Radio România Internațional

Tag: postponement

  • Social measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Social measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Beyond the round-the-clock fight to save the lives of the
    gravely sick, another major concern in these difficult times at global level is
    to find solutions to keep the economy moving forward and support the population
    facing financial difficulties. The Liberal Government in Bucharest on Thursday passed
    an Emergency Decree postponing the payment of bank installments until December
    31, in those cases where the income of natural or legal persons have been
    affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A request in this sense can be submitted to
    the bank before the state of emergency is lifted, namely within three weeks at
    the latest. One condition is to have no outstanding debt at the time of the request.
    Finance Minister Florin Citu explains:


    The suspension of payments is granted for those debtors whose
    income has been directly or indirectly affected by the problems generated by
    the COVID-19 pandemic. We are still to discuss regulations and standards in
    this respect, because there is a wide array of natural persons that can make
    this request. Today, in Romania, we are all being affected by this pandemic, to
    a greater or lesser extent.


    The postponement is not entirely good news however, as the Government
    says an interest rate will be added to the loan for any suspended installments,
    whose payment will be spaced out for the entire duration of the loan. Economic expert
    Constantin Rudnitschi commented on the Government’s decision:


    I don’t know if the Government wanted this to happen, but these
    are the facts: they have given people more hope than the decree actually
    provides, in the sense that, prior to this Government session, there was much
    talk of the fact that, irrespective of natural or legal persons, all people
    will be able to benefit from the provisions of this decree, and will be able to
    postpone their installments. Well, this decree doesn’t contain provisions
    addressing everyone, but only those who have been directly or indirectly
    affected by this coronavirus crisis, which is a very vague criterion that has
    not yet been clarified. It is very vague, because we don’t know what the
    Government means by ‘indirectly’.


    Despite difficulties generated by the coronavirus pandemic,
    Romanian economy must move forward. In this respect, Prime Minister Ludovic
    Orban has called on Transport Minister Lucian Bode to kick off new investment
    programs. Alternatively, deadlines for ongoing investments will remain in
    place. Meanwhile, investments will continue in the field of energy, Economy
    Minister Virgil Popescu has said. In turn, Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros was
    assigned the task of identifying any opportunities in the field and coming up
    with plans to capitalize on them.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)



  • October 26, 2019

    October 26, 2019

    MILITARY Nearly 1,400 Romanian and foreign troops with 220 vehicles are taking part in the multinational exercise Scorpions Legacy 2019, held between October 25 and November 8 in Cincu, Braşov County, in central Romania, the press office of the Multinational Brigade South-East announced. The goal of the exercise is to train the staff of the multinational brigade headquartered in Craiova and of the affiliated units in Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal, though computer-assisted command drills, field training practice and shooting practice. The Headquarters Multinational Brigade Southeast ensures high-level capability to command forces deployed in the south-east of the Allied territory.




    DST Romania switches to winter time tonight, with clocks set one hour back, from 4:00 AM to 3:00 AM. Sunday will be the longest day of the year. The switch does not affect railway traffic timetables. The European Commission suggested that Europe should give up seasonal DST switches in Europa, and member states will decide whether they want to keep the summer time or winter time permanently as of 2021.




    MIGRANTS Border police from the Nădlac checkpoint, western Romania, found 20 citizens from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and India hiding in a truck while attempting to cross the border illegally. The police say they were trying to reach Western Europe. Investigations are now conducted against the truck driver, suspected of human trafficking and against the foreign citizens for attempted illegal border crossing.




    BREXIT The ambassadors of the 27 EU member states have deferred a decision regarding the Brexit postponement period to next week. Recently, they have agreed in principle on a new postponement of Britains exit from the Union, scheduled for October 31, and are now to reach a consensus on a new deadline. The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, recommended a 3-month extension, to January 31. The European Parliament also agrees with this date, which would allow Britain to clarify its position and the EP to properly fulfil its duties.




    TECHNOLOGY Sixteen Romanian ITC companies took part in the worlds largest mobile communications exhibition – Mobile World Congress 2019, held in Los Angeles. According to the Romanian Ministry for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, the Romanian participants presented their products in a national pavilion of around 150 sq.m. The Los Angeles fair is the third specialised event, after the ones in Barcelona and Shanghai, which brings together technology providers and producers, influencers and innovators in the ITC industry.




    TENNIS The Romanian Simona Halep, number 5 in the world, landed in the Purple Group of the WTA Finals in Shenzhen (China), held between October 27 and November 3. On Monday she will play against the Romanian-born Canadian Bianca Andreescu, no 4 WTA. Halep, winner of this years Wimbledon trophy, takes part in the tournament of the worlds elite 8 for the 6th time in her career. The Purple Group also includes Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) and Elina Svitolina (Ukraine), according to Fridays draw release. This edition has record-high prizes—14 million USD, twice as much as last year.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 15, 2019

    March 15, 2019

    Budget — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday promulgated the 2019 state budget law. He said that he would have liked to promulgate a better budget for Romania and its citizens. President Ioahnnis criticized the fact that the Social Democratic Party, the main force in the ruling coalition, allotted only one day for the re-examination of the budget bill requested by the president and decided to send the bill back to the president without any modifications. President Iohannis labeled the MPs’ gesture as an ill-intentioned act and lack of responsibility. According to Klaus Iohannis the entire Social Democratic governance is a black hole for the Romanian economy and society. On Wednesday the Romanian Parliament adopted in its initial form the 2019 state budget law, which was re-submitted to Parliament by Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian President had previously notified the Constitutional Court over the budget bill but the Court rejected his recommendations. The ruling coalition claims the budget has the necessary resources for all the important domains of the economy.



    Wellington — The Romanian Foreign Ministry officials firmly condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated on Friday on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left behind around 50 dead and many injured. They conveyed a message of condolence to the families of the victims and reiterated Romania’s support in fighting terrorism. The PM of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, described the attack as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence” adding that the authorities are on maximum alert level. She said 4 extremist suspects were arrested, and none of them were on security watch lists. PM Ardern underlined that New Zealand was a place of diversity, wellbeing and compassion, a home for those who share these values, that cannot be shaken by this attack. Islamic and political leaders from Asia have expressed their abhorrence at the attack, as their fellow nationals were allegedly killed in the attack.



    Prague – The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila is paying an official visit to Prague upon the invitation of her Czech counterpart Andrej Babis. Talks are aimed at consolidating economic and political ties and are focusing on the main files currently negotiated within the EU and on the way in which the Czech Republic could support Romania to reach the key objectives of the presidency of the Council of the EU. The visit agenda also includes meetings with high officials from the Czech Republic, the PM Andrej Babis and the speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate.



    Brexit — European leaders are looking into the request of British MPs for Brexit to be postponed. The British Parliament on Thursday evening passed the motion through which the government headed by Theresa May is asking for a postponement of Brexit that should first be accepted by the European leaders. The president of the European Council Donald Tusk is having talks today with the Dutch premier Mark Rutte, with the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron. The EU leaders are to meet in Brussels on March 21 and 22, when they are expected to make a decision in relation to extending the deadline for Brexit beyond the current dealine of March 29.



    European summit — The participants in the 8th European Summit of regions and cities on Friday adopted the Bucharest Declaration entitled ‘Building the EU from scratch, together with the regions and cities’. The declaration was officially handed in, on Friday, to President Klaus Iohannis by the president of the European committee of Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, and it represents the contribution of local and regional authorities within the EU to the drafting of the 2019-2024 strategic agenda, which will be presented to the EU leaders in Sibiu on May 9, 2019. The document also includes ten measures aimed at consolidating the democratic basis of the EU and at strengthening the EU actions at local level in order to build a better future for the European citizens. (translation by L. Simion)