Radio România Internațional

Tag: stability

  • July 23, 2021 UPDATE

    July 23, 2021 UPDATE

    Covid-19 In Romania, 104 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were reported on Friday, out of over 26,000 tests performed. Authorities have also announced 2 Covid-19 related deaths and 38 people admitted to intensive care. The number of cases started to increase on July 12 and, according to an analysis by the National Center for Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases, last week almost half of the cases were reported in Bucharest, Cluj (center-west), Iasi (northeast), Ilfov and Constanta (southeast). According to data from the European Covid-19 Forecast Hub, it is estimated that by the end of the month, in Romania, up to 200 new cases will be registered per day. Experts say vaccination is the way out of this pandemic. Regarding immunisation, the authorities announced that almost 16,000 people have been vaccinated in the last 24 hours. Currently, over 4.7 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.



    Report Accessing EU funds must be a priority for authorities, in order to support investments and to modernize the economy, the National Bank of Romania recommends in a report on financial stability. The NBR mentions that Romania can access funds of over 52 billion euros from the multiannual budget of the Union, adding to which will be another 32 billion euro, after the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is approved. The report also shows that in order to maintain easy access to and low costs of borrowing from foreign financial markets, Romania must engage in fiscal reforms that improve the sustainability of public finances and ensure better predictability of the legal framework. The document also shows that the net wealth of the population reached an all-time high after increasing this year by 6% compared to 2019. Real estate assets still account for most of the wealth of Romanians (75%), while financial assets account for approximately 24% of the total.



    Visit Not only will Romania continue to support the Republic of Moldova, but it will accelerate the provision of support in all fields, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said at a joint press conference with Moldovas President Maia Sandu. He talked about the implementation of several long-term projects especially in the fields of energy and infrastructure. In turn, Maia Sandu said she appreciated a lot the Romanian authorities’ availability and support. Bogdan Aurescu’s visit takes place just days before the first meeting of the new Parliament and the formation of a new government in Chisinau. He is the first official from an EU member state to visit Moldova after the parliamentary elections of July 11th, won by pro-Europeans. Also in Chisinau, Mr. Aurescu attended the ceremony granting new humanitarian aid to the Republic of Moldova, consisting in 100,000 doses of anti-Covid-19 vaccine.



    Pandemic The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Friday approved the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for the 12-17 age bracket. Moderna becomes the second vaccine authorised for EU teenagers, after Pfizer/BioNtech. Two hundred million Europeans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, which is more than half of the adult population, the European Commission announced on Thursday. The Commission had set the goal of 70% of adults to be vaccinated by the end of this summer. At a meeting of health ministers and officials in Athens, the WHO warned that the COVID-19 pandemic would have a long-term impact on people’s mental health. In another development, following the increase in the number of infections in Europe, countries are taking additional measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Greece announced on Thursday that all unvaccinated workers in tourism and hospitality would have to undergo regular coronavirus tests. In turn, Italy has announced that it will introduce a compulsory health permit as of 6 August for access to enclosed spaces such as clubs and restaurants. Worldwide, over 193 million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus so far. According to worldometers.info, nearly 176 million have recovered and more than 4.1 million have lost their lives to this disease.



    Olympics The Summer Olympics, the world’s largest sports competition, kicked off in Tokyo on Friday. Japans tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, no 2 in the world, was the one to light the Olympic flame. Due to COVID-related restrictions, the opening ceremony was simple and restrained, with no public on the National Olympic Stadium, except for 950 people, including Emperor Naruhito of Japan, the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, the president of France Emmanuel Macron, and First lady Jill Biden. The public will not have access to any of the Olympic events, as Tokyo is in a state of emergency. Nearly 2,000 new infections were reported on Thursday, the biggest figure in six months. Despite the restrictions, the number of cases has also increased in the Olympic Village by the day. Romania is represented by 101 athletes at this 32nd edition of the games, who will compete in 17 events. Canoeist Simona Radiş and swimmer Robert Glinţ were the bearers of the national flag. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romania’s foreign policy in 2020

    Romania’s foreign policy in 2020

    Romania aims to remain a stability factor and a firm promoter of democracy in the international community, President Klaus Iohannis said in Bucharest, at the annual meeting with the chiefs of diplomatic missions in Bucharest. The head of state presented the 3 main directions of the countrys foreign policy this year:



    Klaus Iohannis: “Our EU and NATO membership, together with our strategic partnership with the USA, remain the core pillars of our foreign policy or, as I described them last year, the strategic conceptual triad of Romanias foreign policy. These pillars complement each other. At the same time, we will continue to work for Romanias Schengen accession, which will contribute significantly to strengthening security in the EUs visa-free area, and for joining the Euro zone, when all conditions have been met. In a short while Britain will exit the EU. It is something we havent wished for, but we will work to make sure that the friendship and alliance that have brought us together so far remain strong between Britain and the EU. We will also do our best to modernize the strategic partnership between Romania and Britain, something we are currently working on.



    Romanias foreign policy will be defined, as it has been so far, by continuity and predictability, but naturally some nuances and emphases will shift, so as to provide more coherence and consistence, the head of state also said.



    What are these nuances and emphases, and how can more coherence and consistence be ensured? Analyst Cristian Diaconescu, a former foreign minister, attempted a few answers for Radio Romania:



    Cristian Diaconescu: “A country project overlapping a project for the entire region, and obviously in line with Romanias security and stability interests in one of the most complicated parts of the world, and on the other hand in line with the partnership relations, the standards and values that we all share as members of the EU and the North-Atlantic Alliance. This means more creativity in the area bordering the Black Sea and the Western Balkans, with a very complicated eastern neighbourhood and, more importantly, at the crossroads of the energy corridors—and implicitly the security corridors coming from Eastern Europe or from the Middle East.



    In the current international context, facing risks, challenges and threats old and new, the need for a strong, united and efficient North-Atlantic Alliance is greater than ever, President Iohannis said:



    Klaus Iohannis: “NATO is a successful military alliance and we will continue to work very closely with the other Allies to make it even stronger. This is the main message of the London anniversary summit of December 2019, and Romania will focus on this direction with renewed efforts, as an important ally on the eastern flank in NATO. We are determined to continue to fulfil our commitments to earmark 2% of the GDP to Defence, and we will continue to work to consolidate the Alliances determent and defence posture, particularly in the eastern flank. At the same time, in addition to the Allied effort at the Black Sea, Romania will support NATOs enhanced involvement in the Middle East and in fighting terrorism.



    The President also mentioned the UN and the OSCE as platforms for consolidated dialogue and compliance with international law, and as commentators have noted, he used the word “multilateralism quite frequently.



    Cristian Diaconescu: “First of all, because multilateralism is a key element in promoting and protecting Romanias interests. Secondly, because indeed, if we talk about the UN and OSCE, we can notice some political relaxation, a decrease in the role and the activity of these multilateral bodies, although they still remain relevant in many respects, which are important to Romania. And thirdly, because there is this tendency, especially among the great powers, to have separate dialogues and to make decisions irrespective of these international institutions, which raises concerns among countries, such as Romania, which are located in complicated regions and which end up receiving ready-made decisions in whose negotiation they have not taken part.



    As regards the recent developments in the Middle East, the President of Romania said that the negative effects of this crisis impact the European and global security. Klaus Iohannis also said that Bucharest will resume full cooperation with the neighbouring Republic of Moldova when the Moldovan Government has proved its commitment to the countrys European accession, to reforms in the judiciary and public administration, and to fighting corruption.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)