Radio România Internațional

Tag: vice-president

  • November 12, 2024 UPDATE

    November 12, 2024 UPDATE

     

    VISIT Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu is on official visit to the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he has meetings with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King. According to a Government press release, PM Marcel Ciolacu will also attend the Romania-UK Economic Forum, and will meet with members of the Romanian community. “The government is interested in consolidating the Strategic Partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in all fields of bilateral interest, responding to changing challenges and opportunities. The Romanian community in the UK is big, and fostering the rights of our compatriots is a key pillar of bilateral cooperation”, PM Marcel Ciolacu said. This is the first visit of a Romanian Prime Minister to the UK in 17 years.

     

    EC Roxana Mînzatu, nominated by Romania for European commissioner, said during her interview by the European Parliament’s specialist committees that Europeans will face many challenges in the coming years, and they need to be prepared for this, which is the first pillar of her programme. The second pillar, which she described as a key one, concerns quality jobs. The third element of her term in office is social justice. Roxana Mînzatu, nominated for executive vice-president of the EC for people, skills and preparedness, has been interviewed by the members of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Culture and Education. Roxana Mînzatu, 44, was a state secretary with the Ministry for European Funds in March-September 2015. In 2016-2020, she was a member of the Romanian Parliament, and in 2019 she also served as Minister for European Funds. In June this year she was also elected MEP, backed by the Social Democratic Party. Roxana Mînzatu has a Bachelor’s degree in political sciences and a Master’s degree in European integration.

     

    ELECTION Some 200 postal votes for the parliamentary and presidential election in Romania have already arrived from Romanians living abroad and will be counted together with the other votes, the chairman of the Permanent Election Authority (AEP), Toni Greblă, has said. 6,650 citizens have requested to vote by post and must send their options no later than two days before the start of the vote in the country. The first round of the presidential election is slated for November 24, the second round for December 8, while the parliamentary election will take place on December 1.

     

     

    INFLATION The annual inflation rate climbed from 4.62% in September to 4.67% in October, the National Statistics Institute reports. Food prices went up by 4.75%, while prices for non-food products also increased by 3.45%. Service prices also went up 7.66%. The National Bank of Romania has adjusted its inflation estimate for the end of 2024, from 4% previously to 4.9%. The Bank expects the inflation rate to go down to 3.5% at the end of 2025, according to a report made public by Governor Mugur Isărescu this Monday. On the other hand, Romania’s trade deficit went up 15% in the first 9 months of 2024, reaching some EUR 23.5 bln, the National Statistics Institute reports. Exports have exceeded EUR 69 bln, a 1.4% drop, while imports totaled nearly EUR 93 bln, accounting for a 2.3% increase.

     

    GOTECH WORLD Officials and representatives of the business sector took part in the opening of GoTech World 2024, an event hosted by Bucharest over November 12-13. This year’s edition of B2B Expo brings together over 120 experts from the sector and nearly 100 exhibitors. Organizers expect a turnover of some 15,000 guests. GoTech World (previously known as Internet & Mobile World) is the biggest conference and expo in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as a regional hub for digital economy, providing professionals in the region with access to B2B tech solutions, insights into various digital fields and networking opportunities. (VP, AMP)

  • EC vice-president in Bucharest

    EC vice-president in Bucharest

    The EC vice-president for values and transparency,
    Vera Jourova, was on an official visit to Romania on Monday, when she had
    talks with president Klaus Iohannis. The topics included the rule of law and reforms in the
    judiciary, as well as support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
    Another topic was Romania’s Schengen
    accession. The country’s inclusion in the border-free area remains on stand-by,
    after Austria vetoed the accession, which had already been postponed repeatedly.


    The EC vice-president also discussed the topic with
    PM Marcel Ciolacu, who thanked the EU official for the support given to Romania’s
    efforts in this respect. PM Ciolacu also discussed the rule of law, ways to
    fight disinformation and the digital transition.


    Vera Jourova also had a meeting with the justice
    minister, Alina Gorghiu, and the chiefs of the country’s major prosecutor’s
    offices. My message for the authorities is that Romania is doing well in terms
    of the judicial system. There are still new laws that must be implemented, and
    this must be done not for Brussels, but for the Romanian people, who need
    access to a very well designed judicial system, the EC vice-president said.


    The agenda of the talks also included the recommendations
    in the Rule of Law Report, the special pensions law and the measures to ensure
    human resources, given that as of next March around 600 new magistrates will
    join the system after passing the National Magistrate Institute exam and the
    magistrate exam based on 5-year length in service.


    We are careful to endorse predictable
    legislation, to have consistent activity in the National Anti-Corruption
    Directorate, to ensure the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and
    Terrorism Offences tackles important issues, from drug trafficking to human
    trafficking, Alina Gorghiu pointed out.


    Also on Monday, Vera Jourova visited the
    European Cybersecurity Competence Centre in Bucharest. The topics discussed
    there included Romania’s participation in the Digital Decade programme, the
    implementation of the reforms in the Digital Transformation component of the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the performance of the European Cybersecurity
    Competence Centre and the importance of cyber security.


    There is huge potential in this country, we have
    schools that train experts, and a large number of women compared to other
    member states, Vera Jourova said. She also mentioned that, under the National Recovery
    and Resilience Plan, EUR 5 bln are earmarked for digitisation, the 5G network,
    education, e-government and business digitisation. (AMP)

  • February 19, 2018 UPDATE

    February 19, 2018 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT – The Chamber of Deputies Monday discussed a simple motion tabled by the Liberals in Opposition against the Labour Minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu. The Liberals criticise the drop in salaries for certain employee categories further to the introduction of the unified wage scheme and the transfer of social security payments from employers to employees. In turn, the Labour Minister says there are no statistical data to verify the claims that 2 million Romanians have seen their incomes drop further to the “fiscal revolution. MPs will vote on the motion on Wednesday.




    EIB – Romania is interested in further benefitting from the variety of financing instruments offered by the European Investment Bank, especially those that help improve the absorption of non-reimbursable EU funding, the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said in Bucharest on Monday, after a meeting with the EIB vice-president Andrew McDowell. In turn, the EIB official pointed out that the banks products are designed to reduce the investment deficit in Romania, to contribute to the countrys economic growth and to help create new jobs. According to an EIB report made public on Monday in Bucharest, over the past 25 years the group has granted loans of over 13 billion euros to Romania. Official data indicate that in 2017 alone, the EIB Group, which comprises the EIB and the European Investment Fund, provided support to Romania amounting to 1.9 billion euros.




    TRANSPORT – The European Commission announced on Monday that 1.3 billion euro in cohesion funds will be invested in upgrading a section of the railway corridor connecting Curtici, on the Romanian – Hungarian border, to Constanta on the Black Sea Coast, reads a news release issued by the EC Representation in Bucharest. The works will target a significant improvement of speed and safety on the segment between Curtici and the town of Simeria, where 13 railway stations will be upgraded, the improvement of the signalling and passenger information systems and the building of related infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels.




    FLU – Another 3 people died from the flu in Romania, with the death toll reaching 35, and more than 500 cases reported, the authorities announced on Monday. Most of the cases are reported in Bucharest, followed by the counties Constanta (in the south-east), Olt (south), Brasov (centre) and Iasi (north-east). The authorities recommend vaccination, and the Healthcare Ministry announces around 80,000 shots are still available. So far more than 920,000 people have got flu shots. The Healthcare Minister Sorina Pintea says Romania is not facing a flu epidemic. She added that prevention measures are of the utmost importance, while hospitals and public health authorities must implement all the necessary measures.




    JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice will pass a final ruling on March 5 in a case where Ludovic Orban, the president of the main Opposition party, the right-wing National Liberal Party, was tried for influence peddling with a view to obtaining undue benefits. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate is seeking a one-year imprisonment sentence in the case. Orban was found not guilty by the court of first instance, but an appeal has been filed. According to prosecutors, in March 2016 Orban contacted a businessman requesting financial support for the local election campaign, in which he was running for Mayor General of Bucharest.




    DEFENCE – The Senate of Romania Monday endorsed a bill on the procurement of multiple rocket launchers for the Romanian Army. Under the document, the Government of Romania is awarding to the US Government the contracts for the procurement of 3 sets of 18 launch systems each, including the ammunition, control elements, sensors, logistic support as well as personnel training. The funds will be taken from the Defence Ministry budget. The Chamber of Deputies is to make the final decision on this bill.




    AmCham – Investments must be a priority in this years public budget, the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania states in a report made public on Monday. According to AmCham, it is only through investments that economic growth can translate into wellbeing, modern infrastructure, high performance administration and high quality public services. The report says that in 2017 compliance with the deficit target was the main concern in public budget execution, but this was at the expense of investments, which hit a 12-year low. AmCham argues that authorities have sacrificed public investments in order to be able to increase public sector salaries and pensions. AmCham also recommends better absorption of European funds, fiscal stability, increased productivity and a focus on high value-added economic activities.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 01.07.2014 (mise à jour)

    01.07.2014 (mise à jour)

    Corruption – Le maire de la ville de Bacau (dans lest de la Roumanie), Romeo Stavarache (membre du Parti National Libéral, dopposition) et deux de ses supposés complices ont été placés en détention provisoire pour 30 jours dans un dossier de corruption. Faisant déjà lobjet dune enquête, et ayant été placés sous contrôle judiciaire, ils nont pas respecté les restrictions imposées par les organes judiciaires.Stavarache aurait demandé à des sociétés environ un demi million deuros en échange pour des contrats financés de fonds publics.



    Toujours mardi, la Haute Cour de Justice et de Cassation a condamné le député de lUnion Démocratique des Magyars de Roumanie (qui partage le pouvoir avec le Parti Social Démocrate), Mate Andras Levente, à 6 mois de prison avec sursis dans un enquête de conflit dintérêts. Il avait fait embaucher de manière illégale son épouse parmi les personnels de son bureau de parlementaire.



    Par ailleurs, la Court dAppel de Bucarest a décidé de lextension de la saisie provisoire dune partie des biens de Dan Voiculescu, président fondateur du Parti Conservateur (membre de la coalition au pouvoir) et de plusieurs supposés complices de celui-ci. Cest en 2008 que les procureurs du Parquet anticorrption avaient ouverte en une enquête à lencontre de Dan Voiculescu, laccusant davoir privatisé de manière frauduleuse lInstitut de recherches alimentaires de Bucarest, causant un préjudice de 60 millions deuros.



    Parlement Européen — La députée européenne roumaine Adina Vălean a été élue mardi à Strasbourg vice présidente du Parlement Européen. Désignée par le Parti Populaire Européen (de centre – droit), elle compte parmi les 6 vice présidents sur 14 à avoir été élus au premier tour. Pour sa part, la députée européenne roumaine Corina Creţu, désignée par le groupe des socialistes et démocrates, fait partie des vice présidents du PE du second tour. Les populaires et les sociaux-démocrates ont décidé de partager la présidence du PE. Par conséquent, à compter de janvier 2017 ce sera au Parti Populaire Européen den assumer la direction.



    Tennis — A Wimbledon, la joueuse roumaine de tennis Simona Halep, 3e mondiale, a vaincu mardi Zarina Dizas du Kazakhstan dans les huitièmes du 3e grand Chelem de l’année. Dans les quarts de finale Simona Halep jouera contre Sabine Lisiki dAllemagne. Si elle arrive en finale, Simona Halep occupera la Deuxième position mondiale, dépassant la Chinoise Na Li.