Radio România Internațional

Tag: Ukraine

  • December 13, 2024 UPDATE

    December 13, 2024 UPDATE

    PLANES Three F-16 Fighting Falcons, Romania bought from Norway, touched down at Air Base 71 in Campia Turzii, north-western Romania on Friday. According to sources with the Romanian Defence Ministry, the three multi-role warplanes are going to join the 48th Fighting Squadron, which boasts a total of 15 similar aircraft. Romania will buy from Norway 32 F-16 jet fighters, which are expected to improve the country’s security capabilities and contribute to the defence of its airspace and even NATO’s airspace, the communiqué also says. Romania has recently signed the contract for buying the first 32 fifth-generation fighters F-35. The first F-35 fighters are to arrive in Romania in 2030.

     

    FOOTBALL Lots drawn in Zurich on Friday for the preliminaries of World Cup 2026  have placed Romania’s national football side in Group H, which also includes Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus and San Marino. Romania’s champions, FCSB, drew 0-0 against Hoffenheim of Germany on Thursday in the 6th round of Europa League. The team from Bucharest ranks 10th in the group standings and holds good chances of advancing to the next phase. Two more rounds follow in Germany, with the final match scheduled at home against Manchester United of England.

     

    UKRAINE The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom met in Berlin on Thursday to reiterate support for Ukraine and its irreversible NATO track. The Ministers also promised Kyiv additional military support in the war against Russia as well as post-conflict security guarantees. At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers joined the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, in signing the Berlin Declaration, given that the scenario of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia has become a possibility with Donald Trump’s return at the White House. Several member states, including the USA and Germany, have expressed reluctance towards the prospect of a swift accession to NATO for Ukraine. In the case of an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv’s allies could deploy a peace-keeping corps to Ukraine, as a security guarantee.

     

    GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis is expected to convene the new Parliament on December 20. Having won nearly two thirds of seats after the December 1 parliamentary election, pro-European parties and the group of national minorities have engaged in talks with a view to forming a coalition cabinet. Leaders of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) have agreed that each party would control a number of ministries equal to their share in Parliament. The new cabinet will comprise 16 ministries. Three self-proclaimed sovereignist parties – the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), SOS Romania and the Young People’s Party (POT) – will also be represented in the new Parliament. The new government will very likely be sworn in ahead of the Christmas holidays. For the time being, the pro-European coalition has agreed to designate a common candidate for the 2025 presidential election.

    (bill)

  • November 26, 2024 UPDATE

    November 26, 2024 UPDATE

    ELECTIONS – The Central Election Bureau presented the final results of the first round of the presidential elections in Romania on Tuesday. According to the data, independent candidate Călin Georgescu ranks first in the voters’ preferences with 22.94% of the votes. In second place is the leader of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, with 19.18%, and in third place, the president of the Social Democratic Party, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, with 19.15 percent. Next is the president of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, George Simion, with 13.86% of the votes, that of the National Liberal Party, Nicolae Ciuca – 8.79% and the former deputy secretary general of NATO, Mircea Geoană, who ran independently and was preferred by 6.32% of the voters. All other candidates got under 5% each. After the results of Sunday’s election, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned from his position as president of the Social Democrats. The PNL leadership also resigned.

     

    DIPLOMACY – Romania is ‘firmly’ committed to supporting democratic values ​​of human rights, including gender equality, combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia and any form of discrimination, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday. “Romania’s foreign policy initiatives are inseparable from the country’s membership in the area of ​​freedoms and rights guaranteed by its status as a member state of the European Union and a NATO ally’, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release regarding the ‘external concerns’ that emerged after the first round of the presidential elections. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the fact that, “35 years since Romania returned to the family of Western democracies, through the courage of those who died in the Romanian Revolution, these values ​​are the ones that guarantee peace, security and prosperity for all Romanian citizens, wherever they may be”. In this context, the National Audiovisual Council asked the European Commission to open an official investigation into the TikTok platform. The CNA took as a benchmark the report made by Expert Forum, which established that the electoral preferences for the candidate Călin Georgescu increased from 2 to 22% based on a campaign conducted on the Chinese network. The RENEW group in the European Parliament also asked the social network to provide explanations regarding compliance with the legislation on digital services. We recall that, a year ago, the European Commission asked staff to remove TikTok from their work devices.

     

    EUROPEAN UNION – MEPs reaffirmed their strong support for Ukraine in Strasbourg on Tuesday, condemning cooperation between Russia and North Korea and calling on the European Union to step up its support for Kyiv’s forces. A recent statement by the leaders of the European Parliament calls on the bloc to “step up support for Ukraine in all ways, including politically, financially, militarily and through humanitarian aid”. It also reiterated that the EP “stands by and supports Ukraine in every way possible until its victory”. Also on Tuesday, the European Union’s budget for next year was increased to almost 200 billion euros following negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council. The budget proposal was debated in the European Parliament and will be voted on Wednesday, when the final vote on the new European Commission is also scheduled.

     

    G7 – The Foreign Ministers of the G7 states on Tuesday voiced their support for ‘an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah’, saying that ‘it is time to reach a diplomatic solution in Lebanon’, France Presse reports. On the other hand, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that Israel ‘has no excuse’ for refusing the ceasefire in Lebanon, negotiated by the US and France. At a time when diplomatic efforts are intensifying, Israel has increased its bombing of Hezbollah strongholds, especially on the southern outskirts of Beirut. In this context, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where according to his office almost 100 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and doctors. We recall that on October 8, 2023, the Lebanese group Hezbollah opened a front against Israel in support of Hamas, its Palestinian ally.

     

    MOLDOVA – Justice, economy and security are the main priorities for the Republic of Moldova in the coming years, President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday, at the European Integration Forum in Chisinau. She emphasized that accession to the EU is the only chance to save democracy, to develop in peace and stability. Despite the anti-EU propaganda and the Kremlin’s attempts to turn us away, Moldovan citizens have shown that European values ​​are also their values, said Maia Sandu, recalling the constitutional referendum following which the Constitution was amended and the European path was included as a strategic objective. We recall that the neighboring state officially submitted its application for EU accession in March 2022, just a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In June the same year, the European Council granted Moldova the candidate country status.

  • November 23, 2024

    November 23, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    ELECTIONS – The election campaign for the first round of the presidential elections held on Sunday in Romania ended on Saturday morning. The presidential elections are scheduled for November 24, the first round, and December 8 the second round. Over 18 million voters are expected to cast their ballot on Sunday, in the nearly 19,000 polling stations opened in the country. Abroad, Romanians can vote for three days in the 950 polling stations opened by the authorities (on Friday, Saturday and Sunday). By Saturday at noon, about 60 thousand Romanians had voted in the Diaspora, of whom over 4,000 opted for postal voting. Most Romanians abroad voted in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Moldova, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria. There are 13 candidates in the presidential race, 9 representing political parties and 4 independents. Most ideological currents have representatives in the competition, from social democrats to liberals and from pro-Europeans to populists and ultranationalists. On December 1, when the National Day is celebrated, legislative elections will be held. We recall that on June 9, local and European parliamentary elections were also held in Romania.

     

    REFERENDUM – On Sunday, the Bucharest residents entitled to vote are expected at the polls in a referendum initiated by the General Mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan. Voters must answer two questions proposed by him, which concern the way that funds are divided between the General City Hall and the city halls of the 6 Bucharest districts, and also have their say on the issuing of construction permits in the capital Bucharest. At the same time, at the initiative of the Social Democratic Party, a third question was added, through an amendment, which refers to combating drug use in schools. In order to validate this consultation, a 30% voter turnout rate is required.

     

    SCHENGEN – The interior ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Austria and Hungary, alongside the European Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, agreed on Friday in Budapest that Romania and Bulgaria will join Schengen with the land borders as of January 1, 2025. The final decision will be taken at the meeting of EU interior ministers on 12 December in Brussels. Austria has been opposing Schengen enlargement since 2022. Eventually, Vienna later accepted partial Schengen membership for Sofia and Bucharest in March, with air and sea borders, and set a roadmap for a possible extension to land borders. The agreement made public on Friday provides for border checks for an initial period of six months to minimize the potential change in migration routes that could occur.

     

    NATO – NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with the US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday, the North Atlantic Alliance spokeswoman said Saturday, according to Reuters and France press. The two discussed global security issues facing the alliance. Rutte’s meeting with Trump comes ahead of a NATO-Ukraine Council scheduled for next week, after Russia launched a hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile on military infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday. Moscow described the action as a response to the first Ukrainian attacks with US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles on military targets on Russian territory.

     

    RUGBY – The Romanian national rugby squad will face Uruguay in a test match this evening in Bucharest. The Romanian team has met Uruguay 13 times so far. Romania has won ten matches, one of which ended in a draw, while two were won by the South Americans. Romania defeated Tonga (25-15) and Canada (35-27) in test matches this month.

     

     

  • November 22, 2024

    November 22, 2024

     

    WEATHER Nearly 3-quarters of Romania’s territory is under various severe weather alerts, valid at least until tonight. A code red warning for snowstorms at altitudes of over 1,700 m is in place in several counties in the centre and south of the country. Parts of Romania’s mid-west are subject to code orange alerts for strong wind, ranging from 80 to 120 km/h, and heavy snowfalls are expected in the mountains. Mixed precipitation and wind are also forecast for the west, north-west and centre of the country, according to a code yellow alert.

     

    ELECTION Voting has begun abroad, in the first round of Romania’s presidential election. Voting is already underway in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Those who have already cast their ballots today join the over 4,200 who voted by mail. Voting abroad takes place over three days, from November 22 to 24. In the country, Romanians will be able to vote for their next president on Sunday, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with extensions granted only if there are still voters in polling stations or queuing outside. Almost 19,000 polling stations are set up in the country and 950 abroad for this election. The most polling stations abroad are in Italy – 158, Spain – 147 and the United Kingdom – 107. 13 candidates take part in the race for the president post. Also on Sunday, a local referendum is held in Bucharest, with three questions related to administrative issues, including the distribution of tax revenues and the issuance of construction permits, as well as the fight against drug use. A 30% turnout is needed for the referendum to be valid.

     

    SCHENGEN The interior ministers of Romania and Bulgaria, Cătălin Predoiu and Atanas Ilkov respectively, are meeting today in Budapest with their Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, to discuss the 2 countries’ full Schengen accession, vetoed by Austria so far. The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu, as well as his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, will also attend the meeting, held under the auspices of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU. During the talks, the officials will consider an agreement on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen. A decision on lifting external border controls could be taken on December 12 in Brussels, in the Justice and Home Affairs Council, but this needs the support of all EU member states. Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Schengen at the end of March, by suspending controls at air and sea borders. Land border controls remained in place, however, because of Austria’s veto, which Vienna says is related to concerns about illegal migration.

     

    DEFENCE Signing the agreement with the US for the procurement of F-35 aircraft is another decisive step forward for Romania towards a modern and efficient national defence, well connected to our international partners, PM Marcel Ciolacu said on Thursday. He attended the signing of the Protocol launching the Romanian Air Force’s transition to 5th generation F-35 aircraft. The document was signed by the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr and the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec.

     

    UKRAINE Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said Russia had hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of medium-range missile designed to carry nuclear warheads, in response to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian territory with Western-supplied missiles. Addressing the nation, Putin said the war in Ukraine had acquired elements of a global conflict after the United States, France and Britain agreed with the use of their missiles against Russia, and he warned that his country had the right to use its weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against Russian territory. In case of escalation, Putin added, Russia would respond decisively and symmetrically. The United States, which according to Reuters was informed shortly before the Russian missile launch, said Moscow was the one escalating the conflict in Ukraine. Washington, however, said it had no reason to change its nuclear doctrine based solely on Putin’s irresponsible rhetoric.

     

    NETANYAHU Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he would continue to defend the country in any way he could, after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu described the court’s decision as an anti-Semitic act, while Israel’s president and the parliament speaker called it an attack on justice and truth. The US President Joe Biden called the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, “outrageous”, and promised the US would stand by Israel in the face of a threat to its security. According to Biden, the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction in this case. As for President-elect Donald Trump, he did not react to the decision to issue the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant, but his future national security adviser, Mike Waltz, promised a “strong response” to the ICC’s anti-Semitic leaning. (AMP)

  • November 20, 2024

    November 20, 2024

    BONDS – Foreign investors are showing great interest in the Romgaz bond issue, according to the company’s CEO Răzvan Popescu. He says the money raised from the listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange will be used for the company’s investment program, especially the strategic Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea. Romgaz, the largest producer and main supplier of natural gas in Romania, listed its first international corporate bond issue on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Tuesday, worth 500 million euros. The bonds are also listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

     

    INVESTIGATION – Prosecutors with the Cluj-Napoca office of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office are investigating a possible fraud involving European funds, with an estimated damage of 2 million euros. The case involves three projects to modernize a vegetable farm in Maramureş (north). The prosecutors’ suspicions concern the use of false, incorrect or incomplete documents in order to obtain EU funds for the purchase of a tomato sorting and packaging facility and for the installation of photovoltaic panels. According to the investigation, the suspects allegedly forged documents and signatures in order to mislead the authorities. On Tuesday, searches were carried out at the home of a person and at the headquarters of companies targeted by this case.

     

    CYBERSECURITY – A new edition of the CyberCon Romania 2024 international conference, organised by the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance jointly with the US Embassy in Romania, is sunder way in Bucharest. . The conference, a landmark event in the field of cybersecurity, is held at the European Commission Representation in Romania and brings together experts from the public, private and academic sectors. According to the organizers, among the topics addressed are: current challenges and trends in the field, maintaining resilience for a secure digital infrastructure, improving cooperation between the defense and civilian sectors, the evolution of cyber threats and innovative solutions to combat them, as well as recommended practices to unite cybersecurity and cybercrime prevention.

     

    PROTESTS – The Romanian Trade Unions Federation in Energy staged a protest in front of the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity offices in Bucharest on Wednesday, on the topic of the new Pension Law, which entered into force on September 1. According to the trade unionists, the law endangers workers in the integrated nuclear field, because it increases the contribution period in their case and sets a minimum age threshold of 45 years for their retirement. Unionists want the contribution period and the retirement conditions for Level I and II of radiation exposure be maintained as stipulated by the previous Pension Law.

     

    DRONE – A new Russian drone has been found in the north of Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, neighboring Ukraine invaded by Russian troops. According to the National Police, which reported the case, this is the fourth flying object observed on the territory of the Republic of Moldova in recent days. The drone was found on a plot of land located between a shopping centre and a stadium, by a citizen who alerted the authorities. On Sunday, the Moldovan authorities announced that two Russian missiles had entered the airspace of the Republic of Moldova. This is the first time that a Russian drone has been reported in the airspace of the capital of the Republic of Moldova.

     

    UKRAINE – A thousand days after the start of the Russian invasion, the European Parliament promises Ukraine that the EU will stand by it for as long as necessary. The leader in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that without European support, Ukraine would have been occupied by Russia. The EP held a plenary session in Brussels on Monday, and the European Defense Ministers held a meeting, to which NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was also invited.

  • 1,000 days of solidarity with Ukraine: a talk with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Bucharest

    1,000 days of solidarity with Ukraine: a talk with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Bucharest

    Ukraine marks 1,000 days since Russia’s full scale invasion of its territory, but also 1,000 days of solidarity from the democratic world.

    In an exclusive interview to RRI’s Eugen Cojocariu, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Romania, H.E. Ihor Prokopciuc, recounts not only his country’s moments of fierce fight for freedom and independence but also the support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have received from Romania and the world.

  • November 19, 2024 UPDATE

    November 19, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PARLIAMENT The parliament of Romania convenes on Wednesday to approve 2 inquiry committees and their membership. The joint standing bureaus approved a draft resolution on setting up a joint parliamentary inquiry committee to check the spending by and on behalf of the Presidency in 2014 – 2024, initiated by the Social Democratic Party. Another joint inquiry committee will look into real estate mafia, beginning with the Nordis affair, initiated by the National Liberal Party. The Liberal Party president Nicolae Ciucă said the number of victims identified in this case is over 400. Many Romanians in the country and abroad were persuaded to purchase apartments in residential compounds and hotels built by Nordis, but the developers have sold the same apartments several times over to different buyers.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania sees the last days of the campaign for the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the president post, 9 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the official results of the election may be announced by late Monday, November 25. The second round of the presidential elections is due on December 8.

     

    ISRAEL The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Tuesday discussed over the telephone with Israel’s new diplomacy chief, Gideon Saar. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, Luminiţa Odobescu praised the dynamics of bilateral dialogue and cooperation, and its potential for development in key sectors. The 2 officials also exchanged opinions regarding the security situation in the Middle East. Odobescu voiced support for the international community’s efforts towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the region. The Romanian minister also reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, a topic constantly on the agenda of the Romanian government and supported by concrete measures. Gideon Saar praised the special relations between the 2 countries and thanked for Romania’s steady support.

     

    UKRAINE Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec said in a statement on Tuesday, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    FOOTBALL The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home, in their last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and moved into the competition’s League B. Romania is still waiting for UEFA’s decision regarding the match against Kosovo in Bucharest on Friday, when the guests left the pitch little before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation dismissed the accusations as unfounded.

     

  • November 19, 2024

    November 19, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    MESSAGE – Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec has said today in a statement, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. At the same time, Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    RUSSIA – Moscow continued to criticize Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to attack Russia. Deputy National Security Adviser for the Biden Administration, John Final, emphasized the fact that Russia is waging a war of aggression. However, Joe Biden’s decision was criticized by President-elect Donald Trump’s team members. They accuse Biden of escalating the conflict two months before leaving office. On the other hand, on Monday, Ukraine marked 1,000 days since Russia’s large scale invasion of its territory. The invasion led to the destruction of numerous Ukrainian towns and cities, and 6 million people were forced to flee the country. Thousands of civilians were killed during the bombings. On the battlefield, losses are described by Reuters as catastrophic and estimated at hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded on both sides.

     

    ELECTIONS – These are the last days of the election campaign for the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the position of head of state, nine proposed by political parties and four independents. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says that it is possible that, by late Monday, November 25, the official results of the election be announced. The second round of the presidential elections is scheduled for December 8.

     

    INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in the European Union rose to 2.3% in October, from 2.1% in September, and Romania is, for the eighth month in a row, the country with the highest inflation rate in the community bloc, with an annual price increase of 5%, according to data published on Tuesday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). Last month, the lowest annual inflation rates in the EU were recorded in Slovenia (0.0%), Lithuania and Ireland (each 0.1%), while the highest were in Romania (5%), Belgium and Estonia (each 4.5%). The National Bank of Romania has revised upwards, to 4.9%, from 4% previously, the inflation forecast for the end of 2024 and estimates that it will reach 3.5% at the end of 2025, according to data presented on Monday by the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu.

     

    FOOTBALL – The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home in its last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and advanced to the competition’s League B. Romania still has to wait for UEFA’s decision for the match against Kosovo on Friday in Bucharest, abandoned by the guests with only a few tens of seconds before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation rejected the accusations as unfounded.

  • November 11, 2024

    November 11, 2024

    VISIT – Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu will make an official visit to London this week, to meet with his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, and with the speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle. Talks will focus on strengthening bilateral relations and collaboration between the two countries, especially in the economic field and on combating tax evasion. The Romanian Prime Minister will also participate in the Romania – Great Britain Economic Forum. Last week, in view of this visit, the Romanian Executive adopted a memorandum that updates the convention between the two countries regarding taxation and the prevention of tax evasion. The new document takes into account the changes made in the Romanian legislation during the year 2023, as well as those related to the perspective of Romania’s goal of joining the OECD.

     

    VOTE – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz could request a vote of confidence in Parliament before Christmas after the government coalition broke down last week. The date would thus be earlier than January 15, which he had announced last week, and the decision was taken following pressures for the legislature to take a decision more quickly, as the president and the conservative opposition want. The chancellor said that he would be willing to ask Parliament to decide by the winter holidays, and a negative decision would pave the way for the organization of early elections next spring. The political crisis comes against the backdrop of stagnation in some German economic fields or decline in others, in the context of Donald Trump returning to the White House, who said he was in favor of increased taxation of imports, something that would affect Germany, the largest European exporter.

     

    TALKS – The US President-elect, Donald Trump, had, a few days ago, a conversation with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, whom he advised not to escalate the conflict in Ukraine and to whom he reminded that “Washington has a vast military presence in Europe” , writes the American press. Previously, Donald Trump had also had a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The press agencies recall that during the election campaign Trump declared that he would find a solution to end the war in one day, and an adviser to the president-elect indicated that the future administration in Washington will focus on achieving peace rather than recovery of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. On June 14, President Putin laid out his conditions for ending the war: Ukraine should give up its ambitions to join NATO and withdraw all its troops from the territory of four regions claimed by Russia. Ukrainian authorities have rejected these demands, saying they would amount to capitulation, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has presented a “victory plan” that includes requests for additional military support from the West. On the other hand, the adviser for national security of the White House, Jake Sullivan, declared that in the more than two months left until the transfer of power, Joe Biden will try to convince Congress and the new Administration that support for Ukraine must be maintained.

     

    VERETANS DAY –  The Romanian Ministry of National Defense is organizing today, on the occasion of the Veterans Day in the theatres of operations, military and religious ceremonies in Bucharest and in the garrisons where there are military units that have carried out missions in the war zones. November 11 was chosen for its symbolism: the entry into force, in 1918, of the truce between the Entente Powers and Germany, which ended the First World War and created the necessary conditions for the Great Union in Romania. The significance of this day for the Romanian Army is also related to the fact that on November 11, 2003, Second Lieutenant Iosif-Silviu Fogaraşi, the first Romanian soldier to die in the theatre of operations in Afghanistan, fell in the line of duty.

     

    BNR – The Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, is today presenting the quarterly report on inflation. According to him, inflation will increase slightly at the end of the year, so an increase in prices is expected in the following period, and in the first half of 2025, the indicator will fluctuate and remain above the level desired by the Central Bank. Only in 2026 will the annual inflation rate resume its decline and fall below the proposed target of 3.5%, according to the report analyzed and approved on Friday by the Administrative Council of the BNR. At the same time, the Central Bank decided to maintain the key interest rate at 6.5% per year, after taking a similar decision at the October meeting.

     

    CUSTOMS – Romanian customs will be equipped with five new X-ray scanner systems from next month, and eight more units will be installed in 2025, according to data from the Romanian Customs Authority. At present, Romania has four scanners in customs, including mobile devices for the control of trucks and cars. The Customs Authority specifies that, since the X-ray scanners were installed in customs, drugs, cigarettes, money and even weapons have been discovered. On the other hand, tons of drugs were discovered by the Romanian police in the first nine months of the year. The police announce that 33 criminal groups, made up of almost 240 people, were dismantled

     

    BITCOIN – The bitcoin digital currency has crossed the threshold of 81 thousand dollars today, a second record in just a few days. The increased level reached by bitcoin is attributed by economic analysts to the election of Donald Trump as president of the US, given that, over time, he was in favor of digital currencies, and in the electoral campaign he promised to relax regulations in the US related to crypto-currencies.

  • November 9, 2024 UPDATE

    November 9, 2024 UPDATE

     

    FLOODS The Romanian foreign ministry announced that, according to information from the Spanish authorities, two other Romanian citizens initially reported missing following the floods in Valencia have been found dead. The ministry sends its condolences to the bereaved families. According to the ministry, following the devastating floods in Spain, four Romanian nationals have died and seven are still missing. The embassy of Romania in Madrid and the consular office in Castellon de la Plana continued to check public information regarding the death of several Romanian citizens in the recent floods in the region of Valencia, but so far no confirmations have been received from the Spanish authorities.

     

    VISIT The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu will visit the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on November 12 and 13. He will have a meeting with his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, and will participate in the Romania-UK Economic Forum, the Romanian government announced. The government spokesperson Mihai Constantin explained that, ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to London, the Romanian government approved a memorandum that updates the Convention between the two countries in the field of taxation and prevention of tax evasion. According to Constantin, the new document takes into account the changes made in the Romanian legislation during the year 2023, as well as those related to Romania’s goal of joining the OECD. The leader of the Social Democratic Party (in power in Romania as part of a coalition with the National Liberal Party), Ciolacu is running for the presidency of Romania this month, on behalf of his party.

     

    UKRAINE The EU foreign policy coordinator, Josep Borrell, assured Ukraine of Europe’s unwavering support on Saturday in Kyiv. The European Union has already provided EUR 122 billion in military and financial support to Ukraine and has trained about 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers, Josep Borrell said, adding that the bloc aimed to reach 75,000 by the end of winter. Josep Borrell, whose term in office ends in December, announced that EU defence ministers will meet next week to discuss continued military and diplomatic support for Ukraine, and will call for “increased support at this critical time”. European leaders, convened in Budapest recently, called on US President-elect Donald Trump to maintain support for Ukraine, to avoid trade wars and preserve global order.

     

    SCHENGEN A meeting attended by Austria, Romania and Bulgaria will be organised in Budapest, Hungary on November 22, when Vienna might give up its opposition to the full accession of the two countries to the Schengen Area, Austrian media announced. The accession decision could be announced on December 12, at the upcoming Justice and Internal Affairs Council. The Austrian minister of the interior, Gerhard Kärtner, confirmed participation in the meeting with his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts, and said discussions with both countries are ongoing. He reiterated that the essential condition for Romania’s and Bulgaria’s full Schengen accession remains the effective protection of external borders and, if necessary, controls at internal borders. According to Austrian media, the change in attitude is due to the decrease in migration in the Balkans and in the number of asylum applications in Austria.

     

    STRIKE The Romanian foreign ministry warns Romanian citizens who are in Italy or transiting or planning to travel to that country that on November 12 a 4-hour national strike will be organised by airport staff, between 1 PM and 5 PM. The strike will affect Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport, as well as the Pescara, Naples and Perugia airports. In this context, flight delays or cancellations are possible. Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Embassy of Romania in Italy, with calls being forwarded to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and answered by Call Center operators around the clock.

     

    TOURISTS Over 300 American and Canadian tourists arrive this weekend in Constanța Port at the Black Sea, on board two cruise ships, the National Maritime Port Agency announced on Saturday. The 2 vessels are Viking Kadlin, with 178 American and Canadian passengers on board, and the River Adagio, with another 144 American tourists. “The tourist programme will include trips in the Danube Delta, wine tasting sessions in Murfatlar, walks in the old center of the city of Constanţa and in Mamaia,” the agency explained.

     

    UKRAINE Drones launched by the Russian invasion army hit Odessa, the largest Ukrainian port city at the Black Sea, where they killed one person and wounded 13, including two children, the regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Saturday, according to international news agencies. Residential buildings, private homes, shops and dozens of cars were damaged. Russia launched 51 drones, focusing on Odessa and the surrounding region, the Ukrainian air forces announced, claiming to have shot down 32 enemy aircraft.

     

    GAZA The Gaza Strip Civil Defence Saturday announced the death of 14 people, killed in 2 Israeli strikes, one on “a school”, the other in a camp of “tents for displaced persons”. A rocket fire on the Fahad al-Sabah school in Gaza City, turned into an emergency accommodation centre like most schools in the Strip, left “5 dead, including children, and 22 wounded”. The other Israeli airstrike targeted “tents for displaced people in Khan Younis” and resulted in “9 dead and 11 wounded”. The Israeli army fighting the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza Strip, said it had struck 50 terrorist targets in the last 24 hours in Gaza and Lebanon, where it says it plans to eliminate the Hezbollah Shia Islamists. Sources endorsed by the UN claim that more than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023. (AMP)

  • Music Tme: Ukrainian MusicLab

    Music Tme: Ukrainian MusicLab

     

  • Interview with the Ambassador Spiros Lambridis

    Interview with the Ambassador Spiros Lambridis

    RRI’s Eugen Cojocariu has discussed with ambassador Spiros Lambridis, during the Aspen + GMF Bucharest Forum, about how the end of the war in Ukraine could look like, what NATO and the EU can still do to help Ukraine more  and how could the Western nations better fight  Russian propaganda.

  • October 17, 2024

    October 17, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    CORRUPTION – Anti-graft prosecutors have today searched the office of the former Minister of Health Nelu Tătaru, in the Huşi Municipal Hospital in eastern Romania, where he works as a surgeon. Last week, Tătaru,  who is a Liberal MP representing the county of Vaslui, was put under criminal investigation in a case in which he is accused of having received as bribe, from his patients, sums of money between 20 and 100 euros, as well as foodstuffs. Tătaru claims he is innocent.

     

    WAGE – The minimum wage in Romania will be 810 euros starting January 2025, the Bucharest government and the social partners, who got together in the Tripartite National Committee, decided on Wednesday. Thus, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Romania is entering the path of the European minimum wage. We comply with the directive according to which the minimum level must be somewhere between 47% and 52% of the European minimum wage, Ciolacu explained.

     

    DEFENSE – The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, is participating, on October 17 and 18, in the meeting of the NATO defense ministers, taking place in Brussels. The meeting’s agenda includes topics of importance for the Alliance, in order to implement the decisions adopted by the heads of state and government at the NATO Summit, which took place in Washington DC in July. The ministerial event includes three sessions of talks – one in allied format, dedicated to strengthening the allied deterrence and defense posture, one session in the format of the NATO-Ukraine Council, as well as another, for the first time, with partner states in the Indo-Pacific/IP4 region ( Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). The Minister of Defense will also participate in the ministerial meeting of the Global Anti-ISIS Coalition.

     

    AID – The American President, Joe Biden, announced, on Wednesday, during a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, a new military aid for Ukraine worth 425 million dollars which includes additional air defense capabilities, France Presse reports. Biden spoke with Zelenskiy about his efforts to increase military aid to Ukraine until the end of his term in January 2025. Since the start of the war in 2022, the United States has approved about $175 billion in economic or military aid for Ukraine. Joe Biden will be in Germany as of Friday for one of his last visits as American President, during which he will discuss the situation in Ukraine.

     

    COUNCIL – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, for two days, in Brussels, at the European Council meeting, which has on the agenda topics such as Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, EU competitiveness, migration, foreign affairs, as well as the Republic of Moldova. European leaders will discuss the latest developments in Russia’s war of aggression, as well as multidimensional support for Ukraine. Regarding the Middle East, the ‘alarming’ situation and the ‘risks of escalation of violence in the region’ will be discussed. At Romania’s proposal, the agenda of the meeting will also include discussions about the situation in the Republic of Moldova, as well as about support for its accession to the European Union, especially for supporting internal reforms and for strengthening resilience and stability. In the perspective of the upcoming elections and the referendum on the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, the issue of Russian interference in the election process will also be discussed. On Wednesday, the first EU – Gulf Cooperation Council Summit took place, aimed at strengthening the political and economic partnership between the Union and the member states of this structure, in a difficult geopolitical context.

     

    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan qualified for the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Osaka (Japan), after defeating the Czech Marie Bouzkova in two sets. In the quarters, Bogdan will face the Dutch Suzan Lamens. Another player from Romania, Jaqueline Cristian, is today up against the Czech Karolina Muchova, in the round of 16 of the WTA  tournament in Ningbo (China).

     

     

  • October 16, 2024

    October 16, 2024

    PNRR The European Commission has provisionally approved Romania’s third payment request for its National Resilience and Recovery Plan known as PNRR. The Commission is waiting to receive additional information from the government in Bucharest within a month in order to make the whole payment. According to the EC’s assessment, Romania had met 62 out of the 68 requirements related to reforms and investment, which led to the temporary suspension of payment until explanations were provided. If these explanations are considered enough, the Commission is expected to make the entire payment of 2 billion Euros.

     

    UKRAINE Romania can play the role of a logistic hub in Ukraine’s reconstruction – says the president of the Romania-Ukraine  Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, Nasty Vladoiu, who has recently attended the Forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Bucharest. In turn, Ana Tinca, state secretary for strategic affairs with Romania’s Foreign Ministry, has reiterated Romania’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and the significant importance attached to Ukraine’s reconstruction. In this context she underlined the special attention paid to cross-border projects and connectivity in the fields of transport and energy, as well as the trilateral cooperation also involving the Republic of Moldova. The official has also mentioned the EU’s major support in the country’s reconstruction, urging the business community to use the instruments and programmes available at EU level.

     

    SUMMIT Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis is in Brussels to participate in the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit and the European Council proceedings due on Thursday and Friday. Subjects high on the agenda are Ukraine, the war in the Middle East, the EU competitiveness, migration, foreign affairs and the Republic of Moldova. The European leaders are also expected to tackle the latest evolutions of the war in Ukraine, as well as ways of helping the Ukrainian people. They will also discuss the alarming situation in the Middle East and ‘the risks of escalating violence in the region’. Talks will also focus on the Republic of Moldova’s EU accession as well as migration-related policies.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side clinched a 2-1 win against Lithuania in an away game counting towards the Nations League’s Group C on Tuesday night. This has been Romania’s fourth win after those against Lithuania at home, Cyprus and Kosovo. Romania tops the group with 12 points followed by Kosovo, which outperformed Cyprus 3-0 and has three points less than our side. Romania will be playing Kosovo on 15 November, and taking on Cyprus three days later. The Nations League will have a direct effect over the European preliminaries for World Cup 2026. In another development, Romania’s Under 21 squad has qualified for the European Championship 2025 after a 3-1 home win against Switzerland also on Tuesday. They have thus managed to secure their fourth consecutive presence in a final Under 21 tournament.

    (bill)

  • October 1, 2024 UPDATE

    October 1, 2024 UPDATE

    VISAS Romania formally meets all the technical conditions to be part of the Visa Waiver programme, the country’s ambassador to the United States, Andrei Muraru has announced on a social network. Our assessment, based on the number of visa applications this year as well as the significantly downward trend in recent years, is that Romania went under the 3% ceiling of the rejection rate’, the ambassador also said.  According to him, the first Romanians will be able to travel without visas in the USA most likely in the first part of the next year. If all conditions and preparations are done successfully, the programme could come into effect in 2025’, the US ambassador to Romania, Kathleen Kavalec said on Tuesday. However, according to the US official, there are still major steps to be taken in the next months in order to see whether Romania is eligible for the Visa Waiver programme. In turn, Prime Minister Ciolacu said during his meeting with the US official in Bucharest that the government would remain involved in everything that means the accomplishment of all procedures needed to have Romania included in the Visa Waiver programme.

     

    NATO The former Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, on Tuesday became the new NATO Secretary General during a ceremony held at the North-Atlantic Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. Rutte, who took over from the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, thanked the allies for trusting him with the role. Rutte detailed the three priorities of his four-year mandate: support for Ukraine, consolidating the collective allied defence and developing the international partnerships NATO already concluded with third countries. From Bucharest, Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, has conveyed a congratulation message to the newly-appointed NATO Secretary General, in which he has also expressed his gratitude for the activity of the former NATO Chief, Jens Stoltenberg.

     

    ME Israeli raids in southern Lebanon on Tuesday triggered a new wave of international concern. Also on Tuesday, the Israeli army announced it had hit several Hezbollah targets in capital Beirut, although it had earlier announced that its troops would limit their operations only to regions close to the common border. Numerous airline companies have cancelled their flights to the area and Western countries have started to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon. Bucharest has announced that over 11 hundred Romanian citizens and family members have registered at Romania’s embassy in Beirut. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a level 8-9 warning for this country in October last year, which translates as ”Avoid any trip to Lebanon”. The warning is still in place due to the major security risks in the area. The Romanian diplomacy has firmly recommended the Romanian citizens on the Lebanese territory to leave the country by means of the flights still available.

     

    PARLIAMENT Convened in a joint session on Tuesday, the Romanian deputies and senators appointed the members of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania. According to political sources, the current governor Mugur Isărescu, who has been holding this position since 1990, is supported for a new mandate at the helm of BNR. Also on Tuesday, the Parliament submitted for approval two requests from President Klaus Iohannis – the participation of the Romanian Army in the NATO Security Assistance and Training Mission for Ukraine and the establishment, on the Romania territory, of a maritime training facility for the Ukrainian personnel. The two Parliament chambers will be informed, on the other hand, about the approval of the transit, through Romania, of equipment and material goods donated by Sweden to Ukraine, but also about the presence on the Romanian territory, for a period of two years, of an American contingent of naval forces for special operations.

    (bill)