Radio România Internațional

Tag: News

  • February 21, 2024 UPDATE

    February 21, 2024 UPDATE

    Defence. The Country’s Supreme Defence Council chaired by president Klaus Iohannis met on Wednesday in Bucharest and decided on a set of measures to strengthen the Romanian Armed Forces and on a number of priority actions to develop the national cyber security system. According to a statement from the president’s office, two years after the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the security situation in Romania’s eastern neighbourhood continues to be under threat given Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. For Romania, the war taking place in neighbouring Ukraine maintains the risk of incidents that can affect its territory and citizens, as well as threats to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea due to drifting mines and Russia’s hostile actions. This is why, the Council says, NATO’s support must be accompanied by Romania’s own increased efforts to consolidate its defence. Romania will also continue to work with its allies towards a robust and effective NATO deterrence and defence posture, to boost allied presence on its soil and to support the vulnerable partners in the region, in particular the Republic of Moldova.

    Elections. The leaders of the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, in the ruling coalition, on Wednesday evening presented the timetable for this year’s elections and the political strategy their parties will adopt. Rounds of talks were held throughout the day, both between the leaderships of the two parties and between their presidents, the Social Democrat prime minister Marcel Ciolacu and the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă. In a joint press conference, the latter said it was agreed to hold European elections and local elections on the same date in June. The two parties will also run together on joint lists in the parliamentary elections, but on separate lists for the local elections. The presidential elections will be held in September and those for Parliament in December. From the opposition, the Save Romania Union and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians say the talks on merging elections are only meant to distract people’s attention from the country’s real problems.

    Ambassador. Russia’s ambassador to Bucharest Valery Kuzim was summoned at the headquarters of the Romanian foreign ministry in connection to the sudden death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. According to a statement from the Romanian foreign ministry issued on Wednesday, Romania places the responsibility for Navalny’s death lies exclusively with the Russian authorities and stresses the need for a transparent, independent and comprehensive inquiry into the circumstances of his death. Romania also believes the Russian authorities have the moral obligation to immediately return Navalny’s body to his family. The statement also reads that summoning the Russian ambassador reflects Romania’s consistent position to condemn the massive and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms taking place in Russia.

    Table tennis. The president of the Romanian Table Tennis Federation Cristinel Romanescu hailed the qualification of the national women’s side to the Paris Olympic Games this summer. On Wednesday, Romania also qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Championship in Busan, in South Korea, as they defeated Egypt 3-nil. They will next play Japan on Thursday. The men’s side failed to qualify for the Olympic Games as they lost nil-3 to China in the last 16, also in Busan. The results at the World Championship are a criterion for qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games.

    Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (22 WTA) on Wednesday reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Dubai. She defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic in three sets and will next face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. (CM)

  • February 20, 2024 UPDATE

    February 20, 2024 UPDATE

    HERITAGE – Three prehistoric gold bracelets, from Romanian archaeological sites, were brought to the country on Tuesday by Romanian prosecutors and police. The objects were taken over from a museum in Antwerp, Belgium. The jewelry, protected by law as movable cultural assets of great value, had been stolen by unknown persons. The Belgian judicial authorities signaled the appearance of the three bracelets in an auction’s catalogue in Monte Carlo, and the Romanian police officers with the Service for the Protection of the National Cultural Heritage initiated procedures to retrieve them. The bracelets are now in the custody of Romania’s National History Museum.

     

    ELECTIONS – The leaders of the Social Democratic Party and National Liberal Party in Romania’s ruling coalition are meeting again on Wednesday to decide on whether to merge this year’s elections, after the talks so far have failed. The Liberals want the local elections to take place this summer concurrently with the elections for the European Parliament, while the Social Democrats want the parliamentary elections due this autumn to be held jointly with the second round of the presidential election. Save Romania Union, in opposition, threatened to take any legislation merging the elections to the Constitutional Court. This year all 4 types of elections are scheduled in Romania (local, parliamentary, and presidential ballots, and elections for the EP).

     

    POLL – 50% of Romanians would agree with merging the elections, while a third consider it a bad idea, according to the results of a CURS survey made public on Tuesday. As regards the voting intention, if the European Parliament elections were held next Sunday, the PSD (the main party of the ruling coalition) would get 31%, followed by the PNL (also in power) and AUR (the nationalist opposition) – with 20% each. Also for the opposition, the United Right Alliance, formed by USR, PMP and the Force of the Right would get 13%. The populist party SOS Romania and UDMR would be below the electoral threshold, with 4% each. If PSD and PNL had joint lists of candidates for the European Parliament elections, they would get 50% of the votes, according to the recent survey.

     

    HEALTH – Some 3.3 million sick leaves were given in Romania last year, which is significantly below the over 4 million reported in 2022. Most sick leaves were taken by cancer patients and pregnant women. The head of the National Health Insurance Agency, Valeria Herdea, says this is not about the number of sick leave days taken by people, but about the fact that many citizens have health problems. Recently, the government has issued an order introducing a 10% tax on sick leave allowances. The authorities argued this was to discourage the practice of taking sick leaves for minor health problems. But the order triggered discontent especially among cancer patients. The Senate withdrew the provision, and the order is to be discussed next in the Chamber of Deputies.

     

    AUTOMOTIVE – The Romanian automotive market will likely see a moderate 5% growth this year, the Romanian Automobile Producers and Importers Association (APIA) announced. The Association expects electric vehicle sales to continue to increase, and sales of diesel vehicles to drop in 2024.

     

    MISSION – The European Union has launched its own naval mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Romania may also take part in the mission. Greece will provide a commander for its operational headquarters, while Italy will provide the force commander. According to the Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani, since November Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial vessels on this route, allegedly in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza.

     

    MIGRANTS – Five citizens from Turkey, who attempted to illegally cross the border from Serbia into Romania, with the intention of reaching Western Europe, were caught by the Romanian border police. The migrants, aged 26 to 50, said they were heading for Italy.

     

    TABLE TENNIS – The Romanian men’s team have qualified to the round of 32 of the world table tennis championships in Busan, South Korea, after defeating Iran, 3-1 on Tuesday. On Monday, the Romanian women’s team went straight into the eighth-finals. Taking part in the men’s and women’s competition in South Korea are 40 teams. The top 8 teams at the World Championships are qualified in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. (EE)

  • January 10, 2024

    January 10, 2024

    Economy – The Romanian economy grew by 1.8% last year, by 0.8 % less than previously estimated, shows a World Bank report. The report also revised downwards the estimates regarding the evolution of the Romanian economy in 2024 and 2025, when the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product would be 3.3% and 3.8%, respectively. According to the World Bank, the world economy will slow down for the third consecutive year, up to 2.4%.



    Partnership – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, congratulated Gabriel Attal on his nomination to the position of Prime Minister of France. The Romanian PM states that he is ready to work together with his new counterpart to strengthen the Romanian – French strategic partnership. Attal, a former Education Minister, was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron to form the new government of France, after the former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned. At 34, Gabriel Attal, with studies in political sciences, becomes the youngest prime minister in the history of France, according to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris.



    Free travel – Almost 2,000 young Romanians aged 18 will receive a free travel permit to explore the diversity of Europe, as part of the DiscoverEU initiative, a program funded by Erasmus+. They will travel mainly by train between March 2024 and May 2025, to learn new things about the history and cultural heritage of Europe and meet people from all over the continent. So far, over 11,600 young Romanians have benefited from such a travel permit.



    Water polo — Romania’s national mens water polo team won Group D of the European Championship in Croatia, after defeating the Slovakian team, score 8-7, on Tuesday evening, in Dubrovnik. In the previous matches, the Romanians defeated the Netherlands and Slovenia. They will play a play-off match for qualification for the quarterfinals against Group B bottom-placed team, Georgia, in Zagreb, on Thursday. At the European Womens Championship, organized in the Netherlands simultaneously with the mens, Romania ranked 14thout of 16 participating teams.



    Flu – At least nine people sick with the flu have died since the beginning of this cold season in Romania. The Romanian Health Ministry announces that there is currently no flu epidemic in the country, but medical units are facing an accelerated increase in the number of respiratory viruses’ cases, especially flu. The situation is also complicated by the acute lack of doctors, the expert in health policies, Emilian Imbri, told Radio Romania News and Current Affairs Channel.



    Under financing – Family doctors in Romania point out that their budget allocation has been reduced by 25% in 2024, compared to 2022. They argue that the system is already underfunded and that the decrease in income will further deepen the already existing shortage of family doctors. The president of the national family doctors’ society, Dina Mergeani, states that the permanent centers operate with the doctors’ own money, they have not yet been paid for the October – December period, and the suspension of their activity would block the emergency rooms. (LS)

  • January 4, 2024 UPDATE

    January 4, 2024 UPDATE

    Meeting – The Romanian government met Thursday in the first session of 2024. The government members adopted, among other things, an initiative to optimize the process of issuing passports. The elaborated draft law, which will be sent to Parliament for debate and approval, makes concise and clear the role of the General Directorate of Passports in relation to attesting the quality of Romanian citizenship, in cooperation with other institutions. In order to optimize the process of issuing travel documents, they consider giving the General Directorate of Passports the possibility to verify the collection of the amount representing the value of simple passports, and to return the amount respectively, in situations where it was not paid properly or the related service was not provided. Another draft law adopted on Thursday stipulates that disputes resulting from contracts of mandate concluded by state companies in Romania must be settled in the country. The move transposes European Union norms into the law on international judicial cooperation in criminal and criminal procedure matters. Also on Thursday, the Government adopted a modification of the funding from the state budget of the earthquakes and landslides natural risk mapping.



    Missiles – NATO has announced its decision to support a group of member countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain to purchase up to 1,000 Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. According to NATO, the European production will be increased to cover the growing demand, being also aimed at strengthening the European Sky Shield. The contract stands at 5.5 billion dollars and the cost of each Patriot missile is around 4 million dollars. The contract also covers the maintenance of the Patriot defense systems. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has underlined that raising the ammunition production is essential for the security of the allied countries and Ukraine.



    Agreement — A person’s period of work and their rights to pension have mutually been recognized by Romania and the United States, after the law ratifying the agreement on the issue was promulgated by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis. Under the new agreement, it will be possible to capitalize on the periods worked both in Romania and the United States, in order to open the pension right on the principle of accumulation, with the proportional granting of the pension by each state, depending on the contribution periods completed. The document also provides for the export of pensions, a major facility regarding the mobility of pensioners in the two countries and maintaining their access to the pension rights being paid. The bill also includes provisions for the posted workers who have been exempted from paying health and social security contributions to the country where they were sent to work.



    Priorities – Solving the problem of resident physicians who passed the specialty exam at the end of 2023 was mentioned as a priority for the beginning of the year by Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. At the start of the first Government meeting in 2024, the Prime Minister recalled that there are approximately 4,500 doctors in which the Romanian state has invested hundreds of millions of Euros and stated that the government must ensure that they remain in Romania. Ciolacu asked the Ministries of Health and Development to update the lists of vacant positions and to come up with memoranda for organizing contests to fill these vacancies, and he also asked the Finance Ministry to cooperate so that this should happen as soon as possible. According to the data of the European Statistical Office, Romania had 350 active physicians per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. The ranking was led by Greece with 629 physicians per 100,000 inhabitants, and the lowest rate was recorded in France with 318 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants. All in all, in 2021, there were 1.82 million doctors in the European Union.



    Chisinau – Almost 81% of the primary and secondary school children in the Republic of Moldova are taught in Romanian, according to data recently published by the National Bureau of Statistics in Chisinau. Besides this percentage, 19% are taught in Russian and 0.1% study in English. In the 2023-2024 school year, over 1,200 general primary and secondary education institutions operate in the Republic of Moldova, of which almost 900 are in rural areas. Statistical data also show that the number of students studying in public schools decreased this school year compared to the previous one, and more and more students are studying in private schools. Also, last year, the number of secondary school graduates decreased by almost 5%, and that of high school graduates increased by 4%. (LS)

  • July 2, 2023

    July 2, 2023

    Justice Day — The Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, pleaded, in her message on Justice Day, for collaboration and dialogue in finding good and balanced solutions to ensure both the functionality and efficiency of the judicial system, as well as the quality of the justice act. The legal system needs now, more than ever, unity, balance, mutual trust and openness. This is the message sent on Sunday, on Justice Day, by the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Corina-Alina Corbu. She says that this anniversary takes place, this year, in a complicated context marked by tension, which should not have an impact on the citizens. The statements come in the context in which the representatives of the High Court challenged at the Constitutional Court the changes made to the special pension system which benefits the magistrates. Prosecutor General Alex Florența stated, in his message, that the legislative changes related to the magistrates pensions were made by simulating a dialogue, ignoring the principles of loyal cooperation and mutual respect that the powers of the state owe to each other. The chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Marius Voineag, said, on Justice Day, that the role of the Directorate in the entire judicial system contributes to the development of Romanian society and to reaching the countrys real potential as a member of the EU and NATO. According to him, the issue of fighting corruption remains as topical as before because Romanians are perfectly aware of the fact that each act of corruption means the waste of public resources, missed opportunities for the country and a more uncertain future for the future generations.



    Festival — The Sibiu International Theater Festival ends on Sunday with a performance of the show “Faust”, directed by Silviu Purcarete, followed, at midnight, by a demonstration with drones. The Walk of Fame was enriched, on Saturday, with seven more stars, attributed to important names in the world of Performing Arts. One of the stars was awarded to the president of the Festival, Constantin Chiriac, director of the Radu Stanca theater in Sibiu. He was also decorated by the Presidency of Romania with the National Order of Merit in the rank of Officer. The distinction was granted in sign of appreciation and gratitude for the professionalism and dedication put at the service of art and the public, for the important contribution brought to the domestic and international affirmation of the values ​​of Romanian theatre. Thanks to the tireless involvement of maestro Constantin Chiriac, Sibiu International Theater Festival – FITS is today a landmark for Sibiu and for Romania, as well as an example of the multiple benefits that the promotion of culture can bring to local communities, the Culture Minister Raluca Turcan wrote on Facebook.



    Tennis — The Romanian womens table tennis team won the gold medals at the European Games in Krakow – Malopolska (Poland), on Saturday evening, after defeating the German team in the final with the score 3-2. Romania led 2-0, but the Polish players had a come back and equalized the score, and later Bernadette Szocs scored the winning point. The Romanian athlete also won the individual competition. Romania won four medals in table tennis at the European Games in Poland, two gold and two bronze. Romania now has a total of 16 medals, six gold, five silver and five bronze, at the European Games in Poland. On the other hand, the pair Monica Niculescu (Romania)/Eri Hozumi (Japan) lost 2-0 to the pair Lidia Morozova (Belarus)/Ingrid Gamarra Martins (Brazil) in the doubles final of the WTA 250 tennis tournament from Bad Homburg (Germany). The match was interrupted on Saturday in the first set due to the rain.



    Weather – Meteorologists have issued a warning for severe atmospheric instability, valid throughout Sunday, in three-quarters of Romanias territory. Thus, in the mountainous area, in the north-west, center, north-east, south-west and partially in the south and south-east, there will be periods of showers, including torrential ones, electrical discharges, short-term wind gusts of 55…70 km/h, isolated gales and hail. The maximum temperatures, decreasing compared to the previous day, will generally fall between 25 and 34 degrees C, except for the eastern and south-eastern regions which will enjoy warm weather. Unstable weather has been announced for Bucharest as well, where the maximum temperature will be around 30 degrees. (LS)

  • April 29, 2023 UPDATE

    April 29, 2023 UPDATE

    UDMR — Deputy Prime Minister in the Romanian government, Kelemen Hunor, was re-elected, on Saturday, to the position of president of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, for a fourth term. At the Congress of the Union, which took place in Timisoara (west), he was the only candidate for that position. Of the 835 delegates attending, 653 voted for his re-election, seven votes were invalid, and the rest did not vote. Kelemen said that he wanted to keep UDMR in the government coalition with the Social Democratic Party – PSD and the Liberal Party — PNL. The liberal leader, the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, and the Social Democrat leader and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, who attended the congress, expressed their support for continuing this partnership. Present, for 33 years, in all the post-communist Romanian Parliaments, since 1996 UDMR has been part of numerous coalition governments in Bucharest, either right-wing or left-wing.



    Drugs – 11 people who were participating in a festival in the resort of Mamaia, on the Black Sea Coast (south-eastern Romania) are being investigated for drug trafficking, as various banned substances were found on them. According to the police, the 11 persons were caught red-handed while selling such substances. They also promoted the sale of drugs through messaging applications, specifying the prices for each type of drug. Six of the persons, foreign citizens, were held on remand for 30 days.



    Handball — Romania’s mens national handball team meets, on Sunday evening, in Gummersbach, Germany, the Ukrainian national team, in its last match in Group 4 of the preliminaries of the European Mens Handball Championship – EHF EURO 2024. The hosts are the Ukrainians, who, after their country was invaded, last year, by the Russian troops, play their home matches abroad. In the same group, the match Austria — the Faroe Islands is also played. In the ranking, Austria is on first place, with 10 points, followed by Romania, 4 points (goal average +5), the Faroe Islands, 4 points (-5), and Ukraine, 2 points (-21). The top two ranking teams in the eight preliminary groups qualify for the final tournament, together with the four best teams on third place. The European Mens Handball Championship will take place in Germany, between January 10 and 28, 2024. World champion four times in the 1960-70s, Romania has not qualified for a European Championship since 1996, when it ranked 9th.



    Book – Romania is attending the Leipzig Book Fair, in Germany, with over 150 new titles: fiction, childrens literature and non-fiction, as well as numerous events hosted at the national stand, with the direct participation of famous writers, such as Gabriela Adameșteanu, Ioana Pârvulescu and Mircea Cărtărescu. The 2023 edition is enjoying great success, as the event has not been organized since 2019, due to the pandemic, and the public is particularly interested in meeting the world of books and their authors – writer Ioana Pârvulescu told Radio Romania.



    Moldova – The Moldovan Foreign Ministry officials say they will not comment on what they call the absolutely unacceptable language used in their statements by some Russian officials, but announce that the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet republic with a majority Romanian-speaking population), Oleg Vasnetsov, will be summoned to the ministry to give explanations. The former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, today the vice-president of the Security Council in Moscow, said that the Republic of Moldova does not even exist as a state anymore, because “it was sold” to Romania. And the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, states that the Republic of Moldova is about to be “absorbed” by Romania. They made these statements after the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Western Dorin Recean, announced that several Russian officials, responsible for the invasion of neighboring Ukraine, including President Vladimir Putin, have been denied entry into Moldova. Created on part of the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Stalin’s Soviet Union, following an ultimatum, the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from Moscow in 1991.



    Veterans — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis sent a message on the occasion of War Veterans Day, emphasizing that love of the country, belonging to the nation and courage guided their deeds of arms on the battlefield. Romania currently benefits from “the most solid security guarantees in history”, and the unity and solidarity within NATO “increase the strength of the collective defense”. The “substantial” presence of the allies on the national territory is proof thereof, the president added. “Romania owes its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity to the war veterans and it remembers their heroism” the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă also said. The PM stated, in his message, that it is an act of national conscience to honor the people on whose bravery Romania relied in difficult times for the entire world. (LS)

  • April 29, 2023

    April 29, 2023

    EU — The European Union has decided to extend for another year the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports, so as to support its economy during the war started by Russia. The announcement was made by Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the community bloc. We recall that the suspension of these taxes generated discontent among farmers in several countries, culminating with the ban, at the beginning of this month, on cereals imports from Ukraine by Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The European Commission has now proposed paying compensations to farmers in five countries bordering Ukraine, including Romania, and allowing these countries to ban the sale of certain Ukrainian grains on their domestic markets. But, the five countries must continue to allow the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products, so that they can be sold in other regions.



    Congress — The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (part of the governing coalition) are electing on Saturday, on the second day of the congress held in Timisoara (west), their president for the next 4 years. The only candidate is the current leader of the party, Kelemen Hunor, who wants to keep his party in the governing coalition. He said that the big challenge of his mandate will be maintaining one round in the local elections. According to Kelemen Hunor, a strategic document will also be adopted at the congress that will show the priorities of Romania and of the Hungarian community for the coming years in the economic, social, political and rights-of-national-minorities fields. Attending the Ethnic Hungarians’ congress, the leaders of National Liberal Party and of the Social Democratic Party (the main parties of the three-party coalition), namely the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu, respectively, expressed their support for continuing their partnership with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, saying that they were a pole of stability and professionalism within the coalition.



    May Day – Over 400 festivals, concerts, trade fairs and sports competitions are scheduled to take place over the May Day long weekend, and over 70,000 people are expected to travel to the Black Sea Coast on this occasion. Romanians also chose to spend the May 1st mini-holiday in the Danube Delta and in the Prahova Valley mountain resorts. The number of hotel reservations across Romania is 4 times higher this year than in 2022, show data from a hotel platform. The Interior Ministry announced that 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 at various public events. The Border Police has also taken measures to optimize customs procedures and reduce waiting times, with a focus on the crossing points on the Hungarian and Bulgarian borders.



    Budget — Romanias state budget registered a deficit of 1.42% of the gross domestic product, i.e. 22.75 billion lei (about 4.6 billion Euros) in the first three months of 2023, the Romanian Finance Ministry announced. The loss was mainly caused by the increase in the volume of investments by 56.5% compared to the same period of the previous year and the compensation of bills related to the consumption of electricity and natural gas for domestic and non-domestic customers in the amount of 2.5 billion lei (about 500 million Euros). Other factors that contributed to the deficit were the higher volume of reimbursements of goods and services for medicines, the slowing down of the fees and taxes collection rate as well as the implementation of the second stage of the Support Program for Romania. Last year, the state budget registered, in the same period, a deficit of 15.7 billion lei (about 3.1 billion Euros).



    Green House — Next week Romania sees the start of the “Green House” program, through which the state offers financing to individuals for the installation of solar panels. For now, both the producing companies and the potential beneficiaries have at their disposal the application guide of the program, which was issued on Friday. To register, those who wish to install solar panels must enter an application on the website of the Environment Agency. The funding remains the same as last year – 20,000 lei per person (approx. 4,000 Euros), accounting for 90% of the expenses. The Romanian authorities propose to double the budget allocated to this program this year and thus reach 150,000 systems installed in 2023. (LS)

  • December 13, 2022

    December 13, 2022

    Budget — The Romanian Parliament has today resumed debates on the state budget in the committees, and the debate on the state insurance budget for 2023 is also scheduled. Yesterday, after a day of marathon debates, a large part of the budget allocations at the proposed level were approved by the government. Among others, the Ministry of Transport, the Presidential Administration, the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, The Intelligence Service – SRI, the Foreign Intelligence Service- SIE and the Protection and Guard Service – SPP received approval. Defense will benefit from record sums, 2.5% of the GDP, which will allow the continuation of the programs to equip the Army with Patriot and HIMARS systems. The government estimates that the Gross Domestic Product will increase next year by almost 3%, to over 1,550 billion lei, although economic growth will slow down. However, they count on a better collection of taxes, on the decrease of inflation and unemployment. So the deficit should also decrease to 4.4 % of the GDP.



    Schengen – The European Parliament will debate, today, the situation created by the vote against Romanias accession to the Schengen area given by Austria in the JHA Council, a topic added to the agenda on Monday by the vote of the largest political groups in the EP. On Monday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu met in Brussels with Austria’s Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, at the request of the Austrian side. On the occasion, minister Aurescu stated that Bucharest would use all available ways to unblock the situation and added that it was necessary to find a constructive solution. The Romanian minister showed, once again, that the information from the Austrian side regarding a possible involvement of Romania in the flow of illegal migration to Austria did not correspond in any way to the statistics compiled by the European agencies dealing with the borders. The Austrian side mentioned that it approved the work plan proposed by the European Commission regarding the management of migration, which it considers a first step. In Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Monday evening, during his first public appearance after Romania was denied Schengen accession, that the negative vote given by Vienna was undeserved and incomprehensible.



    Conference – In Paris, today, two events are taking place in support of Ukraine: an international conference with the participation of official representatives from Kyiv and friendly countries and an economic forum of French companies that want to get involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The two conferences, organized at the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, have distinct objectives. The first, entitled “Solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, wants to respond to the urgent needs of the population this winter: restoring electricity, heat and water supply, food supply and access to health care, after much of the civil infrastructure of the country was destroyed or heavily damaged by the Russian bombings. Officials from 50 countries, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, have confirmed their presence. Ukraine will be represented by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will via video connection. The second conference will bring together the heads of nearly five hundred French companies interested in investing in the long term and contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine after the end of the war.



    Survey – Romanians currently have three main reasons for concern – inflation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost of medical services – according to a survey conducted last month by a management consulting company. In addition, most Romanians expect the prices of basic products to increase throughout the next year. Compared to other European countries, only the British are more worried than the Romanians about the price increases. The citizens of Italy, Spain, France and Germany are less worried about this aspect, the survey shows.



    Football – The first semi-final at the World Cup in Qatar will be played this evening by Argentina and Croatia. The French national team, the defending world champion, will face the Moroccan team in the semifinals of the World Cup 2022, on Wednesday, at the Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor.



    Meeting – The President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, declared in Bucharest that Romania must be part of the Schengen Area, but he also mentioned that Austria is subject to great migratory pressures, which affects the citizens of this country. This migratory pressure does not occur because of Romania, however, the Swiss official stated, during a press conference held alongside the president Klaus Iohannis. The evolution of the war in Ukraine, humanitarian aid measures for the Ukrainian population and refugees, the consequence of the conflict in terms of energy, as well as in terms of global food security, were on the agenda of the discussions between the two officials. Switzerland calls for strict compliance with the Geneva Convention and supports the efforts of the international community to document and punish war crimes, Ignazio Cassis emphasized on this occasion. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă also had a meeting with the president of the Swiss Confederation, together with whom he evaluated the security situation on the eastern front, the support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the economic cooperation with an emphasis on stimulating investments and identifying new areas of collaboration. Nicolae Ciucă conveyed congratulations to the Swiss official and assured him of Romanias support for the Swiss Confederation when it will first hold the mandate of non-permanent member in the UN Security Council for the period 2023-2024. The Romanian-Swiss Framework Agreement was also signed in Bucharest, which will operationalize the second Swiss financial contribution to reduce economic and social disparities in the EU. President Ignazio Cassis was also the guest of Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. The visit was attended by representatives of the federal authorities from Bern and the Swiss ambassador, HE Mr. Arthur Mattli. After the meeting of her Majesty Margareta and the Prince Consort with President Ignazio Cassis, the distinguished guest signed the Golden Book of the Elisabeta Palace, opened in 1937.



    Boycott – The companies subordinated to the Romanian Transport Ministry announced their intention to move their money from the accounts at BCR, owned by the Austrian group Erste. Minister Sorin Gindeanu claims that the numerous companies under his command have found better conditions at CEC Bank. The start was given by the National Road Infrastructure Administration Company, which had account activity at BCR worth at least 12 billion lei (the equivalent of about 2.5 billion Euros) annually. Other companies, such as the Romanian Railways, the Port of Constanţa (south-east, on the Black Sea) or the Bucharest Airport Company will do the same. “I think its a good move, with better conditions,” Grindeanu said, adding that he doesnt have accounts in Austrian banks. After Austria opposed Romanias accession to the Schengen Area, the National Federation of Trade Unions in the Food Industry, Sindalimenta, also decided to close the bank account at BCR. Farmers, unions and businessmen have announced that they will boycott Austrian companies, including OMV Petrom gas stations. (LS)

  • November 14, 2022

    November 14, 2022

    Inflation — The National Bank of Romania — BNR increased the inflation forecast for the end of this year to 16.3% and estimates an inflation of 11.2% for the end of next year, according to data presented on Monday by Governor Mugur Isărescu. In August, BNR had estimated an inflation rate of 13.9% for the end of the year and of 7.5% for 2023. Last week, BNR estimated that the annual inflation rate was expected to increase moderately towards the end of the current year, and then enter a gradual downward trajectory, which would go down to the level of one digit in the first semester of 2024.



    Energy– In Bucharest, deputies start discussions on the Emergency Ordinance 119, which caps and sets energy prices. The government intends to keep electricity prices capped for a longer period of time, until 2025, and in this sense a new Emergency Ordinance was adopted, which establishes a mechanism for the centralized purchase of electricity at 450 lei (about 90 Euros) per MWh. The document comes to the aid of the Emergency Ordinance already forwarded to Parliament, and the mechanism will allow keeping the three types of prices for domestic consumers – 68 bani (almost 14 eurocents) for consumption of up to 100 kilowatts, 80 bani (about 16 eurocents) for consumption of up to 255 kilowatts, and 1.3 lei (about 26 eurocents) respectively for what exceeds 255 kilowatts. It will also allow maintaining the ceilings for SMEs – 1 leu per kWh (about 20 eurocents) and large consumers – at a maximum price of 1.30 lei. The opposition criticizes the new Emergency Ordinance, stating that the decision, in principle, had to encourage investments in production and saving. The changes that the deputies will bring to the Emergency Ordinance that establishes tariffs and consumption caps will most likely come into force on January 1.



    Meeting – The Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is participating today, in Brussels, in the meeting of foreign ministers from the EU member states. The debates focus, among other things, on Russias aggression against Ukraine, with the Ukrainian foreign minister participating via video conference, and the recent developments in the Western Balkans, Lebanon and Iran. At the same time, European officials are analyzing the results of the UN meeting dedicated to climate change, COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.



    Jakarta – The American president Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday said that they were ready for dialogue despite the rivalry between their countries, AFP reports. At the start of their much-awaited bilateral meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, Joe Biden said he wanted to manage differences and avoid turning the competition into conflict, while Xi Jinping said there was no substitute for a face-to-face discussion and that he was ready for a sincere dialogue on strategic issues, so that Washington and Beijing could find the right direction. The two leaders met on Tuesday before the start of the G20 summit, which takes place on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Besides Chinas refusal to condemn the Russian invasion, Washington and Beijing are at odds over issues ranging from trade to human rights in Chinas Xinjiang region and the status of Taiwan. It is the first meeting between the two leaders after Joe Biden took over the presidency of the USA.



    Bomb – The person who placed a bomb on a shopping street in Istanbul on Sunday, killing at least six people and injuring 81, has been arrested, the Turkish Interior Minister Souleyman Soylu announced on Monday. He accused the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) – a secessionist organization considered terrorist in Turkey – of causing the attack. In Bucharest, both the President Klaus Iohannis and the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca sent messages of condolences to the Turkish people for the losses suffered and wished full recovery to the injured following the tragic incident. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, until now, no Romanian citizens have been identified among the victims of the attack in Istanbul, and at the level of the Consulate General, no requests for consular assistance have been received in connection with this incident. (LS)

  • October 7, 2022 UPDATE

    October 7, 2022 UPDATE

    Prague – President Klaus Iohannis reiterated, in Prague, Romanias position regarding the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the continuation of Bucharests constant support, on multiple levels, including in preparation for winter, in the context of the new escalations generated by the Russian Federation. Klaus Iohannis participated, on Friday, in the Czech capital, in the informal meeting of the European Council, in which context he expressed Romanias openness to the reconstruction process. On the other hand, in the context of maintaining the high level of energy prices, a constant concern for Romania, Klaus Iohannis recalled the need to adopt measures to ensure the decoupling of the price of electricity from the price of natural gas. The main topics on the agenda of the European Council meeting are related to the situation in Ukraine, on all of its dimensions, the developments in the field of energy, from the point of view of the impact of the high prices and the efforts for security of supply, as well as the economic situation at the European level. As for Ukraine, European leaders strongly rejected and unequivocally condemned Russias illegal annexation of Ukraines regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson following fake referendums.



    Anim’est – Over 340 short and feature films will be presented, between October 7 and 16, at the 17th edition of the Animest International Animation Film Festival. According to the organizers, screenings and special events, parties and masterclasses supported by industry professionals especially invited to Bucharest will not be missing from this year’s festival. The list of films within the festival also includes titles that have attracted the attention of the entire industry in the last year, standing out in the competitions of major international film events. Such an example is the production Flee, directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark), which received numerous awards. The list also includes Romanian films. The film Insula — The Island, a surrealist comedy based on the interpretation of the story of Robinson Crusoe and the latest feature film by Anca Damian, will also be presented.



    Nobel — Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatsky, Russia’s human rights organization Memorial and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to document human rights abuses, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday. This award comes as Ukraine battles the Russian invasion, which has drawn accusations that numerous war crimes have been committed. The Norwegian Nobel Committee explained, in its motivation, that the Peace Prize winners have been promoting, for many years, the right to criticize power and to protect the citizens’ fundamental rights. “They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power.” The committee’s motivation also shows that, together, they demonstrate the importance of civil society for peace and democracy.



    Patients – Five Ukrainian patients will be taken over from Poland by a Spartan aircraft belonging to the Romanian Air Force and transported to Ireland for treatment. The transport is monitored by a medical team made up of specialists from the Bucharest Clinical Emergency Hospital and from the Air Transport Base 90. Ukraine sent the request for air transport through the platform that facilitates communication between the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and the national authorities. (LS)

  • September 26, 2022 UPDATE

    September 26, 2022 UPDATE

    ITU – More than 3,000 leaders and delegations from 193 countries are gathering in Bucharest, as of Monday until October 14, to set the global direction of digital transformation and to choose the future leadership of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency for information technology and communications. During the three weeks, the delegations will include representatives of private companies, academic institutions and national, regional and international bodies involved in the organizations activities regarding radio communications and the standardization or promotion of digital transformation in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Romania is the first country in the EU to organize this large-scale event and where the general policies of the ITU will be established, as well as the strategic and financial plans for the period 2024-2027.



    Tokyo — The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, are in Japan, where, on Tuesday, they will participate in the state funeral organized in honor of the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who contributed decisively to the start of actions meant to raise the relations between the two countries at the level of a strategic partnership. Shinzo Abe was killed on July 8 by a former officer with a homemade gun during a campaign speech. During Monday’s talks with the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, Nicolae Ciuca said that raising the relations between Romania and Japan to the level of the Strategic Partnership is an opportune political act in the current international context, which materializes the remarkable vision of the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the foreign policy field. An important point of the meeting was the security and defense component, one of the four cooperation pillars of the future Strategic Partnership, the talks also focusing on economic cooperation, given that Japan is the largest Asian investor in Romania. The Japanese Prime Minister appreciated the presence of his Romanian counterpart in Tokyo and assured him of his full support for the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership and the consolidation of bilateral cooperation, including at external level, in the regional and international context that requires the protection of democracy and the rule of law.



    IMF — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised upwards Romania’s economic growth forecast for 2022 up to 4.8%, the Finance Ministry announced on Monday. In June, the chief of the IMF mission for Romania, Jan Kees Martjn, announced that the IMF had improved Romania’s economic growth forecast at almost 3.5%- 4.5% for 2022 and 2023. The reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are on schedule and will significantly contribute to our mission, as well as the fiscal sustainability measures, the management of public investments and the budget consolidation, the Romanian finance minister Adrian Câciu said. An IMF team, led by Jan Kees Martijn, visited Bucharest, between May 30 and June 10, for the annual analysis of the Romanian economy, known as the Article IV Consultation.



    Refugees – The Border Police General Inspectorate informs that, on Sunday, more than 90 thousand people, of whom almost 10 thousand Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania through border points throughout the country. The figure represents a decrease of 7.6% as compared to the previous day. As of February 10, 2022 (a pre-conflict period), more than 2.4 million Ukrainian citizens have crossed the border into Romania, the Border Police General Inspectorate also announced.



    Flu – Health experts expect a significant impact of the flu in the 2022-2023 cold season. They draw attention that vaccination against the flu remains extremely important in reducing the risk of double infection – with the classic flu virus and with SARS-CoV-2, especially among vulnerable categories. In Romania, the first tranches of flu vaccines have already arrived. They can be administered in family doctors offices.



    Rome – Italys far-right leader, Giorgia Meloni, claimed victory in Sundays election on behalf of the right-wing bloc that won most of the seats in Parliament, according to exit polls. Georgia Meloni, who leads the most voted party, Fratelli dItalia, could become the first woman prime minister in the history of the country, if the president entrusts her with the mandate. The alliance of conservative parties, which also includes Matteo Salvinis League and Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia party, obtained between 41.5% and 45.5%, enough to guarantee control of both Houses of Parliament. The center-left could win between 25 and 29 % of the vote, while the populist Five Star Movement, which ran alone, between 14 and 18 %. The new parliament in Rome will have a smaller number of deputies, 400 instead of 630, and 200 senators, instead of the current 315.



    Parliament — On Monday, the debates on the articles related the status of magistrates were resumed in the Romanian Parliament. It is the third bill from the package of new justice laws, drafted by the justice ministry and assumed by the government. The marathon debates in the special parliamentary committee for justice laws have led to the adoption, so far, of over 140 of the 294 articles of the law on the status of judges and prosecutors. Most articles passed in the form proposed by the Government. This week, Parliament also resumes the debates on the energy ordinance, a document currently debated by the Senate’s specialized committees. The Social Democrats (in the governing coalition) say that the bill must be improved and demand that the price cap be related to current consumption and not to last years consumption, as requested by the opposition USR. The PNL (also in the governing coalition) wants the ceiling to be set according to the consumption of the last three years for each individual month. At the debates in the Senate, the representatives of the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority said that the fairest way to establish the cap is to take as reference the consumption registered over a certain period of time, because a calculation of the energy price based on the current bill would be complicated for suppliers. (LS)

  • July 2, 2022

    July 2, 2022

    Weather — The plain areas of western, southern and eastern Romania will see another scorching day today. In these regions, a yellow code alert for heat and high thermal discomfort is in place, the maximum temperatures ranging from 33 and 36 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 32 degrees C. Meteorologists also issued a code orange alert for unstable weather, with heavy storms and heavy rains being expected in the mountainous areas, in the north, center, south and locally east of Romania, valid until this evening. While the authorities in the counties most affected by the heat have set up tents, doctors point out that the elderly, those with various health conditions and children are the most exposed to fainting and sunstroke. In the fields of constructions and agriculture, which involves long-term activities in the scorching sun, people have a hard time coping with hot temperatures.



    July 4 – The United States remains Romanias closest military ally, just as NATO remains the main guarantor of peace and security for all its members, the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said on Friday evening. Attending the Party organized by the US Embassy in Bucharest on the occasion of the Independence Day, the Romanian PM welcomed the decision made by President Joe Biden to boost the presence of American troops in Romania. On the other hand, PM Ciucă said that the Romanian Government would continue to work with officials in Washington so that Romanias accession to the Visa Waiver program becomes possible as soon as possible. In his turn, the charge daffaires of the US Embassy in Bucharest, David Muniz, said that Romania leaves a positive mark on the world, recalling, among other things, the readiness of ordinary Romanians and of the authorities to provide humanitarian aid to neighboring Ukraine. David Muniz added that Romania was one of the strongest partners of the United States.



    Theater — Six personalities from the performing arts world receive, this evening, a star on the Star Alley – Aleea Celebrităţilor, as part of the International Theater Festival in Sibiu (center). The merit of two Romanians will be recognized: namely Ion Caramitru, one of the most important and appreciated theater and film actors in Romania, who passed away in September last year, and the cellist Götz Teutsch. Sasha Waltz, Claus Peymann, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt and Krzysztof Warlikowski will also receive a star on the Star Alley. Sasha Waltz is one of the most respected choreographers of the moment, a dancer and director, a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts. The German Claus Peymann has directed numerous shows based on plays from the classical and contemporary repertoire, and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a French-Belgian playwright, prose writer, novelist, screenwriter and director. His books are translated into 48 languages, and his plays are staged in over 50 countries. The Polish Krzysztof Warlikowski is the artistic director of the Nowy Theater in Warsaw. In 2021, he received the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award at the Venice Biennale.



    Tennis — Romania has only one representative left in the third round of the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon: Simona Halep (30 WTA), who meets, today, the Polish Magdalena Frech (92 WTA). In the doubles, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair Raluca Olaru / Nadia Kicenok qualified, on Friday, to the eighth finals, after defeating 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 the pair made up of the British Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls.



    Via Transilvanica – The section of the Via Transilvanica road located in Hunedoara county, in the center of Romania, is open, today, to the public. A project initiated in 2018 by the Tășuleasa Social Association, Via Transilvanica is a tourist and pilgrimage route of over 1,000 kilometers that starts from Putna, in the northeast of the country, crosses Transylvania and ends up in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, in the southwest. Nature and sports enthusiasts can walk it partially or completely, with their backpacks on, or they can go by bike or on horseback, on country paths and roads. Via Transilvanica crosses 10 counties, highlighting the cultural, ethnic, historical and natural riches of Romania. (LS)

  • June 28, 2022

    June 28, 2022

    NATO — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, participates in the NATO summit in Madrid until Thursday. The war in Ukraine and the security crisis in the Black Sea region are the main topics on the agenda of the summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a video speech in the first part of the meeting. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, during the summit, the Romanian president will welcome the fact that the current security situation was reflected in the Alliance’s new strategic concept, starting from the recognition of Russia as the main threat to NATO, and the fact that the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security was mentioned for the first time. Klaus Iohannis will emphasize Romanias significant contribution to supporting Ukraine at humanitarian level, as well as the most vulnerable partners, especially those in the eastern neighborhood, mainly the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population) and Georgia. Klaus Iohannis will reiterate Romanias firm support for NATOs “open door” policy, including the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance.



    Partnership — The two Chambers of Romania’s Parliament have today adopted, in a joint session, a Declaration on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US. The two countries, the document states, share common values ​​and interests, a deep commitment to democracy and a lasting strategic relationship. We particularly hail the important progress made in the cooperation between the two countries in the field of security, in order to strengthen NATOs eastern flank, including in the Black Sea region — shows the document adopted with a majority of votes by the Romanian senators and deputies. They welcome the intensification of the dialogue to meet the conditions for Romanias inclusion in the Visa Waiver program, a program that would allow Romanian citizens to travel to the US for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days, without the need to obtain a travel visa. During the speeches, both the ruling coalition and the opposition representatives underlined the importance of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries.



    Tennis — On Monday evening the Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified to the second round of the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament, after defeating the Georgian Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-4, 6-1. Sorana Cîrstea also qualified to the second round, after defeating 7-6, 7-6 the Serbian player Aleksandra Krunic. Five other Romanians are playing today in the first round: Simona Halep (against the Czech Karolina Muchova), Gabriela Ruse (against the American Cori Gauff), Mihaela Buzărnescu (against the German Nastasja Schunk), Irina Bara (against the French Chloé Paquet) and Ana Bogdan ( against Ukrainian Daiana Iastremska).



    Moldova — The Republic of Moldova is today marking 82 years since the occupation of Bessarabia by the Soviet Union on June 28, 1940. Back then, the Soviet troops annexed Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and Herța land, regions with a majority Romanian-speaking population, following an ultimatum to Bucharest. Radio Chişinău recalls that the annexation led to the establishment of a totalitarian communist regime, which meant forced collectivization, the replacement of the Latin alphabet with the Cyrillic one and Russification, political oppression and deportations. Tens of thousands of people were deported to Kazakhstan and Siberia, many of them dying on the way to or in the USSR camps. Historian Ion Varta said that under the Soviet regime forcefully established on the left bank of the Prut River, ‘about 400,000 people were victims of organized famine’, ‘626,000 people were subject to forced labor’, and between 120,000 and 130,000 people were deported. “It was a true genocide,” the historian concluded. The territories annexed in 1940 now belong to the former Soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine, that gained their independence from Moscow in August 1991, after the failure of the neo-Bolshevik coup against the last Soviet leader, the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev. (LS)

  • June 27, 2022 UPDATE

    June 27, 2022 UPDATE

    G 7 — The G7 leaders meeting on Monday in Germany reiterated their indestructible support for Ukraine, promising in particular military and financial support for “as long as necessary,” AFP reports. Germany, the US, France, Canada, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom have urged Russia to allow cereal exports from Ukraine, which it invaded on February 24, to avoid exacerbating the global food crisis. The G7 countries have called on Moscow to “unconditionally end attacks on agricultural and transport infrastructure and allow the free passage of agricultural goods from the Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.” They also expressed “deep concern” over Russias announcement that it could transfer nuclear-fired missiles to Belarus. The heads of state and government held a video conference on Monday morning with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski, who called on them to “do their best” to end the war, which is devastating their country, before the end of the year.



    Reactors – President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca welcomed the announcement made on Sunday by US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Germany, according to which the United States will invest 14 million dollars in the preliminary stage of engineering and design studies for the development of small modular reactors in Romania. Ensuring energy security is a common goal of the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership, Klaus Iohannis wrote on social media, while Nicolae Ciuca said in a statement, among other things, that the development of the nuclear program will boost economic growth.



    Partnership – Romanias two-chamber parliament will convene on Tuesday in a joint meeting dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US. The Romanian authorities have underlined that this collaboration has been an essential landmark for the countrys foreign policy over the years, as well as a tool for supporting domestic efforts for Romanias economic, military and administrative reforms. In a Facebook post, Romanias Ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, says that he was received at the White House by president Joe Biden, to whom he conveyed the message of president Iohannis and the Romanian states will to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. The Romanian official stated that “without President Bidens courage and determination, NATO may not have been as strong and united as it is today”. The White House leader thanked Romania for the invaluable help it has provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.



    Baccalaureate – The Romanian Education Minister, Sorin Câmpeanu, said Monday that this years Baccalaureate exams produced the best results in the last 10 years, and this was due to the simplification of the subjects. The pass rate of the Baccalaureate exam was over 73%. 162 students got a final 10, 32 of whom are from Bucharest. The highest pass rate was registered in Cluj county (northwest), Campeanu also said. The results can be seen on the bacalaureat.edu.ro platform and on the schools notice boards. The identity of the students will not be disclosed, their names being replaced by the individual codes received at the first test. More than 126,000 high school graduates sat for the Baccalaureate exam this year, the lowest number since the 1989 anti-communist revolution.



    Champion – The Romanian government approved on Monday a decision under which the swimmer David Popovici will be awarded 200 thousand Euros for the exceptional results obtained at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest. The double world champion was received by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca at Victoria Palace. The PM congratulated him for his extraordinary victory which brought him gold in the 200 and 100 meters freestyle event. Another Romanian, Robert Glinţă came 5th in the 50-meter backstroke final and 8th in the 100-meter backstroke event.



    Summit — The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, participates, as of Tuesday until Thursday, in the NATO summit hosted by Madrid. According to the Presidential Administration, the war in Ukraine and the security crisis in the Black Sea region are the main topics on the agenda. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to deliver a video speech in the first part of the meeting in the Spanish capital. During the summit, the Romanian president will welcome the fact that the current security situation was reflected in the Alliance’s new strategic concept, starting from the recognition of Russia as the main threat to NATO, and the fact that the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security was mentioned for the first time. Klaus Iohannis will emphasize Romanias significant contribution to supporting Ukraine at humanitarian level, as well as the most vulnerable partners, especially those in the eastern neighborhood, mainly the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population) and Georgia. Klaus Iohannis will reiterate Romanias firm support for NATOs “open door” policy, including the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance.



    Meeting – The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Monday met in Bucharest with his Serbian counterpart, Nikola Selakovic, on the occasion of the latter’s visit to Romania, at the invitation of the Romanian FM. According to Bogdan Aurescu, the two discussed the importance of Serbias European path, which, from Romanias point of view, must be completed as soon as possible by Serbia joining the European Union as a full member. The talks also focused on the importance of the European Unions partners, including Serbia, aligning to the Unions common foreign and security policy, given the complicated regional context. In his turn, the Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said that Serbia was grateful to Romania for the support granted for its European path. (LS)

  • June 7, 2022

    June 7, 2022

    PNRR – By the end of the year Romania is to receive 10 billion Euros through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Romanian minister of European investments and projects, Marcel Boloş announced after the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The first request for payment was submitted to the European Commission on May 31, and the Romanian authorities are preparing to submit the second request for payment worth three billion Euros in the month of October, the minister said. “The capitalization of the 30 billion Euros from the Recovery and Resilience Plan is a coordinated and coherent effort, with well-established landmarks, deadlines and responsibilities for each field. We have proved that we have managed to make this European financing mechanism operational in a short and not at all simple period for Romania and to send the first payment request. The pre-financing received, amounting to 3.7 billion Euros, added to the first payment request already sent to the European Commission, clearly shows that we are on schedule to achieve what we have set out to do” said the PM Nicolae Ciuca.



    NATO — The Romanian Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu, participated, on Monday evening, in the videoconference meeting of the defense ministers from the member states of the “Bucharest Nine — B9” Format, co-organized by Romania and Poland. The talks focused mainly on efforts to strengthen NATOs deterrence and defense posture on the eastern flank, on the adoption of the Alliances new strategic concept, and the evolution of the regional security situation. The meeting was an opportunity to harmonize the stands of B9 defense ministers on issues of common interest, in the run up to the June 16 NATO meeting in Brussels and also to the Alliance summit in Madrid to be held later this month. The Romanian Defense Minister has underlined the relevance of the future B9 Summit, which will be hosted by Romania on June 10, for the coagulation of the positions of the B9 member states, ahead of the future NATO Summit.



    Moldova — Romania and the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population) will organize a joint session of their parliaments for the first time, the Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said after a meeting in Chisinau with Marcel Ciolacu, the Speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies. Igor Grosu said he was pleased that the first joint meeting of the two countries parliaments would take place in Chisinau, which is a clear sign of support for the current government. Marcel Ciolacu has stated that Romania has always supported the Republic of Moldova and reiterated Bucharests commitment to supporting its integration into the European Union.



    London — The British PM Boris Johnson survived the no confidence motion tabled by his own party, the Conservative Party in the British Parliament. Boris Johnsons victory was not a resounding one, with 211 MPs voting for him and 148 against. Reuters notes that Johnson performed worse than his predecessor, Theresa May, who, in turn, survived a no-confidence vote. Even though Boris Johnson has won for the time being, his position is now much more fragile, according to numerous commentators. The current crisis at the top of the British government erupted when the public found out that a number of illegal parties had been organized during the pandemic at the prime ministers residence. In fact, Boris Johnson was fined for these parties, becoming the first head of government in London sanctioned in this way.



    Ukraine – The Russian troops continue to intensely attack the Donbas front line, while Russia is becoming increasingly concerned about the prospect of Ukraines receiving long-range missiles from the West. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that the Western weapons promised to his country should be delivered as soon as possible, saying that the situation will become very difficult for Ukraine if the Russian forces break the front line in the Donbas region. Zelenski says that the Russian troops outnumber the Ukrainian troops, but that the Ukrainian fighters have so far managed to reject their attacks. Heavy fighting is taking place on the streets of Severodonetsk, the last major city in Lugansk province where the Ukrainians still have control. The Russian forces are also intensely attacking the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk province, and Kharkov in the north. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Ukraine reports that the Russian army uses its favorite tactic which it has previously used both in Ukraine and in other wars it has waged: intense bombing aimed at destroying the opponents positions followed by massive assaults. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians claim to have caused huge losses to their opponents. (LS)