Radio România Internațional

Tag: media report

  • April 28, 2023

    April 28, 2023

    MAY DAY – Over 400 festivals,
    concerts, trade fairs and sports competitions are scheduled to take place over
    the May Day long weekend. Over 70,000 people are expected to travel to the
    Black Sea coast on this occasion. Some 24,000 police officers, gendarmes and
    firefighters will be on duty across the country to prevent and combat crime,
    fluidize road traffic and reduce waiting times at border checkpoints as well as
    to ensure order and safety in various public events, the Interior Ministry
    reports. The Border Police has also taken measures to optimize customs
    procedures and reduce waiting times, with a focus on crossing points on the
    Hungarian and Bulgarian borders.




    VETERANS – On Veterans Day, the
    Romanian Defense Ministry today organized a military and religious ceremony,
    attended by Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr and Chief of Defense Staff, General Daniel
    Petrescu. Similar ceremonies were held at home and abroad, in cemeteries and
    monuments paying homage to the sacrifice of veterans. Over 900,000 people
    perished, disappeared, were taken prisoner, were wounded or were left crippled
    at the end of WWII. The Romanian Army continued to fight after Romania was
    liberated, helping drive away the German army from Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
    In total, over 540,000 servicemen were deployed to the frontline, of whom
    90,000 were killed, nearly 60,000 went missing and over 330,000 were wounded.




    UDMR – The Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania is today convening in Timișoara to elect their its president. The acting president, Kelemen
    Hunor, who is running for a new term, says the congress will also adopt a
    strategic document outlining the priorities of Romania and the Hungarian
    community in the economic, social, political, and minority rights over the
    coming years. The leaders of PNL and PSD, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and Chamber of Deputies
    Speaker, Marcel Ciolacu, are also expected to attend.




    ARREST – Former Romanian deputy
    Cristian Rizea was extradited by the Republic of Moldova after being declared persona non-grata for a 15-year period.
    Rizea was detained by Romanian law enforcement and transferred to a
    penitentiary, where he will serve a sentence of 4 years and 8 months. The former
    MP had been wanted by Romanian authorities after fleeing the country to evade a
    2019 prison sentence for influence peddling, money laundering and influencing
    official statements.




    GROWTH – The assessments
    conducted by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European
    Central Bank show that Romania will report an economic growth this year as
    well, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă says. Under these circumstances, an IMF bailout
    package is not under discussion, the Prime Minister said. Previously, the
    former Liberal Finance Minister, Florin Cîțu,
    had written on social media that PSD wants to strike an agreement with the IMF
    and the World Bank, which would suggest the country is on the brink. The
    statement follows discussions about the government’s plans to adopt an
    emergency decree cutting public spending. Government officials say the move
    would not impact salaries and investment.




    MEDIA – The situation of the
    Romanian media is not very rosy, and the country should show progress in this
    respect in the rule of law report this year, the European Commission
    vice-president for values and transparency Věra Jourová said in Brussels. The
    2022 rule of law report of the European Commission states that the Romanian
    media faces a wide array of issues, such as the lack of transparency in terms
    of media ownership and rising numbers of threats and cases of harassment and
    violence against journalists.




    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player
    Irina Begu on Thursday advanced to the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament
    in Madrid, totalling over €7.7 million. In the second round, Begu knocked out
    Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in straight sets. The Romanian player
    will next take on Shelby Rogers of the United States. Also on Thursday, another
    two Romanian players, Sorana Cîrstea and Ana Bogdan, were eliminated. In the women’s singles today,
    Jaqueline Cristian will play Anastasia Potapova of Russia. (VP)



  • April 27, 2023 UPDATE

    April 27, 2023 UPDATE

    MEDIA – The situation of the media in
    Romania is not very rosy, there is plenty of room for improvement and the
    country should show the headway made in this respect in the upcoming rule of
    law report, the European Commission’s Vice-president for values and
    transparency, Věra Jourová, said in Brussels on Wednesday. According to the
    European Commission’s 2022 rule of law report, media in Romania is facing a
    series of issues such as the incomplete transparency of the media ownership and
    the cases in which journalists have been subjected to harassment and violence.
    Asked if the new legislative instruments proposed by the European Commission
    last year and currently under implementation are enough to tackle this issue, Věra
    Jourová gave an affirmative answer. Romania still has enough space to do
    something in this respect without being pushed by the EU laws. I went to
    Romania and want to go back again due to the legal issues and of course it is
    in Romania’s interest to also show some progress in the rule of law report in
    July, Věra Jourová went on to say.




    ECHR – Sebastian Răduleţu has been
    elected by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly for a 9-year term at
    the European Court for Human Rights. Rădulețu grabbed 84 of the 165 votes in
    the second round. ECHR judges are elected from a list of three candidates
    nominated by every country that ratified the European Convention on Human
    Rights. Right now, representing Romania at the ECHR is Iulia Motoc, who
    starting next year will take on a new job at the International Criminal Court.




    TALKS – The Education Committee with
    the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Thursday continued talks over the
    amendments in the University Education Law after the talks over the
    pre-university education were concluded on Wednesday. The talks focused on
    articles and amendments regarding research as well as the overall activity of
    students. The Committee preserved the Education Ministry’s proposals regarding
    the psychological and teacher training program at university level. The line
    minister Ligia Deca pointed out the draft law also stipulates measures for
    increasing the level of training and financial support for graduates opting for
    an academic career. Additionally, under the new law, rectors can be elected for
    a five-year term for a maximum of two terms in a specific institution.




    SUPPORT – As of May 1st, the
    executive in Bucharest is changing the way of granting financial support to the
    Ukrainian refugees. The assistance will be given directly to refugees, not to
    the family housing them, as has been the case so far. The grant is
    unconditionally offered only for one month after which the refugees will have
    to find jobs and send their children to schools or kindergartens. If they want
    to benefit from financial support from the fifth month of their stay they must
    prove they have found a job in Romania.




    MOLDOVA – The president of Moldova,
    Maia Sandu, has again accused Russia of interfering with the domestic affairs
    of the Republic, just two days before elections are scheduled in the Autonomous
    Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia (ATUG). In an appearance on a local TV station, president
    Sandu said several candidates enrolled in Sunday’s election are Russian agents.
    We are witnessing a blatant ingression into the ballot in Găgăuzia, the
    president added. Russia has never respected the sovereignty and independence of
    the Republic of Moldova, and it is now trying to destabilize the country in
    order to obstruct its European track and cause chaos, the Moldovan official
    argued. According to Maia Sandu, Russia funds protests and various parties in
    the Republic of Moldova to help pro-Russian politicians return to power.
    Relying on the support of the European Union, Chișinău authorities have opposed
    Moscow’s efforts. In turn, Russia has denied the accusations. (VP)