Radio România Internațional

Tag: Latvia

  • November 23, 2022 – UPDATE

    November 23, 2022 – UPDATE

    JUDICIARY The Romanian
    President Klaus Iohannis has hailed the conclusions of a European Commission report saying that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in Romania’s judicial
    sector would be lifted. A stage has
    ended, but further efforts must be made as reforms are vital, Iohannis said. In
    turn, PM Nicolae Ciuca said the European Commission’s report encourages the government
    to stay on the path of supporting the independence of the judiciary and the
    fight against corruption to the benefit of the Romanian society.


    VISIT The joint
    effort to support Ukraine and the strength of the Romanian-Latvian cooperation
    were highlighted in Riga by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, in a joint
    press conference with his Latvian counterpart, Egils Levits. The Romanian
    official’s visit to Riga takes place in the context of the celebration of 100
    years of diplomatic relations between the 2 countries. The two presidents also
    discussed Romania’s Schengen accession. Klaus Iohannis emphasised that Romania
    has never been and will never be a country that allows uncontrolled migration
    through illegal border crossing. The president of Latvia highlighted the common
    approach of the two countries with respect to the future of the EU and welcomed
    Romania’s participation in the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states
    in 2023. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis will be on an official visit to Lithuania,
    in Vilnius, while on Friday he will take part, jointly with his counterparts
    from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, in a summit devoted to strengthening NATO’s
    eastern flank and to supporting Ukraine and the R. of Moldova.


    COOPERATION Romania and Spain are pleading for a more capable and
    responsible European Union, one which is able to provide support and play a
    relevant role in implementing the Strategic Compass, fully complementary to
    NATO and avoiding redundancies, including in the current security context,
    marked by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, reads a joint statement
    signed on Wednesday in Castellón de
    la Plana, Spain, by the heads of the Romanian and Spanish governments. Bucharest and
    Madrid have also reiterated their commitment to a strong NATO, focusing on the
    full implementation of the Strategic Concept adopted in Madrid, with special
    emphasis on consolidating defence and deterrence on the eastern flank. The PM
    of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă, was received with military honours in Castellon de
    la Plana by the head of Spain’s government, Pedro Sanchez. According to Ciucă, bilateral relations are even stronger
    thanks to the nearly one-million strong, highly integrated and active Romanian
    community contributing to the development of Spain’s economy and society.


    NATO – A meeting of NATO
    foreign ministers will be held in Bucharest on November 29-30, 2022. The
    meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
    Attending will also be the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and
    Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden.


    DRILL NATO troops
    Wednesday conducted a military exercise to test the air and missile defence in
    Romania, one week after a stray missile crashed in Poland and revealed
    weaknesses in the Alliance’s air shield, Reuters reports. The French air defence
    system deployed to Romania repelled a simulated attack by Allied fighter jets,
    NATO’s Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany said. Taking part in the
    exercise were Turkish F-16 fighter jets, Spanish Eurofighters, US growler
    aircraft designed for electronic warfare and French Rafale jets.


    FOOTBALL Japan produced the second big surprise of the Qatar football World
    Cup, after defeating 4-times Cup winners Germany 2-1, on Wednesday in Group
    E. Also on Wednesday, world vice-champions Croatia drew against Morocco,
    0-0, in Group F. Another former world champion, Spain, takes on Costa Rica, and
    Belgium plays against Canada. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia stunned football fans
    with one of the biggest upsets in the history of the World Cup, defeating
    2-times champions Argentina 2-1. Also on Tuesday, the defending champions, France,
    defeated Australia 4-1, while Denmark and Poland drew against Tunisia and
    Mexico, respectively, 0 – 0. (AMP)

  • November 15, 2021

    November 15, 2021

    COVID-19 The latest updates released by Romanian
    authorities point to a decrease in the number of new cases in the
    country-little over 2,100. The authorities also reported 195 fatalities,
    and more than 15,000 COVID patients are hospitalised, 1,720 of them in
    intensive care. In the capital Bucharest the infection rate dropped below 6 per
    thousand. On the other hand, as compared to a peak of over 110,000 people
    vaccinated on 27th October, the vaccination rate in Romania has also
    been dropping steadily. So far 6.8 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.




    CERTIFICATE The draft law that makes the digital COVID
    certificate compulsory at the workplace may be discussed as of today in the
    Chamber of Deputies. In a first stage, the document was rejected by the Senate.
    The interim PM Florin Cîțu called for exemplary mobilisation in the Chamber of
    Deputies, so as to ensure the bill gets enough votes to pass. Florin Cîţu also
    said he disagreed with the proposed free-of-charge testing of unvaccinated
    workers, because this would put pressure on the public budget, whereas the
    vaccine comes at no cost to citizens. In several cities, including Bucharest, rallies
    were held to protest the possible introduction of the digital certificate and
    other restrictions.




    GOVERNMENT Negotiations continue in Bucharest, with
    the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic
    Union of Ethnic Hungarians trying to reach an agreement on a governing
    programme. After Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition in September, the
    Social Democrats introduced a no-confidence motion and dismissed the Liberal
    cabinet. Today the talks will focus on the public
    finances and justice fields. The
    Liberal Party leader and interim PM Florin Cîţu announced that as far as the
    labour area goes, a 7% pension rise has been discussed, but that a final
    decision is to be made after the impact on the public budget has been analysed.
    He also said child allowances are also to be raised. In turn, the Social
    Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu mentioned the pension and child allowance
    increases, but said several scenarios are being analysed and a complete set of
    measures in this respect will be announced this week. So far the 3 parties have
    not reached an agreement on a new prime minister designate.


    MIGRANTS Brussels is hosting today a meeting of EU
    foreign ministers focusing on the situations in Belarus, Ethiopia, Western
    Balkans and the Sahel. Romania is represented by foreign minister
    Bogdan Aurescu. According to a news release, the Romanian official is
    taking part, alongside his EU counterparts, in an informal working brunch with
    the Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba. Bogdan Aurescu will
    also attend the ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership. As regards the
    situation in Belarus, Romania’s foreign affairs chief will express the
    country’s solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, which are facing a
    growing number of migrants at their borders with Belarus, and will promise to
    support swift additional sanctions against Minsk.




    CLIMATE The agreement to reduce coal use, reached
    at the UN Climate talks in Glasgow, is a game-changing agreement which sounds the death knell
    for coal power, said the British PM Boris Johnson, the host of the
    COP26. According to analysts, the document, although imperfect, is nonetheless
    an achievement, insofar that for the first time in the 25 climate conferences
    held so far, it explicitly mentions fossil fuels as elements contributing to
    climate change. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in the UK, one of
    the critics of the deal was India, who said the plan to phase out coal use was
    unfair for poorer countries.




    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team Sunday defeated
    Liechtenstein 2-0 in Vaduz, but still failed to qualify into the playoffs for
    the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as it finished the preliminary phase 3rd
    in its group. Second in the group came North Macedonia, which has reached the
    playoffs after defeating Iceland 3-1. The top-ranking team in the group,
    Germany, goes straight into the World Cup final tournament. Romania’s coach Mirel
    Radoi announced he would leave the national team. Romania last took part in a
    World Cup final tournament in 1998. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • April 22, 2017 UPDATE

    April 22, 2017 UPDATE

    SIREN ALERT DRILL – The outcomes of the alarm drill carried out in Romania this week indicate that the coverage of siren signal is below 50% of the total national territory. According to data provided by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, hundreds of sirens could not be tested because of breakdowns or of a shortage of siren operators. In the capital city Bucharest, less than a quarter of the sirens were operational during the drill. Under these circumstances, the Inspectorate, jointly with the Communications Ministry, is analysing the option of setting up a complementary citizen information system for disaster situations. Mobile phone texting is one of the options, which will be discussed until mid-May with telecoms operators, said the Communications Minister Augustin Jianu.




    EARTH DAY – On April 22nd, every year, International Earth Day is celebrated. This year the event was held under the motto Environmental and climate literacy, launching a 3-year world education campaign, according to a UN resolution. In Bucharest, Earth Day was marked with an open door day at the National Geology Museum. Special activities for children, concerts and street art events were also organised, and in other cities in Romania people were also invited to take part in events, competitions and exhibitions on environmental topics.




    MILITARY – Romanian troops from Battalion 307 Marines are taking part, until April 30th, in a multinational exercise in Latvia, called “Summer Shield. Alongside the Romanian troops, over 1,000 military from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the US, Canada, UK, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland are taking part. Air defence, exploration and artillery support exercises will be held, as well as weapons of mass destruction defence, anti-tank defence and military engineering exercises. “Summer Shield has been held in Latvia since 2004. Starting 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the exercise became part of NATO manoeuvres. As many as 1,300 troops took part in it in 2016.




    FINANCIAL RATING – Moodys has reconfirmed its BAA3 rating for Romanias long-term debt and P-3 rating for the short-term debt. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the outlook was changed from positive to “stable, in line with the level granted from other international agencies, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and JCRA. The Romanian Finance Minister Viorel Ştefan said Romanias sustainable economic growth, improved institutional framework, continued structural reforms and low public debt will contribute to a future improvement of the country rating.




    AVALANCHE – Two teenagers died on Saturday in an avalanche in Retezat Mountains, south-western Romania. The victims were part of a group of 51 people, many of whom were children. The local mountain rescue service had warned on Friday against imminent avalanche risks triggered by the snowfalls of the past few days.




    ILLEGAL MIGRANTS – over 100 migrants, who were trying to leave Romania illegally, hidden in a lorry, were apprehended at Nădlac II checkpoint in the west of the country. More than 40 of them were children. The refugees, who had applied for asylum in Romania, came from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and India. They admitted that they were trying to enter the Schengen area, and have been charged with attempted illegal border crossing.




    FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Over 50,000 police and gendarme will be working to ensure safety and order during the presidential election, PM Bernard Cazeneuve announced after Thursday nights shooting on police forces on Champs-Élysées Boulevard in Paris. The attack upset the agendas of the candidates and brought the fight against terrorism back to the forefront of the debate. A poll run after the Champs-Élysées shooting finds Emmanuel Macron at the top of voter preferences, with 24.5%, followed by the far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with 23%, and François Fillon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who share the third place, with 19% each.




    TENNIS – Romanias womens tennis team is playing this weekend against the UK at home, in the playoffs for the Fed Cup World Group II. On Saturday, the British Johanna Konta defeated Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-3, after in the first match of the day Simona Halep had outplayed Heather Watson, 6-4, 6-1. On Sunday Halep is to play Konta and Irina Begu will take on Watson. Later on Sunday the doubles game will be played, between Monica Niculescu/Sorana Cirstea and Laura Robson/Jocelyn Rae. Romania and Britain have so far played against each other in Fed Cup five times, with Romania winning four of the ties. Meanwhile, Romanias FED Cup captain, the former world no 1 player Ilie Nastase, caused a scandal ahead of the play-off, through reportedly racist comments about Serena Willians and inappropriate conduct in relation to the British team captain Anne Keothavong. The ITF has begun an investigation.




    GYMNASTICS – The Romanian Marian Drăgulescu Saturday won the gold in the floor finals of the European Gymnastics Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The European competition was hosted by the Transylvanian city, between April 19 and 23, 60 years after the first edition held in Romania. 274 athletes from 37 countries have taken part, with Romania represented by 10 gymnasts. On Sunday, Larisa Iordache and Cătălina Ponor will compete in the beam finals. Also on Sunday, in the mens competition, Marian Drăgulescu takes part in the vault finals. in last years edition, in Bern, Marian Drăgulescu won 2 silver medals in the mens floor and vault finals, and Cătălina Ponor won 2 bronze medals in the womens floor and beam events.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 21, 2017 UPDATE

    April 21, 2017 UPDATE

    Paris attack – Bucharest has joined the international community to condemn Thursdays attack in France. Romania expressed solidarity with France and stood for more efficient prevention. In Paris, French president Francois Hollande on Friday chaired an interministerial crisis group in the wake of the attack claimed by the Islamic State terrorist organisation. A policeman was killed and two others wounded by a man who opened fire on the Champs-Elysées. The attacker, a 39-year-old Belgian national called Karim Cheurfi, was shot dead by the security forces. He was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting at police officers in 2001 but got an early release in 2016. The French police also issued an arrest warrant for a second suspect. Tension is high after the Champs-Elysées attack ahead of the first round of the French presidential elections on Sunday. The four frontrunners cancelled their public appearances. Two radicalised young men were arrested three days ago in Marseilles while plotting an attack on behalf of the Islamic State. France has been in a state of emergency since 2015, when 16 people were killed in attacks at the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and at a Jewish store.



    Brexit – Romania is in favour of a unitary, coherent and fair strategy during the future negotiations on the UKs exit from the European Union, said the Romanian minister delegate for European affairs Ana Birchall, who is on a working trip to Austria. According to a foreign ministry release, during talks with Austrian officials, Birchall also discussed the multiannual financial framework, migration and the Schengen area, the EU strategy for the Danube region, the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership and the need to consolidate cooperation in the run up to Austrias taking over the EU rotating presidency in the second half of 2018, followed by Romania in the first half of 2019. The officials pointed out that Romania and Austria are opposed to the idea of a multi-speed European Union. Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs Michael Linhart also reiterated his countrys support for Romanias entry into Schengen.



    Gymnastics – The Romanian gymnasts Larisa Iordache, Olivia Cimpian and Ioana Crisan have qualified for the beam, floor and individual all-round finals at the European Gymnastics Championships under way in Cluj Napoca, north-western Romania. Three times Olympic champion Catalina Ponor has made it to the beam and individual all-round finals. She failed to qualify for the floor final after the judges reviewed her score. 274 gymnasts from 37 different countries, including 10 from Romania, are taking part in the competition. The Romanian womens team roster features Olivia Cimpian, Ioana Crisan, Larisa Iordache and Catalina Ponor, while the mens team roster features Marian Dragulescu, Cristian Bataga, Vlad Cotuna, Adelin Kotrong, Laurentiu Nistor and Andrei Ursache. Only one Romanian male gymnast has made it to the apparatus finals, namely Marian Dragulescu, who qualified for the floor and vault finals. The last time Romania hosted the European Gymnastics Championships was in 1957.



    Tennis – The Romanian womens tennis team faces Britain in a Fed Cup World Group II play-off at home. The matches are held on Saturday and Sunday in the Black Sea resort of Mamaia. The Romanian team includes world no. 5 Simona Halep, world no. 33 Irina Camelia Begu, world no. 47 Monica Niculescu and world no. 61 Sorana Cirstea. The British team has two players in the top 100: world no. 10 Johanna Konta and world no. 72 Heather Watson. Romania has met Britain five times so far in the Fed Cup, winning four times.



    Military drill – A detachment of Romanian military with Naval Infantry Battalion 307 is participating in Latvia, until April 30, in the “Summer Shield” multinational drill. More than 1,000 soldiers from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the US, Canada, the UK, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland are also participating in the drill. “Summer Shield” has been held in Latvia starting in 2004. As of 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, the drill has been part of the NATO exercises. In 2016, 1,300 soldiers participated in this drill.

  • Elections in Europe

    Elections in Europe

    This fall several EU Member States are holding elections that may bring about important political changes in Eastern and Central Europe.



    In the EU’s poorest state Bulgaria, the center-right GERB party has become the country’s leading political faction after last weekend’s legislative elections. Boiko Borisov’s party grabbed nearly one third of the total number of votes and will take over from the left-wing Government. Marred by accusations of ineffectiveness and corruption, Plamen Oresharsky’s term has come to an untimely end after only one year. In the current elections the alliance of Socialists and Ethnic Turks in Bulgaria grabbed even fewer votes than the Conservatives. Far from relishing his win, Borisov admitted that setting up the new Cabinet will be a difficult task, given the fragmentation of the new Parliament.



    Latvia too saw legislative elections this Saturday. Four pro-Western parties will hold the majority in Parliament, although the opposition’s Armonia party, linked to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia group, claimed first place in the elections. For most pundits this is a surprising win, against the backdrop of regional tensions and Russia’s unquenched appetite for power.



    Hungarians too will hit voting polls next Sunday to elect their new local officials. The vote is bound to produce no surprises this time, with the FIDESZ Conservative faction expected to win at ease. This spring FIDESZ won the local and European legislative elections by a landslide majority. Voters seem not to be bothered by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s authoritarian tendencies, nor by his ambiguous policy towards Russia. And this is not the worst news for the Liberal and Socialist opposition, which is no longer the country’s second party after the ultra-nationalist Jobbik party is now the opposition’s newest favourite in polls.



    In Romania, presidential elections will take place on November 2, with a total of 14 candidates enrolled so far in the race for Cotroceni. A second ballot is most likely to be held on November 16, between the polls’ two main contenders, the Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Christian-Liberal Sibiu Mayor Klaus Iohannis.



    Whereas this fall’s elections will bring about little to no change in the NATO and EU member countries, the Republic of Moldova is undergoing a severe political crisis. With only 2 months ahead of the vote, the pro-Russian communist party is viewed as the most likely to win the upcoming legislative elections of November 30. A win for the communists would spell disaster for the pro-Western coalition in Chisinau and an end to the five years of reforms and efforts to bring the country closer to the EU, which culminated this summer with the signing of the Association and Free Trade Agreements with the EU.