Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanians in the Diaspora

December 24, 2020

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Romania has
reported over 600 thousand infections with COVID-19 since the start of the
pandemic. Nearly 85% of the people infected have recovered. Over 4,300 new
cases and 146 related fatalities were announced on Thursday by the Group for
Strategic Communication. The national death toll has exceeded 14,900. 1,234
patients are in intensive care. The first symbolic batch of 10,000 dozes of
anti-Covid vaccine is due to arrive soon. The vaccine will be delivered to
infectious disease hospitals. The College of Physicians has argued in favor of
administering the vaccine, which it sees as the best solution to fight the
virus.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Mobility
restrictions are in place around the winter holidays in numerous EU states. In
Germany, public gatherings are limited to family members only until Saturday,
while the authorities in the Netherlands have reintroduced the lockdown until
mid-January. Italy is now a red zone, the authorities there have introduced a
series of measures marking the country with a high risk of contamination.
Similar measures were applied in March and April, when the country was
seriously affected by the pandemic. According to our correspondent in Rome,
Italian citizens are forbidden from moving between cities and leaving home
without justified reason. People are nevertheless allowed to attend mass in
Church for Christmas. For four days, stores, restaurants, bars and other venues
remain closed. With the recent discovery of a new strain of COVID-19, the
United Kingdom remains isolated. Dozens of countries have shut down their
borders to British citizens, fearing the spread of the mutated virus.

GOVERNMENT – The new
center-right Government led by Liberal Florin Cîţu is today taking office.
Supported by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance
and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, the Cabinet was voted on
Wednesday in Parliament and was sworn in later that evening. The top priorities
of the new Government include combating the pandemic and economic recovery.

DIASPORA – One of the priorities
of the Foreign Ministry presented in the governing program for the next four
years is a number of policies focusing on the Diaspora, including increasing
the number of MPs representing Romanians living outside the country’s borders.
A wider section in the Foreign Ministry’s strategy is devoted to Romanians
abroad, and one of the headlines reads the Diaspora is Romania. Over 4
million Romanian citizens currently live in communities in Romania’s vicinity,
accounting for 20% of Romania’s total population. The Ministry also wants to
focus on Romanian citizens born abroad. We will be keeping a record of
Romanian children born abroad and make sure, together with local authorities
and via community centers, that these children are given access to information
on the Romanian language, identity and culture, when and should the parents
give their consent, including by means of a dedicated section of scholarships,
the Ministry also notes.

MOLDOVA – The
Moldovan Parliament on Thursday convened in an extraordinary session to invest
the president elect, pro-Western Maia Sandu, who won the presidential runoff on
November 15, winning 57% of the vote, thus defeating the former head of state,
Socialist Igor Dodon. A former Prime Minister of Moldova, an economist with an
MA in public administration of Harvard University and a former advisor to the
World Bank executive director, Maia Sandu is the first woman to become
president of the Republic of Moldova, three decades after the country
proclaimed its independence from Moscow. Shortly after the investiture, President
Sandu invited Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, on a visit to Chişinău.

BREXIT – The European Union
and Great Britain could finalize a post-Brexit trade deal today, although
negotiations are still underway concerning certain details, Reuters reports.
Member States have still to give their approval over the negotiated fishing
rights, but this will further require a meeting with EU ambassadors. Should EU
members greenlight the negotiated variant, the trade deal will take effect on
January 1, 2021 on a temporary basis, pending the ratification from the
European Parliament. (V. Palcu)

24 December 2020
Polls for the Romanians in the Diaspora

The Romanian
Foreign Ministry has published the list and interactive map of the 835 voting
polls created abroad for the presidential election of November 10 and the
runoff on November 24. The number is almost three times compared to the
previous presidential election of 2014. The good functioning of a record
number of voting polls abroad and the organization of the election over the
course of three days for each round of the election, will involve a close
cooperation between partner institutions, the Permanent Election Authority and
the Special Telecommunications Service, and the representatives of political
parties and communities of Romanians delegated to voting polls abroad, a
Ministry release reads.

Most polls will be opened in Spain (143), Italy (142),
Germany (80), Great Britain (72), France (50), the United States (38), the
Republic of Moldova (37), the Netherlands (25), Belgium (23), Ireland (16),
Denmark (12), Austria (17), Greece (11), Portugal (9) and Switzerland (8).
Overall, 639 polls will be opened in EU Member States. Additionally, the
Foreign Ministry states that, apart from polls created in theatres of operation
in Afghanistan, a voting poll will be opened this year in Mali, created
especially for the Romanian military taking part in the UN peacekeeping mission
to this country. We recall that a total of 294 voting polls were opened abroad
for the presidential election of 2014, and some 417 for the European Parliament
election of 2016. This year, at the European Parliament election of May, Romanians
living abroad could vote in one of the 441 voting polls.

The voting process
will be held over the course of three days abroad, namely over November 8-10
for the first round and November 22-24 for the runoff, between 12 – 9 PM local
time on Friday, and between 7 AM and 9 PM local time on Saturday and Sunday.
All voters who are still in line either inside or outside polling stations at 9
PM will be able to cast their votes by midnight.

(Translated by
V. Palcu)

22 October 2019
July 22-26

New ministers in the Romanian government

On Wednesday, the Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis signed the appointment of Nicolae Moga and Ramona
Manescu to the positions of interior minister and foreign minister
respectively. The two were sworn in on the same day. Nicolae Moga, a former
senator from Constanta and former vice-president of the Senate in the Standing
Bureau replaced outgoing Carmen Dan at the helm of the interior ministry.
Ramona Manescu joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats – ALDE, in the
governing coalition, in 2017. Previously she held the position of transport
minister. An MEP since 2007, Ramona Manescu was appointed foreign minister,
thus replacing outgoing Teodor Melescanu. Through another presidential decree,
Mihai Fifor was appointed vice-prime minister for Romania’s strategic
partnerships.

Romanians in the Diaspora

The Romanian president has
promulgated the law on early and postal voting for the Romanians in the
Diaspora, which allows them to cast their vote for 3 days in order to avoid
what happened at the May 26 EP elections, when many Romanians abroad could not
vote because of the very long queues. According to the new law, the Romanian
citizens abroad will be able to vote either by post or in advance from Friday
to Sunday. On the last voting day, the vote may be extended until midnight for
those people who are inside the polling stations or queuing outside. The
procedure will also be applied in Romania. For the postal vote, Romanians
abroad will have to register on the permanent electoral lists for the Romanians
in the Diaspora by means of an online form that can be found on the website of
the Permanent Electoral Authority. They will also have to attach a scanned copy
or a photo of their ID to this form. They can register on this list starting on
Sunday on the platform www.votstrainatate.ro.
The website was created by the Electoral Authority, to have a clearer record of
Romanians abroad and to provide them with more info on the voting process. An
information campaign has also been started by the Ministry for the Romanians
Abroad that has recently announced that over 5 and a half million Romanians
have left the country. Alongside the Romanians in the historical communities,
there are almost 10 million Romanians living outside the country’s borders,
show data provided by Romania’s 70 diplomatic missions and centralized by the
Ministry for the Romanians Abroad. According to the line minister Natalia
Intotero those who leave the country are discontented with the lack of
financial means, with their small incomes, the lack of a decent job, the poor
quality of the political class and the all pervasive corruption. Minister
Intotero also announced that the ministry officials were preparing a draft law
on the social and professional reinsertion of Romanians who want to return
home, a bill that will be forwarded to Parliament in September. August will see
the start of the 2nd stage of the national campaign ‘Information at
home! Security abroad’ meant to inform Romanians ahead of deciding to leave the
country. The campaign also targets the Romanians abroad who want to return.

European Commission issues warnings for Romania

The European Commission has
launched infringement procedures against Romania in 11 fields, including air
pollution, financial services, transposing firearms standards into national law
or illegal migration. On Thursday the Commission pointed out Bucharest has not
lifted restrictions on natural gas trade among member states, as stipulated by
EU law. The Commission also noticed that one of the changes brought to the
energy law provides for the obligation to sell natural gas on the internal
market as a priority, which is in breach of EU law, creating unwarranted
barriers to gas exports. The environment authorities in Bucharest said they
will take steps to immediately solve the problems in the field. Another
procedure was launched in the case of failing to enact EU standards regarding
combating child abuse, sexual child exploitation and child pornography.

A Romanian appointed as interim head of the International Atomic Energy
Agency

Romanian Cornel Feruta, a career
diplomat for over 20 years, was appointed interim director general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency pending a permanent designation. The
appointment follows the death of the former head of the institution, Yukiya
Amano, at a time of intense diplomatic negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Cornel Feruta was a chief coordinator with the Agency, a former chief of staff
for Yukiya Amano. In the 2007-2012 period he also held the position of
Romania’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna.

Romanian football teams enrolled in European inter-club competitions

Romanian vice-champions FCSB on
Thursday defeated Armenia’s FC Alashkert 3-nil in the first leg of the Europa
League second preliminary round. CSU Craiova drew nil-all against Honved
Budapest away from home, while Viitorul Constanta lost 3-6 away from home against
Belgium’s KAA Gent. The return legs are scheduled for next week. On Wednesday,
Romanian champions CFR Cluj defeated 1-nil Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel in the
first leg of the Champions League second preliminary round. The return leg is
scheduled for July 30 in Israel.

(Translated by L. Simion & V. Palcu)

27 July 2019
Projects for Romanians in the Diaspora

The millions of Romanians living outside the countrys borders need to know Romania has not forgotten about them. We need to find ways to keep these people connected to our present-day reality and involved in the development of Romanian society, Minister for Romanians Worldwide Natalia Intotero has said. The Romanian minister says the programmes carried out by her ministry need to be tailored to the needs of each community. The Romanian official believes keeping and asserting the Romanian identity through language, culture and traditions are top priorities for her ministry. Natalia Intotero:

“We need to persuade 10 million Romanians living abroad that Romania has not forgotten them and thus they should not forget Romania either. We need to offer them the opportunity to understand and foster the elements underlying our cultural and spiritual identity and to observe Romanian traditions, so as to become genuine ambassadors of the Romanian people in the countries they live in. Supporting and promoting Romanians worldwide requires the solidarity of all Romanians here, at home. Each of us has a role to play.

Minister Intotero went on to say Romania has been bleeding highly qualified professionals for years, also referring to the decisions taken at the level of ministries and the projects aimed at helping Romanians. One such measure is the salary increase for people working in the healthcare and education systems, which took effect on March 1. The measure is aimed at stopping the exodus of Romanian medical staff towards the West and encourages highly skilled teachers to remain in the Romanian education system.

Another project carried out under the Diaspora Start-up funding programme allows Romanians living abroad who want to return home to apply for up to €38,000 worth of funding, by enrolling in a business contest scheduled for later this year. In a press conference focusing on the needs of the Diaspora, Minister Natalia Intotero outlined projects addressing Romanians outside Romanias borders in 2018, when Romania celebrates 100 years since the Great Union of its historical provinces. The Minister for Romanians Worldwide also spoke of publishing an Encyclopedia of Romanians around the world, setting up a House of Romanians Worldwide in Bucharest, with a view to identifying, preserving and examining the miscellaneous documents and materials coming from areas outside the countrys borders inhabited by Romanians. Minister Intotero also wants to promote Romanian literature in 100 libraries in the Diaspora and to continue the town twinning program with the Republic of Moldova.

At the conference “Romanians Abroad, Realties and Aspirations, academician Eugen Simion said that the union of Romanians from all over the world could also be achieved through culture:

“The Diaspora is a very important element. And I wouldnt like it to be just an element of political manipulation. The Diaspora is a cultural factor, its culture should be assumed and judged with objectivity. We have achieved the union through culture. Writer Eugene Ionescu was right when saying that people are separated by many things but there is one thing that unites them, namely culture. Therefore we should pay the due attention to Romanian culture.

The Minister for Romanians Worldwide said that, starting this year, courses would be held at the Bucharest University for the Romanians in the Diaspora, more precisely MA studies, and worthy students and researchers would be granted “Nicolae Iorga scholarships. There are 15 such scholarships waiting to be granted. A contest of essay writing in the Romanian language will be organized for the Romanian children and teenagers abroad. It is entitled “100 essays for 100 years and the winners will receive their prizes on August 31, 2018, when we mark the Romanian Language Day. The traditional costume day will be celebrated on May 16, on which occasion folk costumes will be distributed to the Romanian communities in the Diaspora where Romanian traditional ensembles are active and acknowledged.

Also there is a project under which almost 3 thousand Romanian pupils and students in the Diaspora will be able to go on the “ArcCentenar holiday camps. Another project to be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports is called “Champions of Romanian sports and it addresses Romanians in the Diaspora and the Romanian historical communities. The project involves the participation of famous Romanian champions. Another project, “100 for the Centenary, focuses on the selection of 10 personalities from 10 Romanian communities in the Diaspora who should receive awards and be promoted in a calendar of personalities. In order to increase the visibility of awareness-raising campaigns, a brochure was drafted, in both hardcopy and digital formats, including useful information from all institutions with competences in communication with the Romanians abroad. The brochure addresses Romanian citizens who want to go abroad, those who are already abroad as well as those who want to return to Romania. It presents the opportunities, reinsertion and professional reintegration programs provided by the Romanian Government.

(Translated by V. Palcu & L. Simion)

3 August 2018
September 12, 2016 UPDATE

A NEW SCHOOL YEAR – Education and not corruption should pave the way to success in Romania, Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis said during the ceremonies occasioned by the start of a new school year. The president argued for a society upholding real values. This prompted him to launch the project “Educated Romania, focusing on a different type of education, adapted to the needs of society. In turn, PM Dacian Ciolos says the Romanian education system should bring a change of perspective and let pupils room to express themselves and learn to be responsible. He urged pupils to take confidence in their own forces and not simply chase high grades and “empty titles, depleted of any content, which do not bring them any progress at personal level. Over 3 million pupils started a new school year on Monday.

MIGRANTS – The Romanian border police on Monday arrested 30 migrants, 29 Afghani citizens and 1 Pakistani, while trying to illegally cross the southwestern border with Serbia. The migrants said they wanted to reach Western Europe. No papers were found on them. The Romanian authorities have strengthened security on the countrys Serbian border, after several small groups of migrants in August tried to illegally cross into Romania.

ROMANIAN-FRENCH TIES – French President, François Hollande, is paying a state visit to Romania. On Tuesday, he will be received in Bucharest by his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis. The two high officials will approach issues on the bilateral as well as the European agenda, following Great Britains decision to leave the community block. François Hollande and Klaus Iohannis will also visit the Research Centre in Magurele, near Bucharest. Agreements in the field of education and research will be signed with the two presidents in attendance. They will also participate in the “Future French-Romanian Partnerships Economic Forum. Romania counts on a boost in the bilateral economic relations, France being Romanias fourth largest trading partner and the fifth largest investor. According to the French Presidency, François Hollande will attend the inauguration of an Airbus helicopter factory in Brasov, central Romania. The Romanian authorities intend to boost the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, after in June, the French and Romanian prime ministers revised and signed the roadmap. We recall that Romania, a Francophone and Francophile country was the first southeast European state to strike a Strategic Partnership with France, in 2008. The Partnership was signed in Bucharest by the then presidents, Nicolas Sarkozy and Traian Basescu.

DIASPORA –Minister Delegate for the Relation with Romanians Worldwide Maria Ligor has met with members of the Romanian community in Canada, where she underlined the importance of postal voting. The Romanian official has presented the measures that have already been taken and are considered for implementation in the ensuing period of time, which are aimed at enhancing professionalism, transparency and efficiency of the Department of Policies for the Relation with the Romanian Diaspora. Talks also laid emphasis on the high interest for cooperation in such domains as tertiary education, business, promotion of Romanian artists, substantiating and evaluating the consequences of public policies on Romanian communities living outside the countrys borders. Maria Ligor has also met with the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees, John McCallum, together with whom she approached ways to boost bilateral cooperation, including a visa waiver for Romanian citizens and boosting cooperation between the EU and Canada.

REDUNDACIES – Some 850 employees of the Hunedoara Energy Compound in western Romania will be laid off, under a restructuring program which took effect on Monday. Trade unions have made public their decision to give up on the planned protests after reaching an agreement with the company management on Friday and signing a Collective Employment Agreement, which stipulates, among others, the rights of those to be made redundant. The management has announced the restructuring program will not impact labour productivity and will allow for continuing activity in the following years. Collective layoffs do not solve the problems that have long been outstanding at the Hunedoara Energy Compound, the more so as the companys debts to the state budget and to its suppliers exceed some 330 million Euros. Furthermore, nothing has been done in the past three years to render the activity more efficient.

ROMANIAN CARRIERS – Romanian carriers on Monday ran at low speed on ring roads across the country, again, in protest against the high mandatory liability insurance premiums. They protested every Monday in recent times, and in the absence of a measure taken by the government, they will stage a big rally at national level on September 15. Meanwhile, the government has made public its decision to change the laws on mandatory liability insurances. According to a draft emergency ordinance that has been launched for public debate by the Finance Ministry, contracts can also be signed for a period ranging from one month to one year and the payment can also be made in installments. Furthermore, the beneficiary can request the termination of the contract. A ceiling will be introduced for the level of premiums, with the Financial Surveillance Authority being allowed to change them.

CEASEFIRE – A ceasefire agreement came into force on Monday in Syria, negotiated by the US and Russia, aimed at putting an end to hostilities. The Syrian army canceled all of its military operations for a week. Signed by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the agreement also includes a national truce, improving the access of humanitarian missions and joint military operations against the Islamic State and al-Nusrah. Syrian rebels have declared their reluctance with the agreement, saying it will only strengthen the regime in Damascus.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, continues to be ranked as world no.5 in the WTA rankings, whereas German Angelique Kerber becomes the new no.1 in tennis. Romanian Irina Begu ranks 23rd, Monica Niculescu 55th and Sorana Carstea 89th. At the US Open, Halep reached the quarterfinals, where she was knocked out by the former no. 1 player Serena Williams of the USA. At the WTA tournament in Tokyo, Halep is seeded 3rd in the competition, after Garbine Muguruza of Spain and Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. Halep last took part in the competition in 2013, when she was knocked out by Venus Williams of the US.

(Translated by D. Vijeu and V. Palcu)

12 September 2016
August 20, 2016 UPDATE

VISIT – Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Thursday is paying an official visit to the Republic of Moldova. The visit follows as earlier this month the Government disbursed the first installment worth 60 million euros of the total of 150 million euros worth of financial aid to the Republic of Moldova. The loan has been pre-conditioned on a series of commitments for the Moldovan authorities, such as creating a timetable for signing an agreement with the IMF, the reform of the judiciary and combating corruption.

THE QUEEN – The funeral service of Queen Ana of Romania has brought together Romania and Moldova, the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the souls and hopes of Romanians across the world, Heir Princess Margaret has said. The Princess said the Queen served as an example of loyalty to the King and the Nation, while the love, respect and admiration with which Romanians have paid their last homage to her make us hope for a better future. Queen Ana was buried last Saturday at the New Archbishopric and Royal Church, built in the vicinity of the monastery of Curtea de Arges, the place of interment for the Royal House of Romania. The Queen died on August 1 in a hospital in Switzerland, at the age of 92. King Mihai could not attend the funeral service due to his serious health problems.

DIASPORA – Representatives of historical communities of Romanians on the borders and in the Diaspora, taking part in the Summer University at Izvorul Muresului in central Romania, have signed a resolution, calling for the creation of a Ministry for Romanians Worldwide, facilitating proceedings for obtaining Romanian citizenship and setting up new cultural institutes. Romanians living outside borders have also asked for increasing the number of MPs representing a proportional number of Romanian citizens in the Diaspora and the Republic of Moldova. The resolution will be submitted to the Presidency, Parliament, the Government and political parties.

STRIKE ACTION – Romanian carriers have announced they would go on work-in strike. They will run at 30 km/h for an hour every day across the country, until the civil liability premiums for car owners will be reduced to 1,100 euros per year. Employers in the field will also stage a large protest nationwide on September 15. Most carriers are on the verge of bankruptcy, after premiums for trade and passenger transport went up by 300% as compared to last year and by 500% as compared to 2014, carriers say.

ANNIVERSARY – Saturday marked 48 years since the first Dacia car was produced in Mioveni, southern Romania. Today an exhibit at the Romanian Auto Club, the 1100 model was a copy of the famous Renault, based on an agreement between Romanian communist authorities and the French carmaker. The 1300 improved model followed later, which was nearly the only car used in Romania before 1989. In 1999, Renault bought 51% of the Dacia shares and re-launched the factory in Mioveni, bringing out the Logan and Duster makes, today popular all over the world.

RIO OLYMPICS – Marathon runners Marius Ionescu and Nicolae Soare and wrestler Albert Saritov are representing Romania on Sunday, the last day of the Rio Olympics. After two weeks, Romania is ranked 45th in the medal standings, with gold won by the womens epee team, silver won by Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in the mens tennis doubles, and two bronze, won by Gabriel Sincraian in weightlifting and the womens coxed eight crew in rowing. The results have prompted the chair of the Romanian Olympic Committee Alin Petrache to announce his resignation. The disappointing results also come amidst a domestic investigation into a corruption scandal. The Police is investigating the activity of the company that supplied the equipment of Romanias Olympic delegation. Athletes have complained their gear was torn after only a few days and its color has instilled on their skin. Pax Creative was set up by the former chairman of the Romanian Olympic Committee Octavian Morariu, at present a member of the International Olympic Committee and by the acting secretary general Ioan Dobrescu.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

20 August 2016