Radio România Internațional

Tag: students

  • May 17, 2024

    May 17, 2024

     

    ECONOMY Confidex, the index that measures Romanian managers’ confidence in the local economy, has reached its highest level in 4 years-52.5, according to the latest relevant poll. Companies in the services sector are the most optimistic, followed by IT, constructions and retail firms. At the opposite pole are businesses in agriculture, energy and industry.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania’s Foreign Ministry and the Permanent Electoral Authority have put together the Guidelines for Romanian voters in polling stations abroad for the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 9, 2024. The document answers the most frequent questions concerning the organisation of the ballot: who can vote, the identity documents required for voting, the opening hours of polling stations, the voting procedure and the operation of the IT system monitoring voter turnout and preventing illegal voting. Citizens can find the guidelines on the ministry’s website. The foreign ministry, via Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, organises 915 polling stations for Romania’s members in the European Parliament, over double the number of stations opened for the European elections in 2019. Romanian nationals who live or travel abroad temporarily will be able to cast their ballots in any polling station abroad, using Romanian IDs valid on the day of the vote.

     

    HUMAN TRAFFICKING The government of Romania has put together a national strategy against trafficking in human beings, under which the authorities intend for Romania to have a national system to counter human trafficking operational by the end of 2028. The strategy rests on 4 core pillars: prevention, punishment, protection and partnership, and the novelty is an integrated governmental mechanism to earmark funding for victim protection and assistance. According to the National Agency against Human Trafficking (ANTIP), since 2005 as many as 19,000 human trafficking victims have been reported in Romania, and 4,000 traffickers have been convicted.

     

    STUDENTS A government resolution sets out the overall enrolment figures for public undergraduate and higher education units in Romania in the 2024 – 2025 academic year. The document sets the number of students to be enrolled in preschools, primary, secondary and high schools in the country, including for Romanian nationals living abroad, and for foreign citizens under bilateral agreements and unilateral commitments. Romanians living abroad will benefit from 1,900 places in undergraduate education units and 7,065 places in public universities, with a total of 800 monthly grants. For foreign citizens, 1,800 places have been earmarked in undergraduate education units and 4,430 in higher education institutions, with a total 1,710 monthly grants. Enrolment plans also include special places for minors who have applied for or received protection in Romania, and for stateless minors officially recognised as residing in Romania, the government explained.

     

    CHILDREN The Romanian health minister Alexandru Rafila said on Friday in Iaşi (north-eastern Romania), that preparations are under way for receiving Palestinian children to be treated in Romanian healthcare units after being wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza. Alexandru Rafila, who did not disclose the number of beneficiary kids, stated that they will be brought to Romania under the EU Protection Mechanism. He also said the exact date of arrival cannot be made public at the moment, but that the children will reach Romania “in the very, very near future.”

     

    INVESTMENTS The government approved a number of road and railway infrastructure investment projects. Over EUR 2.2 bln will be spent on revamping the approx. 150 km Focşani – Roman railway route in the east of the country in the next 3 years, a spokesman for the Cabinet announced. According to him, a rough EUR 200 mln has been earmarked for the revamping of a 42-km long segment of the A1 Bucharest-Piteşti motorway in the next 48 months.

     

    NATO The Romanian Defence Chief of Staff, gen. Gheorghiţă Vlad, took part on Thursday in Brussels in a meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session. Topics of strategic relevance were discussed, including the implementation of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept, the state of play in Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and NATO’s continued support for Ukraine. Gen. Gheorghiţă Vlad emphasised “the need to develop national and regional mobility corridors to ensure smooth and quick transit of troops and materials at the times and to the places requested by the Alliance.” (AMP)

  • February 14, 2024

    February 14, 2024

    VISIT A Romanian
    delegation headed by PM Marcel Ciolacu is on a visit to Rome as of today. The
    main item on the agenda is the 3rd joint meeting of the 2 countries’
    governments, held 13 years
    after the previous inter-governmental summit. An economic forum will also be organised,
    attended by business people from the 2 countries. PM Ciolacu has meetings today with
    members of the Romanian community in Italy, and is to be received by His
    Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican. Also today, the Romanian official has
    talks with the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri. On Thursday Marcel Ciolcacu
    will have an official meeting with the PM of Italy, Georgia Meloni, followed by
    joint press statements. Italy is home to the largest Romanian community abroad,
    comprising more than 1.1 million citizens, and is Romania’s second-largest
    trade partner, with exchanges accounting for approx. 9.5% of the country’s
    foreign trade.


    CYBER ATTACK Several hospitals in Romania, including
    in Bucharest, have been targeted by a cyber-attack that encrypted data on their
    servers, the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) announced. Most of the
    healthcare units affected by the incident had safety copies of their data.
    According to the health ministry, exceptional security measures have been
    implemented, with many units in the healthcare system disconnected from the
    internet for further inquiries. The Directorate Investigating Organised Crime
    and Terrorism Offences has started a criminal investigation.


    FARMERS The European Commission has officially endorsed a regulation which
    grants a one-year exemption from the rule requiring farmers to keep 4% of their
    arable land fallow. The rule, designed to help improve environment
    conditions, had sparked protests across the EU, including in Romania. In exchange, farmers
    are now required to grow nitrogen fixing crops such as lentils or peas. The new
    regulation is intended to give farmers more flexibility, while also protecting
    biodiversity and land quality. The measure is to be applied for the year 2024. Member
    States have 15 days to notify the Commission of the implementation option that they
    choose out of the 2 alternatives available.


    STUDENTS Romanian schoolchildren may
    have free of charge access to museums, concerts, theatre and opera shows,
    movies and other cultural and sports events organised by public institutions,
    within approved budgets, under a new bill passed in the Senate and backed by
    all parliamentary parties. In a society threatened by the absence of role
    models, museums and other informal learning venues should be available to
    students free of charge, and this facility is an investment in their
    educational future, the bill authors argue. The draft law is to be forwarded to
    the Chamber of Deputies for the decisive vote.


    TRANSPORTS Special lanes for EU and third-country lorries will be
    operational in several Romanian checkpoints as of this week, the public road
    company has announced. This is one of the measures agreed on with the carriers
    that have been protesting in Romania over the past month, and it is designed to
    reduce waiting times at the border. Moreover, carriers will no longer be
    charged additional fees for weight 5% over the accepted ceiling. A new round of
    talks on separate flows for EU and non-EU lorries was held on Tuesday by the
    transport ministry, the public road company and road transport operators.


    INTERESTS The
    National Bank of Romania has decided to keep the monetary policy interest rate
    at 7% per year, the institution announced. The key interest rate has not been
    changed since last January, when the National Bank decided to raise it from
    6.75% to 7% per year. A balanced mix of macroeconomic policies and structural
    reforms, including the use of EU funding to encourage the country’s growth
    potential in the long run, are vital to maintaining macroeconomic stability and
    to strengthening the Romanian economy’s capacity to withstand negative
    developments, the institution said.

    NATO Eighteen NATO member states will reach the 2% of GDP defence allocation
    target in 2024, the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced on
    Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers. According to Reuters, he
    also said that EU member states will invest a combined USD 380 bln in defence
    this year. The decision to earmark at least 2% of GDP to defence dates back to
    2006, but only some member states have reached this target. After Russia
    invaded Ukraine in February 2022, NATO member countries reiterated this
    commitment. Romania has channelled over 2% of its GDP for defence for several
    years, and after the start of the war in Ukraine it has committed to invest
    2.5% of GDP in Army equipment. (AMP)

  • Working in Romania

    Working in Romania

    Police
    workers with the General Immigration Inspectorate, jointly with regional
    employment inspectorates, are implementing a campaign between October 16 and
    20, aimed at updating foreigners who study in Romania on the terms for a
    possible employment in the country as well as on their rights and obligations
    as employees here. The campaign takes place in universities across the country.
    According to the General Immigration Inspectorate, as many as 17,615 foreign
    nationals are studying in Romania, most of them from the R. Moldova, Morocco
    and Israel, enrolled mostly in Bucharest, Iaşi, Cluj and Timiş.


    Romania
    has the highest employment rate in the EU in agriculture, forestry and
    fisheries, according to data made public by the EU statistics office, Eurostat.
    The largest employers in this respect are in the counties of Vaslui, 61.7%, and
    Neamţ, 51.4%. Eight out of the 10 regions in the EU with the highest
    employment rates in these sectors are in Romania. Iaşi County, also in the
    north-east of the country, had the highest number of employees in 2020 – 146,200,
    followed by 4 other regions in Romania, with over 100,000 employees each. Only
    2 other regions in the EU were included in the top 10 employers in agriculture,
    forestry and fisheries, namely Sandomiersko-jędrzejowski in Poland and Almería in
    Spain.



    Europe
    is struggling with an acute workforce shortage, and the solution is to improve
    youth skills, said the executive director of the European Labour Authority,
    Cosmin Boiangiu at the European Business Forum held in Timişoara, western
    Romania. Boiangiu emphasized that there are imbalances between countries in
    terms of employment rates, and that workers from third countries are being
    brought into Europe in order to offset this shortage. There is high demand for
    workforce in sectors such as health care, IT, constructions and transports. Manpower
    is much needed and we are seeing this in Romania as well, to a growing extent,
    the ELA chief said. He also added that EU authorities are interested in
    implementing a number of strategies concerning labour mobility and flexibility,
    and one of the solutions is for employment to be based on skills, rather than
    on the work experience or the education level.



    The
    number of foreign employees in Cluj County rose by 3,000 in the first 9 months
    of this year, the General Immigration Inspectorate announced. According to the
    institution, between January 1 and September 30, Cluj immigration police issued
    over 3,400 stay permits, 640 of them for Sri Lanka nationals, 544 for Nepal
    citizens, 363 for Indian nationals, 242 for Bangladesh citizens, and the others
    for citizens from other countries. 806 registration certificates and 96
    permanent residence cards were also issued to EU citizens. During the same
    period, 2,851 documents were issued for permanent and posted workers. As for
    illegal residents, during this period 541 inspections were conducted, with the
    police identifying 44 foreigners staying here illegally. (AMP)

  • A New University Year in Romania

    A New University Year in Romania

    A new university year
    kicks off in Romania on Monday with the same old pending issues: school dropout,
    underfunded education, the shortage of means and proper equipment.
    Accommodation in student hostels is yet another issue under discussion. Many students
    have complained about the inappropriate accommodation facilities and preferred to
    rent apartments instead.




    According to one of the professors,
    funds are provided depending on the number of students, so the higher the number
    of students the larger the funding a university gets. The measure is forcing universities
    that usually don’t have too much choice in terms of funding sources, to allow all
    students to pass exams, even those who have a poor level of education. Because
    if you eliminate students, you’ll eventually run out of funds.




    The Bucharest-based University
    of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila this year boasts roughly 13,500 students
    and the new generation of students will symbolically
    bear all throughout their years of study the name of neurologist Ovidiu
    Alexandru Băjenaru, a leading figure of the Romanian and international
    medicine. The National University of Polytechnic Science and Technology in
    Bucharest will this year have 40 thousand students and 2,000 professors. A
    former merger with the University in Pitesti, southern Romania, the institution
    kicks off the new university year under a new name, the National University of
    Science and Technology.




    The 2023-2024 university year is also
    a new chapter in the life of the National University of Theatrical Art and
    Cinematography IL. Caragiale also known as UNATC, a new stage in its
    development as a higher education institution.


    This moment marks the opportunity to reflect
    on its objectives and values, to focus on attaining excellence, to celebrate
    diversity and the contribution of every community member, a UNATC communiqué says.




    A new university year has also
    started for the higher military education institutions such as the Military
    Technical Academy ‘Ferdinand I’ also in Bucharest. The
    institution has over 1,000 students, out of which 300 freshmen.




    The Polytechnic Institute
    was the most sought after university this year followed by the Faculty of
    Automation and Computers and of course the Medicine University Carol Davila. At
    present Romania boasts 53 accredited state universities and 33 private ones but
    the number of students drops every year as many high-school graduates go to
    study abroad. We must not forget though that between 2010 and 2021, the
    education law has got 117 amendments in a system known for its lack of
    coherence and consistency. And in terms of education funding, Romania lags
    behind almost all the other European countries. This year, Romania’s education
    system has been allotted 3.2% of the GDP, an extremely low amount, which is
    unable to satisfy its present needs.


    (bill)

  • June 13, 2023 UPDATE

    June 13, 2023 UPDATE

    TALKS
    Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday designated PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu
    as candidate for the position of Prime Minister. On Monday, the PNL leader
    Nicolae Ciuca stepped down under the political agreement with the PSD on the
    planned rotation of the cabinets and on Tuesday he was elected president of the
    Senate. The Prime Minister designate says that he wants the future government
    focus on economy and reforms. Romania needs these reforms as well as the
    National Programme of Recovery and Resilience. Romania’s place is in the
    European Union and NATO. And no matter how much some people would like Romania
    to take another direction, the country’s way is sure and with political
    stability it becomes a certainty Marcel Ciolacu went on to say. The opposition
    USR has criticized the government rotation as this isn’t going to solve the problems
    of the citizens.








    FRIGATE The Romanian flagship, frigate
    ‘King Ferdinand’ is to sail back to the Romanian Port of Constanta, on the
    Black Sea, after having participated in a six-week operation in the
    Mediterranean, the Romanian Navy Chief of Staff has announced. The mission of
    the Romanian servicemen consisted of enforcing the UN arms embargo imposed on
    Libya and in combating the illegal trafficking in oil, drugs and people through
    the close monitoring of maritime traffic and vessels in the area. The ‘King
    Ferdinand’ has also carried out various joint activities with partner vessels
    from Italy, Germany and Greece, participating in the IRINI Operation.






    WEATHER Romanian hydrologists have extended,
    until Wednesday, the Code yellow and Code orange alerts for flooding, valid for
    rivers in 17 counties in the center and west of the country. The torrential
    rain on Monday night affected several localities in the south and south-west of
    Romania. The red code alert instituted by meteorologists for this region was
    lifted this morning, and dozens of intervention teams were sent to evacuate
    water from people’s households, after several streams of water burst their
    banks. At the same time, hectares of agricultural land were flooded. The most
    affected counties are Caraş-Severin, Vâlcea, Hunedoara and Mehedinţi. Heavy
    rainfalls also caused flooding in Timiş and Alba counties on Monday.




    (bill)

  • March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    DEBATES The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest hosted
    a series of debates upon a simple motion against Labour Minister Marius Budăi,
    tabled by the USR and the Force of the Right Party. The signatories of the motion
    say the minister has failed to meet the deadlines assumed in the ruling
    programme on implementing the payment bill and of a new pension law, which may
    jeopardize the attraction of the European funds. USR MP Cristian Seidler says
    the draft sent by the minister is actually rescuing the special pensions. Budai
    has rejected all allegations and has given assurances the draft is in line with
    all PNRR criteria and even trims the pension of an employee, which is exceeding
    their wages. Finance Minister Adrian Caciu is also expected before the Senate on
    Wednesday to explain why Romania’s budget deficit has reached record high
    levels and the funding costs are some of the biggest in the EU.








    BILLS Two bills on education are to be submitted to
    the government and Parliament for endorsement and approval. Although the
    deadline for their approval was March the 15, the two bills have sparked off
    heated debates involving parents and students associations. The National
    Council of Students and the National Federation of Parents are asking for the
    cancellation of the high-school entrance exam, which could be staged for 60% of
    the approved places, and are criticizing the Education Ministry for not having
    considered their proposal. According to representatives of the parents and
    students associations, the entrance examination deepens the gap between the
    students and would raise the probability of unfair distribution. It would also
    encourage the system of private lessons and increase the stress level in students.
    According to field minister Ligia Deca, the objective of the two bills is to
    increase the quality in education and reduce functional illiteracy.








    VISIT On the first day of
    his official visit to Japan on Monday Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis held talks
    with the president of the House of Councillors Hidehisa Otsuji and the speaker
    of the House of Representatives, Hiroyuki Hosoda. Talks focused on the
    Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership and the regional security situation. The
    Japanese officials underlined that the Strategic Partnership creates new
    opportunities for cooperation in the economic sector, trade, research and
    innovation. With respect to the security situation, the Japanese officials
    emphasised that Japan and Romania share the same vision and approach and
    conveyed their appreciation of Romania’s sustained actions and efforts to
    support Ukraine, both with the refugees and to facilitate the transit of
    cereals. On Tuesday, president Iohannis is to be received by emperor Naruhito.
    He will later also meet prime minister Fumio Kishida, together signing a joint
    declaration on the establishment of the Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership. On
    Wednesday, the Romanian president will meet local officials from Kyoto. On
    Thursday and Friday, he will make a state visit to Singapore, the first at this
    level in the last 20 years, where he will have talks with president Halimah
    Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.




    (bill&CM)

  • January 5, 2023 UPDATE

    January 5, 2023 UPDATE

    FLU
    The Bucharest-based National Centre for the Supervision and Control of
    Transmissible Diseases with the National Institute of Public Health on Thursday
    announced two deaths caused by the flu in Romania. The country’s Health
    Minister Alexandru Rafila had earlier presented during a news conference the
    situation of diagnosed infections at national level but the authorities decided
    not to announce an epidemic because the situation isn’t dramatic yet in spite
    of the growing number of cases. According to Rafila the flu season has expanded
    a few more weeks and the infection rate is presently at 37% with a peak
    expected around January 15th and 10th. The number of
    infections will go down after that date and the Education Ministry says that
    students will go back to classes after the winter holiday on Monday according
    to the schedule. Face-covering is recommended not imposed but the infected
    students will not be allowed to attend classes.








    FUNDS Romania absorbed 11.3 billion EUR last
    year, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has announced, saying this is the highest
    level of absorption since Romania accessed European funding. In 2023, Romania
    wants to maintain or exceed the current level, which will require solidarity,
    dialogue with social partners, coordination between ministries and political
    stability.








    TENNIS Romanian tennis player Irina Begu on Thursday qualified for the
    quarterfinals of the Adelaide International 1, an Australian tennis tournament
    with more than 826 thousand US dollars in prize money. The Romanian secured a
    6-3, 6-0 win against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. Begu, 32, will be up against
    Veronika Kudermetova of Russia. Also on Thursday Romanian Sorana Cirstea
    conceded defeat to the competition’s odds-on favourite, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.








    MOLDOVA Moldova’s relation with Romania has nothing to do with our
    country’s relations with Russia, good or bad, but rely on our way of moving
    forward and on our appreciation for the values that bind us, Moldova’s
    ambassador in Bucharest, Victor Chirilă, has said. Romania is a country
    that will help the Republic of Moldova in any situation, no conditions
    attached, the Moldovan diplomat also told a radio show. At the same time,
    relations with Bucharest are on an upward trend. We’ve seen just how
    important Romania is for Moldova, not just last year, but also during the
    pandemic. Romania stood with us and provided us with assistance to cope with
    the pandemic, ambassador Chirilă went on to say. The Moldovan diplomat
    also recalled Romania’s support in the first months of 2022, when the Republic
    of Moldova faced an energy crisis. In turn, Romania’s ambassador in Chișinău,
    Cristian-Leon Țurcanu, said that the two countries share a special relation
    based on the unity of language, history and culture. The Romanian
    diplomat in turn mentioned the initiative of the Foreign Ministers of Romania,
    Germany and France to launch the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova,
    a multidimensional instrument of support allowing the international community
    to help Moldova. Ambassador Țurcanu promised Bucharest would continue to
    actively get involved at European and international levels to muster a robust
    financial, technical and political assistance for the Republic of Moldova.








    FUNERAL Over 100 thousand Christians on
    Thursday attended the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict 16th at the Vatican.
    Benedict passed away on December 31, 2022, nearly 10 years after stepping down
    from the Holy See. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Rome, Italian
    president Sergio Mattarella and Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier,
    as well as representatives of royal houses, ministers and international
    officials attended the event. Representatives of other Christian churches,
    including the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as leaders of other religions
    attended the funeral. The Romanian Orthodox Church was represented by the
    Romanian Bishop of Italy, Siluan. Pope Francis presided the mass, while
    cardinal Giovanni Battista Re was the main celebrant at the altar. The funeral
    sermon was delivered by Pope Francis.


    (bill & VP)

  • August 24, 2022 UPDATE

    August 24, 2022 UPDATE

    Ukraine — The “unjustified, unprovoked and illegal” Russian aggression “must stop!” the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on the occasion of Ukraines Independence Day, marked on Wednesday. “I reiterate Romanias strong support for and solidarity with Ukraine and with the brave Ukrainian people who are bravely defending their country,” the presidents message writes. A similar message was conveyed by the Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, who showed that from the very first days after the start of “the worst crisis in Europe in recent decades”, Romania acted to provide assistance to the authorities in Kyiv, and the Romanian citizens “did everything in their power to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian refugees who fled the horrors of war”. In turn, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised that all Ukrainian territories conquered by the Russian troops would be recovered and that Ukraine would fight “to the end” without “any kind of concession or compromise” with Russia. In Washington, President Joe Biden marked Ukraines Independence Day by approving a new military assistance package worth nearly three billion dollars, that will allow Kyiv to acquire air defense systems, artillery and ammunition systems, unmanned air combat and radar systems to ensure that it can continue to defend itself in the long term, according to the press release of the US president.



    Justice laws — The Romanian Government on Wednesday approved the draft justice laws, and their adoption in Parliament will fulfill the main objective within the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, said the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu. He explained that, in the process of their elaboration, several fundamental principles were followed, such as the independence of judges and prosecutors and the separation of careers taking into account the constitutional functions of each of these professions, the accountability of the Judiciary in relation to its own results and its own functionality, strengthening the coherence of certain provisions and increasing the efficiency of the judiciary by assuming responsibilities. “I think that our judicial system has reached maturity and is able to recognize its own vulnerabilities and address them”, minister Predoiu said. On the other hand, the former Justice Minister, Stelian Ion, a member of the Save Romania Union – USR, in opposition, criticized the justice laws in the Predoiu version, which, according to him, reinforce the political influence and consolidate the power of the anti-reformist network in the judiciary. The draft law for the modification of the Justice Laws was launched for public debate two years ago, a period in which it sparked off numerous debates and criticisms by magistrates associations and civil society.



    Forum — The biggest fear of the Romanian authorities is that the young people who study abroad will not return home, said the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă in the opening of the 2nd edition of the Forum of the Romanian Students Abroad. “We really want you to return home and work together and assume the responsibility of the country project. (…) we want you to realize that we always need everything that your contribution and vision can mean, because only together can we develop Romania”, the prime minister told the students gathered in Bucharest. The Forum of the Romanian Students Abroad takes place at the Parliament Palace until August 29. The more than 150 students from abroad and from Romania will have the opportunity to debate the relevant problems facing Romanian society and, under the guidance of 11 specialized moderators, they will draft a document through which they will come up with solutions in the fields of education and youth, healthcare, justice, work and economy, European affairs and energy, and the environment. The final proposals will form a Resolution, which will be forwarded to the competent Romanian ministries and authorities. The forum is organized by student and youth associations from Romania and abroad in partnership with the Department for Sustainable Development.



    Protests — The trade unionists from the Romanian police and penitentiaries protested again, on Wednesday, in front of the government headquarters, against the measure proposed by the draft Emergency Ordinance launched for debates last week by the Labor Minister, which provides for the payment of only one fourth of the salary arrears. They remind the authorities that it has been two years since their wages were frozen, a period during which the real cumulative inflation rate exceeded 25%. The trade unionists claim that the government and the coalition have turned their backs on the economic and social demands that concern the police, the contractual employees, military retirees and the entire family of state employees in the ‘Defense, Public Order and National Security’ domains. (LS)

  • February 21, 2021

    February 21, 2021

    VACCINE Another 2,419 Covid-19 infections have been reported
    in Romania on Sunday after 16,645 tests have been carried out, which brings the
    infection rate to 14.5%, the Strategic Communication Group has announced. 52
    have died from Covid-related issues in the past 24 hours bringing the death
    toll to 19,800. On the other hand, Romania’s immunization campaign is in full
    swing and according to the National Committee for Vaccination Coordination, the
    total number of doses administered, since its beginning in late December has
    exceeded 1.3 million with eight hundred thousand people immunized. Most of the
    vaccines used in this campaign have been developed mainly by Pfizer and
    Moderna. The vaccine produced by AstraZeneca
    started being used in Romania this week. Over 777 thousand people have been
    infected by the novel Coronavirus in Romania since the outbreak and 90% of them
    have been cured.








    BUDGET Romania’s Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu has voiced hope that
    Parliament will be adopting the country’s yearly budget as soon as possible. He
    reiterated that the possible amendments the MPs are going to table must not
    exceed the proposed deficit and they must be accompanied by funding resources.
    The government in Bucharest on Friday adopted the state budget and that of
    social securities for this year as well as the fiscal-budgetary strategy for
    the period 2021-2023. The budget has been designed for a deficit of 7.16% of
    the GDP. The annual inflation rate must be kept at 2.4% and the average monthly
    pay around 680 Euros. In another development, the country’s Higher Defence
    Council, CSAT has endorsed the budgets for the institutions involved in
    national security and defence.








    SUPPORT Romania provides support to the
    Slovakian authorities in their efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. A team
    of five physicians and nine nurses is ready to be deployed and help the medical
    authorities in Bratislava. According to a government communiqué, the team is
    accompanied by two representatives of the General Inspectorate of Emergency
    Situations. The 21-day mission is ready to begin and the team is waiting for
    the green light from the Health Ministry in Slovakia. The operation has been
    funded by the European Commission through its ESI programme aimed at providing
    emergency assistance on the EU territory.








    PROTESTS Roughly 100 miners from the
    Lupeni Mine in southern Romania are continuing their protests against the
    authorities’ failure to pay them in due time. The protesters have received food
    and water from their families and Red Cross volunteers. Their colleagues in
    other mining centers have showed support for the protest in Lupeni, which
    stopped the functioning of a power plant in the region leaving around 5
    thousand apartments without heat and prompted schools in the region to limit
    themselves to online courses. Representatives of the Romanian students staged
    protests in Bucharest on Saturday against the cancellation of travel subsidies
    for students. According to them, the government’s austerity measures are
    dealing a heavy blow to the most vulnerable categories and that the government
    is sacrificing the students’ mobility for political games.






    (bill)



  • February 20, 2021

    February 20, 2021

    BUDGET The government of Romania passed the state budget and social security budget bills for this year, and the fiscal-budgetary strategy for 2021-2023. The budget is based on a 7.16% of GDP deficit target, a 2.4% annual inflation rate and on roughly 680-euro net average salaries. The Liberal PM Florin Cîţu said the budget pushes for the restructuring of state-owned companies this year, and voiced hopes that Parliament will endorse the bills as soon as possible. He also mentioned that the amendments to be tabled by MPs should not exceed the targeted budget deficit and must make clear where the funds would come from. The Supreme Defence Council approved the draft budgets of public institutions in the national defence and security field.



    VACCINE The national COVID-19 vaccination programme continues in Romania. According to the Vaccination Coordination Committee, nearly 1.3 million doses have been used on close to 770,000 people since the start of the programme on December 27. Most people received the Pfizer vaccine, and some others doses produced by Moderna. As of this week, the AstraZeneca vaccine is also available in Romania. Meanwhile, over 2,700 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported in the country in the past 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group said on Friday. Of a total of 7,000 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalised, some 950 are in intensive care. The total number of cases reported so far in Romania is nearly 775,000, 90% of whom have recovered. The death toll stands at over 19,700.



    ROMA The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis emphasised today, in a special message for the Roma Emancipation Day, the importance of eliminating prejudice and discrimination, which he said are “much too common in respect of Roma access to education. He mentioned that the emancipation of Roma slaves 165 years ago, had a major role in the evolution of the profile and values of Romanian society in mid-19th Century, paving the way for the country to embrace European modernity. The head of state also said that for the Roma, the hundreds of years of slavery left “deep and hard to heal scars. He explained that the 1856 emancipation was a major challenge for the Romanian society as a whole. The president also called for discouraging and punishing hate speech and all racist, anti-Semitic, chauvinistic behaviours.



    PROTESTS Pupils and students are protesting in Bucharest today the scrapping of full subsidies for railway transport. They will be picketing the head offices of the Liberal Party and the USR-PLUS Alliance in power, and the government headquarters. The organisers say these austerity measures hit the most vulnerable youth, and the government sacrifices students mobility access for political purposes. They also oppose possible compromise attempts coming from politicians that seek to soften the students reactions to this measure.



    CONFERENCE “America is back, the US president Joe Biden said repeatedly attending his first international event. On Friday he took part in the Munich Security Conference, held online. Joe Biden explained that NATO is the foundation of trans-Atlantic security, that the US is fully committed to the Alliance, and he welcomed Europes growing investment in the military capabilities that enable shared defence. Joe Biden also warned that competition with China is going to be tough, but voiced confidence that a united Alliance can win this race. As regards Russia, he said Moscow weaponised corruption and tried to undermine Europe by targeting individual states. The German chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe and the US need a shared agenda on China and Russia, adding that the latter is the cause of hybrid conflicts. She also noted that there was scarcely any progress in restoring Ukraines sovereignty after Crimea was illegally annexed. On the other hand, the French president Emmanuel Macron only mentioned a need for dialogue with Russia.



    PANDEMIC The EU is stepping up procurement of coronavirus vaccines, after large-scale criticism for the slow start of the vaccine rollout. The EC president Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted the agreements signed with vaccine producers to give the EU access to serums tailored to fight the new variants. She added the EU antifraud agency is helping member states to identify counterfeits sold in the black market. According to worldometers updates, over 111 million people have caught the virus and at least 86 million have recovered. The global death toll stands at over 2.4 million. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romanian students are going back to classrooms

    Romanian students are going back to classrooms

    Get children ready for school – is the
    message Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday conveyed to parents. However,
    the president has pointed out that Romania still hasn’t got rid of the pandemic
    although the infection rate diminished in the last weeks. According to him, citizens
    must still comply with prevention rules, wear masks and keep social distancing.
    Furthermore, the resumption of face-to-face school will be done in accordance
    with the infection rate in every region and strict measures are in place for
    every school so that students and teachers may come back to school in good
    conditions.




    Klaus
    Iohannis:
    Kindergartens and 1-4th graders
    will have face-to-face classes almost everywhere, except for the regions in
    quarantine. All children are allowed to go to schools in the regions with a
    lower infection rate. Where some cases have been reported, only kindergartens, 8th
    and 12th graders are returning to schools and where the infection
    rate is higher only kindergartens and 1-4th graders are allowed to come
    back to school, the rest are taking online courses.




    At present over three quarters of the Romanian
    counties have a Covid-19 infection rate under 1.5 cases per thousand. Bucharest
    has an infection rate of 3 per one thousand, which means that kindergartens are
    open as well as schools for students in the 1-4th grade and for high-schoolers
    in their last year. According to Prime Minister Florin Citu, the reopening of
    schools is a step towards normalcy. The Romanian official has given assurances
    that such a move will be made by means of a well-established plan of measures
    drawn up by the Ministry of Education jointly with the Health Ministry for the
    protection of students and the personnel in the country’s education system. In
    turn, education Minister Sorin Campeanu said that students are allowed to sit
    in desks and the plastic protection shields used by some schools in autumn will
    be scrapped. However, the official considers face-covering in schools as essential.




    Opposition PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu says the
    president’s announcement on the resumption of schools was long-awaited, but he
    criticized the timing and the shortage of funds caused by the passing of a new
    draft budget. ‘Authorities must buy medical equipment wherever needed, because
    otherwise we are opening schools only to close them down again later’, the PSD
    leader went on to say. The Social-Democrats have called on the Prime Minister
    to go to the Chamber of Deputies for talks over the state budget and the
    measures to freeze salaries in state-owned institutions. The Social-Democrats
    have also invited Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu for talks.


    (bill)





  • Volunteers for the healthcare system

    Volunteers for the healthcare system

    The pressure on healthcare systems is huge at present, all over the world. The insufficient staff and the level of exhaustion of the medical personnel in the context of the coronavirus pandemic have prompted the Bucharest Government to pass an emergency order that regulates volunteer work in medical units. The volunteer students will receive around 500 euros for at least 120 hours of activity in a month. According to the Government, the pressure on the healthcare system is not only caused by the big number of people who test positive to the virus. There is also a reduced capacity to assist patients due to a shortage in medical personnel, triggered by their exposure to and catching of the virus and the small number of specialist staff. According to the authorities, the main structures affected by insufficient staff are the ICUs, ERs, epidemiology, radiology, infectious diseases and pulmonary units.



    Other institutions playing a role in the management of the medical crisis generated by the pandemic also face difficulties. Thus, following the adoption of the emergency order regulating volunteer work in medical units and emergency services, 6th year medical students can do volunteer work during the state of alert and 30 days after the state of alert is lifted. The first orders regarding the distribution of volunteer workers have been already signed. Almost 2000 medical students have signed up for volunteer work and one third of them has already been distributed to 25 hospitals in counties. More such orders will be signed in the upcoming days, in the context of a rising number of requests for additional staff in many localities.



    The Public Health Administration in the north-eastern city of Iasi has already called on volunteers and NGOs to ensure the transport of the medical staff taking samples for Covid testing, to the people isolated at home. The number of requests for testing has increased almost five times in Iasi lately, and the ambulances can hardly cope with the situation. Against this background, the Bucharest Government gave assurances that efforts are being made to fight the pandemic and to mobilise the entire society so that we can overcome this difficult situation. (Translated by Elena Enache)




  • Online teaching systems during isolation

    Online teaching systems during isolation

    Just like the rest of the planet, the Romanian society is constantly adapting to the paradigm shifts triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic. As in any major crisis, vulnerable social categories are the most affected. A major pillar like the education sector, is also being reconfigured by the new social distancing rules. And as secondary and high school students try to keep up with the school curricula, the virtual medium remains the main alternative to classroom teaching.



    “Young Initiative Association has invited teachers to a webminar on online teaching, where they can exchange best practices. Teachers Ana Andronache and Maria Stan discussed the pros and cons of distance teaching, together with human resources experts in the education sector.



    Ana Andronache teaches English at “Horia Hulubei Highschool in Măgurele (Ilfov County). For her, online teaching has substantially facilitated the use of digital resources:



    Ana Andronache: “I love this system where we no longer have to print a lot, to waste paper and other materials. Now it is very easy for us to show them live materials, images and videos that weve always wanted to present in the classroom, but we lacked the technology to do it. Another advantage is that online learning is a great learning opportunity for us—it certainly was for me. Ive learnt how to use a lot of new platforms, which I would never had the time to explore without this isolation period.



    Maria Stan teaches English at the International Computer Science Highschool in Bucharest. What she misses the most these days is the direct interaction with the kids, and the children feel the same:



    Maria Stan: “The biggest disadvantage of online teaching is the limited human contact. At first we were all enthusiastic that we had managed to find a way to see each other and stay in touch after all. On the other hand, most of the students told me they would never skip classes again, because they miss their classroom, the school environment.



    But the lack of access to technology is one of the most important negative factors facing the Romanian education system. Teachers are trying to improvise special teaching methods for the children who havent got a computer with an internet connection. Here is Ana Andronache again.



    Ana Andronache: “Those who dont have as much access to technology as the pupils in urban communities are at a disadvantage. What I can tell you, from the experience of other colleagues, is that they used WhatsApp on their parents phone, because in many cases there is just one smartphone in a family. But the teachers and parents talked and found a time when the kids would have access to that phone, so they managed to have these children involved as well. They managed to send them recordings of the classes, films, photos and other materials. So the issue of children without internet access was at least in part solved.



    Obviously, the teaching process also requires a specific emotional and psychological state, which is characteristic to classroom teaching. And managing the behaviour of each student, now in front of a computer screen, is also a challenge.



    Ana Andronache: “Another aspect we covered was the switch from classroom to online teaching, and we wanted to discuss what we call “classroom management. Our experience showed that students tend to speak all at once while online, they tend to use lots of emoticons during classes. So teachers should apply a set of rules designed for the online medium. These rules, announced from the very beginning, will improve the efficiency of online interactions.



    Another sensitive issue raised by online teaching in this unprecedented period is respecting the privacy and personal space of those connected to web platforms. And while turning on the microphone is compulsory, cameras may stay off if users choose so. Ana Andronache explains:



    Ana Andronache: “We are also talking a lot about limitations, about respecting the identity and personal space of each user. In our case, it was important to find out who doesnt want to turn the web camera on, and we respected that for each child. We didnt force any child to connect to Zoom, for instance, with the camera on, if they didnt want to.



    And a certain classroom routine, which would prepare students for classes and which, according to psychologists, is extremely useful, can be transferred into the online classes as well. Word games, relay games or even short physical exercise sessions may improve childrens focus during the class.



    Ana Andronache: “Another element also worth mentioning is the classroom routine. We noticed that this is a highly beneficial option in online classes as well, particularly with secondary school children. And at present there are plenty of energizer games on the internet.



    Until students are able to return to brick and mortar schools, the best online teaching methods are constantly tested and assessed by teachers in Romania. And of course, for this to succeed, the students and parents help, support and prompt response is also vital.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 20, 2019 UPDATE

    July 20, 2019 UPDATE

    PROSECUTOR The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, told president Klaus Iohannis over the telephone on Friday that France would withdraw Jean-François Bohnerts candidacy and would back the Romanian Laura Codruța Kövesi instead for the post of head of the European Public Prosecutors Office, the Romanian Presidency announced. Previously, the European Parliament reaffirmed its support for the former head of Romanias Anti-Corruption Directorate becoming the chief EU prosecutor. This spring the European Parliament decided to back Kovesis candidacy, whereas the EU Council preferred the French Jean-Francois Bohnert. Several rounds of negotiations between the 2 institutions yielded no results. Under the rules of organisation of the new EPPO, the Parliament and Council must jointly appoint the EU chief prosecutor, for a non-renewable 7-year term in office.




    VISIT The Romanian State Secretary Maria Magdalena Grigore had bilateral meetings with high-ranking UN officials, during a visit she is making to the USA. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the topics included means to meet sustainable development goals, transport connectivity, the cooperation between Romania and the UN Development Programme, Romanias contribution to peacekeeping missions, international humanitarian assistance and economic developments in the world. Maria Grigore emphasised the importance of the UN in the current world context, and mentioned the progress made by Romania as an emerging donor, both in the field of official development assistance and of humanitarian aid.




    INVESTMENTS A delegation from the Romanian Ministry for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship is in Japan until July 26th, to attract Japanese investors in Romania. According to the Ministry, the agenda of the visit includes meetings and talks in Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Tokyo, with Japanese governmental officials and representatives of the local business and banking community, concerning the new business opportunities entailed by the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan. Meetings will also be held with representatives of major Japanese corporations. The talks are aimed at identifying trade and investment projects of mutual interest. Last year, the bilateral trade amounted to 710 million US dollars. The main Romanian products exported to Japan included tobacco, wood, honey, vehicle components and accessories, clothes, pharmaceuticals and electrical appliances, whereas Romanias imports from Japan consisted in automobiles, tools and equipment, metal and chemical products, optical and photographic equipment and devices.




    FESTIVAL The 11th Film and Histories Festival continues in Rasnov, central Romania. Until July 28th, a special new venue in the centre of the town will be hosting film screenings, theatre performances, Baroque and rock music concerts. Conferences and roundtable talks will also be organised, on topics such as the 1989 Romanian Revolution, economic freedom, the music of freedom, freedom won and lost, cinema and freedom. Other topics approached include the Romanian migration, Europes post-Brexit future, the digital society and minorities. The 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing and the 70th anniversary of the founding of NATO will also be marked. The 2019 edition of the Festival will also host a Summer School for 72 university students and 23 high school students from Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova.




    HOLIDAY In a military and religious ceremony held in Bucharest on Romanian Aviation Day, celebrated every year on 20th of July, the Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel Les thanked the Romanian military and civil aviators for their devotion and paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives. On the same day, Orthodox and Catholic Christians in Romania celebrated Prophet Elijahs feast day. According to the Bible, the prophet lived nearly 2,800 years ago and brought back faith in the Hebrew God among the people of Israel. Elijah did not die like a human, but was taken to heavens in a chariot of fire. Due to this biographic detail, St. Elijah is the patron saint of the Romanian Air Forces. Nearly 130,000 Romanians also celebrated their name day on Prophet Elijahs Feast Day.



    PHYSICS Romanias team, made up of 4 students from Bucharest, Iaşi (north-east), Timişoara (west) and Baia Mare (north), won 3 gold medals and a silver medal in the first edition of the Balkan Physics Olympiad, held in Thessaloniki, Greece between July 14th and 18th, the National Education Ministry announced. Taking part were secondary school and high school students aged 16 or under at the time of the competition. Eleven countries attended this first edition of the Olympiad.




    YOUTH Romania will be represented by 103 athletes in the 15th Summer European Youth Olympic Festival, held between July 21st and 27th in Baku (Azerbaijan). The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee announced the participants are athletes aged between 14 and 18, who will take part in the athletics, cycling, artistic gymnastics, handball, swimming, judo, wrestling, tennis and volleyball events. The Committee also says the Romanian delegations objective is to come home with 8 to 10 medals from Baku.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The new academic year and the real estate market

    The new academic year and the real estate market

    The beginning of October traditionally marks the start of a new university year. Statistics show that Romania ranks last in the EU in terms of the number of university graduates, which is 25.6% of the people aged between 30 and 34. Moreover, in the past few years the number of people who take the bachelors degree exam has also decreased. For example, in 2009 more than 870,000 Romanian students registered for the graduation exam, but the number dropped to around 383,000 in the 2016-2017 academic year. At the same time, Romania comes 5th in the European classification of countries with the biggest number of students studying abroad.



    Romanians who choose to study in the country can opt for one of the big university centres here, such as Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi or Timisoara. The fact that most students come from outside these cities leads to another problem, related to accommodation and the limited number of rooms in campuses. Alina Simion, head of the Students Association with the Bucharest University explains:



    Alina Simion: “The Bucharest University has room for around 5,300 students in its own campuses, which are divided between faculties depending on the number of students that each of them have. The Bucharest University has more than 30,000 students, so the number of campus rooms is small and the demand quite big. Of course, the room offer does not cover the demand, and the selection is based on academic performance. There are also social and health criteria, which count in the distribution of rooms.



    Although several new university campuses have been built in the past ten years, it is still not enough to cover the demand. The Bucharest Universitys campus in Grozavesti area, for instance, one of the best known in the capital city, is located in the west, close to the Regie campus, the biggest in Romania, made up of 33 buildings, of which 26 are run by the Polytechnic University and 7 by the Medicine University. There are other campuses as well, some located close to the faculties, some towards the citys outskirts. Renting or even buying an apartment or a studio is another solution that many students opt for. The demand is so big every fall that a new phenomenon has emerged in the Romanian real estate market. Radu Zilisteanu, an expert in the real estate field, explains:



    Radu Zilisteanu: “Generally, in the cities that are also big university centres, the real estate market is marked by a new phenomenon every autumn, namely, the demand exceeds the offer, resulting in an increase in prices. This has been a regular phenomenon for years now. This year, however, it was doubled by another phenomenon, specific to this period, namely, the fact that the ROBOR index based on which interest rates on mortgage loans are calculated, has grown significantly. This has restricted Romanians access to mortgage loans. Therefore, students arrival in the great university centres and the rather more difficult access to mortgage loans, which forced those who sought to buy property to rent in the city instead, have jointly led to a rather high demand in the rental market and to an increase of rents. Because of that increase, there are students who make groups of three or four and who rent three or four-room flats together to reduce individual costs.



    Experts estimate that this year, studio rents will be almost 20% higher than in the regular real estate transaction seasons. However, this solution is only accessible to those who have above-the-average budgets, given that the monthly rent for a studio flat ranges from 75 to 200 Euros. Comparatively, in the Regie campus, the monthly rent for a room does not exceed 35 Euro in the winter and does not go below 24 Euro in the summer, for students who do not pay tuition fees. For the students who pay their own tuition fees, the summer monthly rent accounts for 49 Euros while for the winter, the monthly rent is around 64 Euros. Monthly rents in the student dorms allotted to the University of Bucharest are even smaller.



    The high rents for lodging in town, and also the fact that the number of flats available for rental is limited, make it even harder for students to have access to decent accommodation. Here is Alina Simion again, speaking about that.



    Alina Simion: “There are a few students who can afford it, but not so many. Most of the friends I know live in the campus. Rents are quite OK, for the students supported by their parents. But for those who have a job, it is quite difficult to pay the rent all by themselves, since the rent accounts for 150 Euros per month. It is a bit too much for a student to be able to afford a flat with decent living standards. I have been living in a campus room for four years now, and I cannot afford a flat or a studio. I am just wondering how I will get by, money-wise, this year, after Ive completed my Masters. It is rather hard, especially for the students who support themselves and need to attend classes as well. Problems are bound to occur, either with their studies or at their job.



    Students would like to rent lodging in town, because there is still a lot more to be done in terms of living standards and hygiene in campus dorms. Cockroaches, rats, shared bathrooms… the solutions to these problems are postponed from one year to the next.



    Alina Simion: “Unfortunately, there is no secret that the living standards are still as bad as they used to be. Throughout the years, attempts have been made and are still being made to modernise campuses. However, the bureaucracy at university administration level has prevented it. The furniture is new; new mattresses have been brought in as well. The students paint their own rooms. But these are not the real problems. Bathrooms have been refurbished in Grozavesti. But the shared bathroom facilities are in fact the main problem. “



    A new solution has recently been offered: private dorms. There, the rents and the living standards are somewhere halfway between the solutions offered by university campuses and the rented lodgings in town.


    (translated by: Elena Enache, Eugen Nasta)