Radio România Internațional

Tag: qualifiers

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    On Thursday Romania’s football team resumes the qualifiers for next years World Cup in Qatar. The Romanian team will take on, in Reykjavik, the team of Iceland, in the 4th match played in preliminary group J. It will be followed by the match with Liechtenstein, on Sunday, in Bucharest. Then, next Wednesday, Romania’s footballers will be up against the team of Northern Macedonia, in Skopje. Of the three matches played so far, Romania has won only one, namely the debut one: 3-2 with Northern Macedonia, on March 25. On March 28, Romania’s footballers were defeated on home turf, 0-1, by Germany, and 3 days later, in Yerevan, they lost, for the first time, to Armenia – score 2 – 3. At this moment, in Group J, Armenia is on 1st position, with 9 points out of 9. It is followed by Northern Macedonia and Germany, with 6 points each. Romania and Iceland are ranked on the last two places in the group, with 3 points each, being separated by the goal average.



    For the matches with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Northern Macedonia, the coach of the Romanian national football team, Mirel Rădoi, summoned six newcomers: goalkeeper Marian Aioani and defender Virgil Ghiță, from Farul Constanța, midfielders Andrei Cordea, from FCSB and Marius Marin, from the Italian team Pisa, defender, Andrei Rațiu, from the Spanish team Huesca, and striker Jovan Markovic, from Universitatea Craiova. Of the established players, the striker Florin Tănase, the captain of FCSB team, Romania’s vice-champions, will be missing, as he injured his right ankle in the last match played by his club team in League I and left the national team’s training camp in Mogoșoaia.



    The team selected by Rădoi is made up of relatively young footballers with not much experience in international matches. There are a few exceptions though, namely Vlad Chiricheș, from Sassuolo, with 64 selections, Nicolae Stanciu, from Slavia Prague, with 42 selections to the national team, Răzvan Marin, from Cagliari, with 30 selections, and Alin Toșca, from Gaziantep, with 25. As for the rest of the team’s footballers, they have not played for the national team more than 20 times. (LS)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    With 2 matches played in the Euro 2022 qualifiers, Romanias mens handball team ranks second in Group 8. Romania was defeated by Sweden in Gothenburg on Thursday night, 30-33, and won the following match, 36-27 against Montenegro in Baia Mare, on Sunday. On the same day, Sweden beat Kosovo, in Prishtina, 30-16. Sweden is top of the group with 4 points, followed by Romania with 2, Montenegro, also 2 points, and Kosovo with 0 points.



    Romanias next game will be on March 10, away from home, against Kosovo. Twenty-four countries will take part in the 2022 European Handball Championship. Defending champions Spain and vice-champions Croatia are already qualified, and so are the host countries Hungary and Slovakia. The top 2 teams in each group and the best 4 teams ranking 3rd in their group will also move on into the final tournament. Romania last took part in a European handball championship in 1996, in Spain, where it came out 9th.



    In womens handball, CSM Bucharest outplayed the Slovenian side RK Krim Ljubljana, 25-23, away from home on Saturday night, in the Champions League Group A. also on Saturday, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria was, surprisingly, defeated in Budapest by SG BBM Bietigheim, 35-24, while Rostov-on-Don beat Team Esbjerg, 28-24. The game pitting Vipers Kristiansand against Metz Handball was postponed. After Saturdays leg, CSM Bucharest ranks first in the group with 10 points out of 6 games, followed by Rostov-on-Don with 9p in 5 games, Vipers Kristiansand, 7p in 4 games, Metz Handball, 6p in 5 games, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 4p in 5 games, Team Esbjerg and RK Krim Mercator Ljubljana – 3p (6 games), and SG BBM Bietigheim, 2p (7 games). CSM Bucharest is next to take on Krim, at home on November 14.



    The Romanian player Bernadette Szocs left the Table Tennis World Cup in Weihai (China), after she was defeated in the 8th-finals by Chinas Meng Chen, 4 – 0. Bernadette Szocs had to self-isolate for 15 days in order to take part in the tournament. She had come out 2nd in the qualifier groups, after losing a match to Hyo-won Suh (South Korea), 2-4, and winning against Dina Meshref (Egypt), 4 – 3.



    In Romanian football League One, matches were played this weekend, counting for the 10th round. Top of the standings so far as FCSB and Universitatea Craiova, with 24 points each, followed by CFR Cluj with 21 points. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    With 2 matches played in the Euro 2022 qualifiers, Romanias mens handball team ranks second in Group 8. Romania was defeated by Sweden in Gothenburg on Thursday night, 30-33, and won the following match, 36-27 against Montenegro in Baia Mare, on Sunday. On the same day, Sweden beat Kosovo, in Prishtina, 30-16. Sweden is top of the group with 4 points, followed by Romania with 2, Montenegro, also 2 points, and Kosovo with 0 points.



    Romanias next game will be on March 10, away from home, against Kosovo. Twenty-four countries will take part in the 2022 European Handball Championship. Defending champions Spain and vice-champions Croatia are already qualified, and so are the host countries Hungary and Slovakia. The top 2 teams in each group and the best 4 teams ranking 3rd in their group will also move on into the final tournament. Romania last took part in a European handball championship in 1996, in Spain, where it came out 9th.



    In womens handball, CSM Bucharest outplayed the Slovenian side RK Krim Ljubljana, 25-23, away from home on Saturday night, in the Champions League Group A. also on Saturday, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria was, surprisingly, defeated in Budapest by SG BBM Bietigheim, 35-24, while Rostov-on-Don beat Team Esbjerg, 28-24. The game pitting Vipers Kristiansand against Metz Handball was postponed. After Saturdays leg, CSM Bucharest ranks first in the group with 10 points out of 6 games, followed by Rostov-on-Don with 9p in 5 games, Vipers Kristiansand, 7p in 4 games, Metz Handball, 6p in 5 games, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 4p in 5 games, Team Esbjerg and RK Krim Mercator Ljubljana – 3p (6 games), and SG BBM Bietigheim, 2p (7 games). CSM Bucharest is next to take on Krim, at home on November 14.



    The Romanian player Bernadette Szocs left the Table Tennis World Cup in Weihai (China), after she was defeated in the 8th-finals by Chinas Meng Chen, 4 – 0. Bernadette Szocs had to self-isolate for 15 days in order to take part in the tournament. She had come out 2nd in the qualifier groups, after losing a match to Hyo-won Suh (South Korea), 2-4, and winning against Dina Meshref (Egypt), 4 – 3.



    In Romanian football League One, matches were played this weekend, counting for the 10th round. Top of the standings so far as FCSB and Universitatea Craiova, with 24 points each, followed by CFR Cluj with 21 points. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • November 19, 2019

    November 19, 2019

    ELECTION In Romania, the campaign for the second round of the presidential election continues. The vote is scheduled for Sunday, November 24th. Competing are the incumbent president, Klaus Iohannis, backed by the National Liberal Party in power, and the former Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancila. According to data made public by the Central Electoral Bureau and validated on Friday by the Constitutional Court, in the first round Klaus Iohanis got 37.82% of the votes and Viorica Dăncilă 22.26%. The turnout was 51.19%. Abroad, where Romanian citizens were able to vote Friday through Sunday, record-large numbers of voters showed up in polls (over 675,000). In the runoff as well, the Romanians living abroad will have 3 days to cast their ballots, between noon on Friday and Sunday at 9 PM, with a possible extension to midnight.




    AUTOMOTIVE In October Romania was the most dynamic automobile market in Europe, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association announced. Last month, around 11,000 vehicles were registered in Romania, up 58.1% since the same month last year. In the first 10 months of 2019, around 135,000 automobiles were registered in Romania, accounting for an annual growth rate of 18.9%, whereas the European automobile market saw a 0.7% decline. Dacia reported a 7.8% rise in sales in Europe in October, to 40,687 units. The Romanian carmaker Dacia was taken over by Renault in 1999. Relaunched in 2004 with the new Logan model, Dacia turned into a major player in the European automobile market.




    TRAGEDY The owner of the Romanian company that provided pest extermination services for 2 apartment buildings in Timişoara, western Romania, was arrested for 24 hours this morning, under charges of manslaughter, bodily harm and trafficking in controlled substances. The court will decide whether he will be kept in pre-trial arrest. Recently, 3 people died following a pest and rodent extermination operation—a 9-day baby, a 3-year old and his mother, while 20 other people, adults and children, are hospitalised. The 2 buildings have been evacuated. Preliminary investigations reveal that the intoxication was caused by neurotoxins. The tragedy caused panic among the locals, with scores of people requesting medical check-ups.




    STATISTICS Over one-quarter (27.7%) of the population of Romania were living in 2018 in households without indoor toilets. The figure is down from the 29.7% reported in 2017, but still more than 10 times above the EU average of 2.1%, according to data made public today by Eurostat, on World Toilet Day. In as many as 19 member states, the percentage of people living in housing without indoor toilets in 2018 was below 1%, including Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden where the figure is very close to zero. At the opposite pole, Romania is preceded by Bulgaria with 15.3%, Lithuania (10.6%), Latvia (9.9%) and Estonia (5.3%). Still, the number of people living without proper sanitation services in the EU dropped from 3.3% in 2010 to 2.1% last year, and in Romania it fell from 40.9% to 27.7%.




    THEATRE The Government of Japan awarded the Order of the Rising Sun to the actor Constantin Chiriac, director of the Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu and president of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, in recognition of his contribution to promoting the Japanese culture in Romania and the cultural exchanges between the 2 countries. The Order of the Rising Sun was established in 1875, and is one of the most important decorations bestowed by the Japanese government, second to the Order of the Chrysanthemum, and is the highest awarded to foreign citizens, for distinguished achievements in international relations, for the promotion of the Japanese culture and of projects aimed at preserving the environment.




    FOOTBALL Romanias Under-21 football team are playing tonight away from home against Northern Ireland in the 2021 European Championship qualifying Group 8. With 3 wins and a loss in previous matches, the Romanians rank second in the group, after Denmark. The senior team Monday lost to Spain, 0-5 away from home, in Group F of next years European Championship qualifiers, and finished 4th in the group. After the defeat, manager Cosmin Contra announced his resignation. The only chance left for Romania to qualify into the final tournament is the Nations League playoff due in March. The draw for Euro 2020 will take place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 3 group matches and an eighth-final.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 14, 2019

    November 14, 2019

    FINANCE For the past 3 years, Romanias economy has been managed according to 2 budgets, one presented in Parliament and for which no PM or finance minister in the former Social Democratic governments has taken responsibility, and another one containing accurate data and used for financing party barons, the new Finance Minister Florin Cîţu told a press conference on Thursday. The added he would notify the competent authorities. According to the minister, the budget deficit for the first 10 months of the year is 2.84% of the GDP, above the estimate for the entire year, and unless measures are taken in the next one and a half months the figure will exceed 4%. Some 500 million euros in the public pension budget is unaccounted for, Cîţu added, and explained that this years budget should be adjusted downwards.




    ORDER The Government of Romania passed an emergency order on the status of the British citizens living in Romania in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Romania was the only EU member state still to regulate the matter. The Prime Ministers chief of staff, Ionel Dancă, explained that the order was necessary and had been requested by the British side.




    COMMISSIONER The Romanian MEP Adina Vălean, nominated for the transport commissioner post, is heard today in the European Parliaments specialist committees, along with the commissioners nominated by France and Hungary. On Tuesday she was given the green light by the Committee on Legal Affairs, which looked at possible conflicts of interest. Also on Tuesday, Vălean was heard by the joint European affairs committees of the Romanian Parliament, whose opinion is advisory. When the formal hearings are over, the president elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will present the full commission and its programme to the European Parliament on the 27th of November.




    GROWTH Romanias GDP is up 4% in the first 9 months of this year, compared to the corresponding period of 2018, the National Statistics Institute announced. However, the economic growth rate slowed down in the 3rd quarter, to 3% as against 4.4% reported for the 2nd quarter. In its autumn economic forecast made public recently, the European Commission estimates a 4.1% economic growth rate for Romania in 2019, and expects the rate to drop to 3.6% in 2020 and 3.3% the following year.




    TRAVEL 230 operators from 16 countries are attending until Sunday the largest Tourism Fair in Romania, organised in Bucharest. Taking part are representatives of travel agencies, tour operators, and associations and local authorities promoting their regions. Visitors can purchase holiday packages for this winter and for 2020, with discounts of up to 45%.




    FOOTBALL Romanias Under 19 football team is playing today at home against Finland, in Group 8 of the 2021 UEFA European Under 19 Championship qualifiers. Denmark tops the group with 9 points, followed by Finland with 7 and Romania with 6 points. In the Euro 2020 qualifiers, Romanias senior team are facing Sweden at home on Friday. Group F is dominated by Spain with 20 points, who have already secured their qualification, followed by Sweden with 15 points and Romania with 14. To qualify, Romania need to defeat Sweden and draw against Spain away. The two best-placed sides in each group will qualify. The drawing of lots for Euro 2020 will take place in Bucharest on the 30th of November. The Romanian capital will also host four European Championship matches, three group matches and a quarterfinal.




    HANDBALL Romanias mens handball champions, Dinamo Bucharest, are undefeated in the Champions League, after a draw against the Swedish side IFK Kristianstad, 29-29, in Group D. Dinamo, already qualified into the play-offs, ranks first in the group with 13 points, followed by GOG Gudme (Denmark), with 9 points, Orlen Wisla Plock (Poland) with 7, Kadetten Schaffhausen (Switzerland), with 6, IFK Kristianstad (Sweden) with 5 and Cehovskie Medvedi (Russia) with 4 points. Dinamo is next to take on Cehovskie Medvedi at home on November 20.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • September 9, 2019

    September 9, 2019

    SCHOOL Nearly 3 million school and kindergarten children in Romania have today started the 2019-2020 school year. According to a news release issued by the National Education Ministry, over 215,000 educators will be teaching this year, during 35 weeks structured into 2 semesters. Attending the official opening in Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis spoke about the failure of public education policies. In turn, PM Viorica Dăncilă, said in Hunedoara, in the south-west of the country, that education is vital to overcoming poverty.




    GOVERNMENT The Government of Romania convenes today to discuss a number of draft resolutions. One of them concerns the minimum amount of performance, merit, education and social scholarships to be granted in public undergraduate schools during the new academic year. The agenda of the Cabinet also includes an assessment of the technical and economic performance indicators for the investment in the Cluj Napoca Regional Emergency Hospital, a project benefiting from EU funding, as well as a memorandum on the Government debt management strategy for the coming 3 years.




    FESTIVAL The George Enescu International Festival continues today in Bucharest. The American soprano Laura Aikin will perform George Enescus Seven Songs on lyrics by Clément Marot, by George Enescu, together with Dresden Staatskapelle. The capital city will also host a concert entitled From Classical to Jazz, with first performances inspired by George Enescus Rhapsody no I and II. Singer Teodora Enache will be joined by Călin Grigoriu on guitar, Joca Perpignan (Israel) on percussion and Răzvan Suma on the cello. The central theme of this years edition is “The world in harmony, and the artistic director is Vladimir Jurowski. Until September 22, Bucharest and 10 other cities in Romania, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the Rep. of Moldova, will host performances associated to the Festival. Radio Romania has been a co-producer of the event ever since its first edition, in 1958.




    NAVY King Ferdinand Frigate, the military vessel with the biggest number of first performances in the post-communist history of the Romanian Naval Forces, celebrates today 15 years of service within the Romanian navy. During this time, the vessel sailed thousands of miles in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean and 8 seas, and took part in hundreds of missions and exercises. It is the Romanian ship that took part in the first NATO combat mission since WW2, off the Libyan coast in 2011, and in combat missions against piracy in the Indian Ocean in 2012. In October the frigate takes part in NATOs multinational exercise Sea Guardian.




    FOOTBALL Romanias national team Sunday defeated Malta, 1-0, in Group F of the European Football Championship preliminaries. In the same group, Sweden and Norway drew 1-1, while Spain defeated the Faroe Islands, 4-0. Spain tops the group with 18 points, followed by Sweden with 11, Romania – 10, Norway – 9, Malta – 3 and Faroe Islands with no points. Romanias next matches are scheduled on October 12 against the Faroe Islands away from home, and on October 15 at home against Norway. The top 2 teams in the group will move forward to the final tournament. The draw for Euro 2020 will take place in Bucharest on November 30. Romania will also host 4 matches in the final tournament, 3 in the group stage and one in the eighth-finals.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 8, 2019 UPDATE

    June 8, 2019 UPDATE

    UN Romania remains “deeply committed to supporting the UN, and the campaign for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council “has strengthened the countrys international profile, reads a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. The statement comes after on Friday Romania, supported by only 58 countries, failed to win a seat in the 2020-2021 Security Council, being outrun by Estonia, which got 132 votes. President Klaus Iohannis blamed the failure on “irresponsible statements by some top officials, which generated reluctance with respect to Romanias candidacy. On the other hand, voices in the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats say the President, as coordinator of Romanian diplomacy, has most of the responsibility. The Security Council includes 5 permanent members with veto rights: the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK. Another 10 members have 2-year terms, after which they are replaced by countries from the same region. Next year 5 seats will be vacant, 2 for Africa, one for Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and one for Eastern Europe. To be elected in the UN Security Council, a country needs the support of two-thirds of the General Assembly members, which means at least 129 votes out of the 193 voting member states.




    G20 The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici is heading the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will adopt an official declaration comprising the outcomes of the meeting, the news release also says.




    TENSIONS The Government suggests that the National Defence Ministry should take over the administration of the Heroes Cemetery in Valea Uzului and make it an international cemetery. A decision will be made after consultations with all stakeholders, PM Viorica Dăncilă says in a news release. She also calls for respect for Romanias state symbols and for public order, and urges responsibility in all political statements and actions concerning the situation in Valea Uzului, Harghita County. Soldiers of various nationalities, killed in the 2 world wars, are buried here. The Romanian Police opened a criminal investigation concerning the destruction of the access gate to the Valea Uzului graveyard, after on Thursday members of several Romanian organisations forced their way in, to attend a Heroes Day commemoration. According to the gendarmes, tensions were reported, but there were no violent clashes between the Romanian and the Hungarian ethnics in the area or with the police forces, as some Hungarian politicians had claimed.




    WHITSUNDAY Roman-Catholic Christians celebrate the Pentecost, which in mostly Orthodox Romania is marked, among other things, through a pilgrimage to Şumuleu Ciuc, attended every year by tens of thousands of Hungarian ethnics. The Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc has become the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in the region. A week ago, it was also visited by Pope Francis, who was on a pastoral visit to Romania.




    MOLDOVA The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova Saturday ruled that the appointment of the pro-Russian Socialist Zinaida Greceanyi as Parliament Speaker is unconstitutional. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed. The Socialists and the pro-European right wing voted to appoint Greceanyi after the Court decided that the mandate of the current Parliament ended. The countrys pro-Russian president Igor Dodon postponed signing a decree to dissolve Parliament, and said the republic is on the verge of being destabilised. These developments come after 3-and-a-half months of failed attempts at forming a parliamentary majority. In the February 24 legislative elections, Dodons Socialists won 35 of the 101 seats in Parliament. The ruling Democratic Party, headed by the controversial oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, has 30 MPs, while ACUM bloc, a pro-European right-wing cartel, has another 26. Seven seats were won by the populist party headed by the Mayor of Orhei town, Ilan Shor, a politician sentenced by a court of first instance to 7 and a half years in prison for his involvement in Moldovas billion dollar banking fraud. 3 other MPs are non-affiliated.




    FOOTBALL Romanias football team is in Malta, scheduled to play against the host national team on Monday in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Friday Romania drew against Norway, 2-all away from home. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romanias team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 8, 2019

    June 8, 2019

    G20 The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici is heading the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will adopt an official declaration comprising the outcomes of the meeting, the news release also says.




    UN The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Meleșcanu Friday attended the elections in the UN Security Council held in New York. Romania was a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the Council in 2020 – 2021, but was outrun by Estonia, which won with 132 votes against Romanias 58. The Security Council includes 5 permanent members with veto rights: the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK. Another 10 members have 2-year terms, after which they are replaced by countries from the same region. Next year 5 seats will be vacant, 2 for Africa, one for Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and one for Eastern Europe. To be elected in the UN Security Council, a country needs the support of two-thirds of the General Assembly members, which means at least 129 votes out of the 193 voting member states.




    TENSIONS PM Viorica Dăncilă called for respect for Romanias state symbols and for public order, and urged responsibility in all political statements and actions concerning the situation in Valea Uzului, Harghita County. She also emphasised that a political approach of the situation is not likely to contribute to a constructive solution, and criticised attempts at deriving political capital by certain politicians. The Romanian Police opened a criminal investigation concerning the destruction of the access gate to the Valea Uzului graveyard, where military of various nationalities are buried, after on Thursday members of several Romanian organisations forced their way into the war cemetery to commemorate the Romanian soldiers buried there. According to the gendarmes, tensions were reported, but there were no violent clashes between the Romanian and the Hungarian ethnics in the area, as some Hungarian politicians had claimed.




    TIFF The Ambassador of France to Bucharest, Michele Ramis, is in Cluj today to attend the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF). This years guest of honour is France, in the context of the France-Romania cultural season. A special programme is devoted to French cinema, including a complete Michel Gondry retrospective, a portrait of director Agnes Varda, music concerts, and the most original French project in TIFF, Uzina de filme (The Film Factory), a film studio where the public can experience a film shooting from scratch. The French Ambassador will also attend a concert entitled Soundtrack of Dreams and will participate in the TIFF closing gala. Established in 2002, TIFF is the first and largest film festival in Romania. Twelve works take part in the official competition this year, but a total of over 200 films will be screened as part of this 18th edition of the Festival.




    RESIGNATION Theresa May Friday stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party and implicitly as a PM, after failing to persuade the Commons to accept her Brexit agreement with Brussels, leading to a postponement of Britains withdrawal from the EU to October 31st. May stays in office until a replacement is chosen, which will likely take place in the second half of July, as the Conservative Party announced. The official campaign is set to begin on Monday, with 11 contenders for Theresa Mays position in the party.




    MOLDOVA The pro-Russian president of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, Saturday postponed signing a decree to dissolve the parliament, because MPs may still reach an agreement. He said the republic is on the verge of being destabilised, which is why he urged citizens not to start or join protests and turbulence. Dodon added that, if necessary, on Monday he will hold consultations on dissolving the national parliament. Moldovas Constitutional Court had ruled that parliament was to form a government by June 7, otherwise the head of state could dismantle parliament. MPs said that since their election had been confirmed on March 9, they have until June 9 to form a government.




    FOOTBALL Romanias football team drew against Norway on Friday, 2-all away from home, in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Monday Romania will play away from home against Malta. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romanias team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    Romanias national football team had no defeats in UEFA Nations Leagues inaugural season. According to the final rankings, Romania came in 2nd in Series C, Group 4, behind Serbia, but ahead of Montenegro and Lithuania. In the last fixture of the group, this Tuesday on the Gradksi stadium in Podgorica, Romania grabbed a 1-nil win against Montenegro.



    The Romanian eleven put up a good performance. They wasted many opportunities to score but struck it lucky on 44 minutes, when George Tucudean put the team into the lead, with the help of goalie Danijel Petkovic. We should also mention that on 72 minutes Montenegro failed to turn a penalty kick into a goal. All in all, Romanias record in 2018 includes seven wins and three draws. Tuesdays win against Montenegro was the first in the two teams 4 official matches so far.



    In the other Group 4 match in Series C, Serbia trounced Lithuania on home turf, 4-1. Had Serbia drawn or lost against Lithuania, Romania would have come at the top of the table in Group 4.



    Serbias top place in the group earned them a place in the UEFA Nations Leagues second tier. They will compete in the playoffs for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers. In case Serbia secures its qualification after the EURO 2020 qualifying tournament, Romania will take its place in the playoffs for the European Championship, to be held in two years time.



    Having secured the 2nd place, Romania has been distributed to pot 4 after the draw for the EURO 2020 preliminaries. The Romanian national squad needed a better goal average to secure a better position in UEFA Nations Leagues series C and keep a place in pot 3. The draw will take place in Dublin, on November 2nd.



    (translated by: Eugen Nasta)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    Romanias national football team had no defeats in UEFA Nations Leagues inaugural season. According to the final rankings, Romania came in 2nd in Series C, Group 4, behind Serbia, but ahead of Montenegro and Lithuania. In the last fixture of the group, this Tuesday on the Gradksi stadium in Podgorica, Romania grabbed a 1-nil win against Montenegro.



    The Romanian eleven put up a good performance. They wasted many opportunities to score but struck it lucky on 44 minutes, when George Tucudean put the team into the lead, with the help of goalie Danijel Petkovic. We should also mention that on 72 minutes Montenegro failed to turn a penalty kick into a goal. All in all, Romanias record in 2018 includes seven wins and three draws. Tuesdays win against Montenegro was the first in the two teams 4 official matches so far.



    In the other Group 4 match in Series C, Serbia trounced Lithuania on home turf, 4-1. Had Serbia drawn or lost against Lithuania, Romania would have come at the top of the table in Group 4.



    Serbias top place in the group earned them a place in the UEFA Nations Leagues second tier. They will compete in the playoffs for the 2020 European Championship qualifiers. In case Serbia secures its qualification after the EURO 2020 qualifying tournament, Romania will take its place in the playoffs for the European Championship, to be held in two years time.



    Having secured the 2nd place, Romania has been distributed to pot 4 after the draw for the EURO 2020 preliminaries. The Romanian national squad needed a better goal average to secure a better position in UEFA Nations Leagues series C and keep a place in pot 3. The draw will take place in Dublin, on November 2nd.



    (translated by: Eugen Nasta)

  • November 6, 2017 UPDATE

    November 6, 2017 UPDATE

    PROTESTS – Tens of thousands took to the streets on Sunday night in Bucharest and other major Romanian cities, protesting the plans of the ruling coalition to amend the tax code and the laws on the judiciary. The bills modifying the legal framework for the judiciary, drafted by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader and currently under debate in Parliament, stipulate among other things the transfer of judicial inspection powers from the Higher Council of Magistrates to the Justice Ministry. The bills also exclude the head of state from the procedure to appoint the chief prosecutors. Meanwhile, the Government postponed to Wednesday a special meeting, originally scheduled on Monday, in which several fiscal measures were to be adopted, including the transfer of social security payments from employers to employees, the introduction of a so-called employment insurance contribution covering medical leaves and unemployment costs, and a reduction of income taxes from 16 to 10%. Also on Monday, the Senate dismissed a simple motion tabled by the Opposition against the Finance Minister Ionuţ Mişa. The Opposition, trade unions and employer associations say the measures proposed by Misa would severely affect the private sector. In turn, President Klaus Iohannis says a substantial postponement of changes in fiscal legislation is necessary, and added that their implementation as of January 1, 2018 would be ill-timed.




    DIPLOMACY – While on a 2-day visit to Montenegro, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu had a meeting on Monday with his counterpart Srdan Darmanovic. Melescanu reiterated Romanias firm support for Montenegros European accession efforts. The two officials also reviewed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including employment and social security, science and technology, tourism, energy and the environment. The visit is part of Romanias efforts to increase its presence in the Western Balkans, one of Romanias foreign policy priorities, ahead of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.




    EXHIBITION – The Ambassador of Japan to Bucharest, Kisaburo Ishii, took part in the opening of an exhibition on “Meiji-era Stamps, organised by the Stamp Cabinet of the Romanian Academy Library as part of the “Japanese Culture Month in Romania, and hosted by the Theodor Pallady Hall of the Romanian Academy Library. The exhibition will close on November 12.




    MOLDOVA – Should early elections be held in the Republic of Moldova, only 3 parties would make the parliamentary threshold: the Socialists Party, the Action and Solidarity Party and the Democratic Party, according to an opinion poll released on Monday by the Public Opinion Fund organisation. The Socialists would get 50% of the votes. The poll also reveals low public confidence rates for the Parliament and Government. Eighty per cent of the respondents are unhappy with the current state of affairs in the Republic of Moldova. According to the poll, only one-fifth of the people would support their country joining NATO or uniting with Romania.




    FOOTBALL – Romanias national football team has convened for friendly matches against Turkey and the Netherlands, scheduled to take place in Cluj-Napoca on November 9 and in Bucharest on November 14, respectively. Manager Cosmin Contra invited 30 players, including 17 Romanian footballers playing for foreign clubs. This is the start of Romanias preparations for the Euro 2020 qualifiers. The Turkish national team is coached by the Romanian Mircea Lucescu.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • A review of the match pitting Romania against Greece

    A review of the match pitting Romania against Greece

    Romanias football team on Monday missed another opportunity of securing qualification to the 2016 European Championship to be held in France. Romania couldnt beat Greece at home, as the match ended in a blank draw. This is the third tie for Romania in three matches, after Anghel Iordanescus trainees drew against Northern Ireland in June and against Hungary last Friday.


    Coach Anghel Iordanescu prepared a safe tactic ahead of the game. Although they only had two points before Mondays match, Greece still had the most valuable squad in the group. Romanias coaches didnt take this into account, and mistakenly played up the offensive. Even so, Romania dominated the game, had a few important opportunities to score, but our strikers lack of effectiveness produced little chance on the scoreboard. One explanation could the absence of some first-team regulars, such as strikers Ciprian Marica or Raul Rusescu. The performance of Claudiu Keseru or Lucian Sanmartean was below expectations. After the game, Coach Anghel Iordanescu admitted his team lacked the offensive will and blamed the blank score on the performance of players playing in foreign competitions, who are still trying to make their way into their clubs first team.



    Let us also note that in other fixtures scheduled on Monday, Finland grabbed a narrow 1-nil win over the Faeroe Islands at home, while Northern Ireland grabbed 1 point in the last minutes of the game against Hungary at home.



    Top of the group tables is now Northern Ireland with 17 points, followed by Romania with 16 points and Hungary with 13 points.



    Romanias next matches are scheduled on October 8 against Finland at home, and on October 11 against the Faeroe Islands away from home.

  • September 4, 2015

    September 4, 2015

    The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has today sent a letter to the heads of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, announcing that he intends to address Parliament on September 16. The head of state last gave an address in Parliament on June 22, when he presented Romanias National Defence Strategy for 2015 – 2019. Subsequently endorsed by the two chambers of Parliament, the Defence Strategy brings forth the new concept of broadened security.



    The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is taking part on Friday and Saturday in Luxemburg in an informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, talks will focus on topics like the EU eastern border, particularly the recent developments in Ukraine and the relations with the Russian Federation, the Middle East peace process, relations with Iran and the immigrant crisis. Special attention will be paid to the stage of the reform process in the countries on the east of the EU, particularly the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, the security situation in east Ukraine and the measures required for the immediate implementation of the Minsk agreements.



    In the neighbouring Republic of Moldova the multi-national military exercise Fire Shield has begun, with 26 troops from Romania and 150 from the USA taking part. The exercise marks 24 years since the formation of the National Army of Moldova, shortly after Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow, on August 27, 1991. Also these days, more than 100 Moldovan military are taking part in the Sea Breeze-2015 drills, taking place in Ukraine under the NATO aegis. According to the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state, but it has been cooperating with NATO since 1994. The capital city Chisinau hosts an Alliance intelligence centre, and Moldovan troops took part in the post-conflict reconstruction operation in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.



    Bucharest may sign a new assistance agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in 2016, to protect its economy against market shocks, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici told Bloomberg. According to him, Romania stands on its own and does not need IMF funding, but a flexible deal would be a good idea, as a safety net against market instability. Since the start of the economic crisis in 2009 to date, Romania has signed 3 consecutive loan agreements with the IMF and the EU, which served as an anchor for the governmental policies related to the budget, the privatisation of state-owned companies and the economy, Bloomberg notes. The current agreement with the IMF amounts to 2 billion euros, but so far Bucharest has not used these funds.



    Romanias national football team is playing tonight away from home against neighbouring Hungary, in the European Championship qualifiers. This will be followed on Monday by a game in Bucharest against Greece. With four wins and two draws in six games, Romania tops the qualifying Group F, with 14 points, followed by Northern Ireland with 13, and Hungary with 11. Romanias last matches in the group stage are in October, against Faroe Islands away from home and against Finland, on home turf. Romania last took part in a European final tournament in 2008, but failed to get past the group stage. Also today, Romanias U-21 team is playing in Targu Mures against Bulgaria, in the qualifiers of the 2017 European Youth Championship. On Tuesday, in Yerevan, the young Romanian footballers will take on Armenia, which they defeated 3-0 in March on home turf.



    Also in sports, Romanias national rugby team plays against Tonga in Bucharest on Saturday, in the last test before leaving for England for the World Cup due to begin on September 18. Romania is part of the competitions Group D, alongside France, Ireland, Canada and Italy. The Romanian rugby team has taken part in all the World Cup final tournaments so far, but they never got past the group stage.