Radio România Internațional

Tag: Republic of Moldova

Romania’s gas reservoirs are full

The gas level at Romania’s storage
facilities presently stands at 100.6%, which means that our gas reservoirs are
full to the brim, Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, has recently announced
in Bucharest

With the quantities to be produced in
the following months and because this winter is going to be warmer like in
recent years, Romanians could make it to spring without needing to import more
gas. In fact, Romania managed to fill its gas reservoirs although its gas
imports were 16% lower in the first eight months of the year as compared to the
similar period in 2022.

According to Burduja, several
scenarios are being considered for the cold season, including one in which
Romania can support the neighboring, ex-soviet Republic of Moldova, or Ukraine,
invaded by the Russian troops. According to the political analysts in Chișinău,
in spite of an energy blackmail from Russia, the pro-Western government in the
Republic of Moldova has already managed, with help from Romania, to avoid a
deep social and economic crisis. Bucharest supplied Chisinau with electricity,
while the latter managed to buy enough gas on the international market, which
it transported through the Iași-Ungheni-Chișinău pipeline, built with Romanian
and EU logistical and financial support. In a worst-case scenario in which this
winter were a harsh one and the Republic of Moldova needed support, Minister
Burduja has mentioned the alternative of importing gas from Azerbaijan or
buying liquefied gas.

On the other hand the effects of the
Middle East conflict are already visible on gas and oil markets around the
world and the Ministry of Energy intends to manage this situation through a
series of mechanisms available, which also include the emergency reserves.

As for the prices, Minister Burduja
says these depend on many variables at the international level. According to
specialized media sources, gas prices in Europe on Monday went down by 6.5%
after last week’s 40 % growth against the favorable weather forecasts and the
international efforts to keep the Middle East situation under control. For the
Romanian consumers, the Minister says, the idea of maintaining the cap scheme
is a wise decision against the present international background, including
after the war that broke out between Israel and the terrorist Palestinian
organization Hamas.

(bill)

17 October 2023
September 19, 2023 UPDATE

UN The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis
takes part in the UN General Assembly in New York. On Wednesday Iohannis is
expected to have a national intervention within the session’s general debates. On
Tuesday, Romania’s Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu participated in the third
meeting of the trilateral format EU – Saudi Arabia – the Arab League staged
jointly with Egypt and Jordan on the sidelines of the 78th session
of the UN General Assembly. According to a communiqué of the Foreign Ministry
in Bucharest, the format’s main objective is to reignite the Middle East peace
process and to protect the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine. The head
of the Romanian diplomacy has voiced her full support for this trilateral
format and underlined the need for the creation of a credible political horizon
and the implementation of measures aimed at increasing trust, which could lead
to overcoming the deadlock in the negotiations. The Romanian Foreign Minister
has underlined the importance of maintaining the status quo of the Holy Places
in Jerusalem with the special role of custodian played by Jordan.

GAS A branch
of the Romanian company Transgaz has started operating the gas transport system
in the neighboring Republic of Moldova, including in Transdniester. Analysts in
Chisinau say this translates as reducing the energy dependency on the Russian
Federation. The local company Moldovagaz, controlled by the Russian giant
Gazprom, so far had the monopoly over gas deliveries and transportation in that
country and had opposed the separation of these two services, as stipulated by the
Moldovan and European legislation. Transgaz director Ion Sterian has told Radio
Chisinau that this became possible after Romania had invested 430 million euros
in the gas transport network. Sterian has given assurances that in the
following five years new investments will be made in streamlining the gas
networks and in connecting the households, which do not have access to the
aforementioned network at present.

FESTIVAL The George Enescu International Music Festival
in Bucharest has reached its final week. Until Sunday, the public are invited
to attend free of charge classical music concerts held in the Festival Square
near the Romanian Athenaeum, where celebrated orchestras from Romania and the
Republic of Moldova will accompany famous soloists and instrumentalists. The
Radio Romania Big Band conducted by Simona Strungaru, will give a concert on
Friday. On Sunday, the last performance in the Festival will be given by the
Camerata Regală orchestra with the percussionist Zoli Toth.

GRAINS Bulgarian
farmers carry on protests against resuming the imports of Ukrainian grains,
accepted by the Bulgarian government after the European Commission decided not
to extend the ban on such imports. In turn, Bucharest continues to allow the
transit of Ukrainian grains, but has introduced a one-month import restrictions
until Kyiv comes up with a plan for its exports. The measure persuaded Romanian
farmers to give up their protests. Poland, Slovakia and Hungary unilaterally
banned imports of Ukrainian grain, prompting Kyiv to complain against them at
the World Trade Organisation.

(bill)

19 September 2023
Second vaccine authorised by the EU

Just a few hours after the European Medicines Agency issued its recommendation, the European Commission on Wednesday authorised the second Covid-19 vaccine, namely the one produced by the US company Moderna. In fact, the EC has already ordered 160 million dozes of the vaccine, on behalf of the EU member countries. The vaccine is to be used for people over 18 and, just like the one produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, will be administered in two dozes.

On its website, the European Medicines Agency gives assurances that the vaccine meets all EU safety standards and promises to continue to monitor its efficacy. Moderna, too, says it will monitor the effects of the vaccine in the following two years. According to clinical trials on some 30,000 subjects, aged 18 to 94, the vaccine’s efficiency is 94.1%. It is based on the messenger-RNA technology, just like the one made by Pfizer/BioNTech, which prepares the body to defend itself if it contracts the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After vaccination, the body produces a protein in the coronavirus and, subsequently, antibodies. After a short while the protein disappears, but the body will recognise it and defend itself.

While waiting for the first Moderna vaccines, Romania has been receiving those from Pfizer/BioNTech. The third tranche of 150,000 dozes arrived on Wednesday. Authorities say that the immunisation process is unfolding in keeping with the national strategy developed to this end, and medical staff are being immunised in the first stage.

In another move, Romania has joined another 12 EU member countries and, in a joint letter to the European Commission, called for support for the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan states, countries that are poorer or do not have a clear calendar for national vaccination campaigns.

The Union will not be safe from Covid-19 until the countries it neighbours are able to recover from the pandemic too, the document reads. Romania has already sent to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova the first batch of medicine and medical equipment to fight the pandemic from the support package announced by Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on the occasion of his recent visit to Chisinau. He also promised 200,000 doses of vaccine for the Republic of Moldova. (M. Ignatescu)

7 January 2021
November 11, 2020 UPDATE

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – 9,799 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 and 203
deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the Group for Strategic
Communication has announced. The total death toll has risen to 8,389. So far
324,094 people have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the
pandemic, and 218,086 have recovered. 12,687 people are being hospitalized in
COVID hospitals, of whom 1,092 in intensive care. A total of 6,862 Romanians
living abroad have tested positive for COVID-19, of whom 126 have died.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Globally, coronavirus cases are nearing 52
million, with 1.3 million fatalities. In Europe, a scientific adviser to the
British government estimated on Tuesday that two or three vaccines against
Covid-19 may become available by the start of 2021. This comes after the
American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and their German partners BioNTech said
the vaccine they are developing offers 90% protection against the virus. The
European Commission on Wednesday signed a contract with BioNTech and Pfizer for
the purchase of 300 million vaccine shots for member states. According to the
two companies, their vaccine has entered the third phase of clinical trials,
with over 43,000 participants enrolled to date. Meanwhile, Italy has imposed
new restrictions as of Wednesday, as the number of infections continues to rise
and Italian doctors are asking for a national lockdown. A state of alert came
into force in Hungary and the US reported a record, more than 200,000 daily
cases.

MOLDOVA – The Foreign Ministry will contribute €250,000 to
the implementation of projects aimed at supporting civil society and
independent media in the Republic of Moldova. The Ministry wants to help
Moldova connect to European values and democratic principles and will continue
to act to the direct support of Moldovan citizens, based on the bond of
language, culture and history, as well as on the Strategic Partnership for the
European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry also writes. On
Tuesday President Klaus Iohannis said Romania has been permanently and
unequivocally supporting the democratic evolution of its neighbor state.

VETERANS – Military and religious ceremonies attended by a
restricted number of people were held on Wednesday on Veterans Day in Bucharest
and in garrisons around the country. According to the defense ministry, November
11 was declared Veterans Day because it is on this day in 1918 that a truce was
signed between the Entente and Germany, putting an end to WWI and paving the
way for the Great Union of all Romanians on December 1 that same year. November
11 also has a symbolic significance for the Romanian army, being the date when,
in 2003, Romania lost its first military in the theatre of operations in
Afghanistan. Between 1996 and 2019, 30 Romanian soldiers were killed and over
200 wounded in various international missions.

INITIATIVE – Wednesday’s session in the Senate was suspended
due to lack of quorum. High on the agenda were the citizens’ initiative called No
more criminals in public office, as well as the President’s request to
reexamine the law stipulating that Parliament, not the Government, sets the
date of legislative elections. The constitutional committee on Tuesday gave the
go-ahead for the former, aimed at revising the country’s Constitution, but the
legal committee is yet to publish its report. If the initiative is voted into
law, it means persons with criminal records can no longer be elected for
Parliament, hold leading positions in the administration or manage public
funds.

TECH FAIR – More than 1,500 digital business solutions for
the retail, IT, cyber security and marketing sectors are on show at the 9th
edition of the GoTech 2020: The New Reality exhibition and conference, held
online on Wednesday and Thursday and organized by Bucharest. The highlights
include new online experiences, the latest tech solutions and an exhibition
space created with 3D technology where visitors can interact with the
exhibitors. The event brings together 16,000 professionals and local and international
companies and is one of the most important in Central and Eastern Europe.

(Translated by C. Mateescu & V. Palcu)

11 November 2020
The EU focuses on the developments in the Republic of Moldova

Everybody in Chisinau, Bucharest and Brussels was relieved after the
hallucinating political blockage had been removed without violence. After for
one week two parallel governments had assumed legitimacy and accused each other
of coup d’etat and the Constitutional Court had announced the dissolution of
Parliament and the president’s impeachment, the supporters of the controversial
oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc ceded power and started to expatriate, Plahotniuc
in the first place. Pavel Filip’s cabinet made up of Plahotniuc’s Democratic
Party announced it entered the opposition. The Constitutional Court cancelled
its own rulings.

The pro-Russian socialist president Igor Dodon resumed his
prerogatives. The government headed by the pro-European Maia Sandu, supported
by the Socialists, which had taken office on June 8th, could finally
exert the power. In one of her first statements, Maia Sandu promised that the
Republic of Moldova would go ahead with the implementation of the EU
Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova concluded in 2014. Brussels
has cautiously hailed that commitment. EU High Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini has urged the new authorities in
Chisinau to carry out the reforms laid down in the Association Agreement if
they want to get the EU’s support. We will
remain very vigilant on the next steps and encourage our Moldovan friends to
keep a positive and concrete commitment to work in the direction of the reform
agenda that the country has waited for so long, and I believe it is
now time for them to deliver on that.- Mrs. Mogherini said.

The European
Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
Johannes Hahn said that next week he would go to Chisinau for talks with the
new government on all sensitive issues. Johannes Hahn stated that
in case of need the European Union would render a quick support and consultancy
as soon as the new Government met the country’s earlier-taken conditions and as
the new Government ensured the observance of the supremacy of law, media
pluralism and implemented a judiciary reform. Deeply worried about the
situation in the neighbouring state where three million speakers of Romanian
live, one million of them being Romanian citizens, Bucharest was happy to see
the peaceful settlement of the crisis. President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister
Viorica Dancila and Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu have reiterated Romania’s
support for the normalization of the situation in the Republic of Moldova and
the fulfillment of its European aspirations. However, pundits are skeptical
about the new left-right wing rulers. Described by many as against nature,
the pro-Russian socialists’ association with the pro-Europeans called up a similar alliance made 15 years ago
when the former pro-Russian communist party made a government alliance with
their fiercest opponents, the anti-Soviet Christian-Democrats advocating the
reunification with Romania. A few years later, that alliance was toppled by a
violent people’s revolt. Today there are no communist and Christian-Democrat
MPs.

(Translated by A.M. Palcu)

18 June 2019
The Republic of Moldova, between the East and the West

On March 27,
towards the end of WWI, against the dismantling of the Tsarist Empire, the
country’s Advisory Council, Bessarabia’s legislative body, voted in favour of the
union of this predominately Romanian-speaking province with the mother-land. It
was the first act in the setting up of the Romanian national state, a process
which, at the end of the same year, would end by the provinces of Bukovina,
Transylvania, Banat, Maramures and Crisana falling under the authority of
Bucharest, under the rule of the Hapsburg Empire. Far from being euphoric, the
ceremonies devoted to Bessarabia are rather evocative and not devoid of
sadness.

The union lasted only 22 years. In the summer of 1940, following an
ultimatum, Stalin’s Moscow annexed both Bessarabia and the north of Bukovina,
territories that currently belong to the former Soviet republic of Moldova and
Ukraine. Back then, hundreds of thousands of Bessarabians took refuge in the
downsized Romania, other dozens of thousands were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan,
and instead the occupiers brought colonists recruited from all the corners of
the Empire.

Independent as of 1991, ‘today’s republic is not the Bessarabia of
1918, neither in terms of ethnic configuration, nor in terms of territories and
frontiers. The Republic of Moldova is much more divided from a political,
administrative, ethnic, linguistic and religious point of view than Bessarabia
was back in 1918 according to the Moldovan Ambassador to Bucharest, Mihai
Gribincea. He has warned that the gravest consequence of half a century of
occupation is that, although the Republic of Moldova has left the Soviet Union,
in terms of mentalities, the Soviet Union has not left the Republic of Moldova.
Forced to cohabitate, the pro-West PM Pavel Filip, who defined the two
countries as ‘twin hearts’, and the pro-Russia socialist president Igor Dodon,
who travels to Moscow more often that it does to the provinces, are
representative for the political, geo-political and moral rift in the
Bessarabian society.

Last month’s parliamentary elections did not reveal a
clear winner, capable of creating a new majority. On the contrary, they
certified the same fragmentation between the president, the Government and the
pro-European right wing. In the past years, in both capitals, dozens of
thousands of people have participated, under the slogan Bessarabia is
Romania, in the so-called unionist marches. They have been animated by the
conviction that to the Republic of Moldova, governed by a deeply corrupt
political class, rendered fragile by the pro-Russia separatism in Transdniestr
and which all rankings indicate as the poorest country in Europe, the only
solution would be the union with Romania, an EU and NATO member state, with a
functional rule of law and where the GDP per capita, according to experts, is
20 times bigger.

27 March 2019
February 10, 2019 UPDATE

TENNIS The world’s third tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep on Sunday
clinched a three-set win against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4,
5-7, 6-4 while Mihaela Buzarnescu lost
to Katerina Siniakova 4-6, 2-6. The score is two all but the doubles match
pitching Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu against Barbora Krejcikova and
Katerina Siniakova is regarded as decisive. After the matches on Saturday,
Halep – Siniakova 6-4, 6-0 and Pliskova – Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-4, the score was also
even, one-all. Lots drawn on Wednesday pitted Romania’s male side against
Zimbabwe in the first round of the Davis Cup’s second value Group Two, the
Europe-Africa zone.

EXTRADITION 14 Romanians have been extradited to the USA for having
masterminded a scheme to steal money from Americans and launder the funds by means
of cryptocurrency. The suspects have been apprehended after almost 100 US
Secret Service agents and policemen did searches in Romania’s capital Bucharest
and its surroundings. The prejudice has been estimated at 34 million dollars.
Scores of mobile phones, electronic equipment and various amounts of money have
been seized during the operation.

FILM A Romanian film has reaped the
grand prize of the short-reel festival in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The
award-winner is Bogdan Muresanu’s 20-minute ‘The Christmas Gift’, whose plot is
placed on December 20th 1989 shortly after the beginning of the
Romanian anti-communist revolution. The plot thickens after the parents of a
little boy have found out that he mailed Santa a letter saying that his
father’s only wish was to see dictator Nicolae Ceausescu dead.

AMENDMENTS Romanian MPs have time until Monday to
submit amendments to the budget draft law endorsed by the ruling PSD-ALDE
coalition on Friday. The draft was drawn up taking into account a 5.5% economic
growth, a 2.5% deficit and a GDP of over 200 billion euros. Under the fresh
budget scheme, 2% of the country’s GDP will be allotted to the country’s
defence, in accordance with its pledges to the NATO allies. Pension rises of
15% have also been envisaged as early as September this year. The right-wing
opposition has lashed out at the delayed draft and some of its provisions,
which it deemed unrealistic.

ELECTION NGOs in the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, have
called on the Election Committee to allow the Diaspora to cast their ballot in
the Parliamentary election on February 24th even if they have
expired IDs. The aforementioned NGOs have referred to the previous elections,
when this was possible. In a first for the ex-soviet republic, elections are to
unfold under the mixed voting system, in which the 50 MPs will be elected on
party tickets, while the rest 51 in constituencies. Concurrently with the
election, a referendum is to be carried out on cutting the number of MPs from
101 down to 61 as well as on the possibility for these MPs to be revoked by the
citizens. According to the polls the pro-Russia socialists of incumbent president Igor Dodon are among the
favourites with allegedly 40% of the vote intentions, followed by ACUM, a bloc
made up of pro-European right-wingers, which has been credited with 25% of the
votes and the centre-to-left Democratic Party, the main political force in the
pro-western coalition government.

HANDBALL Romania’s champions in women’s handball CSM
Bucharest secured a 30-18 away win against German side Thuringer HC on Sunday
in the Champions League. The result pushed CSM to the second place in the
standings after the en titre champions Gyor Audi ETO of Hungary. Next comes
Viper Kristiansand of Norway, Ferencvaros of Hungary, Krim Ljubljana of
Slovenia and Thuringer. The first four sides in the group are qualified for the
competition’s quarter finals. We recall that CSM won the trophy back in 2016 at
their first participation.

(translated by bill)

10 February 2019
January 26, 2019 UPDATE

WEATHER – Meteorologists have issued a new code yellow alert against freezing rain and icing valid for 6 counties in south-eastern Romania and the capital city, Bucharest, as well as warnings against freezing rain for the south and the southwest, and against gusty wind and snowfalls for the mountainous regions, valid until Sunday. 16 counties and the city of Bucharest have been affected by freezing rain and precipitations. In Bucharest, scores of trees have been broken or uprooted because of freezing rain and tens of cars have been damaged, the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations has announced. Electricity has been disrupted because of unfavourable weather conditions, with 120,000 people being left without electricity in some 200 towns and villages. Bad weather has also affected road traffic, several segments of highway and national roads having been temporarily closed because of icing and blizzard. Railway and air traffic has also been severely disrupted. Trains failed to arrive on time and many flights have been cancelled or delayed on Henri Coanda Airport near Bucharest as well as on other airports across the country because of aircraft de-icing procedures. Tens of people slipping on snow or ice have been taken to hospital for care, with injuries and bone fractures. Over 12,000 employees of the Romanian Interior Ministry, policemen, fire-fighters and gendarmes have been mobilised to intervene immediately and support the population. As of Sunday noon, temperatures will slightly go up all across the country. The highs will range between minus 3 and plus 7 degrees Celsius.

FLU – The Romanian Health Ministry will decide next week whether or not to declare a flu epidemic in Romania, after a growing number of flu virus infections and deaths in recent times. The authorities have announced that 39 people have succumbed to the flu this season. The line minister, Sorina Pintea, on Tuesday called on the National Public Health Institute to make public data on the situation at national level and said the ministry will declare the outbreak of a flu epidemic if reported data confirm for a third week the epidemic scale of the flu. Doctors continue to recommend vaccination as well as going to a GP when noticing symptoms similar to flu infections. As regards the suspension of classes in schools and high-schools because of the rising number of flu cases, the health minister said each school can file a request to that end, if the rate of absenteeism exceeds 20%.

VENEZUELA – The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy,
Federica Mogherini, on Saturday urged Venezuela to hold free, transparent and
credible presidential elections to elect a government that truly represents the
will of its citizens. In the absence of an announcement on the organization of
fresh elections with the necessary guarantees over the next few days, the EU
will take further actions, including on the issue of recognition of the
country’s leadership in line with article 233 of the Venezuelan constitution,
Mogherini said in a statement. Mogherini’s message comes after the coordinated
ultimatums from Madrid,
Paris, Berlin, London and Lisbon, which gave 8 days to the incumbent president
Nicolas Maduro to call for early elections, or they will recognize his
opponent, Juan Guaido, as ”president” of Venezuela if he does not do that in
this time span. On Saturday, the Venezuela file was on the agenda of a UN Security
Council meeting, convened at the request of the USA. US Secretary of State, Mike
Pompeo, urged the Security Council members to support the leader of the opposition
in Venezuela, Juan Guaido. The latter self-proclaimed interim president on
Wednesday, enjoying Washington’s support.

MACEDONIA – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has hailed the signing by the Greek Parliament of the Prespa Agreement which provides for the official change of the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into the Republic of North Macedonia. The Romanian Foreign Ministry says Fridays vote in the Parliament in Athens, alongside the one in the Parliament in Skopje, on January 11, stand proof of both sides commitment to normalise bilateral relations and contributes significantly to giving a new dynamics to the Western Balkans European and Euro-Atlantic perspective. The ratification of the agreement has also been hailed by the USA. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed satisfaction with the approval by the Greek Parliament of the agreement which puts en end to an almost 30 year-long dispute between the two neighbours and opens the way to that small Balkan state towards EU and NATO accession. The agreement has been vehemently contested by numerous Greeks, as Macedonia is also the name of a historical Greek province.

USA – US President Donald Trump has signed a bill to end federal shutdown and temporarily reopen government. The deal announced on Friday will re-open shuttered federal agencies until February 15. It will enable approximately 800,000 employees affected by the shutdown to resume work and receive payment. In another move, President Trump warned however to impose a fresh shutdown if the Mexico border wall deal is not reached by February 15. The American Senate unanimously passed a funding bill on Friday afternoon. It then went to the House, where it was unanimously approved.

POLITICS – Former Romanian technocratic PM Dacian Cioloş on Saturday was elected President of the Liberty, Unity and Solidarity Party, PLUS, with a majority of votes. Ciolos said he will only hold a one year mandate, until the leading structures of the party are elected. During his tenure, Ciolos will have responsibilities in building the party and getting good results in the European parliamentary elections scheduled for May. Dacian Ciolos is a former EU Commissioner for Agriculture. He became Prime Minister of Romania in the autumn of 2015, after the resignation tendered by the Ponta cabinet, against the backdrop of wide protests generated by the tragic events of October 30, 2015, when fire ripped through the Colectiv club in Bucharest, killing many innocent lives. Ciolos led the government until the 2016 legislative elections.

MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS – The electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections of February 24 started in the neighbouring Republic of Moldova on Friday. The elections will be held for the first time based on the so called mixed voting system, that is 50 MPs will be elected on party lists and 51 others in uninominal electoral constituencies, in only one round of voting. Nine parties have already enlisted so far and six have filed the documents at the Central Electoral Committee. According to the opinion polls, the pro-Russian Socialists of President Igor Dodon are in the lead, followed by representatives of the pro-European right and the ruling Democratic Party (left of centre). A referendum on downsizing the number of MPs from 101 to 61 and on introducing the possibility of dismissing MPs will also be held concurrently with the elections.

AUSTRALIA – Thousands of Australians took part in rallies across the country on Saturday to protest against the so called “Invasion Day, which marks the arrival of the first British settlers in 1788 and which they consider an insult to the indigenous population, FP reports. To many Australians, January 26, when “Australia Day is celebrated, marks the start of oppression against the indigenous population. The protesters, gathered in big cities, have called for changing the date of the national holiday or for simply relinquishing it. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is opposed to the change, has said Australia cannot turn its back on its past. In that country, the Aboriginal Australians are most disadvantaged, with a poverty rate much below other communities and also with a reduced access to healthcare.

TENNIS – Japanese woman tennis player, Naomi Osaka, no.4 WTA on Saturday won the womens final of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, by defeating the Czech Petra Kvitova (no. 6 WTA), in three sets. Osaka, 21, will become no.1 WTA as of Monday, replacing Romanian Simona Halep, who got eliminated in the eighth finals in Melbourne. Osaka is the first woman tennis player from an Asian country to become no.1 in the world. Petra Kvitova will become no.2 WTA, also as of Monday. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

26 January 2019
November 27, 2018

ROMANIA-FRANCE CULTURAL SEASON — President Klaus Iohannis, on an official visit to Paris, is today launching at the Georges Pompidou Centre, alongside his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the Romania-France Cultural Season. The two officials visit the Brancusi Workshop, the exhibition devoted to the famous Romanian blouse, called “ie” featured by works of the French and Romanian painters Henri Matisse and Theodor Pallady, respectively, as well as exhibitions of contemporary artists Ciprian Mureşan, Şerban Savu and Adrian Ghenie. Presidents Iohannis and Macron have had official talks aimed, among others, to confirm the special character of the bilateral relation, deepen the strategic partnership, boost economic cooperation and enhance the role played by the Romanian community in France. Yesterday, at the Romanian Embassy in France, president Klaus Iohannis attended a meeting with representatives of the Romanian diaspora in France. Over 400 events will be organized both in France and Romania during the Romania-France Cultural Season, which runs until July 14, 2019. The Cultural Season offers to the public events from various domains: culture, education, innovation, entrepreneurship, cuisine, tourism, sports and cooperation between local communities.

UKRAINE VESSELS — Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has expressed deep concern about Kiev’s decision to put its armed forces on the alert and to instate the martial law, a communiqué issued by the Russian Presidency writes. Ukraine’s Supreme Rada approved on Wednesday, the instatement of the martial law in 10 regions, most of them alongside the border with Russia, as well as in two regions in the south-west of the country- Odessa and Vinitsa, neighboring the Transdniester region of the Republic of Moldova. In order not to impact the organization of presidential elections due on March 2019, the measure will be applied for 30 days and not for 60, Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council had earlier demanded. The martial law provides for limiting civil rights and imposing a curfew. Public assemblies are banned, radio and TV transmissions are censored. The decree signed by president Petro Poroshenko was issued following Sunday’s seizure by Russian coast guard of three ships of the Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea, near the Kerch Strait. Kiev sources say the incident has left 6 Ukrainians injured, 2 of which severely.

REACTION — Romania is ready for any scenario and any measure in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, says president Klaus Iohannis, who pleaded however for the two sides involved to approach the situation with calm. Representatives of the Romanian Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed deep concern about the recent Russian-Ukrainian maritime conflict. The Foreign Ministry also says Romania expresses full support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its right to use international waters. The seizure by Russia of three Ukrainian naval vessels and the injuring of their crews is a dangerous escalation and an infringement of the international legislation, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also says, adding that the US condemns Russia’s aggressive action. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Russia to release the Ukrainian naval vessels and marines, adding that there is no explanation for Moscow’s actions. The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, considers that Russia should return the seized vessels and marines back to Ukraine and called on Moscow to abstain from any other provocation.

INVESTMENT— Romania competes with Bulgaria and Hungary for a new Skoda car factory. The over 1 billion Euro investment might generate at least 4,000 — 5,000 jobs, the Automotive News Europe publication writes. The president of the managing board of Volkswagen Group, Herbert Diess, said on November 18 that the group is looking for a new location in Eastern Europe for a Skoda factory, to start production post 2022. The need has emerged after VW’s decision to convert the factory in Emden, Germany, to the production of e-cars and to relocate the production of the Passat model in the current Skoda factory in Kvasiny (the Czech Republic), which is now producing Skoda Superb. The future factory, whose location should still be identified, will produce the Skoda Karoq and Seat Ateca SUVs, which are currently assembled in Kvasiny.

VISIT — The Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, Andrian Candu, is today paying a working visit to Bucharest. He is due to meet the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, and is to be received by the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Margareta. On this occasion, Her Majesty will receive, during a ceremony, the Medal for Democracy of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The Custodian of the Crown is hosting the ceremony of signing “The Centenary Book”, an anniversary anthology of signatures devoted to the celebration of 100 years since the creation of the Romanian unitary state, on December 1.

TENNIS – Australian Darren Cahill, who has trained the Romanian woman tennis player, Simona Halep, no 1. WTA, over the past few years, has been nominated by WTA for the title of best coach of the year 2018 in women’s tennis. This year, Cahill has helped Halep win her first Grand Slam title, at Rolland Garros. Halep has also won the finals in Shenzhen and Montreal and reached the finals at the Australian Open, in Rome and Cincinnati. Darren Cahill announced on November 9 that he will stop working with Simiona Halep in 2019, for family reasons. The winner of the WTA poll will be announced on December 4.

27 November 2018
Romania – Moldova joint government meeting

Romania was the first country in the world to recognise the independence of the Republic of Moldova, and it has constantly supported the sovereignty, territorial integrity and European aspirations of that country. On Thursday, PM Viorica Dancila reiterated that European accession was the only solution for the Republic and for the prosperity of its citizens. As the holder of the EU Council presidency in the first half of next year, Viorica Dancila also said, Romania will be in a position to assist Chisinau in implementing the reforms outlined in the EU Association Agreement.

Together with her counterpart Pavel Filip, Dancila chaired a new joint meeting of the cabinets of Romania and Moldova in Bucharest. On this occasion, the parties signed cooperation agreements in fields such as tourism, environmental protection and telecoms, and discussed means to encourage Romanian investments in the neighbouring state.

Viorica Dancila: “We believe a much closer cooperation, with Romanian ministers taking part in events or talks in Chisinau, would give fresh impetus and would bring our countries much closer together.”

In turn, PM Filip pleaded for a bilateral agreement to reduce mobile roaming tariffs. He also announced a decision of symbolic importance: on December 1, Romania’s National Day, the citizens of Moldova will not be charged for mobile phone calls with Romania. In Chisinau, both the Liberal Party, in opposition, and a number of right-of-centre non-parliamentary political parties and civil organisations explicitly insist on the need for the two states to re-unite. However, the Prime Minister, a member of the leftist Democratic Party, which is reluctant to this idea, sees the union rhetoric as a fad, and pleads for pragmatism instead. He favours the creation of a common energy, transport, defence and security, and cultural space:

Pavel Filip: “This is how we see the union, with concrete infrastructure inter-connection projects between our countries. It is that easy. We have the same blood, now we have a chance to reinstate or to build together networks running just like a circulatory system.”

In both states, analysts note that the joint government meeting comes at a highly delicate time for the Moldovan authorities. This very week, the European Union announced the suspension of macro-financial aid amounting to 100 million euro, on account of significant breaches of democratic principles in that country.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled in Moldova on February 24, and polls indicate the Socialist Party headed by the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon as the most likely to win.

23 November 2018
Romania – Moldova joint government meeting

Romania was the first country in the world to recognise the independence of the Republic of Moldova, and it has constantly supported the sovereignty, territorial integrity and European aspirations of that country. On Thursday, PM Viorica Dancila reiterated that European accession was the only solution for the Republic and for the prosperity of its citizens. As the holder of the EU Council presidency in the first half of next year, Viorica Dancila also said, Romania will be in a position to assist Chisinau in implementing the reforms outlined in the EU Association Agreement.

Together with her counterpart Pavel Filip, Dancila chaired a new joint meeting of the cabinets of Romania and Moldova in Bucharest. On this occasion, the parties signed cooperation agreements in fields such as tourism, environmental protection and telecoms, and discussed means to encourage Romanian investments in the neighbouring state.

Viorica Dancila: “We believe a much closer cooperation, with Romanian ministers taking part in events or talks in Chisinau, would give fresh impetus and would bring our countries much closer together.”

In turn, PM Filip pleaded for a bilateral agreement to reduce mobile roaming tariffs. He also announced a decision of symbolic importance: on December 1, Romania’s National Day, the citizens of Moldova will not be charged for mobile phone calls with Romania. In Chisinau, both the Liberal Party, in opposition, and a number of right-of-centre non-parliamentary political parties and civil organisations explicitly insist on the need for the two states to re-unite. However, the Prime Minister, a member of the leftist Democratic Party, which is reluctant to this idea, sees the union rhetoric as a fad, and pleads for pragmatism instead. He favours the creation of a common energy, transport, defence and security, and cultural space:

Pavel Filip: “This is how we see the union, with concrete infrastructure inter-connection projects between our countries. It is that easy. We have the same blood, now we have a chance to reinstate or to build together networks running just like a circulatory system.”

In both states, analysts note that the joint government meeting comes at a highly delicate time for the Moldovan authorities. This very week, the European Union announced the suspension of macro-financial aid amounting to 100 million euro, on account of significant breaches of democratic principles in that country.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled in Moldova on February 24, and polls indicate the Socialist Party headed by the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon as the most likely to win.

23 November 2018
22 November 2018, UPDATE

Reshuffle. President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that the cabinet changes at
the beginning of the week will not be followed by others in the coming period. He
voiced his dissatisfaction with the fact that around 70 ministers have been replaced
by the ruling coalition since it came to power two years ago, which, in his
opinion, is too much. He said he will discuss the next reshuffle after the
celebration of Romania’s national day on the 1st of December. We
recall that earlier this week, the president approved six proposals for
defence, labour, economy, culture, communications and youth and sport and
rejected two, for transport and regional development, Lia Olguta Vasilescu and
Ilan Laufer, respectively. The executive committee of the Social Democratic
Party made a new proposal for the transport ministry, namely Mircea Draghici, and
nominated Lia Olguta Vasilescu for the ministry of regional development. Lucian
Sova on Thursday resigned as transport minister to vacate the post.

Romania-Rep. Moldova. A declaration of intent regarding the elimination of
roaming fees and a number of bilateral agreements in areas such as tourism,
defence, healthcare, communications and culture were signed on Thursday in
Bucharest by Romanian and Moldovan ministers and officials at the end of a
joint meeting of the Romanian and Moldovan governments in the presence of the
two countries’ prime ministers, Viorica Dancila and Pavel Filip, respectively.
The two also met ahead of the joint government meeting to discuss, among
others, the stage and future of bilateral relations. The meeting was held in
the run up to Romania’s taking over the EU Council presidency in the first half
of next year. The Romanian government considers this to be a good opportunity
to encourage Moldova to continue to make efforts to implement the reforms it
has committed to under its Association Agreement with the EU. This is the
second joint meeting of the Romanian and Moldovan governments this year after
that in February held in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. The Moldovan prime
minister also had talks with president Klaus Iohannis and the speakers of the
Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest.

Visit. The European Commissioner for Migration, Home
Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos paid a visit to Bucharest on
Thursday where he met prime minister Viorica Dancila. The two officials
exchanged useful views related to the dialogue between the Romanian government
and the European Commission ahead of Romania’s EU presidency on the subjects
dominating the European agenda during Romania’s term. They reviewed the main
European issues pertaining to Mr. Avramopoulos’s portfolio, with emphasis on
the management of migration at EU level and consolidating the
EU’s internal security and borders. Dimitris Avramopoulos also had talks with the interior minister Carmen Dan. He said
he supports Romania’s accession to the free-movement Schengen area. The agenda
of the European Commissioner also included meetings with the Senate speaker Calin
Popescu Tariceanu and the minister delegate for European affairs George Ciamba.

Budget. The
Bucharest government may discuss on Friday its second budget adjustment this year.
The finance ministry has published the project on its website, mentioning a
target deficit of 2.97% of the GDP. The finance ministry, the labour ministry
and the healthcare ministry will receive the biggest amount of additional
funds. The justice, internal affairs and development ministries will also
receive more money, as will the health insurance fund, the state social
securities fund and the unemployment fund. The ministries of transport,
research and innovation, culture, education, communication and information
society, European funds, waters and forests, the environment and agriculture
will receive less money.

National day. Around 4,000 military and experts from the defence
ministry, the interior ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the
National Prisons Administration, and over 200 pieces of equipment and 50
planes, as well as military from a number of allied and partner countries will
take part in a military parade on the 1st of December in Bucharest
on Romania’s national day. The approximately 500 foreign troops taking part
will come from Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany,
Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, the UK, the Republic of
Moldova, Slovakia, the US, Turkey and Ukraine. The Romanian military in foreign
missions and theatres of operation will also be holding special military
ceremonies and activities to celebrate the national day.

22 November 2018
October 11, 2018 UPDATE

SOUTH KOREA – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis said in Bucharest on Thursday that Romania will further pay special heed to strengthening the EU-South Korea Strategic Partnership. He made the statement during the talks he had in Bucharest with the Chairman of the National Assembly in Seoul, Moon Hee-sang. On that occasion, the president underlined the special relations between the two countries, given that South Korea is the first Asian country that Romania established a Strategic Partnership with, 10 years ago. President Iohannis also encouraged all efforts to capitalise on the economic cooperation potential, also by attracting new South-Korean investments on the Romanian market. In turn, the Seoul official said Romania is currently one of his countrys most important strategic partners in South-Eastern Europe.

TRANSDNIESTER – Romania supports a thorough, peaceful and sustainable settlement of the Transdniester conflict, with the observance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Melescanu said on Thursday. He met in Bucharest with Franco Frattini, Special Representative of the Italian OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniester Settlement Process and the new head of the OSCE Mission in the Republic of Moldova, Klaus Neuekirch. Teodor Melescanu underlined, among others, that Romania will further pay special attention to monitoring the implementation of and compliance with the commitments made with regard to the situation of schools with Latin script teaching in the separatist region. Transdniester de facto got out from under the control of the central authorities in Chisinau in 1992, following an armed conflict which left hundreds of dead, and which ended with the intervention of the Russian army on the separatists side.

TRANSPORTS – The Federation of Romanian carriers, FORT, has announced the resumption of transport activities across the country, after the relevant committee with the Chamber of Deputies announced it would organise a debate demanded by the protesters. Intercity passenger transport was severely disrupted in almost half of Romanias counties, where carriers protested the line ministrys plans to change the rules for the award of licenses. The protest was organised after the Transport Ministry announced it would change the scoring system for the companies taking part in bids for transport routes, on grounds that the current system has led to a monopoly in the market.

JUDICIARY – The Public Ministry has all the resources required in order to make the Section investigating magistrate offences operational, the Prosecutor General Augustin Lazăr has announced. The statement comes after the Government passed an order on Wednesday regarding the establishment of that section, which is to take over all pending and finalised cases from the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, as of October 23. Augustin Lazăr said the act has already been made public in the Official Journal. Under the law, the new Section is to start working within six months after the law has taken effect, and the Higher Council of Magistrates is yet to initiate the procedures for making it operational. The new unit will be made up of 15 prosecutors, and its chiefs will be appointed further to a selection process run by a commission of 3 judges and a prosecutor from the Higher Council of Magistrates.

PENSIONS – In Romania, a new Pension Bill is to be sent to Parliament, after having been passed by the Government. The Labour Minister Olguta Vasilescu says no pension will be reduced under the new law, nor will the standard retirement age and contribution period be amended. Novelties include the introduction of masters degree and doctoral degree studies as corresponding to pension fund contribution periods. The new law is to come into force in several stages until 2021, when it has taken full effect. Its provisions will regulate the benefits paid to over 5 million Romanian pensioners.

CLARIFICATIONS – The Craiova University has not signed and does not intend to sign any Memorandum with the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the higher education institution in south-eastern Romania announced on Thursday. The University makes clear that it hasnt received any cooperation request from and does not cooperate with the Russian Foreign Ministry or other institutions from Russia, other than universities. The reaction comes after the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zaharova, quoted by TASS news agency, announced plans to set up a Russian-Romanian commission for public diplomacy and cultural-scientific dialogue. The setting up of the commission is reportedly stipulated in an alleged memorandum that the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the University of Craiova intend to sign to mark 140 years since the inception of diplomatic relations between Russia and Romania, TASS quotes Zaharova, as saying. (Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)

11 October 2018
The Republic of Moldova, 27 years since it gained its independence

27 August 1991: a new state emerged on the map of Europe, the Republic of Moldova, set up on a large part of the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Soviet Russia in 1940. Romania, which was still recovering after a long communist period, was the first country to recognise the new republic. 27 years later, Romania, an EU and NATO member state is the most fervent supporter of the European integration aspirations nurtured by the small neighbouring state, with a predominantly Romanian speaking population.

Romania pledges to further support Moldova while our country will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019. The almost three decades that have elapsed since Moldova proclaimed its independence haven’t brought prosperity and social peace to the small republic. In 1992, Transdniester, backed by Moscow, took out from under Chishinau’s control, following an armed conflict which left hundreds of dead. The status of the eastern regions has not been regulated yet. Deep economic crises impacted the Republic of Moldova, “consolidating” its position of the poorest European state and causing a massive migration of its citizens. Internal turmoil and wide scale protest rallies have produced changes at the top of the political class and the administration.

After declaring in 2009 that its rapprochement to the EU is the major objective of its foreign policy, the Republic of Moldova got a series of notable successes, the main one being the wavering of the visa regime and signing the free trade agreement with the EU member states.

Moldova’s relations with Brussels have soured however after over 1 billion USD vanished from the country’s banking system, in 2014, the reforms, including the mandatory ones in the field of justice, were brought to a halt. Furthermore, a pro-Russian president was elected in 2016. Chishinau’s western partners expressed concern over Moldova’s relinquishing the old electoral model, based on party tickets and its embracing the mixed voting system. Their discontent reached the highest level after the cancellation, for debatable grounds, of mayoral elections for the capital city, Chishinau, which had been won by the leader of the pro-European Justice and Truth platform, Andrei Năstase.

Poor performance in building the rule of law, democracy and a healthy economy is further weakening the small eastern state and is fuelling fears over its future. This is what supporters of the pro-European opposition are well aware of. Thousands of them on Sunday took part in a protest rally before the Government’s headquarters in Chishinau, organised by the National Resistance Movement ACUM, set up after the mayoral elections for Chishinau were cancelled.

The participants denounced high-level corruption and called for the resignation of the Filip cabinet, which is held responsible for the citizens’ deteriorating living conditions and for Moldova’s isolation at European level. “Many young people have been driven away from home. And we remain fewer. We cannot accept to further be lied to by this corrupt regime, to be plundered by this authoritarian regime, we can no longer educate our children while earning salaries under the poverty line, we can no longer let them humiliate us any longer”, said Maia Sandu, the leader of the Action and Solidarity Party.

27 August 2018
July 25, 2018

VISIT- The Romanian Prime Minister
Viorica Dancila is on a tour of the Western Balkans, which includes visits to
Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia. The political dialogue with officials
from the two countries will focus on reconfirming deep bilateral relations,
based on support for EU accession and on ensuring regional stability and
security, the Romanian PM has stated. Strengthening economic cooperation is another
goal, Viorica Dancila has also said, alongside the European agenda of the two
states, given the importance that Romania will pay to the Western Balkans region
during its presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of next year.

WILDFIRES – Athens has activated the EU
Civil Protection Mechanism following the wildfires that engulfed the Attica region,
keeling at least 79 people and wounding more than 200. Several countries have
already offered their help, including Romania, which has decided to send two
planes, one C-27 J Spartan, designed to extinguish fires, and a C-130 Hercules,
for logistical support. Three days of national mourning have been declared in
Greece. The wildfires were apparently caused by a heat wave, with temperatures
of over 40 degrees Celsius, and extended rapidly carried by powerful gusts wind
of up to 75 km per hour. Authorities are now considering that some of the fires
may have been started deliberately.

US AMBASSADOR – The US President Donald Trump has announced
his intention to nominate the New York attorney Adrian Zuckerman to the
position of ambassador to Bucharest, according to a communiqué issued by the
White House. Zuckerman was born in Romania and emigrated to the US with his
family at the age of 10. His Romanian is fluent and he is a partner in a New
York law firm specializing in real estate transactions. Zuckerman has been
close to the Trump family for two decades now, and he is also a known figure in
the business circles in New York. If endorsed by the US Congress, Adrian
Zuckerman will replace the current ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm.

WORLD BANK – The World Bank has approved a 50
million Euro funding to benefit Romania in case of disaster, given that the
country is extremely vulnerable to seismic risks. This loan will help improve
the resilience of emergency and response infrastructure and will strengthen
institutional capacity to plan investments aimed at reducing the risk of disasters
and adaptation to climate change. Romania is faced with one of the biggest
seismic risks in the EU, with thousands of lives lost and dozens of thousands
of buildings damaged in the earthquakes that have hit the area in the past two
centuries. More than 75% of the country’s population, including 65% of the
urban population, lives in areas of risk. Moreover, 45% of all critical
services – transport, energy, water and communication – as well as 70-80% of
Romania’s GDP are located in areas exposed to seismic risks. The World Bank set
up its office in Romania in 1991 and since then it has provided funding worth a
total of 13.6 billion Dollars, in the form of loans, guarantees and grants for
all the sectors of Romanian economy.

NATO – A group of NATO experts is in
the Republic of Moldova these days, for consultations on the implementation of
that country’s Defense and Related Security Capacity Building Initiative. NATO experts from the US and the UK have met
with the Defense State Secretary Radu Burduja. They have discussed the first
stage of the project, Moldova’s national security strategy and the action plan
for the implementation of the strategy by 2021. In June 2015, the Republic of
Moldova was accepted by NATO as part of the Defense and Capacity Building Initiative. The
latest polls show that the number of those who are in favour or against
Moldova’s joining the North-Atlantic Alliance is almost the same, standing at
some 30%.

WATER POLO – On
Tuesday, the Romania men’s national water polo team was defeated by Spain 12-7
at the European Water Polo Championship in Spain, so the Romanian squad will
only be able to play for the 11th or 12th place. Trained by the Serb Dejan
Stanojevic, in the next match Romania will play against the team losing the
game between France and Germany. The Romanians have failed qualification for
the quarter finals, after on Sunday evening, in play-off, they were defeated by
Montenegro 5 – 15. The 16 best national men’s water polo teams are
participating in the competition. At the previous edition, two years ago,
Romania ranked 10th, and the best results obtained in the European competitions
were the fourth place in 1993 and then again in 2006.

FOOTBALL – The
Romanian football champion CFR Cluj was defeated on Tuesday, on home turf, by
the Swedish squad Malmo FF, in the second preliminary round of the Champions
League. The team that will qualify for the third tour will play against the
winner of the match between Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria and Vidi FC
Szekesfehervar of Hungary and the eliminated team will play, in the Europa
League preliminaries, the winner of the game between Sutjeska Niksic of
Montenegro and the Armenian squad Alaskert. In the Europa League, the vice
champions FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest) will on Thursday take on
the Slovenians from NK Rudar Velenje. If it manages to qualify, FCSB will in
the next stage play against the winner of the match between Hajduk Split of
Croatia and the Bulgarian Slavia Sofia. Viitorul Constanta will play on home
turf against the Dutch Vitesse Arnhem, after they eliminated in the first round
Racing Union Luxembourg. In the third round, Viitorul would play with the winner
of the game between PAOK Salonika, trained by the Romanian Razvan Lucescu, and
the Swiss from FC Basel. The winner of the Cup of Romania, CSU Craiova, will
play straight into the third round of the Europa League, against the winner of the
match pitting the German RB Leipzig and the Swiss from BC Haecken.

25 July 2018