Radio România Internațional

Tag: quality

  • August 6, 2021

    August 6, 2021

    COVID-19 In Romania, the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infection cases remains high, over 200 per day. On Friday 230 new cases and 5 deaths were reported. Over 500 patients are hospitalized, 68 of them in intensive care. As regards the vaccine rollout, the number of fully vaccinated people went over 4.9 million on Thursday. According to a report by the National Public Health Institute, over 80% of the people diagnosed with the disease last week were not vaccinated. Data also indicates that over 85% of the COVID-related deaths were reported among unvaccinated or partly vaccinated patients. On Thursday, the government extended the state of alert by another 30 days.




    WILDFIRES Several European countries are responding to Greeces call for help under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. One of them is Romania, which is sending today over 100 fire-fighters and scores of fire engines. The hundreds of fires in Greece and Turkey have affected the air quality in the east of the Mediterranean, as smoke carrying fine particles has spread as far as to northern Africa. Adding to this is the high concentration of African dust over Greece, which also reduces air quality. The Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country was experiencing an unprecedented environmental crisis. He added that if anyone still has the slightest doubt that climate change is real, they should come to Greece to see its severity first hand. Over 150 wildfires have been reported in Greece so far, and one of them is threatening Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, where the Olympic flame is lit in modern times.




    MOLDOVA In the R. of Moldovas capital city Chişinău, Parliament convenes today in a special session to vote on the new pro-European government. The prime minister designate, Natalia Gavriliţă, and the 13 members of her cabinet, presented a governing programme focused on the reform of the judiciary and the fight against corruption, as well as on improving citizens living standards. The new government also aims to strengthen the strategic partnership with Romania, so as to ensure Moldovas EU accession. The vote is expected to be unproblematic, as the Action and Solidarity Party, which backs the new government, has 64 seats in Parliament, and only 51 votes are required for the cabinet to be endorsed. Natalia Gavrilița was designated for the PM post by president Maia Sandu, under a presidential order issued on July 30, after consultations with the parliamentary parties.




    NUCLEAR Romania and Canada Thursday signed a Memorandum of Agreement on strengthening cooperation in the civilian nuclear power field. The document was signed by Romanias minister for energy Virgil Popescu and Canada’s ambassador to Romania Annick Goulet. Attending the event, PM Florin Cîţu said the memorandum would consolidate bilateral cooperation in the field, as the Canadian partners would be involved in the Cernavoda nuclear power plant projects and in other civilian nuclear power ventures in Romania. The Canadian industry has exceptional experience in CANDU projects and has already completed CANDU upgrade and construction projects, the PM added, and voiced his satisfaction that Canadian partners are joining the US ones in developing the nuclear sector in Romania. In turn, Ambassador Annick Goulet emphasised that cooperation in the nuclear power field has been a vital element of the 55-year long relations between the 2 countries.




    FESTIVAL One of the most eagerly awaited summer festivals in Romania, Electric Castle, begins today and is scheduled to end on August 15. The opening gigs are taking place at Banffy Castle in Bonţida, and others will follow in the city of Cluj Napoca in the coming days. After a difficult period for festival goers, things are returning to normal. According to the organisers, hundreds of volunteers are helping in this years edition, as they did in previous years as well. Taking part in the 10-day event held in over 20 locations in Bonţida and Cluj are 250 artists from 23 countries.




    OLYMPICS The Romanian Cătălin Chirilă has today qualified into the semifinals of the 1,000m canoeing race in the Tokyo Olympics, after winning the first of the 5 qualifying series held at the Sea Forest Waterway base. The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday. Over the years, kayak and canoeing have brought Romania 34 Olympic medals. The last gold medal was won by Florin Popescu, currently the coach of Romanias Olympic canoeing team, and Mitică Pricop, 21 years ago in Sydney. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • November 23, 2020 UPDATE

    November 23, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 President Klaus Iohannis announced Monday that the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign will be endorsed by the Supreme Defence Council in the forthcoming period. On Monday Iohannis had talks with ministers of Defence, Healthcare and Interior Affairs to discuss the campaign. Under the strategy, priority groups will include healthcare staff, vulnerable people, and personnel in key sectors. Klaus Iohannis emphasised that once approved by relevant international bodies, the vaccines will be safe, efficient and are the only viable solution to end the pandemic. Romania will receive 10.7 million anti-COVID-19 shots from the European Commission in several batches. On Monday another 4,207 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 and 130 related deaths were reported in Romania. The national death toll has reached 10,177. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 422,825 people got infected with coronavirus, over two thirds of whom have recovered.



    ELECTION Citizens living in quarantined areas will be able to vote in the December 6 legislative election. On Monday Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said there will be no restrictions in this respect, adding that citizens infected with COVID-19 and those in quarantine or home isolation will be able to vote with the help of mobile ballot boxes. More and more towns and villages across Romania are going into lockdown as the infection rate continues to grow.



    CoD Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu Monday opened the 32nd meeting of the Council of Democracies (CoD), held online this year. Aurescu reiterated Bucharests firm commitment to promoting the principles of the Warsaw Declaration, and its support for countries undergoing democratic transition processes. Romania is holding the Council presidency until September 2021. Founded in 2000 and totaling 106 member states, the Council of Democracies is the widest platform for exchanging views and know-how in the field of global democracy.



    AID The European Commission approved a nearly 4.4 million EUR aid scheme for Romanian regional airports, to cover net losses incurred because of the pandemic between March and June this year. The scheme is open to Romanian airports with 200,000 to 3 million passengers per year.



    TELEWORK Almost half (48%) of the Romanians currently working from home say they appreciate no longer wasting time in traffic, but over 26% say their emotional state is worse, according to a survey made public by Reveal Marketing Research on Monday. Among the advantages of teleworking, 45% of the interviewees list the flexible working hours and 42% the time spent with their families. Also, although 79% of Romanians believe they are as efficient or even more efficient than they were at the office, 44% say they are now working more. The survey was conducted this October, and included 600 people from big cities who are working fully or partly from home.



    POLLUTION In Europe, better air quality led to a drop in the number of premature deaths between 2009 and 2018, but Europeans are still affected by air pollution, reads a European Commission report released on Monday. Six EU Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and Romania) exceeded the ceiling for fine particulate matter in 2018. According to the report, there remains a gap between EU’s legal air quality limits and WHO guidelines, an issue that the European Commission seeks to address with a revision of the EU standards under the Zero Pollution Action Plan. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • October 13, 2020 UPDATE

    October 13, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Romania is in a difficult stage, in a second wave of the COVID-19
    pandemic, which is reported in most European countries as well, and it is vital for us to reverse this negative trend,
    president Klaus Iohannis told a press conference on Tuesday night.Without a collective effort, overcoming this unprecedented crisis will
    be impossible, the head of state added. He once again called on citizens to be
    cautious and observe current regulations. The appeal comes as the number of
    coronavirus infection cases is on the rise in Romania. The health minister Nelu Tataru announced
    on Tuesday at the end of a National Committee for Emergencies meeting that the
    state of alert in Romania will be
    extended by another 30 days as of October 15. In turn, the head of the
    Department for Emergencies Raed Arafat announced new measures to contain
    the coronavirus pandemic. Face covering will be worn in crowded areas with
    under 3 infections per thousand people, and over this level face masks will be
    compulsory outdoors.
    Arafat also announced that all private events (weddings, anniversaries and so
    on) are banned across the country. 3,109 new cases were reported on Tuesday, out of 26,718 tests conducted
    nationwide, the Strategic Communication group announced.Another
    68 SARS-COV-2 patients died, taking the death toll to 5,535. Since the start of
    the pandemic, over 160,000 cases have been confirmed in Romania, with more than
    120,000 patients having recovered.




    ECONOMY The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has improved slightly its estimates on the Romanian economy in 2020 and 2021, according to the latest World Economic Outlook report, made public on Tuesday. While in April the IMF estimated a 5% economic contraction this year, the new forecasts point to a 4.8% drop and a 4.6% growth rate in 2021. The IMF estimates are more optimistic than those released by the World Bank, which last week predicted a 5.7% contraction for Romania in 2020. For next year however the WB expects a 4.9% growth. Also, according to the IMF, the unemployment rate in Romania will rise to 7.9% this year, which is significantly lower than the 10.1% estimated in April.



    BONUS The Chamber of Deputies Tuesday passed a bill concerning bonuses for teaching staff and other school personnel exposed to COVID-19 infection risks. The bill, endorsed in an emergency procedure, will be sent to the president for promulgation. The bonus amounts to around 400 euro per month for teachers and 300 euro per month for school personnel, and will be paid throughout the state of emergency and alert.



    COMMUNICATIONS Vlad Stoica was appointed by Parliament on Tuesday as head of the National Communication Regulatory Authority (ANCOM), with 283 votes in favour and 36 against. Three other candidates were considered for the post. Vlad Stoica, former chief of staff for ex-PM Victor Ponta in 2013-2015, is replacing Sorin Grindeanu, who stepped down in order to become vice-president of the Social Democratic Party. Under current legislation, Grindeanu had to choose between the 2 positions, which are incompatible.



    AIR QUALITY The National Air Quality Monitoring Network is extending further to an investment of roughly 17 million euro, which will also cover the set up of an air quality forecast system. Most of the amount comes from the EU under the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme, Priority 4, the Romanian minister for the environment, waters and forestry Costel Alexe said on Tuesday. The National Air Quality Monitoring Network currently consists in 148 stations, 8 of them in Bucharest. Under the financing agreement signed on Tuesday, the Network will be extended by 60 stations. An air quality forecast system will also be implemented. The system, accessible to the public on a daily basis, will provide information on air pollutant levels for 24, 48 or 72 hours anywhere in the country. (translated by A.M. Popescu)

  • Pollution, a big problem in Bucharest

    Pollution, a big problem in Bucharest

    Two years ago, the air quality in Bucharest fell below the accepted standards. Whereas according to measures implemented across the EU, there must not be more than 35 days a year with pollution values above normal limits, in Bucharest there were 70 days when levels were over 30% above the limit.



    After the information concerning the air quality in Bucharest was circulated heavily in the media, on Monday the Minister for Environment, Waters and Forestry Costel Alexe visited the air quality monitoring unit in central Bucharest, and took the opportunity to lash at the Bucharest Mayor General, Gabriela Firea, for failing to implement any of the measures proposed in this respect.



    The City Hall was no late in retorting. In a news release, Gabriela Firea says what has not been done in decades cannot be made up for in 36 months. According to her, the independent air quality measurement networks, administered by the Environment Ministry, are not authorised or certified. The quality indices the Ministry mentioned are temporary values recorded in the monitoring units by other methods than gravimetric analysis, and as such they are not validated.



    The Mayors list of measures already taken includes the upgrade of the public transport system in Bucharest over the past 3 years. The Municipality earmarked 474 million euros from the local budget and non-reimbursable EU funds for the purchase of 830 new buses and other transport means. As many as 400 new buses are already in circulation in Bucharest, while another 130 Mercedes Benz hybrid buses will reach the city this spring, and plans are afoot for the procurement of another 100 trolleybuses, 100 electric buses and 100 trams.



    Mayor Gabriela Firea also mentioned that the routes of 5 heavily used tram lines have been separated from the rest of the traffic, that nearly 30,000 vouchers for bicycle purchases were distributed between 2017 and 2019, and that in 2018 a project was launched targeting the construction of 4 bicycle lanes totalling over 48 km. An eco-voucher system has been initiated, in order to eliminate highly polluting vehicles, and a pilot project has been put in place with respect to school buses.



    Last but not least, as of this month Bucharest has introduced the OXIGEN vignette sticker programme, aimed at introducing road taxes resulting in reducing traffic in the city centre and consequently in improving air quality. The money collected under this programme will be used exclusively for environment protection measures.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Foodstuff Quality under Investigation

    Foodstuff Quality under Investigation

    Perhaps Romania could find a way to put together laws enabling the authorities to expose those companies that see Romanians as second-class citizens, and to treat these companies accordingly, PM Mihai Tudose snapped, disgruntled with the double standards used by some foreign foodstuff producers. The Agriculture Minister Petre Daea had previously criticized something that many Romanians who traveled abroad had already noticed, namely the lower quality of the products sold in Romania as compared to the corresponding products sold in Western European countries. According to a recent report, out of 29 products analysed at the Institute for Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, 9 were found to have such differences in terms of quality, including canned fish, bacon, ham and mortadella.



    After Petre Daea said the European legislation did not allow him to make public the name of the respective producers, PM Mihai Tudose asked the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader to find a legal solution to help Romanians buy healthier foodstuffs.



    Mihai Tudose: “There are no European regulations that enable us to do this. We may come up with a national law, and if the authorities cannot take these companies out of the market, we should at least make public the findings of our inquiries. We should put together a legislative framework enabling us to expose those companies that are scheming, so to say, and then let buyers decide for themselves. I don’t think these companies will have it easy after we make public the names of those who use double standards in Romania.”



    A prospective legal solution, the Justice Minister explained, will be based on the principle of equal treatment for all consumers in the European Union. Other East European countries have also been facing similar problems. Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland have complained, in their turn, about double standards in terms of foodstuff quality, and officials from these countries have called on the EU not to allow multinational corporations to use lower quality ingredients for the cheaper markets that they supply.



    On Thursday, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker agreed that inferior ingredients should not be used in supposedly identical products sold in Eastern Europe, and promised that the EU would do its best to put an end to such discrimination. The European Commission has already offered to finance food quality surveys in EU member countries.