Radio România Internațional

Tag: parliament

  • Political agreement on the new European Commission

    Political agreement on the new European Commission

     

     

    The leaders of the three major political groups in the European Parliament have given the green light to the members of the next European Commission. They finally said yes to all the 7 European Commissioner nominations that were still under evaluation, thus ending the weeks-long deadlock between the EU’s political factions over the composition of the future Commission.

     

    Between November 4 and 12 Parliament heard the prospective European commissioners in Ursula von der Leyen’s new team. After the interviews, however, for more than a week, the fate of the 6 vice-presidents and of the Hungarian nominee for public health and animal welfare commissioner Olivér Várhelyi was in limbo over political disagreements between the European People’s Party, Renew, and the Socialists and Democrats.

     

    One of those left waiting was Roxana Mânzatu, Romania’s proposal, who would hold the post of Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness. During the interview, she was asked questions not only about employee rights and the Erasmus programme, but also about the illegal extension of her house in Brașov, a topic also covered by Romanian media.

     

    In a social network post, the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu welcomed Roxana Mînzatu’s validation as vice-president of the EC and as commissioner for a “relevant” sector. She is an excellent professional and will do Romania credit, said the Romanian PM.

     

    It is the first time since 1999 that no EU commissioner candidate has been rejected, which is a step back for the power of the EP, Politico notes. Along with the agreement on the membership of the future European Commission, the leaders of the main parties represented in Brussels also signed a document in which, as a parliamentary majority, they undertake to work together during their term in office to support Ukraine and to enhance the bloc’s security and competitiveness. The signatories also agreed to adopt a new industrial agreement and to boost circular economy, friendly to the environment. Last but not least, an efficient migration policy is being considered.

     

    The European Parliament’s final vote on the new Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen will be given in next week’s session in Strasbourg. Two-thirds of the MEP votes are needed for the Commission to be endorsed. According to the procedural calendar, if the vote is favorable, the new commissioners will take office on December 1.

     

    The formula proposed by Ursula von der Leyen is slightly changed, with a vice-president position for European diplomacy chief (Kaja Kallas), 5 executive vice-presidents who will also coordinate certain policies, as well as 20 commissioner posts. (AMP)

  • November 20, 2024

    November 20, 2024

    BONDS – Foreign investors are showing great interest in the Romgaz bond issue, according to the company’s CEO Răzvan Popescu. He says the money raised from the listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange will be used for the company’s investment program, especially the strategic Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea. Romgaz, the largest producer and main supplier of natural gas in Romania, listed its first international corporate bond issue on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Tuesday, worth 500 million euros. The bonds are also listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

     

    INVESTIGATION – Prosecutors with the Cluj-Napoca office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office are investigating a possible fraud involving European funds, with an estimated damage of 2 million euros. The case involves three projects to modernize a vegetable farm in Maramureş (north). The prosecutors’ suspicions concern the use of false, incorrect or incomplete documents in order to obtain EU funds for the purchase of a tomato sorting and packaging facility and for the installation of photovoltaic panels. According to the investigation, the suspects allegedly forged documents and signatures in order to mislead the authorities. On Tuesday, searches were carried out at the home of a person and at the headquarters of companies targeted by this case.

     

    CYBERSECURITY – A new edition of the CyberCon Romania 2024 international conference, organised by the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance jointly with the US Embassy in Romania, is sunder way in Bucharest. . The conference, a landmark event in the field of cybersecurity, is held at the European Commission Representation in Romania and brings together experts from the public, private and academic sectors. According to the organizers, among the topics addressed are: current challenges and trends in the field, maintaining resilience for a secure digital infrastructure, improving cooperation between the defense and civilian sectors, the evolution of cyber threats and innovative solutions to combat them, as well as recommended practices to unite cybersecurity and cybercrime prevention.

     

    PROTESTS – The Romanian Trade Unions Federation in Energy staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity offices in Bucharest on Wednesday, on the topic of the new Pension Law, which entered into force on September 1. According to the trade unionists, the law endangers workers in the integrated nuclear field, because it increases the contribution period in their case and sets a minimum age threshold of 45 years for their retirement. Unionists want the contribution period and the retirement conditions for Level I and II of radiation exposure be maintained as stipulated by the previous Pension Law.

     

    DRONE – A new Russian drone has been found in the north of Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, neighboring Ukraine invaded by Russian troops. According to the National Police, which reported the case, this is the fourth flying object observed on the territory of the Republic of Moldova in recent days. The drone was found on a plot of land located between a shopping centre and a stadium, by a citizen who alerted the authorities. On Sunday, the Moldovan authorities announced that two Russian missiles had entered the airspace of the Republic of Moldova. This is the first time that a Russian drone has been reported in the airspace of the capital of the Republic of Moldova.

     

    UKRAINE – A thousand days after the start of the Russian invasion, the European Parliament promises Ukraine that the EU will stand by it for as long as necessary. The leader in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that without European support, Ukraine would have been occupied by Russia. The EP held a plenary session in Brussels on Monday, and the European Defense Ministers held a meeting, to which NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was also invited.

  • November 19, 2024 UPDATE

    November 19, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PARLIAMENT The parliament of Romania convenes on Wednesday to approve 2 inquiry committees and their membership. The joint standing bureaus approved a draft resolution on setting up a joint parliamentary inquiry committee to check the spending by and on behalf of the Presidency in 2014 – 2024, initiated by the Social Democratic Party. Another joint inquiry committee will look into real estate mafia, beginning with the Nordis affair, initiated by the National Liberal Party. The Liberal Party president Nicolae Ciucă said the number of victims identified in this case is over 400. Many Romanians in the country and abroad were persuaded to purchase apartments in residential compounds and hotels built by Nordis, but the developers have sold the same apartments several times over to different buyers.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania sees the last days of the campaign for the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the president post, 9 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the official results of the election may be announced by late Monday, November 25. The second round of the presidential elections is due on December 8.

     

    ISRAEL The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Tuesday discussed over the telephone with Israel’s new diplomacy chief, Gideon Saar. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, Luminiţa Odobescu praised the dynamics of bilateral dialogue and cooperation, and its potential for development in key sectors. The 2 officials also exchanged opinions regarding the security situation in the Middle East. Odobescu voiced support for the international community’s efforts towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the region. The Romanian minister also reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, a topic constantly on the agenda of the Romanian government and supported by concrete measures. Gideon Saar praised the special relations between the 2 countries and thanked for Romania’s steady support.

     

    UKRAINE Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec said in a statement on Tuesday, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    FOOTBALL The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home, in their last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and moved into the competition’s League B. Romania is still waiting for UEFA’s decision regarding the match against Kosovo in Bucharest on Friday, when the guests left the pitch little before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation dismissed the accusations as unfounded.

     

  • Harsher penalties for human trafficking

    Harsher penalties for human trafficking

    The Romanian Chamber of Deputies decided to provide assistance to the victims of human trafficking, slavery and rape, concurrently with harsher penalties for perpetrators.

     

    The Romanian Parliament decided to harshen penalties for human traffickers, in the context of an increase in the number of such cases. The draft law, passed by the Chamber of Deputies, provides that conducting or facilitating prostitution or obtaining patrimonial benefits from the practice of prostitution by one or more minors will be punished with  7 to 15 years in prison. If the perpetrator is a person who has previously committed a crime against sexual freedom and integrity, a crime of child pornography, human trafficking, trafficking of minors or pimping, the penalty for it will be 10 to 20 years behind bars.

     

    Human trafficking committed by a public servant in the exercise of their duties or by a person who has previously committed a crime from those listed above will be punished with 7 to 15 years in prison. The initiators of this law say that there is currently a non-uniform practice regarding the crimes of human trafficking and pimping in its aggravated form, carried out by coercion, and that the new normative act eliminates this deficiency and introduces a uniform legal treatment to people who commit antisocial acts of similar gravity.

     

    The Romanian deputies also adopted a bill according to which the state will grant free legal assistance and financial compensations to victims of domestic violence, rape, illegal deprivation of liberty, slavery, human trafficking, child trafficking and forced labor. According to the law, free legal assistance is granted, among others, to people who have been the target of attempted murder or qualified murder, to the victims of crimes of body injury, mistreatment of minors, family violence, slavery, human trafficking, child trafficking, forced or compulsory labor, rape, rape of a minor, sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor, sexual corruption of minors, sexual harassment, torture and child pornography. Free legal assistance is also granted to family members of deceased persons who were the victims of murder, qualified murder, as well as intentional crimes that resulted in the death of the person. The amount of the aid is 5 gross minimum salaries, established for the year in which the victim submitted the request for assistance.

     

    In 2022, Romania occupied a worrying first place in the European Union in terms of human trafficking. Thus, according to the European Commission, out of 7,000 women exploited annually in the EU, approximately 3,000 were Romanian. Also, according to the National Agency Against Human Trafficking, as of 2005 until the end of 2023, 19,000 victims of human trafficking were registered in Romania.

     

  • September 20, 2024 UPDATE

    September 20, 2024 UPDATE

     

    BUDGET Early next week the government of Romania is scheduled to discuss a proposed budget adjustment presented by the finance ministry, with significantly increased expenditure. This is the first state budget adjustment this year, and public healthcare, education and transportation are expected to receive additional funding. Under the draft order posted on the finance ministry website, most of the money will go to transport (about EUR 1.1 billion), with healthcare, internal affairs and investments earmarked an extra EUR 600 mln each. The social security fund is also to be increased to ensure money for the pensions raised as of September 1. There are also authorising entities that will have smaller budgets: the general secretariat of the government, the ministry of the economy, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Special Telecommunications Service. According to the draft, the budget deficit will deepen to almost 7%, 2% up compared to early-year forecasts, while the economic growth rate is now predicted to reach 2.8% as opposed to 3.4% previously forecast.

     

    INTERIOR MINISTRY The Romanian interior minister, Cătălin Predoiu, had a telephone discussion with his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper. The talks highlighted the very good cooperation between the two parties, with activities conducted both under the Romanian-British Strategic Partnership, and for the development of operative cooperation between equivalent structures. The dynamics of intelligence, data and know-how exchange has seen an upward trend in recent years. The 2 officials focused on topics of interest in the field of illegal migration and cross-border crime, and have agreed to strengthen future cooperation in the field of internal affairs.

     

    POLLS The former Deputy General Secretary of NATO, Mircea Geoană, has a minimal lead over the left-wing Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the first round of the presidential elections that will take place this autumn in Romania, according to an opinion poll conducted by the INSCOP research institute. Mircea Geoana (66), a former president of the Social Democratic Party, who lost the presidential elections in 2009 and who is now running as an independent, is predicted to get 21.4% of the votes in the first round, and the current Social Democratic leader, Marcel Ciolacu (56), 20.3%. Elena Lasconi, leader of the right of centre Save Romania Union (USR), in opposition, ranks third, with 14.2% of the votes, while the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă comes in sixth place, below two ultra-nationalist candidates. Eleven candidates have so far announced their plans to run for president and replace Klaus Iohannis, who ends his second and last term in office in December. Although the president’s role is largely ceremonial, his prerogatives include appointing the prime minister after elections, appointing judges and prosecutors, and sending draft legislation back to parliament for reconsideration. The presidential elections will take place in two rounds, on November 24 and December 8, respectively, with parliamentary elections in between. 1,102 people participated in the September survey, which has a margin of error of 3%.

     

    INVESTIGATION The criminal case concerning the December 1989 anti-communist revolution in Romania, in which the defendants include the former president Ion Iliescu and the former senior deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu, has been sent back to the prosecutor’s office because of irregularities on the part of the military prosecutors on the case. The decision was made by the supreme court on Friday, and it is final. The High Court of Cassation and Justice argued that the indictment was unable to define the object and the limits of the trial. In mid-June, a separate supreme court panel ruled that irregularities existed in the indictment and gave the Military Prosecutor’s Office time to address them, but prosecutors have failed to comply.

     

    AID The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a EUR 10 billion aid package from the EU Cohesion Fund for the Central European countries, including Romania, affected by floods. ‘This is an emergency response,’ she stated after a meeting with the heads of government from Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia. “For me it was (…) heartbreaking to see the destruction and devastation” caused by storm Boris, said the EC chief. Since last week, strong winds, exceptionally heavy rainfall and flooding have killed at least 24 people in the region: seven each in Romania and Poland, and five each in Austria and the Czech Republic.

     

    NOKIAN TYRES Partnership with the private sector is the sure way for Romania’s development, the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday, during a working visit to the Nokian Tyres factory in Oradea (west), which was inaugurated on Thursday. Relocated from Russia to Romania, the factory is a success story that brings together a world-class investor, local authorities and the Government of Romania, which strongly supported such an investment, he added. Nokian Tyres is the world’s first tyre factory with zero carbon dioxide emissions. As of 2025, its 550 employees will produce 6 million car tyres annually, including for large SUVs. The factory uses green energy only, and all the technological steam is obtained without fossil fuels. The Finnish investment in Oradea, put at EUR 650 million, to which the Government contributed with a state aid of EUR 100 million, is one of the most valuable made in Romania in recent years.

     

    ELECTION The foreign ministry Friday posted the Guidelines for postal voting for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections. The deadline for the Romanian nationals living abroad to register as voters by mail is October 10 for the presidential election and October 17 for the general election. All the necessary information has been made public on the foreign ministry’s home page, at www.mae.ro.

  • September 15, 2024

    September 15, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    FLOODS – A crisis cell was set up at the Health Ministry to provide the necessary medical assistance to the residents of Galati and Vaslui counties (eastern Romania) affected by the floods. The Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry have mobilized hundreds of firefighters, gendarmes, soldiers and equipment to help evacuate the victims and repair the infrastructure destroyed by the waters. Dozens of modular homes have already been sent and others are being prepared. Camps with capacities of hundreds of places were set up in the most affected localities. At least four people died and thousands of homes were destroyed following the floods in the last few days. Also, aid from the state reserves is taken to the affected areas. On Sunday, an energy command was convened by minister Sebastian Burduja. According to him, all the intervention teams of the local distribution operator are mobilized in Galati County. The number of people without electricity exceeded 24,000 on Saturday. Several sections of national and county roads in Galati and Vaslui were still closed on Sunday due to the flooding.

     

    WEATHER – Torrential rains have been reported in Central and Eastern Europe in recent days, causing rivers to swell and triggering flood warnings in the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Flood dams were erected in the Czech capital, Prague. 51,000 households in the northern part of the country were affected by power cuts, according to Czech electricity company CEZ. Poland has evacuated residents of Glucholazy, a town near the border with the Czech Republic, after the very high level of a river threatened the lives of people in the area.

     

    FARMERS – Farmers in the European Union will benefit from faster advance payments to cope with this year’s drought and other extreme weather phenomena. The European Commission announces that it has authorized such payments based on requests received from several member states. Thus, starting from October 16, farmers will be able to receive up to 70% of direct payments in advance, compared to 50% at present. According to the European Commission, farmers in the EU face liquidity problems due to the extreme weather phenomena of recent years, drought, but also floods, high interest rates on the financial markets and high production costs. In Bucharest, the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, gave assurances that farmers whose crops were affected by this year’s drought will receive compensations by October 15. According to official data, over two million hectares of corn and sunflower crops were compromised by the lack of precipitation in Romania.

     

    ELECTIONS – Romanian citizens who have their domicile or residence abroad can express their electoral option by mail in the presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled in November and December. The application deadline is September 24. So far, approximately 2,800 applications for voting by mail in the parliamentary elections have been registered on the website of the Permanent Election Authority. A little over 3,000 Romanian citizens domiciled or residing abroad registered for the presidential elections. We remind you that the first round of the presidential elections is scheduled for November 24, and the second for December 8. The voting for the election of the future Parliament will take place on December 1, when the National Day of Romania is being celebrated.

     

    DAVIS CUP – Romania defeated China 3-2, in the Davis Cup’s World Group II, after the tennis player Cezar Creţu defeated Rigele Te, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, on Saturday, in Craiova (south). Also on Saturday, the Romanian tennis player Gabi Adrian Boitan was defeated by Yunchaokete Bu, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), while the Victor Cornea/Bogdan Pavel pair was defeated by Fajing Sun and Rigele Te, 6-4, 6-4, in the doubles. On Friday, in the first singles match, Cezar Creţu (292 ATP) defeated Yunchaokete Bu (113 ATP) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), while Gabi Adrian Boitan (364 ATP) beat Yi Zhou (527 ATP) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2. Romania and China have never met before in the Davis Cup.

  • September 12, 2024

    September 12, 2024

    RCA Romania has the most expensive civil liability insurance for car owners, RCA, in the region, roughly 220 Euros, although compensations have dropped by 9% – representatives of the Confederation of Authorized Operators and Transporters, COTAR, say. According to them the average RCA prices in Bulgaria is around 100 Euros, in Hungary 98 Euros and in Poland 120. COTAR representatives are blaming the situation on the Financial Supervisory Authority, whose representatives say the institution cannot intervene on the RCA price, which is based upon statistical data regarding compensations and damages paid in road accidents in the past years and other risk criteria.

     

    STRIKE The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has issued heads-up for the Romanians traveling to Belgium that a 24-hour strike has been announced on the Charleroi Airport, which is expected to cripple the airport’s operational capabilities. A series of flights are being cancelled and passengers are advised to check online the lists posted by various airlines. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, Romania’s embassy in Brussels has made available a hot line for the Romanian citizens in difficult, special and emergency situations.

     

    HANDBALL The Romanian handball champions, Dinamo Bucharest, are making their debut tonight in the EHF Champions League in a match against the Danish vice-champions Fredericia HK. Dinamo was included in the Champions League’s Group A and it avoided the finalists of the recently ended season, the champion side Barcelona and the team which lost the finals Aalborg Handbold. The Romanian side will be up against Fuchse Berlin, Sporting Lisbon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball as well as Veszprem HC, presently coached by its former headcoach Xavi Pascual. In the women’s contests, Romania is being represented by three sides, which already played their first matches last weekend. The Romanian derby Gloria Bistrita versus CSM Bucharest ended 30-26 to Bistrita, while Rapid Bucharst secured a 32-27 home win against the double European champions Buducnost Podgorica.

     

    LAW Parliament in Bucharest on Wednesday tackled some law amendments aimed at enabling the army to annihilate the suspect drones entering Romania’s territory. The talks involved the participation of MPs and representatives of the Ministry of Defence. Romanian MPs believe that some legislative amendments are needed in order to improve the response capabilities when unauthorized or suspect drones are entering the Romanian airspace. The talks were held after several Russian drones had entered the Romanian airspace in the past year on their way to targets in the neighboring Ukraine.

     

    WEATHER In Romania’s northeastern and eastern regions temperatures are normal for this time of the year, whereas in the rest of the territory the weather is warm. Showers and thunderstorms are expected in most regions in the country’s east and north-east and on isolated areas in the north and center. The highs of the day are expected between 20 and 31 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in Bucharest of 21 degrees and a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

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  • September 3, 2024

    September 3, 2024

     

    PARLIAMENT The Parliament of Romania has convened for the last session in its current term, given that general elections are due to take place on December 1, the National Day of Romania. One of the priorities is a bill raising the pension tax threshold to EUR 600. The bill is being reviewed and voted on today in the Chamber of Deputies, and is to take effect on October 1. Meanwhile, the Senate voted on a bill under which Romania will donate a PATRIOT missile system to neighbouring Ukraine. The bill was also endorsed by the lower Chamber under an emergency procedure.

     

    GRANTS The Romanian foreign ministry (MAE) announced the results of the selection of non-EU students to receive grants from the Romanian government this academic year. A record-high number of applications have been received (81,914, from 160 countries on 5 continents), which according to a news release reflects the growing interest of students in the educational opportunities provided by Romanian universities. The applications have been submitted online, at www.studyinromania.gov.ro, between January 16 and March 16, 2024. Selection criteria included academic excellence, geographic diversity and gender equality, as well as Romania’s foreign policy interests in relation to the applicants’ home countries. The 500 grant beneficiaries will go to prestigious university centres in the country (Braşov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Craiova, Iaşi, Sibiu, Timişoara and others) and will study a variety of fields, such as international relations, engineering, law, computer sciences, performing arts, economy, business or education sciences.

     

    CYBERATTACK Personal data stolen in a cyber-attack targeting the Timişoara City Hall, local police and tax agency have been put up for sale by hackers on a Telegram channel. The discovery was made by the founder of a consulting platform for corporate victims of cyber-attacks. The Mayor of Timişoara, Dominic Fritz, has neither confirmed or denied the personal data theft, and said he was waiting for the relevant authorities to investigate the matter. After the attack that took place 10 days ago, the City Hall announced that the institution took counter-measures and managed to prevent the entire system from being compromised. The institution also said at that point that there were no indications that personal data had been extracted. Online tax payments were subsequently discontinued.

     

    FACILITIES The Romanian government would collect nearly EUR 2 bln if at least 15% of the taxpayers with debts to the authorities accessed a facility that extinguishes penalties, under a draft emergency order posted by the finance ministry. The bill exempts debtors from the payment of interest and penalties provided that they pay their back taxes by November 25. For individuals with debts up to EUR 1,000, half of the overdue amount may be written off, if the remaining 50% is paid. According to the ministry, the total debts to the state budget at the end of June reached around 10% of the country’s GDP. Debts to local authorities amounted to nearly RON 22 bln, debts to the social security funds to RON 4 bln, and debts to the public health insurance funds were close to RON 8 bln.

     

    AUTOMOTIVE The number of new cars registered in Romania in the first 8 months of the year was 106,534, up 6.35% compared to the corresponding period of 2023, according to the Vehicle Registration and Driving License Directorate quoted by the Romanian Carmakers Association (ACAROM). Broken down by car make, the largest number of new registrations was reported by Dacia (more than 32,000), followed by Toyota (9,206), Hyundai (6,961), Skoda (6,938), Renault (6,873), Volkswagen (6,352), Ford (4,503), Mercedes (3,689), BMW (3,420) and Suzuki (3,301).

     

    TRANSPORT Air freight transport increased in Romania in the first half of 2024 by 7.4%, compared to the corresponding period of last year, more specifically from 24,400 tonnes to 26,200 tonnes, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute. For both domestic and international shipments, the largest cargo quantities were registered on Bucharest’s Henri Coandă Airport, followed by Avram Iancu Airport in Cluj-Napoca (north-west), and Traian Vuia Airport in Timişoara (west).

     

    TENNIS The Romanian tennis players Irina Begu and Anca Todoni have qualified in the 8th-finals of the WTA 125 tournament in Montreux (Switzerland). Irina Begu (34 yo, no. 130 WTA) only needed 68 minutes to beat the 19-year old Swiss player Celine Naef (177 WTA), 6-0, 6-3. Anca Todoni (aged 19, no. 136 WTA) won 6-2, 6-4 against Maja Chwalińska of Poland (172 WTA), in a 1.5-hour match. The two Romanian players won USD 2,000 each and 15 WTA points. In the 8th-finals, Begu takes on Laura Pigossi of Brazil (141 WTA), and Todoni plays the winner of the match pitting seed no. 1 Maria Lourdes Carle (Argentina) against Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (Andorra). Miriam Bulgaru is also to play against Italy’s Camilla Rosatello in the main draw of the tournament. (AMP)

  • September 2, 2024 UPDATE

    September 2, 2024 UPDATE

    Parliament – The last session of the current Parliament began on Monday in Bucharest, with parliamentary elections to take place on December 1. The Senate adopted, as the first chamber notified, the Government’s draft law on the donation of a Patriot surface-to-air missile system to third parties. The project will also be sent to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. After the adoption of the law by Parliament, the Government will be able to issue the decision that will make the act of donation operational. Another bill is aimed at exempting from taxation the pensions below 3,000 lei (600 Euros), for which a decisive vote is expected on Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies. The bill allows the people who benefited from pension increases as a result of recalculations not to lose any money following the raising of the current tax ceiling of 2,000 lei (400 Euros).

     

    Government – In its Monday meeting, the government issued an emergency ordinance to raise the ceiling for the social benefits granted to low-income pensioners whose pensions went up as a result of recent recalculations. The ceiling by which food allowances will be granted is to go up from 2,000 to 2,210 lei, that is some 440 Euros. An allowance of 1,400 lei to help with utility bills during winter will continue to be granted, regardless of the pension rises. The ceiling was also raised by which pensioners can benefit from 90% subsidies on medicines. In another move, the government is to start consultations with the representatives of people with disabilities to draft a special pensions law for this category that should take into account the low contribution levels recognized previously.

     

    Drills – Romanian military are taking part in the Ample Strike international exercise under way in the Czech Republic until September 20. They will carry out air support and air surveillance missions alongside other NATO troops. According to the Romanian defense ministry, 25 military and two helicopters are taking part in the exercise.

     

    Weather – Meteorologists have issued a code orange alert for heat wave valid, on Tuesday, in several counties in the west and south-west of Romania. Thermal discomfort will be high, and the temperature-humidity index (ITU) will reach the critical threshold of 80 units. Maximum temperatures, particularly high for this date, will be around 37 degrees Celsius. Also on Tuesday, a yellow code alert for heat will be valid in almost the entire country. The maximum temperature will reach 35 degrees C.

     

    Commissioner – The Social Democratic MEP (in the government coalition with the National Liberal Party – PNL), Roxana Mînzatu, is Romania’s official proposal for the position of European Commissioner, the PM Marcel Ciolacu announced on Monday. The social-democratic leader said that the EC president, Ursula von der Leyen, already had the interview with Roxana Mînzatu. He also said that he would discuss, in the next period, with the head of the European Commission about the portfolio that Bucharest will manage. The PM points out that the field would be established by Ursula von der Leyen, but assured that it would be a relevant one. The PNL leader, Nicolae Ciucă, says that the options are for the Enlargement portfolio or the Agriculture portfolio. The makeup of the future European Commission will be announced on September 11. Roxana Mînzatu has a degree in political sciences in English, she was a Braşov county deputy in the last legislature, and, in 2019 she was appointed Minister of European Funds.

     

    Bank – The foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) exceeded 63 billion Euros at the end of August 2024, down by 0.62% as compared to the level of July 31, according to a communiqué of the Central Bank, sent to AGERPRES. The level of the gold reserve remained at 103.6 tons. Against the backdrop of international price developments, its value was 7.588 billion Euros.

     

    Visit – Pope Francis is starting his 45th apostolic trip abroad. Until September 13, the Sovereign Pontiff will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, states marked by strong religious, economic and social contrasts. Immigration, inter-religious dialogue, ecology, the role of the Church in relation to access to health and education are the main themes that the pontiff will address in his speeches and meetings. According to the Radio Romania’s correspondent in Rome, in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, the central theme will be the dialogue between Islam and Christianity. On September 5, there will be an interfaith meeting in the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, in the presence of representatives of six official religions, on which occasion the Pope will sign a joint statement with the Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar. Pope Francis is the third Sovereign Pontiff to visit this archipelago, after Paul VI and John Paul II.

     

    Israel – The US President Joe Biden said on Monday that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to reach an agreement to release the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. A strike called by the main trade union confederation took place in Israel on Monday in protest against the delay in a cease-fire agreement in Gaza and the release of the hostages taken by Hamas. Employees of banks, hospitals and malls joined the protest, and flights were suspended at “Ben Gurion” Airport, the Israeli press writes. The strike call came after about half a million Israelis took to the streets in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities on Sunday evening to ask the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to bring home the 101 hostages who are still in Gaza, reports Reuters. The protests took place after six hostages aged between 23 and 40 were found dead in a tunnel in Gaza by the army that said that they had been killed recently. (LS)

  • September 1, 2024

    September 1, 2024

    VISIT   The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, urged the citizens of the Republic of Moldova to choose to stay on their path towards EU integration in this autumn’s referendum. While on an official visit to Chişinău, Iohannis said Romania’s strategic commitment to supporting the democratic development of Moldova would remain unwavering in the long run, and called on all international partners to provide consistent support to Moldova’s EU accession efforts. In turn, the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu thanked Romania for its support in the initiation of EU accession negotiations, in fighting the COVID pandemic and in mitigating the electricity shortages caused by the Russian bombings in Ukraine. She said Romania played a vital part in consolidating her country’s energy independence. The two officials signed a Joint Declaration on bilateral cooperation to consolidate the resilience of the Republic of Moldova. The Romanian president’s visit to Chişinău took place as Romania and Moldova celebrated the Romanian Language Day on August 31.

     

    PARLIAMENT The Parliament of Romania resumes its sessions tomorrow, after the summer recess. Its agenda includes a bill raising the pension tax threshold from EUR 400 at present to EUR 600. The ruling coalition comprising the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party decided a few days ago that the new bill should be rushed through Parliament, so that it may take effect on October 1, explained the culture minister Raluca Turcan, a former labour minister. As of this month, the reviewed pension benefits are being paid to beneficiaries. Of the 4.7 million pensioners in Romania, 3.8 million will receive higher benefits, and the remaining 900,000 will be paid the same amounts as they have so far. Although decisions were issued under which certain pensioners’ benefits were cut down, this is only valid on paper, with the Labour Ministry and National Pensions Agency to send notifications in this respect to all the beneficiaries in this situation.

     

    TOURISM The Romanian minister of economy, entrepreneurship and tourism, Radu Oprea, believes the national tourism industry has extremely high potential, but warns that success cannot be achieved without a well-thought plan. While in the resort of Neptun, on the Romanian Black Sea coast, he said a true public-private partnership is needed, and added that a tourism development strategy is currently reviewed by relevant ministries. Oprea voiced his dissatisfaction with the local authorities in the seaside area, which ruined the resort concept by approving the construction of apartment buildings next to hotels. Such urbanisation, the official said, threatens to destroy the charm of seaside resorts and implicitly their financial success.

     

    FLOODS The heavy rainfalls in the past few days caused damage in the south-east of Romania. The most affected region is the Black Sea coast, where precipitations reached 200 litres per square metre, the equivalent of 6 months’ worth of rain. A heavy rainfall alert is still in place in the region. Agigea, Tuzla, Venus, Saturn, Mangalia and Vama Veche are among the most affected resorts. In certain parts of the town of Mangalia, waters reached car windows, while in Vama Veche the floods tore the beach in two, overturned vehicles and destroyed outdoor restaurants. A total of 17 hotels and guest houses were flooded. Fire fighters with the Dobrogea Emergency Inspectorate received 800 calls for help, and rescued 61 people in 24 hours.

     

    INSURANCE Four out of 5 households in Romania are vulnerable to natural disasters, fire or explosion, according to data released by the National Insurers Union. Only 17% of the homes in Romania are protected by an optional insurance policy. Only 3 regions are above the national average—Bucharest-Ilfov, 29%, the west of the country, with 20%, and the centre of the country, 18%.

     

    SCHOOLS The number of schools in Romania to use electronic class registers in the school year beginning on September 9 is 63% higher than last year. According to the education ministry, nearly 1,900 schools will use electronic registration, 733 more than in 2023. As many as 167 of them are in Bucharest. Under the law, they use private software or platforms, and cannot request students or their families to pay for these services. All electronic registers will have authentication options for teachers, students and parents. (AMP)

  • The date of Romania’s upcoming presidential election has sparked off heated debates inside the ruling coalition

    The date of Romania’s upcoming presidential election has sparked off heated debates inside the ruling coalition

    2024 is “an all-out election year” in Romania. With the elections for the local administration and for the European Parliament already consumed on June 9th, the ruling coalition in Romania convened last week for talks over the upcoming ballot, the presidential one, which sparked off heated debates inside the ruling coalition.

    The Liberals would like to push this election round towards the end of the year, to November or December, whereas the Social-Democrats are lobbying for the month of September, a date already agreed upon within the coalition, although informally.

    The Liberals argue that the September election and the holiday season in Romania would overlap and the voting may disturb the beginning of a new school year. So, talks over the election schedule continued into this week as well. The talks on Tuesday between the two ruling formations, the PSD and PNL, went on for three hours to eventually end in a deadlock. The Social Democrats are adamant that the first round of elections be held over September the 15th and 29th whereas the Liberals want to have them on November 10th or 24th.

    The PNL argues that the outcome of the previous election has reshaped the landscape for the upcoming presidential race, whereas the Social Democrats are insisting on implementing a decision that was assumed first.

    PSD has even called on the Liberal Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, to decide over the date in September and forward it to the government for endorsement most likely on their next session on Friday. Here is the PSD spokesman Lucian Romascanu.

    Lucian Romaşcanu: ʺI believe that Minister Predoiu together with the National Liberal Party will do what they promised to do and we are going to have elections in September. And if they can block this, let’s see if they are going to do it. “

    In turn, the PNL’s deputy vice-president, Rareş Bogdan, says that the agreement they had in March is no longer valid and that the presidential election must take place in November.

    Rares Bogdan: ʺThe two parties, which convened in Poiana Brasov and in  Sâmbăta de Sus, have decided that each party have their own candidate for the presidential race. So, practically, the agreement in March was terminated as each party want to back their own candidate in the presidential election. So, from our viewpoint, the first proposal is becoming obsolete and we strongly believed these elections must be staged in the Constitutional term, in the month of November.”  

    Whether the presidential elections are taking place in September, November or December, let’s not forget that by the end of the present year, Romania will have to stage another round of election, for its Parliament seats.

    (bill)

  • Election and Misinformation

    Election and Misinformation

    The European Commission has kicked off an information campaign for citizens on the risks posed by misinformation and information handling by players from outside the European Union. The Brussels’ move comes after a survey it made over the social networks Facebook and Instagram, which it accuses of failing to comply with their obligations on fighting misinformation. In this context, the EU Executive has launched an audio-video clip to be broadcast on all the press channels in all the member states before the elections for the EU Parliament. The 30 second clip is advising the voters to have a critical attitude towards the content distributed by the online media, analyze and don’t believe everything they read.

    Voters must be aware the video and audio materials can contain fake or incomplete information especially at this time marked by the accelerated development of the AI programmes. Another piece of advice is that they should check information and rely on trusted sources, such as the main stream press and not on sites, blogs or other social media disseminating various opinions and rumors instead of verified information.

    Last but not least, European citizens should avoid conveying unverified information so that they themselves may not become a misinformation channel. The informative clip, which is going to appear on media channels in Romania as well by the end of this month, comes against the election campaign for the local and EU Parliament election, which kicked off in Romania on May 10th. We recall that it’s for the first time when Romanians will be voting for their local administration and their favourite MEPs on the same day, June 9th.

    For 30 days from now on, discriminatory messages and slogans or those inciting to hate and intolerance as well as other forms of defamation are strictly forbidden.

    The Central Election Office is firmly recommending to election contenders to obey the general rules of the campaign have a balanced, sincere and constructive discourse and avoid distorted and manipulated information in order to be able to prevent the dissemination of fake news or other forms of derailment that may hinder the good functioning of the election process. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, has announced that roughly 21 million ballot papers have been printed, and that for the first time ever 900 polling stations will be set up in foreign countries upon the request of the Romanian communities living in those countries.

    The official has also pointed out that Romanians also have access to the “Code of Good Practices regarding Misinformation” as well as the “Guide for the Prevention and Combating Misinformation Actions Targeting Voters’, available on the websites of the Central Election Office and the Permanent Election Authority.

    (bill)

  • April 1, 2024 UPDATE

    April 1, 2024 UPDATE

    Deepfake – The National Cyber Security Directorate Romania published a “Guide to Deepfakes”, aimed at protecting and educating the general public on cyber security risks. The Guideline provides detailed information on deepfake production and identification. The authors are confident that by understanding these concepts, users are more aware of the related risks and may take adequate protection measures. Deepfake is a form of digital manipulation using advanced AI techniques to create false images or audio-video materials. According to the institution, this may have a severe impact on society, as it erodes public confidence in online information.

     

    Banking – The consumer credit reference index (IRCC) dropped to 5.90% per year, from 5.97% 3 months ago, the National Bank announced. This is the first significant decrease of the index in the past 12 months, and will lead to smaller interest rates as of this month. In June the IRCC is expected to decrease further, to 5.84%. The downward trend will help bring down interest rates for mortgage loans for nearly half a million Romanians. Meanwhile, the 3-month ROBOR index which influences the costs of variable-rate loans in the national currency has reached 6.06% per year, as opposed to 6.05%. IRCC is the index used for setting the interest rates for variable-rate loans in the national currency since May 2019, when it stood at 2.36%. It was designed by the government as a solution to offset the effects of the ROBOR index, which had been rising from one month to the next at the end of 2018.

     

    Parliament – The Parliament of Romania convenes on Tuesday in a joint meeting to mark 20 years since the country joined the North Atlantic Alliance and 75 years since the establishment of NATO. Parliament will adopt a declaration on this occasion. Also this week, the Chamber of Deputies is scheduled to give its final vote on a government bill introducing penalties for breaches of the EU regulation on the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases in appliances such as refrigerators or AC systems. The penalties may reach EUR 20,000 in fines, and 6-month to 3-year prison sentences. Deputies in the specialist committees are also to discuss as of this week new draft regulations on the compulsory motor insurance, stipulating fines 15 times higher than in the past for uninsured drivers and a ceiling of EUR 400 on self-paid car repairs. Also this week, the Senate is to discuss the merger of local elections with the European Parliament elections, scheduled for June 9th.

     

    Protests – The Romanian Post Workers’ Union went on an all-out strike on Monday, but the postal offices’ activity is taking place normally in most counties of Romania, as the management of the institution claims. The protesters demand an increase in salaries by a net amount of 400 lei (approx. 80 euros) and an increase in the loyalty bonus. They draw attention to the fact that the pay of 90% of the employees will be, as of this summer, at the level of the minimum wage. According to the authorities, it will increase to 3,700 lei (approx. 740 euros) from July 1. The company management announced that the demands of the employees are justified, but that there have already been significant salary increases. The Romanian Post is a national operator and is owned by the state.

     

    Drills – Joint exercises of the Moldovan, Romanian and American military are taking place in the Republic of Moldova until April 19. The Moldovan Defense Ministry announced that they would train, will exchange experience and increase the level of interoperability. The drills will take place in the training centers of the National Army of the Republic of Moldova.

     

    Visit – The special representative of the United States of America for the economic recovery of Ukraine, Penny Pritzker, arrives in Bucharest in two days. She will visit the UN Refugee Agency Center at the Romexpo Exhibition Compound, together with Romanian officials and the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec. She will talk about the life of refugees in Romania and their role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. At the same time, Penny Pritzker will meet with members of the Romanian Government and private sector leaders to discuss regional cooperation, including emergency energy assistance for Ukraine and the long-term benefits of infrastructure investments. (AMP, LS)

  • April 1, 2024

    April 1, 2024

     

    STRIKE The Romanian Postal Workers Union went on all-out strike as of today, but the management promises there will be no delays in public pension payments and other services. The protesters demand pay raises of EUR 80 after tax and increased loyalty bonuses, and argue that as of this summer 90% of the staff will be gaining minimum wages. According to the authorities, national minimum wages will be around EUR 740 as of July 1. The post company claims on the other hand that only 20% of the workers have given written consent for the strike initiated by a union which has been rejecting all the offers made by the management since the start of negotiations late last year. The Romanian Post Corporation is the national postal service and is owned by the Romanian state.

     

    BANKING The consumer credit reference index (IRCC) dropped to 5.90% per annum, from 5.97% 3 months ago, the National Bak announced. This is the first significant decrease of the index in the past 12 months, and will lead to smaller interest rates as of this month. In June the IRCC is expected to decrease further, to 5.84%. The downward trend will help bring down interest rates for mortgage loans for nearly half a million Romanians. Meanwhile, the 3-month ROBOR index which influences the costs of variable-rate loans in the national currency has reached 6.06% per annum, as opposed to 6.05%. IRCC is the index used for setting the interest rates for variable-rate loans in the national currency since May 2019, when it stood at 2.36%. It was designed by the government as a solution to offset the effects of the ROBOR index, which had been rising from one month to the next at the end of 2018.

     

    PARLIAMENT The Parliament of Romania convenes on Tuesday in a joint meeting to mark 20 years since the country joined the North Atlantic Alliance and 75 years since the establishment of NATO. Parliament will adopt a declaration on this occasion. Also this week, the Chamber of Deputies is scheduled to give its final vote on a government bill introducing penalties for breaches of the EU regulation on the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases in appliances such as refrigerators or AC systems. The penalties may reach EUR 20,000 in fines, and 6-month to 3-year prison sentences. Deputies in the specialist committees are also to discuss as of this week new draft regulations on the compulsory motor insurance, stipulating fines 15 times higher than in the past for uninsured drivers and a ceiling of EUR 400 on self-paid car repairs. Also this week, the Senate is to discuss the merger of local elections with the European Parliament elections, scheduled for June 9th.

     

    DEEPFAKE The Romanian Cyber Security Directorate published a “Guideline for Identifying Deepfake”, aimed at protecting and educating the general public on cyber security risks. The Guideline provides detailed information on deepfake production and identification. The authors are confident that by understanding these concepts, users are more aware of the related risks and may take adequate protection measures. Deepfake is a form of digital manipulation using advanced AI techniques to create false images or audio-video materials. According to the institution, this may have a severe impact on society, as it erodes public confidence in online information.

     

    EASTER Roman-Catholic and Protestant Christians around the world, including around 1.3 million believers in mostly Orthodox Romania, celebrate Easter Monday. This year, Easter for Roman Catholics and Protestants is 5 weeks before the corresponding Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Neo-Protestant celebration on May 5. In his peace message from Vatican’s St. Peter Basilica, Pope Francis urged people not to “yield to the logic of weapons,” for war is always an absurdity and a defeat. As new negotiations are scheduled for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Pope Francis appealed once again for the prompt release of the Israeli hostages and for an immediate cease-fire in the Strip.

  • February 1, 2024

    February 1, 2024

    Meeting — The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denis Shmihal, welcomed the decision of the European Union to approve an additional financing package for his country worth 50 billion Euros. “The EU member states once again show their solidarity and unity in supporting the Ukrainian people to resist the war,” Shmihal wrote on the online social network platform X. Previously, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced on the same platform that all 27 EU member states had approved this package. According to some European diplomats, the EU agreement includes annual discussions on this package and the review of the plan in two years, if necessary. At the extraordinary meeting of the European Council, that focuses on obtaining an agreement at EU level regarding the main elements of the revision package of the multiannual financial framework for the period 2021-2027, Romania is represented by President Klaus Iohannis. The Presidential Administration in Bucharest shows in a press release that the president will firmly advocate for Ukraine, Romanias neighbor, to remain a top priority on the European Unions agenda and, in this sense, will emphasize the fact that support for this country in all forms must continue. On the eve, Iohannis participated in the memorial ceremony organized by the European Commission in memory of the French politician Jacques Delors, former president of the EC between 1985-1995, who died at the end of last year, when he was almost a hundred years old.



    Agriculture – The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will have a meeting, today, in Brussels, with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the crisis in agriculture and the support measures that farmers are asking for at the level of the entire Union. The meeting takes place on the sidelines of the extraordinary European summit on the Union budget and after the European Commission announced measures that it claims will support farmers. According to the correspondent of Radio Romania in Brussels, two mechanisms have been established to block cheap imports of vegetable products, chicken meat, eggs and sugar from Ukraine, if they affect the markets. Also, the Commission is to eliminate the requirement that five percent of the surface of a farm be left uncultivated. It will be replaced by the possibility for farmers to cultivate plants that fix nitrogen in the soil, on seven percent of the surface, but without using pesticides. The decisions of the Commission must be approved by the Parliament and the Council of the European Union. From Greece to the Netherlands and from Germany to Spain, farmers protests have multiplied, they are dissatisfied with the restrictions imposed on them by environmental policies, the free market penetration of Ukrainian products and the increase in production costs, after the increase in excise duties on fuel or the elimination of subsidies.



    Farmers – Thousands of Romanian farmers in the vegetable sector are expected at the offices of the Payments and Intervention Agency for Agriculture (APIA), to request the support offered by the state in the context of the losses reported due to the war in neighboring Ukraine. Requests for the compensatory payment must be submitted by March 8, at the APIA county centers. The direct grant represents a compensatory payment per surface and is the equivalent in lei of 100 Euros per hectare. The maximum value of the direct grant cannot exceed the equivalent in lei of 280,000 Euros. On the other hand, across the country, transporters and farmers continue their protests against the economic and social policies of the governors.



    Cyber-attack – The Romanian government has amended the cyber security law, in an emergency procedure, so that state institutions should be informed within 48 hours at most if the IT infrastructure of any entity in the country is affected and to quickly prevent risks. The changes were made after the cyber-attack on the websites of the National Directorate for Cyber ​​Security and the Chamber of Deputies. The Minister of Research and Digitization, Bogdan Ivan, pointed out that, in the case of the Directorate, the attack was not successful, while at the Chamber of Deputies over 300 files with public documents were stolen, as well as data not intended for the public, such as copies of identity documents of parliamentarians, including a copy of the identity card of the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Consequently he will have to change his ID card.



    Parliament – Today, Romanian senators and deputies begin a new parliamentary session, the first of this year and the last but one of the legislature. Among the priorities of PSD and PNL, in the governing coalition, are the projects necessary to fulfill the milestones in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, as well as those related to gambling and combating drug use. In turn, the opposition wants to stop possible tax increases and to prevent the violation of the Constitution.



    Trial – Today, the Ministry of Finance will be empowered by the Bucharest Government to hire a law firm to represent Romania in the trial with the famous pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The case is pending before the Francophone Court of First Instance in Brussels and has the first court date February 20. The Romanian authorities were notified last December by the New York-based firm regarding the opening of a lawsuit for the recovery of sums of money, after the failure to finalize the purchase of 28 million doses of the Covid vaccine. Poland and Hungary are affected by similar procedures, and the Health Minister, Alexandru Rafila, has recently said that Romania will collaborate with the Polish side in the defense effort. (LS)