Radio România Internațional

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  • February 12, 2021 UPDATE

    February 12, 2021 UPDATE

    Budget bill — Romania’s 2021 budget bill has been put up for public debate on the Finance Ministry’s website. It is based on a deficit of around 7% of the GDP and an economic growth rate of 4.3%. Under the draft budget, child allowances remain unchanged, pensions increase only from January 1, 2022, holiday vouchers are no longer granted this year, and students will only benefit from a 50% discount on rail transport. Also, investment is estimated at 5.5% of the GDP, which is more than last year. The leftist opposition as well as employers’ associations and trade union federations criticize the austerity measures proposed by the Government.



    State of alert — The state of alert in Romania has been extended by 30 days, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the measures in place are compulsory mask wearing, travel restrictions during the night, special conditions for cultural and sports events and for activities in tourism and the hospitality industry. For both tourism and hospitality industry there are exceptions or special implementation conditions. The way of calculating the number of infections, based on which restrictions are set for regions and localities, will be changed.



    Visit — The Romanian PM, Florin Cîţu, on Friday met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leye. The two senior officials addressed issues such as managing the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recovery process and the goals of combating climate change and the digital transition. The Romanian PM presented the stage of the vaccination campaign at national level, which places Romania on one of the first places among the EU member states. In his turn, the President of the European Commission thanked for Romania’s decision to donate up to 200 thousand vaccine doses to the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet, with a majority Romanian-speaking population). On the other hand, the PM Cîţu mentioned the priority given by Romania to fulfilling the recommendations of the European Commission in order to finalize the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. He also reiterated Romanias priority objective of joining the Schengen area. We remind you that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was established upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, on January 1, 2007. As regards Romanias accession to the Schengen area, it was initially scheduled for March 2011, but was repeatedly postponed due to the opposition of some member countries that invoked the lack of reforms in the judiciary. The two topics were approached, on Friday, during the meeting of the Romanian PM Florin Cîţu with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The European official expressed his support for Romanias efforts in the two cases.



    Vaccination – In Romania continues the anti-Covid-19 vaccination campaign. More than one million vaccine doses have been administered so far. Most people have been vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are also being administered to the population. More than 2,550 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported nationwide on Friday. Most of them were registered in Bucharest. The total number of cases exceeded 757,000, with the death toll exceeding 19,270. About 1,000 people are in ICUs. On the other hand, Romania has reintroduced quarantine measures for people arriving from several countries, including Hungary. The list includes a total of 66 states, which the Romanian authorities consider to have a high risk from an epidemiological point of view. Exempted from the two-week quarantine measures are those people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the last three months or have already received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.



    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, world’s no. 2, qualified, on Friday to the eighth finals of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Halep defeated the Russian player Veronika Kudermetova 32nd seeded in the third round, 6-1, 6-3. Also on Friday, another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, was defeated by the Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-2 , 6-4, in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Cîrstea (68 WTA) conceded defeat after 1 hour and 25 minutes to the Czech player, seeded 19th and ranking 20th in the WTA classification.



    MAE — The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu hailed the adoption on Friday of the Declaration of the member states of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies on the situation in Myanmar. Romania holds the presidency of the Community of Democracies for the period September 2019 – September 2021. According to a MAE communiqué, the declaration, supported by Romania and other states including the US, Canada, Great Britain, Finland, Norway, expresses deep concern about the situation in Myanmar where, as of February 1, the democratically elected government has been toppled by the military forces. The document calls for military leaders to observe democratic norms and the rule of law, asking for the establishment of a legitimately elected Parliament, as well as for the release of unjustly detained persons and the observance of the freedom of expression. (tr. L. Simion)

  • February 11, 2021

    February 11, 2021

    Budget – Romanias state budget bill for 2021 is to be made public today. The Prime Minister Florin Cîțu says the government is counting on an economic growth rate of 4.3% and estimates a budget deficit of about 7% of the GDP. Increasing investments, reducing spending and eliminating public money waste, freezing pension growth this year, giving up granting holiday vouchers, reducing funds for free transport and eliminating some benefits – are among the measures that are needed in a year in which Romania should focus on economic recovery, after the crisis brought about by the pandemic, the Prime Minister Cîţu underlined. The Social Democratic Party – PSD, in opposition, announced that it would submit amendments in Parliament for all the important budget chapters. The Social Democrats, who consider the Governments draft budget to be an austerity one, accuse the government of lacking vision and solutions to solve the existing problems. Meanwhile, the number of trade union protests is growing in Romania. The representatives of the Cartel Alfa trade union are returning today to protest in front of some ministries and of the Government. Trade unionists from the Sanitas Federation have also announced protests in Bucharest. Protests have also been announced in front of the prefect’s offices across the country, showing dissatisfaction with many of the measures announced by the Government.



    Visit — The Romanian Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu, pays a two-day visit to Brussels as of today, where he is going to meet with some of the most important European leaders, including the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The talks will focus on the way in which Romania wants to use the European money that will be allotted through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, adopted on Wednesday by the European Parliament. At the same time, Prime Minister Cîțu will present to the European leaders the way in which the Romanian Government intends to reduce unjustified expenses and to re-launch the economy. Today, Florin Cîţu is meeting with the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and with the Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager. The Romanian PM will also have meetings with the leaders of the main political groups in the European Parliament, and will equally meet with the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, and with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, both Romanians.



    Brussels — The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help member states fight the economic and social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the most important element of the incentives package of the Next Generation EU European Recovery Instrument. 672.5 billion Euros will be made available in the form of grants and loans, of which 30.44 billion will be allocated to Romania. The Romanian Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, has stated that the Romanian authorities are in permanent dialogue with the European Commission in order to complete the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, on the basis of which the funds will be approved.



    Vaccines — The National Committee for Emergency Situations proposed the extension of the state of alert in Romania by another 30 days, starting on February 12, maintaining the current restrictions. 2,644 new cases of infection were reported on Thursday across Romania. The total number of cases exceeded 755,000, with the death toll exceeding 19,200. Almost 1,000 patients are in ICUs. In parallel, the national vaccination campaign continues. Since the start of the campaign, on December 27, more than 671,000 people have been vaccinated, mostly with Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines. Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are also available for administration.



    Weather — Romanian meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert for bad weather, with strong winds, snowstorms and glaze being expected across Romania valid until Monday morning. Freezing temperatures are expected in the north, northeast and center of Romania and snowfalls will be reported, at first in the west, center, north of the country and in the mountains, to eventually extend to the entire country. Locally, frost will be reported. The wind will intensify throughout the country, amplifying the sensation of cold, with speeds of 55 up to 65 km/h. Maximum temperatures today range between 1 and 16 degrees Celsius. In Bucharest, the noon temperature stood at 13 degrees C.



    colectiv– The documentary film colectiv, directed by Alexander Nanau, has been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film categories of the Academy Awards. It is for the first time when a Romanian production enters the final stage of nominations for two categories. The film follows the investigation of several journalists into the corruption of the Romanian healthcare system. The film ‘colectiv’ was designated best documentary film at the European Film Academy Awards and was considered the best documentary at the London Film Critics Circle Awards. (tr. L. Simion)

  • December 29, 2020 UPDATE

    December 29, 2020 UPDATE

    Visit — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday paid an official visit to the Republic of Moldova at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, pro-western Maia Sandu. Romania was by Moldova’s side on the very first day of its independence and it is currently its most important trade partner, said Maia Sandu. She went on to say that the countries have a common language as well as a common history and culture. In turn, President Klaus Iohannis said that Romania would remain a sincere friend of Moldova, which needs reforms for sustainable development. He announced a new aid package to be granted by Bucharest. The two officials adopted a Joint Declaration aimed at consolidating the bilateral strategic partnership. The document reconfirms the special bilateral relation on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Strategic Partnership for Moldova’s European Integration as well as Moldova’s commitment to follow its European path and to implement the democratic reforms necessary to reach that goal. The visit paid by Klaus Iohannis was the first high level visit for Maia Sandu, after she took over the presidential seat following the November 15 election, when she defeated the former pro-Russian Socialist president Igor Dodon. Holding dual citizenship, Moldovan and Romanian, an economist with an MA in public administration at Harvard, a former advisor to the executive director of the World Bank, a former minister and prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu became, at 48, the first woman president of Moldova, three decades after the country proclaimed its independence from Moscow.



    Covid-19 Romania — Tuesday saw the arrival to Romania of a second tranche of more than 140 thousand doses of Covid-19 vaccine doses necessary for the immunization, in a first phase, of the medical staff. The first tranche of 10,000 doses was delivered on Saturday, and vaccination began the next day. Over 4,600 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Romania on Tuesday. Bucharest reports the largest number of infections in the country. In terms of incidence, Ilfov county, near the capital, is the only county with over 5 cases per thousand inhabitants accumulated in the last 14 days, and Bucharest reached a contamination rate of less than 4 cases per thousand. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs has decreased to about 1,162. 135 people have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. More than 85% of the COVID-19 patients have recovered since the start of the pandemic.



    Chamber of deputies — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies met on Tuesday in a plenary session, the 2nd in the new legislature that started on December 21. The deputies ran several tests regarding remote voting on a new type of tablets. Last week saw the first session in which the deputies were sworn in, the permanent committees were set up and the speaker of the chamber and the members of the permanent bureau were elected. The Liberal leader, the former PM Ludovic Orban, was elected speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.



    Budget deficit – Romania reported a budget deficit of 8% of the GDP in the first 11 months of 2020, accounting for 84 billion lei (about 17 billion Euros), as compared to 3.5% of the GDP in the same period of 2019, according to data made public by the Finance Ministry. According to the Finance Ministry, the increase was triggered by the unfavorable evolution of the budget revenues, as well as the postponement of the payment of some fiscal obligations by companies during the health crisis. The deficit difference was also caused by the exceptional payments generated by the pandemic.



    Protests — One of the biggest trade union confederations in Romania, Cartel Alfa, protested on Tuesday in Bucharest against the level proposed by the government for the increase in the minimum wage in 2021. The trade unionists say that the increase of 70 lei, that is 15 Euros, added to the minimum wage, as announced by the government, does not even cover for the additional expenses needed for the purchase of masks and other individual protection stuff. Cartel Alfa also adds that prices have gone up and will continue to increase and that, at present, the minimum wage in Romania does not even cover for half of the expenses for a decent living. The government representatives met with the trade unionists and suggested a 6-month moratorium when the two sides are to establish together a new calculation mechanism. The government is to make a decision on the level of the minimum wages in Wednesday’s session. (tr. L. Simion)

  • November 8, 2020 UPDATE

    November 8, 2020 UPDATE

    Coronavirus Ro –New measures to prevent and limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus will be enforced in Romania as of Monday for a period of 30 days. Face masks thus become compulsory in all localities irrespective of the number of contaminations. Shops will close at 9 p.m. and enclosed marketplaces will be shut down. Travel during the night will be banned between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. except for those people who go to work, have medical emergencies, or have to take care of children and elderly persons and provide a self declaration in this sense. All public institutions and private and state-owned companies will have to introduce the teleworking and work-from-home systems where possible. All schools will go online, but nurseries and after-school facilities remain open. Parties or meetings for various holidays and anniversaries will be banned. Restrictions occur in the context in which Romania has reported, as of February, more than 300 thousand cases of contamination with the new coronavirus, and the number of cases has increased alarmingly in the past weeks. The total death toll is nearing 7,900 and more than 1 thousand Covid-19 patients are in ICUs. On Sunday evening, hundreds of people protested in front of the government building in Bucharest against the new restrictions.



    Coronavirus world — The number of new coronavirus cases globally exceeds 50 million, with a death toll of more than 1.2 million. Many countries worldwide are introducing new restrictions in a bid to limit the pandemic second wave. In Europe, France, the UK, Ireland, Greece and some regions of Italy are in isolation. Moreover, Italy has adopted a new aid package to support the economy worth 2.9 billion Euros. Italy has reported almost 40 thousand new cases of coronavirus contamination in 24 hours. The French authorities reported on Saturday over 40 thousand COVID-19-associated deaths since the onset of the pandemic. The UK closed its border for those coming from Denmark. Slovakia ends on Sunday the mass testing for coronavirus. In another move, in the US, the country with the biggest number of deaths, 20 of the 50 states have announced new records of contaminations, almost 130 thousand new cases in 24 hours.



    Visit — The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu will pay an official visit to the Hague on Monday, at the invitation of his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok. The visit is part of the effort to intensify bilateral relations, especially in the context of the anniversary of 140 years of diplomatic relations in 2020. According to a Foreign Ministry communiqué, the two officials will review the current bilateral relations and will discuss their consolidation in domains of mutual interest. Minister Aurescu will talk about the management of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, about the Multiannual 2021-2027 Financial Framework and the recovery plan, the future EU-UK partnership agreement, Romania’s accession to the Schengen Space as well as climate change. Also the Romanian FM will underline the importance of deepening the bilateral dialogue on security issues within NATO and the EU, as well as the effort to promote a solid transatlantic relation.



    US election – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, on Saturday congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election: “I look forward to further consolidating our solid and dynamic Strategic Partnership in all its dimensions” President Iohannis wrote in a social network post. Many world leaders, EU and NATO officials have congratulated the Democrat candidate Joe Biden for his victory against the incumbent Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, international news agencies report. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg congratulated Joe Biden and expressed hope to consolidate the relations between the US and Europe. The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, also congratulated Joe Biden insisting on the EU’s wish to rebuild a solid partnership with the US. Partial results and estimates made by the US media show Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election. The announcement of his victory was received with enthusiasm in the US where thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate. Joe Biden thanked those who voted for him and called on them to stop treating political opponents as enemies. He confessed he entered the presidential race to heal the soul of America.



    Handball — Romania’s handball team CSM Bucharest defeated Slovenia’s team RK Krim Ljubljana 25-23 on Saturday evening in Group A of the Women’s Handball Champions League. After this win, CSM Bucharest returned on top position in the group. CSM Bucharest will play the next match against Krim Ljubljana on November 14, on home ground.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis players Irina Bara 116 WTA), Laura Paar (198 WTA) and Jaqueline Cristian (169 WTA) on Sunday failed to qualify to the main table of the Linz WTA tournament. Bara, 2nd seed in the qualifiers, was defeated in 3 set by Croat Jana Fett (235 WTA). Laura Paar lost to the top seed Oceane Dodin of France (114 WTA) 6-2, 7-5. Jaqueline Cristian 8th seeded abandoned in the first set the match against Harmony Tan of France (239 WTA) at the score 4-1 for the French player. (tr. L. Simion)

  • October 27, 2020 UPDATE

    October 27, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Another 4,724 new COVID-19 cases were announced in Romania on Tuesday, and a record-high number of deaths, 104—which takes the death toll so far to over 6,500. Over 820 people are in intensive care. On Tuesday, president Klaus Iohannis held a meeting with the health minister, Nelu Tătaru and ICU experts, to assess the crisis. According to the president, the situation is worsening steadily both at European and at national level. He cautioned that sustained effort is needed in order to contain the pandemic. Iohannis added that the authorities strategic plan for the forthcoming period includes, among other things, opening new intensive care units in the country, and increasing the ICU capacity in 7 hospitals in Bucharest. He also said that accessing EU funding would help improve Romanias capacity to handle the crisis by purchasing new hospital equipment. Iohannis explained that at present Romania has over 3,000 beds in ICUs, for both Covid and non-Covid patients, and over 2,200 ventilators, plus 5 mobile ICUs, 2 modular field hospitals and an ICU module. Interior minister Marcel Vela also announced that a new centre will be set up within the Dimitrie Gerota Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, for recovered COVID-19 patients to donate plasma for severe cases.



    VISIT On the last day of his visit to France, the Romanian PM Ludovic Orban Tuesday had a meeting with the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development José Ángel Gurría, and gave an address in the OECD Council meeting. In his speech, Ludovic Orban reiterated Romanias firm commitment to becoming a member of this structure, and emphasised Bucharests determination to invest in key areas like transport infrastructure, digital connectivity, energy and environmental transition, urban development, healthcare, agriculture, education, social protection and research-innovation. Also on Tuesday the Romanian PM met separately with the speakers of the French Parliaments two chambers, and had a meeting with members of the Romanian community in France. Ludovic Orban also talked to representatives of the
    French business environment, members of France’s largest employers’ union -
    MEDEF, about investment opportunities in Romania. On Monday, following talks with the French PM Jean Castex, important agreements were signed for strengthening political, economic and military ties between Romania and France.



    DEFICIT Romanias budget deficit reached 6.36% of GDP in the first 9 months of this year, as against 2.6% of GDP in the corresponding period of last year, according to the Finance Ministry. More than half of the deficit registered in January – September 2020 is accounted for by amounts channelled into the economy through tax facilities, investments and exceptional expenditure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Official estimates point to an 8.6% deficit this year.



    AMBASSADORS Six nominees for Romanian ambassadors will be interviewed on Wednesday by Parliaments committees on foreign policy and the Romanian diaspora. The new ambassadors will serve in Morocco and Mauritania, North Macedonia, Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan and Albania. On October 7 and 19, the relevant committees heard 16 other candidates, all of whom received Parliaments green light for their posts.



    DIPLOMACY In Chişinău, the Russian Embassy and the ruling Socialist Party are accusing the Romanian ambassador of attempting to re-write the history of WW2. The response came after Ambassador Daniel Ioniţă paid tribute to the Romanian soldiers fighting to reunite Romanian regions, during a ceremony on the Romanian Army Day. The Embassy of Romania to Moldova replied it did not want to be dragged into the disputes triggered by the election campaign in that country. The unprecedented attack stirred harsh criticism among historians, academics and civil society. Analyst Nicolae Negru told Radio Chişinău that Russia has no moral right to give humanity lessons, given the persecution suffered by Bessarabian people under the Soviet regime. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • October 27, 2020

    October 27, 2020

    Covid-19 Ro — Another 4,724 new cases of COVID-19 were announced on Tuesday in Romania and a record number of deaths was also reported, 104 in one single day, with the total death toll nearing 6,500. More than 820 people are in ICUs. On Tuesday President Iohannis will meet with the health minister Nelu Tataru, the president of the Romanian Society of, Prof. Dorel Sandel and the chief of Section I- Anesthesia and Intensive Care of the Military Hospital in Bucharest, colonel doctor Dan Corneci to assess and review the measures meant to manage the Covid-19 crisis. The government had a first reading of a draft emergency decree meant to increase the number of medical staff by immediately hiring all graduates who have passed the final medical residency exam in specializations such as intensive care, emergency medicine, pulmonology, infectious diseases, epidemiology and radiology. After a period of 6 months of work in a hospital subordinated to the Interior Ministry, these graduates will be distributed, without examination, to the medical units with vacancies, the state secretary Raed Arafat explained.



    COVID-19 world — The total number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 43.7 million around the world, with more than 1.16 million deaths being reported. The number of recovered patients stands at almost 32.18 million, according to Worldometer.info. The most affected countries are the US, Brazil and India. Against the backdrop of a growing number of contaminations, many European states are introducing further restrictions to combat the spread of the news virus. A WHO high official said that Europe needed to seriously accelerate the fight against the new coronavirus and that the lack of capacity for contact-tracing might push the disease into a grey area. The WHO warns that new travel restrictions and home isolation measures might be needed to be able to control the virus. Europe provides 46% of the total number of contaminations worldwide and almost one third of the deaths.



    Visit — The Romanian PM Ludovic Orban continues today his visit to Paris where he will meet separately with the speakers of the French Parliament’s two chambers. He will also participate in several meetings organized by the French Employers’ Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. On Monday, following talks with his French counterpart Jean Castex important agreements were signed for strengthening political, economic and military ties between Romania and France. France, as a strategic partner, will get involved in developing Romania’s capacity to produce nuclear energy and a declaration in this sense was signed, after early this month, Romania and the US signed an agreement for the building of two new nuclear reactors. The Romanian PM’s visit to Paris will end with a meeting with the representatives of the Romanian community in France.



    US elections – One week ahead of the U.S. presidential election the Democrat candidate Joe Biden maintains his advance in several key states as against his challenger, the acting president, Republican Donald Trump. A latest survey published by the Center for election research of the Wisconsin-Madison University shows that Joe Biden is 10 points ahead of Trump in Michigan. Pennsylvania is the state where the two candidates have a tight score, 52% for Biden and 44% for Trump. President Trump on Monday had 3 meetings in Pennsylvania, where he accused Joe Biden of wanting to dismantle the oil industry of the US. While Donald Trump spoke to thousands of supporters, most of the time not wearing a protective mask, Joe Biden had a more prudent approach in his effort to show that he is taking the new coronavirus pandemic seriously.



    Prosecution – In Bucharest MPs approved the request of the National Anticorruption Directorate — DNA to start in prosecution of MP Nicolae Banicioiu who is accused of influence peddling and bribe taking. The DNA claims that when he was a minister of youth and sports he asked almost 1 million Euros worth of bribe from two businessmen to do them various favors. Nicolae Banicioiu rejected all accusations and called on his colleagues to vote for the DNA’s request. A former minister of youth and health, he obtained a 4th mandate as MP, being elected each time on the lists of the Social Democratic Party. In 2018 he changed parties, going to Pro Romania party, headed by the former Social Democratic PM Victor Ponta. (tr. L. Simion)

  • Romanian-French Strategic Partnership, reconfirmed

    Romanian-French Strategic Partnership, reconfirmed

    Signed in 2008 in Bucharest, the strategic partnership between France and the francophone and francophile Romania, the first such partnership that Paris signed with a East European country, was ignored for five years. Political will on both sides was required to boost cooperation that was often overshadowed by the negative image – something created by the media or used for political reasons – of some Romanians in France. However, the partnership, with a dominant economic component but also with a political and cultural dimension, is valid and must be fully functional, irrespective of problems of any nature, to which solutions must and can be found through dialogue. This was the message in 2013, when Romanian and French authorities decided to revive this partnership.



    Since 2013 on, almost all French and Romanian presidents and prime ministers have paid official visits to Bucharest and Paris to forge new agreements based on this strategic partnesrhip. Early this week, it was PM Ludovic Orban’s turn to travel to Paris for an official visit. At the end of meeting with his French counterpart, Jean Castex, the two signed an updated roadmap based on which cooperation, they say, becomes more structured, more ambitious and better equipped to deal with challenges generated by the coronavirus crisis. This roadmap sets out the main coordinates of the bilateral cooperation for the next four years, in sectors like nuclear energy, defense, telecommunications, agriculture and health. France will support Romania develop its capacity to produce nuclear energy after Romania and the US signed, early this month, an accord for the construction of two new reactors.



    PM Ludovic Orban: ”The French PM and I have signed a document regarding cooperation in the nuclear sector, that targets collaboration with strategic partners in order to carry out the construction of reactors 3 and 4 in Cernavoda and the upgrading of reactor 1.”


    Ludovic Orban also talked about possible new French-Romanian projects in the military field, Romania planning, for instance, to equip its Naval Forces with four corvettes. Also, after Romania and France successfully organised, in both countries, a cultural season, between December 2018 and July 2019, the two contries now plan to celebrate together, next year, the great Romanian composer George Enescu, and to mark 140 years since his birth. Also next year, the George Enescu International Music Festival will reach its 25th edition. (Translated by Elena Enache)



  • October 26, 2020 UPDATE

    October 26, 2020 UPDATE

    Covid-19 — Over 2,800 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours, with the number of Covid-19-related deaths nearing 6,500. The number of patients in ICUs remains high, more than 800. Several big cities of Romania, such as Timisoara (west), Sibiu (center), and Baia Mare (north), Bucharest included, operate in the red scenario, reporting more than 3 cases of COVID-19 per one thousand inhabitants. Besides online courses for at least 14 days, the red scenario instates the obligation to wear a face mask in the street, in open-air spaces as well as inside buildings and a ban on indoor activities in restaurants and cafes. The National Committee for Emergency Situations on Monday updated the list of COVID-19 high-risk countries. As of October 26, travelers coming into Romania from these countries must isolate for 14 days. The list comprises 30 countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France, the UK, Ireland and Portugal. The US and the R. of Moldova are no longer on the list.



    COVID-19 world — The total number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 43.4 million around the world, with more than 1.16 million deaths being reported. The number of recovered patients stands at almost 32 million, according to Worldometer.info. The most affected countries are the US, Brazil and India. The situation is equally serious in Europe which continues to report a big number of infections. Spain reintroduced the state of emergency and Italy has taken further restrictive measures. On Friday France reported over one million cases of COVID-19. In the Czech Republic, which has reported the highest rate of contaminations and deaths in Europe in the past two weeks, partial lockdown has been imposed until November 3.



    Visit — The Romanian PM Ludovic Orban is on an official visit to France on Monday and Tuesday. Ludovic Orban met with his French counterpart Jean Castex, with whom he shared Romania’s wish for more solidarity among Europeans in this difficult period. The two officials signed several official documents including a cooperation agreement between the two countries. The main objective of the Romanian PM’s visit to France is the signing of the roadmap for the next 4 years regarding cooperation between Romania and France. Another document refers to a memorandum of intent among the two countries’ governments for cooperation in the nuclear energy field. The Romanian PM invited the French companies already operating in Romania to continue to develop their activity.



    Partnership — NATO will have a homogeneous defense and deterrence posture, announced NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana in a press briefing. This is a concept for defense and deterrence for the euro-Atlantic area, which is currently debated by the Alliance. Asked by a Radio Romania reporter about the defense fragmentation on the eastern flank, Mircea Geoana showed that the Black Sea is included in the first large-scale comprehensive assessment of NATO’s security of the past 40-50 years. The NATO official also talked about the NATO-EU cooperation on the issue of military mobility within such forums as the Three Seas Initiative, of which Romania is a member. He said the Alliance encourages everything related to infrastructure, be it economic, military or strategic. Also Mr. Geoana said that the Romanian — American strategic partnership is becoming more robust with every year passing by. (update by L.Simion)

  • October 26, 2020

    October 26, 2020

    COVID-19 According to the Strategic Communication Group, 2,844 new coronavirus infections were reported in the past 24 hours in Romania, with the total number of cases exceeding 212,000 in 8 months. Another 79 COVID-19 patients died, taking the death toll to 6,470. 823 patients are currently in intensive care. Bucharest reports the highest number of daily new cases, 520. Meanwhile, the National Committee for Emergencies Monday updated the list of COVID-19 high-risk countries. As of October 26, travelers coming into Romania from these countries must isolate for 14 days. The list comprises 30 countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France, the UK, Ireland, Portugal. The US and the R. of Moldova are no longer on the list. Also today, the Committee passed a resolution clarifying that face masks can be taken off outdoors, for brief periods of time, when smoking, eating or drinking, or exercising. As of today, all schools, high schools and kindergartens in the cities of Timişoara, Sibiu and Baia Mare have switched to online classes, as the threshold of 3 COVID-19 infections per thousand inhabitants has been exceeded. Most major cities in Romania operate in the same scenario, including the capital Bucharest. In addition, face masks are compulsory in all indoor or outdoor public areas, and indoor restaurants, cafes, cinema and theatre halls are closed.



    VISIT The PM of Romania Ludovic Orban is on an official visit to France on Monday and Tuesday. According to the Romanian Government, Ludovic Orban will have meetings with his French counterpart Jean Castex, with the speakers of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, and the Senate, Gerard Larcher, and with the leader of the centre-right party ‘Les Republicains’, Christian Jacob. The Romanian PM will also take part in a meeting of the Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and will have official talks with the OECD secretary general Angel Gurria. The visit also includes a meeting with members of the Romanian community in France.



    ELECTIONS The date of the forthcoming parliamentary election in Romania is discussed in Parliament as of today. A bill in this respect, enabling Parliament to set the election date instead of the Government, has been returned to Parliament by president Klaus Iohannis. Most likely the election date will be December 6, as already accepted by president Iohannis and the Liberal Government. The left-of-centre opposition however favours a postponement of the parliamentary election to March 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.



    CORRUPTION The Chamber of Deputies is discussing and voting on Tuesday on a request filed by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate to commence prosecution against Deputy Nicolae Bănicioiu, who is accused of influence peddling and continuing bribe-taking. He denied all accusations and asked the Chamber to vote on the request, which has been already approved by the Judicial Committee. A former health minister, Nicolae Bănicioiu (Social Democratic Party) is probed into in a case involving the sale of medical products to public hospitals in Bucharest and Ilfov County. Prosecutors say Bănicioiu received 2.6 million euros from 2 businessmen in exchange for appointing or keeping in office hospital managers that had signed contracts with the respective companies.



    JUSTICE The Romanian Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu said on Sunday, the European Day of Justice, that results cannot be secured without constant investments in the judicial system. He added that in the ensuing years, alongside curbing corruption, which is yet to be solved, Romania will focus on fighting organised crime and human trafficking, including child trafficking, by means of thorough investigations and tough penalties in all the cases with enough evidence. Organised crime and human trafficking are incompatible with Romanias EU and NATO membership, minister Predoiu argued. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 25, 2020 UPDATE

    October 25, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Bucharest is considering the reintroduction of night curfews in several parts of the country, the PM Ludovic Orban said after 3 counties in central Romania (Alba, Cluj and Harghita) as well as the capital Bucharest have passed 3 infections per thousand inhabitants this week. According to the most recent national update, 3,855 new cases and 73 deaths were reported in 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 6,391. Over 800 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care. Romania is one of the 23 European countries where the pandemic causes serious concern at EU level, both in terms of the daily infection numbers among the elderly, and in terms of the death rate, which is the second-highest in Europe.



    PANDEMIC Spain decided on Sunday to declare a state of emergency and to order lockdowns across the country, as the number of COVID-19 cases is again rising at a fast pace. This will be the second time a state of emergency is declared in Spain, after one that lasted from March until June. A growing number of countries have introduced new restrictions to help contain the pandemic. Spain and France are seeing the largest numbers of infections, over 1 million cases each, out of the total 8.5 million reported in Europe as a whole. Across Europe, the number of COVID-19 related deaths has passed 260,000.



    VISIT The PM of Romania Ludovic Orban will be on an official visit to France on Monday and Tuesday. According to the Romanian Government, Ludovic Orban will have meetings with his French counterpart Jean Castex, with the speakers of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, and the Senate, Gerard Larcher, and with the leader of the centre-right party ‘Les Republicains’, Christian Jacob. The Romanian PM will also take part in a meeting of the Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and will have official talks with the OECD secretary general Angel Gurria. The visit also includes a meeting with members of the Romanian community in France.



    KING In Bucharest, an international sculpture competition was officially launched on Sunday, for a statue of Michael I, the last king of Romania. The statue will be place next year in Sinaia, a mountain town that was the royal residence during the rule of Romanias first king, Carol I. The ceremony was organised on the day when Romania marks 99 years since the birth of King Michael I. Romanias last sovereign died on December 5, 2017.



    HANDBALL The Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest Sunday defeated the German side SG BBM Bietigheim, 32-22, away from home, in the Champions League Group A. CSM tops the group at present. The other Romanian team in the competition, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, was scheduled to play at home on Saturday against the german club BV Borussia 09 Dortmund, but the match was postponed after several members of the Vȃlcea team tested positive for Covid-19. SCM Ramnicu Vâlcea is ranking last in Group B of the Champions League. The top 4 teams in each group qualify into the competitions quarter-finals. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • September 4, 2020

    September 4, 2020

    Covid-19 — 1,399 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours following tests conducted nation wide — the Strategic Communication Group announced. Also 47 new deaths have been reported which takes the death toll to 3,812. A total of 92,595 cases of Covid-19 infection have been reported in Romania since the start of the pandemic and 39,626 patients have recovered. 485 people are in ICUs. The number of Romanians from abroad confirmed with the new coronavirus stands at 6,595, most of whom are in Germany, Italy and Spain. 126 Romanians from abroad have died from Covid-19.



    Elections – Parliamentary elections in Romania will be held on December 6 — the PM Ludovic Orban announced during a government meeting. He pointed out that the government is obliged both by the Constitution and the law on parliamentary elections to set the date for these elections, adding that the date of the elections arises from the constitutional and legal provisions in force. At the end of July, Parliament adopted a law according to which, this time, the elections can be organized on March 15, 2021 at the latest but not earlier than December 6, with the date of the elections being established through an organic law also passed by Parliament. The document was not promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis who notified the Constitutional Court. In another development, the executive adopted several laws meant to regulate the management framework for the economic programs included in the National Plan for Investments and Economic Recovery and in the Partnership Agreement with the EC regarding the resilience and recovery plan.



    Visit — Commander of U.S. European Command and NATOs Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Tod D. Wolters is paying a visit to Romania today and meeting the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. President Iohannis will grant the American official the Order of the Star of Romania, in the rank of Grand Officer for peace, in sign of high appreciation for the support granted to Romania by the NATOs Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Also today General Tod D. Wolters is meeting with the Romanian defense minister Nicolae Ciuca and the general chief of staff General-Lieutenant Daniel Petrescu. The 3 officials alongside Admiral Robert Burke, Commander of Allied Joint Command Naples are participating today in Bucharest in a ceremony marking 5 years since the setting up of the Multinational Division South East. 14 states are contributing military to this structure which is meant to ensure the command and control of NATO operations of collective defense, contributing to the consolidation of defense on the Alliance’s southeastern flank, to ensuring the security of the territories and people of the states in their responsibility area. The structure from Romania is under the operational command of the NATOs Supreme Allied Command Europe and under the operational leadership of the Allied Joint Command Naples.



    Football — Romania’s national football team is taking on tonight in Bucharest the team of Northern Ireland and on Monday they will take on, away from home, the Austrian eleven in the first two matches of the Nations League Group B1. The group also includes Norway which Romanian will play against next month. These are the first matches of the new coach Mirel Radoi who, last summer, trained and qualified Romania’s Under 21 team to the semifinals of the European Championship from Italy and San Marino. On October 8 in Reykjavik Romania will take on the team of Iceland in the semifinals of the European Championship playoffs. (tr. L. Simion)

  • September 1, 2020 UPDATE

    September 1, 2020 UPDATE

    No restrictions – Restaurants, cinemas and theatres were reopened on Tuesday with certain health safety provisions in place. Nightclubs and bars remain closed. Also starting on Tuesday the number of people allowed to attend private events, training courses and workshops has been increased.



    Measures – Measures have been made public in Romania regarding the organization of school activity to reduce the risk of contamination with SARS-CoV-2. There are 3 scenarios for the beginning of school depending on the rate of infection for a 14 day period. The minister decree provides that students and teachers will have to wear masks when in school. The document also shows that, for one confirmed case of infection with the new coronavirus, the activity of the respective student’s class will be suspended for 14 days. If 3 confirmed cases emerge in 3 different classes, the respective school will suspend classes for two weeks.



    Visit — The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is paying an official visit to Israel and Palestine on Wednesday and Thursday. According to a Romanian Foreign Ministry MAE communiqué quoted by AGERPRES news agency the agenda of minister Aurescu’s visit to Israel includes consultations with the foreign minister Gabriel Ashkenazi and meetings with President Reuven Rivlin, the PM Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. The talks will focus on ways to develop and deepen bilateral strategic relations with special attention being paid to politics, economy and security. They will also tackle the developments in the region, mainly the Middle East peace process. In Palestine, FM Aurescu will have consultations with the foreign minister Riad Malki and the PM Mohammad Shtayyeh. Discussions are going to target mainly the development and diversification of Romanian-Palestinian relations and the means to consolidate cooperation as a concrete contribution to the institutional construction and development of Palestine. FM Aurescu says that over the past months he has had an open and thorough dialogue with both his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, in line with Romania’s traditional policy of friendship and trust with both nations.



    OIE — The World Organization for Animal Health – OIE has declared Romania a state free of bovine brucellosis, the National Sanitary Veterinarian and Food Safety Authority informs. The disease is contagious and affects bovine reproduction, being one of the most dangerous occupational diseases for veterinarians. The last bovine brucellosis hotbed in Romania was eradicated in 1969. The Authority also shows that following cooperation between veterinary services and farmers, Romania is also free of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine plague, sheep and goat brucellosis. Also Romania is considered a country with a negligible risk for BSE — bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Also the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Inspection Service has officially recognized Romania’s status as free of highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease.



    Parliament — On Tuesday, September 1, the Romanian senators and deputies started a new ordinary session, the last one of this legislature. The previous session took place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MPs meeting online for most of the plenum meetings and the committees. They are going to discuss the budget adjustment bill which was already approved by the government and which needs to receive the vote of the two chambers as well as many draft laws and decrees issued by the government in relation to measures targeting such domains as healthcare, education and social protection in the context of the new coronavirus pandemic. (tr. L. Simion)

  • December 29, 2019

    December 29, 2019

    VISIT PM Ludovic Orban will be on a working visit to EU and NATO institutions in Brussels between January 7th and 9th, the Government announced today. The Romanian PM will have meetings with the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The agenda also includes talks with the president of the European Council Charles Michel and with the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli.




    PENSIONS The Romanian public pension system is in imminent danger, given that the number of employed contributors has dropped significantly, and people need to be encouraged to save money in privately-managed pension funds, which ensure more safety, transparency and traceability, the Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru said in an interview to AGERPRES news agency. She also warned that there is a trend across Europe to increase the retirement age, but she did not suggest that the Government plans to take any measures in this respect in the current term in office. The Labour Minister also expressed concern with the budgetary impact of the planned 40% pension raise as of September 2020, as decided by the previous, Social Democratic cabinet dismissed in October, but said that as long as she is the labour minister the law will be complied with.




    CUSTOMS The customs offices on the Romanian – Moldovan border will be revamped and upgraded as part of a EU-funded project. Included in the project are the check points in Albiţa, Sculeni and Giurgiuleşti, which are seen as strategic points for the Unions security policy. The programme has a 36-month deadline for implementation, a total budget of 10 million euros, and is designed to enhance institutional and operational efficiency in customs offices by modernising the infrastructure and streamlining the transit of goods and persons. A number of 347 customs workers will also be trained to use special equipment to fight cross-border organised crime.




    FINANCIAL Most analysts in CFA Romania Association expect the national currency to depreciate in the next 12 months, to 4.8663 leu for the euro, with an average inflation rate of 3.52%, according to data in the Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator for November. CFA Romania is an organisation of chartered financial analysts certified by the CFA Institute (USA). At present CFA Romania has over 240 members. The Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator was launched by CFA Romania in May 2011 and is designed to measure the financial analysts expectations regarding Romanias economy for the coming 12 months.




    UKRAINE The Ukrainian governmental forces and the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have initiated a prisoner exchange, thanks to which all people taken captive in the conflict 5 years ago should be able to return home, Russian news agencies report. The prisoner exchange agreement was reached in Paris this month by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukraines president Volodimir Zelenskiy, in the first Ukraine peace summit since 2016. The French-German brokered deal includes a number of measures such as consolidation of the cease-fire, massive prisoner swaps by the end of December, new troop pull-outs from the 3 zones by the end of March 2020. The conflict between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists—backed by Moscow, according to the West and to Kiev—dates back to 2014 and has left behind over 13,000 dead and nearly 1.5 million displaced. The peace agreements signed in Minsk in 2015 allowed for a substantial decrease in violence. This September Moscow and Kiev also swapped an important number of prisoners.




    HANDBALL Romanias mens handball team is playing today against North Macedonia in the Carpati Trophy final. In their first match with French top league Saint Raphaels coach Rareş Fortuneanu as a manager, Romania defeated Netherlands on Saturday, 27-25. In the first match of the competition, North Macedonia outplayed Algeria 25-24. Netherlands and Algeria will face each other for the 3rd place. The games are part of the preparations for the first stage of the 2021 Egypt World Championships qualifiers, in which 32 teams are taking part. Next month, in the preliminary tournament in Italy, Romania will play against the host country, Georgia and Kosovo.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 16, 2019 UPDATE

    October 16, 2019 UPDATE

    Turkey — The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Thursday with the American vice- president Mike Pence who is heading the US official delegation on a visit to Ankara, in an attempt to obtain a ceasefire in northern Syria, the Turkish presidential administration announced on Wednesday, according to France Press. Erdogan had previously announced that the American officials would only have talks with their Turkish counterparts. The Kremlin announced that the Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan about the Syrian conflict and invited him to visit Russia in the next few days. The two leaders underlined the need for preventing a conflict between the Turkish and Syrian units in northern Syria where Ankara started an offensive. The US announced the pullout of the 1,000 US soldiers still deployed in that area, but pointed out that it would keep the 150- strong Al-Tanf garrison at the border with Jordan. One week ago Ankara launched an offensive targeting the Kurdish militias People’s Protection Units YPG, an ally of the West in the anti-Jihadist fight.



    Strasbourg — The European Parliament on Wednesday postponed the vote for validating the future EC headed by Ursula von der Leyen. The vote had been scheduled initially for October 23 during next week’s plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg. The vote was postponed as the candidates for European Commissioner of Romania, Hungary and France were rejected during the validation process within the EP on grounds of conflict of interest or ethical problems. Ursula von der Leyen and her team were to start their mandate on November 1 but the rejection of the 3 candidates put it on hold.



    Exercise — The ‘Rear Admiral Horia Macellariu corvette is participating from October 15 to 17 in a drill in the Serpents’ Island area and in the Black Sea international waters together with the Pryluky missile carrier from Ukraine and the American destroyer USS ‘Porter’, the Romanian Navy Staff officials announced, adding that the 3- party exercise contributes to the consolidation of the partnership between Ukraine and the NATO member states in the naval forces domain. (update by L. Simion)

  • October 8, 2019 UPDATE

    October 8, 2019 UPDATE

    MUSEUM In a public ceremony held on Tuesday, President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the Law establishing the National Museum of Jewish and Holocaust History in Romania. The Jewish heritage is representative for the Romanian culture, and the new museum is aimed at showcasing it, Iohannis said. According to the President, Jewish scientists, physicians, lawyers, actors, painters, writers, philosophers and journalists are among the greatest personalities of Romania. The museum will be located in Bucharest and will showcase and promote the culture and traditions of the Jewish community in Romania, protect the victims of the Holocaust and fight anti-Semitism. The project is coordinated by the “Elie Wiesel National Institute of Holocaust Studies. PM Viorica Dancila said the Government of Romania strongly supported the idea of opening such a museum and of developing Holocaust studies programmes. In her message on the Romanian Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked every October 9, the PM emphasised that this day is only a reminder of a dark chapter in history, which meant suffering and injustice to millions of people around the world, including in Romania.




    VISIT The Romanian minister delegate for European affairs, George Ciamba, was on a working visit to Berlin on Monday and Tuesday, and had meetings with Uwe Corsepius, adviser for European affairs to the German Chancellor, and with the president of Aspen Institute Germany, Rudiger Lentz. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the Romanian officials talks with Uwe Corsepius focused on the main topics on the EU agenda, such as the multi-annual financial framework, the solidarity of member countries in handling the migration crisis and protecting the environment and fighting climate change. During the meeting with the head of Aspen Institute Germany, George Ciamba discussed topics like multilateralism, trans-Atlantic relations, the 3 Seas Initiative, the new European institutional architecture and strengthening the role of the EU as a global actor.




    NATO North Macedonias NATO accession will contribute to improving the security of the Balkans, the Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel Leş said on Tuesday, during a visit to Bucharest by his Macedonian counterpart Radmila Sekerinska-Jankovska. The 2 officials discussed migration and bilateral and regional cooperation. Gabriel Leş reiterated Romanias constant support for North Macedonias NATO and EU accession efforts, particularly in the fields of strategic planning, logistics, human resources, communications and IT.




    JHA The topics discussed in the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting are particularly important in consolidating the EUs freedom, security and justice, the Romanian Justice Minister Ana Birchall said on Tuesday. She took part in the JHA Council meeting in Luxembourg, the first held under the Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU. According to the Romanian official, Romania takes special interest in areas related to fighting cross-border crime through the Eurojust, electronic evidence and the establishment of the European Public Prosecutors Office. “All these measures, intended to strengthen mutual trust between the judicial authorities of member states, were also priorities of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU, Ana Birchall said in her address.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)