Radio România Internațional

Tag: TAROM flights

  • May 26, 2020

    May 26, 2020

    The headlines:


    The number of coronavirus infections in Romania has
    exceeded 18.400. Meanwhile Interior Minister Marcel Vela is facing a motion
    vote in the Senate today. Bogdan Aurescu met his Hungarian counterpart in
    Bucharest today. And the General Affairs Council is today convening in a
    videoconference – representing Romania is State Secretary with the Foreign
    Ministry, Iulia Matei.




    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Today marks three
    months since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Romania. Earlier the
    Group for Strategic Communication announced the death toll has risen to 1,210.
    Over 18.400 cases have been confirmed across the country. 11.800 people have
    recovered. 90.7% of victims were suffering from at least one other medical
    condition, the National Institute for Public Health reports. Last week the
    largest numbers of infections were reported in Bucharest and in Suceava, Neamt,
    Botosani and Arad counties. One in six people infected with coronavirus is a
    medical professional. Broken down in terms of age, nearly 77% of victims are 60
    and above. Over half are men. Meanwhile 3.067 Romanians living abroad have
    tested positive for SARS CoV-2, mostly in Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain
    and France, of whom 106 have died.




    COVID-19 WORLDWIDE – The total number of
    COVID-19 infections is close to 5.6 million globally, with some 350.000 victims
    reported so far. Brazil is now the second-most affected country in the world,
    with over 374.000 infections, after the United States, where over 1.6 million
    people have been infected with the virus. On the other hand, many countries
    continue to ease lockdown restrictions. Beaches have reopened in Spain and the
    United States, so have night clubs in Iceland. Japan has lifted the state of
    emergency. Mosques in Iran are open as of yesterday. Also yesterday people in
    Greece can now eat in taverns and restaurants. Many voices fear these measures
    could generate a second wave of the epidemic, and Italy has actually
    reintroduced certain restrictions.




    MOTION – The Senate is today
    debating and voting a simple motion the Social-Democrat opposition has filed
    against Liberal Interior Minister Marcel Vela. The Social-Democrats criticize
    Vela for the military decrees issued under the state of emergency, claiming
    they generated a series of restrictions that were subsequently cancelled. Each
    article to have been repealed is official proof of the incompetence and lack of
    coherence in managing the coronavirus pandemic, the document also reads.
    Minister Vela says the motion will present him with an opportunity to recap his
    achievements during the six months in office. Parliament has recently voted two
    motions, against Finance Minister Florin Citu and against Agriculture Minister
    Adrian Oros. Another motion targeting Education Minister Monica Anisie was
    debated yesterday, with the vote scheduled for Wednesday in the Chamber of
    Deputies. The Minister is criticized for her subpar management during the
    health crisis.




    DEFENSE – The country’s Supreme Defense Council will convene in a
    videoconference presided by President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday. High on the
    agenda is the National Defense Strategy for 2020-2024, available army forces
    that can be posted for external missions and operations in 2021 as well as the
    modernization program for the Romanian army by 2026 and beyond. The Council
    will also look into hot topics in the field of national security, the
    Presidency reports.




    VIDEOCONFERENCE
    – State Secretary for European Affairs with the Romanian Foreign Ministry,
    Iulia Matei, is today taking part in the informal meeting of the EU General
    Affairs Council, held as a videoconference. According to the Foreign Ministry,
    the top point on today’s meeting is the EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
    which is a coordinated approach to eliminating restrictions and re-launching
    the economy. Also today the European Commission will notify Member States
    regarding ongoing progress in drafting the annual report on the rule of law
    across the Union.




    MEETING – Romania wants a positive relation with Hungary and a
    return to a real strategic partnership with this country, Foreign Minister
    Bogdan Aurescu said after meeting his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto.
    Aurescu says the diplomatic relation needs to restore trust and mutual respect,
    calling for restraint and a judicious approach to bilateral relations, which
    have been marked by the negative effects of the coronavirus crisis. Romania
    wants to consolidate bilateral relations, identify projects of mutual gain,
    consolidate sectorial cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and energy
    and continue dialogue over the rights of national minorities in the two
    countries, the Romanian Minister went on to say.




    FLIGHTS -
    The national passenger airliner TAROM is today resuming its flights operated to
    Italy, with return trips to Rome and Milan. The flights will be operated under
    special circumstances, observing regulations under the state of alert.
    According to TAROM, Italian citizens, seasonal workers and people working in
    the field of transport will be able to travel to Italy. Returning to Romania
    will be only Romanian nationals willing to come home.








    (Translated by V.
    Palcu)

  • May 24, 2020 UPDATE

    May 24, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The death toll for the COVID-19 pandemic in
    Romania stands at 1.185. The number of confirmed cases exceeds 18.000, while
    some 11.400 people have recovered. The number of people in quarantine has
    dropped by some 30% since the beginning of the week. The Bucharest City Hall
    has launched an online platform where 11,000 volunteers can sign up for free
    tests for COVID-19. The City Hall next week will launch another testing project
    addressing a sample population of 10,500 people from Bucharest. At the same
    time 15 experts with the Romanian Ministry of Defense, five physicians, five
    nurses and five military specialized in dealing with chemical, biological,
    radiological and nuclear threats will leave on Monday to the United States, to
    help Alabama local authorities combat the pandemic. The team will provide
    expert support to US counterparts in medical units and will report on the
    methods the US is using the combat the coronavirus.




    REPATRIATIONS
    – 125 Romanian citizens working on cruise ships in Mexico and the Philippines
    have been brought home. An additional 277 Romanian citizens were repatriated
    from France and Great Britain on Saturday, in a joint effort of the Foreign,
    Interior and Transport Ministries. According to the Foreign Ministry, the 140
    Romanians repatriated from France are Erasmus students, people whose labor
    contracts have been terminated, tourists transiting France from the United
    States and medical residents who completed their internships in France. The 137
    Romanians from the UK are students, hospitalized people whom the British
    authorities helped repatriate, people without shelter and seasonal workers from
    Jersey Island. The Romanian authorities also helped four foreign citizens
    return to Romania, two French, one Canadian and 1 British. The operation was
    carried out using two special flights operated by the national airliner TAROM
    to Paris and London. The flight to Paris also helped 76 French citizens return
    to their home country. Also on Saturday, 92 Romanian citizens, including seasonal
    workers, were repatriated from Germany via a special flight coordinated by the
    Ministries of Transports and the Interior in cooperation with the relevant
    German authorities. The flight was operated by a private airliner via Nurnberg
    – Frankfurt – Cluj. The operations are part of the Government’s efforts to
    repatriate Romanian nationals with temporary stay permits abroad who have been
    affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.




    PENSIONS
    – Public pensions will go up starting September 1, but the quantum will depend
    on the state of the economy, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban told a television
    station on Saturday. The Romanian official said the economy has been affected
    by the coronavirus crisis, adding that a report on the state of the economy and
    the budget will be made public after the first half of the year. The Prime
    Minister also said local elections might be organized in late September, while
    legislative elections could be scheduled for December 6, depending on the
    evolution of the pandemic.




    FLIGHTS
    – The national passenger airliner TAROM will resume its flights operated to
    Italy starting Tuesday, with return trips to Rome and Milan. The flights will
    be operated under special circumstances, observing regulations under the state
    of alert. According to TAROM, Italian citizens, seasonal workers and people
    working in the field of transport will be able to travel to Italy. Returning to
    Romania will be only Romanian nationals willing to come home. Flights to Rome
    will cost 208 Euro, while people travelling to Milan will have to pay 200 Euro.




    RENAULT
    – The Government in Paris wants the Renault carmaker to stop exporting its
    production capacity, in exchange for a 5 billion euros bailout package, French
    Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday. Previously, Economy
    Minister Bruno Le Maire told Le Figaro
    that Renault is fighting for survival in the context of the coronavirus crisis.
    The media says the carmaker is planning on shutting down several manufacturing
    plants in France, including the one in Flins, where the Zoe and Nissan Micra
    models are being produced, but also the plant in Dieppe, as part of a large-scale
    restructuring plan soon to be announced. Renault owns the Dacia plant in
    Romania. Rebranded in 2004 with the launch of the Logan model, Dacia has become
    a major presence in the European car industry.




    ECONOMY
    – The Romanian economy will shrink by 14.4% in the second quarter of the year,
    according to the 2020 Convergence Program published by the Ministry of Public
    Finance, Agerpres reports. According to the Ministry, the budget deficit
    estimated using the ESA European methodology will stand at 6.7% at the end of
    2020, up by 2.4% compared to the level of 2019. This reflects a 39.5% increase
    in spending and 32.7% in incomes. Gross investments will go down by 2.6% in
    2020, considering private consumption will shrink by 0.7%, Government
    consumption will have a positive impact of 2.4% while exports and imports of
    goods and services will have negative dynamics.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • May 24, 2020

    May 24, 2020

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The death toll for the COVID-19 pandemic in
    Romania stands at 1.179. The number of confirmed cases exceeds 18.000, while
    some 11.400 people have recovered. The number of people in quarantine has
    dropped by some 30% since the beginning of the week. The number of people in
    isolation at home has gone up, however, after many Romanians returned to the
    country after the lifting of the state of emergency. Two villages in the
    northeast entered quarantine after 14 confirmed cases were reported in the last
    week. The Bucharest City Hall has launched an online platform where 11,000
    volunteers can sign up for free tests for COVID-19. The City Hall next week
    will launch another testing project addressing a sample population of 10,500
    people from Bucharest.




    REPATRIATIONS
    – 277 Romanian citizens were repatriated from France and Great Britain on
    Saturday, in a joint effort of the Foreign, Interior and Transport Ministries.
    According to the Foreign Ministry, the 140 Romanians repatriated from France are
    Erasmus students, people whose labor contracts have been terminated, tourists transiting
    France from the United States and medical residents who completed their
    internships in France. The 137 Romanians from the UK are students, hospitalized
    people whom the British authorities helped repatriate, people without shelter
    and seasonal workers from Jersey Island. The Romanian authorities also helped
    four foreign citizens return to Romania, two French, one Canadian and 1
    British. The operation was carried out using two special flights operated by
    the national airliner TAROM to Paris and London. The flight to Paris also
    helped 76 French citizens return to their home country. Also on Saturday, 92
    Romanian citizens, including seasonal workers, were repatriated from Germany
    via a special flight coordinated by the Ministries of Transports and the
    Interior in cooperation with the relevant German authorities. The flight was
    operated by a private airliner via Nurnberg – Frankfurt – Cluj. The operations
    are part of the Government’s efforts to repatriate Romanian nationals with
    temporary stay permits abroad who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.




    PENSIONS
    – Public pensions will go up starting September 1, but the quantum will depend
    on the state of the economy, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban told a television
    station on Saturday. The Romanian official said the economy has been affected
    by the coronavirus crisis, adding that a report on the state of the economy and
    the budget will be made public after the first half of the year. The Prime
    Minister also said local elections might be organized in late September, while
    legislative elections could be scheduled for December 6, depending on the
    evolution of the pandemic.




    FLIGHTS
    – The national passenger airliner TAROM will resume its flights operated to
    Italy starting Tuesday, with return trips to Rome and Milan. The flights will
    be operated under special circumstances, observing regulations under the state
    of alert. According to TAROM, Italian citizens, seasonal workers and people
    working in the field of transport will be able to travel to Italy. Returning to
    Romania will be only Romanian nationals willing to come home. Flights to Rome
    will cost 208 Euro, while people travelling to Milan will have to pay 200 Euro.




    ECONOMY
    – The Romanian economy will shrink by 14.4% in the second quarter of the year,
    according to the 2020 Convergence Program published by the Ministry of Public
    Finance, Agerpres reports. According to the Ministry, the budget deficit
    estimated using the ESA European methodology will stand at 6.7% at the end of
    2020, up by 2.4% compared to the level of 2019. This reflects a 39.5% increase
    in spending and 32.7% in incomes. Gross investments will go down by 2.6% in
    2020, considering private consumption will shrink by 0.7%, Government
    consumption will have a positive impact of 2.4% while exports and imports of
    goods and services will have negative dynamics.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)