Radio România Internațional

Tag: resources

October 4, 2022 UPDATE

ESPIONAGE Prosecutors with the Directorate Investigating Organised
Crime and Terrorism Offences (DIICOT) have indicted 4 Romanian and foreign
nationals as part of an espionage inquiry targeting the Serbian company NIS
Petrol, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Gazprom. Prosecutors have
ordered searches in Bucharest and Timișoara, both at the company headquarters, and
at the homes of a number of employees, confiscating documents and data storage devices.
The four are accused of having traded classified information and of
facilitating the unauthorised transfer of data concerning Romania’s mineral reserves,
prosecutors say. In 2009, Gazprom bought the majority stake in NIS under an
agreement signed by Belgrade and Moscow.

ECONOMY Romania’s economy
is expected to grow by 4.6% this year, the World Bank announced on Tuesday. The
estimate is better than the one made public in June, when the figure only
stood at 2.9%. The improvement is based on robust private consumption and early
signs that investments would pick up, but the outlook depends on the
developments in Ukraine and their impact on the European economy on the whole,
the institution says.

MOTION USR Deputies, in opposition, together with MPs from the Force
of the Right, have tabled a simple motion in the Chamber of Deputies against
the interior minister Lucian Bode, whom they accuse of incompetence and
protecting party interests. The USR leader Cătălin Drulă says Bode must answer,
among other things, to allegations that the Romanian Police purchased new cars
through public procurement procedures that favoured companies linked to the Liberal
Party. Bode is also criticised for failing to reach a number of targets,
including the electronic monitoring of offenders and the interior
ministry reform. The motion will be discussed and voted on next Tuesday.

LEGISLATION A draft law regulating the judge and prosecutor
professions was endorsed on Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies. The bill had
passed all the required stages of the legislative process, including the approval
of the Higher Council of Magistrates, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu said.
The act was criticised however by the USR and AUR parties, in opposition. The
decision-making body in this case is the Senate. The bill is the 3rd
normative act in a law package regulating the judiciary, next to one on the
Higher Council of Magistrates and the organisation of courts, which have
already been endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies.

FUNDING Romania may get about EUR 1.5 billion for energy
independence projects and for fighting energy poverty, following the
endorsement of the REpowerEU plan by the Economic and Financial Council in
Luxembourg. Romania is the 6th EU member state to benefit from the
new funding, said the finance minister Adrian Câciu. He explained that during
negotiations the funding earmarked for Romania practically doubled compared to
the original proposal made by the European Commission this May.

NOBEL The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to
Alain Aspect (France), John F. Clauser (USA) and Anton Zeillinger (Austria) for
their revolutionary experiments with entangled photons, establishing the
violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science.
Their findings have laid the foundation for a new era of quantum technology. (AMP)

4 October 2022
Government assurances with regard to resources

Oil
is about money, gas is about geopolitics, an energy expert noted recently referring
to Russia’s actions in its open diplomatic, economic, and essentially
ideological conflict with the West. Moscow has reopened one of the pipelines
delivering natural gas to Europe, but Europe has understood that it can no
longer rely on Russian gas and that for the majority of European states, this
isn’t even ethical in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This
is why the European Union has been trying to diversify its supply sources while
trying to convince member states to use resources sensibly and to save energy
for the next winter. The prospect of reducing their gas consumption has
reawakened painful memories for the Romanians who experienced the nightmare of
the final years of the communist dictatorship and when they were shivering with
cold in their homes in winter. This is probably why the politicians in power are
treating this subject with optimism, an approach that is, nevertheless backed
by figures.

Prime
minister Nicolae Ciucă said there are no fears at the moment that Romania may
run out of natural gas next winter. More than 1.6 billion cubic metres are
already in stock, with initial plans being to reach 80% of storing capacity by November 1st, the prime minister
said:

The
plan was to reach 46% of storing capacity by 1st August, 57% by 1st
September, 66% by 1 October and 80% by 1st November. Looking at the
figures, we are exceeding the level committed to and at the end of last week our
stocks had 200 million cubic metres more than we had in the same period last
year. So there are no fears at the moment that Romania may not have the needed
gas in the 2022-2023 winter.

The
reduction of consumption, as requested by the European Union, is a precautionary
measure, says the prime minister. However, the prolonged drought has caused
another major challenge, one that the government must address: what happens
with the cereal crops. The prime minister said there is enough wheat to supply
domestic demand and even to export. There is also no reason for concern with
respect to the corn and sunflower crops, he added:

The
autumn crops are being harvested and looking at the figures I’ve received it’s
very clear that we have enough wheat for domestic consumption, for seed
planting and even to export. We shouldn’t worry about the corn and sunflower
crops, either, as figures are again showing that there are enough quantities to
ensure the needed demand.

It’s
the duty of each government to ensure food, heating and energy during winter
for its citizens and that’s exactly what we’re doing, prime minister Ciucă has
promised. (CM)

22 July 2022
July 22, 2022

RESOURCES
PM Nicolae Ciucă promised that Romania will have the necessary natural gas to
cover demand for the coming winter. The PM said more than 1.6 billion cubic
meters of gas is already stored, and the energy plan stipulates 80% of the
total capacity will be reached by November 1. Meanwhile, he said that in spite
of the drought, there is enough wheat to cover the domestic demand and export
commitments and that there are no reasons to worry about the maize and sunflower
crops.

HEAT WAVE The prime minister of Romania
Nicolae Ciucă has today asked prefects to conduct information and prevention
campaigns so that people are aware of the risks entailed by the high
temperatures and that activities to mitigate the effects of the heat wave may
be coordinated. He added that it was important for all localities to have cooling
shelters and medical teams providing assistance and free water. PM Ciucă also requested the
authorities to take steps to ensure navigability on the River Danube. The low
water flow has made it nearly impossible to navigate the Danube, with several
vessels stranded in sand and scores of cruise ships cancelling their stopovers
in the port of Giurgiu over the past month.

COVID-19 Nearly 7,400 new COVID cases
were reported over the past 24 hours, out of around 24,400 tests, the
authorities announced on Friday. Over 2,600 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised,
171 of them in intensive care. Seven COVID-related deaths have also been reported.
Hospitals are beginning to take measures, including increasing the number of
beds set aside for COVID patients, regular staff and patient testing, and
cancelling visiting hours in order to reduce the risk of infection.

REFUGEES The Romanian
Border Police announced today that 11,511 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania
on Thursday, 4.5% fewer than the
previous day.
According to a news release, border checks are conducted efficiently and in
line with the national and EU legislation, and border police units are working
at full capacity.

UKRAINE Turkey announced an agreement was reached,
which would enable Ukraine to export grains via Black Sea routes. The deal is
to be signed in Istanbul today by officials from Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and
the UN. Three main provisions in the agreement are already known. First, Russia
must guarantee ceasefire during the shipments. Secondly, Ukraine must guide grain
ships in and out through mined port waters. Finally, Turkey, supported by the
United Nations, is to inspect ships in order to dispel Russian fears of weapons
smuggling. This is the first major agreement reached by Russia and Ukraine
since the start of the invasion.

FOOTBALL Romanian football champions CFR Cluj won 3-0 against
Inter Club d’Escaldes, of Andorra, played on Thursday night on home turf in the
first leg of the second round of Europa Conference League’s qualifiers. In the
same competition, the winners of
Romania’s Cup, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe defeated 3-1 at home the Slovenian
side Olimpija Ljubljana. Romania’s 2 other representatives in Europa
Conference League played away from home. Universitatea Craiova drew against the
Albanian side Vllaznia Shkoder, 1-1, and vice-champions FCSB were defeated by FC
Saburtalo Tbilisi, of Georgia. (AMP)

22 July 2022
March 8, 2022

COVID-19 Today is the last day
of the COVID-19 state of alert in Romania. The epidemic sees a declining trend
across the country, with the 5th wave of the pandemic close to the
end, president Klaus Iohannis said last week. Romania was on alert for nearly 2
years, beginning on May 15, 2020. Five pandemic waves hit the country during
this period, triggering protection measures, some of which will be lifted once
the state of alert has come to an end. Over these 2 years, says the Strategic
Communication Group, some 64,000 SARS-CoV-2 patients died in Romania. By
Monday, the country had seen roughly 2.78 million infection cases. The number
of new cases reported on Tuesday for the past 24 hours is around 5,500, with 101 related fatalities also
registered, 4 of them from a previous date.

UKRAINE Russia
has sent to Ukraine most of the forces it had deployed along the borders, with
a majority of the 150,000 Russian troops currently on Ukrainian territory, the
Pentagon says. On Tuesday, the 13th day of war, the Russian
offensive focuses on the capital Kyiv in the north and in the south, where
Moscow seeks control over the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts. Russian ships
have changed position and are preparing a rocket attack on Odessa, Radio
Romania’s correspondent in the region reports, and mentions that local
authorities continue to urge citizens to leave the city, which is believed to
be a strategic target for the Russian invasion. Meanwhile, a new ceasefire
attempt has been announced for this morning, to enable civilians to leave
several cities that are under attack, including the capital Kyiv, where a
Russian attack is expected in the coming days. President Zelensky accused the
Russian army of preventing the evacuation of civilians, while the West
described Russia’s offer to secure humanitarian corridors only to Belarus and
Russia as cynical. Adjusting the corridors and their logistics was announced
last night, after the 3rd round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in
Belarus. Fresh talks are planned for the coming days, without an exact date
announced as yet. On Thursday, a meeting is scheduled in Antalya, Turkey, between
the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, also attended by Turkey’s
diplomacy chief and mediated by the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The
UN has also called for corridors in the Ukrainian battle zones, to deliver aid
to the civilians struggling with substantial shortages.

REFUGEES Nearly 30,000 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania in
the past 24 hours, according to the Romanian border police. Since the start of
the crisis a total of around 300,000 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.
Bucharest approved on Monday a new set of measures to support the refugees
coming from the neighbouring country, both children and adults, whose rights
the Romanian government will fully observe. The Ukrainian children in Romania
will have access to education at the same standards as Romanian children, the
elderly and the disabled will be able to request social services, and people
seeking a job here will be able to get employed.

RESOURCES The price of all raw materials has soared
around the world since the start of the war in Ukraine and in the context of
the sanctions against Russia. The most substantial price rises were reported
for natural gas, wheat, oil and uranium. Romania will have no natural gas
shortages if Russian imports are cut, and stocks will be restored this spring,
the authorities say. The energy minister Virgil Popescu says Romania has
alternative sources. According to analysts, Romania should begin storing
natural gas as soon as possible, and it should also move to increase the local
output.

STEEL The Târgovişte Special Steel Works in southern Romania
has been taken over by the Italian group Beltrame, one of the world’s leaders
in steel flat bars, local authorities have announced. According to the
investor, apart from revamping the plant, this year 200 new jobs will be
created, followed by another 1,000 in the next 5 years. The steel works,
privatised in 2002, was held by the Russian group Mechel, but was declared
bankrupt last year.

WOMEN
The rights of women and girls have been subject to alarming pressures over the
past year, Amnesty International warns. Events in 2021 and in the early months
of 2022 have conspired to crush the rights and dignity of millions of women and
girls, said Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard. In a
statement posted on International Women’s Day, Callamard pointed out that the
COVID-19 pandemic and the rollback on women’s rights in Afghanistan were among
the developments that had a disproportionate impact on the rights of women and
girls. She also listed in this respect the widespread sexual violence
characterizing the conflict in Ethiopia, attacks on abortion access in the US
and Turkey’s withdrawal from the landmark Istanbul Convention on Gender Based
Violence,” and called on governments to revoke the decisions that have
worsened the situation of women and girls. (A.M.P.)

8 March 2022
Civic mobilisation during the COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic triggered by
the new COVID-19 caused fatalities all over the world. We are well aware of
that. But we are also aware of the fact that its tragic aftermath has so far
favoured the strengthening of human solidarity and cooperation. In Romania, a
great many non-governmental associations and civic or private initiatives
support vulnerable areas, as well as the natural persons worst-hit by the
pandemic’s socio-economic aftermath. A telling example of that is the Emergency
Fund for Hospitals. It was created as early as the initial stage of the
COVID-19 outbreak by the Save Romania Children Association. The association has
for many years now been jointly working with maternities and medical units.
These days, the money donated by companies or natural persons for the Emergency
Fund is earmarked to those who have been on the frontline in the fight against
COVID-19.

The representative of the Save the
Children Association, Stefania Mircea:

The
Romanian medical system has engaged in the war against the vulnerabilities we
are familiar with, so it was all the more needed for us to be responsible and
stay united. Everybody’s lives depend on the medical staff that has been on the
barricades, and a doctor who is deprived of protection is putting his own life
in danger, at once jeopardising the lives of the people around him. The medical
doctor and the medical staff are, unfortunately, the most exposed to that,
since they do not stay at home. They are on the frontline in the fight against
pandemic, a scourge that, as we all know, has claimed the lives of so many
people around the world. Besides, with no protection equipment, with no medical
equipment, they cannot save us, and they cannot save themselves either. We have
been receiving demands from medical doctors countrywide who need medical or
protection equipment. We record their application in a registry and, with our
donations, we try to reach the destinations where our stuff is most needed.

A bank account has been
opened for this emergency fund. Prospective donors can use it, and they can
also use a text message for that. So far, the donated sum amounts to roughly
500,000 Euros. Of that, around 135,000 Euros have been spent for medical
equipment and materials. 35 medical and patients’ care units as well as 74
family doctors’ offices in 17 counties have benefited from the aid provided by
the Save the Children Association. Medical ventilators, a portable echography scanner
kit, disinfection devices, cleaning and disinfection kits for hospital wards
and operating theatres have been donated, as well as gloves, bonnets, hospital
booties, overalls, visors. Three incubators for premature babies have also been
donated, as well as disinfection solutions. But the most impressive aspect of
this campaign was the mobilization of the laypeople. Of the total sum of money
that has been donated, 92,000 Euros have been donated by natural persons.

Stefania Mircea:

It is so
impressive to be able to see how laypersons have understood that solidarity was
most needed. Even one of the medical doctors we have worked with has launched
an appeal to his patients, and people donated various sums of money, ranging
from small sums to bigger sums, in a bid to help the medical system. It is so
impressive. So often we have heard that the crisis we are going through is
tantamount to going through a war. That is why the need to be humane was so
great. In times of crisis, people are quick to help the others and from the
bottom of our heart we thank those who have
offered their support so far, also making an appeal to the people, to continue
to get involved and donate, no matter how much or how little, and under what
form.

The elderly, especially the
needy and the lonely, have also been among those most exposed to danger during
the pandemic. The SNK Association, through its Seneca Ecologos and Seneca
Publishers, Romania’s first green publisher, during the pandemic, has been
doing what it has done before: promoting responsibility, this time towards the
elderly, through Our grandparents,
which is one of their programs. The program kicked off under the slogan We
provide safe donations and deliveries of food and hygiene products for the
vulnerable elderly people. Initially, the project was thought out for only one
month, but its scope turned out to be broader afterwards as, providing help for
the elderly, the people working with the Seneca Association have also
discovered other categories of vulnerable persons, day labourers, single
mothers, people who have been made redundant or furlough employees. That is why
donations were most needed, made by companies or natural persons.

The representative of the SNK Association, Anastasia
Staicu:

For the first
month, we approached 85 grandparents, while at the moment we provide help for
700 people in 24 counties and more than 30 localities. We have also reached the
outlying areas. We offer our help in Bucharest, that’s for sure, but we also
try to reach various areas countrywide, the less accessible places. For the
first month alone, the project was implemented using the Association’s
financial resources. Then we spread the news we would like to carry on, so more
people joined us, thousands of people of the Declic community, all of them
donated sums of money. And their donations overwhelmed us. The sum amounted to
as much 80,000 Euros, or thereabouts and with that sum we can provide help for
some 700 people every month. We work following a weekly plan, and we do not
have only individual cases. For instance, we also help 250 people placed in 15
elderly care homes in Giurgiu ( in the south). Also in Giurgiu, we offered
packs to child care centers and to care centers for people with disabilities.
Everything we have received helps us a great deal, so that in turn we may carry
on with our help.

Every week, SNK volunteers deliver
three self-contained packs, with food and hygiene products: milk, bread, potted
tomato sauce and vegetable stew, carrots, lemons, toothpaste, soap and kitchen
towels. As for the project itself, it may continue as soon as the state of
emergency ends and restrictions are gradually eased.

Anastasia Staicu:

We shall carry
on as much as we can afford it,
resource-wise. Also, we shall do that as long as the state of alert is in
place. However, in a couple of months’ time we hope solutions can be found at
state level. All private aid initiatives, for the time being, are a shield
protecting those who are most vulnerable in times of crisis, but we keep our
hopes alive that, later on, the authorities will also intervene to do their
job.

Until then, one of the most
sensible gains of this extremely difficult period is provided by the solidarity
private donors have shown so far.

13 May 2020
March 22, 2020

COVID-19 Romania Bucharest on Saturday night announced new restrictions to contain the spreading of COVID-19. The interior minister Marcel Vela said retail would be temporarily suspended, except for foodstuffs, veterinary products and pharmaceuticals. Under a military order presented by the interior minister, the measure takes effect tonight. Dentists offices will also be closed, except for emergency interventions. A 10p.m to 6a.m. curfew was introduced, with people allowed to leave their homes at night only for work-related purposes, or to buy food or other essential items. Romania has also closed borders for foreign citizens and stateless persons, except for transit corridors agreed on with neighbouring states. Exceptions to this rule include foreign family members of Romanian citizens, family members of other EU citizens or citizens of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation residing in Romania, people traveling for work-related purposes, diplomatic and consular personnel, staff of international organisations, military and humanitarian personnel, passengers transiting Romania or passengers travelling for strict medical or family-related emergencies, people in need of international protection or people traveling for humanitarian reasons.

COVID-19 world At least 900 million people in over 35 countries around the world are isolating, either as part of mandatory measures introduced by national authorities, or further to recommendations made by the authorities in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Curfews have been introduced in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jordan and Burkina Faso. Tunisia and Rwanda have today imposed lockdowns. In South America, Bolivia decided nation-wide quarantine, while Columbia and the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil will do the same as of Tuesday. In the US as well, 30% of the citizens have been ordered to stay at home. Over 300,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported in 169 countries and territories since the epidemic started, and the death toll exceeds 12.800. The worst-hit country in the world is now Italy, where the situation continues to worsen. The number of victims in that country is over 4800. (…) The novel coronavirus continues to spread in the UK, where the government has urged 1.5 million vulnerable people to stay at home for 3 months. China announced 46 new cases today, only one of which was locally transmitted, after 3 consecutive days with no local infections. One of the priorities in the country where the pandemic broke out in December is to prevent the disease from entering Chinese territory from abroad. Other severely hit countries are Iran, Spain, France and the USA.

UPDATE Romania has reported the first 2 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the country. According to the Strategic Communication Group, they were a 67-year old man suffering from terminal cancer and a 74-year old man with a chronic disease. So far 433 cases have been confirmed in Romania, 64 of whom are recovered and discharged. According to the Foreign Ministry, 8 Romanian citizens have died abroad because of the COVID-19, 7 in Italy and 1 in France.

WATER The UN calls for better use of water to help fight climate change. In a report issued on World Water Day, the organisation emphasises that better management of water resources may contain global warming. The UN says treating larger quantities of used water should be one of the priorities. Up to 90% of the used water is not treated at present, although it is an important source of methane, which is a greenhouse gas. The UN also asks for the protection and reconstruction of wetlands, which store twice as much carbon as forests, while also preventing floods and providing a habitat for wildlife. The report criticises the lack of cooperation between governments in the field of global warming and water management.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 March 2020