Radio România Internațional

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  • February 13, 2019

    February 13, 2019

    Budget — The draft budget law and the draft national insurance budget law for 2019 started being debated Wednesday in the plenum of Parliament. They received the favorable approval in the Parliament’s expert committees. In a 17-hour meeting, MPs approved the funds allotted to the main authorizing officers and the projects that will benefit from funding in 2019. As compared to the form proposed by the Government, cuts were operated on the budgets for the Finance Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Security and Protection Service. The Education and Transport ministries received more money for investments. The budget is based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, a budget deficit of 2.5% and a GDP of more than 200 billion Euros.



    ECB — The European Central Bank officials reminded the Romanian authorities, in a letter sent to finance minister Eugen Teodorovici, that they should have consulted with the European institution before adopting the emergency ordinance that provides for the introduction of a tax on bank assets. According to European legislation, the national authorities are bound to consult with the ECB officials in relation to any draft law that is in the institution’s domain of competence, among which laws applicable to financial institutions, to the extent to which they significantly influence the stability of financial institutions and markets. The European institution claims the emergency ordinance was not accompanied by an assessment of its impact on the banking sector, and in the absence of such a document, there is the risk for the tax to impact the stability of the banking system. Recently other international financial institutions have also sent letters to the Romanian government in relation to the aforementioned tax, in which they expressed their concern with the new plans targeting the banking system.



    Protests — Hundreds of taxi drivers are protesting today in front of the government headquarters in Bucharest against the alternative services offered by means of online platforms which they consider unfair competition. They are calling on the government to come up with clear and strict legislation in the field that should oblige car-sharing service providers to observe the regulations on passenger transportation. Similar protests are taking place in other cities of Romania. The Confederation of Authorized Operators and Transporters in Romania threaten to stage a large-scale protest rally on February 27 and 28, if the taxi drivers’ claims are not met. The Confederation threatens to block the city of Bucharest with buses, minibuses and taxis brought from the entire country.



    World Radio Day — ‘Dialogue, tolerance and peace’ is the theme of this year’s World Radio Day which is marked on February 13. The event is meant to promote international cooperation among broadcasters and to encourage access to information by means of radio stations. World Radio Day was set up in 2011 at the 36th UNESCO conference. On February 13, 1946 the first broadcast of the UNESCO radio station was aired. For Radio Romania, World Radio Day 2019 is celebrated in the context in which the institution is one of the official broadcasters of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, top seeded and world’s no. 3 player, is taking on today the Ukrainian Lesia Ţurenko (24 WTA) in the eighth finals of the WTA tournament in Doha, Qatar. The tournament has prizes up for grabs worth around 900 thousand dollars. Simona Halep has won all the previous 5 matches against Ţurenko, her latest win being in 2018 in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati tournament. Mihaela Buzarnescu was eliminated on Tuesday in Doha by Latvian Jelena Ostapenko. (translation by L. Simion)

  • February 9, 2019

    February 9, 2019

    Budget — The vote in Romania’s Parliament on the draft budget law and the draft national insurance budget law for 2019 was scheduled for Friday, February 15, the Romanian Parliament’s Permanent Bureaus decided on Saturday. MPs are expected to submit amendments until Monday and debates on the budget bill in the Parliament plenum will start on Wednesday. The draft budget for 2019 was approved Friday by the governing coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. Under the draft budget, more funds were allotted for healthcare education and investments. The budget is based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, a budget deficit of 2.5% and a GDP of more than 200 billion Euros. The bill also provides for the allocation of 2% of the GDP for defense, according to Romania’s commitments to NATO. Money was also provided for the increase by 15% of pensions starting in September this year. The opposition leveled criticism against the delayed approval of the budget bill as well as against its provisions which they deem unrealistic.



    EU — The Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU announced it received a mandate from the ambassadors of the member states to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the revision of the Directive on natural gas. Considered one of the most sensitive and important legislative files on the European agenda, the modification of the Directive is based on the compromise reached by France and Germany with regard to regulations on gas conveyance which mainly targets the North Stream II gas pipeline project. The pipeline to link Russia and Germany is currently under construction and is aimed at transporting Russian gas to central European countries, bypassing Ukraine.



    Berlin — The Romanian film ‘Monsters’ directed by Marius Olteanu is being screened today, for the first time, at the 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. The film, the only Romanian feature film selected at this edition of the Berlin festival will compete with another 16 movies. ‘Monsters’ tells the story of one day in the life of a young married couple who, together, seem to be loved by the family, the society and friends but who are also judged and rejected when they are on their own because of their needs, convictions and choices. Last year the film Touch Me Not, the debut feature film of Adina Pintilie received the Golden Bear award in Berlin.



    Rugby — Romania’s national rugby team is today playing on home ground, in Cluj, in the northwest, against Georgia its debut match of the 2019 Rugby Europe Championship. This is the 2nd most important competition after the famous Six Nations Championship. Romania’s team will next play in Botosani, in the northeast, on February 16 against Germany. On March 3 Madrid will play host to the match pitting Romania against Spain and on March 9 Botosani will venue the match between Romania and Russia. The Romanian team’s last match will be in Brussels, against Belgium, on March 17. Romania will miss, for the first time in the past 30 years, from the World Cup final tournament scheduled this year in Japan, after the International Federation sanctioned Romania for having used, in the previous edition of the championship, a recently naturalized player from Tonga after he had already played for his country.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu (29 WTA) will play against the Czech Karolina Pliskova (5 WTA) in Ostrava, the Czech Republic, on Saturday, in the 2019 Fed Cup first round. The second match of the day will pit Simona Halep (3 WTA) against Katerina Siniakova (44 WTA). Sunday will see the matches pitting Halep against Pliskova and Buzarnescu against Siniakova. In the doubles, the pair Irina Begu/Monica Niculescu will take on the pair Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova. In the men’s competition, following Wednesday’s drawing of lots, Romania will be up against Zimbabwe in the first round of the Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II. (translation by L. Simion)

  • November 1, 2018 UPDATE

    November 1, 2018 UPDATE

    Radio Day — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday signed the decree which decorates the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation with the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Commander, category F — Promotion of culture. According to the presidential administration the order acknowledges the radio’s important contribution to promoting and supporting the Romanian cultural, moral and civilizational values. The president granted the decoration to the national radio on the very day of its 90th anniversary, as it first went on air on November 1, 1928. The events devoted to Radio Romania’s anniversary also included an extraordinary concert by the National Radio Orchestra together with the Academic Choir and the Radio Children’s Choir under the baton of Cristian Mandeal. Also on Thursday the public radio aired the first episode of the first radio sitcom in Romania called “Somewhere in 1928”.



    EU Strategy for the Danube Region — On Thursday Romania took over the rotating presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region for a one year mandate, until October 31, 2019. The strategy has 4 objectives, namely interconnecting the Danube region, protecting the environment, boosting prosperity and consolidating the Danube region. The Strategy is structured according to 11 priority domains. Romania intends to promote several topics and lines of action during its term. One is related to improving connectivity and mobility in the Danube region by promoting transportation, tourism, digitalization and human contact. Romania also plans to promote exchanges in priority domains in close cooperation with the public administration, the social actors, the academia and the business community.



    Visit — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday received in Bucharest his Swiss counterpart Alain Berset. The two officials talked about bilateral cooperation, mainly in the fields of culture, education, research and innovation. Klaus Iohannis talked about encouraging investments and also the need to boost trade exchanges, which have exceeded 850 million Euros. Another issue under discussion was the Romanian community in Switzerland which numbers almost 30 thousand people. These people are highly qualified, are well trained and well integrated and are contributing to the development of the Swiss economy and society. The two officials also tackled the issue of eliminating restrictions on the Swiss labor market for the Romanian citizens after May 2019. In turn, Alain Berset said that Switzerland was supporting Romania’s candidacy to the OECD. Also on Thursday the Swiss president met with the PM Viorica Dancila with whom he tackled such issues as bilateral relations and regional and multilateral cooperation as well as Romania’s priorities for the period when it will hold the presidency of the EU Council.



    London — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has revised downwards its estimates regarding Romania’s economic growth in 2018 and 2019. According to the EBRD, Romania’s economy is going to report a 4.2% growth rate from 4.6% as estimated in May and in 2019 Romania’s economic growth will stand at 3.6% as compared to the initially estimated 4.2%, show recent data made public on Thursday. The EBRD is more optimistic than the IMF in relation to the prospects of the Romanian economy. In early October the IMF revised downwards its estimates regarding the evolution of the Romanian economy up to 4% in 2018, 1.1% less than the spring estimate and forecast that in 2019 Romania will report an economic growth rate of 3.4%, down by 0.1% as against the April estimates.



    Swine fever — The African swine fever is expanding across Romania’s territory. So far 1,062 outbreaks have been identified in 17 counties and more than 356 thousand pigs were culled, the National Sanitary Veterinarian and Food Safety Authority announced on Thursday. Also 142 cases of swine fever were reported with wild boars. Romania has asked for the EU support in order to grant financial compensations to farmers affected by swine fever. The African swine fever was also identified in several wild boars in the north of Hungary but no cases among domestic pigs were reported. (translation by L.Simion)

  • Prison sentence for the Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea

    Prison sentence for the Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea

    News of the prison sentence passed for the Social-Democrat strongman Liviu Dragnea has shaken the whole political scene. Dragnea was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for instigation to abuse of office. The ruling is not final. The High Court of Cassation and Justice, the court of first instance in this matter, gave credit to the accusations of the National Anticorruption Directorate, which claims that Dragnea ordered the fictitious hiring of two party members at the Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate while head of the Teleorman County Council. The two were paid from public money, although they worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. If confirmed, this will be the second time Dragnea is handed a prison sentence, after in 2016 he got a 2-year suspended sentence for electoral fraud for his involvement in the 2012 referendum on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu.



    Despite the sentence, Liviu Dragnea led his party to the most resounding victory in the legislative elections in the last 20 years. Prominent party leaders, including Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, have expressed their support for Dragnea, invoking the presumption of innocence which Dragnea should be given before a final sentence is passed.



    Others claim Dragnea is the target of a political vendetta, which they claim to be the work of the so-called “parallel state”, which allegedly includes the National Anticorruption Directorate and other services. The leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats Calin Popescu-Tariceanu in turn shared this view.



    Conversely, the right-wing opposition wants Dragnea to step down from all public offices. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban has urged the members of the ruling coalition to distance themselves from the Social-Democrat president and vote for their censure motion. In turn, the Save Romania Union says it is unacceptable for Romania to have a “twice-convicted” Chamber of Deputies speaker.



    People protesting in Bucharest and other large cities of Romania against the Social-Democratic Party and its leader have welcomed the news of the sentence. People are not just calling on Dragnea to resign, but on the whole Government. They want the Parliament dissolved for snap elections to be held. Liviu Dragnea’s position is uncertain, with the whole party and ruling coalition showing signs of a breakdown. The first test thereof will be next Wednesday, when Parliament will vote on the Liberals’ censure motion. Dragnea’s leading the party with an iron-hand has prompted many Social-Democrats to leave the party. His critics accuse him of trying to radically change and subordinate the justice system, a plan which Thursday’s ruling has apparently foiled.

  • September 12, 2014

    September 12, 2014

    Romanian Government and national bank officials will hold talks next week in Brussels for the first time with IMF and European Commission representatives. According to a communiqué made public by the IMF representative for Romania and Bulgaria, Guillermo Tolosa, the talks will focus on the recent developments in the Romanian economy and the stage of implementation of the policies agreed upon with the European Commission and the IMF in key sectors. They will also tackle the plan of the Romanian authorities for a new budget rectification for 2014. The PM Victor Ponta has pointed out that the ministers who will go to Brussels next week will have technical discussions with the representatives of the international creditors. The official assessment of the precautionary-type agreement Romania concluded with the IMF, the EC and the World Bank will take place at the end of November in Bucharest.



    The largest scale cultural exchange between Romania’s and the Republic of Moldova’s national theaters is taking place on Friday in Bucharest and Chisinau. United by a common language, each of the two theatre troupes will perform shows at the other’s headquarters. Supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute the two theater’s tours are also supported by other partners, among which the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation.



    The single matches pitting Adrian Ungur against Christian Lindell and Marius Copil against Elias Ymer will open on Friday the competition between Romania’s and Sweden’s Davis Cup teams, counting for a place in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1. Unfolding according to the system the best match out of 5, Saturday will see the doubles matches between the pairs Horia Tecău/Florin Mergea and Isak Arvidsson/Johan Brunstrom, while on Sunday the last 2 singles will pit Adrian Ungur against Elias Ymer and Marius Copil against Christian Lindell. According to the sports press, the Romanian tennis players, who have more experience than their Swedish adversaries, have more chances to win. The team that will win the competition will remain in Group 1, and the one that loses will play against Latvia or Austria in the playoffs to maintain their current position.



    The French President, Francois Hollande, on Friday promised France’s support for the new Iraqi government, after meeting his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad, France Press reports. This is the first visit paid by a foreign president to Baghdad after the start, on June 9th, of the Islamic State jihadists’ offensive in Iraq. The visit takes place against the backdrop of the formation of a coalition around the US meant to defeat this radical organization that is also operating in neighboring Syria. Since the summer, Paris has provided weapons to the Kurdish fighters who are combating the jihadists and has sent humanitarian aid especially to the Christian refugees and the Yazidi minority in the north of the country.