Tag: Mintia

  • August 8, 2023 UPDATE

    August 8, 2023 UPDATE

    Trial. Several gendarmes, including the former leadership of the Romanian Gendarmerie, were sent to court in the “August 10 Case”, 5 years after the violence reported during the diaspora protest of August 10, 2018 in Bucharest. They are accused of abusive behavior or complicity in this crime. The military prosecutors say that the management of the Gendarmerie at that time ordered their subordinates to intervene with force to disperse the protesters. The actions of the defendants led, according to the investigators, not only to restricting the freedom of assembly and the right to physical and mental integrity of the demonstrators, but also to physical suffering or injuries that required medical care. The prosecutors also say that the gendarmes acted not only against the people who demonstrated violently, but also against the peaceful demonstrators who constituted the vast majority of the protesters. More than 300 participants in the protest that brought together thousands of Romanians are demanding moral and material damages in this case. The case will be tried at the Bucharest Military Court. In this context, the Declic Community has called on the court to judge this case urgently, considering that there are only three years until the statute of limitations comes into force, and the culprits could escape punishment. The members of the Declic Community have also announced that they will demonstrate in Bucharest on Thursday, August 10, to demand justice for the victims of the abuses and violence committed by gendarmes in 2018.



    Pensions. The Romanian MPs are expected to interrupt their summer holidays and resume activity in order to amend the special pensions bill, after some provisions have been deemed as unconstitutional, the countrys Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, has said. Ciolacu told a private TV channel the requests made by the constitutional judges would be discussed in Brussels between the Romanian authorities and the European Commission representatives. Ciolacu has pledged to fly to Brussels this month to renegotiate several provisions in the countrys National Recovery and Resilience Plan as well as the budget deficit target of 4.4%. The government in Bucharest would like to agree with the EC on a target of 5% of the GDP. The Prime Minister has explained that in the absence of a plan on curbing budget expenses and raising incomes, the budget deficit would exceed 6.2%, which might prompt the EU to cut its funds for Romania.



    Pilots. 100 Romanian pilots, who in the past four months defended the NATO air space over Lithuania, have returned home. There were many situations in which Russian Sukhoi warplanes were flying dangerously close to the NATO airspace and the Romanian pilots were sent to intercept those planes. The Romanians worked together with their colleagues from Portugal and NATO is permanently deploying air-force personnel and aircraft to that country as Lithuania doesnt have its own fighter jets. Moreover, the area is notorious for the bold attempts of the Russian pilots to violate the NATO airspace. 16 years ago Romanian pilots were also involved in air policing missions in Lithuania on their upgraded MIG-21 LanceRs.



    Support. Romania is ready to offer specialized assistance and support to the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking country, Romanias National Defence Minister, Angel Tilvar, said in Chisinau during the talks he held on Monday with his Moldovan counterpart, Anatolie Nosatîi. The Moldovan servicemen have recently received from Romania Kevlar helmets, bullet-proof vests and all-terrain vehicles. The donation is part of Romanias ongoing efforts to support the upgrading and streamlining of the defence structures in the neighboring state. According to a press release by the Defence Ministry in Bucharest, the two officials have also tackled aspects concerning the latest developments in the regional security caused by the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine, with emphasis on the situations caused by the latest bombing of Ukraines ports on the Danube close to the borders with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.



    Investment. In the county of Hunedoara in western Romania, the new owner of the Mintia thermal power plant presented a one billion Euro investment plan. It is the largest investment made in the energy system in Romania. The thermal power plant was sold by the Romanian state to a Jordanian group, and the new power plant will be ready by the end of 2026 and will produce 1,700 megawatts. Over 1,200 people would be employed during the construction period. The Thermal Power Plant in Mintia entered insolvency proceedings in 2019 and was put into conservation in the summer of 2021, due to the lack of necessary investments to be able to comply with the environmental regulations of the European Union. Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja now says it will be the most efficient power plant in Europe, with an efficiency of 64%.



    Corruption. The former social-democratic finance minister, Darius Vâlcov, will be extradited to Romania to serve the 6-year prison sentence he was sentenced to in a corruption case. The Romanian Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu, announced that, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy rejected the appeal submitted by Vâlcov to the ruling of Court of Appeal in Naples, which had previously ordered the extradition of the politician. Darius Vâlcov fled from Romania to Italy to escape the execution of the sentence he received for influence peddling and money laundering. Italy is the European country where several Romanian citizens have found refuge in an attempt to escape the sentences imposed most of the time in corruption cases.



    Festival. The 24th edition of the international festival Enescu and World Music started on Tuesday in the resort of Sinaia, in central Romania. The program includes concerts hosted by the local casino, the city museum, the George Enescu Memorial, the Dimitrie Ghica park and the Catholic church. According to the organizers, this festival is devoted to young performers and orchestras, in particular winners of national and international contests. The event is also devoted to the famous Romanian artists who are involved in the process of training the young generation of musicians, as part of this Romanian project. The festival is due to end on August 31. (MI)


  • Des discussions sur l’énergie

    Des discussions sur l’énergie


    La société allemande AE SOLAR promet de produire des
    panneaux solaires en Roumanie. Il s’agirait de l’un des plus gros
    investissements annoncés ces dernières années dans le pays. Selon le
    gouvernement de Bucarest, le Premier Ministre Nicolae Ciucă a rencontré en ce sens
    des représentants de l’entreprise qui annonce un investissement d’un milliard
    d’euros.


    Pendant la première étape, la capacité de production sera
    de 2 gigawatts avant de passer à 10 gigawatts, une fois que les flux de
    production seront complétement intégrés. Du coup, l’usine sera capable, à elle
    seule, de couvrir un tiers du besoin européen. AE SOLAR, qui fonctionne dans 95
    pays, a confirmé que la première phase du plan deviendra opérationnelle dans le
    courant de cette année. Selon l’exécutif roumain, pour que le projet se
    réalise, les autorités examineront les ressources qui peuvent être obtenues par
    le biais du financement européen et du budget public. Par ailleurs, pour que
    l’investissement se concrétise, des spécialistes du réseau des Universités de
    la région de la mer Noire seront cooptés et pourront coopérer au sein d’un parc
    scientifique complémentaire aux installations de production – indique également
    le communiqué de presse du gouvernement.


    Selon le Premier Ministre Nicolae Ciucă, l’investissement
    de la société AE SOLAR placera la Roumanie au centre de la production
    européenne de panneaux solaires et contribuera considérablement à
    l’indépendance énergétique du pays, mais aussi à la protection de l’environnement, en utilisant
    des énergies renouvelables pour produire de l’électricité.





    Et puis, la modernisation énergétique a dominé aussi l’agenda
    des discussions que le chef de l’Exécutif a eues avec les représentants de la
    société Mass Global Energy Rom, qui a racheté, l’an dernier, la centrale
    thermique à charbon de Mintia (dans l’ouest de la Roumanie). Ceux-ci ont présenté
    au premier ministre, Nicolae Ciucă, un plan d’investissement de plus d’un
    milliard d’euros, à travers lequel la centrale thermique ne fonctionnera plus à
    charbon, mais à gaz et aura une capacité de production d’électricité d’au moins
    1500 mégawatts, soit la plus grande et la plus efficace de l’Union Européenne.


    La première étape de l’investissement sera achevée en 24
    mois et le projet atteindra sa pleine maturité au bout de 36 mois. En
    attendant, les composants de la centrale seront préparés pour faire la
    transition vers les nouvelles technologies de production de l’hydrogène, pour en
    obtenir de l’énergie.


    Le Premier Ministre Nicolae Ciucă a déclaré, je cite,
    « Le gaz de la mer Noire, qui assure déjà 10 % de la consommation annuelle
    à l’échelle nationale, fera de la Roumanie, dans les années à venir, l’un des
    producteurs de gaz les plus importants de l’Union Européenne. La centrale de
    Mintia, qui utilisera le gaz comme principale ressource pour produire de l’électricité,
    pourra en profiter pleinement, afin que la Roumanie puisse répondre à ses
    besoins de consommation intérieure, tout en exportant, vers la République de
    Moldova et ses partenaires européens – a promis le Premier Ministre Nicolae
    Ciucă. (trad. Andra Juganaru)





  • August 26, 2022 UPDATE

    August 26, 2022 UPDATE

    LAWS – Draft
    laws on the reform of Romania’s education system could be submitted to the
    government in early September, Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu has announced. The minister says that upon public debates over
    the documents, almost 15 hundred amendments are to be assessed by experts with
    the ministry. We recall that representatives of the teaching staff, students,
    parents and society have called for the extension of the period of debates, but
    the ministry turned down the proposal.




    ORDINANCE -The
    government in Bucharest has endorsed an emergency ordinance providing for a 30
    Euros pay rise for state employees starting August 1st, Labor
    Minister Marius Budăi has announced, adding that the raise is only one fourth
    of the level stipulated in Law 153 for the year 2022 and it accounts for 2
    billion lei of the state budget. According to Budăi, almost one million out of
    the 1.2 million state employees will benefit from the new ordinance. The
    medical personnel and several other categories had already benefitted from the aforementioned
    pay rise.




    TRADE – Romania’s exports of drinks have increased by 52 % in
    the first five months of 2022 up to 108 million Euros, the National Institute
    for Statistics has announced. Between January and May this year Romania’s
    imports of beverages grew by 45% up to 251 million Euros, which resulted in a
    trade deficit of 143 million Euros. According to Bucharest media, the most
    sought-after drink is the Romanian version of the French cognac. The demand for
    this product has significantly increased on markets in Europe, the USA and
    Japan.




    PURCHASE – The Mintia thermoelectric power plant, part of the
    Hunedoara Energy Complex, was bought by Mass Global Energy Rom, part of Mass
    Group Holding, a company from the Middle East dealing in the fields of energy,
    steel and cement works for a 91-million-EUR fee. This is one of the largest transactions
    in the Romanian energy sector and, also the biggest insolvent company sold in
    recent years in Romania. Mass Global Energy Rom was the only participant in
    Friday’s tender.




    FOOTBALL – Romania’s football champions CFR Cluj qualified to the
    groups of Europa Conference League after a 1-0 home win on Thursday against
    Slovenian side NK Maribor in the play-offs. The first game in Slovenia ended in
    a goaless draw. FCSB, runner up in the Romanian championship, have also
    qualified after a 3-1 away win against their Norwegian opponents Viking.
    Another Romanian side Universitatea Craiova was eliminated in the play-offs by
    the Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva during the penalty shootout. Following
    Friday’s draw, FCSB will play in a group alongside West Ham United (England),
    Anderlecht Brussels (Belgium) and Silkeborg (Denmark). CFR was drawn in a group
    alongside Slavia Prague (the Czech Republic), Sivasspor (Turkey) and Ballkani
    (Kosovo).




    TENNIS -Romanian
    tennis player Simona Halep will be up against an opponent from the qualifying
    round at the US Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament. Halep last year
    made it to the round of 16 of the aforementioned competition, her best
    performance being in 2015, when she played in the semifinals. Another tennis
    player from Romania, Irina Begu, will be up against Elise Mertens of Belgium
    who has so far won all head-to-head matches. Sorana Cîrstea, also from Romania, will be up
    against Laura Siegemund of Germany while Gabriela Ruse will be playing Daria
    Saville of Australia. Another Romanian player Jaqueline Cristian will be up
    against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. (DB & VP)