Radio România Internațional

Tag: Switzerland

  • June 17, 2023 UPDATE

    June 17, 2023 UPDATE

    USR 800 delegates from all over the country
    have arrived in Bucharest to participate in the congress of the opposition
    group known as Save Romania Union (USR). High on the congress’ agenda is a
    political alliance with the right-wing splinter known as the Force of the Right
    led by the former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, and PMP, founded by the former
    Romanian president, Traian Basescu, and currently headed by MEP Eugen Tomac.
    The USR wants to create an alternative to the present ruling coalition and
    president Catalin Drula has asked for a mandate to hold talks with the other
    right-wing groups as well as with the academic and business world. One of the
    invitees to the aforementioned congress was UDMR leader, Kelemen Hunor, whose
    political group has recently left the government coalition presently made up of
    PSD and PNL. According to a poll ordered by the USR, the Social Democrats would
    muster 28% of the votes, the nationalist opposition AUR comes next with 22%,
    PNL 18, USR 13 and UDMR with 6%. PMP and The Force of the Right would not clear
    the 5% threshold. Next year is an election year in Romania whose citizens will cast
    their ballots for the European Parliament, as well as in the local, legislative
    and presidential elections.










    FOOTBALL On Monday Romania’s
    national eleven will take on Switzerland in a new away match counting towards
    Group 1 in the qualifiers for EURO 2024 in Germany. Switzerland ranks first in the
    group’s ranking with the highest number of points, 9, followed by Romania with
    7. Next comes Israel with four, Kosovo with 3 and Andorra with one. Belarus is
    at the bottom of the ranking with no point. The first two sides in the group’s
    ranking will qualify for the final tournament.










    VISIT Romania’s new Prime Minister, Marcel
    Ciolacu will be paying a formal visit to Germany for talks with German
    Chancellor Olaf Scholz – government sources in Bucharest have announced. The
    Prime Minister will be accompanied by several members of his executive team. As
    for Romania’s accession to Europe’s border-free area, Schengen, the Prime
    Minister expects a stepped-up round of talks involving Interior Minister
    Catalin Predoiu and Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu.










    RELATIONS Between June 14-16, the Romanian city of Timisoara, which is also
    European capital of culture this year, played venue for the 26th
    session of the Romanian-German government commission for the problematic of the
    ethnic Germans in Romania. State Secretary Daniela Gitman has emphasized the
    excellent level of the Romanian-German relations based on mutual trust,
    stepped-up political dialogue, growing economic dynamics, and very tight
    inter-human relations. The Romanian official has mentioned the significant
    contribution of the German minority in Romania and the Romanian community in
    Germany to the consolidation of the bilateral dialogue and their role as a
    catalyst in the cooperation between the two countries. Gitman has also voiced
    appreciation for the decision of the German government to carry on its 5.4
    million Euro support for the ethnic Germans in Romania.




    (bill)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    Romania’s national football side
    has started off on the right foot in its qualification campaign for the
    European Championship in 2024. In qualifying Group 1, the Romanians have
    secured a 2-0 win against Andorra and a 2-1 home victory against Belarus. In
    both games, the team coached by Edward Iordanescu managed pretty good shows
    against the representatives of Andorra, currently ranking 153rd and
    Belarus, which is occupying the 97th position in a FIFA ranking. In
    the same ranking Romania comes 52nd.




    For the Romanian footballers
    these two matches proved to be real training sessions for the more difficult
    games to come in the month of June. The Romanians managed to surprise their
    opponents with crisp actions but unfortunately failed to capitalize on them
    most of the time. There is also room for improvement in the team’s defence
    line, which showed complacency refusing to believe the opponents could really
    pose a threat. But on Tuesday Belarus proved to be a force to be reckoned with
    and managed to reduce the difference with a goal in the 86th minute
    of the game. A draw against Belarus would spell disaster for the Romanian
    footballers who could thus see their qualifying chances down the drain.




    Now the lineup sent to the pitch
    by coach Iordănescu is ranking second in the group, on par with Switzerland,
    which is first thanks to a better goal average. The Swiss side thrashed Belarus
    5-0 on Saturday and secured a 3-0 home win against Israel. A surprising result
    was the one-all draw Andorra got in Kosovo against a side, which has 2 points
    and is presently ranking third in the group, right after Romania. Andorra comes
    in fourth and Israel fifth, each with a point. Belarus is the last side in the group with no
    point. The Romanians will next take on Kosovo in an away game on June 16th
    and three days later will be up against Switzerland. Their qualification campaign
    is due to resume in September.




    (bill)

  • Football Flash

    Football Flash

    Romania’s national football side
    has started off on the right foot in its qualification campaign for the
    European Championship in 2024. In qualifying Group 1, the Romanians have
    secured a 2-0 win against Andorra and a 2-1 home victory against Belarus. In
    both games, the team coached by Edward Iordanescu managed pretty good shows
    against the representatives of Andorra, currently ranking 153rd and
    Belarus, which is occupying the 97th position in a FIFA ranking. In
    the same ranking Romania comes 52nd.




    For the Romanian footballers
    these two matches proved to be real training sessions for the more difficult
    games to come in the month of June. The Romanians managed to surprise their
    opponents with crisp actions but unfortunately failed to capitalize on them
    most of the time. There is also room for improvement in the team’s defence
    line, which showed complacency refusing to believe the opponents could really
    pose a threat. But on Tuesday Belarus proved to be a force to be reckoned with
    and managed to reduce the difference with a goal in the 86th minute
    of the game. A draw against Belarus would spell disaster for the Romanian
    footballers who could thus see their qualifying chances down the drain.




    Now the lineup sent to the pitch
    by coach Iordănescu is ranking second in the group, on par with Switzerland,
    which is first thanks to a better goal average. The Swiss side thrashed Belarus
    5-0 on Saturday and secured a 3-0 home win against Israel. A surprising result
    was the one-all draw Andorra got in Kosovo against a side, which has 2 points
    and is presently ranking third in the group, right after Romania. Andorra comes
    in fourth and Israel fifth, each with a point. Belarus is the last side in the group with no
    point. The Romanians will next take on Kosovo in an away game on June 16th
    and three days later will be up against Switzerland. Their qualification campaign
    is due to resume in September.




    (bill)

  • September 9, 2021 UPDATE

    September 9, 2021 UPDATE

    Motion — The censure motion tabled by the Save Romania Union- Plus Alliance (USR-PLUS), the former no. 2 in the government coalition and the ultranationalist, opposition party the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR, against the government led by the Liberal Florin Cîţu, was read, on Thursday, in the plenum of the Romanian Parliament. The prime minister and his supporters have shown that group interests are above the public interest, the motion writes. The PM is blamed for turning a national investment plan into a party piggy bank. The debate of and the vote on the motion will take place after the Constitutional Court rules on the PM’s notification regarding the existence of a legal conflict between the Parliament and the Government. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban, who is competing with Florin Citu for the Liberal Party – PNL leadership, considers that the decision to postpone the debate and vote on the motion calendar is deeply unconstitutional. In turn, the speaker of the Senate, Anca Dragu representing the Save Romania Union, says that the Liberals are using all possible tricks to prevent the debate and vote on the censure motion. In turn, the PM Florin Citu said he would ask for the resignation of the speakers of the Parliament’s two chambers if the decision of the Constitutional Court on his notification is favorable. We remind that USR PLUS filed a censure motion after they demanded the resignation of the prime minister, whom they accuse of undermining the coalition through his decision to dismiss the justice minister, Stelian Ion, representing USR. Subsequently, the USR PLUS ministers have resigned, and the secretaries and undersecretaries of state, as well as the prefects and sub-prefects representing this party have been dismissed.



    Covid-19 — As of Friday the government extends by 30 days the state of alert on the Romanian territory, imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The validity of antigen tests has been extended from 24 to 48 hours. The number of daily cases of infection exceeded on Thursday 2,000. 2,226 new cases and about 40 deaths were reported. The number of patients in ICUs exceeded 500. The National Public Health Institute analyzed the infections confirmed last week and found that over 80% of cases were reported in unvaccinated people. Almost 93% of all deaths were in unvaccinated people and 5% in people vaccinated with only one dose. Interest in vaccination remains low. All in all, about 5.2 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.



    Visit — In 2021 we celebrate 110 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Switzerland and we could see the excellent level of bilateral cooperation at political, economic and social levels, said Thursday in Bern, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in a joint press conference with his Swiss counterpart, Guy Parmelin. The two heads of state discussed the consolidation of bilateral relations, including economic cooperation, with focus on investments, with Switzerland ranking 10th in the top of investors in Romania. The presidents of Romania and Switzerland have agreed to deepen cooperation in such areas as research and innovation, digitalization, education and cyber security. President Iohannis thanked his Swiss counterpart for supporting Romanias accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Discussions also included topical issues of international policy, focusing on political and security developments in the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood and the Western Balkans region.



    Untold – The biggest electronic music festival in Romania, UNTOLD, started on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca, in the center of Romania. More than 70,000 people from more than 100 countries are expected daily at this special event, held in pandemic conditions, until Sunday. The organizers allow access to the festival only to vaccinated people, people who have recovered from the infection or who test negative for Sars-CoV-2. Besides famous DJs such as Dimitris Vega and Like Mike, the famous Romanian panpipes player Gheorghe Zamfir will also be performing. Thus, UNTOLD proposes an original synthesis between electronic music and traditional sounds. Performing in this year’s festival will be David Guetta, Martin Garrix, The Script, Parov Stelar, Tyga and Sam Feldt, among others. Spectators will be welcomed by fantastic characters, who will give light and fire shows. Famous bands will get involved in these shows, such as Moon Ladies from Italy. The festival also includes art exhibitions, including a South American art exhibition highlighting the tribal traditions in the Amazonian forest. The organizers have also prepared a fashion exhibition bringing together the creations of 20 designers. The festival also has percussion workshops for those who want to learn the secrets of this art.



    Emergency – The Republic of Moldova will instate, as of Friday, the state of public health emergency at national level for a period of 50 days, following the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the health minister Ala Nemerenco announced on Thursday. She said that in the next five days the health ministry, in agreement with other institutions, will come up with an action plan regarding measures to combat and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, which she will present to the Extraordinary National Public Health Commission. In the Republic of Moldova, 731 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Thursday, out of which 591 among unvaccinated persons. (LS)

  • September 7, 2021 UPDATE

    September 7, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The Strategic Communication Group on Tuesday announced 2,033 new
    Covid-19 infections in Romania in the past 24 hours out of 45,430 tests that had
    been carried out. 48 people have died from Covid-related issues and 3,527
    people are being treated in hospitals, including 101 children. According to the
    same sources, 426 patients are in ICUs presently. Almost 9 thousand people have
    been vaccinated in the past 24 hours and since the vaccine rollout kicked off
    in Romania in late December, 5.2 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated,
    which means under a third of the eligible population. According to the weekly
    report by the National Institute for Public Health, the Delta variant is
    becoming dominant in Romania.








    MOTION The president
    of the Chamber of deputies in Bucharest, Liberal leader Ludovic Orban, on
    Tuesday said that under the Constitution, the timetable for the censure motion
    tabled by USR PLUS and AUR, against the government led by Liberal Florin Citu,
    must be observed. The statement comes after the standing bureaus of the Senate
    and the Chamber of Deputies have lacked quorum for the fourth day in a row unable
    to make a decision over the aforementioned motion. The opposition PSD, which
    has convened in an emergency session, has announced that it will endorse the
    censure motion against the incumbent Prime Minister. Also on Tuesday the head
    of state Klaus Iohannis met the USR PLUS co-president Dan Barna after all the
    USR ministers had resigned from the Citu government.








    VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis,
    will be on an official visit to Switzerland on Thursday, at the invitation of
    his counterpart Guy Parmelin. According to the presidency, the visit takes place
    in the context of this year’s anniversary of 110 years of diplomatic relations
    between the two states. The talks will focus on strengthening bilateral
    cooperation, including economic cooperation, with an emphasis on investments.
    Switzerland is the 10th-largest foreign investor in Romania.






    BUDGET In spite of the resignation of
    the USR PLUS ministers, PM Florin Citu convened a cabinet meeting on Tuesday
    for talks over a new budget adjustment. The Prime Minister announced last night
    that the budget adjustment bill would be passed whether or not USR PLUS party
    pulls out of the government coalition. With Tuesday’s adjustment, most funds
    will go to the health ministry, public finances, development and investments.
    Budget cuts will affect the labour ministry, the Senate and the Court of
    Accounts.






    (bill)

  • June 12, 2021 UPDATE

    June 12, 2021 UPDATE

    G7
    Leaders of the world’s seven most developed countries are expected to endorse a
    proposal by US president Joe Biden for a global minimum corporate tax of at
    least 15%, the White House has announced. The Global Minimum Tax plan, also
    known as GMT, would effectively put an end to the practice of global
    corporations seeking out low-tax jurisdiction to move their headquarters to,
    even though their customers, operations and executives are located elsewhere. A
    decision on the GMT is going to be officially made during the G 7 summit, which
    kicked off in Cornwall, the UK, on Friday. The summit of G7 countries whose
    economies account for 40% of the global economy has an ambitious agenda.
    Leaders from the United States, France, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy
    plus the EU leaders are trying to find solutions to global issues, such as
    vaccine supplies for the entire planet, solutions to the present economic
    crisis as well as ways to fight the global warming. Britain announced a
    donation of over 100 million vaccine doses to the poor countries while the USA
    is going to donate 500 million doses to 100 developing countries.








    COVID-19 The number of Covid-19 infections in Romania is still low with
    127 new cases reported on Saturday. 5 new Covid-related fatalities have been
    reported in the past 24 hours and 236 patients are in intensive care. The
    vaccine rollout continues at a lower pace though with only 39 thousand doses
    administered in the past 24 hours. Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in
    Romania in December last year, over 4 million people have been fully
    vaccinated.








    RELAXATION New relaxation measures were imposed in Romania on Friday night
    when the state of alert across the country had been extended for another month.
    So, indoor private events can be attended by 200 people in regions with an
    infection rate below 3 per thousand only if the participants are all
    vaccinated, tested negative for the virus or already had the disease. Outdoor
    events may have an attendance up to the maximum capacity of the facility
    hosting the event. In Bucharest mask mandates are still in place around schools
    as well as indoor or crowded outdoor facilities.






    PNRR The European Commission has started assessing the recovery plans
    it has received from the member countries willing to access funds from the
    European recovery plan. The Commission has made a series of observations and
    called for additional information after it received the recovery and resilience
    plan made by Romania. The European Commission has two months to assess the
    national recovery plans, one of the main conditions being that the applicants
    earmark at least 37% to ecological transition and 20 % to the digital sector.
    Education, healthcare, transport and infrastructure as well as digitization and
    public administration reforms are the main domains the National Plan of
    Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) focuses on and where Romania pledges to invest
    all the roughly 30 million Euros it is going to attract. All investment must be completed by 2026.






    LOAN
    The World Bank will give Romania a 150 million Euros loan to improve the
    quality of its medical system. The money is to be used for improving the
    country’s telemedicine services and the screening network for cervical cancer,
    to build burns units and fit them with the equipment they need. The new loan
    agreement was signed in Bucharest and is completing an initial funding stage
    for a project currently underway in Romania.








    WEATHER According to meteorologists, the weather
    will be unsettled in Romania until Tuesday with rain showers, strong winds and
    thunderstorms mainly in the country’s north. Flood warnings have been issued
    for 15 counties in Romania and temperatures are expected to range between 20
    and 28 degrees Celsius.




    FOOTBALL Wales versus Switzerland ended
    in a one-all draw in Baku, Azerbaijan, in Group A of the European Football Championship
    2020. Italy tops the group with 3 points after a 3-0 win against Turkey on
    Friday. In a first for the Romanian capital, Bucharest will be hosting four
    games: Austria versus North Macedonia on June 13th, Ukraine versus
    North Macedonia on June 17th and Ukraine versus Austria on June 21st,
    all of them in group C. Romania will also be hosting a match in the round of 16
    on 28th June. Also in a first for Romania, the country will have two
    teams of referees at the aforementioned competition.






    (bill)





  • The sounds of a market

    The sounds of a market

    The “Matache Măcelaru” and “Alexandru Moghioroş” Markets in Bucharest



    The “Matache Măcelaru” Market is located within walking distance from North Station, the main train station in Bucharest, at the crossroads of Calea Griviței and Calea Buzești, the favourite place of merchants and tradesmen in the late 19th Century. One of them was butcher Loloescu Matache. He started doing business in the wake of the Romanian War of Independence, around 1879, when he started building the famous Matache hall, which has recently been demolished. Back then, the market was located on the outskirts of Bucharest. In 1948, it became the “Ilie Pintilie” state-owned market, named after a former Romanian communist leader.



    In the “Drumul Taberei” district in Bucharest, the main market has borne the name of another communist politician, Alexandru Moghioroş, for a long time. Soon after the fall of communism, it was renamed after the famous Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. Going beyond its name, it is still the market of choice for the district dwellers.





    The Jean Talon Market, Montreal



    The Jean Talon Market, founded in Montreal in 1933 and named in honour of the first governor of New France, is one of the largest markets in North America. It is open during the four seasons. Its visitors – more than 2.5 million in 2018, including tourists – purchase fruits, vegetables, produce, herbs and flowers from local farmers whose farms are generally within 50 km from the market.



    Located in the district of Little Italy, this multicultural market is famous for the wealth of organic produce and regional products of the province of Quebec it offers to its visitors.



    These “scenes of life” were captured between the end of summer and Christmas 2018.





    Weekly Market in Bern



    For over 130 years, a weekly market has been held on the Bundesplatz near the historic old town of the Swiss capital Bern. Local farmers offer their specialities directly in front of the parliament building. Not only many people from the population visit the market. It also attracts tourists – and sometimes you even see a minister shopping.





    Farmers markets in the Czech Republic



    A short distance from the city centre, the embankment Rašínovo nábřeží in Prague is filled with lovers of fresh, local products on Saturdays. The atmosphere of farmers’ markets, with their tastings, seating and often music, attracts locals and tourists. In recent years the number of markets has risen steadily and there are now more than 20 each week in the Czech capital alone. This signifies a revival of sales of fresh foods from regional producers, which was forcibly interrupted during the Communist period.





    Hala Mirowska in Warsaw



    Hala Mirowska is one of the largest markets in Warsaw. It was constructed in the beginning of the 20th century. The building was bombed during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Rebuilt in the 1950s, it was restored to its original function as a market and is now a place where different generations meet.



    It is also a popular spot for tourists, who come here to look for traditional and regional polish products, like sauerkraut, beetroot, sour cream, mushrooms, honey, fresh herbs, smoked cheese and sausage. The market consists also of a modern and very chic hall, but the real charm can be found only in the old area of the market.



  • November 2, 2018 UPDATE

    November 2, 2018 UPDATE

    PRESIDENCY -The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will have a meeting on November 14th in London with the British PM, Theresa May, at the latters invitation, official sources told AGERPRES news agency on Friday. On the same day, Klaus Iohannis will attend a reception at Buckingham Palace, in honour of Charles, Prince of Wales 70th birthday, at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.



    GOVERNMENT- The PM of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, said in Varna on Friday, that at the 4-party meeting between Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian officials she had underlined that more must be done for Europes energy security, especially by diversifying supply sources and stepping up the interconnection process. In the field of transport, she reiterated Romanias interest in the building of new motorways and bridges across the River Danube. Attending the meeting were the PMs of Bulgaria and Greece, Boiko Borisov and Alexis Tsipras, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Prior to the talks, Dǎncilǎ and her Israeli counterpart agreed on the organisation of an economic forum, ahead of the joint meeting of the 2 countries governments. PM Dăncilă presented to her Israeli counterpart the changes operated on the legislation regulating public-private partnerships, which have made the Romanian investment climate more attractive. The Romanian official also reconfirmed Romanias interest in strengthening and deepening relations with Israel in energy and cyber security, healthcare, research and innovation. The 2 prime ministers also discussed means of cooperation between Romania and Israel, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council as of January 2019.



    BUDGET -The leaders of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, which make up the ruling coalition in Romania, convened on Friday for talks on this years budget adjustment and on 2019 budgetary projections. Attending the meeting was also finance minister Eugen Teodorovici. The agenda also included plans for setting up a Sovereign Development and Investment Fund and the companies that should be part of this fund, personnel downsizing measures in certain ministries and governmental agencies, and a possible increase in minimum salaries as of December 1.



    EU FUNDING -The European Commissioner for regional development Corina Creţu reiterated that Bucharest has so far submitted no funding applications for any major project that could be financed by the European Commission, except for the M6 underground line which is currently being analysed. We are long past the deadlines Romania has set itself for applying for EU funds for regional hospitals, for 3 motorways, for the Braila bridge and for the Bucharest ring road, Corina Creţu says. In a social network post, the European Commissioner dismisses the accusations made against her after she had repeatedly warned that the EU fund absorption by the Romanian Government has slowed down. Darius Vâlcov, adviser to PM Viorica Dăncilă, claimed on Thursday that the funding provided by the EU only accounts for 10% of the costs of building a regional hospital, and that the balance must be supplied by the Romanian state.



    LABOUR- Switzerland will lift all labour market restrictions for Romanian workers in May next year. The announcement was made during a visit to Bucharest on Thursday by the president of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, who was received by President Klaus Iohannis. Alain Berset said, on the other hand, that Switzerland supports Bucharests bid for OECD membership, and that, although it is not an EU member, it will stand by Romania during the countrys presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019.



    PROSECUTOR GENERAL – Romanias Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazăr, has demanded in court the suspension of procedures to remove him from office, started by the Justice Minister, Tudorel Toader. Lazar had earlier filed a complaint at the Justice Ministry against the assessment report drafted by Tudorel Toader. On October 24, the line minister started the procedure to remove Romanias Prosecutor General from office, mentioning 20 points against Lazar, among which signing a secret protocol with the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2016 and hiding the truth about this protocol.



    DEFENCE –Romanian defence minister Mihai Fifor said on Friday that Romania has reached the objectives set for this year in terms of the Armys endowment. The official claims that from this point of view, and not only, Romania is one of NATOs trustworthy partners. Mihai Fifor has recalled that this is the second year in a row that the Romanian Government allots 2% of the GDP for defence. The line minister has also said the Romanian military are still present on theatres of operations, and are also dispatched to Poland, under a partnership within NATO.



    VETERINARY The Romanian Veterinary Board has organised a rally at the Government headquarters on Friday, in order to draw attention to the major problems facing this profession and jeopardising public health. Veterinary physicians demand the immediate amendment of the law regulating their profession, which must be brought in line with a ruling of the EU Court of Justice. Otherwise, the protesters warn, public health is at grave risk in Romania, where anybody may open a veterinary dispensary and sell medications, without the need for veterinary physician supervision, and anybody may purchase such medication and give it to animals.



    FARMING Hundreds of companies from 25 countries are taking part in Bucharest, until Sunday, in the international farming trade fair INDAGRA, the largest of this kind in Romania. As part of the trade fair, the Rural Investment Financing Agency has organised a national conference on “Rural Development: A fundamental element of economic competitiveness and cohesion at EU level. Taking part in the conference was the Minister for Agriculture and rural Development, Petre Daea. The participants discussed the elements supporting the transformation of Romanian agriculture and rural communities, so as to be able to contribute to the competitiveness of the national economy.



    PROTEST – Over 100 workers from the ArcelorMittal Hunedoara steelworks in south-western Romania protested on Friday against the delayed negotiations on pay-rises. The protesters claim that most of them will earn next year the national minimum wage, if the Government increases this wage. The president of the “Steelworker Trade Union, Petru Vaidoş, said the trade union will brief the ArcelorMittal European Enterprise Committee, that will convene in Luxembourg next week. This is the second protest started by the steelworkers from ArcelorMittal Hunedoara, after that organised on October 18. The company based in Hunedoara has some 700 employees. (Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)

  • November 2, 2018

    November 2, 2018

    UK The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will have a meeting on November 14th in London with the British PM, Theresa May, at the latters invitation, official sources told AGERPRES news agency on Friday. On the same day, Klaus Iohannis will attend a reception at Buckingham Palace, in honour of Charles, Prince of Wales 70th birthday, at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.




    MEETING The PM of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, said in Varna on Friday, that at the 4-party meeting between Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian officials she had stressed that more must be done for Europes energy security, especially by diversifying supply sources and stepping up the interconnection process. In the field of transport, she reiterated Romanias interest in the building of new motorways and bridges across the River Danube. Attending the meeting were the PMs of Bulgaria and Greece, Boiko Borisov and Alexis Tsipras, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Prior to the talks, Dǎncilǎ and her Israeli counterpart agreed on the organisation of an economic forum, ahead of the joint meeting of the 2 countries governments. PM Dăncilă presented to her Israeli counterpart the changes operated on the legislation regulating public-private partnerships, which have made the Romanian investment climate more attractive. The Romanian official also reconfirmed Romanias interest in strengthening and deepening relations with Israel in energy and cyber security, healthcare, research and innovation. The 2 prime ministers also discussed means of cooperation between Romania and Israel, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council as of January 2019.




    BUDGET The leaders of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, which make up the ruling coalition in Romania, convene today for talks on this years budget adjustment and on 2019 budgetary projections. The Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici also takes part in the meeting. The agenda also includes plans for setting up a Sovereign Development and Investment Fund and the companies that should be part of this fund, personnel downsizing measures in certain ministries and governmental agencies, and a possible increase in minimum salaries as of December 1.




    EU FUNDING The European Commissioner for regional development Corina Creţu reiterated that Bucharest has so far submitted no funding applications for any major project that could be financed by the European Commission, except for the M6 underground line which is currently being analysed. We are long past the deadlines Romania has set itself for applying for EU funds for regional hospitals, for 3 motorways, for the Braila bridge and for the Bucharest ring road, Corina Creţu says. In a social network post, the European Commissioner dismisses the accusations made against her after she had repeatedly warned that the EU fund absorption by the Romanian Government has slowed down. Darius Vâlcov, adviser to PM Viorica Dăncilă, claimed on Thursday that the funding provided by the EU only accounts for 10% of the costs of building a regional hospital, and that the balance must be supplied by the Romanian state.




    LABOUR Switzerland will lift all labour market restrictions for Romanian workers in May next year. The announcement was made during a visit to Bucharest on Thursday by the president of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, who was received by President Klaus Iohannis. Alain Berset said, on the other hand, that Switzerland supports Bucharests bid for OECD membership, and that, although it is not an EU member, it will stand by Romania during the countrys presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019.




    VETERINARY The Romanian Veterinary Board has organised a rally at the Government headquarters today, in order to draw attention to the major problems facing this profession and jeopardising public health. Veterinary physicians demand the immediate amendment of the law regulating their profession, which must be brought in line with a ruling of the EU Court of Justice. Otherwise, the protesters warn, public health is at grave risk in Romania, where anybody may open a veterinary dispensary and sell medications, without the need for veterinary physician supervision, and anybody may purchase such medication and give it to animals.




    FARMING Hundreds of companies from 25 countries are taking part in Bucharest, until Sunday, in the international farming trade fair INDAGRA, the largest of this kind in Romania. As part of the trade fair, today the Rural Investment Financing Agency is organising a national conference on “Rural Development: A fundamental element of economic competitiveness and cohesion at EU level. Taking part in the conference is the Minister for Agriculture and rural Development, Petre Daea. The participants discuss the elements supporting the transformation of Romanian agriculture and rural communities, so as to be able to contribute to the competitiveness of the national economy.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Romanians on the Labour Market

    Romanians on the Labour Market

    Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, but it has several agreements with it, including one on the free movement of people. However, Bern has decided to restrict, for one year, the access of Romanians and Bulgarians to its labour market. Switzerland can do that under a clause which says that, by 2019, it can unilaterally establish a ceiling for newly released work permits, if in one year, their total number exceeds by 10% the average of the previous three years. Therefore, the Swiss have decided that in the next 12 months they will only issue a maximum 996 long stay permits, that is, the type B permits issued for Romanians and Bulgarians.



    The Romanian Foreign Ministry has come up with additional information. The measure could be extended to 2018 as well. The good part, though, is that it does not affect type L short stay permits, or the possibility to extend the type B permits that have already been issued.



    In a phone conversation with the Secretary of State with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, Pascale Baerswyl, the State Secretary with the Romanian Foreign Ministry George Ciamba has voiced regret for the decision made in Bern. He said that there has been a small number of Romanians applying for a type B permit in the past year, and the measure runs counter to the contribution that the Romanian community in Switzerland, most of it highly qualified, has had on the local labour market. Any decision regarding the free movement of people must be in line with the spirit of the partnership between the EU and Switzerland, the main goal being to observe the principle of free movement of people and workers and to prevent discrimination against the European citizens, the Romanian official said.



    The Romanian MEP Victor Negrescu has too addressed a critical message to the Swiss part, terming the decision as unfair to Romania and a sign of distrust in Romania, Bulgaria and the EU alike. The Social Democrat has already called on the European Commission to immediately check whether the decision fully complies with the legal requirements in force and the provisions of the agreements between the EU and Switzerland. Also, Victor Negrescu has called on the Commission to supervise the implementation of the measure and to make sure the right to work is granted again as soon as possible. This would be a good time for the EU to show it can protect its citizens and that it can react when there are signs of unfair treatment, the Romanian MEP also said.



    What is worth mentioning, though, is that Romanians have for some time now had problems on the labour market, including within the EU. A textbook example is that of Great Britain. Experts say that the formal start of Brexit will have consequences difficult to predict as regards the fate of the people who work or study there.

    (translated by: Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • Romanian national football team has won its first point at EURO 2016

    Romanian national football team has won its first point at EURO 2016

    Again Romania mainly relied on a defensive game. If we think of the game against France, manager Anghel Iordanescu operated several changes in his lineup, yet he maintained the team’s defensive orientation. In the first half, Romanian defenders were so good at closing offensive lanes towards their goalie Ciprian Tatarusanu.



    The Romanians managed to up audacious counter-attacking bouts creating very good scoring opportunities. On 18 minute, Alex Chipciu managed to penetrate the Swiss’ box, Stephan Lichtsteiner grabbed him by the T-shirt and the referee granted a penalty kick to the Romanians. Bogdan Stancu turned the spot-kick into a goal and with two goals on his record sheet he has become EURO 2016’s top scorer so far, jointly with French footballer Dmitry Payet.



    After the goal, the Romanians had several other opportunities to score. Yet on 57 minutes it was the Swiss who did that, through Admir Mehmedi. After that, the game gradually moved to the Romanians half of the pitch. Anghel Iordanescu’s trainees gave in, physically, and the Swiss took full control of the last part of the game. However, the 1-all draw result is a fair one.



    In the second fixture of the same group, France outclassed Albania 2-nil, with both goals being scored in extra time.



    If they want to keep their hopes alive to go past the group stage, the Romanians are in dire need of a win against Albania, in this coming Sunday’s game in Lyon. Albanian national squad’s defensive party will be difficult to penetrate since they almost perfectly closed in on their Swiss and French opponents’ offensive bouts in the recently-played fixtures.



    However, the team coached by Italian Giovanni de Biasi is likely to put up a more open game against Romania, since a win would maintain Albania in the race for the group’s 3rd position. Under the circumstances, Romanian strikers could have much wider maneuver areas on the pitch. But let’s just see how Anghel Iordanescu will think out the fixture against Albania.