Radio România Internațional

Tag: joint

  • February 11, 2022 UPDATE

    February 11, 2022 UPDATE

    NATO Romania, as a NATO member country and strategic partner of the US,
    benefits from all the security guarantees that it needs, in the context of the
    most serious crisis since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The statement was made
    by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis on Friday, during a visit he made
    together with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Alliance’s
    Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, at the military base in Mihail
    Kogalniceanu, south-eastern Romania. The officials met with military personnel
    from allied nations deployed to Romania. In his turn, Stoltenberg said
    the presence of NATO troops in Romania is important because it is a powerful
    demonstration of NATO unity. Around 1,000 American military were relocated to
    Romania, amid concerns raised by the Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian
    border. France has also voiced willingness to deploy troops to Romania. A NATO
    member since 2004, Romania was already hosting 900 American, 250 Polish and 140
    Italian troops. A unit of the US Air Forces
    in Europe (USAFE), comprising around 150 troops and 8 F-16 Fighting Falcons, will
    have joint training missions with troops and aircraft of the Romanian
    Air Forces for 2 weeks, as of Friday. According to a news release, the US
    aircraft will also conduct enhanced air policing missions, jointly with Romanian
    troops and with the Italian Air Forces unit deployed to Romania in December.


    CORONAVIRUS The number of new Covid-19 infections continues to drop in Romania.
    On Friday, the Group for Strategic Communication announced 22,737 new cases and
    132 deaths, five of which from an earlier date. The Romanian authorities
    consider easing the restrictions taken in the context of the pandemic, but in a
    gradual manner, as did the countries that have already overcome the peak of the
    current wave, the head of the Department for Emergencies, Raed Arafat, said.
    The number of new cases is dropping, and if we stay on this trend, we could be
    restriction free by Easter, Arafat said. In turn, the head of the immunization programme,
    Valeriu Gheorghita, said that in the future vaccination against Covid-19 will
    be seasonal, just like the flu vaccine, and adjusted to the strain in
    circulation at a particular moment. The vaccination rate among adults stands at
    50.5% in Romania at present, Valeriu Gheorghita said.


    MOLDOVA A number of bilateral documents were signed in Chisinau on
    Friday after a joint meeting of the Romanian and Moldovan governments,
    including an inter-government agreement under which Romania is to provide EUR
    100 million worth of non-reimbursable aid. The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă and
    his Moldovan counterpart Natalia Gavriliţa also signed a joint statement on
    strengthening cooperation in economy and investments. Other agreements concern
    the building, maintenance, repair and use of a cross-border bridge in Ungheni,
    and roaming and international call tariffs, cooperation in energy security,
    digitisation, research and innovation and defence, justice and home affairs. The
    Romanian PM emphasised that this is the most substantial openness ever seen in
    bilateral relations, and promised that Romania will remain a determined and
    vocal supporter of the Republic of Moldova’s EU accession efforts. In turn,
    Moldova’s PM Natalia Gavriliţa
    said her Cabinet has undertaken to provide a predictable and attractive
    environment for investments in the country, in line with European best
    practices.Nicolae Ciucă was received by the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, to
    whom he conveyed Romania’s full support for the reforms she initiated in the
    judicial field in particular.


    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (56 WTA) Friday defeated
    Tereza Martincova (42 WTA) of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2, and qualified into
    the semis of the Sankt Petersburg tournament. Martincova had won (6-7, 6-4,
    6-4) her only previous match against Begu, in Tashkent in 2019. (A.M.P.)

  • February 10, 2022 UPDATE

    February 10, 2022 UPDATE

    MILITARY President Klaus Iohannis and NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg
    will visit the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base 57, the Romanian Presidency
    announced. The 2 officials will also discuss with the troops deployed to the
    military base and subsequently will have a joint press conference. Military
    equipment for the US Task Force (TF) Cougar has already reached Romania. TF
    Cougar will primarily consist of a
    Stryker squadron relocated from Germany to Romania to protect the region in the
    context of the Russia-Ukraine standoff. President Iohannis said
    after a visit to the Headquarters Multinational Brigade South-East on Thursday
    that the US and France deciding to strengthen their military presence in Romania
    is a ‘firm sign of the coherence and consistency of Euro-Atlantic solidarity’ and
    invited other Allied countries as well to consider contributing troops to the
    multinational structures in Romania.


    DRILLS Russia and Belarus Thursday began 10 days of military exercises near
    the border with Ukraine and Poland. According to the Russian defence ministry, the drills are aimed at the tasks of repelling
    external aggression while conducting a defensive operation, countering
    terrorism and protecting common interests.
    NATO is concerned that the Russian military build-up in Belarus is part of a
    plan to attack Ukraine. Moscow denies plans to invade Ukraine, and says it will
    pull out its troops from Belarus as soon as the drills are over. According to Radio
    Romania’s correspondent in Moscow, Russia relocated troops and equipment from
    as far as Siberia and the Far East, 10,000 km away, for the exercise in
    Belarus.


    GOVERNMENT The governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will hold their
    first joint meeting in Chişinău on Friday, with the Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă scheduled
    to also have talks with president Maia Sandu and the Moldovan parliament
    speaker Igor Grosu. A joint action and solidarity plan for the energy sector
    will be put together within 6 months of signing a joint memorandum on energy
    security, which is scheduled for Friday, the Romanian government spokesman Dan
    Cărbunaru said. He added that a bill was passed on the mutual recognition of
    diplomas. Over 12,000 students and 2,000 pupils from Moldova are currently
    attending Romanian schools. The 2 governments are also to sign an agreement on
    Friday concerning the building, maintenance, repair and use of a cross-border
    bridge in Ungheni. Another agreement between the 2 states will concern roaming
    and international call tariffs.


    ECONOMY Romania’s economy went up by 6.3% in 2021, thanks to a
    sound domestic demand, but the pace will slow down to 4.2% this year, to reach
    4.5% in 2023, according to the winter economic forecast released by the
    European Commission on Thursday. Last autumn the EC estimated Romania’s GDP
    would grow by 7% in 2021, with rates of 5.1% and 5.2% forecast for 2022 and
    2023 respectively. The most recent data concerning confidence in the economy
    indicate positive, although moderated economic growth prospects, especially in services,
    retail, constructions and industry. Private consumption is also expected to
    recover in the second half of the year, when restrictions will be eased out and
    inflation will slow down. Meanwhile, the EC substantially adjusted its 2022
    inflation forecast for Romania, from 4% estimated in November to 5.3% this
    winter, after a 4.1% inflation rate in 2021.


    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu Thursday managed a
    spectacular win against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-0, which
    secured her a place in the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Sankt
    Petersburg, Russia. Another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian, lost to Aleksandra
    Sasnovich of Belarus, 6-2, 6-3, and left the competition. (A.M.P.)

  • November 14, 2018 UPDATE

    November 14, 2018 UPDATE

    GOVERNMENT A joint meeting of the governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will be held on November 22nd in Bucharest, the Moldovan PM Pavel Filip announced in Chisinau. He mentioned that one of the topics could be an agreement on discarding mobile roaming fees between the Republic of Moldova and Romania. “It is an important logical step, in the line of other actions that draw us closer to Romania, such as the interconnection of our countries natural gas and electricity systems or the educational and cultural ties. It means nothing else but a stronger relationship between our countries, Pavel Filip said.



    PARLIAMENT A bill declassifying the protocols signed by judicial institutions with intelligence services was passed on Wednesday in the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making parliamentary body in this case. The new regulation allows individuals who think they have been affected by the protocols to request the retrial of their cases. Opposition MPs say they will refer the bill to the Constitutional Court, and argue that the only purpose of the new legislation is to help reverse certain rulings. On the other hand, the ruling coalition says the bill benefits all citizens, who should have access to information in order to defend their rights.



    STRIKE In Romania, negotiations between trade unions and the management of the Bucharest underground company, Metrorex, have failed. Unions announced that the employees would be on a 2-hour token strike on Thursday morning. They demanded a 42% pay raise, but the management only offered 18% under a new collective bargaining agreement. The token strike could be followed by indefinite all-out strike, unions added. In turn, the Transport Minister Lucian Sova said the negotiations had started 8 months before, and the unionists would not accept a smaller pay raise. According to Șova, the salaries of Metrorex staff have been raised on an annual basis for the last 4 years, and the last such increase was by 21% in 2017. As many as 700,000 passengers a day use the Bucharest underground system.



    MOLDOVA The European Parliament Wednesday endorsed a resolution on the implementation of the Association Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova. MEPs criticised the deterioration of the rule of law in that country, the systemic corruption, breach of current commitments, the disregard for the recommendations of the Venice Commission concerning changes in the electoral system and the insufficient investigation of the 2014 banking fraud. A decision regarding the EU macro-financial assistance for Moldova will only be made after the parliamentary elections due in February 2019, and provided that they comply with the relevant international standards. Some Romanian MEPs argued however that the Union should continue to provide financial assistance to Moldova, so as to counter Russias influence.



    GAUDEAMUS The 25th edition of the Gaudeamus International Fair, a landmark of the book market in Romania, an event organised by Radio Romania, opened on Wednesday. Gaudeamus 2018 will unfold under the auspices of a triple anniversary: the Great Union Centennial, 9 decades since the first broadcast aired by Radio Romania, one of the oldest radio stations in Europe, and the 25th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 2, 2016 UPDATE

    May 2, 2016 UPDATE

    Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians, which make up the religious majority in Romania, celebrate as of Monday the Bright Week, the first week after Easter, when light is seen as the symbol of the Resurrection of Christ. In churches, on the second day of Easter, the same religious service was celebrated as the one on Resurrection night.



    More than 35,000 tourists were in Romanian seaside resorts for the first two days of the summer season, which started officially on May 1. Hotel had attractive offers during this period, with prices including various facilities. As a result, for instance, the resort of Mamaia was almost fully booked. High occupancy rates were also reported in the resorts of Vama Veche, Eforie and Costineşti. During the Easter holiday, tourists also had access to the new beach sections on the Romanian sea coast. The beaches on the south of the Romanian Black Sea coast were extended by several tens of hectares, as part of EU-funded projects with a combined budget of 170 million Euros.



    The Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, will submit to President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday a request to discharge Vlad Alexandrescu as Culture Minister and a nomination for his replacement. The dismissal comes against the backdrop of a scandal at the Romanian Opera House in Bucharest, triggered by discontent with the successive appointments for the director post as well as with the substantial imbalances between the salaries paid to the Romanian and the foreign dancers. Protests led to the cancellation of three shows, and PM Ciolos asked for Vlad Alexandrescu’s resignation. In messages posted on Facebook or published in the media, Vlad Alexandrescu says he was forced out because he upset various interest groups. The head of government said he had not been informed of the problems Vlad Alexandrescu claimed to have been facing and promised he would urge the new minister to carry on the reforms initiated by Alexandrescu.



    Some 200 US troops will reach the Republic of Moldova from Romania, for joint military exercises, between May 3 and 20, signalling a stronger American military presence in the region, Associated Press reports. According to the Defence Ministry in Chisinau, the US troops are accompanied by armoured vehicles. Taking part in the drills are 165 troops from the former Soviet republic. The US Embassy in Chisinău has announced that the exercises, which illustrate the on-going cooperation between Moldova and the USA, will include first aid and evacuation training, with a view to providing on-site maintenance and demolition assistance. The Republic of Moldova joined the NATO Partnership for Peace in 1994.



    The Romanian tennis player Patricia Ţig (134 WTA), Monday scored a surprising win against American Sloane Stephens (16 WTA), whom she defeated 6-2, 6-3, in the second round of the WTA Premier tournament in Madrid, which has 4.7 million US dollars in prize money. In the eighth-finals, Ţig will be facing the winner of the match between Madison Keys and Barbora Strycova. Also qualified in the second round of the Madrid tournament are two other Romanians, Simona Halep, seed no. 6, and Sorana Carstea. Halep played the final of the Madrid tournament in 2014, when she lost to Russia’s Maria Sharapova.