Radio România Internațional

Tag: protest action

  • June 4, 2024 UPDATE

    June 4, 2024 UPDATE

    RESERVES – The currency reserves of the Central Bank exceeded 65 bln EUR at the end of May, the National Bank of Romania reports. Gold reserves stood at 7,200 bln EUR. Romania’s currency and gold reserves totaled over 72,200 bln EUR at the end of last month.

     

     

    ELECTION – Romanians in Italy will be able to vote in the largest number of polling stations opened abroad for the European Parliament elections slated for Sunday. Iulian Ivan, the Foreign Ministry representative for the elections abroad, says polling stations were set up depending on the number of citizens in each country. 150 stations will be available in Italy, 147 in Spain and 104 in Great Britain. No stations were organized in certain countries and cities, such as Afghanistan, Mali, Sudan, Libya, Rostov-on-Don in Russia or Odesa in Ukraine, either because no military staff are present in the area, or because the diplomatic mission on the ground was closed or relocated. Polling stations will open at 7 AM on election day and close at 10 PM, with the possibility of extending voting hours until midnight. Voters at home will also take part in the local election. We recall presidential elections are slated for September and parliamentary elections for December.

     

     

    CHECKS – Random border checks will be carried out on Italy’s land, maritime and air borders over June 5-18, ahead of the G7 Summit scheduled to take place in this country, Romania’s Foreign Ministry announced. Border checks will be intensified close to the summit to be hosted by Apulia Region over June 13-15, Radio Romania’s Rome correspondent reports. Romanian citizens in Italy can request consular assistance by calling the numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Rome. Emergency requests can also be submitted to the special numbers of the consular offices in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin, Bari and Catania.

     

     

    MEETING – Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday met Montenegro’s Foreign Minister, Filip Ivanovic in Bucharest. The head of state reiterated Romania’s relentless support for the EU integration efforts of Montenegro and the Western Balkans, an area of strategic importance for Euro-Atlantic space and European security and stability, the Presidency reports. President Iohannis also reiterated Romania’s readiness to provide bilateral expertise in the field of European integration.

     

     

    PROTEST – Romanian farmers taking part in Tuesday’s protest in Brussels have called for an overhaul of the Green Deal, saying the terms of the current Common Agricultural Policy endanger farmers’ activity and food safety. Farmers from 9 EU Member States took part in the protest action, also demanding the lifting of the free trade agreement with Latin America, a deal the EU is yet to sign. Should the document be ratified, cheap agricultural products that don’t observe single market regulations will reach EU markets, resulting in unfair competition for community products. According to Radio Romania’s Brussels correspondent, this will put EU farmers further at a loss following facilities provided to Ukrainian products and grain across community space.

     

     

    TENNIS – The pair made up of Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine on Tuesday advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles at the French Open after ousting Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand, 6-1, 6-4. In the next round, Ruse and Kostyuk will take on the all-Russian pair Mira Andreeva / Vera Zvonareva. Also in the round of 16, Monica Niculescu of Romania and Cristina Bucșa of Spain were knocked out by Emma Navarro of the USA and Diana Schnaider of Russia at the end of three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. (VP)

  • Protests against excessive taxation

    Protests against excessive taxation

    The excessive tax on labor imposed by the Romanian Government prompted the National Trade Union Bloc and 29 affiliated federations to take to the streets of Bucharest on Monday to protest against taxation policies. Under the slogan “Respect for “work and those who work! Workers in Romania no longer want to be the guinea pigs of fiscal experiments”, representatives of trade union federations from all over the country organized a rally in front of the Government building, demanding a reduction in taxes, which they consider too high compared to salaries. Current labor market conditions are not encouraging, because high taxes translate as even more illegal work, trade unions say. According to the National Trade Union Bloc, Romania is the only country in the European Union and in the world where business contributions to the social security system have been shifted to employees since 2018. Thus, the contribution to health and the pension systems has doubled for employees, leaving employers with zero contribution. Therefore, Romania today has one of the highest tax burdens on labor costs in the EU: 42.8% compared to the European average of 38.6%, the National Bank of Romania states.

     

     

    Over 87% of the fiscal burden is represented by contributions to the social security system. 82.6% of the budget allotted to the pension system and the health insurance system is covered by taxpayers, 97% of whom are active on the labor market. The fiscal burden placed on the shoulders of employees exceeds 50%, the maximum value stipulated by the Convention of the International Labor Organization and the European Social Security Code, protesters also pointed out. At the same time, Romania reported the third-lowest employment rate in the EU in 2023 after Italy and Greece, mainly due to low salaries and soaring taxation, Eurostat figures show. Only 69% of Romanians aged 20-64 are currently active on the labor market, meaning nearly a third of Romanians are out of work.

     

     

    Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu admitted that labor taxation in Romania is one of the highest in Europe, arguing, however, that the main problem is labor taxation for low incomes. “I cannot risk coming up with tax reductions for the minimum wage, only to realize that the number of minimum wage employees in the public sector has doubled”, the Romanian official said. Marcel Ciolacu added that the Government will try to come up with a system of deductions for people with low incomes, and part of these measures might be introduced starting this year. (VP)

  • May 13, 2024

    May 13, 2024

    PROTEST – The National Trade Union Bloc and its 29 affiliated trade union federations are today staging a large-scale protest action against the government’s taxation policies. Romania currently has one of the biggest fiscal burdens on labor costs at EU level, trade unions say. Romania is arguably the only country in the world where social security contributions of businesses are the responsibility of employees, which is why these contributions have doubled their value. Romania reported the third-lowest employment rate in the EU in 2023 after Italy and Greece, mainly due to low salaries and soaring taxation, National Trade Union Bloc representatives say. Only 69% of Romanians aged 20-64 are currently active on the labor market, meaning nearly a third of Romanians are out of work, a Eurostat report shows.

     

     

    FINANCE – Romania has so far received over 95 bln EUR from the EU since its EU accession, and contributed some 30 bln EUR to the EU budget, which shows a net balance of some 65 bln EUR, Finance Minister Marcel Boloș wrote in a Facebook post. “We’re talking about an opportunity to use the funding from Brussels to build modern infrastructure and create new opportunities for all Romanian citizens. I have been involved in this field ever since Romania’s EU accession, and this has convinced me that European funds can genuinely change lives”, Minister Boloș went on to say.

     

     

    VISIT – EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, is paying a two-day visit to Romania. Today, the EU official will meet Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu. He will then meet representatives of farmers’ associations and of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. Tomorrow, Commissioner Wojciechowski will visit the port of Constanța (southeast) in order to conduct an assessment of the transport of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. The agenda of his visit will end with a series of visits to projects funded by the EU. We recall the European Commission has recently disbursed 126 mln EUR worth of aid to Romania, to fund investment in the ports facing growing volumes of traded goods. Romania can also applying for funding under the Connecting Europe Facility – the Transport component, in order to boost investment in new and modern infrastructure.

     

     

    EPIDEMIC – Romania continues to struggle with a measles epidemic, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila says. The disease particularly impacts counties with a low vaccination rate, which is why the Health Ministry urges parents to vaccinate their children, also by reaching out to family physicians. Measles is an infectious disease with a high rate of transmission among unvaccinated children. Its evolution can lead to serious complications. Some 78% of the population has taken the first shot of the vaccine, while the rate for the second shot stands at 62% nationwide.

     

     

    LITHUANIA – Acting president Gitanas Nausėda will run against acting Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė in the presidential face-off in Lithuania, scheduled for May 26, a representative of the Lithuanian Election Authority announced earlier today. After counting nearly all the votes cast in Sunday’s first round of the presidential election, Gitanas Nausėda came in first with 46% of the vote, followed by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė with 16% of the vote. The election campaign was marred by security threats, the AFP reports. With a population of 2.8 mln inhabitants, the former Soviet republic fears it could be next in line on Moscow’s list should the latter win the war in Ukraine. We recall Lithuania has been one of Ukraine’s staunch supporters as early as the start of Russia’s large-scale aggression in February 2022.

     

     

    HANDBALL – Two Romanian handball teams, Gloria Bistrița and Dunărea Brăila, have grabbed historic results in the current edition of the EHF European League, where they ranked 2nd and 4th respectively. Gloria Bistrița lost the final on Sunday to Storhamar Handball Elite of Norway, after defeating Dunărea Brăila in the semi-finals on Saturday, 37-26. In the bronze final, Dunărea Brăila lost dramatically to Nantes of France at the end of a nerve-racking game. The two teams were tied 33-33, with the French team securing the win at the penalty shootout, 6-5.

     

     

    TENNIS – Irina Begu (161 WTA) is today playing Danielle Collins (15 WTA) of the United States in the women’s round of 16 at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, offering some 4.8 mln EUR in total prizes. Collins leads 1-0 head-to-head after winning in 2018 in Miami. Also in the round of 16, Sorana Cîrstea (32 WTA) is playing Madison Keys (16 WTA) of the United States. Cîrstea leads 2-0 head-to-head, having defeated Keys in 2019 in Madrid and in 2023 at Indian Wells. (VP)

  • March 11, 2024

    March 11, 2024

    ROȘIA MONTANĂ – The Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources has four months to appeal last week’s ruling issued by the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Romania’s favor in the Roșia Montană legal dispute. The miner had sought damages worth 6.7 bln USD after Romanian authorities decided to block exploitation works at the Roșia Montană gold mine, which in the meantime was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Canadian company had plans to extract some 300 tons of gold and some 1,600 tons of silver. The court decided Romania is under no obligation to pay damages, and instead must receive court fees and other arbitration-related costs totaling 9.4 mln EUR. The government in Bucharest hailed the decision and thanked all those who made efforts to protect state interests.

     

    VEHICLE TAX – New regulations took effect today regarding the fares and period of availability for taxed vehicles in Romania. Taxes are now issued for periods of 1 or 10 days, 1, 2 or 12 months. The 1-day tax costs 2.5 EUR, the 10-day tax costs 3.3 EUR, the 2-month tax costs 8.4 EUR, while the cost for the 12-month tax remains the same – 28 EUR for vehicles, 96 EUR for trucks and freight vehicles with a gross weight under 3.5 tons, and 320 EUR for multi-passenger vehicles capable of carrying up to 23 people. The National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNADNR) says text payments are suspended until March 21 pending the introduction of the updated fares and new availability periods.

     

    PROTEST – Health sector employees are today staging a large protest action in Bucharest. The group of protesters will march from the Government building in Victory Square to the buildings to the Health and Labor ministries and then to the Palace Parliament, representatives of the Sanitary Solidarity Trade Federation say. Unionists are disgruntled with low salaries, despite the Government’s decision last week to increase salaries in the health sector by 20% in two equal installments, starting March and June. The increase is hardly enough to cover inflation, Federation members say, arguing the government’s emergency decree contains no provisions regarding bonuses or the hourly rates of on-call work.

     

    CANDIDATE – The executive council of the PSD-PNL ruling coalition is today convening to agree on the final draft of the list of joint candidates enrolled in the European Parliament election, as well as on the joint candidate for the Bucharest City Hall election. Both parties have conducted surveys to identify the best-suited candidate. On the other hand, the United Right Alliance in opposition is expected to notify the Ombudsman today to refer the government’s latest emergency decree on the joint organization of the European Parliament and local elections to the Constitutional Court. Alliance representatives say they identified certain provisions in the said decree in breach of the Constitution and previous Constitutional Court rulings.

     

    OSCARS – The 96th edition of the Academy Awards Gala was held last night in Los Angeles. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” swept the board, winning the awards for best picture, best directing (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy). The story chronicles the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the atomic bomb. Emma Stone won her second Academy Award for best actress for her role in “Poor Things”. The first Oscar in the history of Ukraine was awarded to the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”. Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo, performed the song “Time to Say Goodbye”, in memory of celebrities who passed away last year, including Tina Turner, Matthew Perry and Ryan O’Neal.

     

    TENNIS – After a break of a year and a half, tennis player Simona Halep is expected to return to court. Halep left for Miami on Monday morning, where she will debut at the WTA 1000 tournament hosted here over March 17-31. Halep’s last official match was in August 2022. Outside WTA rankings, Halep was awarded a wildcard from Miami Open organizers, which puts her on the main draw. We recall Simona Halep was allowed to return to court after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping suspension from 4 years to 9 months. Halep’s team of lawyers succeeded in proving she had been unintentionally exposed to a contaminated supplement, which caused her to fail the doping test. (VP)

  • March 10, 2024 UPDATE

    March 10, 2024 UPDATE

    ROȘIA MONTANĂ – Romania has won the legal dispute against the Canadian miner Gabriel Resources, launched in 2015, following a ruling of the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), made public on Friday. The Romanian state is thus under no obligation to pay damages to the Canadian mining company, and instead must receive over 7 mln EUR and another 1 mln USD in court fees and other arbitration-related costs. The decision can be appealed over the next four months. Gabriel Resources sought damages worth 6.7 bln USD, invoking huge losses caused by the Romanian authorities’ decision not to start exploitation works at the Roșia Montană gold mine, where the Canadian miner had allegedly invested sizable amounts of money. In 2021, Roșia Montană was included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which blocked any further attempts at resuming mining operations. The team of Romanian lawyers explained Romania made constant efforts to observe the rights of both investors and of Romanian citizens, arguing the court of arbitration factored in the numerous challenges related to environment protection and other social, cultural and economic challenges facing the mining project, ruling that the Romanian authorities fulfilled their regulation obligations as best as possible in a very difficult context.

     

     

    ELECTIONS – The Government of Romania has adopted an emergency decree on the timetable of the elections in Romania. The document stipulates the joint organization of the local election with the European Parliament election on June 9. The election campaign is set to begin on March 12. Lawmakers say hosting the two ballots on the same date will spell numerous benefits and will boost voter turnout. The president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the measure sought to observe the Constitution, the provisions of the Venice Commission and the relevant legislation. The election will occasion the use of a special automated system, administered by the Special Telecommunications Service, to monitor voter turnout and prevent illegal voting. The presidential election will be held in September while the election for the Romanian Parliament will be held in December.

     

     

    TOURISM – In 2023, tourism in the EU exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest Eurostat report. The number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation reached 2.9 billion, accounting for a 1.4% increase compared to 2019. Slovakia and Czechia recorded the highest growth in terms of nights spent by international guests, with both countries experiencing an increase of 29% in 2023 compared to 2022. The Netherlands and Romania followed, each with a 23% increase, while Croatia recorded a modest growth of 2%. Eurostat data points to a rebound in tourism nights from spring 2022 onwards. The overall trend for 2023 indicates an increase in total number of nights spent, reaching a record number of nights spent and approaching 3 billion annual nights.

     

     

    PROTEST – Over 5,000 members of the Sanitary Solidarity Trade Federation will be staging a protest in front of the Government, Parliament, Health and Labor Ministries buildings on Monday. Their top demand is the increase of salaries above the rate of inflation. Trade unionists also want a sensible increase in purchasing power and proper pay for hard working conditions. The trade federation says the protests are also targeted against the government’s latest emergency decree on certain salary increases which, federation representatives say, would introduce new inequities while deepening existing ones. (VP)

  • July 5, 2023 UPDATE

    July 5, 2023 UPDATE


    CVM – The
    European Commission notified the European Council and the European Parliament
    over its plan to shut down the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for
    Romania and Bulgaria, which will be replaced by an annual report on the rule of
    law. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the European Commissioner for
    Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, who expressed confidence the mechanism
    will be lifted this year. In the last CVM report for Bulgaria, which was in
    2019, and Romania in 2022, the Commission already concluded that Bulgaria and
    Romania have made sufficient progress in meeting the commitments made at the
    time of their accession to the EU and that all CVM benchmarks have been
    satisfactorily met, Jourová said. In its rule of law report published on
    Wednesday, the Commission recommends Romania take measures at operational level
    to respond to remaining concerns related to the investigation and trial of
    justice-related criminal offenses, including corruption. At the same time, the
    Commission says Romania has reported significant progress in strengthening
    instruments that ensure the independence of the judiciary and tackle
    operational challenges of the National Anticorruption Directorate.




    VISIT -
    Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s visit to Germany continued on
    Wednesday with a meeting with representatives of the German business sector.
    The Romanian official later met the vice-president of the Bundestag, Katrin
    Göring-Eckardt, as well as members of the main parliamentary factions. Marcel
    Ciolacu highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation and the significant
    potential it offers, considering Germany is Romania’s top trade partner.
    Germany has expressed an interest to invest in the Romanian petrochemical sector,
    given the discovery of new gas deposits in Romania, as well as in the Romanian
    raw materials industry, in the context of the upcoming effort to reconstruct
    Ukraine. The Romanian Prime Minister pointed out Romania has numerous
    resources, as well as energy projects that should ensure Romania plays a key
    role in securing stability in the region, also underlining Romania’s potential
    in the agricultural sector. Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ciolacu met with
    representatives of the German defense sector. On the first day of his visit on
    Tuesday, Marcel Ciolacu met Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who reiterated his
    country’s support for Romania’s Schengen accession in 2023.




    EDUCATION -
    Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday promulgated the new Education laws.
    A former high-school teacher, Iohannis, has been promoting a programme known as
    ‘Educated Romania’ launched in 2016 and followed by a series of public debates.
    Solutions have been proposed for fighting school violence in the country’s
    pre-university education, to support the disadvantaged categories of students,
    curb school dropout and promote sports. Concerning university education,
    president Iohannis says the new legislative measures are going to bring the
    Romanian education up to international standards. The education laws have been
    promulgated after years of debates and at the end of a critical period in
    Romania’s education system, marked by the recent all-out strike of the
    teachers. In another development, upon the appeals session for the National Assessment
    exam counting towards the candidates’ high-school accession, 76.4% of the
    students have obtained passing results while 73% of the candidates have passed
    the baccalaureate exam.




    PROTEST -
    The Health Solidarity Federation announced new protests, including a work-in
    strike in several medical units on Thursday. Federation representatives want
    the government to modify the emergency decree passed last week so as to fully
    enforce the salary law for all health workers and increase salaries. The Federation
    wants real salary raises, based on last week’s decree, and the proper
    conditions to allow for this pay rise. Nearly 1,400 physicians want to
    terminate their on-call work agreements and some 6,400 employees want to give
    up shift work and legal holidays work schedules, the Federation also claims.




    GAUDEAMUS -
    The first summer edition of the book fair Gaudeamus Radio Romania kicked off in
    Brașov, central Romania. The event is part of the Gaudeamus caravan, a
    nationwide project that has been initiated and carried on by Radio Romania for
    more than 20 years. The present edition’s offer includes, the book fair itself,
    graphic and photo art, literary creation, all brought together into 40
    exhibition stands. This edition is expected to end on Sunday, July 9. (DB &
    VP)