Radio România Internațional

Tag: road carriers

December 20, 2017

BUDGET – Debates continue today in the Parliament of Romania on the 2018 draft budget laws. After heated talks, MPs approved on Tuesday the funding for 2 ministries and another 7 public institutions, in the amounts proposed by the specialised committees. They also discussed and turned down 1,700 amendments tabled by the Opposition with respect to the budget of the Regional Development Ministry. Romanias state budget for 2018 is based on an expected 5.5% economic growth rate, an exchange rate of 4.55 lei for the euro, average monthly salaries of 565 euros and a budget deficit accounting for 2.97% of the GDP. The main priorities for next year are public healthcare, education and infrastructure. The right-wing opposition has criticised the draft budget, which they view as risky and likely to increase public debt.

JUSTICE LAWS – Romanian MPs carry on today debates on two other bills in a package designed to modify the judicial framework. The draft laws concern the judicial organisation and the functioning of the Higher Council of Magistrates. On Monday, the Senate, which is the decision-making body in this case, endorsed the law on the magistrate profession. The changes that the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats intends to operate on the justice laws are strongly criticised by civil society. Hundreds of magistrates gathered in front of courts of justice around Romania, to protest what they see as a less than transparent process. It is for the first time in recent years that magistrates choose this way to express their disagreement with measures taken by the legislative.

ANNIVERSARY – Timişoara, in western Romania, celebrates today 28 years since the day when it proclaimed itself the first Romanian city free from communism. On that day workers went on strike, the Army withdrew to their units and the anti-communist protesters were waiting for other cities to join in the movement. Sparked by the locals opposition to an abusive measure by local authorities, the Revolution spread across the country, culminating on December 22 with the dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu attempting to flee the capital city. Between December 16 and 25, 1989, more than 1,000 people were killed and nearly 3,400 were wounded. According to the Military Prosecutors Office, the main cause of most of the deaths, injuries and damages was a military diversion orchestrated on the evening of December 22, 1989.

PROTESTS – Romanian police workers are protesting today in front of the Interior Ministry headquarters against the under-funding of the system, and are demanding the resignation of Interior Minister, Carmen Dan. They also complain about the poor logistics and the disastrous state of some police units, as well as the personnel shortage, reaching around 20,000 employees. The Interior Ministry issued a news release, stating that it would take note of the police workers complaints.

TRANSPORT – Thousands of road carriers took to the streets to demand the implementation of the legislative changes promised by Transport Minister Felix Stroe. The respective changes would enable the authorities to fight unauthorised and unlicensed operators such as taxi and rent-a-car companies and providers of occasional or regular rides. On Tuesday the Bucharest City Hall announced measures to eliminate piracy and unauthorised transport companies, but the Confederation of Authorised Operators and Carriers announced protests will continue because the rest of the country is still affected by piracy and unfair competition. In related news, the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber is a transport services company, requiring it to accept stricter regulation and licensing within the EU as a taxi operator. Romania, where Uber has been operating for 3 years, is the companys fifth-largest market in the EU.

US SECURITY STRATEGY – Russia and China condemn US President Donald Trumps new security strategy, unveiled on Monday, which portrays Moscow and Beijing as Washingtons rival powers. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov slammed the US national security strategy as imperialist and “unwilling to give up the idea of a unipolar world. In turn, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said US was wrong to see China as a threat, and that cooperation was the only right choice for Beijing and Washington. At the top of Trumps list of security threats are the “rogue regimes of North Korea and Iran.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

20 December 2017
September 16, 2016

EU SUMMIT – European leaders convene in Bratislava today for an informal summit focusing on the future direction of the EU after the results of the UK vote to leave the European bloc. Romania, represented by President Klaus Iohannis, will make a case for consolidating those projects that unite Europe. The Romanian head of state said he would argue for internal and external security, economic growth and job creation as strategic priorities. Bucharest is also in favour of maintaining the single market, the Euro and the Schengen area, and wants enhanced transparency and legitimacy of the EU institutions. Klaus Iohannis added that in the future post-Brexit negotiations, Romania would make no compromises with respect to the freedom of movement and employment and with the rights of the Romanians living in the UK. This is the first EU informal summit in which Britain does not take part.

RRI QUIZ – The winners of the grand prize in RRIs “Holiday in Bistriţa-Năsăud quiz, Liu Fajian and his wife, Huang Lingping, from the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, arrived in Bucharest this morning. Over the next few days, the two will visit cultural, historical, religious and entertainment sites in the northern Romanian county of Bistriţa-Năsăud. Thirty-three listeners of the RRI Chinese-language broadcasts have provided correct answers to the quiz questions. We have received a total of 352 correct and complete answers. The two Chinese listeners will be in Romania until September 23.

ANTI-CORRUPTION – Gheorghe Benea, the former manager of the Romanian Lottery, has been taken into custody by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate under charges of bribe taking and aggravated abuse of office. In the same case, the chief of the Procurement Service at that time has also been taken into custody, two other individuals are being investigated under court supervision, while another six are subject to non-custodial investigation procedures. According to prosecutors, in May 2010, the management of the Romanian Lottery awarded a contract for the replacement of the company vehicles, which caused the company to lose over 250,000 euro.

PROTESTS – The representatives of road carriers and of the Romanian Financial Supervision Authority have reached an agreement concerning the reference figures for compulsory motor insurance policy prices. According to the new deal, the highest premium, for heavy duty trucks, will not exceed a rough 1,700 euro, as against nearly 4,500 euro at present. Road carriers gave up protests as a result of this agreement.

CAPITAL OF CULTURE – Timisoara in western Romania has been chosen
as Capital of Culture 2021. The announcement was made on Friday by an
international jury appointed by the EU. The other 3 candidates were
Cluj-Napoca, in the north-west, Baia Mare in the north-west and Bucharest. The
winner will share the title with a city from Greece and one from the EU
candidate countries, Serbia and Montenegro. Since 1985, the EU has designated
one or two cities from accession or pre-accession countries, as European
Capital of Culture. The respective cities are expected to implement, for a one-year
period, an innovating and sustained cultural program able to showcase the
richness, diversity and similarities of the European culture to an
international public. In 2007, the title of European Capital of Culture was
shared by Sibiu, in Romania, and the city of Luxemburg.

RUSSIA SANCTIONS – The EU officially announced a six-month extension of the sanctions against nearly 200 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and entities, accused of threatening the integrity of Ukraine, the French daily Le Figaro reported on its website. The sanctions include asset freezes and EU entry bans for the respective people and companies. The European Union introduced the sanctions in March 2014, after Russias annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea and in the context of the separatist conflict in east Ukraine. Other sanctions include economic measures against the Russian banking, oil and defence industries.

FOOTBALL – Romanias football champions, Astra Giurgiu, lost on Thursday the game against Austria Vienna, 2-3 on home turf. This was Astras first match in the Europa League group stage. In the same group, Viktoria Plzen, from the Czech Republic, drew, 1-all, against Italys AS Rome. The Romanian vice-champions, Steaua Bucharest, were also defeated in their first game in the League group stage, outplayed by the Turkish side Osmanlispor, 0-2, away from home. In Steauas group, Villarreal of Spain beat FC Zurich of Switzerland, 2-1.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

16 September 2016
September 6, 2016

APPOINTMENT – The Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Ciolos, has announced today that the new Interior Minister will be Dragos Tudorache, currently chief of staff at the Government. Ciolos said Tudoraches main task is the fair and transparent organisation of the December 11 parliamentary elections. The Prime Minister has explained that he appointed a civilian for this position in order to avoid any suspicions regarding the preparations for the ballot. Tudorache takes over the post from outgoing minister Petre Tobă, who is probed into by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate for aiding an offender. According to prosecutors, he denied the declassification of documents needed in an investigation into several ministry officials accused of embezzlement.

CORRUPTION – Romanias former PM and the ex-president of the Social Democratic Party Victor Ponta was placed under Court supervision for 60 days, in a new corruption investigation. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate accuses him of influence peddling and of being accessory to money laundering. Prosecutors say that while a president of the Social Democratic Party, Victor Ponta reportedly requested and received 220,000 euros from a businessman who wanted to run for an MP seat in Prahova County in 2012. This is the second corruption case involving the former PM, after Rovinari-Turceni, which is currently tried in Court.

ECONOMY – The Romanian economy went up 5.2% in the first half of the year compared to the corresponding period of 2015, and household consumption grew by 10.4%. According to the National Statistics Institute, in the first six months of the year total final consumption accounted for over 80% of the GDP. All economic sectors contributed to the GDP increase, with more substantial influences coming from retail and wholesale, motor repair services, transport and storage, hospitality and restaurants. According to the European Commissions spring forecast, released in early May, the Romanian economy will likely grow by 4.2% in 2016, whereas most banks and financial institutions operating in Romania estimate a growth rate between 4.4 and 4.8%.

EU FUNDING – The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, has called on Bucharest to adopt as soon as possible a master plan on the countrys transport infrastructure, which is a prerequisite for a more efficient spending of EU funds. She appreciated Romanias progress in terms of spending EU funds in the transportation sector, but added that in spite of these efforts nearly half of the more than 30 major projects financed from the EU budget initiated in the previous financial year will not be completed in time. Corina Creţu explained that these projects were re-scheduled, so as to ensure that nearly 2 billion euros from the 2014-2020 budget would cover their co-funding. Corina Creţu had a meeting in Brussels on Monday with the Romanian Transport Minister, Petru Buşe, who assured her that the Romanian authorities would endorse the Transport Infrastructure Master Plan by the end of the month.

DIPLOMACY – Slovenias deputy PM Karl Erjavec reiterated his countrys support for Romanias Schengen accession, during a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu. The Slovenian official, who is also the acting Foreign Minister, emphasised that Romanias Schengen membership would improve the protection of the external borders of the EU and implicitly help enhance Europes security. The talks took place on the sidelines of the 11th Bled Strategic Forum. Originally scheduled for March 2011, Romanias Schengen accession has been repeatedly postponed, as various Member States voiced their reserves regarding the reform of the judiciary and the efficiency of the fight against corruption. Bucharest on the other hand has always stated that it complies with the technical criteria for accession.

PROTEST – The leading road transport associations in Romania have announced a large-scale rally in the capital city Bucharest on September 15. On Monday, thousands of carriers drove at slow speed in several Romanian cities, to protest the high insurance fees that they have been charged. They argue that the insurance policies for freight and passenger transport companies, which are over 300% more expensive than last year and 500% higher than in 2014 would drive them into bankruptcy.

ENESCU COMPETITION – Tian Tian from China is the winner of the Composition Section of the 2016 George Enescu International Competition, in the Symphonic Music category, with a work entitled “Concerto for orchestra, while Italys Caterina di Cecca won the Chamber Music category with her “Isole per 7 strumentisti. A total of 34 young composers have entered the competition. until September 25, nearly 200 young artists from 38 countries around the world are in Bucharest, living their dream of becoming the worlds greatest musicians. This years Enescu Competition also brings to the same stage established artists, jury members and winners of the previous editions who have made an international career in music.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

6 September 2016
August 19, 2016

EUROBAROMETER – The Romanians confidence in justice and the legal system has decreased by 13 % as compared to 2015, the Eurobarometer issued by the European Commission shows. Figures show that 60% of the respondents say they tend not to take confidence in the judiciary in Romania, thus registering a 12% increase as compared to 2015. 72% of the respondents say they have confidence in the Army, 4% less than in 2015. Some 50% of the respondents trust the police, registering 1 percentage point more than in the fall of 2015. Higher percentages are also being registered in the case of political parties, amounting to 13%, one percentage point more than in the fall of 2015. The poll was conducted between May 21 and 31, 2016.

ROAD CARRIERS – Romanian road freight carriers go on a token strike and will run every day at a speed of 30 km/hour anywhere in Romania, until the car insurance premiums are reduced to 4,907 lei per year, that is 1,100 de euros, a communiqué issued by the National Union of Road Carriers in Romania and made public by the AGREPRES news agency on Friday, shows. Apart from the token strike, the Union, together with the other employers associations in the field of road transportation will organise a big protest movement, at national level, on September 15, 2016. Most commercial carriers are brought to the brink of bankruptcy after insurance premiums for commercial freight and passenger transportation have increased by over 300% as compared to the previous year and by over 500% as compared to 2014. The union also considers that the insurance companies are not interested in reducing risks, but to conceal their inefficiency and place the burden on carriers.

DROUGHT – Prolonged drought in Romania, in recent times, has affected over 350,000 ha of farm land, but it is only at the end of the year that the relevant authorities can made public the exact surface of the affected area, because they are still receiving notifications from the field, agriculture minister Achim Irimescu has said. He has added that the ministry he runs has taken into consideration an assistance plan to compensate the debts accumulated by farmers who no longer managed to pay electricity and water bills. In another move, farmers protested again yesterday in front of the Government headquarters, being discontent about the delayed payment of subsidies in agriculture. Some of them have gone on hunger strike and claim they will continue this extreme form of protest until the government makes all payments. They have rejected any invitation to negotiations by the agriculture minister, who has been reproached for failing to comply with the commitments he has made.

BORDER SECURITY – The Romanian Interior Ministry has increased the number of border police officers and gendarmes deployed along the border with Serbia, after two illegal border crossing attempts by small groups of migrants have been registered this week, a communiqué issued by the Romanian Interior Ministry writes. Furthermore, the already deployed troops are now accompanied by thermovision cars, canine border patrols and additional ground troops. These ground missions will be backed by a helicopter. These actions are aimed at maintaining public order and fighting cross-border crime on Romanias south-western border.

TENNIS – Romanian Simona Halep, the worlds no. 4 tennis player, qualified on Thursday to the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Cincinnati, totalling 2.5 million dollars in prize money. In the round of 16, Halep knocked out Daria Gavrilova of Russia, 47th WTA. In the next round, Halep will go up against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 5th WTA. Halep is seeded 2nd in Cincinnati and may win her third consecutive tournament, after Bucharest and Montreal.

RIO OLYMPICS – On the 14th day of the Olympics, Romanian athletes are competing in the womens 20 km race walk, the mens 50 km race walk and the womens 4×400 m relay team events, as well as in wresting and rhythmic gymnastics. So far, Romania has grabbed only four medals: the gold obtained by the women’s epee team, the silver obtained by the pair Florin Mergea/ Horia Tecau in the men’s tennis doubles, and two bronze medals, obtained by Gabriel Sincraian in weightlifting, and by the women’s coxed eight rowing team.

(Translated by Diana Vijeu)

19 August 2016