Radio România Internațional

Tag: traffic

August 17, 2023 UPDATE

TRAFFIC – Cargo traffic through the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanţa has reached almost 50 million tons in the first seven months of the year which is a record high. The grain trade accounted for 19 million tons, a quarter more than in the same period last year. Almost half of it is made with Ukraine. To facilitate the work, the Maritime Ports Administration will soon launch an IT application for booking road truck traffic, which will manage the flow of goods in real time. Since the beginning of the year, more than 385 thousand trucks have entered the port of Constanta.

MIGRANTS – More than 450 Ukrainian men have illegally crossed the border with Romania since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, to flee the war. Of these, 190 took refuge this year. The Ukrainians have either crossed the borders with Romania and the Republic of Moldova illegally, or they entered by corrupting customs officers and border policemen from Ukraine. The Romanian Border Police reported that the people were detected in Botoşani county (north-east) and requested a form of protection from the Romanian state, as a result of the fact that they are coming from a conflict zone. The border police notified the General Inspectorate for Immigration, and the persons in question were taken over by the Regional Accommodation Center for Asylum Seekers in Rădăuţi. After martial law was declared in the neighboring country, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 no longer have the right to leave the national territory and are obliged to join the army the army, if necessary.

FUNDS – The Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism will grant non-refundable financing to people who want to invest in the infrastructure of Romanian spa and balneal resorts. Some 15 million lei have been allocated to the program for this year, approximately 3 million euros. Among the activities that will be financed are the expansion and modernization of accommodation facilities, public food and spa treatment, the purchase of equipment, furniture and specific medical equipment. The call for projects will be launched next month and registrations will be carried out exclusively online, on the turism.gov.ro website.

UKRAINE – The Romanian authorities firmly condemn Russia’s repeated aggressions against innocent people and civilian infrastructure after the attack on the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail, located near Romania. The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, underlined that through these blatant violations of international law, Russia continues to endanger global food security and the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The structures of the Romanian Defense Ministry, which ensure the monitoring of the airspace, state that they have not identified any threats of a military nature to Romania’s national territory or territorial waters following the attack, and have announced increased measures to monitor the national terrestrial, maritime and air space, in cooperation with the NATO structures.

TRADE – Germany is Romania’s most important commercial partner, the value of bilateral trade in 2022 standing at 40.68 billion Euros, higher by 17%, shows a press release of the Economy Ministry. In the same period, Germany was the first destination for Romanian exports, with a share of 20% of Romania’s total exports. At the same time, Germany represents for Romania the second source of foreign direct investments, with over 25,000 investing companies, mostly in the high tech industrial sectors. On Wednesday, the Economy Minister, Ştefan-Radu Oprea, met with the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bucharest, Peer Olav Gebauer. The talks focused on boosting bilateral economic cooperation, aiming both at attracting German investments in Romania and at encouraging national companies that want to initiate and develop projects on the territory of Germany.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s football champions, Farul Constanţa (south-east), qualified for the Europa Conference League play-off, on Wednesday evening, after defeating the Estonian team Flora Tallinn with the score 2-0, away from home, in the second leg of the third preliminary round of the competition. In the first match, Farul had won 3-0. Farul will play in the play-off against the loser of the match pitting Qarabag FK (Azerbaijan) against HJK Helsinki (Finland), a match that takes place in the third preliminary round of the Europa League. The other two Romanian teams present in the Conference League, Sepsi Sfântul Gheorghe (central Romania) and FCSB, are playing today. Sepsi will play in Kazakhstan against FC Aktobe, after a one-all score in Romania, and FCSB will play in Norway against FC Nordsjaelland, with whom they ended the first match from Bucharest in a tie, 0-0. (EE)

17 August 2023
August 16, 2023 UPDATE

SECURITY Romanias security has been consolidated and the efforts to strengthen NATO structures on national territory, especially the NATO battle group established in 2022, will carry on, said President Klaus Iohannis, who attended the Navy Day ceremonies in Constanta on Tuesday. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu promised that the government would earmark the resources required for equipping and modernising the Romanian Naval Forces. Security at the Black Sea ensures the stability of the entire region and turns Romania into an important security provider, the speaker of the Senate, Nicolae Ciucă, also said.

ECONOMY The EU economy grew 0.5% and the Eurozone economy went up 0.6% in Q2 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022, with Ireland and Romania reporting the most significant growth rates, according to preliminary data released on Wednesday by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat). Among the EU member countries for which data are available, the highest growth rates in April-June 2023 are reported in Ireland (2.8%), Romania (2.7%), Cyprus and Portugal (2.3%), while the most important negative rates were in Estonia (-3%), Sweden (-2.4%), Hungary (-2.3%) and Poland (-1.3%). Across the ocean, the US GDP went up 0.6% compared to the previous 3 months and 2.6% against the corresponding quarter last year.

BACCALAUREATE Nearly 34,000 high school graduates in Romania, sitting the second session of this years Baccalaureate exam, Wednesday had the Romanian language and literature test, with papers graded digitally for the first time. The tests are scanned and uploaded on a platform, where they are assigned for grading to teachers in any part of the country except for the county where the student went to high school. The two tests in students major subjects are scheduled for August 17th and 18th. In order to pass the exam, candidates need an overall grade of at least 6 in their written tests. In the first Baccalaureate session, 75% of the candidates passed the exam.

TRAFFIC Over 2.2 million Romanians and foreigners crossed Romanias borders during the Assumption of Mary holiday period, up 24% compared to the corresponding period of last year, the Romanian Border Police announced. The most crowded checkpoints were those on the Hungarian and Bulgarian borders, and those in airports. During the same period, border police issued fines totalling over EUR 60,000 and seized assets of over EUR 600,000. More than 100 Romanian nationals were denied exit and 90 foreign nationals were not allowed to enter the country for various reasons.

UKRAINE The Romanian Defence Ministry strongly condemns the repeated strikes by Russian armed forces targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine and regions inhabited by civilians in that country. The statement comes after on Wednesday morning the Danube River ports in Izmail and Reni, near the border with Romania, were hit by drone strikes. The war of aggression started by Russia against Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law, says the Defence Ministry, also adding that it has enhanced the monitoring of Romanias national territory and its maritime and airspace, jointly with NATO forces, to strengthen defence on the entire eastern flank and to deter possible aggressions against NATO member countries. (AMP)

16 August 2023
August 4, 2023 UPDATE

DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu has
officially confirmed that a tour of Africa is being prepared for Romania’s
President Klaus Iohannis. Romania aims to bring ties with Sub-Saharan
Africa to a higher level, adapted to the new Romanian and African realities and
the new strategic interest of each partner. This revival will be done by
pursuing common values and interests, mainly in political and economic terms,
said the Romanian official.

DANUBE Naval traffic is very intense at the exit from the Danube to
the Black Sea, after Russia attacked the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail. Romania’s River Administration of the Lower Danube in Galati
decided to only allow vessels to go out to sea and only then to sail in the
opposite direction. Since Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement that allowed
the safe export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea, the Danube has been used
as an export route for agricultural products from Ukraine.

NATURAL GAS PM Marcel Ciolacu says the Black Sea natural gas
extraction project Neptun Deep is a strategic one, which will turn Romania into
the largest natural gas producer in the European Union. The Domino and Pelican
Sud development plans were confirmed by the National Agency for Mineral
Resources, a post on the Government’s Facebook account reads. According to the
government, OMV Petrom and Romgaz will invest up to EUR 4 bln at this stage of
the project, which will generate an output of around 100 billion cubic metres
of natural gas, beginning in 2027.

HOSPITALS Electrical systems in around 300 hospitals in Romania have
been checked, and the estimated budget for revamping them is over EUR 140 mln,
the healthcare minister Alexandru Rafila announced. He said the money would
come from EU funds under regional programmes, and that the electrical and fire
safety systems in 21 hospitals have been completely reconstructed. Rafila also
announced a programme called Good and safe meals for patients, for the revamping
of kitchen and catering units in more than 250 public healthcare institutions,
with a budget of roughly EUR 450 mln.

FIREFIGHTERS PM Marcel Ciolacu congratulated the Romanian rescuers
who Friday completed their mission in Greece, for their altruism, courage and
efforts, and wished good luck to the Romanian fire-fighters that will replace
them in helping the Greek authorities and population struggling with extensive
wildfires. Romania and Europe stand by the Greek nation in need of support,
and we hope that together we will bring things to normal as soon as possible,
Marcel Ciolacu said. On Friday Romania deployed a new wildfire specialist unit
to Greece. Ninety Romanian fire-fighters replaced their colleagues who took
part in a similar mission in the past 2 weeks, under the EU Civil Protection
Mechanism.

BORDERS The Border Police Inspectorate announced that measures to reduce
traffic congestion at checkpoints on the Romanian-Hungarian and
Romanian-Bulgarian borders continue this weekend. The institution announced
that personnel will be increased to the maximum capacity allowed by the
existing infrastructure, and mobile check units will be used. Around 3,800 border
police will be working every day at checkpoints around the country. The border
police also recommend the use of the Trafic On-line app on www.politiadefrontiera.ro,
to check out live estimates on waiting times. (AMP)

4 August 2023
February 27, 2022 UPDATE

UKRAINE – Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said the Ukrainian government would send a delegation to meet with its Russian counterparts in a region on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, news agencies cite the Kiev Presidency as saying. Zelensky agreed to negotiations with Russia “without preconditions”. According to the Ukrainian army chief, Valery Zalujnyi, a missile launched on Kyiv from Belarus on Sunday was destroyed by the Ukrainian army. Meanwhile, Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine for the fourth consecutive day. The Ukrainian army says it still holds control of its positions but admits the situation around Kyiv is getting worse. Heavy fighting has also been reported in Kharkov, the second largest city, in the north of the country, and in Vasylkiv, a town 40-km away from Kyiv, where Russian bombardment hit an oil depot. In response to the statements of Western world leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert. The international community has imposed additional economic sanctions on Russia and increased military support to Ukraine. Leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Canada and the United States have decided to block the access of certain Russian banks to the SWIFT international payment system and vowed further action to come. The measure also includes restrictions on the Russian central banks international reserves. President Zelensky hailed the setting up of an international coalition of countries that supports Ukraine in the conflict with Russia and called on the international community to suspend Russia’s veto right in the UN Security Council, saying that Moscow’s actions are close to genocide.

SUPPORT – Romania will support Ukraine with fuel, bullet-proof vests, helmets, ammunition, military equipment as well as food, water and medicines, worth a total of 3 million euros. The Bucharest Government has also offered to treat in Romanian hospitals the Ukrainians injured during confrontations with the Russian invaders. Additional measures have been taken by Bucharest to help the Ukrainian refugees who fled the war, who have been offered support, accommodation and medical assistance. Ukrainians who enter Romanian on foot are also offered. A platform that can be accessed on the Romanian Government’s website is now available to any person, volunteer or private entity willing to support Ukrainian refugees. The UN estimates that the Russian invasion of Ukraine may trigger a refugee crisis, with up to 5 million people likely to be displaced. On the other hand, a number of European states have announced they will send troops and military technique to Romania. Thus, more than 9,500 French military will be mobilized or in stand-by, of whom 500 will be deployed to Romania, the French Army has announced. Belgium will send 300 troops to Romania, as part of NATO’s efforts to consolidate its eastern flank. Also, Italy will send fighter jets and troops to Romania.

CORONAVIRUS – The number of new Covid-19 infections continues to drop in Romania. A little over 4,200 new cases were reported on Sunday, along with 59 related deaths. 7,000 people are treated in hospital. Some of the restrictions may be lifted in the country if the number of patients in ICUs drops below 900, said Health Minister Alexandru Rafila. The number of people who get vaccinated is also going down, with less than 3,100 people immunized with the first dose in 24 hours.

TRAFFIC – New provisions of the Romanian Traffic Code took effect on Sunday. The new laws provide for higher fines and are clearly defining aggressive driving. Drivers exceeding the 70 km/hour speed limit are going to have their driving license suspended for a period of 120 days and so will those infringing the rules at railway crossings. The new laws are also clearly defining the idea of aggressive driving, including the excessive use of horns or headlights, handbrake turns and other forms of road rage and aggressive driving. (EE)

27 February 2022
December 18, 2021 UPDATE

VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă will be on a visit to
Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, for talks with senior EU and NATO officials. According
to the Government, on Monday the Romanian PM will have a working dinner with
the president of the European Council Charles Michael. On Tuesday, Ciucă will
have meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der
Leyen and with other EC members. The PM will also have a meeting with the
secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO headquarters.

BUDGET The
government of Romania passed a number of measures on which the 2022 public
budget is based. An emergency order freezing the salaries of public officials and
other public sector staff, with 2 exceptions, was endorsed by the Cabinet with
amendments compared to the version subject to public debate. The bill also
includes other measures, such as a low VAT rate only for the purchase of a
family’s first home. The new tax provisions, alongside the new Ceilings Act,
are the foundation of next year’s state budget, and are designed to reduce
expenditure and maintain the public deficit below 6.2% of GDP.

ANTI-CORRUPTION The government approved the 2021-2025 National
Anti-Corruption Strategy, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu announced. He pointed
out that the document is a political commitment to support all institutions
involved in fighting corruption, and also a first goal met out of the ones
included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the judicial sector. Predoiu
added that the Strategy is correlated with international instruments to which
Romania is affiliated, such as GRECO and the Cooperation and Verification
Mechanism. The CVM was introduced in January 2007, upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU accession, to support the 2
countries in overcoming deficiencies in judicial reform and in fighting
corruption.

BORDER As of Monday, December 20, travellers entering Romania are
no longer required to fill in separate COVID-19 statement, because all the data
will be included in the digital Passenger Locator Form (PLF). The measure is expected
to help reduce waiting times at border checkpoints, including at the Henri
Coanda Airport, near Bucharest. The transport minister Sorin Grindeanu Saturday
requested the Airport management to take steps to streamline passenger flows
and to avoid crowding. The request came after hundreds of people waited for a
long time for the authorities to check their documents. Romanian border
checkpoints are getting crowded these days, as many Romanians living abroad are
coming home for Christmas. Queuing is reported at the checkpoints on Romania’s
western borders, where apart from travel documents the digital Covid
certificates and PCR tests must also be checked. In order to streamline border
crossing, at the checkpoint in Giurgiu (south), the number of border police
will be increased by 20%.

MINORITIES Romania
celebrated on December 18 the Day of Ethnic Minorities. President Klaus
Iohannis said on this occasion that ethnic minorities make an essential
contribution to social cohesion and that only together can a modern Romania be
built, with no place for racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Protecting cultural
heritage, including that of national minorities, is a priority for the Culture
Ministry, which treasures the culture of minorities as an element contributing to
the shaping of Romanian culture as we know it today, reads a news release
issued by the institution.

COVID-19 733 new COVID-19 cases
and 64 related fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the
authorities announced on Saturday. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign,
Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced on the other hand that the number of people
requesting their first doses of anti Sars-CoV-2 vaccine is on the decrease. He detailed
that the number of people who get their first vaccine doses drops by 15-25%
from one week to the next. On Saturday only 4,500 first
doses were administered. Meanwhile, the Omicron variant of the virus has been
reported in 89 countries, with the number of cases doubling over 1.5-3 days in
areas with community transmission, the WHO announced on Saturday. WHO first
labelled Omicron a variant of concern on November 26. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

18 December 2021
Number and severity of car accidents in Romania, on the rise

Romania ranks first in terms of road accident fatalities in the EU, a Eurostat report has found. According to the European report, the lowest rate of road traffic fatalities caused in 2019 was reported in Sweden (22 deaths per million inhabitants), Ireland (29) and Malta (32), whereas the highest number of cases was in Romania (96) and Bulgaria (90), followed by Poland (77) and Croatia (73).

With the EU aiming to completely eliminate road traffic accidents by 2050 and to halve their number by 2030, the total number of people killed in car accidents in the Union as a whole was 51 in 2019. However, in Romania, in the first 7 months of this year alone, over 900 people have died.

The main 3 causes are the failure to adjust the speed to particular traffic conditions, jaywalking and pedestrians using the carriageways. Inspections found countless road infrastructure and signalling issues, such as absent or deteriorated road signs, damages in carriageways, including potholes and road bumps, inadequate signalling in crossroads, the presence of obstacles or vegetation affecting road sign visibility. A major problem is also the absence of separators on 4-lane roads to prevent vehicle crossovers and therefore collision.

This is a tragedy and there is no doubt that an important element is the lack of roads, president Klaus Iohannis said. People are extremely impatient all the time, and this is another factor causing all kinds of incidents, the head of state added. Iohannis concluded that legislation must be tougher, and drivers need to be more disciplined.

In a move to address the situation, the interior ministry plans to amend the Road Traffic Code and introduce tougher penalties. “Aggressive driving will thus entail a fine and a 120-day license suspension. Moreover, U-turns or driving backwards on a motorway, and crossing into opposing lanes will also be fined. A 90-day driving license suspension and a fine will also be introduced for the unjustified use of motorway emergency lanes.

The interior ministry is also considering revising the legal framework regulating driving license tests, so as to improve the theoretical education and practical training of future drivers. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

5 August 2021
Extreme heat and traffic restrictions

Romania is struggling these days with a new wave of extreme heat, which is expected to hold the country in its grips until early next week. Thermal discomfort is severe, and temperatures are reaching as high as 40 degrees Celsius. Weather experts warn that temperatures will not go below 20 degrees Celsius even at night, in some parts of the country.

The southern regions are subject to a code orange alert for extreme heat, particularly difficult to withstand, according to experts, as the temperature-humidity index is predicted to go above the critical 80-unit threshold. Also, until Sunday night, except for the northern parts of the country, a code yellow alert against extreme heat is in place in all regions, with highs expected to hit 39 degrees Celsius.

The bad news is that the first part of August is likely to be as hot, with highs predicted to stay around 37-38 degrees Celsius in the first days of the month as well, especially in the south and south-east.

The brutal heat pushed the countrys electricity consumption to a record 8,865 MW on Wednesday. Given the current weather forecasts, the National Power Dispatch estimates similar electricity consumption levels for the coming days as well.

With the heat persisting in the next period, the interior ministry has instructed its local structures in the counties subject to the code yellow and orange alerts to take measures to mitigate the effects of the rising temperatures. Interior ministry personnel will support local authorities in managing risk situations.

In turn, the National Motorway and Road Corporation announced traffic restrictions up until Saturday night, for the period between noon and 8pm, for vehicles larger than 7.5 tonnes across the country except for the counties Harghita, Neamţ, Suceava and Botoşani, in the centre and north-east. The restrictions were introduced in order to help protect and preserve bitumen road segments and to prevent asphalt distortion caused by heavy duty traffic.

The National Railways Corporation also announced that the speed of passenger and freight trains will be 20-30 kmph lower until the end of the week, to ensure traffic safety in areas where temperatures will reach 39 degrees Celsius. The measure will only be in place where rail temperatures exceed 50 degrees, to prevent rail dilation. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

30 July 2021
October 7, 2019 UPDATE

JHA Romania’s Justice Minister, Ana Birchall, is attending the first Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting held under the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The 2-day meeting will focus on EU measures against corruption, combating cross-border crime by means of Eurojust, electronic evidence and the creation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. EU officials will also discuss the EU’s accession to the European Court of Human Rights, combating hate speech online, the protection of personal data as well as the relation between democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. Minister Birchall will meet with counterparts from Member States on the sidelines of the event.

MEETING The Romanian Foreign Minister Ramona Mănescu Monday had a meeting in Bucharest with the US Ambassador in Romania, Hans Klemm. The 2 officials initiated a monthly consultation process designed to cover all topics of bilateral interest. The Romanian Foreign Minister reiterated the countrys firm commitment to further broadening the cooperation between Romania and the US, including, among other things, by tapping the potential generated by the recently signed Memorandum of Agreement on cooperation in the civilian nuclear energy field. Ramona Mănescu also expressed Romanias interest in consolidating dialogue with the USA on all the topics related to regional security, including in terms of energy security. The parties also emphasised the positive effect of top-level visits to Washington and New York with respect to strengthening the strategic partnership between Romania and the US.

CHECKS Transport Minister Razvan Cuc announced additional checks and safety measures will be implemented in traffic considering that last week was marked by numerous accidents, the most serious of which killed 10 people and injured 7. The driver of a truck collided with a minibus on the oncoming lane, preliminary data indicating the possibility he might have fallen asleep while driving. A mixed task force made of representatives of the Police and the State Inspectorate for Traffic Control will examine tachographs to inspect rest hours for professional drivers.

CYBER THREATS Over half of European citizens say they aren’t sufficiently informed regarding cyber threats, 70% of enterprises stating they hold minimum knowledge regarding such risks while 80% of European enterprises having faced at least one cyber-security incident. The statement was made earlier today by Communications Minister Alexandru Popescu in Bucharest. The Romanian official said the authorities continue to invest significant resources in increasing the level of knowledge, training and pre-emptive capacity, as well as response capabilities in case of cyber-attacks. Minister Popescu went on to say that Romania has enhanced its cyber diplomacy by signing a memorandum of understanding this year with Israel, Poland and the United States regarding the cyber security of hardware and software infrastructure, of telecom networks and systems, including 5G.

NOBEL The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine on Monday was jointly awarded to William Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza for their pioneering research into how human cells respond to changing oxygen levels. The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine is the first in the series of Nobel prizes awarded at this time of the year. Last year, the Nobel Prize went on to American researcher James P. Allison and Japanese scholar Tasuku Honjo for their achievements regarding the treatment of cancer.

FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team met in Bucharest to train for the matches to be played against the Faeroe Islands on October 12 and against Norway at home, on October 15, in the 2020 European Championship preliminaries. Spain is currently top of the tables with 18 points, followed by Sweden with 11 points, Romania with 10 points, Norway with 9 points, Malta with 3 points and the Faeroe Islands with zero points. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Championship. The draw for the 2020 European Championship will be held in Bucharest on November 30. Bucharest will host four matches, three in the group phase and one in the round of 16. Romania’s under-21 team is also playing Ukraine on Thursday at home, and Northern Ireland next Monday, also at home, as part of the 2021 European Championship preliminaries. We recall that this year Romania’s under-21 team reached the semi-finals of the European Championship hosted by Italy and San Marino.

(translated by: Vlad Palcu, Ana-Maria Popescu)

7 October 2019
April 20, 2019 UPDATE

EASTER Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania are celebrating Palm Sunday, commemorating Christs arrival in Jerusalem prior to the Crucifixion. On Saturday many believers and priests took part in processions in Bucharest and other cities. Palm Sunday marks the start of the last week of Lent, known as Passion Week, which marks the most dramatic events in the life of Jesus. On the other hand, Catholic and Protestant believers Sunday celebrate the Easter, the biggest holiday in the Christian world.

HOLIDAYS In Romania, over 10,000 police and 8,000 gendarmes will be deployed on the Orthodox Palm Sunday and Catholic Easter Sunday, to ensure the safety of the citizens taking part in the events related to these holidays. Traffic police and over 300 radar units will also be on duty, to prevent accidents and to ensure smooth road traffic. Meanwhile, many Romanians working abroad are beginning their Easter visits home, and checkpoints are getting increasingly crowded. Over 4,000 border police will work every day to ensure efficient border controls during this period. The Romanian Border Police has also called on the authorities of Bulgaria, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova to increase the number of staff available in checkpoints, if necessary.

RESHUFFLING President Klaus Iohannis will announce early next week his decision on the new nominations in the Dancila Cabinet. The Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, has nominated the deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Eugen Nicolicea to replace Tudorel Toader as justice minister. The Social Democrats withdrew their political support for Toader after he refused to pass new controversial changes in the criminal codes, and consequently Tudorel Toader stepped down. The Prime Minister also forwarded to the Presidency the resignations of Rovana Plumb as Minister for European Funds and of Natalia Intotero as Minister for Romanians Abroad. The 2 are running for the European Parliament in the upcoming elections. Nominated to replace them are Deputy Oana Florea, for the Ministry for European Funds, and Senator Liviu Brăiloiu for the ministry in charge of the diaspora. The President has hinted that he disapproves of these proposals. In his opinion, this government reshuffling strengthens what he called “the Social Democrats siege of the judiciary.

CULTURE As part of the 2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, the French Film Festival started on Saturday in 10 cities in Romania. Launched in November 2018, in France, the cultural dialogue between the 2 countries continues in Romania with scores of theatre shows, dance performances, concerts, film screenings, literature-related events, exhibitions and debates held in over 30 towns and cities. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, pointed out that this was an important landmark in the arts and cultural life in Romania and France. The event strengthens the economic, scientific, cultural and social ties between the 2 states. The official closing of the 2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, which overlaps the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will be on July 14, Frances National Day.

TENNIS Romania and France are tied, 1-all, in the Fed Cup semi-finals, after Simona Halep (2 WTA) beat Kristina Mladenovic (66 WTA) in Rouen, and Mihaela Buzărnescu (30 WTA) was defeated by Caroline Garcia (21 WTA). Three other matches are scheduled on Sunday: Caroline Garcia vs. Simona Halep, Kristina Mladenovic vs. Mihaela Buzărnescu and Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs. Irina Begu / Monica Niculescu. For the second time in history, 46 years apart, Romania is playing a Fed Cup semi-final. Frances performance in this competition is much better: the French tennis players were twice champions, in 1997 and 2003, finalists in 2004, 2005 and 2016, and semi-finalists several times, including last year. Should Romania get past France this weekend, it will play the final in November against the winner of the match pitting Australia against Belarus.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

20 April 2019
A la une de la presse roumaine 20.03.2018

Une nouvelle fait ce mardi le tour des principaux journaux de Roumanie : le réalisateur de radio et de télévision Andrei Gheorghe est mort à 56 ans seulement, d’un arrêt cardiaque. Devenu célèbre grâce à son émission nocturne « Midnight Killer » « Le tueur de minuit », Andrei Gheorghe était l’une des grandes voix de la radio et de la télévision roumaine, grâce surtout à son timbre grave et à son profond cynisme.

20 March 2018
A la Une de la presse roumaine – 14.02.2018

La Justice fait toujours la Une de la presse nationale, qui évoque également des sujets économiques et sociaux. La fête de la Saint Valentin chez les Roumains n’a pas été ignorée non plus.

14 February 2018
Winter is back in Romania

Although were in the middle of spring, winter has returned with a vengeance to Romania. Nearly three quarters of the countrys regions were under code orange or yellow alerts against heavy snowfall or rainfall, strong wind and unseasonably cold temperatures. Meteorologists explained that the cold snap is the effect of a trans-Balkan cyclone crossing Romania these days. The cyclone amassed in Central Europe, shifted down towards the Mediterranean, crossed the Balkans and reached the Black Sea basin.

Besides, a cold front of Arctic origin sweeping across Europe from the north has changed its trajectory towards the southeast. Average temperatures during this period range from 3 to 12 degrees, whereas normal temperatures for April would stand between 14 and 21 degrees Celsius. Forecasters say Saturday night will be extremely cold, with temperatures expected to drop to negative levels in Romanias northern half, as well as in the south. The lowest temperatures will stand at minus 8 degrees in depression areas.

Bucharest too was under a code yellow alert against heavy rainfall and extreme cold. This weekend, temperatures will drop below zero. As a result, the citys heating service was forced to resume supplying district heating, within only a week of its shutdown. On the other hand, dozens of villages in the east and southeast were cut off from the power grid after strong wind shattered several high-tension wires. Snowdrifts have blocked traffic on several national roads, especially in the east, south and centre, also seriously disrupting traffic on other county and village roads.

Taken aback by the surprising bad weather, snow removal companies took out their snow-clearing machines and sprayed ice-melting salt brine on roads to avoid accidents, since many drivers had already switched to summer tires.

The bad weather has also disrupted rail traffic. Several trains reported big delays of up to two hours due to the blizzard, strong wind and extreme cold. Ports on the Romanian Black Seacoast were also temporarily shut down because of the strong wind. Air traffic on some of the countrys airports was also affected by rain, several international flights being cancelled.

Meteorologists expect the weather to slightly improve this weekend in Romania, first in terms of the amount of rainfall. Next week temperatures will increase steadily. The bad weather these days has affected other European countries as well.

(translated by: Vlad Palcu)

21 April 2017