Radio România Internațional

Tag: visit

  • November 25, 2021

    November 25, 2021

    Government – The Romanian Parliament on Thursday gave the vote of confidence to the Government made up of the PNL – PSD – UDMR proposed by the PM designate, the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă. There were 318 votes for and 126 votes against. In order to be invested, the Executive needed at least 234. Nicoale Ciucă thanked both those who vote for the government and those who didn’t. ‘We assumed a great responsibility, we also understood the recommendations of the opposition’, he said, adding that the executive will do everything possible to focus on the Romanian citizen and to overcome the problems caused by to the COVID crisis. Prior to the vote, Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of PSD, so far in opposition, said that his party decided to enter the government with the partys front line, to stand by Romanians’ side, to stop the collapse of living standards and to stabilize the country. Instead, MP Dan Barna representing USR, a former governing partner of the Liberals, pointed out that President Klaus Iohannis is allegedly the godfather of the collaboration between PSD and PNL, the one who handed over the government to his former Social Democrat opponents. All 20 ministers were heard in parliamentary committees on Wednesday and received a favorable opinion. In the new government, PNL, in power since 2019, keeps the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Education and Energy and has, in addition, four more ministries. Nine portfolios go to the Social Democrats, in opposition after the legislative elections of two years ago, including the ministries of Finance, Defense and Economy. PSD also receives the General Secretariat of the Government. UDMR, former governing partner of PNL, keeps the Ministries of Development, Environment and Sports. The governing program of the new Coalition Government is based on the principles of resilience, stability, transparency, equity and efficiency, according to the prime minister designate, who also gives assurances that pensions, the minimum social allowance, the minimum gross salary and allowances for Romanians will increase. After investiture, the new ministers need to be sworn in before the President.



    COVID — 2,104 new cases of Covid-19 — a sharp drop as against the previous day – were reported in Romania on Thursday. At the same time, 212 deaths were announced, of which 35 registered prior to the reference period. The National Public Health Institute announced that over 70% of the cases registered in the last week were in unvaccinated people. Since the onset of the vaccination campaign, nearly 7.7 million people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.



    Visit – Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, and her husband, Prince Radu, are paying a public visit to the UK as of Wednesday. The royal couple was received at Windsor Castle by Queen Elizabeth II. At the same time, they visited the Royal Defense College, where they talked with students on topics related to European and Euro-Atlantic current affairs. The Custodian of the Crown of Romania and Prince Radu also met with the Lord Mayor of London, Vincent Thomas Keaveny, at his residence. The first visit of the Royal Family of Romania to London took place in 1874, when the Sovereign Prince Carol I and Princess Elisabeth met with the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). The first British royal visit to Romania took place at Peles Castle in Sinaia (central Romania), in 1888, when the future King Edward VII was the guest of King Carol I.



    EPP — The Group of the European Peoples Party (EPP) in the European Parliament has nominated Roberta Metsola as a candidate for the presidency of the European Parliament, after she obtained more than 64% of the votes of her party colleagues. Roberta Metsola (42 years old) is an MEP from Malta. She promised that one of her priorities would be to build alliances and bridges with pro-European constructive forces in the EP. The vote for the presidency of the European Parliament, held by the Italian Socialist David Sassoli since the summer of 2019 following an agreement of the three main groups in the European Parliament – EPP, S&D and Renew Europe, will be held in January next year in the middle of the EP legislature.



    Gazprom — The Russian consortium Gazprom will continue to deliver gas to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population), after the Moldovan government on Friday committed to paying an outstanding debt. Gazprom had threatened to cut off gas supplies if it did not receive its money. Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kuprianov, quoted by Radio Romanias correspondent in Moscow, said that the deferment of payment was an exception and an expression of the Russian consortium goodwill. He underlined, however, that Gazprom strongly hoped that, in the future, the Republic of Moldova would fully comply with its contractual commitments and make payments in due time. Gazprom recalled that the signing, last month, of a new gas contract with the Republic of Moldova was conditioned by the full and timely payment of current bills. The contract provides for a price of about 450 dollars per one thousand cubic meters of gas, deferred payment, a five-year rescheduling of the 700 million dollar debt and its independent audit. (LS)

  • November 23, 2021

    COVID – In Romania, on Tuesday, the authorities announced over 2,700 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Also, 273 deaths were reported, of which 34 are from previous days. More than 11,100 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, 1,539 being in ICUs. 150 of the ICU patients are vaccinated. A study by a Romanian medical company shows that the third vaccine dose increases by more than 10 times the number of antibodies as compared to the values recorded 6 months after the 2nd dose, having a very high efficiency against severe forms of COVID-19. The authors of the study say that the effectiveness of the third dose was noticed in all age groups without major differences between them.



    Government program – In Bucharest, the prime minister designate, Nicolae Ciucă, is to submit, today, in Parliament, the governing program and the makeup of the new Government. The decision comes following the consultations that President Klaus Iohannis had, on Monday, with the parliamentary parties, at the end of which the interim Defense Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, was appointed Prime Minister. He is supported by a political majority that includes the PNL, PSD, UDMR and the Group of National Minorities.



    PSD — The PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, was elected on Tuesday Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament. Cristina Prună representing USR also ran for this position. The ballot was secret. The position has been vacant since October 18, following the resignation of the former PNL leader Ludovic Orban after he lost the party leadership elections. According to the Rules of Procedure, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies is elected for the entire duration of the legislature. Also on Tuesday, the plenum of the Senate revoked Anca Dragu, representing USR, from the position of Speaker of the Senate, following the change of the parliamentary majority. The vote was secret, by card.



    Survey – Romania climbed one position, to the 44th place out of 168 countries, in a world ranking made according to the quality of life and social welfare, but it is still on the last place among the EU member states, after Hungary and Bulgaria. Romania registered 78.41 points out of 100, a slightly higher score than in the previous year and is included in the ranking’s the third category, after Argentina, Hungary and Bulgaria, shows the study Social Progress Index (IPS) 2021 on the quality of life and social welfare, carried out by the non-profit organization Social Progress Imperative, with the support of Deloitte. Globally, Norway remains on top position with a score of 92.63 points. In 2021, the first places in the ranking, after Norway, are held by Finland and Denmark, and on the last placed Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.



    Visit – The Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population), enjoys overwhelming, lasting and cross-party support in Bucharest. ‘We are all dedicated to consolidating the bilateral Strategic Partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration and advancing on the path of reforms’, said Klaus Iohannis fresh from his meeting, in Bucharest, with his Moldovan counterpart, pro-Western Maia Sandu. He added that Romania would remain the closest friend of the Republic of Moldova. In her turn, Maia Sandu stated that she wanted to boost the partnership between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the Iași-Ungheni gas pipeline, operational from October 1, in the midst of the energy crisis. ‘We are counting on Romanias voice in the EU because European integration is our main objective’, the official from Chisinau also said. The agenda of talks also included, among others, institution consolidation, attracting investments, infrastructure projects, education, justice, and energy security. It is the first official visit the President of the Rep. Moldova pays to Romania, after the early parliamentary elections on July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS) by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of celebrating 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations this year, after Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow in 1991. (LS)

  • November 22, 2021 UPATE

    November 22, 2021 UPATE

    COVID – In Romania, the number of coronavirus infections continues to drop, 1,550 new cases of COVID-19 being reported in the last 24 hours. 154 deaths were also reported, of which 29 were registered prior to the reference period. More than 11,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are hospitalized. There are 1,539 patients in ICUs, a smaller number compared to the previous day, and 150 of them have a certificate attesting to their vaccination, according to the authorities. The average infection rate is now below 3.5 cases per thousand inhabitants, and more than half of Romania’s counties are no longer in the red scenario. The head of the COVID vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, warned that there is a risk that the scenario experienced by Germany, which quickly passed from the 4th to the 5th wave of the pandemic, will be repeated in Romania, where the vaccination rate is low. An even greater danger would be the emergence of a mutation of the coronavirus that bypasses the bodys immune response, said Gheorghiţă. The number of fully vaccinated people is close to 7.2 million.



    Government – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Monday signed the decree on the appointment of the Liberal senator Nicolae Ciucă to the position of prime minister. He said, after consultations with the parliamentary parties and groups, that Ciucas nomination is supported by a solid majority in Parliament, which includes PSD, PNL, UDMR and the group of national minorities other than the Hungarian one. Klaus Iohannis received the representatives of PNL, PSD and UDMR simultaneously during the consultations. He also spoke with the leaders of the nationalist opposition party, AUR, while USR, a former junior partner of the Liberals in the government, boycotted the presidents invitation, accusing him of being the godfather of a monstrous coalition. According to the Constitution, the candidate to the position of prime minister has ten days since nomination to ask Parliament for a vote of confidence on the governing program and the entire list of ministers. PSD spokesman Radu Oprea said that, in the future Executive, the Social Democrats would have a ministerial position for the Secretary General of the Government, as well as the portfolios of Finance, National Defense, Economy, Transport, Agriculture, Health, Labor, Culture and Youth. UDMR keeps the three ministries it already manages – Local Development, Environment and Sports. And the Liberals are left with the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Investment and European Projects, Energy, Education, Research and Tourism. According to the media, Liberal leaders across Romania and from Bucharest have virulently criticized the PNL president, the outgoing prime minister Florin Cîţu, because he ceded too many key portfolios to the Social Democrats. A retired general, Ciucă had been appointed last month by President Iohannis to form the government, but he relinquished his mandate after it became clear that the minority government made up of PNL-UDMR would not receive the investiture vote. Earlier, the USR government proposed by the partys leader, Dacian Cioloş, was rejected by senators and deputies. If he is invested, Ciucă will become the first career soldier to lead a government of post-communist Romania. His first nomination came shortly after an opinion poll confirmed that the Army and the Church are on the first places in a classification of institutions enjoying the highest degree of Romanians trust. According to the survey, conducted by the Laboratory for Information Warfare Analysis and Strategic Communication, 87% of Romanians say they trust the Army, 70% – the Church, and 67% – the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Romanian Academy. Over 40% of respondents consider corruption and the incompetence of the political class as the main threats to Romania.



    Visit — The President of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet republic with a majority Romanian-speaking), pro-Western Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to neighboring Romania on Tuesday, at the invitation of her counterpart, Klaus Iohannis. It is the first visit to Romania since the early parliamentary elections of July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS) by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of the celebration, in 2021, of 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, after in 1991, Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow. The visit, states the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, is a very good opportunity to reconfirm the special, privileged relationship established under the Strategic Partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration, based on a common language, culture and history. The political consultations of the two presidents will strengthen the excellent and substantial bilateral cooperation at the political, economic and sectoral levels and will stimulate the advancement of joint projects of strategic interest in the fields of energy, transport, health, education and IT. The focus will be on those projects aimed at connecting the Republic of Moldova to the European Union space, through Romania, and at bringing real and concrete benefits to all its citizens – the abovementioned source also shows.



    Tennis – Romania has five representatives in the WTA top 100, the world ranking of professional tennis players, published on Monday. The former world leader Simona Halep holds the best position, 20th, but this is her weakest ranking at the end of the season over the last nine years. If in 2013 she finished on 11th position, Halep was then in the Top 10 every time except this year, when she started in 2nd position. Sorana Cîrstea remains on 38th position, Irina Begu on 60th place, Jaqueline Cristian on 71st position, and Gabriela Ruse on 85th. In doubles, Romania has six players in the top 100: Raluca Olaru is still on 36th place, Monica Niculescu maintains the 39th place, Irina Begu dropped one place on 64th position, while Irina Bara managed a jump of 12 places and now being on 84th position, after the title she won this weekend in Montevideo. The other two Romanians in the doubles top 100 are Andreea Mitu (98) and Gabriela Ruse (99). (LS)

  • November 21, 2021 UPDATE

    November 21, 2021 UPDATE

    GOVERNMENT The Social
    Democrats and the Liberals, which have the largest
    number of seats in Parliament and are seeking to form a new cabinet jointly
    with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), announced
    they would present president Klaus Iohannis on Monday with a joint nomination
    for the PM post. The structure of the new government was agreed on in Sunday’s
    negotiations, the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu announced, and added
    that Romania will have an operational government on Thursday. According to the
    chief of the Liberal negotiation team, the interim defence minister Nicolae Ciucă,
    the ministries of transport and finances will be headed, in principle, by the
    other party than the one nominating the PM. In turn, the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen
    Hunor, says 2 new ministries will be created, one for tourism and
    entrepreneurship and one for family and youth. Political sources say the
    new PM designate will be Nicolae Ciucă (Liberal). A retired general, Ciucă was
    designated by president Iohannis to form a new government, but he stepped down
    following indications that his minority government would not be endorsed in
    Parliament. A previous minority cabinet headed by the president of USR, Dacian
    Cioloş, also failed to get a confidence vote in Parliament. If endorsed, Ciucă will
    be the first senior military officer to head a post-communist Romanian government.
    He will replace the Liberal leader Florin Cîţu, dismissed last month following a no-confidence vote
    initiated by the Social Democrats.




    COVID-19 The number of new coronavirus infections in Romania dropped
    below 2,000 on Sunday, for the first time in 9 weeks. 1,936 new COVID-19 cases were reported out of
    nearly 23,000 tests, along with 121 related fatalities, 16 of them from an
    earlier date. As many as 1,573 patients are in intensive care, but the number
    of patients is on the decrease. The National Committee on Emergency Situations agreed that in places with infection rates below 3 per
    thousand schools may resume on-site teaching regardless of the vaccination rate
    among teaching staff. Several activities subject
    to restrictions in recent weeks may now be resumed, but a final decision is to
    be made by the government. Such activities include sports events, concerts,
    performances and outdoor festivals, conferences and training sessions. Only
    holders of the digital Covid certificate will be permitted to take part.




    MOLDOVA The president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu
    will be on an official visit to Romania on Tuesday, at the invitation of her
    Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. This is Sandu’s first visit to Romania
    since July’s early election won by her party Action and Solidarity (PAS), and
    it takes place in the context of the celebration of 30 years of diplomatic
    relations, after in 1991, the ex-Soviet republic proclaimed its independence
    from Moscow. According to the Romanian presidency, this is an opportunity to
    reconfirm the special, privileged Strategic Partnership between the 2 countries,
    based on common linguistic, cultural and historical elements. The talks between
    Iohannis and Sandu will encourage the development of joint projects in the
    fields of energy, transport, healthcare, education and information society, with
    a focus on projects designed to help connect the Republic of Moldova with the
    EU to the benefit of all its citizens.





    SPORTS Romania’s national rugby team defeated Tonga 32-20,
    in a test match in Bucharest. According to the media, the game was quite useful
    to both teams, which are trying to qualify for the 2023 World Championships in
    France. Won the other 2 matches played this month, 29-14 against Uruguay, in a
    test match in Verona, Italy, on November 7, and 56-15 against the Netherlands
    in Bucharest, in Rugby Europe Championship 2021, on November 13. Romania is
    currently placed 15th in the World Rugby standings. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • November 21, 2021

    November 21, 2021

    GOVERNMENT The president of Romania
    Klaus Iohannis invited parliamentary parties to consultations on Monday to
    appoint a new PM designate. The Social
    Democrats and the Liberals, which have the largest number of seats in
    Parliament, carry on negotiations today to form a new cabinet jointly with the
    Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. The 3 parties have a
    political agreement and a governing programme in place. According to the
    National Liberal Party, no tax raises are planned, but the special department
    investigating offences in the judiciary will be dismantled by March 31. Public
    pensions, salaries and child allowances will be increased. One decision yet to
    be made is which party will appoint the prime minister in the new PM rotation
    system. The Liberals nominated the interim defence minister Nicolae Ciucă for
    the post, while the Social Democrats want the position to go to their president
    Marcel Ciolacu. The 3 parties are still considering 2 scenarios for
    distributing cabinet seats. The first option is with a Social Democratic PM and
    the Liberals and Social Democrats heading an equal number of ministries, while
    in the second scenario a Liberal will be PM and the Liberal Party will have
    fewer cabinet members. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians says in both
    scenarios they will keep the development, environment and sports ministries.


    COVID-19 Over 1,930 new COVID-19 cases
    have been reported in Romania today, along with 121 related fatalities, 16 of
    them from an earlier date. As many as 1,573 patients are in intensive care, but
    the number of patients is on the decrease. The National Committee on Emergency
    Situations agreed that in places with infection
    rates below 3 per thousand schools may resume on-site teaching regardless of
    the vaccination rate among teaching staff. Several
    activities subject to restrictions in recent weeks may now be resumed, but a
    final decision is to be made by the government. Such activities include sports
    events, concerts, performances and outdoor festivals, conferences and training
    sessions. Only holders of the digital Covid certificate will be permitted to
    take part. Should the situation continue to improve, the winter holidays might
    take place without many restrictions, the head of the Emergency Committee Raed
    Arafat said. As for the vaccine rollout, over 7.1 million people are
    fully vaccinated in Romania so far.


    TRAVEL The
    National Committee on Emergency Situations updated the list of countries and
    territories by COVID-19 incidence rates. Germany, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria and the UK
    are now red-list countries, while France, Portugal, Monaco, Chile, Lebanon and
    Guyana were included in the medium-risk category.


    PANDEMIC Meanwhile in Europe the new pandemic wave has prompted states to
    reintroduce restrictions, which in turn led to large-scale protests. In Austria
    and Netherlands people took to the streets to protest the ‘corona dictatorship’.
    In Austria, where a full lockdown takes effect on Monday, tensions deepen
    between citizens and the authorities that try to step up the vaccine rollout so
    as to help hospitals cope with the record-large number of cases. Some 40,000 people
    rallied in Vienna on Saturday. The Netherlands saw the most violent clashes in
    Europe, with 3 people hospitalised in Rotterdam and over 50 arrested during the
    clashes with police. The country has a partial lockdown and further
    restrictions are being considered, such as prohibiting access to restaurants
    and events for the unvaccinated. Anti-Covid restriction protests also took
    place in Belgium and Denmark. Infection rates are surging in Eastern Europe as
    well, including in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.


    MOLDOVA The president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu
    will be on an official visit to Romania on Tuesday, at the invitation of her
    Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. This is Sandu’s first visit to Romania
    since July’s early election won by her party Action and Solidarity (PAS), and
    it takes place in the context of the celebration of 30 years of diplomatic
    relations, after in 1991, the ex-Soviet republic proclaimed its independence
    from Moscow. According to the Romanian presidency, this is an opportunity to
    reconfirm the special, privileged Strategic Partnership between the 2 countries,
    based on common linguistic, cultural and historical elements. The talks between
    Iohannis and Sandu will encourage the development of joint projects in the
    fields of energy, transport, healthcare, education and information society, with
    a focus on projects designed to help connect the Republic of Moldova with the
    EU to the benefit of all its citizens. (tr.
    A.M. Popescu)

  • Commissioner Thierry Breton pays visit to Bucharest

    Commissioner Thierry Breton pays visit to Bucharest

    The visit of the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, to Bucharest comes at a complicated time: the country has an interim government, and statistics on infections with the novel coronavirus are still worrying, even though the number of cases reported daily has fallen. Thierry Breton says that, with the coming of winter, the low vaccination rate endangers the health of Romanians, which is also an obstacle in the way of the full recovery of the country and the European Union as a whole.



    The European official’s discussions with the Romanian authorities, with health professionals and non-governmental organizations representaives were a plea in favor of vaccination and introducing the green certificate, an issue tackled bya draft law currently debated in the Chamber of Deputies. The vote on the green COVID certificate, together with the vaccine, ensures survival during the pandemic, says the European Commissioner, Thierry Breton, who added that it is high time Europeans were united, because only together this war can be won. He went on to say: We are all Europeans, we share the same values. Its time to act. We cant postpone it for a few months, because the virus isnt waiting. It is important that the green certificate is voted on and used, because we know that vaccination and the green certificate are the key to ensuring our survival and it is equally important that we should be part of the European community, the EU Commissioner added.



    Thierry Breton gas given assurances that the European Commission will continue its efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and called on Member States to properly use the tools and mechanisms created within the EU. The EU Commissioner met with the interim ministers of defense and health and was received by President Klaus Iohannis. The latter praised the European Commissions support for managing the health crisis and emphasized the need to continue to coordinate Member States actions and maintain unity at EU level.



    Klaus Iohannis reiterated that the vaccine is the main tool in fighting SARS-CoV-2. Regarding the green certificate, the pace of debates in the Chamber of deputies, which is the decision-making body in this case, seems to have got in tune with the pace of negotiations between the National Liberal Party – PNL and the Social Democratic Party – PSD on the future government. The political crisis delays the adoption in Parliament of the law on imposing the green certificate, says the head of the Health Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, the Liberal Nelu Tătaru. The parliamentary parties have so far failed to agree on the number of days for which testing for unvaccinated employees will be covered from the state budget. The Liberals have proposed 30 days, while the Social Democrats would like a 60-day grace period. A political agreement in the government will speed up the adoption of the green certificate. (LS)

  • September 9, 2021 UPDATE

    September 9, 2021 UPDATE

    Motion — The censure motion tabled by the Save Romania Union- Plus Alliance (USR-PLUS), the former no. 2 in the government coalition and the ultranationalist, opposition party the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR, against the government led by the Liberal Florin Cîţu, was read, on Thursday, in the plenum of the Romanian Parliament. The prime minister and his supporters have shown that group interests are above the public interest, the motion writes. The PM is blamed for turning a national investment plan into a party piggy bank. The debate of and the vote on the motion will take place after the Constitutional Court rules on the PM’s notification regarding the existence of a legal conflict between the Parliament and the Government. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban, who is competing with Florin Citu for the Liberal Party – PNL leadership, considers that the decision to postpone the debate and vote on the motion calendar is deeply unconstitutional. In turn, the speaker of the Senate, Anca Dragu representing the Save Romania Union, says that the Liberals are using all possible tricks to prevent the debate and vote on the censure motion. In turn, the PM Florin Citu said he would ask for the resignation of the speakers of the Parliament’s two chambers if the decision of the Constitutional Court on his notification is favorable. We remind that USR PLUS filed a censure motion after they demanded the resignation of the prime minister, whom they accuse of undermining the coalition through his decision to dismiss the justice minister, Stelian Ion, representing USR. Subsequently, the USR PLUS ministers have resigned, and the secretaries and undersecretaries of state, as well as the prefects and sub-prefects representing this party have been dismissed.



    Covid-19 — As of Friday the government extends by 30 days the state of alert on the Romanian territory, imposed by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The validity of antigen tests has been extended from 24 to 48 hours. The number of daily cases of infection exceeded on Thursday 2,000. 2,226 new cases and about 40 deaths were reported. The number of patients in ICUs exceeded 500. The National Public Health Institute analyzed the infections confirmed last week and found that over 80% of cases were reported in unvaccinated people. Almost 93% of all deaths were in unvaccinated people and 5% in people vaccinated with only one dose. Interest in vaccination remains low. All in all, about 5.2 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.



    Visit — In 2021 we celebrate 110 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Switzerland and we could see the excellent level of bilateral cooperation at political, economic and social levels, said Thursday in Bern, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in a joint press conference with his Swiss counterpart, Guy Parmelin. The two heads of state discussed the consolidation of bilateral relations, including economic cooperation, with focus on investments, with Switzerland ranking 10th in the top of investors in Romania. The presidents of Romania and Switzerland have agreed to deepen cooperation in such areas as research and innovation, digitalization, education and cyber security. President Iohannis thanked his Swiss counterpart for supporting Romanias accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Discussions also included topical issues of international policy, focusing on political and security developments in the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood and the Western Balkans region.



    Untold – The biggest electronic music festival in Romania, UNTOLD, started on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca, in the center of Romania. More than 70,000 people from more than 100 countries are expected daily at this special event, held in pandemic conditions, until Sunday. The organizers allow access to the festival only to vaccinated people, people who have recovered from the infection or who test negative for Sars-CoV-2. Besides famous DJs such as Dimitris Vega and Like Mike, the famous Romanian panpipes player Gheorghe Zamfir will also be performing. Thus, UNTOLD proposes an original synthesis between electronic music and traditional sounds. Performing in this year’s festival will be David Guetta, Martin Garrix, The Script, Parov Stelar, Tyga and Sam Feldt, among others. Spectators will be welcomed by fantastic characters, who will give light and fire shows. Famous bands will get involved in these shows, such as Moon Ladies from Italy. The festival also includes art exhibitions, including a South American art exhibition highlighting the tribal traditions in the Amazonian forest. The organizers have also prepared a fashion exhibition bringing together the creations of 20 designers. The festival also has percussion workshops for those who want to learn the secrets of this art.



    Emergency – The Republic of Moldova will instate, as of Friday, the state of public health emergency at national level for a period of 50 days, following the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the health minister Ala Nemerenco announced on Thursday. She said that in the next five days the health ministry, in agreement with other institutions, will come up with an action plan regarding measures to combat and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, which she will present to the Extraordinary National Public Health Commission. In the Republic of Moldova, 731 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Thursday, out of which 591 among unvaccinated persons. (LS)

  • September 7, 2021

    September 7, 2021

    CRISIS In Romania, deputy PM Dan Barna and the other USR PLUS ministers resigned on Tuesday from the Liberal Florin Citus coalition cabinet, as they had announced on Monday night. USR PLUS believe the PM dynamited the coalition after unexpectedly dismissing the justice minister Stelian Ion. The party is invited to have talks with president Klaus Iohannis this afternoon, to discuss the governmental crisis. On Friday, USR PLUS and the nationalist party AUR tabled a no-confidence motion against the Citu cabinet. The standing bureaus of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies convene today in a new attempt to agree on a timetable for the motion.



    BUDGET In spite of the resignation of the USR PLUS ministers, PM Florin Citu has convened a cabinet meeting today, to discuss a new budget adjustment. The Prime Minister announced last night that the budget adjustment bill would be passed whether or not USR PLUS party pulls out of the government coalition. With todays adjustment, most funds will go to the health ministry, public finances, development and investments. Budget cuts will affect the labour ministry, the Senate and the Court of Accounts.



    DIPLOMACY Bucharest is hosting as of today the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats, which brings together the heads of Romanias diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. The meeting is chaired by the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu. The main topic of this years meeting is the concept of resilience, which gains importance in the context of the pandemic-related crisis. The Romanian diplomats will also discuss ways to concentrate their efforts on emerging developments like climate change, digital transition, the growing role of new technologies and cyber security. The Romanian diplomacy chief Bogdan Aurescu has talks scheduled today with his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Popescu, who is also taking part in the meeting. The bilateral talks focus on strengthening Romanias support for the reforms implemented by the new government in Chişinău and for Moldovas EU accession efforts.



    VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will be on an official visit to Switzerland on Thursday, at the invitation of his counterpart Guy Parmelin. According to the presidency, the visit takes place in the context of this years anniversary of 110 years of diplomatic relations between the two states. The talks will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation, including economic cooperation, with an emphasis on investments. Switzerland is the 10th-largest foreign investor in Romania.



    COVID-19 The number of new Covid-19 infections remains high in Romania, with 1,035 new cases reported on Monday out of around 18,000 tests. The frequency of cases for the past 14 days has reached or gone over 1 per thousand in Bucharest and 4 other counties. Over the past 24 hours, 25 patients died. The number of hospitalised patients is over 3,300, 405 of them in intensive care. Of the patients in hospitals, 107 are under 18, and 5 of them are in ICU. Over 8,000 people have received a vaccine in the last 24 hours, but the total number of fully immunised people is nearly 5.2 million, still less than one-third of the total eligible population.



    US OPEN The Romanians Monica Niculescu/Gabriela Ruse qualified in the quarter-finals of the doubles competition at US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating Leylah Fernandez (Canada)/Erin Routliff (New Zealand). The Romanians are next to take on Alexa Guarachi (Chile)/ Desirae Krawczyk (USA), who beat Raluca Olaru (Romania)/Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine). In the mens doubles, Horia Tecău (Romania) / Kevin Krawietz (Germany), seed no. 6, are playing today in the quarter-finals against the Americans Steve Johnson/Sam Querrey. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • July 18, 2021

    July 18, 2021

    COVID-19 The number of coronavirus infections in Romania remains low, with 49 new cases reported on Saturday out of over 25,000 tests conducted in 24 hours. Two new COVID-related deaths were also reported, and 32 patients are in intensive care. In related news, the European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides, who was recently on a visit to Romania, urged the authorities to step up the vaccine rollout, to protect against the new coronavirus variants. Since 27 December 2020, when the vaccination campaign began in Romania, over 9,200,000 vaccine doses have been given to more than 4,800,000 people. Around 4.7 million people are fully vaccinated at present.




    AID In the regions severely affected by flooding in Alba County, central Romania, efforts continue to help the over 200 people left without homes. The Romanian PM Florin Cîţu announced that after an assessment of the damages, the government will provide immediately any form of aid for the families affected. Meanwhile, private persons, volunteers and Red Cross representatives are involved in distributing water, food and other supplies. Record amounts of precipitations have been reported in the region over the past few days, with 223 litres of rainwater per square metre within 5 hours causing unprecedented flooding, the authorities say.




    FLOODS The death toll of the devastating flooding in Germany has reached 156 today, bringing the total number of deaths in Western Europe up to at least 183, AFP reports. In Germany, people have been urged to stay away from basements and underground garages and passage ways, and authorities warned that flooded roads are a danger to citizens. Chancellor Angela Merkel described the situation as a ‘national tragedy and promised state aid for reconstruction and repair works. These efforts are expected to cost several billion euros. In Austria, fire fighters are in standby in the regions of Salzburg and Tirol, while the town of Hallein is under water. ‘Unfortunately, the heavy rainfalls and storms have caused severe damage in several parts of Austria,’ PM Sebastian Kurz has tweeted.




    PESTICIDE Several batches of ice-cream have been recalled from the Romanian market. The products contained small amounts of a carcinogen. The European Commission decided that products containing the additive locust bean gum (E410) contaminated with ethylene oxide must be withdrawn from the EU market even if the pesticide is not detected. After 3 emergency meetings held on the 29 and 30 June and on 13 July, the Commission also decided that the products already purchased by consumers should be recalled.




    VISIT The president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu will be on an official visit to Gergia on 19-20 July, MOLDPRES reports. The Moldovan president will attend an international conference in Batumi, entitled ‘Three states – one choice: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine on the move. The event aims to improve cooperation between the 3 EU associated partners. In Batumi, Maia Sandu will have meetings with her Georgian counterpart Salome Zourabichvili, with the Ukrainian PM Volodimir Zelenski, and with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.




    FILM The French director Julia Doucournau last night won the Palme d’Or for her film Titane, at the Cannes Film Festival, thus becoming the second woman awarded in this category in the festivals 7-decade long history. According to Radio Romanias correspondent in Paris, the award for best director went to Leos Carax, for Annette. Caleb Landry Jones and Renate Reinsve won the awards for best actor and actress. Romanian films were also appreciated in Cannes, with Carina Gabriela Daşoveanu winning 3rd place in the Cinefondation category and Teodora Ana Mihai taking the Courage Prize in the Un certain regard category. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • July 6, 2021

    July 6, 2021

    Covid RO ▪ 51 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been registered in the last 24 hours, out of over 27,800 tests, the Strategic Communication Group reported. Also, 4 people lost their lives due to COVID-19 during the same period. Most newly confirmed cases were registered in Cluj – 6 and Bucharest – 4, while no new cases were registered in 21 counties. The entire territory of Romania is in the green scenario, the highest incidence per thousand inhabitants being reported in the counties of Prahova – 0.11, Ilfov and Dolj – 0.07. 392 infected people are still in hospital, of whom 61 in intensive care. At the same time, 19,677 people are in home quarantine and 37 in institutionalized quarantine, while 1,853 are in home isolation and 705, in institutionalized isolation. Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign in Romania, on December 27, 2020, almost 4.6 million people have been fully vaccinated.



    Coronavirus world ▪ Concern is growing in several European countries over the spread of the new Indian ‘Delta’ variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus. Consequently appeals for immunization have intensified, immunization being mandatory for certain categories of employees. According to Radio Romania’s correspondents, in Spain the contamination incidence exceeded 640 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants in the 20-29 age group, but no serious cases were reported. In France, the Health Minister warned of a new rise in the number of newly detected cases. As everywhere in Europe, France is debating the idea of ​​imposing compulsory vaccination on medical and healthcare staff from hospitals and senior citizen centers, where the vaccination level is below expectations. Worldwide, nearly 185 million cases of coronavirus infection have been reported and more than 4 million people have died, according to wordlmeters.info. Most contamination cases and deaths have been recorded in the United States, India and Brazil.



    Justice ▪ Romanian politicians in power and opposition have reacted to the Venice Commission’s opinion according to which it is appropriate to disband the Special Section to investigate crimes committed by magistrates (SIIJ). The opinion of the Venice Commission is not surprising, as the setting up of a section to investigate the criminal offenses committed by magistrates had been criticized from the very beginning by all of the European institutions. Dealing with corruption cases should be the responsibility of the National Anticorruption Directorate, and the amendments brought to the law should be eliminated — the USR PLUS Alliance (in the ruling coalition) says. They hope that the draft law initiated by the Justice Minister, Stelian Ion, will be adopted by Parliament as soon as possible. The opinion of the Venice Commission confirms that the Liberals move regarding the elimination of super-immunity for magistrates was right, the president of the Senate’s legal commission, the Liberal Iulia Scântei, also said. The opposition Social Democratic Party PSD continues to be opposed to any change in the justice laws, in the absence of a large consensus among magistrates over the protection of judges against pressure and abuse of any kind. The Social Democrats want the magistrates’ position to be respected.



    Football ▪ The Romanian football champions, CFR Cluj, is meeting, this evening, on home ground, the Bosnian team Borac Banja Luka, in the first leg of the Champions League first preliminary round. Also today, Italy and Spain play the first semifinal of the European Football Championship, which will be followed, on Wednesday, by the match pitting England against Denmark. Both semi-finals and the final will be played in London. Bucharest hosted four games from the final tournament, three in the groups stage and one in the Round of 16. After a mediocre run in the preliminaries, Romania failed to qualify for the EURO. In exchange, Romanias Under-23 team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Romania is playing in Group B and will face Honduras on July 22, South Korea on July 25 and New Zealand on July 28. The Romanian footballers have qualified for the Olympics after having reached the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2019, hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th also in Tokyo. Before 1964, Romania had participated only in the European Championships of Paris in 1924 and of Helsinki in 1952.



    Visit ▪ The Bulgarian Chief of the Defense, Admiral Emil Eftimov, is paying an official visit to Romania as of Tuesday until Thursday, at the invitation of his Romanian counterpart, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu. According to the Romania Defense Ministry, the talks of military officials will focus on increasing cooperation through joint participation in a series of regional initiatives and exercises in bilateral and multinational formats, as well as on strengthening, in the Black Sea region, the measures within the NATO Enhanced Presence. The program includes meetings at the headquarters of the South-East Multinational Brigade in Craiova (southwest), the South-East Multinational Division in Bucharest, the 8th Tactical Operative Missiles and 282nd Armored Brigades in Focsani (east) and the 74th PATRIOT Regiment in Mihai Bravu. The visit also includes meetings of Admiral Emil Eftimov with the Bulgarian military in the allied structures deployed in Romania. (LS)

  • June 23, 2021 UPDATE

    June 23, 2021 UPDATE

    VISIT – Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu will go on a regional tour to South Caucasus together with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg and the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. The tour, that includes visits to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia and takes place between June 24 and 26, will highlight the importance that the European Union attaches to its bilateral relations with these countries, to the South Caucasus region, and to the EU’s Eastern Partnership framework. The visit signals the EU’s readiness to support broader cooperation both with and between the South Caucasus countries, including through the opportunities available under the Eastern Partnership. Also, the visit will underscore the EU’s determination to promote and actively support sustainable and comprehensive conflict settlement efforts. The three ministers will have high-level meetings in Baku, Erevan and Tbilisi and consultations with their counterparts in the countries visited. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has said the visit is very important to Romania, for which South Caucasus has a high geostrategic importance and that solving the prolonged conflicts in the Black Sea region is a strategic goal.



    NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION – The Social Democratic Party (PSD) in opposition, on Wednesday filed and read in Parliament a no-confidence motion against the centre-right coalition government led by the Liberal Florin Cîţu, which will be voted on next week. PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, says the motion, the first of its kind in the current Parliament, has every chance to pass. His party accuses the Cîţu government, which came to power six months ago, of inefficiency and leading the countrys economy to disaster and says the peoples living standards have dropped. It also says the government has failed with respect to the vaccine roll-out and Romanias recovery and resilience plan. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu says he is confident the motion will not pass, while the Liberals leader Ludovic Orban says Liberal MPs will attend the debate of the motion but will abstain from voting, to prove what he calls “the lack of majority and the uselessness of this petty political move of the Social Democrats.”



    OMBUDSMAN – The Venice Commission sent a letter to the speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament requesting additional information about Renate Webers dismissal as Ombudsman. The Parliament in Bucharest on Wednesday begun procedures to appoint a new Ombudsman. The only candidate for the post, Fabian Gyula from the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and backed by the ruling coalition, was interviewed by the legal committees of the two chambers and received their positive opinion. The official appointment will most likely be made by Parliament next Monday. We recall that last week, in a joint session the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament dismissed Renate Weber from the position of Ombudsman. She was accused of breaking the law to serve the interests of the Social Democratic Party, now in opposition, which appointed her. In response, the Social Democrats accused the government of wanting an Ombudsman who doesnt challenge its decisions and contested Renate Webers dismissal in the Constitutional Court, which will discuss the case on 29th June. The Social Democrats believe the parliamentary majority should wait for the Courts decision before voting in a new Ombudsman, given the letter received from the Venice Commission.



    EU – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is attending a meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. According to a statement from the presidents office, the agenda of the talks will again feature issues such as European coordination in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Unions economic recovery process, the management of migration and the EUs relations with Russia. Iohannis will also attend the Euro Summit in extended format which will tackle the economic challenges of the euro zone during the pandemic and the progress made with respect to the banking and capital market union. EU leaders will also have talks with UN secretary general António Guterres, whose mandate has been extended for a further five years.



    CORONAVIRUS — The Bucharest authorities announced on Wednesday 66 new infections with the novel coronavirus in 24 hours, out of over 32,000 tests. 16 deaths were recorded in last 24 hours and a further 150 dating from earlier this year and which are only now being recorded by public health directorates around the country at the request of the health ministry. 141 patients are in intensive care. The Senate passed two decisions approving the regulations proposed by the European Parliament with respect to the framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of the digital green certificates. These documents will become valid in the European Union from 1st July. The regulations will cease to apply when the pandemic is over and can be used again in the event of another pandemic.



    WEATHER – On Thursday and Friday, the west of Romania is under a red code alert for heat and thermal discomfort, with temperatures forecast to hit 39 to 41 degrees Celsius and the temperature-to-humidity ratio to pass the critical level as the dew point is expected to hit 80. Two people died following heavy rains in recent days. The eastern half of the country is at risk of more flooding and the authorities are advising the population not to travel to flood-risk areas and to places where a hydrological alert is in place and to avoid activities on river banks or near waterways. (EE)



  • June 17, 2021

    June 17, 2021

    PRESIDENCY The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis carries on his official visit to Estonia. Today he has meetings scheduled with PM Kaja Kallas and with the Estonian parliament speaker Jüri Ratas. The Romanian president will also lay flowers at the Independence War Memorial and will visit the Tallin City Hall, the e-Estonia Centre and the Unicorn Squad robotics school. On Wednesday Klaus Iohannis had talks with his counterpart Kersti Kaljulaid. After the talks, Iohannis announced having invited Estonia to take part in the Euro-Atlantic Centre for Resilience in Bucharest. Romania and Estonia share views and interests at EU level, which facilitates the close cooperation between our countries in relation to the current agenda and future priorities of the EU, Iohannis said. He also added that the talks tackled means to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the digital sector, in cyber security and AI, given Estonia’s experience in the field and the fact that Romania is hosting the EU’s new cyber centre.



    COVID-19 Romanian authorities announced on Wednesday 104 new SARS-CoV-2 cases for the past 24 hours, out of over 30,000 tests. Close to 1,000 people are hospitalised, with 192 patients currently in intensive care. Another 71 COVID-related deaths have also been reported, but only 18 of them occurred in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the vaccine roll-out continues, although the pace is considerably slower than in previous months. As many as 4.6 million Romanians have received the COVID-19 vaccine, and over 4.2 million of them have received both doses. A new batch of 48,000 doses of Johnson&Johnson vaccine reaches the country today.



    COLECTIV The Bucharest Court of Appeals set the next hearing in the Colectiv trial on September 22. Earlier this week, the case was split, but judges reconsidered the decision and re-joined the proceedings. This autumn, 3 judges will decide whether to change the charges against some of the defendants, including the former Bucharest sector 4 mayor, from abuse of office to criminal negligence. The December 2019 ruling of the court of first instance in this case has been appealed. The original sentences ranged between 8 and 12 years behind bars and damages of over 50 million euros for the victims of the fire in the Colectiv nightclub. The fire of 30 October 2015, which killed 64 people and injured another 200, led to street protests, the resignation of the PM and of the Sector 4 mayor.



    TALKS The US president Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had talks in Geneva on Wednesday, in a 4-hour summit. The US-Russia relation must be stable and predictable, president Biden said in a separate press conference after the summit. In turn, the Russian president agreed with Biden to begin talks on strategic stability. The 2 presidents jointly committed to the principle that a nuclear war cannot have winners and must never be started. The same principle had been agreed by the USSR and US leaders in a 1985 meeting in Geneva.



    EU The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is on a diplomatic tour which covers today Denmark and Greece, for talks on these countries plans for spending the EU funds for post-COVID-19 recovery. On Wednesday the Commission approved the first national reform and investment plans, submitted by Portugal and Spain. On Friday the EU official will travel to Luxembourg.



    ECONOMY Bucharest approved a memorandum allowing the sale of Romanias stake in the Krivoi Rog steel works in Ukraine, started in the ‘80s by several Eastern European socialist countries. Romanias contribution at the time was around 1 billion US dollars, but the project was halted after the collapse of the communist system and the plant is now in ruins. The only participants left in the project are Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia, and Romania pays around 1 million euros per year for conservation and security.



    FOOTBALL Bucharest is hosting tonight another EURO 2020 football match, pitting Ukraine against North Macedonia in Group C. Also today, in Group B, Denmark takes on Belgium, and in Group C the Netherlands plays against Austria. Italy is the first team to qualify in the eight-finals, after defeating Switzerland 3-0, in Rome, in Group A. In the other match of the group, Wales beat Turkey 2-0 in Baku. Also on Wednesday, Finland was defeated by Russia 0-1, in St Petersburg, in Group E. It is for the first time ever that Bucharest hosts European championship final tournament matches, and also for the first time that 2 Romanian referee teams are taking part. However, the national team performed poorly in the qualifiers and failed to take part in this years European competition. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • June 16, 2021 UPDATE

    June 16, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Romanian authorities announced on Wednesday 104 new SARS-CoV-2 cases for the past 24 hours, out of over 30,000 tests. Close to 1,000 people are hospitalised, with 192 patients currently in intensive care. Another 71 COVID-related deaths have also been reported, but only 18 of them occurred in the past 24 hours. Given the declining trend in the pandemic, the authorities are considering a return to normal activity in a growing number of hospitals. Meanwhile, the vaccine roll-out continues, although the pace is considerably slower than in previous months. Over the past 24 hours around 32,000 doses have been given, accounting for around one-third of the figures in peak periods. As many as 4.6 million Romanians have received the COVID-19 vaccine, and over 4.2 million of them have received both doses.



    VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis
    Wednesday began a 2-day official visit to Estonia. He had a meeting in Tallin
    with his counterpart Kersti Kaljulaid, and will also have talks with PM Kaja
    Kallas and with the Estonian Parliament speaker Jüri Ratas. After the talks,
    the Romanian official announced having invited Estonia to take part in the
    Euro-Atlantic Centre for Resilience in Bucharest. Romania and Estonia share
    views and interests at EU level, which facilitates the close cooperation
    between our countries in relation to the current agenda and future priorities
    of the EU, Iohannis said. He also added that the talks tackled means to
    strengthen bilateral cooperation in the digital sector, in cyber security and
    AI, given Estonia’s experience in the field and the fact that Romania is
    hosting the EU’s new cyber centre. Kersti
    Kaljulaid said Estonia is very open to working with Romania in the digital
    sector.



    OMBUDSMAN Romanian MPs have endorsed the dismissal of Renate Weber as Ombudsman. She was appointed to office 2 years ago, when the Social Democrats were in power. The current right-of-centre parliamentary majority Tuesday rejected the institutions annual reports for the past 3 years. Renate Weber has been criticised for exceeding her powers, which resulted in breaches of the Constitution and of the legislation regulating the activity of the institution. The Social Democratic Party in opposition say they are considering taking the matter to the Constitutional Court, because in their view the Ombudsman has not broken the Constitution.



    TALKS The US president Joe Biden and his Russian
    counterpart Vladimir Putin had talks in Geneva on Wednesday, at a time of tense
    relations between the two countries. The meeting took under 4 hours, less than
    expected. The US-Russia
    relation must be stable and predictable, president Biden said in a separate
    press conference after the summit. He added he made it clear that his agenda
    was not against Russia, but that the US will continue to raise human rights issues.
    According to Biden, the last thing Putin wants now is a cold war. In turn, the
    Russian president described the meeting as constructive, with no hostility, and proved the 2 leaders’ desire
    to understand each other. Putin also said Russia and the US share
    a responsibility for nuclear stability and willhold
    talks on possible changes to their recently extended New START arms limitation
    treaty. News
    agencies also report that diplomats recalled earlier this year will return to
    post.



    MILITARY The Parliament of Romania approved the participation of Romanian troops and military equipment in the Takuba Task Force in Sahel, led by France. Romania will contribute 50 troops beginning the last quarter of this year, and the funds required for the participation will be supplied by the National Defence Ministry. In March 2020, a group of 13 countries announced the set-up of the Takuba Task Force designed to fight terrorist groups in the Liptako region in Africa.



    FOOTBALL According to the draw in Switzerland for the second preliminary round of the new football competition Europa Conference League, Romanias vice-champions FCSB will play against Shahtior Karaganda (Kazakhstan), while Romanian Cup winner Universitatea Craiova will take on the winner of the match pitting Lach (Albania) against FK Podgorica (Montenegro), in the first preliminary round. Another Romanian team, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe, will play against the winner of the match between Spartak Trnava (Slovakia) and Mosta (Malta). Romanian champions CFR Cluj, in case they lose to Borac Banja Luka in the ChampionsLeague first preliminary round, will have to play in the second preliminary round of the Europa Conference League against the loser in the match pitting Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania) against Linfield Belfast (Northern Ireland). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • May 13, 2021

    May 13, 2021

    ALERT As of today, the state of alert in Romania is extended by another month. Some restrictions have been lifted, however, such as the one regarding participation in religious processions or pilgrimages. Other measures still remain in place. Pilot cultural and sports events will also be organised, with attendance allowed for people who have got the vaccine, who have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months, or who test negative for the disease. Private or public celebrations or parties, whether indoors or outdoors, are still banned.



    COVID-19 President Klaus Iohannis has a working meeting scheduled today with PM Florin Cîţu, several other Cabinet members, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, and the head of the National Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control Centre with the Public Health Institute, Adriana Pistol. Also attending will be deputy PM Dan Barna, the interior minister Lucian Bode, the defence minister Nicolae Ciucă, and the health minister Ioana Mihăilă. The meeting will focus on the lifting of COVID-19 containment measures. Some 130,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses are scheduled to reach Bucharest today. So far, Romania has received over 2.2 million vaccine doses from the British-Swedish company. More than 3.7 million people have received Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs in Romania, and two-thirds of them have also got the booster dose. Meanwhile, the entire country is in the so-called green scenario. According to the Strategic Communication Group, the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in Bucharest is 1.42 per thousand. On Thursday 953 new COVID-19 cases and 75 related deaths were reported, as well as 829 patients in intensive care.



    CONFERENCE The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias co-chair today an informal conference call of EU foreign ministers. Also attending the online meeting are the foreign ministers of Albania, Olta Xhacka and of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, as well as EU officials. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, Bogdan Aurescu will emphasise that ‘the EU enlargement process must remain a major priority for the Union, given the transforming power of this European policy.’ Todays meeting takes place after a recent meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, which included a strategic discussion on the Western Balkans, at the request of Romania and other member states.



    VISIT The Romanian Senate Speaker Anca Dragu is on a 3-day official visit to Spain, as of today, at the invitation of her counterpart Maria Pilar Llop Cuenca. The visit is aimed at strengthening political dialogue and the traditional friendship between the 2 countries. On the same occasion, in the Patio de los Naranjos Hall of the Spanish Senate, an Exhibition of Romanian and Spanish Diplomatic Archives will be opened. The exhibition is devoted to the 140 years of diplomatic relations between the 2 countries. The Romanian delegation will also have online meetings with members of the Romanian community in Spain, and will visit the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre and the EU Satellite Centre.



    CORRUPTION The former mayor of Bucharests Sector 5, Marian Vanghelie, was sentenced on Thursday to 11 years and 8 months in prison, in a corruption case. The ruling is not final. He was also ordered to pay damages of over 15 million euro to the Bucharest Sector 5 City Hall. Marian Vanghelie was indicted in 2015 for 9 counts of bribe-taking and abuse of office and 7 counts of money laundering. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in 2006 – 2014, Marian Vanghelie, then a mayor, asked for and received undue benefits in the amount of nearly 30 million euro (accounting for a fee of 20% of the contracts). A former member of the Social Democratic Party (in opposition), Marian Vanghelie was a mayor between 2000 and 2016, and in the 2020 local elections he ran unsuccessfully for a new term in office.



    ISRAEL Hamas fired rockets on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem early on Thursday, with Israel promising to carry on strikes against the Islamist group in Gaza, although the US president Joe Biden had said the clashes, the most violent in recent years, will be over soon, Reuters reports. Over 1,000 rockets fired from Gaza strip on Monday hit Israel, and scores of people were killed and hundreds wounded so far, mostly Palestinians. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for the de-escalation of the conflict.



    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 3 in the world, announced having suffered a torn calf muscle which forced her out of the Italian Open, in Wednesdays match against Germanys Angelique Kerber. She says she will have an MRI investigation to determine how serious the injury is. The defending champion in Foro Italico, the Romanian player withdrew in the second set of the match against Kerber, after she had won the first set. Given the preliminary diagnosis, she risks missing the Roland Garros tournament due to start on May 30. Halep won the Paris tournament in 2018. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • February 16, 2021

    February 16, 2021

    COVID-19 2,676 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported
    in Romania in the last 24 hours, out of nearly 33,000 tests conducted
    nation-wide, according to the Strategic Communication Group. So far Romania has
    had around 766,000 confirmed coronavirus infections. Nearly 90% of the patients
    have recovered. The authorities also announced another 81 COVID-19 related
    deaths, taking the death toll to over 19,500. Another 943 patients are in
    intensive care.

    ECONOMY PM Florin Cîţu says a “V-shaped recovery of the Romanian economy is certain, after data made public by the National Statistics Institute for the last quarter of 2020 point to a 5.3% growth rate. He mentioned that in 2020, Romanias economy, just like the global economy, was hit by the biggest crisis of the last century. Florin Cîţu also added that last year Romania performed 5% better than originally estimated, and 2.5% in average better than all forecasts made by international institutions, the EC, financial rating agencies and other financial institutions.



    PROTESTS Representatives of the hospitality industry organise in Bucharest today new protests against the pandemic containment measures introduced by the authorities. Employers in the sector demand the payment of the promised compensations for last year, when their operations declined by 70%. In Mondays meeting with hospitality representatives, the economy minister Claudiu Năsui promised that the government earmarked over 510 million euros for financial support in the draft budget. On Monday, members of Sanitas Union Federation picketed the Finance Ministry headquarters to warn that a smaller budget for public healthcare in a year with a coronavirus pandemic is not only an injustice to the workers in the system, but also deeply immoral to Romanias citizens.



    MOTION The Chamber of Deputies is to vote on Wednesday on the first simple motion of this legislative term, tabled by the Social Democrats in opposition against the health minister Vlad Voiculescu. The Deputies discussed the motion on Monday. The Social Democrats claim that minister Vlad Voiculescu was not sufficiently involved in the immunisation and testing programmes, and that he issued messages conflicting with the coordinators of the national vaccination campaign, discouraging the healthcare workers involved in the process. Vlad Voiculescu replied that during his 2 months in office, he earmarked close to 19 million euros for investments in hospitals.



    DIPLOMACY Slovakias foreign minister, Ivan Korcok, is on an official visit to Bucharest today, when he has meetings scheduled with his counterpart Bogdan Aurescu and PM Florin Cîţu. According to the Foreign Ministry, the visit is a new opportunity to reconfirm the excellent bilateral relation and the continuity of the dialogue and historical ties between the 2 countries. The officials will also discuss the coordination of topics of mutual interest at EU level, such as fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing the multi-annual framework and the European Recovery Plan, the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Eastern Partnership and the EU enlargement process.



    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 2 in the world, Tuesday lost in Melbourne to the American Serena Williams (no 11 WTA), 6-3, 6-3, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Halep and Williams have so far had 11 matches in professional competitions, with Williams winning 9 of them. The latest match was the Wimbledon final of 2019, when the Romanian won 6-2, 6-2. In 2019, they also played against each other in the eighth-finals in Melbourne, when Williams won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. (tr. A.M. Popescu)