Radio România Internațional

Tag: REPORT

  • September 6, 2017 UPDATE

    September 6, 2017 UPDATE

    Tensions – Any educational institution in Romania must observe the Romanian law without exception, as the law is not applied in a discriminatory manner on ethnic, religious or any other criteria, has said the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) after Hungary criticised the closing down of a high school in Targu Mures, in central Romania. According to MAE, any attempt to present the situation at the Roman-Catholic High School in Targu Mures as a violation of the rights of national minorities is false, given that there are numerous examples of educational institutions that confirm the fact that the Romanian state ensures, to the largest extent, the Hungarian minority’s right to education in their native language. Earlier on Wednesday the Hungarian Foreign Ministry summoned Romania’s Ambassador in Budapest, Marius-Gabriel Lazurca. State Secretary with the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Levente Magyar, has announced that the Government in Budapest decided to withdraw indefinitely its support for Romania’s candidacy to various international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The high school’s activity was suspended due to the fact that, following a final Court decision, the high school no longer exists.



    Approval – The US Congress has approved the sale of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and related support and equipment to Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. Romania will purchase 54 such devices to equip three battalions. In the upcoming period talks are to be held on transferring the devices to Romania and also on ways to involve the national defense industry in supplying the equipment needed for the system’ maintenance, the Romanian Foreign Ministry also announced.




    Visit — The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, will pay an official visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday. The visit’s agenda includes meetings with Prime Minister Mihai Tudose, Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea. Cretu will take part in a conference dubbed “Dialogue with the citizens”. The European Commissioner will also meet with deputy PM Sevil Shhaideh, Transport Minister Razvan Cuc, Minister Delegate for European Funds Rovana Plumb and Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu.




    Report — The report of the Romanian Parliament’s inquiry committee into the 2009 presidential election, adopted on Wednesday, found that in 2009 the presidency and government took concrete action to rig the elections, thus helping Traian Basescu win another mandate. The Liberal MPs, in opposition, withdrew ahead of the vote on the report, arguing that debates were first needed. The Prosecutor’s Office had also opened a case in the same matter, which was eventually closed. Initially, the case had been opened following statements made by the journalist and former political adviser Dan Andronic, who claimed that high-ranking officials had allegedly influenced the result of the 2009 presidential election.




    Motion — The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union have filed a simple motion to the Chamber of Deputies, against the justice minister Tudorel Toader. The signatories to the document say the amendments to the justice laws, initiated by Tudorel Toader, are an attack to the independence of the judiciary and an attempt to cancel the progress made in the field. Vehemently criticised by the opposition, civil society and the media, the draft amending the justice laws stipulate, among others, that the country’s president will no longer nominate the chief prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, that the judicial inspection unit will be subordinated to the justice ministry and also provides for increasing the number of years to be promoted as magistrate. The Chamber of Deputies will discuss the motion next Tuesday. In another development, MPs with the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union have announced that also next Tuesday they will file a simple motion against the Education Minister Liviu Pop whom they consider responsible for a number of problems that affect the start of the new school year.




    REP OF MOLDOVA — The pro-western government of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet country with a Romanian speaking population, on Wednesday approved a decision on the participation of Moldovan troops in a military exercise in neighbouring Ukraine. Prime Minister Pavel Filip has said international institutions will cover 80% of the costs with the participation of Moldovan troops in such exercises. The government made the decision after the pro-Russian Socialist President Igor Dodon, the supreme commander of the armed forces, has forbidden the participation of the Moldovan troops in the manoeuvres in Ukraine, without however explaining his refusal in any way. Earlier, Dodon has opposed to the participation of Moldovan military in an exercise unfolding in Romania.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • September 3, 2017

    September 3, 2017

    PARLIAMENT – In Bucharest, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have convened for the second regular session of the year. At the request of the National Liberal Party, the Chamber of Deputies has decided that on Monday PM Mihai Tudose is to present a report on the national economy, as part of the “Prime Ministers Hour series. On Saturday, during a meeting of his partys National Executive Committee, the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea announced the priorities of the current parliamentary session. These include laws in the fields of the judiciary, pensions, healthcare, coalmines, the Labour Code, lobbying, land sales, energy, animal breeding and urban planning. As for the referendum on modifying the Constitution in the sense of redefining the concept of “family, Dragnea said the vote would be held this autumn, and to this end the law on the referendum should be endorsed by the Senates judicial committee next week.



    ENESCU FESTIVAL – The George Enescu International Festival, one of the most prestigious music events in Europe, continues in Bucharest. The National Radio Orchestra will perform on the unconventional stage of the George Enescu Festival Square, under the baton of conductor Cristian Oroşanu and with the Czech violinist Roman Patočka as a soloist. In the series entitled “Great Orchestras of the World, the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, which opened the 23rd edition of the Festival on Saturday, returns to the Palace Hall, to play works by Wagner, Berg and Shostakovich. For 3 weeks, 80 concerts and other events will bring together in Bucharest and 7 other major Romanian cities more than 3,000 of the best international artists. The honorary president this year is the famous conductor Zubin Mehta, and another conductor, Vladimir Jurowski is the artistic director. Radio Romania is the only media institution in the country to broadcast the concerts live, on its channels Radio Romania Music and Radio Romania Culture. First organised in 1958, 3 years after the famed Romanian composer had died, the George Enescu Festival was discontinued in 1971 by the communist regime, and was resumed in 1989. It has been held every 2 years ever since.



    NUCLEAR TEST – Japan and South Korea confirmed that on Sunday Pyongyang conducted its 6th nuclear test. The American Geophysics Institute reported a 6.3 Richter quake, suggesting a possible blast in North Korea. The artificial earthquake caused by the explosion was nearly 10 times the strength of North Koreas previous test. Pyongyang announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb and said it could be installed on an intercontinental ballistic missile. This is the 6th and most powerful nuclear test conducted by North Korea, with the last one reported in September 2016. Pyongyang disregarded the UN sanctions and the international pressure and continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic programme. The country is now suspected of having built missiles able to reach the US.




    FOOTBALL – Romanias national football team is playing on Monday in Podgorica against Montenegro, in preliminary Group E of the 2018 World Cup. On Friday in Bucharest Romania defeated Armenia, 1-0, only managing to score in extra time, although their opponents had one player sent out of the pitch. Romania currently ranks 4th in the group, 7 points behind group leader Poland and 4 points behind Denmark and Montenegro. In this qualifying campaign, Romania is for the first time coached by a foreign manager, the German Cristoph Daum, who has been facing growing criticism because of the teams poor performance.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 4, 2017

    March 4, 2017

    REPORT – Corruption continues to be one of Romania’s major problems, according to the US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016. According to the report, bribe giving and taking continues to be a widespread practice in the public sector, the laws are not always enforced effectively and the officials, including judges, are sometimes corrupt and are not being punished. The report also mentions that the immunity held by former and current ministers, who are also parliament members, has sometimes blocked criminal investigations. The report denounces discrimination against the Rroma minority, prison overcrowding and the media politicisation.



    JUSTICE — Romania’s new justice minister, Tudorel Toader, has announced that in about six weeks he will present the Government a draft law that will modify the criminal law in keeping with the Constitutional Court’s decisions. In an interview on Radio Romania, the minister said the law will be debated and adopted in Parliament. Tudorel Toader was appointed at the helm of the justice ministry in February, following the serious political crisis triggered by the government’s attempt to change the criminal laws through emergency decrees.




    PNL – The National Coordination Council of the right-of-centre National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in Romania, on Saturday decided on the roadmap, procedures and manner of electing its president. Although many Liberals favoured the idea of the party president to be elected directly, by all party members, this will only be the prerogative of the delegates at the Congress due in June. So far, former ministers Ludovic Orban and Catalin Predoiu have voiced their intention to run for party president, after Alina Gorghiu resigned this position following the defeat in the parliamentary elections.




    QUAKE — Romania commemorates today 40 years since the devastating quake of March 4, 1977, measuring 7.2 degrees on the Richter scale, that killed 1,570 people. The quake also caused material damage worth over 2 billion dollars. About 230 thousand homes were seriously damaged and 760 economic units became unfunctional. The earthquake generated an economic and social crisis that, according to historians, the communist dictatorship of that time was unable to overcome. Experts have warned that hundreds of buildings risk collapsing in the capital Bucharest in case of an earthquake of an equal magnitude.




    WOMEN’S HANDBALL – European champions CSM Bucharest qualified to the Champions League’s quarterfinals after defeating on Friday evening, on home turf, the Slovenian team Krim Ljubljana, 28-26. In the last match of the group CSM Bucharest will be up against the Danish team Ebsjerg. Most probably, the Romanian team’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be the Macedonian side Vardar Skopje.




    RUGBY – Romania’s rugby team is today taking on Russia away from home. The match will be played in Sochi and will count for the third round of Rugby Europe Championship. In the first game, the Oaks lost 38-41 to Germany, then they defeated Spain, 13-3. Romania’s next fixtures are the match against Belgium away from home on March 11 and the home game against Georgia, due on March 19.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • September 19, 2016

    September 19, 2016

    REPORT – Romania’s technocratic prime minister, Dacian Ciolos, is today presenting in Parliament a report on the country’s economic situation. Ciolos thus answers a request in this respect by the leader of the leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liviu Dragnea. Almost two weeks ago, Dragnea requested, in an open letter, that the Government should urgently made public its official stand on measures such as setting a maximum ceiling for the statutory maternity pay and increasing taxes on independent activities.





    UNITED NATIONS – World leaders are today meeting in New York to discuss sustainable development, curbing violence and terrorism and ways to combat poverty and preserving world peace, at the UN General Assembly. Another important topic for debate is the issue of refugees and migrants. The European Council President, Donald Tusk, will address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday on behalf of the EU and will attend a series of meeting devoted to the refugee and migrant crisis. The US President Barack Obama will host as part of the UN General Assembly a high-level summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants, running from wars and other crisis. According to the UN, around 60 million people had to leave their homes while in the EU alone the number of refugees from Africa and the Middle East exceeded 1 million. Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos, accompanied by foreign minister Lazar Comanescu represent Romania at the meeting.





    RUSSIAN ELECTION – The ruling United Russia Party, the main pro-Kremlin party, got most of the votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election, 54%, according to partial results. The Communist Party, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and the centre-left party Just Russia made it to Parliament. None of these parties is considered an opposition party, given that their MPs are usually voting the same way as United Russia. The voter turnout rate stood at only 47.8% as against 60% five years ago. On the other hand, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has said it does not recognise the legitimacy of the Russian parliamentary election in Crimea. Also, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has once more voiced its support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and has reminded that Romania does not recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014.





    GERMAN ELECTION – Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, suffered a sobering defeat in Sunday’s state elections. The Social-Democrats came out first, with 23%, followed by CDU with 18% and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) with 11.5%. According to France Press, Merkel’s decision last year to allow about 1 million refugees into Germany has caused her party to get such poor election results.





    DRILL – As many as 200 military with the Romanian Ground Forces and their partners from Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia are taking part as of Monday in the multinational drill Blonde Avalanche-16 in Satu Mare, in north-western Romania. The drill that will be held for four days is aimed at training troops to deal with the effects of natural disasters and at granting humanitarian aid to the people affected. The exercise has been held every year ever since 2002 based on an accord signed in Budapest by the four countries.





    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Patricia Tig has today defeated New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic 2-1 and has qualified to the second round of Seoul Open, with 230 thousand dollars up for grabs. Another Romanian, Irina Begu, is the competition’s favourite, and she will be up against South Korean Jang Su Jeong. The third Romanian in the competition, Monica Niculescu, will play against Japanese Eri Hozumi on Tuesday.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • 11 August, 2016

    11 August, 2016

    FUNERAL – Queen Anne, consort to the last Romanian sovereign, Michael I, is laid in state in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in Bucharest. On Wednesday, at the former summer residence of Romanian royalty, Peles Castle, in Sinaia, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti, and Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos were among the many officials paying their respects. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Curtea de Arges, where the first king of Romania, Charles I, is buried. King Michael will be unable to attend the funeral due to ill health. The queen died on August 1st aged 92 in Switzerland, after a battle with cancer.



    REPORT – British TV channel Sky News stands by its report on alleged weapon smuggling in Romania. A spokesperson for the channel said that the journalist who investigated the story was one of the most experienced investigative TV reporters. He said that the material was not staged. The British broadcasting oversight authority has been notified several times with regard to the report. British journalists claim that they were pointed to an isolated area of Romania after two months of negotiations, where they met weapon smugglers, who allegedly brought in weapons from Ukraine, to be sold in western Europe and the Middle East. As a result, the Romanian organized crime main unit started an investigation. The head of the unit, Daniel Horodniceanu, said that so far the report appears to have been staged. The go-between who introduced the reporters to the alleged weapon smugglers is a Romanian national who has been living in Britain for seven years. He told investigators that the TV channel paid people to act in the documentary, and that he was told the documentary would specify that it was a work of fiction. The Romanian embassy in London emphasized that the report was not accurate, and was prone to portray Romania in a negative light in Britain.



    OLYMPICS – Romanian athletes will compete in fencing, tennis, rowing and swimming in the 31st edition of the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Romanian fencers stand a chance of winning the first medal for the country. Romania’s team is considered the favorite for the silver. An eagerly expected game is the tennis match between the Romanian pair Horia Tecau- Florin Mergea and US pair Jack Sock/ Steve Johnson. The Romanians are considered favorites for winning. Following are the mixed doubles games played by the Romanian pair Florin Mergea/Monica Niculescu and David Ferrer/Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, and Romanians Horia Tecău/Irina Begu – Lukasz Kubot/Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. In rowing, the womens coxed eight team competes in the second qualifying rounds, while the womens double sculls and the light paired oars boats fight for a medal as well. In swimming, Romania has one representative in the 50m event, In handball, having lost the two fixtures against Angola and Brazil, Romanias womens national handball teams this past Wednesday outperformed Montenegro, 25-21. If they want to make headway into the semifinals, the Romanians are in dire need of a win against Spain and at least a draw against Norway in the final round.



    ANKARA – At least eight people were killed and dozens wounded in two bombings by the PKK in Turkey. The attacks targeted police cars in south eastern Turkey, the majority Kurdish area of the country. Clashes resumed last year between Turkish security forces and the PKK, after a cease fire. The worst violence in the last 20 years ensued, resulting in hundreds of casualties among security forces.



    ISIS – Between 2002 and 2015, terror groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda perpetrated over 4,900 attacks worldwide, leaving over 33,000 dead, according to a study run by the University of Maryland in the US. 80% of the attacks were committed using explosives, and only 16% using firearms. The most devastating attack, according to the study, occurred in June 2014 in Iraq, when 1,600 Iraqi army recruits were abducted in Tikrit to later be killed.

  • The Week in Review, January 4-10

    The Week in Review, January 4-10

    Romanian PM on a visit to Berlin


    The head of the Romanian government Dacian Cioloş and Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed in Berlin on Thursday the Romanian-German relations as well as the prospects of Romanias Schengen accession. The two officials also noted the progress Romania has made in terms of fighting corruption, which in their opinion should reflect in the forthcoming report of the European Commission regarding the Romanian judicial system. Angela Merkel appreciated Romanias importance, among other things, as an economic partner, but warned that some conditions must be created in order for relations in this field to be strengthened. These include, according to the German Chancellor, the improvement of the Romanian judicial system and curbing corruption. As regards Romanias Schengen accession, Dacian Cioloş once again said that Bucharest meets the technical prerequisites for accession, and highlighted that Romania already acts as a Schengen member state in terms of border security. The visit of the Romanian PM ended with a meeting with representatives of the Romanian community in Germany, held at the Romanian Embassy.



    National Bank Governor on the state of the Romanian economy


    A salary raise is inevitable in Romania, in the context of the countrys European integration, but its overlapping with fiscal relaxation measures should have been avoided, the National Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu said. He added that caution should be exercised in raising incomes, so as to make sure that subsequent cutbacks would not be needed. In his opinion, during this election year authorities must be particularly cautious as regards macro-stability, so that economic growth should not be subsequently affected by interest increases, inflation or exchange rate falls. According to Isarescu, last year the national currency, leu, was stable because the macroeconomic context of 2015 was stable and there was no need for large-scale interventions by the National Bank. At present, the international context is more uncertain than it was last year, and higher volatility or larger capital movements may generate temporary imbalances in the market, Mugur Isarescu warned.



    World Bank improves forecast on Romanias economic growth in 2016


    In its latest report on global economic prospects, the World Bank upgrades its forecast on Romanias economic growth rate this year, from 3.2% to 3.9%, and for next year from 3.5% to 4.1&. The institution also improved its estimate regarding the annual GDP increase in Romania for last year, from 3 to 3.6%.


    As regards the region comprising Europe and Central Asia, which includes Romania, but not the Eurozone, the financial institution estimates a 3% growth rate in 2016, and 3.5% in 2017 and 2018. The National Bank of Romania has stated that boosting economic growth in the third quarter of last year was supported by the expansion of private consumption, against the background of higher incomes for the population, improved lending, lower direct taxes and a growing trust in the economy. The institution has decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at 1.75% per year, and to reduce the rate of required minimum reserves for the banks foreign currency liabilities.



    Romania under winters assault


    Romania has recently been faced with the first serious snow fall this winter, but, unlike the previous years, the phenomenon has not wreaked havoc with the country road, rail or air traffic. However, several people died because of the extremely low temperatures, which went below minus 20 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. The bad weather engulfed almost the entire country, and weather specialists issued many warnings and codes for heavy snow, rain, heavy wind and blizzard. Speed restrictions were enforced on railroads, and many trains were delayed. Road and air traffic were faced with some weather problems too, so several flights were delayed and one plane skidded off runway upon landing in Cluj, in central Romania, because, apparently, the runway was full of snow. In the Romanian Black Sea ports, the activity was temporarily suspended because of the heavy wind. Although the layer of snow in Bucharest was not higher than 10 cm, traffic was hampered, because people in charge with removing the snow did not do their job in due time.



    Budget priorities for Romanian Army


    The Romanian Defense Minister, Mihnea Motoc, has announced that the number of exercises in which the Romanian soldiers will participate in 2016 will increase to over 400. Of them, more than 100 will be multinational. Also, the armys operational capacity will be strengthened, as the funds earmarked from the budget for 2016 have been increased. In 2017, the budget of the Army should account for 2% of the GDP, and the rate is to be maintained for at least 10 years, according to the authorities. A member of NATO since 2004, Romania has consolidated its position within the alliance, in particular due to last years activation of two command units: the Multinational Division South-East and the NATO Force Integration Unit. Also, the first elements of the missile defense shield in Deveselu, in southern Romania, were rendered operational.

  • Survey on Immigrants in Romania

    Survey on Immigrants in Romania

    According to a recent survey, the issue of discrimination is not perceived as an obstacle by the immigrants living in Romania. Bureaucracy, ineffective communication, lack of transparency and illegalities related to lease and employment contracts are the major issues affecting this category of the population. The report was drawn up as part of a project called “Immigrant Discrimination with Regard to Civil Rights, aimed at promoting human rights and fighting the effects of discrimination and intolerance towards immigrants.



    According to the General Inspectorate for Immigration, in Romania there are 59,200 legally residing foreigners from third countries, and most of them are here for family reasons. Some 12,000 people have come to Romania to study, and 5,800 are immigrant workers. In addition, there are 2,500 people who benefit from a form of international protection. The survey analyzed the extent to which immigrants have access to education, housing, health-care, employment, goods and services.



    Several obstacles in the way of their integration have been identified. As regards renting an apartment or a house, Adriana Iordache, from the Romanian Academic Society, said:



    Adriana Iordache: “There is a sort of structural discrimination, because many foreigners have told us that Romanian owners will not conclude a lease contract and register it with tax authorities. But these people need such documents in order to be able to extend their visas. Another issue is that of higher rents, as many of the foreigners who took part in the survey said they were charged higher rates than the standard, because they were believed to have more money. Overall, though, once the home rented, the interaction of foreigners with the owners of apartments has proven to be a positive one. There have been cases of xenophobic or racist attitudes displayed by some owners who would not rent to people coming from Africa or the Middle East. As for the foreign students, while they benefit from scholarships granted by the Romanian state, accommodation is not provided. Another problem regarding this issue is that these students do not benefit from counseling from the universities they are enrolled with. So, they come to Romania, many of them cannot speak the language, especially the young people who come from Africa and the Middle East, and its difficult for them to find a place to stay.



    Education is another important aspect when it comes to foreigners determining their options for the future. In the higher education system, students from outside the EU are faced with various forms of institutional discrimination, from additional fees to the lack of services such as access to free public transportation.



    Adriana Iordache: “Many of the students we talked to were happy with how things work, but a lot others have complained about the quality of the programs, especially those in the English language. There have been situations in which teachers had not translated all the materials, for instance, or when students could not communicate with members of the administrative staff who cannot speak any of the world languages. Romanian language classes for foreign students are often perceived as unsatisfactory. Many students have not been able to learn any Romanian at these classes. Corruption and bribe-taking have also been identified as issues in the higher-education system.



    In terms of health-care, immigrants are less discriminated against than with regard to the other fields covered by the survey. The problems identified here relate to the access to information in English, communication difficulties and bureaucracy. Luciana Lazarescu, the coordinator of this project, has more details:



    Luciana Lazarescu: “Bribe has been mentioned by many of the interviewees; and this is the only field where the issue of bribe-giving and taking has been mentioned so often. Six out of 30 people actually said that they had to bribe somebody in order to benefit from better services. Another thing that was mentioned was the curiosity of the medical staff for the African natives, in particular. Also, medical services are provided on the basis of each citizens personal numerical code, issued by the General Immigration Inspectorate when the foreigners in question get their residence permit. So, between the moment the application is filed and the one when the permit is issued, a foreigner does not have a PNC.



    The report also shows that the immigrants who come to Romania to work are among the most vulnerable. Why? Because if they resign and cannot find another job within 60 days, they are expelled from the country. Andra Panait, from the Romanian Association for Health Promotion, told us about some of the conclusions of the report regarding work:



    Andra Panait: “We have noticed cases in which employment contracts were not concluded or, if they were, they did not specify the number of working hours, or the payment was significantly lower. Also, there was no overtime pay. Most of the people in question felt discriminated against, because of either their nationality or some visible physical disabilities.



    The report was draw up by the Romanian Association for Health Promotion, together with the Academic Society in Romania and the National Council for Combating Discrimination. The initiators of this survey have come up with a set of recommendations, regarding the need for public institutions and authorities to organize Romanian language tests upon recruitment, accompanied by training programs on immigrants rights and obligations.


    (translation by: Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • Romania in the European Union

    Romania in the European Union

    After five years of struggle with
    the effects of the overarching crisis that swept Europe, Romania has now
    reached economic and financial stability, with obvious shortcomings and
    encouraging signs of progress. This is the main conclusion stemming from the
    Commission’s annual country report on Romania. In terms of shortcomings, the
    Commission pointed out our country’s failure to reach an agreement with its
    international lenders. This is mainly due to the Government’s unshaken determination
    to postpone the deregulation of gas prices and the privatization of two major
    state-owned energy companies. As a result, the IMF submitted no letter of
    intent.

    Economic pundits say the Government’s unbending resolve is also
    evidence of Romania’s decreasing dependency on repeated loan agreements with
    its external lenders. Additionally, the Commission’s report also highlights the
    potential vulnerabilities in the economic system, which are linked to the low
    level of investment, drawbacks in tax collection, the reform of pensions and
    public procurement. Our country’s strengths, on the other hand, have to do with
    cutting back on tax burden in the labor sector, especially with the lowering of
    social security contributions for employers. The fight against corruption is
    also a positive note in the report, with anti-corruption efforts peaking over
    the last year. Moreover, the Commission praises Bucharest’s actions to step up
    its absorption of EU funds, an area Romania has been lagging behind ever since
    its EU accession in 2007.

    At the end of last year, with great effort, the EU
    fund absorption rate barely exceeded 50%. In that respect, Line Minister Eugen
    Teodorovici has told Radio Romania that most EU-funded projects have little to
    no impact on the economy, unfortunately. Besides, the Minister wants to
    simplify the whole system of absorbing funds in addition to streamlining local
    and public administration in order to rid the system of all suspicions looming
    over it. The ideas seems to have been met with great enthusiasm, given that
    Romania ranks high among the countries known for siphoning off EU money to
    various organized crime groups, both in terms of the number of cases and the
    total value of the embezzled funds.

    Also on the negative side, according to the
    Eurostat, Romania has a minimum salary of 220 euros, which is far less as
    compared to other Member States. This is all the more worrying as in the
    2008-2015 period Romania reported the biggest increase in the EU, up to 95%, of
    the minimum salary. Bulgaria is the only other country with a similarly low
    rating in terms of living standards. At the opposite poll are the Baltic states
    and Poland, where the minimum salary stands at some 400 euros.