forum takes place in the context of the war in Ukraine, which has
    affected the entire world both in economic and security terms, and which is not
    expected to come to an end soon, therefore it will only deepen multiple crisis,
    the Aspen Institute says in a news release posted ahead of the meeting. Also in
    Bucharest, a new energy coordination task force is scheduled to convene. The
    group comprises officials of G7 and other Allied countries, and is working to
    mobilise or plan the supply of equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible.


    PARTNERSHIP Ahead of the US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s visit to
    Bucharest to take part in the NATO Council, the US Department of State hailed
    the celebration of 25 years since the Strategic Partnership with Romania was
    signed. A US Department of State news release mentions Bucharest’s contribution
    to NATO and multinational operations, the fact that the country hosts several
    NATO and American military structures, including the missile defence system in Deveselu.
    I am very happy and proud to say that our strategic partnership has reached the
    highest level in its quarter-century history, the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă
    said in his turn, after the meeting with the US official in Bucharest. Twenty-five
    years is a very important benchmark, which makes us aware that in 1997 a
    generation was born which grew up and reached maturity concurrently with the
    strategic partnership. I am confident that this generation will do everything
    in their power to safeguard the freedom and rights we have secured and
    democratic values, Mr. Ciuca also said. We have an unshakeable alliance, built
    on shared values, and strong relations in the economic sector, including the
    energy sector, Antony Blinken said, and also mentioned the academic and
    cultural exchanges between the 2 countries.


    NATIONAL DAY The Romanian Cultural Institute organises 50 events until December
    10, to celebrate the National Day of Romania in 31 cities abroad. According to
    the president of the Institute, Liviu Jicman, the events held in emblematic
    locations in the respective countries place the works of Romanian artists among
    the most important cultural landmarks of today and contribute to raising
    awareness among foreign cultural and arts communities and the general public
    with respect to the Romanian culture. On December 1, the National Day of Romania, a parade will be
    organised in Bucharest and another one in Alba Iulia. On Monday the Parliament
    celebrated 104 years since the Great Union in a special meeting. (AMP)

  • On democracy and NATO’s eastern flank

    On democracy and NATO’s eastern flank

    At the Bucharest Forum of the Aspen Institute, the
    NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, called on Allies to invest in
    critical infrastructure and to reduce reliance on resources from states that
    are potential adversaries.


    Jens Stoltenberg nominated Russia and China as
    the main global actors that undermine a world order based on rules and that
    operate in areas that have become essential for the security of democracies.


    Our potential adversaries are using our
    vulnerabilities to advance their interests, investing in our critical infrastructure
    as a way to interfere in our societies, and trying to exploit our dependencies
    on essential supplies – like gas, oil and rare earth minerals, Jens
    Stoltenberg pointed out.


    Hementioned several times Russia’s aggressive
    conduct, and at the same forum the Romanian defence minister Vasile Dîncu said Russia
    should be included in NATO’s new strategic concept as a potential serious
    military threat. Russia has a comprehensive plan to destabilise the Alliance,
    including through a possible attack on Ukraine, Vasile Dâncu emphasized:


    Vasile Dâncu: Russia should be
    featured as a potential serious threat to NATO in military terms. Obviously,
    dialogue must remain the main form of engagement and it must be strengthened,
    but although NATO has followed this path for a decade, we can see now that this
    approach has failed, at least in the medium run; perhaps only in the beginning.


    At the same forum in Bucharest, the US Department
    of State issued a warning and an assessment. As the deputy assistant secretary
    of state for Europe, Douglas Jones, put it, Russia’s recent military build-up
    and the threat of repeating aggression on Ukraine clearly indicate that Russia
    is the most immediate threat to collective security. We need to maintain strong defence and deterrence against Russia and,
    united, to make it clear that Russia will have to pay if it keeps this aggressive
    stance.


    The Russian-Ukrainian crisis was once again tackled
    on Thursday by the US president Joe Biden, this time in talks with the leaders
    of the Bucharest Nine countries. On this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis pleaded
    for strengthening NATO’s presence in the eastern flank and for fully equipping
    the Alliance to meet Russia’s challenges.


    The White House leader promised NATO states in
    Central Europe to earmark additional military capabilities, and reiterated the
    US commitment to Article 5 in the NATO Treaty, under which an attack against one
    Ally is an attack against all.


    Previously, president Biden assured his Ukrainian
    counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that the US unwaveringly supports Ukraine’s
    sovereignty and territorial integrity. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • April 1, 2021

    April 1, 2021

    COVID-19 President Klaus Iohannis announced today that in the forthcoming period Romania will receive a substantial number of anti-Covid doses and the vaccine rollout can be stepped up. The head of state urged Romanians to have confidence in the benefits of immunisation. Romania is drawing close to 1 million infections since the start of the pandemic, with over 6,000 cases reported in the past 24 hours alone and a record-high number of patients in intensive care (1,434). The most cases were reported in Bucharest, but the highest infection rate is in Ilfov County, near the capital city. The death toll is now over 23,500. Meanwhile, over 3 million vaccine doses have been given since the end of December to more than 2 million people.




    PROTESTS In Bucharest and several other cities in Romania protests continued on Wednesday, for the 4th night in a row, against the anti-COVID measures introduced by the authorities. Unlike previous nights, on Wednesday protests were more low-key. Participants chanted anti-government slogans, and demanded the lifting of restrictions such as mandatory outdoor face covering, online schooling and the closing of restaurants and gyms. The authorities argue however that the measures are necessary if the accelerated spread of the novel coronavirus is to be curbed.




    REPORT The US State Departments 2020 Report on Human Rights Practices points out that Romania lacks efficient mechanisms to investigate and punish police abuse, and many corruption or abuse cases end in acquittals. According to the document, charges of brutality and cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment, brought against several police and gendarme members, have been dropped. Violence against women and children is also a serious and continuing problem in Romania, the report also reads.




    INSTITUTE Bucharest celebrates today 100 years since the Cantacuzino Institute was founded under an order signed by King Ferdinand. Since 2017, the Institute has been subordinated to the National Defence Ministry. Over the years, the institution conducted research in microbiology and related fields, produced vaccines and serums and was involved in public healthcare. Cantacuzino Institute works with instituttes and universities around the world.




    ENVIRONMENT The US president Joe Biden yesterday put forth a USD 2-billion investment plan targeting among others the creation of jobs and fighting climate change. The American Jobs Plan is an investment in America that will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our countrys infrastructure, and position the United States to out-compete China, Biden said. According to the RRA correspondent in Washington, Bidens advisers say the pandemic changed the US citizens attitude regarding the role of the government, and created expectations of unprecedented investments in the reconstruction of the country.




    FOOTBALL Romanias football team lost to Armenia, 3-2, in Yerevan on Wednesday night. In the same group J of the World Cup qualifiers, North Macedonia defeated Germany away from home. The group also includes Iceland and Liechtenstein. With one win against North Macedonia and 2 losses to Germany and Armenia, Romania ranks 4th in the group standings, topped by Armenia and North Macedonia. Only the top team in each group moves up into the final tournament, and the second-ranking teams go into playoffs. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • New tragedy hits Romania’s hospitals

    New tragedy hits Romania’s hospitals

    Last November, when Romania was struggling with thousands of daily new coronavirus infections, the intensive care unit of the County Emergency Hospital in Piatra Neamţ (north-east of the country) was the scene of a devastating fire that killed 10 of the hospitals patients.



    In the wake of the event, Public Health Directorate teams and experts with the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations conducted inspections in all ICUs across the country, to check installations and the procedures for operating relevant medical equipment. The checks revealed that there are counties in Romania where no hospital has a fire safety permit. A public healthcare trade union warned at the time that the Piatra Neamţ tragedy may repeat itself anywhere in the country, because of the worn-out equipment and overworked personnel.



    Early on Friday morning, a fire broke out in one of the buildings of the Matei Balş Infectious Disease Hospital in Bucharest, a state-of-the-art healthcare unit which has been, as the saying goes, on the frontline of the coronavirus fight. Only COVID patients with medium and severe forms of the disease are cared for in this hospital. This incident, too, made victims among the patients.



    Dr. Beatrice Mahler is the head of the Marius Nasta Institute in Bucharest, one of the units that took over the patients evacuated from Matei Balş. She told Radio Romania that investments in infrastructure are vital and must come as soon as possible.



    In turn, the health minister Vlad Voiculescu does not deny the need for radical changes in the public health system and for substantial investments. He says however the responsibility in such situations rests with the hospital manager.



    Vlad Voiculescu: “Before talking about major changes in the healthcare system, we need managers to do their job at each level and yes, very often we need funding, which may come from multiple sources, but more often than not this is about the hospital management. We shouldnt get lost in general healthcare policy issues. Because the fact is that a building does not catch fire because of the system, but rather because some rules have not been observed and some investments have not been made, or have been made inadequately.



    The former manager of the Matei Balş Institute, Adrian Streinu-Cercel, Ph.D., currently a Social Democratic Senator in opposition, vowed that the hospital has all permits in order. The building affected by the fire is an old one, but it had been revamped, including in terms of oxygen supplies, Streinu-Cercel explained.



    The mass media are looking back at similar incidents occurring in hospitals, and there have been rather many of them. One of the most devastating took place in August 2010, when a fire that broke out in the intensive care ward of a maternity hospital in Bucharest killed 5 new-borns. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Romania’s cultural sector and European trends

    Romania’s cultural sector and European trends

    Insula 42, in a partnership with the French Institute and Goethe Institut in Bucharest, have launched a series of “European Incubator meetings. A first online session, chaired by Corina Şuteu, was attended by Hélène Roos, head of the French Cultural Institutes in Romania, and Joachim Umlauf, director of the Goethe Institut Bucharest.



    The participants, joined by representatives of the Cluj Cultural Centre, discussed both the problems facing the culture sector in Romania in the wake of the current healthcare crisis, and means of sustaining and even strengthening the cultural partnerships with France and Germany in this context.



    Hélène Roos says the cultural networks formed and developed over the past few months are the biggest gain for the cultural institutes in Romania:



    Hélène Roos: “We are talking a lot about the negative effects of the isolation, but one of the effects is that our team is working a lot more in a network of institutes. We have set up a national network, and I believe the word “network will be a recurrent term from now on. As regards our initiatives, we launched a programme called FrenchMania, with virtual presentations, online or telephone meetings with the youth interested in studying in France.



    Cultural partnerships between Romania and France or other European countries carried on throughout the isolation period. Events switched to the online medium, and debates were the main strategy used by stakeholders in cultural exchanges and international projects to work out solutions.



    Hélène Roos: “A first priority is to support French-Romanian partnerships, our partners in festivals, and a second one is to support civil society in joining us. We work to support the education sector, which went online and carries on in spite of the crisis. Fear paralyses. And while concerns are only natural, having a project to focus on enables us to overcome our fear and to find solutions.



    The French Institute in Bucharest carried on its projects and programmes online. Just like elsewhere in Europe, Hélène Roos invites Romanian intellectuals as well to join the talks seeking new ideas to support culture:



    Hélène Roos: “The future will be shaped by the practices we launch today. We must adapt and adjust, and this experience will help us rethink our future projects. We need Romanian, French, German, European intellectuals to discuss a possible cultural model for today and tomorrow. And to be able to do this, we need to be united, to work together.



    Joachim Umlauf runs the “Goethe Institut in Bucharest. During the roundtable organised by Insula 42, he discussed the impact of the current crisis on civil society. Just like Hélène Roos, he believes partnership to be the key concept for overcoming this delicate period:



    Joachim Umlauf: “We notice that the consequences of this crisis deeply touch civil society, in economic and social terms. Hopefully, these consequences will not be very harsh, although they will certainly be difficult. One of our tasks is to create cohesion in society and to support the cultural sector. We want our Romanian partners to be able to carry on, because we have been working together for many years, in a close partnership between France, Germany and Romania.



    Language classes are one of the core programmes of a cultural institute, and just like all cultural institutes in Romania, “Goethe Institut is also facing budgetary constraints that affect its activities. Nonetheless, says Joachim Umlauf, for the time being the priority is to preserve both the full team, and the relevance of the institution he is heading, in a society hit by crisis.



    Joachim Umlauf: “There is an economic problem as well, because these language classes used to balance the budget of the institution. We had to give up certain programmes and cultural projects that secured revenues for the institution. We had no choice. This year we had to cut the budget earmarked for cultural programmes by nearly 40%, to be able to keep our full team, to continue to pay our teachers, to keep our students and to make sure everybody is okay.



    Obviously, online interaction alone cannot replace direct, human interaction. Joachim Umlauf says it is particularly important for people to find a balance between this new norm, triggered by the new state of affairs, and the old cultural practices:



    Joachim Umlauf: “In the future we need to strike a balance between the digital format we are testing now and the old face to face interactions. Clearly, in terms of the environment and mobility, it will be good for the Romanian, French and German partners to be able to communicate via Skype or other platforms. But on the other hand, now as well as after this crisis, the need for physical contact is and will be tremendous.



    Romania embraces the latest best practices and strategies aimed at restarting the culture sector across Europe. And partnership, dialogue and finding common solutions remain vital.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)