Tag: Olympiad

  • The Mathematics Journal

    The Mathematics Journal

     

    In its almost 250-year long history, the Romanian print media records the longest uninterrupted publication of a magazine: “Gazeta Matematica” (The Mathematics Journal), a specialised magazine for mathematics lovers, published in 1895 in Bucharest at the initiative of a group of mathematicians and engineers. The five founders were the engineers Victor Balaban, Vasile Cristescu, Ion Ionescu, Mihail Roco and Ioan Zottu. After Balaban’s untimely death, the mathematician Constanța Pompilian was co-opted into the group. Soon, the original group broadened to include the engineers Tancred Constantinescu, Emanoil Davidescu, Mauriciu Kinbaum and Nicolae Niculescu and the mathematicians Andrei Ioachimescu and Gheorghe Țițeica.

     

    In the 129 years of continuous publication, “Gazeta Matematica” was the platform for Romania’s best mathematicians, researchers, teachers, engineers, economists, students and other lovers of the field to express themselves. The magazine also features the work of foreign mathematicians. “Gazeta Matematica” educated generations of enthusiasts and organised competitions for them. At first, the magazine was published in 16 pages, with a circulation of 144 copies, which were sold on subscriptions. Then, the number of buyers increased, with the highest circulation recorded in the 1980s, when an issue was published in 120,000 copies.

     

    With such a tradition, “Gazeta Matematica” is also a source for research into the development of education in Romania. The mathematician and writer Bogdan Suceavă cites the wealth of information that “Gazeta” provides in this regard:

     

    Bogdan Suceavă: “The fact that there is a database with a lot of problems, spanning 129 years, means that one can look at various historical layers, at various ways of thinking about education, and of finding problems suitable for a certain age range. These models are in the Gazeta. For more than a century, there have been enough examples, enough strategies have been tried, and an interesting population sample has been seen to respond to them. The fact that we have so many examples, so many ways of thinking about the Gazeta enables us to see how this experience is of interest in a broader context.”

     

    Over its long history that carries on today, the “Gazeta Matematica” has had high standards and has constantly encouraged creative thinking. Bogdan Suceavă recalls such an episode of original thinking:

     

    Bogdan Suceavă: “An interesting case was Sebastian Kaufman, who forgot some trigonometry formulas during an oral exam. He was criticised, he couldn’t het away with it. No problem, Kaufman learned trigonometry and ended up doing research using techniques that have to do with the polar coordinate system. His work was published just months before Romania entered World War I. What was his paper about? Just as we have the power of a point with respect to a circle, a concept introduced by Jakob Steiner in 1826, we can have the power of a point with respect to a plane algebraic curve. He proposed to write it in polar coordinates and see what happens. It was an extraordinary paper, written by a remarkable high school student. This was the Gazeta environment. He prepared for the competition, for the Gazeta contest, he met with evaluators, he was far from perfect. He was criticised and felt compelled to improve, and out of this environment something creative emerged. The same Kaufman problem was later on studied after World War II, and I don’t think we can find anything else published about this before 1956. The fact that a high school student was doing something like this in Bucharest is quite remarkable.”

     

    “Gazeta Matematica” is also linked to the emergence of the influential International Mathematical Olympiad. Romania has participated in all editions so far and has won 78 gold medals, 146 silver, 45 bronze medals and 6 honourable mentions, thus ranking 6th in the all-time ranking. Romania hosted 6 editions, in 1959, 1960, 1969, 1978, 1999 and 2018. Bogdan Suceavă:

     

    Bogdan Suceavă: “The idea of the International Olympiads came from the Romanian Society of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the talks took place between 1956 and 1959. The first edition was in ’59. At that time, the president of the Society was Grigore Moisil, with Caius Iacob and Nicolae Teodorescu as vice-presidents. From a political point of view, it was not easy to organise an international event at that time, there were multiple constraints. The first of them was to obtain all the necessary approvals. The second was that of international contacts and the level of prestige required in order to start an international project of such magnitude. They used the Gazeta contest as a model and if we compare the format, this was the initial pattern: there were not many problems to solve in a very short time, but rather problems that required a lot of thinking time, about an hour and a half per problem. This was the initial concept and it was very similar to what had been attempted before World War I in Romania. The proponents of the idea felt that the Gazeta model could be of international interest. This is worth noting, compared with other competitions that existed at the time.”

     

    “Gazeta Matematica” is the benchmark publication of Romanian mathematicians, of the Romanian school of mathematics. There is mathematics, but there is also education, there is also history, there is also collective mentality, there is also generational change. And, above all, it is a tradition that carries on. (AMP)

  • August 25, 2024

    August 25, 2024

    NOMINEE The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, leader of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), was officially nominated as the PSD candidate for the upcoming presidential election during a PSD congress held in Bucharest yesterday. He was also reconfirmed as president of the Political-Parliamentarian formation, which is presently co-ruling Romania. In a speech delivered at the event, Ciolacu presented the programme with which he wants to win the highest position in Romania. The country’s industry, agriculture and public services are the main axes of his strategy. According to him, the Social-Democrats have managed to win the trust of the Romanians through unity, and he proposes a new type of president, ‘a president for all’. Most of the PSD members who took the floor during the Congress lashed out at their partners in the coalition that is presently ruling Romania and made ironical statements against the country’s incumbent president Klaus Iohannis. The Social-Democrats haven’t won the presidential election since the year 2000. The first round of the presidential ballot is due on November 24 and the second on December 8.

     

    HEAT Romania is in for its 13th consecutive day of extremely high temperatures. Meteorologists have issued new code yellow and orange alerts for three thirds of the country. Counties in the country’s west and south are bracing up for temperatures of 36-38 degrees Celsius and higher thermal discomfort. A code yellow alert has also been issued for the regions in the north-west, center, north-east and the Black Sea coast where the highs of the day are expected to go up to 36 Celsius. The heat wave persists in the capital city Bucharest, whose citizens are bracing up for temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 33.

     

    MEDALS Students from Romania have walked away with four medals from the International Geography Olympiad hosted by the Irish capital Dublin over August 19th and 24th. David Mihai Dumitrescu, from the National College ‘Carol l’ in Craiova, south-western Romania, won gold in Dublin and Ian Mitocaru, from the National College in Iasi became silver medalist. Tudor Olariu from the Iasi-based ‘Costache Negruzzi College’ and Iustin Balan from the ‘Garabet Ibraileanu’ National College in Iasi stepped onto the podium third step. According to the Education Ministry in Bucharest, Romania’s team in Dublin has been coordinated by teachers Mihaela and Dorin Fiscutean of the National College in Iasi.

     

    COAL According to the National Institute for Statistics in Bucharest, Romania’s coal production dropped by 20% in the first six months of the year against the same period of 2023. The country’s coal imports have also dropped by 30%, the same report says. According to the estimates of the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, this downward trend is likely to continue in the following years as other energy-production facilities will become operational. The EU’s consumption and production of coal last year dropped by 23%, to its lowest level in recorded history, says the EU statistical Office, Eurostat. According to the same sources, the 100 million ton slump in the coal production in a single year is one of the sharpest ever registered in the EU for this type of fuel. With almost two thirds of the entire EU consumption, Germany and Poland were the biggest coal consumers.

     

    VOLLEYBALL The Romanian women’s volleyball side was outperformed 3-0 by Croatia, in its first match of Group G of the preliminaries of the European Championships EuroVolley 2026. The entire game was dominated by the Croatian side, which tops the ranking after having also defeated the selection of Kosovo. Romania will be taking on Kosovo at home on August 29th. Winners of the seven preliminaries groups as well as the best five teams ranking second are to qualify for the final tournament.

    (bill)

  • July 21, 2024

    July 21, 2024

    Mission – The Romanian Air Forces have reached the end of their mission in North Macedonia, and on Saturday a Spartan type aircraft performed five missions to limit and extinguish fires in this country. According to the Defense Ministry, the aircraft crew operated in difficult conditions, with multiple outbreaks and strong wind, which made the extinguishing operations more difficult. In support of the aerial missions, ground teams provided real-time images and data about the situation on the ground. All in all, the aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces performed 21 firefighting missions in North Macedonia.

     

    Energy – Coal production and import are estimate to decrease, in Romania, in the period 2024-2027, as other energy production capacities will be put into operation, show estimates published by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis. The Commission mentions that the year 2023 was marked by the continuation of the downward trend in coal production, after the drop of more than 7% in 2022, with a higher contraction of 16.2% estimated. In terms of import, it is estimated that it registered significant reductions, namely -28% for coal and -11.8% for coke. Most of the coal resources were used for the production of electricity and thermal energy. The Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, said that he would do everything possible to extend the operating terms of coal-fired power plants, a process started in Brussels since last year.

     

    Olympiad – Six high school students from Romania won medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, according to an Education Ministry press release. They won one gold medal, four silver and one bronze medal. All six students are from Bucharest. The 65th edition of the Olympiad took place in Bath, Great Britain.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu was defeated by Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1, on Saturday evening, in the semifinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Palermo (Italy), which has total prizes up for grabs worth over 230,000 Euros. Irina Begu (142 WTA), the 2022 champion, and Muchova (35 WTA), seed no.2 in Sicily, are now tied, 2-2. The Romanian player defeated her in the second round at Roland Garros in 2019, and in the second round in Madrid, in 2023. Muchova won, in 2023, in the third round at Roland Garros.

     

    Organized crime – The Director of the Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime within the Romanian Police, Cătălin Şerban, said, on Saturday, in a press conference, that in the first semester of this year the police officers and prosecutors of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) organized almost 900 operative actions, of which a third were large-scale operations, increasing by 2.5% compared to the first six months of 2023. About 3,400 people were investigated and 1,275 people were detained for 24 hours. More than 1,000 people were remanded in custody, 8.9% more compared to the same period of last year, said Cătălin Şerban. The Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime participated in the EUROPOL policy cycle, assuming coordinating roles and carrying out activities in the areas of human trafficking, migrant trafficking, cyber crime and drug trafficking.

     

    Israel – Israel bombed the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, controlled by the Houthi rebels on the Red Sea, after the drone attack in Tel Aviv, claimed by the Yemeni group and left one dead and 10 wounded. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that anyone who attacks Israel will pay dearly. According to the Yemeni media, controlled by the rebels, three people died and more than 80 were injured in the Israeli attacks. It is Israel’s first direct response to the Houthi drone and missile attacks that have targeted its territory in recent months. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Jerusalem, the Israelis targeted oil, gas, ammunition and weapons depots, and after the attack, fires could be seen from all parts of the city. The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that that image was captured throughout the Middle East and that every enemy of Israel can now understand that the arm of the Israeli army is long. The Houthi rebels have promised a painful response in retaliation to the Israeli attack. (LS)

     

  • Awards for outstanding performances in education

    Awards for outstanding performances in education

    Proficiency in the
    education system is vital for the development of Romania, the PM Marcel Ciolacu
    said at the annual award gala for international Olympiad winners. In his
    opinion, a truly educated Romania cannot be achieved instantly, particularly
    since every education minister in the past 30 years tried to introduce their
    own outlook and sought to restructure the system fundamentally.


    The PM said that many of
    the changes made in the past were not preceded by thorough assessments, which
    contributed to declines in the quality of education. He told the participants
    in the event that next year, public education will have a 61% higher budget
    than at present.


    On the other hand, the PM
    also believes the performance of the teaching staff must be encouraged:


    Marcel Ciolacu: Apart from school
    buildings and equipment, more attention needs to be paid to evaluating and
    incentivising the teaching staff. Reality shows that we need performance
    criteria in the education system. an involved, responsible teacher must be paid
    more for their work. I have already spoken to Minister Ligia Deca about having
    talks with the professionals in the ministry and identifying solutions in this
    respect.


    I hope the unprecedented
    50% average pay raise in the public education sector within a year will attract
    growing numbers of young professionals towards a teaching career, the education
    minister Ligia
    Deca said in her turn.


    At the annual gala, as
    many as 138 students were awarded, who won 164 prizes, medals and honourable
    mentions at international and regional competitions in various academic
    subjects. Also awarded were their teachers and their schools. Romanian students won the
    maximum achievable score in 6 such competitions, as well as 51 gold medals, 55 silver medals, 30 bronze
    medals, and 22 honourable mentions in international academic events.


    The total award funds earmarked this year
    by the education ministry was around EUR 785,000. The awards amounted
    to EUR 4,000 for a maximum achievable score, EUR 3,000 for a gold medal, some EUR
    2,500 for a silver medal and around EUR 2,000 for a bronze medal. Honourable
    mentions were also awarded around EUR 700.


    A
    teacher received an incentive amounting to the highest award paid to any of
    their students, while the school attended by the student in question received an amount equal to the
    one granted to each winning student. In this case, the money must be spent primarily
    on school equipment relevant for the subjects in which the prizes have been
    received. (AMP)

  • September 4, 2023 UPDATE

    September 4, 2023 UPDATE

    VISIT – The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, paid an official visit to Berlin on Monday, for talks with her German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, and the European policy advisor to the German Chancellor, Undine Ruge. The meetings reconfirmed the complex and strong bilateral relationship between Romania and Germany. The Romanian official firmly condemned once again the Russian Federations attacks on the Ukrainian people and civil infrastructure, including on the Ukrainian ports on the Danube, near the border with Romania. She pointed out that the attacks on the night of September 3 did not generate direct military threats to the Romanian territory or the country’s territorial waters and that the Defense Ministry is closely monitoring the national territory, waters and air space and contributes to strengthening the defense and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank, in keeping with domestic and allied plans. The Romanian minister pleaded, on the other hand, for further European support to the Republic of Moldova, in order to strengthen its resilience in the face of current threats, including through the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova, an initiative launched by Romania, Germany and France.



    PARLIAMENT – Romanian senators and deputies on Monday started the second ordinary parliamentary session of the year, which focuses on the special pensions bill and other projects needed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Moreover, a package of fiscal measures that is being discussed at present in the ruling coalition and for which PM Marcel Ciolacu will take responsibility in Parliament, is expected.



    LAWS – The National Liberal Party, part of the ruling coalition in Romania, decided by vote to support the Government’s taking responsibility in Parliament for the legislative package of fiscal-budgetary measures. The Liberal leader, Nicolae Ciucă, said however that there are three important conditions that his party will not give up, namely: reducing public spending, tackling fiscal evasion and promoting fiscal measures. Ciucă also referred to other measures that the Liberals want to be adopted by the Executive, such as maintaining the single tax rate.



    MEETING — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, will receive, on Tuesday, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, on the occasion of his visit to Cincu (centre), at the invitation of the Romanian side, the Presidential Administration has informed. The two officials will have political consultations and will visit together the troops stationed at the Getica National Joint Training Center in Cincu. They will address the soldiers from Luxembourg who are part of the NATO battle group in Romania. President Iohannis and Prime Minister Xavier Bettel will discuss about the consolidation of the deterrence posture on NATO’s Eastern Flank, the continuation of the multidimensional support offered to Ukraine, as well as about the support for vulnerable partners in the region, with an emphasis on the Republic of Moldova, a country seriously affected by the consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.



    CREVEDIA – Another patient injured in the explosions that took place in Crevedia (south of Bucharest) died Monday morning, the Romanian Health Ministry announced. According to the source, the man had burns on 95% of his body. This is the fourth person to die after the Crevedia explosions. One person severely injured, treated in a Bucharest and another five people who had been transferred abroad for medical care are intubated and their condition is critical.



    OLYMPIAD – Romanian students won three silver and one bronze medal at the International Informatics Olympiad. The Society for Excellence and Performance in Informatics has announced that the awards ceremony of the 35th edition of the Olympiad took place in Szeged, in neighboring Hungary, attended by over 300 competitors from 90 countries. Romania remains in second place in the world ranking of awards obtained over time at the International Informatics Olympiad, with 127 medals: 33 gold, 58 silver and 36 bronze, together with Poland, after China, which ranks first. (EE)

  • August 19, 2023 UPDATE

    August 19, 2023 UPDATE

    OPYMPIAD – Romanian students won five medals at the 15th edition of the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad held in Chorzow, Poland. According to the Romanian Ministry of Education, the gold medal and the highest score in the competition in the theoretical test was won by Andrei Dragomir, a student with the Bucharest International High School of Informatics. Teofil Voicu with the “Emil Racoviţă” National College in Cluj-Napoca and Mendel Mendelsohn and Bogdan Ciocârlan, students with the Bucharest International High School of Informatics won silver medals, while George Vladimir Necula, with the same high school in Bucharest, won a bronze medal. Students from 53 countries took part in the competition.



    ECONOMY – One of Romanias objectives in the upcoming period is to win back traditional markets in Asian countries, such as Singapore, Vietnam and Japan, said the Romanian Minister of Economy, Radu Oprea. He emphasized that the Romanian economy must capitalize on the markets and trade agreements signed by the European Union with Asian countries. Oprea also said that in October the joint commission with South Korea will take place, and in November – the one with Vietnam, areas with very high collaboration potential.




    SEASIDE – The autumn edition of the “Holiday for all” program on the Romanian Black Sea coast is about to be launched. In September, tourist packages will be up to 70% cheaper compared to peak season rates. So far, 48 hotels have signed up for the program, offering tourists approximately 5,000 accommodation places. Over 100 accommodation units are expected to join the program, so that more than 40,000 tourists can benefit from it. Most hotel units will keep last years rates.





    DECISION – Romania plans to ensure the transit of more than 60% of the Ukrainian grain exports to the international market in the future, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said after Friday’s meeting, in Bucharest, with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Şmyhal. The two officials decided that in the upcoming period, the grain transit from Ukraine to the international market, via Romania, to be doubled, from two to four million tons per month, but with the protection of Romanian farmers.





    ENERGY – Helleniq Renewables, a Greek subsidiary of one of the main energy groups in South-Eastern Europe, Helleniq Energy Holdings, has signed a contract for the construction of four photovoltaic parks in Romania, with a total capacity of 211 megawatts. The agreement was signed with Mytilineos Energy. The projects will be gradually developed until 2025, and the total annual production of renewable energy will cover the needs of 100,000 households. In parallel, Helleniq Renewables signed another agreement, for the development of a portfolio of photovoltaic parks with a capacity of 600 megawatts, also located in Romania, in the southern part of the country.





    EUROSTAT – Romania registered in June the most significant advance in the European Union in the field of construction works, of 3.6%, followed by Sweden and the Czech Republic, according to the European Statistics Office. At the opposite end are Germany, France, Slovakia and Hungary. Eurostat data also shows that construction works decreased in June by 1% in the eurozone and by 0.6% in the European Union, compared to the previous month, when a slight advance was registered. (EE)


  • August 18, 2023

    August 18, 2023


    OLYMPIAD – Romania took 1st place at the Central European Olympiad in Informatics 2023 (CEOI 2023), held in Magdeburg, Germany. Student Luca Perju-Verzotti with the Tudor Vianu National College of Informatics in Bucharest took the first place and gold medals. Gold, silver and bronze medals were also won by three students with the Aurel Vlaicu Theoretical High School in Orăștie (central Romania) and the International Theoretical High School of Informatics in Bucharest.



    GDP — Romania is among the countries with the best results in terms of GDP growth and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the first quarter of this year, according to the Eurostat. Romanias GDP is 2.4% and has increased more than the European average of 1.2%. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, Romania has reduced them by almost 5%, while the European average is 2.9%. The EU economy as a whole has become more efficient and less polluting. In the first quarter of 2023, EU economy’s greenhouse gas emissions totalled 941 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, a 2.9% decrease compared with the same quarter of 2022. This decrease took place simultaneously with a 1.2% increase in the EU’s GDP in the first quarter of 2023, compared with the same quarter of 2022, Eurostat reports. Most emissions were released by the housing sector – 24%, followed by industrial production – 20%, electricity and gas sector – 19%, agriculture – 13% and transport and storage – 10%. The largest decrease in emissions occurred in the electricity and gas sector – 12.3% while the transport and storage sector had the largest increase – by 7.2%


    FOREIG AFFAIRS – The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, spoke on the phone with her Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, and also with the Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly. According to a press release of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, during the discussion with the Armenian counterpart, Minister Luminiţa Odobescu reconfirmed Romanias support for the development of the relationship between the Armenia and the EU. Regarding the situation in the South Caucasus, the Romanian official welcomed the mediation efforts of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and voiced support for the peaceful resolution, through dialogue, of all pending issues, respecting the principles and norms of international law, including the provisions of international humanitarian law. On the other hand, during the telephone conversation with the Canadian counterpart, the very good cooperation on various files of bilateral interest was emphasized, such as cooperation in the energy sector, in the security and defense sectors and in the promotion of human rights. Also, the two ministers highlighted the joint commitment of Romania and Canada to provide sustained support to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, both in the context of efforts to combat the effects of Russias war in Ukraine, and in support of the European path of the two states.



    GOVERNMENT – The text of an emergency order that modifies the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, but also the proposals of the Ministry of Transport in terms of cutting red tape are on the agenda of todays meeting of the Romanian government. The government also wants to adopt and submit to parliament a draft law to revise the article of the Criminal Code, which refers to the punishment of discrimination and incitement to hatred.



    VISIT — The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denîs Şmîhal, is in Bucharest today for talks with Romanian officials on aspects related to regional security, in the context of Russias military aggression against Ukraine. We will also discuss Romanias efforts regarding the transit of Ukrainian grain to ensure access to food worldwide, as well as issues related to the bilateral agenda for the protection of Romanian farmers and the rights of Romanian minorities in Ukraine, Romanian PM, Marcel Ciolacu said.


    FOOTBALL –Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe football squad, holder of the Romanian Cup, qualified to the Europa Conference League play-off after the 1-0 victory against FC Aktobe on Thursday evening, in Kazakhstan, in the second leg of the third preliminary round of the competition. In Sfantu Gheorghe, Sepsi had finished the match with Aktobe in a draw. On Thursday evening, the Romanian vice-champion FCSB was eliminated from the Europa Conference League by the vice-champion of Denmark, FC Nordsjaelland, who, after a goalless draw in Bucharest, won at home 2-0, in the second leg of the third preliminary round. Romanias champion, Farul Constanţa, has also qualified to the Europa Conference League play-off, which won the away match with Flora Tallinn of Estonia. Two Nordic teams will be the opponents of the Romanians in the play-off: HJK Helsinki (Finland), for Farul and FK Bodoe/Glimt (Norway) for Sepsi. (EE)


  • July 30, 2022 UPDATE

    July 30, 2022 UPDATE

    Tax – In Romania, part of the fiscal measures recently adopted by the coalition government will come into force as of August 1. Thus, as of Monday, the excise tax on tobacco will increase, from cigarette packs to the e-cigarette liquid, and the tax on gambling winnings will be augmented. Changes have also been made to the salaries of employees in constructions, agriculture and the food industry, in the sense of lowering the ceiling starting from which exemptions are made. Other changes to the Fiscal Code will be applied from the beginning of next year, one of the sectors targeted being the hospitality industry where the VAT will increase from 5% to 9%. The value added tax will also increase from 9% to 19% for very sweet drinks or free-alcohol beer. Another VAT increase will be for the trading of houses larger than 120 square meters or over 120,000 Euros.



    NATO – A unitary approach to the Eastern Flank is the most efficient way to defend every inch of the NATO territory, and the presence of the American troops in Romania is a real proof of the US commitment to its security, the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said. He participated on Saturday at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Military Base (south-east) in the battle flag presentation ceremony of an American unit additionally deployed in Romania (the 2nd Combat Team Brigade within the 101st Airborne Division). The PM thanked the American soldiers deployed in Romania for their effort and contribution to the security of the country. “Your presence is very welcome. Together we are strong”, Nicolae Ciucă told them. He recalled that, for a better adaptation to the new security paradigm, the Romanian authorities, together with the NATO allies, are in an advanced stage of implementing the multinational battle group led by France, with the participation of troops from Belgium and the Netherlands. In turn, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division, Major General Joseph McGee, said that the mission of the American division is to defend allies and to defend peace. He appreciated the “warm welcome” given by Romania, showing that the Romanians professionalism and combat training is “impressive”.



    Olympiad — The PM Nicolae Ciucă congratulated the Romanian students, teachers and coordinators for the outstanding results obtained in this years International Linguistic Olympiad. The education minister, Sorin Cîmpeanu, has also praised the results of the Romanian team at this competition: one gold medal, one silver and one bronze. “Together with the young people who obtained excellent results in other subjects at the Olympiad, who have recently written success stories, they show that Romanian education is performing well and has a beautiful future. Good luck! We are proud of you” the PM Ciucă wrote in a message posted on the Governments Facebook page. We remind you that, this year, the Romanian students obtained the 3rd place in the world at the International Geography Olympiad and the second place in Europe. In Physics, the Romanian students won four gold and one silver medals, and in Mathematics, with two gold and four silver, the Romanian team ranked 5th in the world, out of 104 participating countries, and 1st in Europe.



    Sighisoara festival — Knight fights, demonstrations about the healing power of fairies, fairs, theater or medieval dances – these are some of the surprises that have been announced for Saturday, the second day of the 28th edition of the Sighişoara Medieval Festival, in central Romania, organized under the High Patronage of Her Majesty Margareta Custodian of the Romanian Crown. The Festival program also includs a painting workshop for children, an archaic music workshop and a horse riding and archery workshop. We recall that Sighişoara is the only inhabited medieval fortress in southeastern Europe.



    Covid – 7,532 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were registered in 24 hours in Romania, almost 1,300 less than the previous day – the Health Ministry announced on Saturday. The infection rate in 14 days, at national level, is 3.09 per thousand inhabitants. All in all, since the start of the pandemic, around 3,060,000 cases of infection have been registered in Romania. On the other hand, the first two deaths of people infected with monkey pox, outside Africa, were announced on Friday by Spain and Brazil, but it is not known if the respective virus has caused the deaths. The two deaths in Brazil and Spain bring to seven the number of deaths reported worldwide since May. The World Health Organization last week declared this disease a global health emergency, after approximately 16,000 cases have already been reported in 75 countries, many of them in Europe.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan qualified to the final of the WTA tournament in Warsaw, after defeating Katerina Baindl (from Ukraine) on Saturday, 7-5, 7-5. On Sunday, she will be up against the French Caroline Garcia, seed no. 5. The two have never faced each other before in the professional circuit. The Warsaw tournament has total prizes up for grabs worth 250 million dollars. (LS)

  • July 30, 2022

    July 30, 2022

    Drill — The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciucă participates, today, in the battle flag presentation ceremony of the American unit from the 57th Air Base “Mihail Kogălniceanu” in the southeast of Romania. On this occasion, forces and equipment of the 2nd Combat Team Brigade from the 101st American Airborne Division, deployed in Romania after the Madrid summit, are conducting a demonstration exercise alongside Romanian soldiers of the 9th “Mărăşeşti” Mechanized Brigade. A technical exhibition is also organized that displays attack helicopters, tanks, armored amphibious transporters, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery elements, specific engineering and first aid equipment from the equipment of the Romanian and American subunits participating in the exercise.



    Olympiad — The PM Nicolae Ciucă congratulated the Romanian students, teachers and coordinators for the outstanding results obtained in this years International Linguistic Olympiad. The education minister, Sorin Cîmpeanu, has also praised the results of the Romanian team at this competition: one gold medal, one silver and one bronze. “Together with the young people who obtained excellent results in other subjects at the Olympiad, who have recently written success stories, they show that Romanian education is performing well and has a beautiful future. Good luck! We are proud of you” the PM Ciucă wrote in a message posted on the Governments Facebook page. We remind you that, this year, the Romanian students obtained the 3rd place in the world at the International Geography Olympiad and the second place in Europe. In Physics, the Romanian students won four gold and one silver medals, and in Mathematics, with two gold and four silver medals, the Romanian team ranked 5th in the world, out of 104 participating countries, and 1st in Europe.



    Sighisoara festival — Knight fights, demonstrations about the healing power of fairies, fairs, theater or medieval dances – these are some of the surprises that have been announced for Saturday, the second day of the 28th edition of the Sighişoara Medieval Festival, in central Romania, organized under the High Patronage of Her Majesty Margareta Custodian of the Romanian Crown. The Festival program also includes a painting workshop for children, an archaic music workshop and a horse riding and archery workshop. We recall that Sighişoara is the only inhabited medieval fortress in southeastern Europe.



    Olympics — The Romanian athletes won another five medals – one gold, two silver and two bronze, on Friday, on the last but one day of the 16th summer edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival, from Banska Bystrica (Slovakia). The gold went to the judoka Bogdan Alexandru Petre in the 100 kg category. In the swimming competition, Aissia Claudia Prisecariu won the silver medal in the womens 100m backstroke event, and the womens 4x100m mixed relay team won the bronze medal. In tennis, Gabriel Gheţu and Eva Ionescu won silver in the mixed doubles final, and Eva Ionescu also got bronze in the womens singles. Romania ranks 12th in the medal standings, with 3 gold, 8 silver and 5 bronze medals. Romania is represented at the 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival by 92 athletes, in 8 disciplines – athletics, swimming, cycling, gymnastics, judo, volleyball, handball and tennis. At the previous edition, in 2019, Romania won 19 medals.



    Monkey pox – The first two deaths, outside Africa, of people infected with monkey pox were announced on Friday by Spain and Brazil, but it is not known if the respective virus has caused the deaths. The Brazilian authorities stated that the Brazilian man who died also had serious comorbidities. The two deaths in Brazil and Spain bring to seven the number of deaths reported worldwide since May, with the first five reported in Africa, where monkey pox is endemic and was first detected in humans in 1970. The World Health Organization last week declared this disease a global health emergency, after approximately 16,000 cases have already been reported in 75 countries, many of them in Europe. (LS)

  • July 19, 2022

    July 19, 2022

    TALKS The president of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas is on an official
    visit to Romania today, at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis. The 2
    leaders will discuss ways to encourage and strengthen bilateral cooperation in
    areas of mutual interest, particularly political dialogue, home affairs,
    education, economy and trade. The agenda of talks also includes regional
    developments in the Middle East, the progress and prospects of the Peace
    Process, the security situation and the consequences of Russia’s illegal
    aggression against Ukraine, the Romanian Presidency says. Also today, president
    Iohannis is scheduled to receive Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and
    minister for defence, Simon Coveney.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting on
    Monday with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of the
    Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels. According to the Romanian Foreign
    Ministry, the Greek party thanked Romania for the assistance given by Romanian
    fire-fighters in containing the recent wildfires in Greece. The 2 officials
    also discussed the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on the consequences and impact
    at regional and EU level of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked military campaign
    in that country. They highlighted the importance of ensuring energy security, a
    sector in which Romania and Greece have converging interests and approaches.
    Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the consolidation of bilateral dialogue and cooperation
    in this field, mentioning the recent opening of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas
    interconnecting pipeline, a major step in consolidating the energy security of
    the countries in the region.


    EDUCATION Romanian students won 3rd place in the world, after
    Singapore and Lithuania, at the International Geography Olympiad. As many as
    209 students from 54 countries took part in this year’s competition. This
    success comes after the outstanding performances of Romanian students in other
    international competitions. They won 2nd place at the International
    Physics Olympiad organised online by Switzerland, while Romania’s team won 1st
    place in Europe and 5th in the world at the International Maths
    Olympiad in Oslo, out of 105 competing countries.


    LOAN The World Bank
    and Romania Tuesday signed a EUR 600 mln development policy loan, with a focus
    on inclusive green economic growth, the WB announced. This is the first of 2
    such financing operations, and is accompanied by USD 24.2 mln non-reimbursable
    financial assistance. The WB is currently running 10 investment projects in
    Romania, totalling USD 1.78 bln, in addition to 31 technical and analytical
    assistance projects worth USD 104 mln.


    COVID The Romanian
    health ministry Tuesday announced 7,658 new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the last
    24 hours, over 4,000 more than on Monday. The number of patients in intensive
    care has also increased to 136, and 9 people died from the disease in 24 hours.


    EU ACCESSION The European Union Tuesday opened the accession
    negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, the president of the European
    Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced. The 27 EU member states Monday
    night agreed to open accession talks, after Skopje and Sofia signed a protocol
    that eliminates the last remaining obstacles. North Macedonia has been a
    candidate country since 2005, and Albania since 2014.


    UKRAINE The president of Russia Vladimir Putin and the president of
    Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are attending a summit in Tehran today, together
    with their Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi. According to the BBC, following
    the sanctions introduced by the West, Putin will use this opportunity to prove
    that Moscow still has strong allies. Putin will also have separate meetings
    with the leaders of the two states. Turkey negotiated with Russia and Ukraine
    to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, while Iran and Russia are
    looking for new trade routes to bypass sanctions, the BBC also says. Meanwhile,
    in Ukraine, Russian forces carried on the shelling of Nikopol, with scores of
    attacks launched during the night. Several people, including a child, were also
    wounded after Russian missiles hit Odessa.


    DROUGHT Nearly half of the EU territory is facing drought risks, the
    European Commission warns, as a new heat wave has hit the continent. France,
    Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy will likely have to handle a drop in
    agricultural yield, especially grains, the Commission explains. Germany,
    Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia will also be affected. In turn, the
    European Commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarčič said that the worst
    is yet to come. Europe is struggling with an extreme heat wave these days, with
    temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius reported in France and the UK, and even
    43 degrees in some areas in the north of Spain. Wildfires
    also destroyed thousands of hectares of land in
    France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, forcing thousands of residents and tourists
    out of those regions. (AMP)

  • October 1, 2019 UPDATE

    October 1, 2019 UPDATE

    MOTION A no-confidence motion against the Social Democrats minority government headed by Viorica Dancila was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday by the Opposition. The document, initiated by the Liberals, is backed by Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Peoples Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Pro Romania, and, according to the president of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, even by some Social Democrats. Entitled “In order to rebuild Romania, the Dancila Cabinet must be dismissed immediately! the motion was signed by 237 MPs, and it needs 233 votes in order to pass. The ruling party claims however that it will not be endorsed, because it fails to come up with a governing programme and a PM. Viorica Dancilas party lost the majority in Parliament after its junior partner, ALDE, left the ruling coalition in late August.




    COMMISSIONER MEP Dan Nica is Romanias main nomination for European Commissioner, the president of the Social Democratic Party Viorica Dăncilă said on Tuesday at the end of the partys National Executive Committee meeting. She added that Gabriela Ciot, secretary of state with the Foreign Ministry, will be the back-up nomination, if the European Commission wants a woman for a commissioner. PM Dăncilă explained that Romania will do the same as Hungary in terms of the new nominations: should Hungary come up with 2 candidates, so will Romania. The decision comes after the European Parliaments committee on legal affairs (JURI) rejected Rovana Plumb as a Transport Commissioner designate, nominated by Romania, and the candidate nominated by Hungary for Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy.




    EUROPALIA The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis and King Philippe of Belgium Tuesday visited in Brussels an exhibition on Brâncuşi, opening the Europalia International Art festival. This is the most important exhibition devoted to the Romanian sculptor in the past decades, and the highlight of this Festival, in which Romania is the guest of honour. Until February 2, 2020, Europalia comprises events held in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Britain. Apart from exhibitions, the events include theatre, dance and music performances, visual art and literature projects, and more than 100 film screenings.




    OLYMPIAD Romanian students won 9 prizes in this years International French Language Olympiad, hosted by Chişinău, the Republic of Moldova. In the competition held between September 27 and 30, the Romanian team won 3 first prizes, 3 second prizes and 3 third prizes. The International French Language Olympiad brought together students from 6 La Francophonie member countries, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Moldova and Romania. The competition is included in the official agenda of the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • September 3, 2019

    September 3, 2019

    REPATRIATION The remains of Queen Helen, mother to King Michael I of Romania, will be repatriated this autumn and taken to the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeş, following a decision of the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Princess Margareta, made public on Tuesday. Seventy-one years after Queen Helens exile and 37 years after her death, Princess Margareta decided to bring back to Romania the remains of her grand-mother. Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark was the daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and Queen Sophia of Prussia. In 1921 she married crown prince Carol in Athens, whom she divorced in 1928. In 1940 she became Queen Mother of Romania. She died in November 1982, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Unlike King Michael I, Queen Helen never saw her country again after her forced exile.




    EXERCISE The Romanian Navy organises as of today the Romanian-Ukrainian exercise “Riverine 2019, on the River Danube, the segment between Tulcea (Romania) and Izmail (Ukraine), with approx. 300 marines from the 2 countries taking part. The exercise is designed to improve cross-border cooperation between Romania and Ukraine in the naval field on the River Danube. Until September 7, inspection and towing exercises as well as emergency intervention drills will be organised.




    FESTIVAL In Bucharest the George Enescu International Festival continues with a concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra together with the Academic Choir of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation. Two other performances take place in Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu. The central theme of this years edition of the festival is “The World in Harmony, and the artistic director is Vladimir Jurowski. Until September 22, Bucharest and 10 other cities in Romania and 5 other countries (Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the Rep. of Moldova) will host performances associated to the Festival. In Bucharest, over 2,500 of the most valuable musicians of the world will hold 84 concerts and recitals.




    PROGRAMME The EU programme designed to encourage children to eat fruit, vegetables and dairy at school continues in 2019. Of the total budget of 250 million euro, Romania will receive this academic year over 17 million euro. Last year, more than 20 million children in the EU benefited from this programme implemented in schools, whose goal is to promote healthy eating habits.




    EARTH Romanian students won one gold and 3 silver medals in this years edition of the International Earth Science Olympiad held in Daegu, South Korea between August 26 and September 3. The International Earth Science Olympiad encourages cooperation between students from various countries, by setting up international teams that receive research topics on environment issues in a specific geographic area and must come up with a project with proposed solutions to the respective issues. Taking part in this 13th International Earth Science Olympiad were 163 students from 41 countries.




    SPENDING EU citizens spent an average 377 euro for a holiday, and Romanians rank at the bottom of the list with around 135 euro earmarked for a vacation, according to data released by Eurostat on Tuesday. The biggest holiday spenders in the EU are the citizens of Luxembourg, with an average 769 euro for a holiday in 2017.




    TENNIS The young Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu, of Romanian descent, qualified into the quarter-finals of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the American Taylor Townsend in 3 sets. It is the first time that Andreescu (aged 19, number 15 in the world) takes part in the US Open, and also her first Grand Slam quarter-final. Taylor Townsend (116 WTA), had previously outplayed 2 Romanians, Simona Halep and Sorana Cîrstea. In the quarter-final Andreescu will take on Belgiums Elise Mertens (26 WTA).


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 20, 2019 UPDATE

    July 20, 2019 UPDATE

    PROSECUTOR The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, told president Klaus Iohannis over the telephone on Friday that France would withdraw Jean-François Bohnerts candidacy and would back the Romanian Laura Codruța Kövesi instead for the post of head of the European Public Prosecutors Office, the Romanian Presidency announced. Previously, the European Parliament reaffirmed its support for the former head of Romanias Anti-Corruption Directorate becoming the chief EU prosecutor. This spring the European Parliament decided to back Kovesis candidacy, whereas the EU Council preferred the French Jean-Francois Bohnert. Several rounds of negotiations between the 2 institutions yielded no results. Under the rules of organisation of the new EPPO, the Parliament and Council must jointly appoint the EU chief prosecutor, for a non-renewable 7-year term in office.




    VISIT The Romanian State Secretary Maria Magdalena Grigore had bilateral meetings with high-ranking UN officials, during a visit she is making to the USA. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the topics included means to meet sustainable development goals, transport connectivity, the cooperation between Romania and the UN Development Programme, Romanias contribution to peacekeeping missions, international humanitarian assistance and economic developments in the world. Maria Grigore emphasised the importance of the UN in the current world context, and mentioned the progress made by Romania as an emerging donor, both in the field of official development assistance and of humanitarian aid.




    INVESTMENTS A delegation from the Romanian Ministry for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship is in Japan until July 26th, to attract Japanese investors in Romania. According to the Ministry, the agenda of the visit includes meetings and talks in Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Tokyo, with Japanese governmental officials and representatives of the local business and banking community, concerning the new business opportunities entailed by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan. Meetings will also be held with representatives of major Japanese corporations. The talks are aimed at identifying trade and investment projects of mutual interest. Last year, the bilateral trade amounted to 710 million US dollars. The main Romanian products exported to Japan included tobacco, wood, honey, vehicle components and accessories, clothes, pharmaceuticals and electrical appliances, whereas Romanias imports from Japan consisted in automobiles, tools and equipment, metal and chemical products, optical and photographic equipment and devices.




    FESTIVAL The 11th Film and Histories Festival continues in Rasnov, central Romania. Until July 28th, a special new venue in the centre of the town will be hosting film screenings, theatre performances, Baroque and rock music concerts. Conferences and roundtable talks will also be organised, on topics such as the 1989 Romanian Revolution, economic freedom, the music of freedom, freedom won and lost, cinema and freedom. Other topics approached include the Romanian migration, Europes post-Brexit future, the digital society and minorities. The 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing and the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO will also be marked. The 2019 edition of the Festival will also host a Summer School for 72 university students and 23 high school students from Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova.




    HOLIDAY In a military and religious ceremony held in Bucharest on Romanian Aviation Day, celebrated every year on 20th of July, the Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel Les thanked the Romanian military and civil aviators for their devotion and paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives. On the same day, Orthodox and Catholic Christians in Romania celebrated Prophet Elijahs feast day. According to the Bible, the prophet lived nearly 2,800 years ago and brought back faith in the Hebrew God among the people of Israel. Elijah did not die like a human, but was taken to heavens in a chariot of fire. Due to this biographic detail, St. Elijah is the patron saint of the Romanian Air Forces. Nearly 130,000 Romanians also celebrated their name day on Prophet Elijahs Feast Day.



    PHYSICS Romanias team, made up of 4 students from Bucharest, Iaşi (north-east), Timişoara (west) and Baia Mare (north), won 3 gold medals and a silver medal in the first edition of the Balkan Physics Olympiad, held in Thessaloniki, Greece between July 14th and 18th, the National Education Ministry announced. Taking part were secondary school and high school students aged 16 or under at the time of the competition. Eleven countries attended this first edition of the Olympiad.




    YOUTH Romania will be represented by 103 athletes in the 15th Summer European Youth Olympic Festival, held between July 21st and 27th in Baku (Azerbaijan). The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee announced the participants are athletes aged between 14 and 18, who will take part in the athletics, cycling, artistic gymnastics, handball, swimming, judo, wrestling, tennis and volleyball events. The Committee also says the Romanian delegations objective is to come home with 8 to 10 medals from Baku.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 15, 2019 UPDATE

    July 15, 2019 UPDATE

    GOVERNMENT The Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition in Romania, will have its own candidate in the presidential election due in November, and a Congress will be convened on August 3rd to validate the candidate, the PM and party president Viorica Dancila announced at the end of a National Executive Committee meeting on Monday. During the same meeting, Senator Nicolae Moga was validated as the new nominee for the interior minister post, after earlier on Monday Carmen Dan had tendered her resignation. According to the Romanian media, Dan was on the list of Cabinet members set to be replaced in the forthcoming Government reshuffle. Viorica Dancila also announced that Mihai Fifor was confirmed as deputy PM for strategic partnerships. Social Democratic leaders also acknowledged the proposal of their ruling coalition partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, to replace Teodor Meleşcanu with Ramona Mănescu as foreign minister.




    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has gone up 3 places in the WTA ranking, to number 4 in the world. Halep returned to Romania on Monday after her Wimbledon victory against the American Serena Williams in the final. President Klaus Iohannis decided to award her the highest distinction of the Romanian State, making her a Dame of the Star of Romania National Order, for her Wimbledon win. “With her dedication, devotion and professionalism, proved both on the tennis court and outside it, Simona Halep has promoted Romania throughout the world. Simona Halep is a role model for the young generation, and her involvement in making tennis popular among children is a huge gain for Romanian sports’, reads a news release issued by the Presidency.




    PHYSICS Romania won 4 silver and a bronze medal at the 50th International Physics Olympiad, held in Tel Aviv (Israel) between July 7th and 15th, the National Education Ministry announced. This years Olympiad brought together more than 380 participants from 82 countries. The competition consisted in 2 tests, one on theoretical and the other one in experimental physics, each lasting 5 hours. The first International Physics Olympiad was held in 1967, in Warsaw (Poland), with participants from 5 countries, including Romania, which also hosted the event twice, in 1972 and 1983.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 13 May, 2019

    13 May, 2019

    Eastern Partnership. Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis attends a meeting in Brussels of the Eastern
    Partnership countries held on the 10th anniversary of this
    initiative. According to the president’s office, Klaus Iohannis is expected to
    emphasise that the partnership has contributed to the consolidation of the economies
    and societies of the Eastern states and the expansion of stability on the EU
    borders. The Romanian president will also highlight that the EU expects
    continual political commitment from its partner states with regard to
    compliance with the pledges made. The Eastern Partnership is an initiative that
    consists in the creation of a common area of democracy, prosperity, stability
    and close cooperation between the EU and the partner states, namely Armenia,
    Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The meeting
    in Brussels is attended by the president of the European Council Donald Tusk,
    the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, the Union’s high representative
    for foreign affairs and security policy Federica Mogherini and the president of
    the European Parliament Antonio Tajani.




    EU foreign affairs. The Romanian foreign minister Teodor
    Melescanu today attends a meeting of the EU foreign affairs council. The agenda
    of talks features issues such as the situation in Libya and the Sub-Saharan
    African region of Sahel. The Romanian official will also attend various
    activities held in connection to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern
    Partnership. On Tuesday, EU foreign and defence ministers will hold a joint
    session with their counterparts in the G5 Sahel countries, namely Burkina Faso,
    Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.




    Military exercise. The European Spartan 2019 military
    exercise is taking place at the 90th Airlift Base in Otopeni, in the
    south, in the context of Romania’s presidency of the Council of the EU.
    According to a statement from the Romanian defence ministry, the exercise,
    which will come to an end on the 24th of May, forms part of a series
    of activities planned and organised by the European Defence Agency and the
    Romanian Air Force within the European Air Transport Fleet programme, being
    designed as a multinational training event in the field of transport aviation.
    Romania takes part in the exercise alongside Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania and
    Slovakia, as well as observers from other states owning Spartan aircraft in
    Europe and from the US and Australia.


    European elections. The campaign for the European
    elections on the 26th of May continues in Romania. 13 political
    parties are in the race: the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of
    Liberals and Democrats, both in the ruling coalition; the Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who have an agreement of parliamentary
    collaboration with the government; the opposition parties: the National Liberal
    Party, the USR-PLUS Alliance, the People’s Movement Party and Pro Romania, whose
    members are defectors from the Social Democratic Party; as well as the
    extra-parliamentary parties: the National Union for the Progress of Romania,
    the National Unity Bloc and United Romania, Prodemo, the Romanian Socialist
    Party and the Independent Social Democratic Party. Three independent candidates
    are also in the race. Romania has 33 seats in the future European Parliament,
    but the 33rd seat is awarded when the UK’s withdrawal comes into
    effect. 441 polling stations have been put in place for the Romanians living
    abroad, mostly in Italy, Spain and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova. A
    referendum on justice called by president Klaus Iohannis will also be held on
    the same day as the European elections.




    Migrant trafficking. Romania’s
    Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism today searched the
    homes of suspected members of a migrant trafficking network in the counties of
    Timis and Arad, in western Romania, which was part of an international group.
    Searches were conducted at 15 different addresses, with the result that 12
    migrants were found. The leader of the group in Romania, a Syrian citizen, was
    found in Timisoara. Investigators say the network, which includes both Romanian
    and foreign nationals, took migrants wishing to reach western Europe across the
    border using cargo trucks. The migrants, who come from countries such as Syria,
    Afghanistan and Iraq, paid 10,000 euros to reach the destination. 20 people are
    under investigation for trafficking migrants and creating a specialised crime
    group.




    Olympiad. Romanian pupils won six
    silver medals at the 17th edition of the European Union Science
    Olympiad (EUSO) held between the 4th and the 11th of May
    in the Portuguese town of Almada. This event is a multidisciplinary team
    competition. Each country sends two three-member teams. The participants have
    to work together to solve a practical 4-hour task in three disciplines,
    biology, chemistry and physics. This year’s edition has brought together 50
    teams from 24 countries.




    Eurovision. The 64th
    Eurovision song contest is taking place this week in Tel Aviv. Ester Peony,
    Romania’s representative, will sing a song entitled On a Sunday in the second
    semifinal held on the 16th of May. The first semifinal takes place
    on Tuesday, while the final is scheduled for the 18th.
    Representatives of 14 countries are in competition this year.




    Football. CFR Cluj mathematically won a new title as
    Romanian football champions. On Sunday night, they defeated Universitatea Craiova 1-nil at home
    in the last but one leg of League One Group 1 and have five points ahead of the
    runner-up FCSB with one leg to go. This is CFR’s fifth championship title in the
    club’s history and the second in a row. On the 25th of May, the
    former champions Astra Giurgiu and Viitorul Constanta will play the Romanian
    Cup final for the first time.