Radio România Internațional

Tag: schools

  • November 26, 2021 UPDATE

    November 26, 2021 UPDATE

    Government — The coalition government in Bucharest, led by the Liberal Nicolae Ciuca and instated on Thursday, approved a budget rectification on Friday, the second of this year. The decision was considered an emergency, so as not to delay the payment of pensions and salaries next month. The Ministries of Finance, Health and Labor received money while the Agriculture and Transport Ministries lost funds. According to official data, the budget deficit remains at 7.13% of Gross Domestic Product. The autumn forecast shows an economic growth rate in Romania of 7% for the current year. On Thursday, in the inaugural meeting, an emergency ordinance on the reorganization of the government was adopted, because the new cabinet has two more ministries as compared to the previous one. The law also stipulates that the prerogatives of the two deputy prime ministers, from the parties allied with PNL, Sorin Grindeanu (PSD) and Kelemen Hunor (UDMR), are established by the decision of the prime minister. The ordinance also allows for occupying the vacancies in public institutions.



    Covid — Romanian schools are beginning to receive noninvasive tests for rapid detection of the novel coronavirus. The first tranche, of about 6.5 million saliva tests, was distributed on Thursday, the Education Minister, Sorin Cîmpeanu announced. The rapid testing of preschoolers and students is set to begin next week and will be done twice a week for children attending classes. 1,958 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the last 24 hours and 160 deaths, of which 45 were registered before the reference period, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Friday. The National Public Health Institute announced that over 70% of the cases registered in the last week were in unvaccinated people. Since the start of the vaccination campaign, a little over 7.7 million people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.



    AWARD — The Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 2021 Summer Piotr Nurowski “Best European Young Athlete” Prize (PNP) in Europe, awarded by the General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees during an event hosted by Samorin, Slovakia. Aged 17, Popovici won gold in 2021 at the European Short Course Swimming Championships, and another three gold medals in European Youth Championships. He broke two world junior records in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, and ranked 4th at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 100m freestyle event. Enrolled at Dinamo sports club in Bucharest, Popovici fought for the prize against four other athletes, Sky Brown from Great Britain (skateboarding), Adriana Cerezo Iglesias from Spain (taekwondo), Viktoria Listunova from Russia (artistic gymnastics) and Adriana Vilagos from Serbia (athletics). The Piotr Nurowski award was created in memory of Piotr Nurowski, former President of the Polish Olympic Committee who died in a plane crash in 2010. In 2012, the Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache was voted 2012 Summer Piotr Nurowski “Second Best European Young Athlete”.



    B9 – On November 25 and 26, Romania co-chaired with Poland the 3rd meeting of the defense ministers of the Bucharest 9 or Bucharest Format, representing Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The meeting in Bucharest was a continuation of the discussions held this spring, on the occasion of the B9 Summit held in Romania, with the extraordinary participation, in a videoconference, of the US President, Joe Biden. The agenda was structured in two main sessions: the first was dedicated to the results of the NATO summit in Brussels, of June, to the process of developing the new Strategic Concept of the Alliance and implementing the NATO 2030 agenda. The second session focused on cooperation between NATO and the European Union, the Strategic Compass, resilience and military mobility. The meeting in Bucharest takes place in an important context for the security and stability of the allied eastern flank and the Euro-Atlantic area, being an opportunity to send a clear message on the unity and solidarity of the states in this region, show a Defense Ministry communiqué. (LS)

  • November 16, 2021 UPDATE

    November 16, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The coronavirus epidemic stays on a downward trend in Romania. On Tuesday the
    authorities reported 4,128 new Covid infections out of over 55,000 tests, which
    accounts for a 7.41% positive rate. Another 397 related fatalities were also
    reported, including 54 that had not been recorded in the system earlier. Some
    14,000 Covid patients are currently receiving hospital treatment, including
    almost 1,700 in intensive care. The incidence rate is on the decrease in
    Bucharest, dropping to 5.34 cases per 1,000 inhabitants on Tuesday. In related
    news, non-invasive testing is due to begin in schools for children and
    teachers. At the moment, almost three quarters of Romanian schools and kindergartens
    are holding in-person classes, the rule being that only schools with a
    vaccination rate among their staff of at least 60% can reopen for in-person
    teaching, the rest holding classes on line. As for vaccination, the pace has
    dropped steadily in recent days, compared to a peak of over 110,000 doses
    administered on 27 September. Nearly 7 million Romanians are fully vaccinated
    at present.




    SCHOOLS Legal and financial education have become
    compulsory skills in primary and middle schools in Romania. President Klaus
    Iohannis Tuesday signed a law amending the Education Act, to include these
    areas in the national curriculum. The document also includes financial and
    legal education in the teaching programmes of local lifelong learning community
    centres. In a first stage, these subjects can be introduced as optional school
    subjects only, because national curricula must be approved by the Education
    Ministry.




    ECONOMY Romania,
    Hungary and Lithuania have the biggest annual growth rate in the European Union
    in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year,
    according to preliminary data published by the European statistical office
    Eurostat. GDP grew in the EU by 3.9%, with Romania at 8%, Hungary at 6.1% and
    Lithuania at 6%. However, according to the latest figures published by the
    National Institute for Statistics, Romania’s economic growth rate slowed down
    to 0.3% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter. In the first
    nine months of the year, GDP grew by 7.1% compared with the same period last
    year. Economic experts say the growth rate will slow down even more this autumn
    and winter, while the inflation rate may go up to 8% in the context of the
    current political crisis.




    EU Romania’s
    foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu attended a ministerial meeting of the Eastern
    Partnership held in Brussels, where EU foreign ministers agreed to expand the
    criteria for imposing new sanctions against Belarus. The new sanctions would
    target those involved in weaponising the plight of migrants. The European Union
    is accusing Belarus of intentionally creating a migrant crisis on the border
    with Poland and the Baltic countries in retaliation to the Union’s earlier
    sanctions against the regime in Belarus for its crackdown on the opposition.
    Minister Aurescu presented Romania’s stand on the strategic priorities of the
    Eastern Partnership post-2020 and called for a consolidation of the security
    dimension in the Eastern Neighbourhood, as well as for greater involvement from
    the EU in solving the frozen or protracted conflicts in this region.




    MILITARY The EU is considering a joint military force of up to 5,000 troops by
    2025, to intervene in a number of crises without needing to rely on the US,
    according to a draft strategic plan, Reuters says. The EU
    Rapid Deployment Capacity should include land, sea and air capabilities. Two decades after the EU leaders first agreed to
    set up a force of 50,000-60,000 troops, which never became operational, the
    strategy drafted by the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell is the most concrete
    effort to create an independent military force that does not rely on US assets.
    Not all the 27 EU member states would have to contribute troops, but a
    consensus would be required for any deployment. Since 2007, the EU has had
    battlegroups of 1,500 troops available, but they have never been deployed, in
    spite of efforts to use them in Chad and Libya.





    Radio and TV Parliament
    approved the new leadership of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation,
    which Radio Romania International also forms part of. With the support of the
    Social Democratic Party, the new director general at Radio Romania isRăzvan-Ioan
    Dincă, a former National Opera director who has a court of first instance
    conviction for abuse of office and false statement but who was later acquitted.
    The leadership of the Romanian television was also appointed, with the
    journalist Dan Cristian Turturică becoming the new director general, with the
    support of the National Liberal Party. The members of the new boards are
    appointed for a 4-year term and have to take an oath in Parliament. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Back to school!

    Back to school!

    Nearly two-thirds out of the over 3 million students
    and pre-schoolers in Romania are returning to schools on Monday, after a 2-week
    break triggered by the COVID 19 pandemic.


    Face-to-face teaching is resumed in schools where at
    least 60% of the employees are vaccinated against the virus, while the other
    schools carry on classes online. The Students’ Council says schools are not
    ready to resume on-site classes, and call on the authorities to also take into
    account the local infection rates, the healthcare infrastructure, the testing
    capacity and the means to ensure physical distancing.


    The coordinator of Romania’s vaccination campaign, Valeriu
    Gheorghiţă, admits that the measure would prompt a rise in infection risks, but
    argues that children need face-to-face classes and adults should make an effort
    to ensure that children are safe in schools.


    Valeriu Gheorghiţă: I believe it is a duty for us, for the adults, to
    make sure our kids are safe in schools. How can we do that? By complying with
    health and hygiene rules, by explaining these rules to the kids, by getting the
    vaccine. I believe this is the way for us to gradually become able to control
    and contain the effects and consequences of this pandemic. Yes, resuming
    on-site classes definitely entails additional risks in terms of the number of
    infection cases, but what we must keep in mind is a balance between the
    epidemiological status and the benefits and losses for our children during this
    period.


    In turn, the interim education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu
    says that although controversial, the new conditions for reopening schools have
    been effective and encouraged teaching staff to get the vaccine:


    Sorin Cîmpeanu: The reports for Friday, 29th October, indicated
    that 54% of public and private schools had a vaccination rate of over 60% and
    may resume face-to-face classes. By Friday, 5th November when we
    updated all data for all the schools in Romania, there was an increase from 54%
    to 68%, so the measure worked. Several inspection teams from the Education
    Ministry will conduct on-site checks to see the extent to which protection
    rules are implemented, and also to check the accuracy of the reported
    vaccination rates. This is a compromise solution, it has its flaws, but at the
    end of the day this criterion ensures a safer environment for students and
    teachers, it protects teachers the most, because according to physicians vaccinated
    people don’t get infected and don’t pass on the virus as easily as the non-vaccinated.


    To make up for the lost time during this school break,
    the Education Ministry amended the structure of this school year and shortened
    the winter holiday for middle schools and high schools. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Educated Romania: a presidential project

    Educated Romania: a presidential project

    Educated Romania, a country project launched in 2016, aims at improving Romanian education, which is lagging behind Western European systems, as the project initiator, president Klaus Iohannis warned.



    Without having so far triggered any changes whatsoever in the education system, the initiative has been subject to successive public debate series over the past few years. These days it is back in the spotlight, with consultations held by the head of state with the political class, education stakeholders and NGOs involved in the project, as the public debate is drawing to a close.



    The presidential administration announced last week that the projects main reform goals and lines of action will be presented during these talks, so that a political and social consensus would be reached, which would guarantee its implementation and its approval by all political parties.



    The reform should lead to a decentralised education system, better teachers, new infrastructure and equipment standards, academic subjects and assessments focused on developing skills and on improving access to education.



    The changes outlined in the Educated Romania project include testing for skills, decentralisation, flexibility, lifelong learning for teachers and schools adjusted to the labour market. Solutions for an efficient education system include a smaller number of school subjects, smaller workloads for children, with a focus on their skills and creativity.



    One major change concerns the high school system, with 3 routes—theoretical, professional and vocational—spanning 4 years, and graduates from all 3 categories able to take the baccalaureate if they choose to and transfers allowed between high school types.



    The professional route involves obtaining a level-3 professional certification at the end of the 11th grade and a level-4 certification at the end of the 12th grade. Colleges and post-high schools would subsequently provide level-5 certification.



    The baccalaureate exam would assess a set of skills that all high school graduates, regardless of the profile, should have. Some high schools, where the demand is higher than the number of seats available, may also organise admission exams.



    According to the project coordinators, schools must provide information and train children for life. Some of the targets of the project for 2030 include bringing the early school dropout rate down to a maximum 10%, reducing functional illiteracy by at least 50%, Romania ranking among the worlds top 30 countries by PISA test results, a minimum 80% pass rate in middle school final exams and a 75% pass rate in the Baccalaureate exams.



    Presidential adviser Ligia Deca explained that the “Educated Romania project is a plan rather than a law, and that next week the government would endorse a memorandum setting clear deadlines within this project. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • The Priorities of Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan

    The Priorities of Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan

    The centre-to-right coalition government in
    Bucharest on June 2nd made public the National Recovery and
    Resilience Plan PNRR – about 12 hundred pages sent to the EU with measures,
    which would allow Romania to attract 29 billion euros worth of EU funds. This
    money, which Romania can get as loans or subsidies is part of a major plan of
    672 billion euros designed by Brussels so that all the member states can
    overcome the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Authorities in Romania
    want to use some of the money to build over 400 kilometers of motorway,
    hundreds of schools and kindergartens and refurbish many hospitals.




    In fact, the transport infrastructure,
    Education and Healthcare are going to receive most of the funds. The plan also
    contains provisions for some environment activities such as reforestations or
    an improved waste management. According to Prime Minister Florin Citu, all the
    loans Romania is going to get by means of PNRR will be used for investment.




    Florin Citu: We must get loans to
    invest in Romania as we need to build motorways, hospitals, schools, and the
    loans we get by means of this PNRR are at a low interest rate, close to zero.
    Germany, Spain, Italy, countries from the Eurozone, are getting loans at this
    rate. The fact that we can get loans at such a low interest rate and invest
    them is a good thing for Romania.




    Deputy prime
    ministers Dan Barna and Kelemen Hunor have underlined that key sectors will
    significantly change and that all communities, irrespective of the region will
    be equitably and fairly supported. On the other hand, Lucian Romascanu,
    spokesman for the opposition PSD, believes that on the contrary, the projects
    included in the PNRR will be causing new imbalances.




    Lucian Romascanu: We don’t have anything when it comes to motorways, rail
    roads, irrigation systems or gas networks, and that situation is condemning
    Romania to underdevelopment. We are going to have a country which is developed
    unequally, right at a time when we can give it a new look by properly using
    these funds.




    The plan also contains a series of reforms in
    terms of pensions, justice, state companies and the payment of the personnel in
    the public system. While the government says that it wants to recalculate
    pensions, the opposition PSD has referred to the former’s intention to increase
    the pension age, implement austerity measures and freeze incomes.




    According to the Social-Democrats, the poverty
    of the Romanians and the dropping standard of living are the only certitudes of
    the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience. According to the Minister of Investment and
    European Projects, Cristian Ghinea in the next period Bucharest is waiting for the
    official assessment of this plan in Brussels and for its approval. From that
    moment on the ways of implementing the aforementioned plan belong exclusively
    to Romania.


    (bill)





  • February 7, 2021 UPDATE

    February 7, 2021 UPDATE

    Pandemic. Almost 2,000 new Covid cases and 72 new related deaths were reported on Sunday in Romania, which now surpasses 745,000 infections and 18,880 deaths. With respect to the on-going vaccination campaign, the health ministry in Bucharest said all the three vaccines approved in the European Union, including Romania, namely Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca, may also be administered to people with autoimmune diseases. The first batch of over 80,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which arrived on Saturday, began to be administered in Romania on Sunday. However, this vaccine will only be used in this country in adults between 18 and 55 years of age. Overall, some 656,000 people have received the Covid vaccine so far in Romania.



    Schools. More than 2.4 million pupils out of Romanias almost 3 million are going back to school on Monday for the start of the second semester. Pupils and teachers will be wearing face masks in classroom at all times, children have to sit within at least 1 metre of each other and access is not allowed to visitors from outside. Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu on Saturday told a TV station that education during the pandemic has been of low quality, largely because of on-line teaching, but also because of poor access to technology in some places, especially in rural areas. The minister said the losses are significant, explaining that there are big gaps between different schools and children and that it will be difficult to catch up with all the learning lost. He added that his ministry will closely monitor the catch-up scheme, which benefits from 30 million euros worth of funding.



    State budget. This years state budget will most likely be published for public consultation on Monday before being approved by the government sometime next week. Prime minister Florin Cîţu said the budget is based on a deficit of around 7% of GDP and aims to boost economic recovery and put an end to excessive and unjustified public spending. He also spoke about restructuring loss-making state companies, which will be denied funding unless they carry out reforms. The government is also looking into ways to cut bonuses in state-owned companies, which amount to 120 million euros. The prime minister said that while staff expenses have doubled in the last four years, public administration has not become more efficient. The Social Democratic Party in opposition has come up with its own budget bill, saying its goals are healthcare, education, economic recovery and raising peoples living standards.



    Renault. French car maker Renault said it would suspend production next week at several factories due to a worldwide shortage of semiconductors. The temporary shutdown will affect factories in France, Romania and Morocco, which will be closed for two or three days. The shortage of chips, which has also affected other car makers such as Fiat, Opel, Chrysler, Citroen, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen, was generated by increasing demand for chips from laptop and mobile phone manufacturers. The situation faced by the Renault-owned Dacia factory in Mioveni, which affects some 8,000 employees, has been discussed by the factory management with the Romanian labour minister Raluca Turcan. The latter said she would ask Parliament to amend the law allowing businesses in difficult situations to benefit from subsidy to pay their employees. The labour ministry will propose changes to the work schedule when justified, with reduction in working hours of up to 80% if necessary.



    Moldova. Moldovas prime minister designate Natalia Gavriliţă will on Monday present Parliament with her governing platform and her cabinet. President Maia Sandu said Gavriliţă is a professional with integrity and that she expects her to present a programme based on economic development and ridding state institutions of corruption. With a background in economic, Natalia Gavriliţă is the managing director of the Global Innovation Fund based in London. Under Moldovan legislation, if a new government is not invested after at last two attempts, Parliament is dissolved.



    Handball. Romanian womens handball champions SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea defeated the Danish side HC Odense 26:25 in Champions League Group B match on Sunday. They are 6th in the 8-team group. On Saturday in Group A, the Romanian vice-champions CSM Bucharest defeated another Danish side, Team Esbjerg, to go up to fourth place in the group. In the EHF European League competition, the Romanian womens side HC Dunărea Brăila lost on Sunday to the Hungarian side Siofok KC 24:31 in a Group D match. Dunărea also lost the home against Siofok, who top the group with 7 points, followed by Dunărea with 3. In Group on Saturday, CS Minaur Baia defeated the Russian side Astrakhanochka Astrakhan 30:27. Minaur, Astrakhanochka and Storhamar from Norway are in the top three places in the group with four points each.



    Tennis. Six Romanian players are in action in the opening round at the Australian Open, in the womens singles. World no. 2 and second seed Simona Halep will be facing Australias Lizette Cabrera, Patricia Ţig will be playing Sorana Cîrstea in an all-Romanian match, Irina Begu will play Serbias Nina Stojanovic, Ana Bogdan will play Danielle Collins of the US and Mihaela Buzărnescu will meet the Romanian-born Canadian player Bianca Andreescu. (CM)




  • February 7, 2021

    February 7, 2021


    Vaccination. Almost 2,000 new Covid cases and 72 new related deaths were reported on Sunday in Romania, which now surpasses 745,000 infections and 18,880 deaths. With respect to the on-going vaccination campaign, the health ministry in Bucharest said all the three vaccines approved in the European Union, including Romania, namely Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca, may also be administered to people with autoimmune diseases. The first batch of over 80,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which arrived on Saturday, are also being administered in Romania from today. However, this vaccine will only be used in this country in adults between 18 and 55 years of age. Overall, some 650,000 have received the Covid vaccine so far in Romania.



    Renault. French car maker Renault said it would suspend production next week at several factories due to a worldwide shortage of semiconductors. The temporary shutdown will affect factories in France, Romania and Morocco, which will be closed for two or three days. The shortage of chips, which has also affected other car makers such as Fiat, Opel, Chrysler, Citroen, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen, was generated by increasing demand for chips from laptop and mobile phone manufacturers. The situation faced by the Renault-owned Dacia factory in Mioveni, which affects some 8,000 employees, has been discussed by the factory management with the Romanian labour minister Raluca Turcan. The latter said she would ask Parliament to amend the law allowing businesses in difficult situations to benefit from subsidy to pay their employees. The labour ministry will propose changes to the work schedule when justified, with reduction in working hours of up to 80% if necessary.



    Schools. More than 2.4 million pupils out of Romanias almost 3 million are going back to school on Monday for the start of the second semester. Pupils and teachers will be wearing face masks in classroom at all times, children have to sit within at least 1 metre of each other and access is not allowed to visitors from outside. Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu on Saturday told a TV station that education during the pandemic has been of low quality, largely because of on-line teaching, but also because of poor access to technology in some places, especially in rural areas. The minister said the losses are significant, explaining that there are big gaps between different schools and children and that it will be difficult to catch up with all the learning lost. He added that his ministry will closely monitor the catch-up scheme, which benefits from 30 million euros worth of funding.



    Handball. Romanian womens handball champions SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea are today facing the Danish side Odense in an away match as part of Champions League Group B. Vâlcea are in the 6th position in their group with only 4 points. The two best-ranked teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, while teams finishing in the 3rd to 6th places will go into play-offs. Also in the Champions League, Romanian vice-champions CSM Bucharest came back with a win after two delayed matches in a row because of Covid positive tests in the teams they were due to play. The Bucharest side on Saturday defeated the Danish side Team Esbjerg at home, 28:26 and are now 4th in Group A, with 13 points in 11 matches.



    Weather. An alert for rain and strong winds is in place in most of the country until Tuesday at noon. Precipitation is expected to reach 25 litres per square metre and even more locally. Strong winds are forecast in the mountains, with speeds of more than 100 km per hour at high altitudes, and with gusts of 40 to 60 km per hour in the rest of the country. Temperatures today are between minus 6 and plus 15 degrees Celsius, with 3 degrees in Bucharest at noon.




  • Three scenarios for the reopening of schools

    Three scenarios for the reopening of schools

    Taking under advisement the methodology
    employed in most European states, Romania too will be reopening its schools
    starting on February 8. The Government in Bucharest has adopted three scenarios
    based on which classes in the second half of the school year will be conducted
    with the physical attendance of pupils or not. Starting Monday, over 2.4 of the
    total of 3 million pupils will be reverting to physical attendance of school
    classes, Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu has said. The green, yellow or red
    scenarios will be enacted at the level of each area, depending on the incidence
    of COVID infections. Sorin Cîmpeanu:


    In the green scenario, children
    enrolled in the pre-school, elementary and middle-school systems will be
    returning to physical attendance in class, wherever the infection rate is 1 or
    lower. The next scenario provides for an infection rate of 3 per thousand or
    lower. In this case, only elementary and pre-school children will be going to
    schools, in addition to terminal-year pupils. In the third scenario, which
    provides for an infection rate over 3 per thousand, but no higher than 6 per
    thousand, only elementary and pre-school children will have physical class
    attendance.


    The Romanian official also said that,
    whenever the infection rates exceeds 6 per thousand inhabitants, the given area
    will automatically enter quarantine, schools will be shut down and pupils will
    return to remote teaching. The novelty regarding the three scenarios is that
    hybrid forms of teaching are removed in the yellow scenario, which divided the
    class in two groups of pupils who attended classes in schools on a rotation
    basis. My experience in the education system makes me believe the system
    doesn’t work. One of the reasons for abandoning the hybrid form of teaching is
    that teachers find it very hard to teach half their pupils in class and the
    other half online, at the same time, Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu has told a
    private television station. Moreover, the minister went on to say, starting
    next semester, pupils will be seated in pairs at the same desk while plexiglass
    shields will be removed, even in classes with 30 pupils. Both pupils and the
    teaching staff will have to wear face masks and observe hygiene regulations.
    The authorities’ decision on reopening schools starting Monday has prompted
    diverging reactions from the political class. The Liberals believe the
    reopening of schools will test both the local administration, and school
    principals. In turn, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, a ruling
    coalition party, has hailed the decision, arguing the party has been advocating
    this move since November last year. The Social-Democrats in opposition claims
    schools are not ready to have pupils return to physical class attendance.
    Senator Gabriela Firea claims under 10% of teachers are vaccinated and the
    Government has presented no plan for a mass-vaccination of pupils and teachers.

  • February 4, 2021

    February 4, 2021

    Romania pandemic. Romania saw
    2,688 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, with total infections now nearing
    740,000. The death toll is 18,675. More than 620,000 people have received the Covid vaccine in this country
    so far. The coordinator of the mass vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiță said last night
    that Romania will probably use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine only in people
    under 55, something seen in other European countries as well. An official
    decision in this respect will be taken this week after talks with experts,
    given that this month Romania is to receive a delivery of 800,000 doses of
    Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine. Gheorghiță also announced the opening of a further
    180 vaccination centres from 15th February.




    World Cancer Day. The Covid-19 pandemic has had
    a catastrophic impact on cancer care, Hans Kluge, the World Health
    Organisation’s regional director for Europe said in a statement on World Cancer
    Day. One in three countries in the 53 members of the World Health Organisation
    in the European Region (including a few from Central Asia) disrupted cancer
    services fully or partially because of the pandemic and travel restrictions.
    Some countries were faced with a shortage of cancer medication and many have
    seen a significant drop in number of cancers diagnosed, even in the richest
    nations, Kluge also said. Cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases are
    responsible for more than 80% of deaths in the European Region.






    Schools. Pupils and teachers will wear face
    masks, pupils will maintain a distance of 1 metre within each other in class
    and access of visitors banned – are some of the measures proposed by the
    education ministry for the reopening of schools as of 8th February. The
    proposals were discussed today with school inspectors from around the country
    and is next to be approved by the health ministry. The education and health
    ministries are expected to publish a joint order on the sanitary norms for the
    reopening of schools beginning in the second semester. Next Monday, 2.4 out of
    3 million pupils will return to school for in-person learning.




    Restrictions. The government
    is working on legislation to allow for the temporary suspension of the activity
    of firms that do not comply with the norms to prevent and combat the spread of
    Covid-19. Prime minister Florin Cîţu said the measure is needed because there
    are many firms that do not respect the restrictions in place during the state of
    alert. He said fines will not go up because it has been found that they are not
    effective.




    Travel. Following talks on
    Wednesday night between the Romanian and Mexican foreign ministers, the Mexican
    authorities have remedied the situation of the Romanian citizens blocked on
    Cancun airport. According to a statement from the Romanian foreign ministry,
    Mexican foreign minister Marcelo
    Ebrard Casaubó conveyed his counterpart Bogdan Aurescu his government’s regrets
    for the negative impact caused by the actions of the Mexican authorities. All
    Romanian nationals have now been allowed access to Mexican territory with the
    exception of five persons who were bared from entering the country and will
    return to Romania. The Mexican authorities admitted that any possible security
    red flags that may affect the right of foreign citizens to enter Mexico must be
    based on individual, non-discriminatory assessments. 114 Romanian tourists were
    reportedly held by the Mexican authorities on Cancun airport, without any
    explanation. The Romanian foreign ministry has repeated its advise for Romanian
    citizens to show prudence when deciding to travel for tourist purposes,
    especially to destinations affected by the Covid pandemic.




    Defence. The charge d’affaires of the US embassy
    in Bucharest David Muniz and the commander of the 31st Fighter Wing
    at Aviano Jason E. Bailey are today visiting an air base in Câmpia Turzii, in north-western Romania.
    According to a Romanian defence ministry statement, talks will be looking at
    issues of mutual interest related to the contribution and role of the Romanian
    and American air forces as part of NATO efforts of reassurance on its eastern
    flank and bilateral cooperation within the Romania-US strategic partnership. A
    detachment of MQ-9 Reaper aircraft and some 90 US air force personnel have been
    deployed to Câmpia Turzii for the next three months. They will carry out
    intelligence, surveillance and research missions in support of NATO operations,
    while the Romanian air forces will provide, through the air base in Câmpia
    Turzii, the necessary technical, operational and logistical support. (CM)



  • February 3, 2021

    February 3, 2021

    Romania
    Covid update.     More than 600,000 people have received the Covid vaccine in Romania,
    of whom 140,000 also received the second dose. The total number of infections
    passed 735,000 on Wednesday, almost one year since the first case was reported
    in this country, while the death toll hit 18,600 have died. More than 1,000
    Covid patients are in intensive care.




    Schools. Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu said
    today that he will issue a joint order together with the health minister
    containing all the measures for the reopening of schools in Romania as of 8th
    February. The order will stipulate the rules to be respected when children
    physically return to classrooms beginning with the second semester. Schools,
    high schools and kindergartens will be reopening for in-person learning in
    Romania next week, Romania thus joining most European Union countries in
    this respect.




    Romania-Spain.
    Spain’s foreign minister Arancha González
    Laya today began an official visit to Romania. According to a foreign ministry
    statement, the trip comes in the context of Romania and Spain’s celebrating the
    140th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year and ahead of a
    joint meeting of the two governments also this year. Arancha González Laya
    will be meeting prime minister Florin Cîţu and her counterpart Bogdan Aurescu
    and will be received by president Klaus Iohannis. This is Laya’s first foreign
    trip this year and takes place at the invitation of her Romanian counterpart. The
    two foreign ministers are expected to discuss a series of topical issues on the
    bilateral, European and international agenda.




    Aid.
    The Romanian government is expected to approve emergency humanitarian to Croatia
    in the wake of December’s earthquake near Zagreb, aid worth some 130,000 euros.
    In its meeting today, the government is also due to approve a number of
    measures in the education system, including payments to teachers doing extra
    hours for pupils to catch up on lost learning during online teaching. An
    amendment to a loan agreement signed in 2014 by the Romanian government and the
    International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and linked to a project
    to reform the healthcare system and improve its quality and efficiency is also expected
    to be approved today. The total cost of the project is estimated at 250 million
    euros.




    Moldova-France.
    The pro-western president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu is in Paris
    today and tomorrow for official talks with her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
    She will also be meeting the French minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Yves
    Le Drian and other officials. According to the president’s office in Chişinău, the
    trip to France is meant to give a new impetus to the political, economic and
    cultural relations between the two countries. This is Maia Sandu’s third visit
    abroad, after Kiev and Brussels. After taking office, at the end of last year,
    she met Romanian president Klaus Iohannis in Chișinău and together signed a joint declaration on
    the consolidation of bilateral strategic partnership.




    Russia. The US and other western
    powers have met with concern Russia’s jailing of Putin critic Alexei Nalavny
    and the violent reprisal of anti-government protests and have called for his immediate
    release. On Tuesday, the Russian police arrested more than 900 people during a
    pro-Navalny rally. Navalny had been detained since 17th January when
    he returned from Germany where he had received treatment for a Novichok
    poisoning he blames on president Vladimir Putin and the Russian secret services.
    His arrest led to large street protests, with the police using force and making
    thousands of arrests.




    Tourism. 6.3 million tourists
    visited Romania last year, half compared with 2019. More than 90% were
    Romanians and only 7% from abroad, according to the National Institute for
    Statistics. The most popular destinations were Constanţa county,
    in the south-east, on the Black Sea coast, the mountain city of Braşov and the
    capital Bucharest. Most foreign tourists who visited Romania last year came
    from Germany, Italy, France, Israel and the UK.




    Tennis. World no. 2 Simona Halep of
    Romania today defeated Germany’s Laura
    Siegemund to reach the quarterfinals of the Gippsland Trophy tennis tournament in
    Melbourne, in Australia. Halep will next be playing Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. Another Romanian player, Irina
    Begu, defeated UK’s Johanna Konta in three sets and will be facing world no. 3
    Naomi Osaka of Japan in the quarterfinals. Gippsland Trophy is organised as a
    lead-up to the Australian Open, which gets under way on 8th
    February. In another similar tournament, Grampians Trophy, also held in Melbourne,
    Romania’s Sorana
    Cîrstea defeated Georgia’s Oksana Kalashnikova to reach the round of last 16,
    where she will be playing second seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. (CM)

  • February 2, 2021 UPDATE

    February 2, 2021 UPDATE

    Vaccination. Romania has the fourth highest
    Covid vaccination rate in the European Union, at 3.75%, said the head of the
    national vaccination campaign, the army doctor Valeriu
    Gheorghiţă. He said the EU average is 2.95%. More than 600,000 people have
    received the vaccine in Romania so far. Between 3rd February and 14th
    April, more than 570,000 people have made appointments to receive the first
    dose and some 930,000 the second dose. Like all European states, Romania has
    also been faced with delays in the vaccine supply, but pharmaceutical companies
    are giving assurances that they will boost deliveries from mid February. On
    Tuesday, the total number of infections passed 732,000 in Romania, almost a
    year since the first case was confirmed in this country. More than 90% of those
    infected have recovered and more than 18,500 have died. Almost 1,000 Covid
    patients are currently in intensive care.






    Schools. Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that schools will be reopening for
    in-person learning for most children from 8th February, with the
    start of the new semester. We must also take into account the situation in
    each area and take very strict measures in every school, to ensure that
    learning takes place in a safe environment for both children and teachers,
    said the president. He also explained the three scenarios in place: green, in
    places with a low number of Covid cases, where all children are physically present
    in classrooms; amber, where only kindergarten children and pupils in years 1-4,
    8 and 12 go to school; and red, where only kindergarten children and pupils in
    years 1-4 go to school, with classes being held online for the rest. In places
    with a high infection rate and which are subject to lockdown, everybody will
    naturally stay at home, said the president. His statements come after a
    meeting with prime minister Florin Cîţu, education
    minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, health minister Vlad Voiculescu and other healthcare
    officials.




    Protests. More protests were held on
    Tuesday in Bucharest and other cities across Romania against a planned freeze
    on salaries and a cap on pensions. The latest protest staged by Cartel Alfa
    trade union federation was also attended by police unions. The protesters
    demanded decent and realistic minimum wages, fair pensions, a fair application
    of the law and social dialogue. Health care unions protested on Monday in front
    of the government headquarters to demand that the rights of healthcare employees
    are respected. They want the salary rises initially planned for 2021, for the
    salary gaps in the system to be bridged and the granting of a risk bonus for
    social care workers.

    Budget. Finance minister Alexandru Nazare and European commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis and Paolo Gentiloni on Tuesday discussed Romania’s budget for this year and the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plan. According to a ministry statement, Nazare told the EU officials that Romania will reduce its budget deficit this year while maintaining its economic recovery and growth prospects for the coming period.




    Rep. Moldova.
    The president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu will pay an official visit
    to Paris on Wednesday and Thursday, where she will have a meeting with her
    French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, as well as with other high-ranking state
    officials. According to Chișinău, the trip to France is meant to
    give a new impetus to the political, economic and cultural relations between
    the two countries. This is Maia Sandu’s third visit abroad, after Kiev and
    Brussels. After taking office, at the end of December, she received in Chișinău the head of the Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis.

    Navalny. A
    Moscow court on Tuesday night sentenced Russian dissident Alexei Navalny to
    three years and a half in prison for violating the terms of his suspended
    sentence. Considered Vladimir Putin’s most popular rival, Navalny was arrested
    on 17th January on his return from Germany, where he had been
    treated for Novichok poisoning. His lawyers said he would appeal the sentence,
    and his colleagues called for fresh anti-Putin protests. On Sunday, the Russian police arrested thousands
    of people during demonstrations held around the country calling for Navalny to
    be released. The European Union and the United States condemned the reprisals
    against anti-government protesters. (CM)

  • The return to school – still in doubt

    The return to school – still in doubt

    The
    Romanian authorities have promised to make a decision on reopening schools on 2nd
    February, ahead of the start of the new semester on 8th. Except for
    a couple of months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year,
    with teaching being conducted exclusively online, amid discontent from pupils,
    parents, teachers and NGOs in the field of education. Earlier this month, president
    Klaus Iohannis himself gave a statement saying that the authorities were
    considering reopening schools on 8th February based on the
    three-tier scenario used last autumn and which takes into account the local infection
    rate.




    While
    everyone is waiting for the final decision next week, prime minister Florin Cîțu
    says what matters is the health situation, emphasising that relaxing conditions
    too much would then put more pressure on the healthcare system. Satisfied,
    despite criticism, with the implementation of the vaccine roll-out, the prime
    minister also spoke of possibly easing some more restrictions. Reopening
    schools is not dependent on whether teachers have received the Covid vaccine or
    not, said education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, but on the epidemiological
    situation. The risk cannot be completely eliminated in Romania or elsewhere,
    but must be kept within manageable limits, explained the minister. He added
    that Romania may look for inspiration to other countries in Europe where the
    infection rate has stopped rising. Health minister Vlad Voiculescu is warning caution,
    however.




    The
    National Council of Pupils, which has been very active recently, issued a
    statement saying a safe return to school is a race against time. The Council welcomed
    from the start the idea of a decentralised reopening of schools beginning on 8th
    February, provided safety measures are respected. Pupils deplore, however, the
    fact that almost two weeks after the authorities’ announcement, schools are yet
    to receive the instructions or the financial resources needed for a safe return
    of children to classrooms. We’re one step away from the same chaos we had to
    deal with last September […]. We’re calling on the ministry of education and
    the ministry of health to act fast and provide by 30th January the
    necessary details for the reopening of schools, the National Council of Pupils
    said in the statement. (CM)

  • January 14, 2021 UPDATE

    January 14, 2021 UPDATE

    VACCINATION More than 3,500 new coronavirus cases and 66 related deaths were recorded on Thursday in Romania. The total number of confirmed cases is now over 684,000, while the death toll is 17,035. 1,101 Covid patients are in intensive care. 90% of Romanians who caught the virus have recovered. Some 155,000 healthcare workers and those working in social care have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Romania. Phase two of the vaccination campaign gets under way on Friday, targeting the elderly, chronic patients and workers in key sectors, totalling some 5 million people. PM Florin Cîțu says the pace of vaccination will be stepped up, the target being the immunisation of more than 10 million people by September. 62% of Romanians say they want to be given the vaccine according to a poll conducted by Reveal Marketing Research between 6th and 11th January.



    SALARY LAW The government is looking at bonuses in the public sector and if they are justified as part of drafting the state budget for this year, PM Florin Cîţu said on Thursday. He explained that he is considering amending the salary law to eliminate inequalities in the public sector. He said the pensions law would also be amended this year to take into account the contribution principle. The government on Wednesday increased the gross minimum wage by approx. 3%.



    SCHOOLS Most schools in Romania will reopen on February 8, if the COVID-19 situation stays the same as in the past few weeks, president Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday. He had a meeting with the PM Florin Cîţu, the education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, the health minister Vlad Voiculescu, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, and the head of the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control, Adriana Pistol. Iohannis explained that when the infection rate in a locality goes above 6 per thousand, a lockdown will be introduced. He also said the situation will be re-assessed prior to opening schools, with a final decision to be made on February 2. As far as universities are concerned, each institution will be free to decide. With the exception of two months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year, with teaching being conducted online.



    PROTEST Healthcare trade unions in Solidaritatea Sanitara federation picketed the government building in Bucharest and prefecture offices around the country to demand more protection measures for healthcare workers amid the pandemic. They also demand a rise in the basic salary for all healthcare staff as of January 1 this year, to the level stipulated in the salary law for 2022. The federation also wants the government to give up on the reduction of the basic salary as a result of a government order issued at the end of 2020, and to grant all healthcare workers special bonuses and a risk incentive for the entire duration of the pandemic.



    AIR FORCES Four Romanian F-16 aicraft with Air Base 86 in Borcea (south-eastern Romania), together with US Air Force aircraft deployed in Europe, took part on Thursday in the Prime Accord multinational military exercise. The exercise included escort and combat patrol missions. According to the Romanian defence ministry, the action was designed to reinforce NATO assurance measures in south-east Europe, and to check the integration of Romanian and NATO command and control structures. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • 14 January, 2021

    14 January, 2021

    Vaccination. More than 3,500 new coronavirus cases and 66
    related deaths were recorded today in Romania. Total number of confirmed cases now
    surpasses 684,000, while the death toll is 17,035. 1,101 Covid
    patients are in intensive care. 90% of Romanians who caught the virus have
    recovered. Some
    155,000 healthcare workers and those working in social care have received the
    first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Romania. Phase two of the vaccination
    campaign gets under way on Friday, targeting the elderly, chronic patients and
    workers in key sectors, totalling some 5 million people. Prime minister Florin Cîțu says the pace of vaccination will be
    stepped up, the target being the immunisation of more than 10 million people by
    September. 62% of Romanians say they want to be given the vaccine according to
    a poll conducted by Reveal
    Marketing Research between 6th and 11th January.






    WHO. The World Health Organisation has warned
    that 2021 may be more difficult than 2020 because the spread of new, much more
    contagious, variants of the virus is harder to control. The warning comes as a
    new strain, initially found in the UK, has now already been confirmed in 50 different
    countries and territories. World Health Organisation experts are in Wuhan,
    China, to investigate the origin of the pandemic. The 10 scientists on this
    mission will be interviewing staff of research institutes, hospitals and the
    produce market where the first Covid-19 outbreak was reported at the end of
    2019. The arrival of the scientists, after months of negotiations between the
    World Health Organisation and China, comes as fresh coronavirus cases have been
    reported in northern China. 92.8 million persons have been infected with the
    virus globally, while the death toll is nearing 2 million.




    Protest. Healthcare trade unions in Solidaritatea
    Sanitara federation are picketing the government building in Bucharest and
    prefecture offices around the country to demand more protection measures for
    healthcare workers amid the pandemic. They are also demanding a rise in the
    basic salary for all healthcare staff as of 1st January this year to
    the level stipulated in the salary law for 2022. The federation also wants the
    government to give up on the reduction of the basic salary as a result of a
    government order issued at the end of 2020 and to grant all healthcare workers
    special bonuses and a risk incentive for the entire duration of the pandemic.




    Salary law. The
    government is looking at bonuses in the public sector and if they are justified
    as part of drafting the state budget for this year, said prime minister Florin
    Cîţu today. He explained that he is considering amending the salary law to
    eliminate inequalities in the public sector. He said the pensions law would
    also be amended this year to take into account the contribution principle. The
    government on Wednesday increased the gross minimum wage by approx. 3%.






    Schools. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is
    today meeting education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, public health officials and
    other education and healthcare officials to assess the epidemiological
    situation and the possibility of reopening schools. With the exception of two
    months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year, with
    teaching being conducted online. Children, parents and teachers are all calling
    for the resumption of in-person learning. In the opinion of UNICEF, the
    long-term closure of schools has devastating consequences, especially for
    vulnerable children.






    Corruption. The former Liberal Democrat MEP Marian Zlotea is wanted by
    the Romanian police after he was handed a final sentence of 8 years and a half
    in prison for corruption and peddling in influence. As the head of the National
    Sanitary and Veterinary Authority, he used to force employees to pay monthly
    contributions to the now defunct Liberal Democratic Party. On Wednesday, when
    he received his sentence, Zlotea posted on Facebook that he left Romania and
    applied for political refugee status in a different country, from where he also
    plans to write to the European Court of Human Rights.




    Celebration. Romanian minister for culture Bogdan Gheorghiu is today unveiling the events to be held
    as part of the celebration of National Culture Day tomorrow. The holiday has
    been celebrated since 2010 in Romania, the majority Romanian-speaking Republic
    of Moldova, historical ethnic Romanian communities and other Romanian
    communities abroad. It coincides with the anniversary of the birthday of 19th
    century poet Mihai Eminescu, the national poet in Romania. Romanian diplomatic
    and consular missions and cultural institutes abroad are hosting special
    events. (CM)

  • January 11, 2021 UPDATE

    January 11, 2021 UPDATE

    Vaccination. A 4th
    batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reached Romania on Monday morning. The
    150,000 doses that arrived at the airports in Bucharest, Cluj Napoca and Timișoara are
    taken to the Cantacuzino Institute in Bucharest and to vaccination centres around
    the country. The coordinator of the national vaccination programme dr. Valeriu
    Gheorghiţă said on Monday that the first batch of the Moderna vaccine is
    expected to arrive in Romania on Wednesday, namely some 14,000 doses. He said
    up to 450,000 doses will be arriving in the first quarter. Since the start of
    the national vaccination programme on 27th December, over 125,000
    people have received the vaccine in Romania. Mild and common side effects have
    been reported in 350 cases. Phase two of the programme, which targets the
    elderly and chronic patients, is set to begin on January 15. Meanwhile, the
    total number of coronavirus cases in Romania surpassed 673,000, with the total
    death toll over 16,700. Over 1,000 patients are currently in intensive care,
    and nearly 600,000 patients have recovered so far.






    Pandemic. A team
    of World Health Organisation experts in charge with investigating the origin of
    the novel coronavirus will begin their mission on Thursday, the Chinese health
    ministry announced on Monday, according to France Presse and Reuters. This has
    been a sensitive issue to Beijing, which seeks to control the origin story of
    the pandemic that killed more than 1.9 million people worldwide, France Presse reports.
    Initially scheduled for last week, the mission was cancelled at the last
    moment. The green light comes exactly one year after the first coronavirus
    death was reported in China’s Wuhan. Nearly 91 million people have so far
    caught the virus, and more than two thirds of them have recovered.






    Schools. Romanian
    pupuils on Monday resumed online classes after the winter holiday. Three weeks
    of online classes will be followed by a one-week break before the second half
    of the academic year. The education ministry is to decide by the end of the
    month whether the second school semester, beginning on February 8, will see
    children back into schools. The National Student Council has requested
    decentralised decisions in this respect, so that schools may be reopened in
    areas with infection rates below 3 cases per one thousand people. The education
    minister Sorin Câmpeanu said in a recent meeting with relevant trade unions and
    teacher, student and parent associations that it all depended on the latest
    COVID-19 developments, and that schools and kindergartens would most likely reopen
    in stages depending on the local infection rate. Sorin Cîmpeanu also said that
    students’ and teachers’ health is important, but that making sure pupils catch
    up with the learning missed, especially with national exams coming up, must
    also be considered.






    Deficit. Romania’s
    trade balance deficit deepened by some 910 million euros in the first 11 months
    of 2020 compared to the previous year, to reach 16.4 billion euros, according
    to data released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute. Between
    January 1 and November 30, 2020, exports totalled 57 billion euros and imports
    73.5 billion. Compared to the corresponding period of 2019, exports dropped by
    11%, and imports by nearly 8%.






    Tennis. The
    Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzărnescu on Monday won 6-4, 6-3 against
    Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena, in the Australian Open qualifying tournament held in
    Dubai. Three other Romanian players, Jaqueline Cristian, Laura Paar and Monica Niculescu, lost their
    qualifying matches, also on Monday. Five Romanian players are
    on the main draw at the Australian Open: world no 2 Simona Halep, Patricia Ţig
    (56 WTA), Sorana Cîrstea (71 WTA), Irina Begu (78 WTA) and Ana Bogdan (92 WTA).
    In the men’s singles, Marius Copil lost on Monday in three sets to Australia’s
    Dane Sweeny in the qualifying round in Doha, Qatar. The Australian Open is due
    to take place between 8 and 21 February. (CM)