Radio România Internațional

Tag: Netherlands

  • February 21, 2025 UPDATE

    February 21, 2025 UPDATE

    UKRAINE The interim president of Romania Ilie Bolojan takes part on Monday in an online summit on ‘Defence and Security Strategy of Unity. Action Plan’, organised in the neighbouring Russia-invaded Ukraine, the Romanian presidency announced. On Wednesday, Bolojan took part in a meeting on Ukraine and the security challenges in Europe in Paris. The interim president stated that participants in the meeting in Paris concluded that the best way to solve the crisis is collaboration between European countries and the United States of America, so that there is a ceasefire and a just peace, which cannot be achieved without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union in the negotiations.

     

    VISIT The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that the talks held on Friday in Brussels with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, focused on Romania’s key priorities. Marcel Ciolacu mentioned stepping up the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, cutting down the budget deficit without increasing the VAT, and electoral security. “We also discussed a tax reform. The VAT is not being increased, nor will the flat tax rate be touched,” Mr. Ciolacu added. He mentioned that the talks also covered Europe’s role in the peace negotiations, emphasising that “Romania must be at the table. A strong European Union means a stronger Romania! Stronger together, the EU and Romania,” Marcel Ciolacu concluded.

     

    ELECTIONS The Romanian government has approved a budget of roughly EUR 240 million for the organisation of the presidential elections on May 4 and 18. The money comes from the budget reserve funds made available to the government and included in the 2025 state budget, reads a news release issued by the government. The presidential election will take place in May after a first round held in December was cancelled under a Constitutional Court ruling which mentioned interference in the election process.

     

    TALKS The president of France Emmanuel Macron will be in Washington on Monday to discuss with his US counterpart Donald Trump the Ukraine peace negotiations that the Americans have begun with the Russians in the absence of the Europeans and Ukrainians. Since the beginning of the week, the French president has been holding a marathon of consultations with leaders of European Union and NATO member countries. He launched these consultations in an attempt to make Europe’s voice heard, as Europe cannot be left aside after all its political and material involvement in supporting Ukraine over the past three years, since Russia launched a war of aggression against its neighbour.

     

    THEFT The Dutch police have announced they apprehended a 26 year-old man, who has become the fourth suspect in the theft of the Romanian ancient artefacts from the Drents Museum in Assen. According to police sources, the artefacts have not been recovered yet. On January 25, 4 extremely valuable golden items, part of Romania’s treasure on display at the Drents Museum, were stolen. The museum was hosting an exhibition entitled “Dacia, the Kingdom of gold and silver”, which was supposed to close a day before the robbery. (AMP)

  • January 27, 2025

    January 27, 2025

     

    ART THEFT Recovering the golden helmet of Cotofenesti and the three Dacian bracelets of Sarmizegetusa Regia, stolen on Friday night from the Drents Museum in the Dutch city of Assen, is a priority, the Romanian authorities say. The prime minister’s office is checking the culture ministry’s documents under which the artifacts had been sent to the exhibition, and the culture minister Natalia Intotero will meet with the royal family and the prime minister of the Netherlands to convey Bucharest’s firm message that the heritage pieces be recovered as quickly as possible. Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolcu has set up a task force comprising interior ministry, justice and culture ministry officials as well as Romanian police, to manage the retrieval of these items of immeasurable historical value.

     

    BUDGET The leaders of the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in the ruling coalition, should meet today for talks on the state budget bill and on means to reduce the deficit to no more than 7% of GDP this year. The original deadline was today, January 27, but the bill could be postponed, as recent trade union protests prompted the ruling parties to announce they are looking for legislative solutions to alter the order underlying the budget law. The alterations, which will be operated in Parliament in the first half of February, concern payment of overtime on weekends or public holidays for employees in the defence, public order and national security system. The coalition would have wanted the budget bill to reach the government this week for approval, and to be sent to Parliament early next month.

     

    FOREIGN AFFAIRS The EU foreign ministers convene today in a Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting, with the main topics on the agenda including the war in Ukraine, the Middle East crisis and relations with the US after Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The FAC meeting in Brussels is the first in this format organised under the Polish EU Council presidency, which began on 1 January, and will be chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. It is also the first such meeting attended by Emil Hurezeanu as head of the Romanian diplomacy. The EU ministers will also have informal conference call with their Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiga.

     

    AGRICULTURE The Romanian minister of agriculture, Florin-Ionuţ Barbu, takes part on Monday in the first AgriFish Council meeting of this year, held in Brussels. According to a news release issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the agenda will concern the programme of the Polish presidency, unfair trading practices and strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain, trade and performance verification. The Polish EU Presidency will present its work programme and set out the main priorities in the field of agriculture and fisheries for the next six months. In turn, Member State officials will analyse the necessary revision of the performance verification procedure under the financing rules of the Common Agricultural Policy, the Romanian agriculture ministry explained.

     

    BACCALAUREATE High school senior students in Romania are taking the oral tests in the first session of this year’s Baccalaureate exam starting today. The assessment of communication skills in Romanian takes place until Wednesday, with the oral tests in ethnic minorities’ native languages held over three days, starting on January 29. The foreign language oral tests are scheduled between February 3 and 5, and digital skills will be tested between February 5 and 7. The organisation of these tests during the school year has been criticised by some students, teachers and education experts, especially because high school students must also attend classes during the exam days. The written tests in the Baccalaureate exam begins on May 30 and end on June 30, when the final results are to be announced.

     

    BELARUS The incumbent president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential election with 87.6% of the votes, according to an exit poll which also says his 4 opponents received 1-2% of the votes. International media say the elections are intended to give a seventh consecutive term to the authoritarian Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and viewed as the most compliant ally of Putin’s Russia. On the eve of the election, the EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas stated that the regime in Minsk has “no legitimacy” and called the “sham election” an affront to democracy. In turn, MEPs demanded that the results of the Belarus election not be recognized, especially since the previous elections, in 2020, which were very likely rigged, were followed by ruthless repression of protests. According to the UN, more than 300,000 Belarusians out of a total population of nine million have fled their country for political reasons, mainly to neighbouring Poland. There are reportedly over 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus. (AMP)

  • January 25, 2025 UPDATE 2

    January 25, 2025 UPDATE 2

     

    RATING The financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s confirmed Romania’s ‘BBB minus’ rating, but revised the outlook from “stable” to “negative”. The reasons are related to high fiscal and external risks, the agency reports. According to S&P, the fragmented and uncertain political environment, as well as the substantial spending ahead of the elections, pushed the fiscal deficit to almost 8.7% of GDP, far above expectations. The Romanian finance minister Tánczos Barna says the change in the outlook from stable to negative indicates that measures are needed to reduce the budget deficit, and that the country needs a balanced public budget and a streamlined government structure. He also said that the government’s measures to reduce the deficit and consolidate economic growth must be implemented at an alert pace, in the form already agreed on with the EU.

     

    UKRAINE The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, taking into account Ukraine’s cooperation with the Republic of Moldova, it is possible for Kyiv to cover Moldova’s entire electricity demand, and a 30% discount on the supply price is also possible. He made these statements at a meeting on Saturday in Kyiv with the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu. The two officials also discussed possible coal deliveries to the Republic of Moldova. In turn, Maia Sandu accused Russia of trying to create economic and social chaos in Moldova and bring a pro-Russian government in power in Chisinau. She traveled to Kyiv amid energy tensions in Transnistria, a pro-Russian breakaway region between the two countries, AFP reports. This strip of land with a population of about half a million, which remains outside Moldova’s control, was supplied by the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom for free, through a pipeline that crossed Ukraine. The latter ended the contract with Moscow on January 1, thus cutting off supplies to Moldova, including to Transnistria, which declared a state of emergency. With Kyiv fighting the Russian invasion for three years, Chisinau is worried about a possible spillover of the conflict to its territory, especially through the destabilisation of Transnistria by Russia. The rest of Moldova is for now safe from energy cuts, thanks to electricity and gas imports from Romania.

     

    ELECTIONS The Liberals will convene on Sunday in a special National Council meeting to validate the former party president Crin Antonescu as the joint candidate of the ruling coalition in Romania. The Social Democrats scheduled a special congress on February 2 for the same purpose, and UDMR will make its decision at the beginning of next week. The first and second rounds of the presidential elections are scheduled for May 4 and 18. So far, the mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, the independent candidate Călin Georgescu and the president of Save Romania Union, Elena Lasconi, have announced plans to run for president. The latter two were top placed in the presidential elections canceled last year. After the first election round on November 24 was validated, the Constitutional Court of Romania canceled the election as a whole on December 6, although voting in the second round had already begun abroad. The Court made its decision after the Supreme Defence Council published a report indicating foreign interference in the electoral process, but investigations have so far failed to confirm it. Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets to demand that the second round be resumed.

     

    EXHIBITION Romania’s foreign ministry announced that on Saturday the National Museum of History of Romania (MNIR) and the Culture Ministry were notified that an explosion took place and several exhibits were stolen at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, which is hosting an exhibition called ‘Dacia! Rijk van goud en zilver’ (Dacia! Kingdom of gold and silver), organised jointly with MNIR. According to the institution, initial investigations indicate that the blast was design to help as yet unidentified perpetrators to break into the museum building and steal pieces from Romania’s Dacian treasure. The foreign ministry notified the Romanian interior ministry and the Romanian police, and the Romanian embassies in all neighboring countries are on alert. Romania’s foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu spoke with his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp, ​​highlighting the exceptional importance of the stolen exhibits. The Dutch side assured Romania of its operational and political determination to solve the case. The Dutch police also activated cross-border cooperation mechanisms and informed the Interpol of the matter.

     

    HOLOCAUST The minister of culture Natalia Intotero will represent Romania, on Monday, at the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. The event, held under the patronage of the president of Poland, marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day declared by the United Nations, and brings together camp survivors, official delegations of states and international organisations. Romania’s participation in the ceremony on January 27 reflects its solid commitment to keeping alive the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, to fighting all forms of denial, distortion, or downplaying of this tragic moment, as well as to fighting anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalisation and hate speech, while at the same time promoting respect for fundamental human rights, both at national and international level, the Romanian culture ministry said. (AMP)

  • The Week in Review

    The Week in Review

    Repatriations of Romanians from Gaza continue



    Romania will continue the dialogue with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities for the evacuation of the Romanian citizens and their family members in the Gaza Strip, depending on the developments on the ground and the agreement of the parties involved, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. Moreover, a consular team will remain available in the area of ​​the Rafah border-crossing to Egypt to provide further assistance. The first group of almost one hundred Romanian citizens and their family members were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and transported to Romania from Cairo with a TAROM aircraft. There are also other groups of Romanians who requested permission from the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to transit the border crossing point to Egypt. On board the first aircraft were the PM Marcel Ciolacu and the FM Luminiţa Odobescu, who met in Cairo with the evacuated persons. The head of the Romanian diplomacy declared that the security situation is extremely difficult and complex, which requires a permanent updating of the evacuation plans. And Marcel Ciolacu gave assurances that Romanian citizens and family members will continue to be supported by the Romanian Government to reach extended families and integrate into Romanian society.



    Important decisions made by the Romanian Government



    The Romanian government adopted, during Thursday’s meeting, the new pension law, which provides for two increases for 2024. The document also establishes the recalculation of all pensions according to new criteria, so that the inequities in the system should be eliminated. At the end of the government session, the labor minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu said that the pension law is a stable and sustainable law, which will eliminate inequities, and which is based on respect for contributions and work. She expressed confidence that budgetary resources will be found for the implementation of the two expected increases in 2024 and evoked a better collection of revenues and the reduction of tax evasion. The executive wants the pension law to be adopted by Parliament by November 20.



    Klaus Iohannis in Brussels



    The best option is for Romania and Bulgaria to enter the Schengen Area together, and all negotiations and all attempts to convince those who are still reluctant on this issue are converging towards this, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in Brussels. The Romanian president talked with the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, and participated in the signing of a memorandum of collaboration in the nuclear field, but the official visit had more stakes. One of them concerned the support for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, all the more so since, on the same day, in Brussels, the European Commission gave the green light to the European Council to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, Belgium will take over the presidency of the EU Council in January and will manage both the agenda and the framework of these negotiations. Thus, the discussion extended from economic aspects to defense aspects, especially since a contingent of the Belgian army is in Romania to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. At the end of his visit to Brussels, Klaus Iohannis was received by His Majesty Philippe, King of Belgium, at the castle in Laeken.



    F-16 aircraft in Romania



    On Tuesday, the Netherlands sent the first five F-16 fighter planes to Romania, to the air base in Feteşti (south), which will be used to train the Ukrainian pilots. The European F-16 Training Center was established there as a result of the collaboration between the Romanian and Dutch defense ministries. Given the current geopolitical context and Romania’s strategic position in the Black Sea region, this center becomes essential for cross-border collaboration, strengthening security and consolidating solidarity within NATO. The Romanian defense ministry reminds that this center will be an international hub for the training of F-16 aircraft pilots and will facilitate the increase of interoperability between allies. Romania thus joins other allied nations in supporting the training of Ukrainian pilots for the future use of F-16 aircraft. The center will contribute to the creation of common operational standards and to strengthening the capacity of the North Atlantic Alliance to face the complex challenges in the Black Sea region and in Eastern Europe.



    The first Romanian judge at the International Court of Justice



    Romanias former foreign minister, the current presidential adviser Bogdan Aurescu was voted, on Thursday, a judge at the International Court of Justice, thus becoming the first Romanian to occupy this position. This represents a victory of the Romanian diplomacy, says the Romanian Foreign Ministry, pointing out that Romania promotes a foreign policy based on respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as for international law. In a congratulatory message, President Klaus Iohannis writes that this is a success of Romanian diplomacy, which reflects our firm commitment to the international order based on rules. The judges of the International Court of Justice are elected for nine years by the General Assembly and the UN Security Council, from a wider list of candidates. (LS)


  • November 1, 2023 UPDATE

    November 1, 2023 UPDATE

    TAXATION Some of the new fiscal measures aimed
    at reducing the budget deficit in Romania came into force on Wednesday. Under
    the law for which the Government has assumed responsibility in Parliament, personnel
    in the IT sector will pay an income tax for amounts exceeding EUR 2,000 per month. Local
    public institutions and authorities cannot use public funds for the organisation
    of community events, such as festivals, concerts, local competitions or other
    themed celebrations. Other fiscal measures, such as the introduction of new
    taxes for SMEs and the payment of health insurance contributions for the value
    of meal vouchers, will take effect on January 1, 2024. The measures run counter
    to many entrepreneurs’ interests. At a conference on this topic, organised by
    the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, the participants argued that in
    order to contain the budget deficit, top priority measures should include combating
    tax evasion, improving revenue collection and improving the work of the Tax
    Office. The President of the Chamber, Mihai Daraban, said that the government
    now has more options available before attacking the business community.




    PENSIONS In Romania, a draft pensions law has been posted for public
    review on the Labour Ministry’s website. The document was approved by the
    ruling coalition, and the government is seeking to have it endorsed under an
    emergency procedure by the end of this month. Under the new legislation, all
    pension benefits will be adjusted to the annual inflation rate, and will be
    re-calculated based on a new formula. No benefits will be lower than they are
    at present, the PM Marcel Ciolacu promised after a meeting of the ruling
    coalition. The minimum contribution period will be 15 years, and the maximum
    period 35 years, with bonuses given for workplace stability. According to the
    Prime Minister, pensions will be raised in 2 stages next year, on January 1 and
    on September 1, respectively.






    DONATION The first F16 fighter jets that the
    Netherlands will donate to Ukraine will arrive at a training center set up in
    Romania in two weeks, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced. He emphasised
    that the current situation in the Middle East should not and will not be able
    to distract the Netherlands from the fight of the Ukrainians against the
    Russian aggression. Denmark, Norway and Belgium have also announced that they
    will supply Ukraine with F16 aircraft.




    FOOTBALL The match between the national
    football teams of Israel and Romania, in the EURO 2024 Qualifying Group I, will
    take place in Hungary, the Romanian football federation announced. The game
    will be played on November 18, in Felcsut, approximately 50 kilometers from
    Budapest. UEFA stated that the presence of spectators will be
    allowed. Previously, the organisation had decided to suspend all matches scheduled
    in Israel, because of the armed conflict there. After the match against Israel,
    Romania is to meet Switzerland, on November 21, in Bucharest. After eight
    games, Romania is undefeated and ranks first in the group, with 16 points.
    Switzerland (15 points) and Israel (11 points) have played one match and two
    matches less, respectively. The two top-ranking teams go to the final
    tournament in Germany. Romania has not reached a European championship final
    tournament since 2016, and a World Cup since 1998.




    RADIO Radio Romania celebrated 95 years of uninterrupted broadcasting.
    In recognition of the critical role that Radio Romania has in Romania’s
    history, in December 2019 Parliament decided to establish November 1 as the
    National Radio Day. Over three million people listen to Radio Romania every
    day. Public institutions, NGOs, major personalities in Romania’s arts and
    cultural scene have congratulated Radio Romania on the occasion. PM Marcel Ciolacu pointed
    out that for 95 years, the public radio broadcaster has been a source of
    information and education for generations of listeners, while the Senate
    speaker Nicolae Ciucă said that Radio Romania has been promoting Romanian
    traditions and values for nearly a century and deserves recognition for its
    efforts in this respect. The president of the Romanian Academy Ioan-Aurel Pop
    also congratulated the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, which, he said,
    has been a witness to all the milestones in Romanian history. In Timişoara,
    this year’s European Capital of Culture, the Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair takes
    place until November 5. On Friday, November 3, an anniversary concert of the
    National Radio Orchestra is scheduled, and between November 22 and 26, a new
    edition of the Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair, the longest-running project
    of its kind in the country, will be organised at the Romexpo exhibition centre
    in Bucharest. (AMP)

  • November 1, 2023

    November 1, 2023

    Measures – Part of the new fiscal measures aimed at reducing the budget deficit in Romania have come into force today. According to the law for which the Government has assumed responsibility in Parliament, those working in the IT field will pay the income tax for amounts exceeding 10,000 lei (the equivalent of 2,000 euros). Local public institutions and authorities cannot finance from budget funds the organization of community events, such as festivals, concerts, local competitions or other themed celebrations. Other fiscal measures, such as the introduction of new taxes for SMEs or the payment of the health insurance contribution for the value of meal vouchers, will take effect on January 1, 2024. The measures run counter to many business people’s interests. At a conference on this topic, organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, the participants argued that to limit the budget deficit, the priority measures should include combating tax evasion, improving revenue collection and improving the work of the Tax Office. The President of the Chamber, Mihai Daraban, said that the governors now have more options available before attacking the business environment.



    Donation – The first F16 fighter jets that the Netherlands will donate to Ukraine will arrive, in two weeks, at the training center created in Romania –the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced. He emphasized that the current situation in the Middle East should not and will not be able to distract the Netherlands from the fight of the Ukrainians against the Russian aggression. For their part, Denmark, Norway and Belgium have announced that they will supply Ukraine with F16 aircraft.



    Conflict – The ambassadors from the group of Arab states and of some member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had a meeting with the members of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Romanian Senate. The ambassador of Lebanon in Bucharest, Rana Mokaddem, thanked Romania for the humanitarian aid given to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip and warned that the conflict in the Middle East risks expanding. “We are here as if we represented Palestine in this situation, calling for a peaceful solution, but one that respects the dignity of the Palestinians. Palestine is a victim, from our point of view” – she said. Previously, the members of the Senate Foreign Policy Committee received Ella Haimi, the wife of the Romanian-Israeli citizen held hostage in the Gaza Strip. She also met with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and asked for help both for her husband and for the other hostages taken by Hamas terrorists. The Romanian Foreign Ministry informs that two other people with dual citizenship, Israeli and Romanian, residing in Israel, who are hostages in the Gaza Strip, have been identified.



    Anniversary – Today, Radio Romania celebrates 95 years of uninterrupted broadcasting. In recognition of the determining role that Radio Romania has in Romanias history, Parliament decided, in December 2019, to establish November 1 as the National Radio Day. Over three million people listen to Radio Romania every day. Tonight, the Radio Romania Gala will take place at the Radio Hall, which will honor the moment of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation’s first transmission. In Timişoara, this years European Capital of Culture, the Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair will take place until November 5. Friday, November 3, the anniversary concert of the National Radio Orchestra is scheduled. Between November 22-26, a new edition of the Gaudeamus Radio Romania Fair, the longest-running project of its kind in the country, will be organized at the Romexpo Compound in Bucharest.



    Football – The match between the national football teams of Israel and Romania, from the EURO 2024 Qualifying Group I will take place in Hungary, the Romanian football federation announced on its official website. The game will be played on November 18, in Felcsut, approximately 50 kilometers from Budapest. UEFA stated that “the presence of spectators will be allowed”. Previously, the continental forum decided to suspend all scheduled matches in Israel, due to the armed conflict there. Apart from the match against Israel, Romania is to meet Switzerland, on November 21, in Bucharest. After eight games, Romania is undefeated and occupies first place in the group, with 16 points. Switzerland (15 points) and Israel (11 points) have one match and two matches respectively to play. The two top-ranking teams go to the final tournament in Germany. Romania has not reached a European football championship since 2016, and a World Cup since 1998. (LS)

  • Strategic partnership between Romania and Bulgaria

    Strategic partnership between Romania and Bulgaria

    Romania and Bulgaria will continue their common efforts for the adoption, this year, of the decision to join the Schengen Area. This was announced during the visit that the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, paid on Wednesday to Sofia. Klaus Iohannis was received by his Bulgarian counterpart, Rumen Radev, and had talks about establishing a common strategy related to Schengen. On this occasion, the two heads of state also signed a Strategic Partnership declaration which provides, among other things, for the intensification of bilateral political dialogue, for the encouragement of economic exchanges and cross-border cooperation, as well as for ensuring energy security. Moreover, says Klaus Iohannis, through this Strategic Partnership, infrastructure projects related to transport and navigability on the Danube and to the field of green energy will advance. In this context, the two officials decided that the two neighboring states should prioritize the areas that correspond to their strategic interests, in order to ensure their resilience, economic development and security.



    As to the Schengen free travel area, Klaus Iohannis reiterated that Romania and Bulgaria are ready for accession and explained that the two countries act responsibly to protect this area. The expansion is not related to the illegal migration at the external borders of the European Union, the Romanian president believes, and Romania and Bulgaria have repeatedly expressed their willingness to be part of the solutions for managing this challenge.



    Klaus Iohannis: “The Schengen area refers to a European citizen’s right to travel freely in the European Union states. Illegal migration is an entirely different issue. It is about people entering the European Union illegally and trying to cross from one state to another. For political reasons, these two issues are mixed up by some European politicians. It is an error, but we understand the difficulties of some European states in dealing with illegal migration. We are willing to participate in all the programs that can solve these issues.



    And the Bulgarian president reiterated that additional efforts will be made to speed up accession to the Schengen area. He showed that in the last months, the two countries have fought against the flow of illegal migrants, a flow that has decreased considerably.



    Rumen Radev: We believe that this unjustified barrier, which was put in front of our countries, should not be used to solve internal problems or other problems within the European Union. Lifting this barrier, for which we will work together, will bring a great contribution and will answer to our citizens what equal rights in the European Union mean.



    In this context, he announced that he would propose to the European Union the setting up in Bulgaria of a working group to include representatives of social services from all the states that are influenced by the Balkan transit. We recall that in the Justice and Home Affairs Council of December 8, 2022, Romania and Bulgaria registered a failure regarding Schengen accession, although the two countries met all the necessary technical conditions. The opposition came from Austria and the Netherlands, the latter specifying that Bulgaria was not yet ready to enter Schengen. Austria blocked the accession amid concerns about illegal migration on the Balkan route. Romania rejected the accusations, which were also officially denied by the European institutions and Europol. (LS)

  • November 14, 2017

    November 14, 2017

    GDP — In 2017 Romania’s real GDP went up by 2.6% in the third quarter as against the previous quarter, and by 8.8% as compared with the same period last year, according to the National Statistics Institute. In the first nine months this year Romania’s economy grew by 7%. Early this month the National Forecast Commission revised upwards the country’s economic growth prospects for this year, from 5.6% to 6.1%. Also, according to the European Commission, the Romanian economy could go up by 5.3% this year and by 4.2% in 2018. In October the IMF also revised upwards the Romanian economy’s growth estimations for this year, from 4.2% to 5.5%.




    CELEBRATION — Romania celebrates today 139 years since the southeastern province of Dobruja was unified with the country. The province had been, up to that point, under Ottoman rule. In 1878, following the Russian-Romanian-Turkish war, the International Peace Congress in Berlin recognised Romania’s independence and the province of Dobruja together with the tiny Snake Island in the Black Sea as part of its territory. Authorities in the counties of Tulcea and Constanta are staging ceremonies to celebrate this historic event.




    NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION – The National Liberal Party, the main right wing opposition party in Parliament, is today starting negotiations with representatives of other parliamentary parties to support the no-confidence vote against the coalition government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and headed by Mihai Tudose. The Liberal President Ludovic Orban has announced that information campaigns will be organised across the country and protest rallies will be staged in the country and abroad. The Liberals also requested the Ombudsman to challenge the tax reform promoted by the government in the Constitutional Court. Rallies were staged in Bucharest and other cities to protest against the governments new measures and the bills on the amendment of the laws governing the justice system. Both the prime minister Mihai Tudose and the Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea said they would not reconsider their planned changes to the tax code, which they say would bring in more revenues to the budget and the pension fund, while also simplifying procedures for businesses.




    QUAKE – Iran has declared a day of mourning for the victims of Sunday’s quake. According to the authorities’ latest report, over 450 people lost their lives after the earthquake struck the country near its Iraki border. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was about 32 kilometers southwest of the city of Halabjah and measured 7.2. On the Iraqi side, the most extensive damage was in the town of Darbandikhan, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. Iran is prone to near daily quakes as it sits on many major fault lines. In 2003, a 6.6 magnitude destroyed the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.




    TENNIS – The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer today face the Finnish-Australian pair Henri Kontinen and John Peers in their second match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. In their first match on Sunday, Tecau and Rojer lost to the all-French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. This is the fifth time Tecau plays in the World Tour Finals doubles after 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, the last time he was there winning the title together with Rojer.




    FOOTBLALL – The Romanian national football squad today take on the similar team of the Netherlands, in a friendly game in Bucharest. On Thursday, November 9, in the city of Cluj, Romania outclassed the national team of Turkey in a test game, 2-nil. Today’s match is the fourth for the Romanian team with Cosmin Contra as head coach, who replaced in September the German Cristoph Daum.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • The Challenges of 2017 – part II

    The Challenges of 2017 – part II

    In last week’s
    edition we analysed together with the director of the Conflict Prevention
    Centre in Bucharest, Iulian Chifu, the possible impact of such events as the
    inauguration of the new US president Donald Trump, the UK vote to leave the
    European Union and the upcoming elections in France. Today we continue our
    analysis with another series of events, taking a look ahead at the elections in
    Germany and the Netherlands and the situation in Syria.




    In the upcoming
    German elections this year, chancellor Angela Merkel will be seeking her fourth
    term in office. The announcement was made in late 2016 at a meeting of Merkel’s
    party, CDU. The announcement was made amidst growing calls for her to resign
    coming mainly from the hard-line opponents of the refugee admission policy
    pursued by the German chancellor, in particular the Alternative for Germany
    party. Such voices accuse the German authorities of losing control over
    migration. However, according to the latest data, last year saw a radical
    decrease in the number of migrants seeking asylum in Germany. Official figures
    show that 280,000 asylum seekers arrived in Germany last year compared with
    nearly 900,000 in 2015. In spite of the significant drop reported last year,
    the country is still facing many challenges. The number of asylum applications
    amounts to hundreds of thousands, and the German government should prove that
    it is capable of perfectly integrating the migrants whose applications are approved.




    How important
    are the elections in Germany to Europe and what chances does the current
    chancellor have? Professor Iulian Chifu, the
    director of the Conflict Prevention Centre in Bucharest, explains:




    Of course, this
    is a very important element because we’re speaking about Germany, the driving
    engine of Europe, and, under the circumstances, the situation is more special.
    There is still a major possibility for the left-right coalition between the SPD
    and the CDU to find a way for Ms Merkel to stay on as chancellor. We’ve also
    seen a rise of the far right. However, we shouldn’t count our chickens before
    they’re hatched. We have seen on many occasions, such as Brexit and the US
    elections, that things don’t always turn out as planned and we may still see
    some surprises.




    Legislative
    elections will also be held this year in The Netherlands, where, as a result of
    people’s discontent with the way in which immigration has been handled, the
    populist far-right Party for Freedom is leading in opinion polls. Its leader
    Geert Wilders has unveiled an election programme promising the
    de-Islamisation of the country and calling for mosques to be closed down and
    for migration from Muslim countries to be banned. The publications Die Welt and
    Express note that the party’s political programme also provides for the closing
    of Muslim schools and the banning of the Quran and of the Islamic veil. The
    Dutch elections are important for Bucharest first and foremost with regard to
    Romania’s accession to the Schengen passport-free area. Initially scheduled for
    March 2011, this has been postponed several times, mainly as a result of The
    Netherlands’ firm opposition, despite the fact that Romania had fulfilled its
    accession requirements.




    We asked Iulian
    Chifu if anything might change in this respect:




    The Dutch
    elections will most likely maintain the trend that has seen eurosceptic parties
    in the ascendance, so the likelihood that the Netherlands will make any steps
    forward is quite low. One positive element is the way in which this country
    managed to find a way to solve the issue of the ratification of the EU-Ukraine
    association agreement. In this sense, we might think that beyond this agreement
    or the Dutch elections, we may arrive at a European agreement that could also favour
    Romania. However, considering the situation in the Schengen area and the
    reticence with respect to migration, I believe the subject [of Romania’s
    Schengen accession] is closed for the foreseeable future.




    With regard to
    the situation in Syria and Russia’s involvement in this conflict, political
    commentator Iulian Chifu said:




    Naturally,
    Syria is a subject that cannot be closed very soon. We have seen that the
    attempts to solve the problem in the short-term, to reach a truce, have failed.
    Especially as these were partial agreements, reached in the presence of a
    number of the states involved directly or through their nationals or who
    control certain opposition groups on the ground. Russia is trying to impose a
    certain type of solution, as it has done in Ukraine and Georgia. I believe this
    type of exceptionalist and individualist approach cannot possibly yield
    results.




    The solution
    must be inclusive, says Iulian Chifu, who recalls that there are still some
    very important dossiers to be solved, such as the massacres in Aleppo, the use
    of banned weapons and the violations of human rights.

  • March 15, 2015 UPDATE

    March 15, 2015 UPDATE

    The PM of Romania, Victor Ponta, has announced that the Finance Minister, Darius Valcov, resigned, but the resignation will take effect after the draft Fiscal Code and Code of Fiscal Procedure have been finalised, in a few days. Previously, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, had asked PM Victor Ponta to initiate the procedure to dismiss the Finance Minister Darius Vâlcov. The latter is being prosecuted in a corruption case, for offences perpetrated when he was the mayor of the southern Romanian city of Slatina. According to prosecutors, the manager of a company contacted Vâlcov and asked for his support in securing public work contracts, in exchange for 20% of the contract value. The mediator of the deal was the incumbent mayor of Slatina, the Social Democrat Ninel Florin Prina, who has been detained in the case. The Opposition had also called for the resignation of the finance minister.



    The Romanian minister for the diaspora, Angel Tîlvăr, had meetings last week with members of the Romanian communities in the Canadian cities of Ottawa and Toronto, the Foreign Ministry announced. Tîlvăr reiterated the interest of the Romanian authorities in developing and diversifying educational modules in the form of Romanian language and civilisation courses. In turn, the representatives of the diaspora suggested the set up of a Romanian Cultural Centre in Toronto, as a means to contribute to the conservation and promotion of the national identity.



    The Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, will take part on Monday in Brussels in a meeting of the EU foreign ministers. The agenda includes the developments in Libya, the migration in the Mediterranean region, prompted by security concerns, and preparations for the Eastern Partnership Summit due in Riga on May 21-22. On the side-lines of the Foreign Affairs Council, a meeting will be held of the Group for the Republic of Moldova’s European Action, organised by Romania and France. The group is an informal ministerial mechanism launched in January 2010 at Romania’s initiative, and designed to provide a political platform for promoting Moldova’s EU accession aspirations. Minister Aurescu told the public radio station on Sunday that Romania continues to support the Moldovan authorities in their pro-European efforts, and tries to attract as many EU member states as possible in this process.



    The Dutch Parliament does not support at the moment Romania’s Schengen accession, on grounds that Bucharest has not met all the original requirements for becoming an EU member. The statement was made by the Dutch Ambassador to Bucharest, Matthijs van Bonzel, in an interview to a private television station in Romania. He added that according to the Dutch Parliament, Romania joined the EU without meeting a number of key requirements concerning fields like legislation, the judicial system, efficiency and impartiality in law enforcement, and institutional corruption, and that the country is now catching up, reaching the level it should have reached in 2007. The Dutch diplomat added that there is a connection between the Schengen accession and compliance with the European standards.