Radio România Internațional

Tag: regional development

  • The Dancila cabinet has two new ministers

    The Dancila cabinet has two new ministers

    The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis signed on Thursday the decree
    appointing Daniel Suciu as minister for regional development and deputy prime
    minister and Razvan Cuc as minister for transports. This time, the president
    reacted swiftly, with the appointment decrees being signed and published in the
    Official Gazette less than 24 hours since the prime minister submitted her
    nominations. The decrees were signed on the very day of the expiry of the
    interim term held by the minister of European funds Rovana Plumb for transports
    and of finance minister Eugen Teodorovici for regional development.

    With the
    acceptance of the new proposals, the government formed by Social Democratic
    Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats led by Prime Minister Viorica
    Dancila is now complete. We recall that the talks on the appointment of the new
    ministers go back last November, when the prime minister wanted to make a
    government reshuffle. Viorica Dancila said at the time that the reshuffle was
    meant to improve the performance of the governmental team, including in the
    run-up to Romania’s taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the
    European Union on 1st January this year. In November last year, the
    president accepted six of the eight proposals made by the Social Democrats for
    various reshuffled positions, but rejected the nomination of labour minister
    Lia Olguta Vasilescu for the transport ministry and of Ilan Laufer for the
    ministry of regional development.

    Later, the Social Democrats made new
    proposals for the two positions, but they were each time rejected by president
    Klaus Iohannis on grounds they did not have the necessary training and
    experience. The Social Democratic Party accused the president of blocking the
    activity of the government through his repeated refusal to appoint new
    ministers, namely Lia Olguta Vasilescu, first for transports and then for
    regional development and the Social Democratic Party treasurer Mircea Draghici
    for transport. Eventually, the two withdrew their candidacies last week.

    With
    the signing of the appointment decrees by the president, the Social Democrat
    Razvan Cuc returns to the cabinet after running the transport ministry on two
    previous occasions, in Sorin Grindeanu’s and Mihai Tudose’s cabinets. He was
    elected to Parliament in 2016. For Daniel Suciu, however, this is his first
    cabinet job. He was elected to Parliament in 2012 and in February last year
    became the leader of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group in the Chamber
    of Deputies.

  • European Commissioners in Bucharest

    European Commissioners in Bucharest

    The cohesion policies, designed to bridge the development gaps between European regions, must remain the main investment policies in the European Union, and must take into account the social and demographic characteristics of each EU member state. This is the view expressed by the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila, at an international conference that has brought to Bucharest these days two European commissioners, namely the European Commissioner for regional development Corina Cretu and the European Commissioner for budget and human resources Gunther Oettinger. Bucharest pleads for clearer eligibility criteria, contributing to a more accurate assessment of the applications for EU funding, Viorica Dancila also added.



    In the forthcoming EU budget, for 2021-2027, Bucharest will benefit from a 7 billion euro increase in allocations under the cohesion policies, the European Commissioner Corina Cretu said. The cohesion policy is actually the guarantee of improved living standards for European citizens, and its results are noticeable in Romania as well, the European official added, mentioning that since 2007 when it joined the bloc Romania has had more than 45 billion euros earmarked by Brussels for its domestic development.



    The talks held by the Romanian PM with Commissioner Gunther Oettinger focused on the multiannual financial framework. Viorica Dancila emphasised the importance of the timely endorsement of the EU budget, which would enable the Union objectives to be reached and would ensure continuity in the implementation of the programmes financed under the post-2020 cohesion policy. This is why, during its term as holder of the EU Council rotating presidency in the first half of 2019, Romania will make all efforts to facilitate consensus among the member states and to ensure that substantial progress is made in this respect, which has an outstanding impact on the overall activity of the European bloc, Dancila promised.



    The Commission has drafted a balanced multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027, Commissioner Oettinger also said, and admitted that some cuts have been necessary in order to ensure adequate financial resources for solving urgent problems like migration, security and defence. However, Oettinger added, the Unions cohesion policy, which enables the countries and regions lingering below the European average to strengthen their economies, has been reformed and remains one of the key pillars of the European project.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 18, 2018 UPDATE

    October 18, 2018 UPDATE

    EU COUNCIL MEETING – Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis on Friday is attending the 12th Asia-Europe
    Summit in Brussels. On Wednesday and Thursday, President Iohannis attended the
    European Council meeting. Talks focused on migration, security and the future
    of the Eurozone. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, EU leaders agreed
    on a set of measures to prevent cyber-attacks and protect EU citizens against
    aggressions of any type. With respect to migration, EU leaders highlighted the
    need to cooperate with transit countries and set clear objectives for Eastern
    Mediterranean, so as to put a stop to the flow of migrants. In his address, the
    president said that preventing and combating radicalization and terrorism
    should remain top concerns for Member States.

    OMBUDSMAN – The Ombudsman on Thursday demanded additional
    information from the Government and the Justice Ministry over the notifications
    regarding the Government emergency decree on the justice laws, filed by the Prosecutor
    General’s Office, the Save Romania Union and National Liberal Party in
    opposition, who claim that several points in the decree go against the
    Constitution. The Ombudsman was requested to challenge the decree at the
    Constitutional Court. The emergency decree stipulates, among other things, that
    prosecutors with the Prosecutor General’s Office, the National Anticorruption
    Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism
    should have a seniority of at least 10 years. Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar
    said the new regulations could result in numerous irregularities in the system,
    while Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said the decree only transposes the
    points of view of the European Commission, the Venice Commission and the
    Superior Council of Magistracy.




    VISIT – Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on
    Thursday continued her visit to the Arab Emirates. The Romanian official had
    talks with Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, State Minister for Economic Affairs and
    Trade, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Talks focused on new
    ways of consolidating bilateral relations in terms of economic cooperation and investment.
    On Wednesday, the heads of government in Bucharest and Abu Dhabi adopted a
    joint declaration on the establishment of a strategic economic partnership
    between the governments of Romania and the United Arab Emirates. The document
    underlines the important regional role played by the latter and Romania’s
    membership of the EU, which provides significant opportunities of bilateral
    cooperation in priority sectors for Bucharest, such as trade, investments,
    industry, agriculture, the financial and banking sector, energy, transport and
    infrastructure, the IT sector, education, culture, research and innovation and
    tourism. The declaration also highlights the important role of the Romanian and
    Emirati communities in the respective countries in the economic, social and
    cultural development of the two states. Also on Wednesday, the Romanian prime
    minister visited the Sheikh ZayedMosque,
    after on Tuesday she travelled to Dubai for talks with the ruler of Dubai    , Sheikh Mohammed
    Bin Rashid    AlMaktoum,
    whom she presented with the most recent investment opportunities in Romania.
    Viorica Dancila will next travel to Kuwait, the last leg of a tour that also
    took her to Turkey. She said the purpose of these official visits is to promote
    economic relations.




    AFRICAN SWINE FEVER VIRUS – A delegation of the European Commission
    will carry out an audit in Braila, southeastern Romania, until October 25, to
    see if the authorities have taken the appropriate steps in combating the
    African swine fever, the virus that led to over 200,000 pigs being culled in
    this county. A report will be made public compiling their conclusions on the
    European Commission website. The audit
    follows as Romania has been taking part, since 2015, in a multiannual European
    programme designed to combat the African swine fever, 75% of which is funded by
    the EU. Bucharest pledged to spend the money, along with its own contribution,
    to prevent the spread of this disease. The number of outbreaks has reached
    1,021 in 260 towns in villages in 14 counties, the National Veterinary and Food
    Safety Authority announced on Thursday. According to centralized data, some 107
    boars were reported as infected, while the total number of pigs culled so far
    stands at 350,000.




    REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT – Romania has managed to recover 220 million
    euros accounting for around a quarter of the European funds allocated under the
    Regional Operational Programme, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy
    Corina Cretu told Radio Romania. Thus, some of the 800 million euros available under
    this programme and which Romania was no longer able to spend by the end of the
    year due to a lack of applications, have been redirected to the development of
    small and medium sized enterprises and to purchasing medical equipment and
    ambulances for all counties in Romania. In another development Commissioner
    Cretu attended the 7th edition of the Annual Forum of the EU
    Strategy on the Danube Region (EUSDR), hosted by Sofia. The EU official said
    the Danube Delta boasts huge potential with tourism bringing great economic
    benefits to the entire region. On November 1 Romania will take over the
    presidency of the EUSDR for a year.




    TENNIS – Romanian and world no. one in
    women’s tennis Simona Halep has withdrawn from the WTA Finals held in Singapore
    between the 21st and the 28th of October and which brings
    together the world’s best eight players in 2018. Halep was recently diagnosed
    with a herniated disk injury which also forced her to forfeit the Moscow
    tournament and withdraw in the first round in Beijing. Halep, who won the
    French Open this year, ends the year in the top position regardless of the
    result in Singapore. Playing in the WTA Finals are Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Angelique Kerber of Germany, Naomi Osaka
    of Japan, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, Petra
    Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Sloane Stephens of the United States and Kiki
    Bertens of The Netherlands.


    (Translated by C.
    Mateescu & V. Palcu)

  • European Funds for Romania

    European Funds for Romania

    European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, urged Romania to step up the implementation of European-funded projects. She said she was dissatisfied with the delayed completion of infrastructure projects and in general with their slow implementation. On a visit to Bucharest, she said that there are too many local officials of all sorts in Romania, whereas in other countries, there was an administrative authority for every region, discussing directly with the European Commission. The Commissioner warned that despite the progress made in the last few months, Romania risked losing significant EU funds. Corina Cretu:



    “There is a further danger of Romania losing money and this country should make continued and greater efforts. I’m glad that a number of measures have been proposed, which if they were applied, could immediately yield results and Romania would not lose large sums of money by non-commitment.”



    Meeting with an official in Brussels, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu spelled out the advantages of community funds, pointing out that in the last ten years of EU membership, Romania had benefited from over 45 billion Euro worth of EU funds. Considering Romania’s contribution to the EU budget, the net absorption of European funds stood at about 30 billion Euros, Isarescu said. The Governor of the National Bank insisted that the European funds were the chance of Romania’s modernization, particularly in infrastructure, not only the transport infrastructure, but also the education and healthcare ones. He warned that without European funds, Romania would be deprived of an essential source of capital. He underscored that the delayed absorption of European money or the absorption of smaller sums of money impacted the balance on the currency market and the exchange rate. As an example, over 2014-2020, the European Commission has made available to Romania over 20 billion Euros for investments in the economy; only 5% of that sum has so far entered the country. Corina Cretu said that in the next period, a first form of the EU multi-annual budget for the post-2020 period is being decided and the cohesion policy would undergo changes and reforms. Corina Cretu:



    “The seventh report on the cohesion policy demonstrates very clearly that a low quality governance, the authorities’ low administrative capacity hinder economic development. That is why, in any country, we need further structural reforms directly related to the EU reform agenda.”



    The Commissioner pleaded for the simplification of bureaucratic procedures in the absorption of European funds so that there should be a single set of rules, an issue that must be negotiated by the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, Corina Cretu said.


    (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • European Funds for Romania

    European Funds for Romania

    European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, urged Romania to step up the implementation of European-funded projects. She said she was dissatisfied with the delayed completion of infrastructure projects and in general with their slow implementation. On a visit to Bucharest, she said that there are too many local officials of all sorts in Romania, whereas in other countries, there was an administrative authority for every region, discussing directly with the European Commission. The Commissioner warned that despite the progress made in the last few months, Romania risked losing significant EU funds. Corina Cretu:



    “There is a further danger of Romania losing money and this country should make continued and greater efforts. I’m glad that a number of measures have been proposed, which if they were applied, could immediately yield results and Romania would not lose large sums of money by non-commitment.”



    Meeting with an official in Brussels, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu spelled out the advantages of community funds, pointing out that in the last ten years of EU membership, Romania had benefited from over 45 billion Euro worth of EU funds. Considering Romania’s contribution to the EU budget, the net absorption of European funds stood at about 30 billion Euros, Isarescu said. The Governor of the National Bank insisted that the European funds were the chance of Romania’s modernization, particularly in infrastructure, not only the transport infrastructure, but also the education and healthcare ones. He warned that without European funds, Romania would be deprived of an essential source of capital. He underscored that the delayed absorption of European money or the absorption of smaller sums of money impacted the balance on the currency market and the exchange rate. As an example, over 2014-2020, the European Commission has made available to Romania over 20 billion Euros for investments in the economy; only 5% of that sum has so far entered the country. Corina Cretu said that in the next period, a first form of the EU multi-annual budget for the post-2020 period is being decided and the cohesion policy would undergo changes and reforms. Corina Cretu:



    “The seventh report on the cohesion policy demonstrates very clearly that a low quality governance, the authorities’ low administrative capacity hinder economic development. That is why, in any country, we need further structural reforms directly related to the EU reform agenda.”



    The Commissioner pleaded for the simplification of bureaucratic procedures in the absorption of European funds so that there should be a single set of rules, an issue that must be negotiated by the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, Corina Cretu said.


    (Translated by A.M. Palcu)