Radio România Internațional

Tag: Iohannis

  • February 12, 2025

    February 12, 2025

    Ceremony – Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, ended his mandate on Wednesday at noon in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bucharest after impeachment pressure over cancelled presidential vote. He had already announced his resignation on Monday. The two mandates to which Klaus Iohannis was entitled should have ended on December 21 last year, but he remained in office after the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election due to suspicions regarding interference of state actors. Dissatisfied with the decision of the constitutional court judges, tens of thousands of Romanians protested in the streets. Political analysts believe that, with the resignation of Klaus Iohannis, the tensions in society accumulated in the last months will decrease. A 65-year-old ethnic German, former physics teacher and former mayor of the city of Sibiu (center), Klaus Iohannis leaves the presidency with an extremely low popularity rating. The interim president is, as of Wednesday, the speaker of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan, who previously self-suspended from the position of speaker of the Senate and president of the National Liberal Party (PNL). He will be interim president until May, when the presidential election is scheduled on the 4th and 18th respectively. He will have almost all the prerogatives of the head of state, with a few exceptions: he will not have the right to address Parliament, dissolve Parliament and organize a referendum.

     

    PNRR – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is today chairing the meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Coordination of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will also be attended by the head of the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Task Force SG RECOVER, Celine Gauer. The two met on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Ciolacu stated that the Government will continue implementing the reforms and investments assumed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) at a pace that will be accelerated at the level of each ministry. The PM also emphasized that the digitization measures taken by National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) improve the collection of public revenues, and the results will be felt in the coming years. At the same time, the reform of the central administration and the other solutions to reduce personnel expenses will lead to a more rigorous control of public resources and to a budget deficit target of 7% of the Gross Domestic Product in 2025, the prime minister added.

     

    Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB (Bucharest), play, on Thursday, against the Greek champions, PAOK Thessaloniki, a team coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu, in the first leg of the play-off for qualification for the Europa League round of 16. The return match will take place in Bucharest, on February 20. PAOK and FCSB faced each other this season also in the main phase of the competition, and the Romanian champions won the match in Thessaloniki with the score of 1-0. FCSB finished the main stage in 11th place and PAOK in 22nd. The first eight teams qualified directly for the round of 16, and the teams in positions 9-24 will play a double-leg play-off for access to the round of 16.

     

    AI – The European Union will invest 200 billion Euros in artificial intelligence projects – the head of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in Paris. Attending the international meeting in the French capital dedicated to this sector, the president of the European Commission also spoke about a public-private partnership for mobilizing the capital necessary to develop the new technologies. The Minister of Economy and Digitalization in the Romanian government, Bogdan Ivan, also attended the meeting, and said that Romania was ready to play its role in the projects that will define the future. ‘Romania has a lot of specialists and well-trained companies in the field, and last year it adopted a Strategy for Artificial Intelligence that makes it interoperable from the point of view of research with the most developed states in the world’ minister Ivan also told Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris.

     

    Corruption – For the third year in a row Romania is among the EU countries with the ‘poorest’ results in combating corruption, obtaining a score of 46 points on a par with Malta, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2024, published by the non-governmental organization Transparency International. Denmark (90 p.) leads the ranking, while on the last places are countries such as Somalia (9 p.), Venezuela (10 p.) and Syria (12 p.).  The CPI reflects how independent and business experts perceive corruption in the public sector in 180 states and territories. (LS)

  • Reactions to the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis

    Reactions to the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis

    The political class in Bucharest reacted to the first resignation in the history of Romanian presidents.

     

     

    Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation from the position of President of Romania on Monday, saying his decision was meant to pre-empt a political crisis. In a public statement, Iohannis described the opposition MPs’ bid to impeach him as useless, unfounded and damaging. He said that he had never violated the Constitution and warned over the danger of Romania facing political crisis had he been impeached.

     

    Klaus Iohannis: “Internally, society will be divided, there will be no discussion about the upcoming presidential elections, there will be no discussion about how Romania will move forward. Externally, the effects will be long-lasting and very negative. Absolutely none of our allies will understand why Romania is impeaching its president, after, in fact, it has already started the procedure for electing a new president. In order to spare Romania and the Romanian citizens from this crisis, from this unnecessary and negative development, I am resigning from the position of President of Romania.”

     

    The leaders of the ruling coalition in Bucharest said they were not aware of Klaus Iohannis’ intention to resign, but that the move was preferable to impeachment, which would have complicated the political situation. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu: “I did not know about it. I am not a big fan of President Klaus Iohannis. I have never voted for him”. Klaus Iohannis is now in the past, said in turn, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), Kelemen Hunor, who explained that 10 years ago Iohannis was elected with huge hopes, but that he left behind a tense society. Kelemen Hunor: “He was elected with great hopes and with the chance to be a good president for every person, for every community. He has now stepped down, leaving behind frustration and disappointment, but, at the same time, has opened the way for all of us, for the coalition, for its candidate and for Romania to elect a good president, a president for every individual”.

     

    The opposition parties, the sovereigntist-isolationist POT, AUR, S.O.S Romania and the pro-European USR, who signed the motion for the president’s impeachment, welcomed the latter’s decision to resign. USR, however, says that the resignation comes very late and does not give answers to the questions that are tormenting the country. USR deputy leader, Ionuţ Moşteanu: “It is a decision that everyone has been waiting for. And USR has contributed to it. It is an advantage for all pro-European candidates that Klaus Iohannis will not be at Cotroceni during this campaign”.

     

    In turn, the representatives of AUR welcomed Klaus Iohannis’ resignation and announced their intention to table a censure motion against the government led by Marcel Ciolacu. The international media also reacted to the first resignation in the history of Romanian presidents. In a troubled Romania, the president throws in the towel, France Presse wrote, adding: “Klaus Iohannis leaves the presidency with an extremely controversial mandate and a high degree of unpopularity”, while Reuters specifies that the outgoing president of Romania resigns to pre-empt an impeachment bid in parliament.

  • February 10, 2025 UPDATE 2

    February 10, 2025 UPDATE 2

    REACTIONS – The opposition parties in the Bucharest Parliament, which had initiated the procedure to impeach outgoing President Klaus Iohannis, welcomed the latter’s decision to resign. MP Dan Tanasa, with the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) said that Iohannis was in office illegally and that the Romanians no longer wanted him. Also from the opposition, the head of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, said that the president’s resignation does not offer answers regarding the annulment of last year’s election and that, thorough changes are further needed in the relation between citizens and the state institutions. Representing the governing coalition, the Liberal mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc, said that resignation is preferable to impeachment, which would have complicated both the domestic political scene and Romania’s credibility abroad. The Social Democratic mayor of Craiova, Olguţa Vasilescu, pointed out that, as regards the presidential elections, the ruling coalition’s candidate continues to be the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu. The latter said that Klaus Iohannis’ resignation was a wise decision as it pre-empted the impeachment bid and a referendum. Senate speaker Ilie Bolojan, head of the Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition, will take over as interim president with limited powers until the election.

  • February 10, 2025 UPDATE

    February 10, 2025 UPDATE

    RESIGNATION   Klaus Iohannis  Monday announced he stepped down as president of Romania. He mentioned he would leave office on February 12. Parliament initiated an impeachment procedure, but this is a useless and groundless move, as I have never breached the country’s Constitution,  Klaus   Iohannis explained.   The head of state also warned that the move would have consequences both at national and international level.

    Previously, the joint standing bureaus of the two chambers had decided that Parliament would discuss on Tuesday, in a plenary meeting, the Opposition’s impeachment request.  The document was signed by 178 MPs, most of them from the self-proclaimed sovereigntist opposition.

    Klaus Iohannis’ second and last term in office came to an end on December 21, 2024. The Constitutional Court decided to cancel the presidential election and to keep Klaus Iohannis in office until a new president is elected, because of foreign interference in the election process. (AMP)

  • The Week in Review (03-07.02.2025)

    The Week in Review (03-07.02.2025)

    The 2025 budget, adopted

    Romania’s state and social security budgets were adopted on February 6 by the Bucharest Parliament, shortly after being greenlit by the expert committees. The budget is built on an economic growth rate of 2.5% and a deficit of 7% of GDP. Last year, the deficit was close to 9%, prompting the new PSD – PNL – UDMR ruling coalition to make efforts for its gradual reduction. The government has promised that investments will not be affected by the budget rebalancing. According to the finance minister, Tánczos Barna, conditions are met to support the country’s development through record investments and to ensure the financial resources for the payment of salaries and pensions and the protection of the vulnerable categories. The opposition USR criticized the new budget provisions, for what they see as overestimation of income, indebtedness of Romanians through the measures adopted and the elimination of some tax facilities.

     

     

    Huge real estate scam with political overtones

    The vote on the state budget was not the only important event that took place on Wednesday, in Parliament. Representatives of both opposition groups in Parliament, the pro-Europeans and the sovereigntists, loudly demanded the resignation of the Social-Democratic prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. The reason is the insufficiently clarified connections which he allegedly has with the former Social Democratic MP Laura Vicol, who headed the Chamber of Deputies’ legal committee for four years, and with her husband, Vladimir Ciorbă. The Prosecutor’s Office accuses the two of having developed a financial scam through which they collected from clients, individuals and legal entities, over 195 million euros, without delivering the apartments and parking lots which their clients had paid for. The Vicol-Ciorbă couple and three other people with positions within the Nordis group of companies have been arrested this week after extensive searches carried out in Romania and abroad. The investigation targets 40 individuals and 32 companies. According to investigators, there were also cases of the same apartment being sold to different clients. The prosecutor’s office seized hundreds of apartments and houses, commercial spaces, land, cars and shares and blocked dozens of bank accounts of the individuals and companies involved. The tax office announced an internal control, after prosecutors claimed that four of its inspectors could be charged with favoring the criminal. The latter allegedly took no measures against the Nordis group, although they had already discovered irregularities three years ago. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who traveled on planes rented by Nordis, claims that he paid for his flights himself. He is not being accused of any crime, but his image is tainted by his presence, alongside other PSD leaders, in the company of such people.

     

    A new attempt to suspend the president

    Prime Minister Ciolacu is not the only one whose resignation is being requested. One of the three sovereigntist parties in the Romanian Parliament on Wednesday submitted a new request, the third, for the suspension of President Klaus Iohannis. The previous request had been rejected by the Permanent Bureaus. The new request is also signed by the Save Romanian Union (USR) whose members said they would vote for it if it reached the plenary session. The opposition claims that the presence of Iohannis at the helm of the state is illegitimate. However, Iohannis repeatedly ruled out the option of his resignation, arguing that the Constitution requires him to remain in office until the future president is sworn in. Iohannis remained in office although his second and last term expired on December 21, after the Constitutional Court annulled last year’s presidential election. A new vote will take place on May 4 and 18. The former liberal leader Crin Antonescu will also enter the race for the supreme office. Last Sunday he received the validation as a joint candidate of the coalition government (PSD-PNL-UDMR) also from the social democrats, after he had previously been confirmed by the liberals and ethnic Hungarians.

     

    Again, about the theft of the Dacian treasure pieces

    The prime minister’s control body has found deficiencies or legislative gaps in terms of protecting the cultural heritage, and failures of compliance with the legal framework that regulates the temporary export of classified movable cultural assets. This is the result of checks undertaken in relation to the conditions in which some of the artefacts from the Dacian treasure were exhibited in the Dutch Drents Museum in Assen. The control body also found that the security and anti-burglary security measures and conditions proposed by the foreign entities to which the assets were lent were not analyzed by specialists. Four of the most important artefacts from Romania’s national heritage have been recently stolen from the Drents Museum in the Dutch city of Assen, namely the gold helmet from Coţofeneşti, dating from the period between the 5th and 4th centuries before Christ, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, from the second half of the first century before Christ. The pieces, of inestimable historical value, were part of the Exhibition “Dacia – The Kingdom of Gold and Silver” which opened on July 7, 2024 and was to be closed on January 25.

     

    Retirement of a great champion

    “My body can no longer sustain the effort it takes to get back to where I once was, and I know what that requires.” This is how Simona Halep, the most valuable tennis player in the history of Romania, with the most titles, explained her retirement. The announcement was made on Tuesday, almost a year after returning to professional competitions, which she had been banned from due to doping allegations. Simona Halep was in first place in the WTA ranking for 64 weeks. Her record includes two Grand Slam titles – Roland Garros and Wimbledon – as well as three other finals played, two at Roland Garros and one at the Australian Open. She has won 24 titles and won more than 40 million dollars from tennis, being third on the all-time list of WTA earners, behind Serena and Venus Williams. (EE, LS)

  • Romania ahead of the presidential election

    Romania ahead of the presidential election

    Next month, President Klaus Iohannis will end his second and last five-year term in office according to the Romanian Constitution. The so-called Iohannis decade is already a topic for reviews, in press editorials or in documentary films, and the balance sheet is by no means brilliant. Coordinating the country’s foreign policy is a presidential prerogative, and this is also the area where the worst backlogs have accumulated. Many Romanians still feel like second-class citizens of the European Union, because their country was admitted to the free travel Schengen Area only with the air and maritime borders, not with the land borders. Although the strategic partnership between Bucharest and Washington seems, according to the officials’ statements, to have reached its peak, Romania has not yet been included in the Visa Waiver program, which allows visa-free entry to the United States. The consistent support given by Romania to neighboring Ukraine, invaded by the Russian troops, created major disservices to some local socio-professional categories, from farmers to transporters, who took to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction.

     

    Internally, there are countless complaints against President Iohannis, one of them being that he completely ignored his role as a mediator in society, a role also stipulated in the Constitution. After Iohannis, the feeling remains that anyone can be president, a columnist has recently written. 14 aspirants initially registered in the presidential race. They are leaders of parliamentary parties, representatives of marginal political parties or independent candidates. One of them, the former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, a candidate of the Force of the Right group on Monday announced his withdrawal from the race and decision to support the head of the Save Romania Party-USR, Elena Lasconi. The teams of the remaining 13 revved their engines in the last days of the election campaign, which ends on the eve of the voting day, on November 23, at 7:00 a.m. Voting in the country will take place on Sunday, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. If at the time of closing the polls, there are voters queuing to cast their vote outside or inside, the president of the polling station may decide on the extension of voting until 11:59 p.m., when the system will close automatically.

     

    Voters can vote only in the locality where they have their domicile or residence, and in Bucharest, only in the sector where they are registered on the permanent lists. The address of the polling station to which the voter belongs can be found on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority. Voters who are in a different locality on the voting day can cast their vote at any section, being registered on the additional lists. Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad can vote either by mail or at any section organized in the country or abroad. The decisive voting round, which will pit the two candidates with the highest number of votes, is scheduled for December 8, a week after December 1, the very National Day, when the Romanians are called to also elect a new Parliament. (LS)

  • November 18, 2024

    November 18, 2024

     

    VISIT The fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago encouraged Romanians in their fight for freedom, and the removal of the Iron Curtain made it possible for Romania to rejoin the family of European democracies, President Klaus Iohannis said in Germany. While on a visit to that country, the Romanian head of state Sunday addressed the federal Parliament, in a ceremony occasioned by the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of War and Dictatorship. In Germany, president Iohannis had talks with the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier about security and the support that Romania and Germany will continue to give to Ukraine, while during the consultations with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Romania’s full Schengen accession was also tackled. The Romanian official thanked Germany for its active support and constructive approach, emphasised that Romania fulfills its role as guarantor of security at the EU’s external border – a fact acknowledged by its European partners – and added that Romania’s full Schengen accession will strengthen this area. The agenda of the visit also included meetings with the head of the Bundestag, Barbel Bas, and with the president of the opposition Christian-Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz.

     

     

    EU PM Marcel Ciolacu is in Brussels today, accompanied by a government delegation that includes the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu, and the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr. The working visit also includes the first meeting of a Romanian official with the new NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte. Talks will focus on the security of Romania and the Black Sea region, on strengthening the eastern flank of the Alliance and on the war started by Russia in Ukraine. Marcel Ciolacu will also have meetings with EU officials, including with the president elect of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. The topic of Romania’s full Schengen accession will also be approached. The Austrian interior minister, Gerhard Karner, has recently hinted that Austria could withdraw its veto on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria after the improvement of border protection, and the Romanian PM said that there are good chances for this goal to be reached by the end of the year. A decision is expected at the JHA Council in December, but the actual lifting of border controls could take place a few months later.

     

     

    AGRICULTURE EU agriculture ministers convene in Brussels today for a meeting of the EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council. One of the main topics is the situation in the EU market, especially as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The participants will discuss the state of the agricultural market and of basic agrifood products. The Ukrainian minister for agrarian policy and food Vitalii Koval will join the meeting to provide an update on Ukraine’s farming sector. Romania is represented by Violeta Muşat, a state secretary with the ministry of agriculture and rural development.

     

     

    FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu takes part today in a Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels. The agenda includes Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the developments in Georgia, the EU-USA relations following the US presidential elections, the situation in the Middle East and the security situation in the Horn of Africa. The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, will propose a freeze on the political dialogue with Israel in the context of the war in Gaza Strip, DPA reports, after ”a year of unheeded pleas by the Israeli authorities regarding respect for international law in the Gaza war”, Borrell wrote ahead of the meeting. On the sidelines of the FAC meeting, an informal working breakfast with Moldova’s foreign minister Mihai Popşoi will also be organised, at the initiative of Romania and Lithuania.

     

     

    FOOTBALL Tonight, in Bucharest, the Romanian national football team takes on Cyprus, in Group C2 of the UEFA Nations League, with over 40,000 fans expected to attend. Romania leads the group with 4 wins in 4 games, and is waiting for a UEFA verdict related to Friday’s match against Kosovo. The match in Bucharest between Romania and Kosovo was suspended after the guests left the field during extra time in the second half, when they heard pro-Serbia chants from the home fans, and refused to resume it. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced the ”unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere” of the match in Romania, and argued that its players left the pitch because of ”persistent racist and anti-Kosovo chants by Romanian fans.” The Romanian Football Federation, for its part, issued a statement dismissing Kosovo’s allegations as unfounded, and said the guest players’ withdrawal shortly before the final whistle was unjustified. (AMP)

  • 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

    35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

    The fall of the Berlin Wall, 35 years ago, represented for Romanians an encouragement in their fight for freedom, and the removal of the Iron Curtain made it possible for Romania to return to the family of European democracies, President Klaus Iohannis said in Berlin. On a visit to Germany, the Romanian head of state gave a speech in the Federal Parliament, during a ceremony organized on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of War and Dictatorship. In the context, he emphasized the fact that for 35 years, Romania has been a free country, following the December 1989 Revolution. He said, in his speech in the Bundestag, that after the Second World War, European democratic values and the European economic model were sources of inspiration for international partners. He drew attention, however, to the fact that, unfortunately, it became obvious that ‘some totalitarian regimes’ fear of the attractiveness of European values’ made the Union be perceived as ‘a threat’, stressing that Romania had warned in advance of the risk to Europe’s security posed by the aggressiveness of dictatorial regimes.

     

    Klaus Iohannis said that “Unfortunately, the mechanisms of propaganda and disinformation are spreading again today, because dictatorial regimes count on the fact that a lie told often enough becomes the truth. We see this revolting reality in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. We stand by the Ukrainian people, who courageously and heroically opposed the invasion dictated by the Kremlin, defying the force and brutality of Russian imperialism. The support of our states and the international community is vital to finally ensuring a just and lasting peace, in full agreement with the UN Charter and international law,” said Klaus Iohannis.

     

    These risks, Klaus Iohannis added, are also an important reason why we advocate for strengthening the resilience of the Republic of Moldova, the state most affected by this war, after Ukraine. He said that ‘We also remain firmly committed to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova on the path of joining the European Union, President Iohannis emphasized. According to him, preserving the memory of the victims of wars and totalitarianism, as well as of those persecuted for their faith, for searching justice and freedom, is ‘a duty and a form of justice’. ‘We must always keep in mind that forgetting the past leads to the repetition of history’s mistakes or the perpetuation of injustice. This forgetfulness represents an ever-increasing danger’, Klaus Iohannis said.

     

    At the same time, he expressed his admiration for the care with which the German state understands to focus on the appropriate knowledge of history, especially by the younger generations. He stated that ‘in Romania we are also making serious efforts so that young people should learn in schools about the mistakes of the past and be aware of them, so as not to repeat them’. On the other hand, Klaus Iohannis assured Germany that it would continue to find in Romania a partner deeply dedicated to European values, ‘ready to work for the strengthening of the European Union and for these values ​​of freedom and democracy to be protected and accepted, both in the neighborhood and globally’. (LS)

  • November 17, 2024 UPDATE

    November 17, 2024 UPDATE

     

    VISIT Preserving the memory of the victims of wars and totalitarianism, as well as of those persecuted for their faith, for the search for justice and freedom, is a duty and a form of justice, said President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday, in the German Federal Parliament, during a ceremony on the Day of Commemoration of the victims of war and dictatorship. He also highlighted the importance of a stronger and more united European Union, adapted to the challenges of the future. Germany, said President Iohannis, will continue to find in Romania a partner deeply committed to European values, ready to work together to strengthen the Union and for freedom and democracy to be protected and accepted both in the EU and globally. During a visit to Berlin between November 15 and 18, president Klaus Iohannis had talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier about security and the support that Romania and Germany will continue to give to Ukraine. The agenda of consultations with Chancellor Olaf Scholz also included Romania’s full Schengen accession.

     

     

    EU Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu has a working visit to Brussels scheduled for Monday. He will have meetings with NATO’s new secretary general, Mark Rutte, with the president-elect of the European Council, António Costa and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Marcel Ciolacu is accompanied by a governmental delegation which includes the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr. The visit to Brussels comes ahead of the start of a new EU institutional cycle, following the elections held this June, and ahead of the endorsement of the new Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029.

     

     

    OBITUARY The former gymnastics coach Bela Karoly died at the age of 82. The cause of death has not been made public, but he was known to have had various health problems over the past few years. Bela Karoly coached the world-famous Nadia Comăneci, who got the first “perfect 10” in the history of the Olympic Games in Montreal, in 1976, followed by further outstanding performances. Karoly fell out of favour with the communist regime when he criticised the arbitration at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. A year later he defected to the US, where he came to coach a number of American gymnasts, some of whom became Olympic or world champions. Karoly and his wife chose to stay away from the public eye, after being targeted by allegations regarding the brutal methods he used in training.

     

     

    FORESTRY CODE Romania’s new Forestry Code, aimed at preventing wood theft, is waiting for the green light from Parliament’s specialist committees before being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect. The draft legislation still requires positive reports from the committees on agriculture and legal affairs, after being approved by the committee on environment. Several amendments have been introduced in the process, concerning among other things the planting of green areas around cities, access to all forests on foot or by bicycle and pre-emptive rights to top-quality materials for Romanian furniture producers. The new law will punish theft by seizure of the wood and of the vehicle used in the theft. A National Forestry Council will also be set up, to monitor compliance with ethical and professional standards among forestry staff. The new Forestry Code is a benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the government intends to have it endorsed by December.

     

     

    SAVINGS Nearly three-quarters of Romanians are concerned with price increases, and say they will spend less these holidays, according to an EU-wide survey. Moreover, some economists predict a complicated year ahead and call on people to save money. Apart from simple methods like setting a monthly budget and strictly monitoring expenses, experts have a savings solution for low-income categories as well. The Centre for Banking Dispute Settlement recommends the 52-week method, in which a person saves as much money as the number of the week in question, to reach EUR 277 during a year. Nearly 40% of Romanian consumers plan to spend between EUR 100 and 200 for their Christmas shopping. (AMP)

  • November 17, 2024

    November 17, 2024

    VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis, currently on a visit to Germany, has talks today with the president of the Bundestag, after a meeting with the president of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier yesterday in which they discussed security issues and the support Romania and Germany will continue to provide to Ukraine. Klaus Iohannis will give an address today at a ceremony commemorating the victims of war and dictatorship. The Romanian official’s agenda also includes a meeting with the president of the Christian Democratic Union, Friedrich Merz, whose party is seen as the most likely to win the early elections due in February 2025. On Friday, Klaus Iohannis had talks with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with whom he discussed Romania’s full Schengen accession, among other topics.

     

     

    EU Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu has a working visit to Brussels scheduled for Monday. He will have meetings with NATO’s new secretary general, Mark Rutte, with the president-elect of the European Council, António Costa and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Marcel Ciolacu is accompanied by a governmental delegation which includes the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr. The visit to Brussels comes ahead of the start of a new EU institutional cycle, following the elections held this June, and ahead of the endorsement of the new Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029.

     

     

    OBITUARY The former gymnastics coach Bela Karoly died at the age of 82. The cause of death has not been made public, but he was known to have had various health problems over the past few years. Bela Karoly coached the world-famous Nadia Comăneci, who got the first “perfect 10” in the history of the Olympic Games in Montreal, in 1976, followed by further outstanding performances. Karoly fell out of favour with the communist regime when he criticised the arbitration at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. A year later he defected to the US, where he came to coach a number of American gymnasts, some of whom became Olympic or world champions. Karoly and his wife chose to stay away from the public eye, after being targeted by allegations regarding the brutal methods he used in training.

     

     

    MEDICAL SCHOOLS In the university cities of Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca (centre), Târgu Mureş (centre), Craiova (south-west), Iaşi (north-east) and Timişoara (west), residency admission exam take place today, with over 10,000 medical school graduates in Romania sitting. They compete over the 4,961 places and 237 positions available, meaning an average 2 candidates per place and 44 candidates per position. The exam is a multiple-choice test with 200 questions in each sub-field and a duration of 4 hours. Romania has been struggling for years with a major shortage of human resources in the healthcare system. According to the National Statistics Institute, at the end of 2023 Romania had 72,740 physicians, i.e. 357 per 100,000 people. This is below countries like Bulgaria (with 480 physicians per 100,000 people), Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

     

     

    SAVINGS Nearly three-quarters of Romanians are concerned with price increases, and say they will spend less these holidays, according to an EU-wide survey. Moreover, some economists predict a complicated year ahead and call on people to save money. Apart from simple methods like setting a monthly budget and strictly monitoring expenses, experts have a savings solution for low-income categories as well. The Centre for Banking Dispute Settlement recommends the 52-week method, in which a person saves as much money as the number of the week in question, to reach EUR 277 during a year. Nearly 40% of Romanian consumers plan to spend between EUR 100 and 200 for their Christmas shopping.

     

     

    FORESTRY CODE Romania’s new Forestry Code, aimed at preventing wood theft, is waiting for the green light from Parliament’s specialist committees before being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect. The draft legislation still requires positive reports from the committees on agriculture and legal affairs, after being approved by the committee on environment. Several amendments have been introduced in the process, concerning among other things the planting of green areas around cities, access to all forests on foot or by bicycle and pre-emptive rights to top-quality materials for Romanian furniture producers. The new law will punish theft by seizure of the wood and of the vehicle used in the theft. A National Forestry Council will also be set up, to monitor compliance with ethical and professional standards among forestry staff. The new Forestry Code is a benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the government intends to have it endorsed by December. (AMP)

  • November 15, 2024

    November 15, 2024

     

    VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis is on an official visit to Germany as of today, at the invitation of his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Romanian official will also have meetings with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the president of the Bundestag. Talks will focus on consolidating the Romanian-German cooperation at political, economic and security level, including on strengthening the deterrence posture on NATO’s Eastern flank and the trans-Atlantic relationship. Other topics include continuing support for Ukraine and for the stabilisation and development of the Republic of Moldova. Germany is Romania’s main trade partner and the second-largest investor in the Romanian economy.

     

    FLOODS The number of Romanian nationals who died in the recent floods in the region of Valencia, Spain, has reached 9. The information has been confirmed by the Romanian foreign ministry. According to a special task force set up by the Spanish government to centralise data on the floods in Valencia on 29 October, of the total number of victims 26 were foreign nationals, and the largest number of these were Romanians. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Spain faced new floods caused by heavy rainfalls. The city of Málaga (south) was flooded, and so were smaller towns and villages on the peninsula. Thousands of people were evacuated.

     

    SALARIES The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis signed into law a bill transposing the EU legislation on minimum wages. PM Marcel Ciolacu announced that as of 1 January 2025, minimum wages in Romania will be increased to approx. EUR 810. Romania has reported the highest increase rate for minimum salaries in the EU in the last 10 years.

     

    MOLDOVA The new Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, as amended following the referendum of 20 October, has been published in the country’s Official Journal. Unde the new act, Radio Chişinău reports, EU integration is a strategic goal of Moldova, and the identity of Moldova’s nation is European. The new Constitution also stipulates that Romanian is the official language of the Republic of Moldova.

     

    CHRISTMAS The Christmas Fair in Sibiu (central Romania), one of the most visited in Eastern Europe, opens on Friday. The Sibiu Fair is the oldest such event in Romania, and receives around 300,000 Romanian and foreign visitors every year. Craiova (south) also opened its Christmas fair today, while similar events in the cities of Braşov (centre) and Oradea (north-west) are scheduled to begin on 29 November.

     

    SHOPPING Nearly three-quarters of Romanians are concerned with price increases, according to the 2024 Holiday Shopping Report, conducted at European level. 72% of the Romanians will have smaller budgets for the winter holidays and plan on cutting down certain types of spending substantially. France reports similar concerns, followed by Spain and Italy. Worried about price rises, energy costs and personal financial pressures, Europeans tend to focus on essential expenses.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania takes on Kosovo on home turf tonight, in the 5th round of the UEFA Nations League. A win secures the top place in the group for Romania, therefore interest in the match is huge. However, the 55,000-seat National Arena will not be filled, as a stadium section will be closed because of a penalty ruled against Romania in the game against Lithuania on 9 September. Romania’s last match in the group is against Cyprus, on Monday, 18 November. (AMP)

  • EPC meeting in Budapest

    EPC meeting in Budapest

    European leaders met in Budapest to discuss security challenges facing Europe, with an emphasis on the situation in Ukraine, as well as the issues of migration and economic security. At the fifth Summit of the European Political Community (EPC), they evoked the significant impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine on the entire continent and also at the global level. The officials emphasized the need for coordinated action at the European level to continue supporting Ukraine, which is fighting for the defense of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

     

    At the talks held in a restricted format within the working group on migration, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, present at the meeting in Budapest, drew attention to the fact that migration remains an important challenge at the European level, which requires a common and comprehensive response. According to a press release from the Presidential Administration, he emphasized that developments regarding migration continue to be alarming against the background of the conflict in the Middle East and the continuation of the war in Ukraine. Thus, Klaus Iohannis spoke about the importance of an effective implementation at the EU level of the Pact on migration, a tool that can also prove useful in the relationship with partners outside the EU.

     

    At the same time, Klaus Iohannis mentioned that Romania is already implementing some of the provisions of the Pact, through the Pilot Project carried out on the border with Serbia, which proved to be an example of good practices in terms of returns, asylum procedures and the prevention of illegal migration. Also, the head of state referred to the importance of regional operational cooperation, which, he says, proves to be an effective tool for effective management of the phenomenon. In this context, Klaus Iohannis pointed out that Romania remains committed both to implementing effective measures in terms of migration management and to ensuring the security of the EU’s external borders and to fully assuming its role as a member state applying the Schengen acquis. In this sense, he reiterated that for Romania, the completion of the process of joining the free travel area reflects the firm commitment to the European project.

     

    On the other hand, at the meeting devoted to supporting the Republic of Moldova, which took place on the sidelines of the EPC meeting, Klaus Iohannis appreciated, together with the other European leaders, the reform efforts of the last period in Chișinău, materialized in constant progress, despite the challenges generated by threats from Russia.  He also emphasized the need to maintain the speedy pace of reforms, the high degree of institutional vigilance, as well as the application of the lessons learned during the current elections and in the perspective of the parliamentary elections in 2025. The other European leaders also declared their firm support for the Republic of Moldova, after the presidential election and the referendum that confirmed its European course. Moreover, at the end of the meeting, the participants pledged to continue their support for Chișinău to achieve its goals of peace and democracy. (LS)

  • October 23, 2024

    October 23, 2024

    Visit – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, is paying an official visit to Montenegro today, at the invitation of his counterpart Jakov Milatović. This is the first visit at the level of heads of state since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Klaus Iohannis will be received by President Jakov Milatovic at the official residence in Cetinje. The talks will focus on such topics as political and diplomatic cooperation, defense and support for Montenegro’s European path. Opportunities for increasing investments and commercial exchanges, stimulating contacts in the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture, internal affairs, research, education and culture will also be analyzed.

     

    Election – Today, the US has expressed its concern about Russia’s interference in the second round of the November 3 presidential election in the Republic of Moldova, a competition which is going to be very tight. The US is concerned that Russia will try, once again, to prevent the Moldovans from exercising their sovereign right to choose their own leaders, said the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a statement quoted by AFP. Washington has already denounced that Russia did everything in its power to disrupt the first round of the presidential election and last Sunday’s referendum, with the aim of undermining democracy in the small ex-Soviet Republic with a majority Romanian-speaking population, especially through illegal financing, vote buying, disinformation and malicious cyber activities. We remind you that the Moldovans approved by a tiny margin, with a little over 50% of the votes, amending the Constitution with a view to their country’s EU accession. At the same time, the current president, the pro-European Maia Sandu, ranked first, with 42.45% of the votes, in the first round of the presidential election, but she is preparing for a difficult second round, in which she will fight with the representative of the Socialist Party, Alexandr Stoianoglo, who obtained 25.98%.

     

    Budget – Today, the European Parliament pronounces on the budget for next year, in a different version than the one proposed by the EC and the one discussed in the Council, which announces negotiations. Initially, the European Commission had considered a budget of approximately 200 billion Euros, which it proposed both to the Council and the Parliament. The Council cut 8 billion Euros from this proposal, while the Parliament increased it by another 1 billion. One of the two chief negotiators of the EP, the Romanian MEP Victor Negrescu, says that the version of the EP, of 201 billion Euros, would be the correct one, both from the point of view of the multi-annual budget setting and from the point of view of what is needed for the Union’s common policies. The European Parliament agrees with the increase in the budget for border security, defense and external actions, but believes that the big problem is in the economy and in the social sector, domains for which more money would be needed, says Victor Negrescu.

     

    Salary – Romania’s Chamber of Deputies adopted, as a decision-making body, the draft law on the minimum wage. It transposes a European directive that aims to improve the working and living conditions of employees. The document stipulates that the minimum basic gross salary guaranteed to be paid should be established annually, through periodic updating, after consultations with the nationally-representative unions and employers’ associations and should take into account the cost of living and economic and social indicators.

     

    Year of the Child – The Romanian authorities announce a series of measures in the run-up of the Year of the Child to be marked in 2025. The measures are aimed at supporting children and promoting their rights, especially of those from disadvantaged areas. The law under which 2025 becomes the Year of the Child in Romania was passed by Parliament earlier this month. (LS)

     

  • October 22, 2024 UPDATE

    October 22, 2024 UPDATE

    Montenegro – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis, will pay an official visit to Montenegro on Wednesday, at the invitation of his counterpart Jakov Milatovic. Talks between the two presidents will focus on political-diplomatic and defense cooperation, support for Montenegro’s European path and the main regional and global security challenges. As regards the sectoral areas of cooperation, opportunities for increasing investments and commercial exchanges and boosting contacts in the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture, internal affairs, research, education and culture will be addressed.

     

    Salaries – The Chamber of Deputies adopted, on Tuesday, as a decision-making body, a draft law that ensures a new mechanism for establishing the level of the minimum wage, according to the provisions of a European directive in the field. Employees have access to minimum wage protection, in the form of a legal minimum wage or in the form of decent wages and working conditions established under collective labor contracts, collective agreements or other written agreements. According to the bill, the gross minimum basic salary per country guaranteed in payment is established annually by Government decision and is applied from January 1 of the following year, with periodic updating once a year, after consultations with the representative trade union and employer confederations at the national level. The minimum gross basic salary per country guaranteed, in payment, established by Government decision can be granted to an employee for a maximum period of 24 months, from the date of conclusion of the individual employment contract.

     

    IMF – The International Monetary Fund has revised downwards the estimates regarding the growth of the Romanian economy this year, from 2.8% as forecast in April, shows the latest report published on Tuesday by the international financial institution. According to the IMF, after an increase of 2.1% last year, the advance of the Romanian economy will slow down to 1.9% this year, and will accelerate up to 3.3% in 2025. The institution also expects a continuation of the worsening of Romania’s current account deficit, up to 7.5% of the GDP this year. As regards inflation, the IMF forecasts that Romania will register an average annual price increase of 5.3% this year, followed by a 3.6% increase in 2025. As for the unemployment rate, the IMF estimates that it will remain stable, to 5.6% this year and to 5.4% next year.

     

    Moldova – The Romanian Foreign Ministry hails the organization by the Chisinau authorities, at high democratic standards, of the presidential election and the constitutional referendum of October 20 in the Republic of Moldova. The entry into the second round of the election, with a solid score, of the candidate with the most authentic and deep pro-European commitment, President Maia Sandu, as well as the result of the constitutional referendum, proves, despite the challenges, the citizens’ attachment to the European, democratic future of the Republic of Moldova”, reads a press release. Maia Sandu won the first round of the election and will face the candidate of the Socialist Party, Alexandr Stoianoglo, in the 2nd round. The referendum on the country’s EU accession passed with a difference of less than 12,000 votes. The EU and the White House welcomed the election results, while Moscow, accused of meddling in the election process, denied its interference and said that the elections had not been free.

     

    Loan – The European Parliament approved, on Tuesday, a loan of up to 35 billion Euros to Ukraine, which will be financed from the profits generated by the Russian assets frozen in Europe, AFP reports. The sum represents the EU’s contribution to the assistance package worth almost 45 billion Euros, agreed upon in June by the world’s major economies, gathered in the G7 group. The US, Canada, Great Britain and Japan are yet to decide to what extent they will participate in this loan. According to AFP, Russian assets worth around 280 billion Euros were frozen in the EU following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

     

    Visit – The Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, is paying a working visit to Turkey, in Istanbul, between October 22-24, at the invitation of his counterpart, Yaşar Guler. The two officials will have a bilateral meeting, during which they will discuss the results recorded since the implementation of the MCM Black Sea project and the necessary steps to follow in the creation of the military mobility corridor between Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, according to the Letter of Intent signed last week at Meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. On the sidelines of the visit, minister Angel Tîlvăr had a meeting with Haluk Gorgun, the president of the Defense Industry Agency (SSB) and participated in the SAHA EXPO 2024 International Defense and Aerospace Exhibition, a reference event in the field of defense and the aerospace industry organized at the Center Exhibition in Yeşilkoy, Istanbul.

  • October 17, 2024

    October 17, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    CORRUPTION – Anti-graft prosecutors have today searched the office of the former Minister of Health Nelu Tătaru, in the Huşi Municipal Hospital in eastern Romania, where he works as a surgeon. Last week, Tătaru,  who is a Liberal MP representing the county of Vaslui, was put under criminal investigation in a case in which he is accused of having received as bribe, from his patients, sums of money between 20 and 100 euros, as well as foodstuffs. Tătaru claims he is innocent.

     

    WAGE – The minimum wage in Romania will be 810 euros starting January 2025, the Bucharest government and the social partners, who got together in the Tripartite National Committee, decided on Wednesday. Thus, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Romania is entering the path of the European minimum wage. We comply with the directive according to which the minimum level must be somewhere between 47% and 52% of the European minimum wage, Ciolacu explained.

     

    DEFENSE – The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, is participating, on October 17 and 18, in the meeting of the NATO defense ministers, taking place in Brussels. The meeting’s agenda includes topics of importance for the Alliance, in order to implement the decisions adopted by the heads of state and government at the NATO Summit, which took place in Washington DC in July. The ministerial event includes three sessions of talks – one in allied format, dedicated to strengthening the allied deterrence and defense posture, one session in the format of the NATO-Ukraine Council, as well as another, for the first time, with partner states in the Indo-Pacific/IP4 region ( Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). The Minister of Defense will also participate in the ministerial meeting of the Global Anti-ISIS Coalition.

     

    AID – The American President, Joe Biden, announced, on Wednesday, during a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, a new military aid for Ukraine worth 425 million dollars which includes additional air defense capabilities, France Presse reports. Biden spoke with Zelenskiy about his efforts to increase military aid to Ukraine until the end of his term in January 2025. Since the start of the war in 2022, the United States has approved about $175 billion in economic or military aid for Ukraine. Joe Biden will be in Germany as of Friday for one of his last visits as American President, during which he will discuss the situation in Ukraine.

     

    COUNCIL – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, for two days, in Brussels, at the European Council meeting, which has on the agenda topics such as Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, EU competitiveness, migration, foreign affairs, as well as the Republic of Moldova. European leaders will discuss the latest developments in Russia’s war of aggression, as well as multidimensional support for Ukraine. Regarding the Middle East, the ‘alarming’ situation and the ‘risks of escalation of violence in the region’ will be discussed. At Romania’s proposal, the agenda of the meeting will also include discussions about the situation in the Republic of Moldova, as well as about support for its accession to the European Union, especially for supporting internal reforms and for strengthening resilience and stability. In the perspective of the upcoming elections and the referendum on the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, the issue of Russian interference in the election process will also be discussed. On Wednesday, the first EU – Gulf Cooperation Council Summit took place, aimed at strengthening the political and economic partnership between the Union and the member states of this structure, in a difficult geopolitical context.

     

    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan qualified for the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Osaka (Japan), after defeating the Czech Marie Bouzkova in two sets. In the quarters, Bogdan will face the Dutch Suzan Lamens. Another player from Romania, Jaqueline Cristian, is today up against the Czech Karolina Muchova, in the round of 16 of the WTA  tournament in Ningbo (China).