Radio România Internațional

Tag: national census

  • May 31, 2022 UPDATE

    May 31, 2022 UPDATE

    WAR IN UKRAINE –Russian forces are advancing in
    eastern Ukraine, with heavy clashes with the Ukrainian army taking place in the
    center of Severodonetsk. Together with Lysychansk, from which it is only
    separated by a river, Severodonetsk is one of the last Ukrainian strongholds in
    the Donbas mining region, which Russia claims is at the moment the only target
    of its so-called special military operation. Ukraine’s president
    Volodymyr Zelensky admitted the Ukrainian army is in difficulty in this region.
    The Ukrainian forces say, however, that they have regained ground in the south,
    especially in the Kherson area, near Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
    According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian troops have withdrawn
    from the village of Mykolaivka, in the Kherson region. The city of Kherson was
    occupied by the Russian troops as early as the beginning of March, soon after
    the launch of the Russian invasion on February 24, and commentators say
    retaking the city would have a symbolic, as well as a strategic, importance.




    SANCTIONS – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, said on the
    sidelines of the EU Council Summit in Brussels that risks in the Black Sea
    region are escalating, and concerted efforts are needed to provide assistance
    and an adequate response to the consequences of the war in Ukraine. The
    president expressed concern with developments on the ground, both in terms of
    security as well as humanitarian assistance in eastern and southern Ukraine,
    highlighting the humanitarian support and facilitating grains exports via the
    port of Constanța and other ports on the Danube. President Iohannis pointed out the
    importance of supporting the EU accession of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia by
    sending out a strong message of political
    solidarity. EU leaders agreed in Brussels to block a large part of Russian oil
    imports. The last-minute compromise deal will, for the time being, only affect
    deliveries by sea but not those by pipeline, which Hungary opposed. European
    Council president Charles Michel said, however, that the agreement cuts off a
    big source of financing for the Russian war machine. The measure is part of a
    sixth package of sanctions against Russia since the start of the latter’s
    invasion of Ukraine.




    PNRR – The Romanian Ministry for Investment and European Projects has
    submitted to the European Commission the first funding request worth 3 billion
    EUR under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). 2 billion EUR is
    non-refundable financial aid, while approximately 1 billion will consist of
    loans. The document includes the 21 milestones for the 4th quarter
    of last year. The next funding request
    will be submitted in the third quarter of 2022 and will comprise the milestones
    and targets related to the first two quarters of this year.




    CENSUS – Romania’s
    population and housing census entered its final phase on Tuesday, with census
    workers expected to conduct field interviews until July 17. The census will
    cover everyone, irrespective of citizenship, who was registered as having their
    residence in Romania on December 1, 2021, meaning they had been living here for
    at least one year. Census refusal may lead to fines between 200 and 600 EUR,
    with persons preventing access to residential compounds facing fines between
    300 and 1,000 EUR. According to the National Institute for Statistics, during
    the self-enumeration phase that ended on May 27, 11 million forms were
    recorded, 8.9 million of which were valid, which accounts for 46.8% of the
    population eligible for survey on December 1, 2021.




    RESIGNATION – Dacian Cioloș, former president of USR in
    opposition, has resigned from the party along with four other MEPs. In a post
    on Facebok, Cioloș announced it was a difficult decision he took in order to
    start a new project. Dacian Cioloș wants to found a new party called REPER that
    will be part of Renew Europe in the European Parliament. We recall Dacian
    Cioloș stepped down as USR president in January, a few months after winning the
    internal election. At the time, Cioloș claimed certain party leaders were
    trying to block his projects. (CM & VP)







  • May 30, 2022

    May 30, 2022

    SUMMIT -
    President Klaus Iohannis is attending the European Council summit on May 30-31,
    which will focus on the war in Ukraine. According to the Presidency, European
    leaders will discuss ways to continue providing political, economic and
    financial support to Ukraine, including the EU’s involvement in post-war reconstruction
    efforts. The EU Council summit will also address the need to help build up Moldova’s
    resilience. EU heads of state and government will also examine approaches to
    ensure continuous food exports from Ukraine in order to maintain food safety at
    global level. The summit’s agenda also includes steps to diversify and secure
    energy sources and supply routes.




    EMBARGO -
    The EU failed to reach an agreement on Sunday regarding an embargo on Russian
    oil and negotiations are expected to continue today. EU diplomats are trying to
    reach consensus over exempting oil deliveries to certain states in Central
    Europe. The embargo is part of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia.
    The package stipulates the deswifting of Russia’s number one bank, Sberbank, a
    ban on Russian TV stations across the EU and adding new names on the list of
    Russian figures whose assets have been frozen or who are barred from entering
    the EU. Hungary has opposed the package, claiming a Russian oil embargo would
    deal a heavy blow to its economy, as this country cannot import oil from other
    sources. The Czech Republic and Slovakia have expressed similar concerns.




    IMF – A
    delegation of the International Monetary Fund, led by Jan Kees Martijn, will
    visit Romania over May 30 – June 10, to conduct an analysis of Romanian
    economy, the IMF representative for Central and Eastern Europe, Nadeem Ilahi,
    has said. IMF officials will discuss with Romanian authorities economic
    policies and evolutions, and are expected to meet with representatives of the
    Finance Ministry, the National Bank, other government agencies as well as the
    private sector and NGOs. At present, Romania has no ongoing financial agreement
    with the IMF, although the Fund assesses the evolution of Romanian economy
    every year.




    CENSUS – The
    second phase of the national census starts on May 31 across the country, when
    censors will collect data in the field. According to the National Statistics
    Institute, 47% of the target population has completed the online
    self-enumeration process over March 14 – May 27. The second phase will take
    place over May 31 – July 17. This is the 13th census in Romania’s
    history and the 4th after the 1989 Revolution.




    FOOTBALL -
    Sunday marked the end the 2021-2022 football season. In the second round of the
    promotion playoffs, Chindia Târgoviște won 4-1 against second-tier club
    Concordia Chiajna at the penalty shootout. The score was 1-0 at the end of regular
    time, and Concordia had won 2-1 in the first round. Universitatea Cluj on the
    other hand managed to secure promotion to the first division after drawing 1-1
    against Dinamo Bucharest. Universitatea had won the first leg 2-0. Concordia
    and Universitatea will join Petrolul Ploiești and FC Hermannstadt, two teams
    that had secured direct qualification to League One. CFR Cluj have won their
    fifth consecutive championship title and the eighth in the club history. Next
    season, CFR will play in the Champions League preliminaries. FCSB,
    Universitatea Craiova and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe will perform in Europa Conference
    League. The 2022-2023 season will kick off on July 9 with the Romanian
    Supercup.




    TENNIS -
    Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (63 WTA) is today playing Jessica Pegula of
    the US (11 WTA) in the round of 16 at Roland Garros. Previously, Begu ousted
    Leolia Jeanjean of France, 6-1, 6-4, thus matching her personal best at Roland
    Garros, the round of 16 played in 2016. Irina Begu is the only Romanian left in
    the women’s singles. The other six players in the main draw, including Simona
    Halep, world no. 1 and winner at Roland Garros in 2018, were knocked out in the
    first two rounds.




    WEATHER – Massive
    rainfall and storms swept the country this weekend, disrupting rail and road
    traffic, damaging cars, uprooting trees and flooding streets and homes.
    Authorities sent out an alert on the emergency app warning people to take
    refuge, while emergency response teams intervened in numerous cases providing
    support to the local population in a number of counties, including the capital
    city. Hydrologists also issued alerts against floods for a number of rivers.
    Skies are overcast with reports of isolated rainfall in the mountains. The
    highs of the day range between 20 and 29 degrees. The noon reading in Bucharest
    was 22 degrees Celsius. (VP)



  • The self-enumeration period got extended

    The self-enumeration period got extended

    Online self-enumeration – the first stage in the population and household
    census in Romania, which was due to end on Sunday – got extended by another two
    weeks. The National Statistics Institute president, Tudorel Andrei, said that
    the decision factored in the high interest displayed by Romanians in recent
    days, when the average rate of online self-enumeration went up four times
    compared to the early period. Besides, this method of collecting personal data
    will save up to 2 Euro for every online questionnaire. Tudorel Andrei expressed
    satisfaction with the functioning of the online platform so far, considering it
    represents a first for Romania.


    There are nearly one million requests to fill the online questionnaire
    every day, of which nearly half are finalized. Our colleagues from the Special
    Telecommunications Service have provided us with their full support, and
    whenever drawbacks are reported, I assure you we are doing everything possible
    to solve them in due time. We want to exceed the 50% mark.


    So far, over 8.4 million Romanians have completed the online
    self-enumeration questionnaires, accounting for 44% of the total population,
    the same percentage reported in Bulgaria for instance, although higher compared
    to other European states. Tudorel Andrei also said that people who stay abroad
    for periods exceeding a year must not fill in the online forms, with the
    exception of properties they own in Romania. Moreover, the Institute president
    said there are a number of sanctions that apply to citizens providing false
    information or refusing to provide censors with their personal data.
    Conversely, self-enumeration remains a voluntary procedure. As for the final
    results of the census, Kelemen Hunor, the president of UDMR, says they will
    determine public policy-making in the future.


    We’ve had a very strong awareness-raising campaign, highlighting the
    importance of self-enumeration, because it’s important to show we are a strong
    community. The self-enumeration stage went very well, and it’s important for
    our community. We told people to fill in the online questionnaire and assert
    their cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic identity – it’s an important
    element that connects us to the present and future of our community.


    A national census started on March 14 in Romania. People who don’t
    complete the self-enumeration process will be visited by a censor over May 31 -
    July 17 at home. The census originally slated for 2021, but it was postponed
    due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The census is held every 10 years and is
    necessary to produce national and European statistics. (VP)