Radio România Internațional

Tag: USD

  • February 7, 2022 UPDATE

    February 7, 2022 UPDATE

    COVID-19
    Bucharest extended the COVID-19 related state of alert in the country for
    another 30 days, beginning on Monday, February 7. Face covering remains compulsory
    both indoors and outdoors. In places with infection rates below 3 per
    thousand, cinema and theatre
    halls as well as restaurants may operate at 50% of their capacity, with the
    ceiling going down to 30% in places with infection rates above this level. An
    emergency order also extends the deadline for filling in the digital forms for
    entering the country, from 24 to 72 hours. Nearly 17,000 new
    Covid cases were reported in Romania on Monday, along with 81 related
    fatalities. In the capital Bucharest the incidence rate continues to rise,
    reaching 32.75 per thousand on Monday. The vaccination rate is close to 42% in
    urban communities and around 30% in the countryside. Only 8 million adults are
    fully vaccinated so far.


    RESIGNATION The president of USR party in opposition, Dacian Cioloş, Monday
    announced his resignation. The decision came after the party’s National Bureau
    convened on Monday rejected Cioloş’s plans to change the structure and
    operation of the party, with 14 votes against and 11 in favour. Dacian Cioloş, who
    had been elected to office in October, when the right-of-centre USR and PLUS
    parties had merged, warned his colleagues that he would step down unless his
    restructuring plan was implemented. USR vice-president Cătălin Drulă will take
    over as interim party president.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said there was no danger of
    Romania being drawn into a military conflict with the Russian Federation.
    Romanian citizens need not worry that we will be dragged into a war close to
    our country, he said in an interview on a private television channel. There
    is at the moment a very powerful security umbrella, which provides all possible
    guarantees for the security and stability of Romania and its citizens, and this
    umbrella is the NATO membership, adding to which is the very strong strategic
    partnership with the US, minister Aurescu mentioned. If Russia attacks
    Ukraine, he added, responses will come both from NATO, which will consolidate
    its eastern flank, and from the EU, which will introduce a substantial set of
    economic and individual sanctions targeting the political decision-makers in
    Russia. In turn, the head of the Information and Public Relations Directorate
    with the Defence Ministry, brigadier general Constantin Spînu, said that the crisis in Ukraine is not a security
    situation that directly concerns Romania or any other NATO member state. Romanians and all other nations in the Euro-Atlantic
    space should not feel directly threatened, gen. Spînu said.


    AGRICULTURE Romania’s agriculture minister Adrian Chesnoiu rules out a
    possible food crisis in Romania and a food rationing scenario. He says the
    authorities are looking for solutions to support both citizens and farmers.
    Chesnoiu also says that authorities are considering the options of introducing
    ceilings on food prices or of stabilising and balancing prices.

    WASTE
    The number of border checkpoints where waste can be brought to Romania for
    recycling will be reduced to 15, and all shipments will have to be entered in
    an electronic register as soon as possible, the environment minister Tánczos
    Barna announced on Monday. The authorities want to make sure that waste is not
    misplaced or discarded in unauthorised places. Last year alone, more than 500
    offences related to waste imports were identified, and over 15,000 tonnes of
    mixed waste were prevented from entering the country, the interior minister Lucian
    Bode said in his turn.


    OLYMPICS Natalia Ushkina, Romania’s representative in
    the biathlon contest has ended the competition on the 57th place in the
    individual 15 km race at the winter Olympics in Beijing. In
    the giant slalom event, Maria Ioana Constantin also from Romania, has come out
    45th, while another Romanian, Raluca
    Strămăturaru, is ranking 30th after the first 2 legs of the luge event. At the current
    edition of the winter Olympic Games, Romania is being represented by 21
    athletes. (A.M.P., D.B.)

  • Solutions for the Franc Loan Crisis

    Solutions for the Franc Loan Crisis

    A natural occurrence in currency markets, exchange rate variations are paid special attention to when changes are sudden and substantial. This was the case early this year with the Swiss franc, and more recently with the US dollar. What are the explanations and, more importantly, the consequences of such developments? Who stands to gain and who stands to lose from this in Romania?



    In January, the Swiss central bank removed the cap on its national currency’s exchange rate against the euro, which pushed the Swiss franc to a level close to the European single currency, in a record-high appreciation of nearly 30%. The effect in Romania was significant. During the loan boom period, tens of thousands of Romanians were attracted by the stability of the Swiss currency and by the smaller interest rates, and contracted loans in francs, only to find themselves now unable to make the monthly instalments. They took to the streets and called on the government to step in.



    Several proposals were made, including the conversion of loans into the Romanian currency, or the extension of repayment periods. This week, the Government has discussed a bill regarding the conversion of franc loans into Romanian leu loans. Banks would offer a 15% reduction on the value of the Romanian leu loan resulting from the conversion, while the state would provide guarantees for half of the outstanding amounts. The bill covers clients with mortgage loans who have delays of less than 60 days in monthly payments and net incomes of around 670 euros at most. The Government originally intended to pass this piece of legislation as an emergency ordinance, but at the request of the Prime Minister, it was turned into a draft law.



    While the unexpected and substantial appreciation of the Swiss franc dominated the financial market early this year, as of recently the US dollar has grown strong against the Romanian currency. The increase is mainly due to the strengthening of the US dollar against the euro, as a result of the superior economic growth rate of the US and of the investor expectations regarding an increase of interest rates by the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday the latter took a further step towards the first increase of the key interest rate since 2006, but at the same time it downgraded its economic growth and inflation projections.



    In the latest monetary policy statement, Fed officials dropped the word “patient” with regard to increasing borrowing costs, which analysts view as a sign that the central bank is opening the door wider to an interest rate hike in the months to come.

  • PNL a decis ieșirea de la guvernare

    PNL a decis ieșirea de la guvernare

    Conducerea PNL (Partidul Național Liberal), a doua forță din alianța aflată la putere în România a decis, marți seară, ieșirea de la guvernare și a cerut demisia premierului social-democrat Victor Ponta, potrivit unei rezoluții adoptate de Delegația Permanentă a partidului.



    Președintele PNL, Crin Antonescu, a declarat că decizia de ieşire a partidului de la guvernare nu a fost luată uşor, nu a fost una dorită, dar a fost luată cu un vot covârşitor. Antonescu a anunțat că toti miniștrii, secretarii de stat și şefii de agenţii aparţinând formaţiunii îți vor depune demisiile miercuri. Potrivit lui Antonescu, USL (Uniunea Social-Liberală), care a câștigat covârșitor alegerile parlamentare din decmbrie 2012, nu mai există.



    Reuniunea liberalilor a fost convocată după ce negocierile cu PSD (Partidul Social-Democrat) pentru restructurarea guvernamentală au eșuat. Înainte de ședința liberalilor, premierul Ponta a lansat nou apel către PNL de a salva proiectul politic numit “Uniunea Social-Liberală” şi de a rămâne în Guvern. Disensiunile dintre PSD și PNL dureaza de la începutul lunii, când liberalii l-au nominalizat pe Klaus Iohannis, primar al Sibiului (centru), pentru funcţiiile de vicepremier și ministru de interne, iar PSD a creat în interiorul USL o Uniune Social-Democrată, alături de partenerii-juniori de la guvernare, PC (Partidul Conservator) și UNPR (Uniunea Națională pentru Progresul României).

  • Streit in der Regierungskoalition: Fällt die USL auseinander?

    Streit in der Regierungskoalition: Fällt die USL auseinander?

    Ofiziell warten die Parteiführer der Liberalen und der Sozial-Demokraten, beide in der Regierung vertreten, auf den Montag, um festzustellen, ob es noch einen Versöhnungsweg nach der öffentlichen Auseinandersetzung am Rande der Regierungsumbildung gibt. Zumindest ist diese die Frist, die Liberalenchef Crin Antonescu dem sozial-demokratischen Ministerpräsidenten Victor Ponta beinahe ultimativ für die Annahme der Änderungsvorschläge der Liberalen eingeräumt hat. Die wichtigste Bedingung, die die Liberalen für einen Verbleib in der Koalition stellten, ist die Ernennung des Hermannstädter Bürgermeisters Klaus Johannis zum Innenminister und Vizeministerpräsidenten. Die Äu‎ßerungen der beiden Spitzenpolitiker vom Donnerstag haben den Riss in der Sozial-Liberalen Union (USL) weiter vertieft und bestätigen das Szenario einer unmittelbaren Scheidung.



    Victor Ponta war der Meinung, dass die National-Liberale Partei (PNL) ihre Forderungen ohne jegliche Kompromissbereitschaft stelle. Au‎ßerdem weigere sich diese, die Lösungen, die von der Sozial-Demokratischen Partei (PSD) für die Regierungskrise unterbreitet wurden, zu bewerten. Folglich beweise das, dass Antonescu sich entschieden habe, bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen im Herbst nicht für die USL zu kandidieren, sondern aus der Opposition heraus.



    Victor Ponta: Ich bin überzeugt, dass Herr Antonescu praktisch die Entscheidung getroffen hat, alleine anzutreten und ein Oppositionskandidat zu sein, da bis jetzt die Präsidentschaftskandidaten, die für die Opposition angetreten sind, auch gewonnen haben.“



    Eine derartige Erklärung weise deutlich auf das Vorhaben des Ministerpräsidenten hin, die PNL aus der Regierung zu entlassen und die sozial-liberale Mehrheit aufzugeben, um eine neue Exekutive um die neugeschaffene Sozial-Demokratische Union (USD) herum zu bilden, antwortete Crin Antonescu. Die besagte Union besteht au‎ßer der PSD auch aus zwei sogen. Taschenparteien, die Konservative Partei (PC) und die Union für den Fortschritt Rumäniens (UNPR), so Antonescu.



    Dafür brauche man aber eine neue Legitimität, die man nur vor dem Parlament erlangen kann, verweist der PNL-Vorsitzende: Herr Ponta hat die Macht, die Regierung, die Stellung des Ministerpräsidenten mit uns zusammen von den Bürgern erhalten. Folglich braucht er, um weiter an der Macht ohne die National-Liberale Partei zu bleiben, eine neue Quelle für diese Regierung, eine neue Legitimitätsquelle finden.“



    Der Chef der Liberalen hat des weiteren zugegeben, dass sehr niedrige Chancen für eine wundersame Lösung der politischen Krise am Montag bestehen. Die Presse stellt indessen Berechnungen über die künftigen Mehrheitsverhältnisse der USD. Eine Mehrheit besteht aus mathematischer sicht im Senat, aber in der Abgeordnetenkammer brauche man dafür noch die Unterstützung des Ungarnverbans (UDMR) und der Abgeordneten der übrigen nationalen Minderheiten.



    Obwohl Victor Ponta die Stimmen der Legislative für die Bildung einer neuen Regierung sammeln könnte, scheinen die sozial-liberalen Gro‎ßvorhaben wie die Verfassungsnovellierung und die verwatlungstechnische Umorganisierung der Regionen kurzfristig kompromittiert zu sein, denn für diese braucht man eine Gro‎ßmehrheit von mindestens zwei Dritteln der gewählten Volksvertreter. Theoretisch könnte eine USD-Regierung ins Amt eingesetzt werden, aber ihre Handlungsmöglichkeiten sind begrenzt, folglich muss sie auch ihre Ambitionen etwas zurückstellen.