Radio România Internațional

Tag: World Cup

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    In the second half of last century Romania used to boast some of the world’s best table tennis players. Between 1957 and 1975, Maria Alexandru, for instance, reaped 12 medals in world championships, three gold, five silver and four bronze.

    Asia came back with a vengeance in recent years though and its players became better and better preventing their European counterparts from making it to the competitions’ final stages.

    In men’s world rankings, for instance, only three non-Asians are among the top ten players, a Frenchman, a Brazilian and a Swede. In women’s competition though, the top 13 players are from Asia. Next after these top 13 players comes an athlete from Romania, namely, Bernadette Szőcs, currently ranking 14th, followed by Austrian Sofia Polcanova, who was born in the Republic of Moldova.

    Several days ago, in the mixed contest of the World Cup held in Chengdu, China, the Romanian side exceeded all expectations and came fourth.

    The Romanians secured wins against the teams of Taiwan, and Singapore and lost to South Korea.

    In the second stage they clinched an 8-3 win against France, 8-0 against the USA and 8-2 with Japan. Then our athletes won 8-5 against Germany but lost to China 0-8. Thus Romania managed to make it to the semifinals for the first time. Last year we recall that Romania was stopped in its tracks in the competition’s first stage.

    The Romanians took on China for a place in the finals but lost 8-1. The only Romanian point was obtained by the mixed pair Ovidiu Ionescu / Bernadette Szőcs.

    The two won a set out of the three they played against the world’s best pair made up of Chuqin Wang şi Yingsha Sun. The Romanians also lost the battle for the third position to Hong Kong.

    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

     

    Romania came out 4th at the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu (China), after losing 2-8 the match for the 3rd place against Hong Kong on Sunday. In the competition’s semis, Romania was defeated by China (8-1). Romania qualified for the semi-finals of the Mixed Team Table Tennis World Cup after defeating Germany 8-5 and after an 8-2 victory in the match against Japan, a world table tennis powerhouse, but which did not line up its top team in Chengdu. It is the best performance for the Romanian team at a Mixed Team World Cup, a competition won this year by the host team, China, which defeated South Korea in the final (8-1). The Romanian team was trained by Andrei Filimon and Ionuț Seni, and consisted of Bernadette Szocs (no 14 in the world), Elizabeta Samara (world no 51), Adina Diaconu (91), Andreea Dragoman (112), Ovidiu Ionescu (world no 46), Eduard Ionescu (75), Andrei Istrate (169) and Darius Movileanu (197).

     

     

    Romania was defeated by Hungary (37-29), on Sunday evening, in Debrecen, in a match in the main Group I of the European Women’s Handball Championship, hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. With a young team, undergoing reconstruction, Romania defeated the valuable team of Sweden 25-23 in another main Group I match, after previously losing to France, 25 – 30. Romania has 2 points and is in 5th place in the group, with the same number of points as 4th-placed Sweden. Top of the group are Hungary and France, each with 8 points, and Montenegro – 4 points. In the last match in the group, scheduled for Tuesday, December 10, Romania will take on Poland, which is in last place in the group, with zero points.

     

    The Romanians Monica Niculescu and Gabriela Ruse Sunday won the doubles event of the WTA 125 tennis tournament in Angers (France), with EUR 100,000 in total prize money. In the final they defeated Belinda Bencic / Celine Naef (Switzerland) 6-3, 6-4. This is the second WTA 125 doubles title won by Niculescu and Ruse, after the one in Hong Kong, in October.

     

    We end with results of the matches in the 19th round of Romania’s football Super League. On Friday, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe beat Rapid Bucharest 2-0. On Saturday, Dinamo București won 1-0 away from home against Gloria Buzău, and Petrolul Ploiești and Universitatea Craiova drew 1-1. The round continued on Sunday with the matches UTA ​​Arad vs Unirea Slobozia 3-4, Politehnica Iaşi vs Farul Constanţa 2-2 and FCSB vs FC Botoşani 2-1. Before the last two matches in the round, Hermannstadt vs Oţelul Galaţi and Universitatea Cluj vs CFR Cluj, scheduled for Monday, the top places in the standings were FCSB – 33 points, Dinamo Bucharest – 32 points, CFR Cluj 31 points and Universitatea Cluj – 30 points. (AMP)

  • November 9, 2024

    November 9, 2024

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

    RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team plays in Bucharest today against Tonga, in their first test match this month. Romania (20th place in the world ranking) and Tonga (16th place) have met in 5 games so far, with Romania winning twice. The last time the two teams were face to face was last year, at the World Cup in France, when the Pacific team won 45-24. As part of their preparation for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers in Australia, Romania will also play at home against Canada on November 16 and Uruguay on the 23rd. In order to reach the final tournament, Romania must rank among the top two teams in Group B, i.e. win two of the three games it has to play: against Germany (February 1/2, 2025, in Bucharest), Belgium (February 8/9, away from home) or Portugal (February 15/16, again in Bucharest). Romania has taken part in all Rugby World Cup finals so far, except for the 2019 edition, when it was disqualified because it had used a naturalised Tongan player, who did not have the right to play.

     

    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified for the semifinals of the WTA 125 tournament in Cali (Colombia), after defeating Australia’s Tina Smith, 6-1, 6-3. Begu (102 WTA), seed no. 2, won after an hour and 12 minutes against a younger and lower ranked opponent (322 WTA). The Romanian won USD 8,000 and 81 WTA points. Begu, who defeated her compatriot Anca Todoni in the quarter-finals, will play the final against the winner of the match between Hungarian Panna Udvardy (146 WTA) and the Slovenian Veronika Erjavec (199 WTA). (AMP)

  • Romania – Minifootball World Champion

    Romania – Minifootball World Champion

    Today only a shadow of what it used to be in the past, the Romanian sport has been mediocre for decades. And this fact amplifies the fans nostalgia for a past that has often been described as brilliant. Among the best Romanian performances and athletes along the years we recall the first number one in mens tennis between 1972-1973, Ilie Nastase. In 1976, at the Olympics in Montreal, the multiple world champion Nadia Comaneci was awarded the first 10 in the history of gymnastics. In 1986, Romanian football side, Steaua Bucharest, made up only of Romanian footballers, became the first eleven from behind the Iron Curtain to have won the Champions Cup.



    Between the 60s and 70s, Romanias national handball side became world champions four times, while in 1984, at the Los Angeles Olympics, boycotted by the other USSR satellites, Romania came second in the medal ranking after the American hosts. Romania has produced only a few champions in recent years such as tennis player Simona Halep, handballer Cristina Neagu or swimmer David Popovici. Against this drought, the title of world champion has been enthusiastically hailed by both sports fans and the specialized press. The joy was all the more so intense as the World Cup finals, staged in the United Arab Emirates kept everybody breathless as the Kazakh opponents got a 2-0 upper-hand several minutes from time.



    When the points seemed to be sealed, Marius Balogh scored twice and brought the game into extra-time. At a two-all draw the fate of the game was decided in the penalty shootout, won by Romania 12-11.Bogdan Covaci scored the victory goal after the Romanian goalie had deflected the opponents last shot.Before the finals, the Romanians had an impeccable progress. 10-1 against Sudan, 3-2 against Spain and a goaless draw with the United States. They also secured a 7-0 win against Thailand in the round of 16, 2-0 against the United Emirates in the quarters and 3-0 against Hungary in the semifinals.



    The world champion trophy was the only one that Romania lacked after being six times European champions and vice-champions. Romania also got two bronze medals in the World Cup out of three participations. November had a good start for the Romanian football fans, but the main performance is expected from the national football side, which takes on Israel in Hungary, on November 18 and Switzerland in Bucharest three days later. These are their last games in the Group One of the EURO 2024 preliminaries.



    Undefeated in their first eight games, Romania tops the groups ranking with 16 points, followed by Switzerland with 15 out of seven games and Israel with 11 out of six. Due to the war at home, the Israelis had to postpone their games last month and play their home matches abroad. The first two sides in the group will book tickets for the final tournament. Romania hasnt qualified for a European tournament since 2016 and for a World cup since 1998.


    (bill)

  • September 17, 2023

    September 17, 2023

    FARMERS An alliance of Romanian farmers, unhappy
    with the European Commission’s decision not to extend the ban on grain imports
    from Ukraine, asks the Romanian government to suspend imports of several
    Ukrainian agrifood products. The government, which has already promised
    subsidies for the Diesel fuel used in farming works, announced that before
    taking further measures it was waiting for Kyiv to make public on Monday a plan
    regarding efficient export control to prevent the disruption of the Romanian
    grain market. Depending on that plan, Bucharest will take adequate steps to
    support Romanian farmers. The EC decided
    not to extend its ban on Ukrainian grain imports, in exchange for certain
    commitments from Kyiv. Poland, Slovakia and
    Hungary have introduced unilateral restrictions, while Bulgaria announced it
    did not want the embargo on Ukrainian grain imports extended.


    PENSIONS A new
    version of the special pension law, comprising the amendments requested by the
    Constitutional Court, will be endorsed by the end of September, said the
    interim Chamber of Deputies speaker, Alfred Simonis. He added the law covers
    all categories of special pensions, but because the special benefits paid to
    magistrates and other categories cannot be scrapped, as it happened in the case
    of MPs, taxation will be introduced, which the Court has accepted. Also,
    Simonis said, ceilings must be introduced for each particular profession, so as
    to eliminate special pensions of EUR 8,000 or even EUR 14,000 a month. The
    Constitutional Court last month sent back to Parliament the new draft pension
    law, on grounds that pension benefits currently being paid cannot be readjusted
    to different principles than the ones in the law under which they have been
    granted.


    SCHENGEN Austria’s opposition to Romania’s Schengen
    accession is not targeted against Bucharest, but against this freedom of
    movement system, said the Austrian minister for the EU, Karoline Edtstadler. The
    statement comes after Bucharest warned it would sue Vienna over its veto to
    Romania’s accession. Karoline Edtstadler told the media she understood the
    position of Romanian authorities, but added Austria cannot close its eyes to an
    already flawed system. She explained the EU should ensure efficient protection of its external
    borders before envisioning a Europe without internal
    borders. In
    an interview to Austrian mass media, Romania’s PM
    Marcel Ciolacu said that in case of further opposition from Austria, Romania
    will have to take the matter to court and demand compensation for the losses
    incurred because of its failure to join the Schengen area.


    NATO NATO’s secretary general
    Jens Stoltenberg has warned that we must not expect a swift end to the war in
    Ukraine, in an interview published on Sunday, as Kyiv carries on its
    counteroffensive against Russian forces, AFP reports. The war began in February 2022, when
    Russian troops invaded Ukraine. As for Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, Jens Stoltenberg promised
    that sooner or later, Ukraine will be a NATO member. In July’s NATO summit in
    Vilnius, Alliance leaders agreed that Kyiv may join NATO once
    certain conditions are fulfilled, with the US and Germany emphasising that
    these conditions include reforms to protect democracy and the rule of law. In
    mid-June the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive to push out the Russian
    troops from the south and east of the country, but so far only a limited number
    of localities have been freed.


    RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team play their second
    World Cup match in Bordeaux (France) today, against defending champions, South
    Africa. A week ago Romania lost to Ireland 82-8 (33-8). Romania’s
    rugby team is next to play against Scotland on September 30 and against Tonga on
    October 8, in Lille. The 2023 Rugby World Cup
    ends on October 28. The competition has been held every 4 years since 1987, when
    the first edition of the World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. (AMP)

  • Sports Weekend

    Sports Weekend


    Two Romanian football clubs stand chances of playing in this years Europa Conference League group stage. Farul Constanţa and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe have qualified into the play-offs, after winning matches away from home.



    In the return leg of the preliminary round 3, Farul beat Flora Tallinn 2-0, after 3-0 on home turf. In the play-off, Farul will take on the Finnish side HJK Helsinki. Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, the Romanian Cup winners, Friday defeated Kazakhstans vice-champions Aktobe, 1-0, after a draw, 1-1 in the first leg. They are facing the Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt in the play-off.



    The 3rd Romanian team that played on Thursday in the Conference League qualifiers, FCSB, was kicked out of the competition after losing 0-2 away from home to the Danish side Nordsjælland, and a blank draw last week in the first leg.



    Also in football, this weekend matches are scheduled counting for the 6th round of the Romanian SuperLeague. Two games on Friday, pitting Petrolul Ploieşti against FC U Craiova 1948 and Universitatea Craiova against UTA, will be followed on Saturday by Oţelul Galaţi vs Botoşani and Dinamo Bucharest vs FC Voluntari. Two more matches are scheduled for Sunday in Bucharest: Rapid vs champions Farul Constanţa, and FCSB vs Poli Iaşi. The round ends on Monday with the last 2 matches: Sepsi vs Hermannstadt and Universitatea Cluj vs CFR Cluj. Top of the ranking are currently FCSB, with 12 points out of 4 matches, followed by Universitatea Craiova, with 11 points in 5 games.



    The World Athletics Championships begin on Saturday in Budapest. Romania takes part in the competition with 16 athletes, and the target set by the Romanian Athletics Federation is qualification in 3 finals. Last year, in the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Romanias best performances were a 6th place in hammer throw for Bianca Ghelber, and a 7th place in discus throw for Alin Firfirică.



    Also on Satuday, Romanias rugby team play their last match ahead of the World Cup in France. The Romanians are facing Italy away from home, in San Benedetto del Tronto. In the first test matches this summer, Romania lost 31-17 to the US in Bucharest, and 56-6 to Georgia, in Tbilisi. The first match for Romania at the World Cup is against Ireland, in Bordeaux, on 9 September. (AMP)


  • Athlete of the Week on RRI – Valentin Crețu

    Athlete of the Week on RRI – Valentin Crețu

    In recent years, Romanian athletes have been grabbing good
    results in winter sports. Whereas in skiing and biathlon events progress seems
    to be slower, our athletes are closing in to world rankings in bob sledding and
    sleigh events. In the latest Winter Olympics hosted by Beijing, Romania’s luge
    team made up of Raluca Strămăturaru, Valentin Creţu and the Marian Gîtlan /
    Darius Șerban tandem ranked 9. In the women’s singles, Andreea Grecu ranked 12,
    while the men’s 4-man bobsleigh crew made up of Mihai Tentea, Raul Dobre,
    Ciprian Daroczi and Cristian Radu finished the competition in 13th
    place.


    Last Tuesday, in the relay team at the World Cup in
    Altenberg, Germany, Romania ranked 6. Competing were Raluca Strămăturaru,
    Valentin Crețu and the pair made up of Ștefan Handaric and Sebastian Motzca.
    The greatest achievement came on Friday, however, when Valentin Crețu won the
    Nations Cup, held in Winterberg on the sidelines of the World Cup. Crețu won
    the men’s singles with 52.412 seconds, followed closely by Florian Müller of
    Germany and Jonathan Eric Gustafson of the USA. For this result, we have
    designated Valentin Crețu Athlete of the Week on RRI.


    Valentin Crețu was born September 9, 1989 in Sinaia, a city
    located at the foothills of Bucegi Mountains, which are famous for their
    slopes. He is enrolled at the local sports club. In 2004 he was drafted into
    Romania’s national team, and starting the 2006-2007 season has been competing
    in World Cup events. Valentin Crețu has so far qualified to four editions of the
    Olympics Games – in 2010 in Vancouver, in 2014 in Sochi, in 2018 in PyeongChang
    and in 2022 in Beijing. His objective is securing qualification to the 2026
    Olympics to be hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. (VP)



  • Stories from Romanian Sports – Montevideo, 1930

    Stories from Romanian Sports – Montevideo, 1930

    Taking
    part in the World Cup were 13 national teams, including Romania.


    The Conte Verde
    ocean liner, carrying the Romanian delegation on board, reached Uruguay on July
    2, 1930. The team was put up in a villa provided by the Romanian community in
    Montevideo, which didn’t have any heating. At the time, winter was in full
    swing in South America. The delegation then moved to Artigas Hotel. On July 5,
    the draw put Romania in a group with Peru and the host country, Uruguay, a
    two-time Olympic champion, in 1924 and 1928. The task at hand looked very
    difficult.


    The match
    against Peru was played on July 14. Adalbert Desu scored the first goal for
    Romania early into the game. On minute 11 Romania lost Adalbert Steiner, after
    a rough tackle by Luis de Souza, which sent our player straight to the
    hospital. Towards the middle of the first half, Romania lost another player,
    Constantin Stanciu, who sustained a knee injury after an illegal tackle by
    Alberto de Negri. After half-time, having an extra man on the pitch, Peru
    evened the odds. On minute 60, Stanciu returned to the pitch, obviously limping
    and struggling to play. A quarter an hour before full time, Stefan Barbu’s
    cross found Stanciu unmanned, who scored a historic goal. On minute 85, Nicolae
    Covaci settled the final score, 3-1 for Romania.


    In the next
    match, Uruguay defeated Peru 1-nil, which meant Romania was top of the group
    tables for a few days. In the group final Uruguay defeated Romania 4-nil. At
    the middle of the first half, within a very short period of time, the host team
    scored three goals, after a rapid succession of passes. The famous Romanian
    striker Rudi Wetzer would write in his diary: It’s how football works. You
    learn more in 6 minutes on the pitch than in 6 years in the classroom. Ever
    since football was invented, this game has been played in sweaty, not starched
    shirts. The citation was included in the book The Final is Played Today,
    published in 1966 by Ioan Chirila.


    That year
    Uruguay went on to win the World Cup, after defeating Argentina 4-2 in the
    final.

  • July 15, 2018

    July 15, 2018

    EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY – Getting young people involved in the process of preparing for and holding the EU Council Presidency is vital, Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu said on Saturday at a news conference about the young people’s participation in public policies. The conference, that focused on drawing up Romania’s agenda at the helm of the EU Council, highlighted topics such as consolidating European instruments for the improvement of the education and training system, equal opportunities for the young people and increasing their capacity to adjust to labor market challenges.




    BREXIT – British Prime Minister Theresa May warned her divided party on Sunday that there may be “no Brexit at all” if they undermine her plan to forge a close relationship with the European Union after leaving the world’s biggest trading bloc. “My message to the country this weekend is simple: we need to keep our eyes on the prize,” May wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper. “If we don’t, we risk ending up with no Brexit at all.” Two senior ministers resigned last week in protest at Mays plans for trade with the EU after Britain leaves the bloc next March. May also wrote in the Mail on Sunday article that Britain would take a tough stance in its next round of negotiations with the EU.




    PROJECTS — The Agency for the Financing of Rural Investment will open between July and September this year several sessions for project applications, worth a total of 846 million euros, the Romanian Agriculture Ministry reports. The Agency has so far received, for the 2014-2020 timeframe, applications for financing worth more than 7.20 billion euros and signed over 49 thousand financing contracts for which 3.85 billion euros have been allocated. Under the 2014-2020 National Programme for Rural Development, non-repayable funds from the EU and the Romanian Government are being granted, for the economic and social development of Romania’s rural area. The financial allocation exceeds 9 billion euros.




    MEETING – French president Emmanuel Macron is today holding talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, ahead of their attending the World Cup final in Moscow, pitting France against Croatia. The meeting takes place a day before the Summit in Helsinki. Macron and Putin will discuss topics related to Iran, Syria and Ukraine, BBC reports.




    ABDUCTION — A Romanian engineer is believed to have been abducted on Saturday from one of Libya’s largest oilfields, local media reports. The Romanian is believed to have been taken hostage alongside another three people, by an armed group. Two of the hostages are said to have been released, but it’s uncertain whether the Romanian is among them. The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Saturday activated a crisis cell to deal with the situation. The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said that the top priority was to verify whether a Romanian citizen was indeed taken hostage, what his situation was and what group is involved in the kidnapping. The case is being managed by the Romanian Embassy to Libya relocated in Tunis.




    FOOTBALL — CFR Cluj, Romania’s football champion, won the Super Cup following Saturday’s win over FC U Craiova 1948, 1-nil, away from home. This is CFR’s third Super Cup title. They will be representing Romania in the Champions League preliminaries. As many as three Romanian teams are playing in the Champions League preliminaries, namely, U Craiova, FCSB and FC Viitorul.




    WORLD CUP – France is playing the World Cup final today, against Croatia. For the latter, qualification to the final is a premier. France won the world title in 1998, when it organized the final tournament, and Croatia won the bronze. On Saturday, Belgium defeated England, 2-0, in the third-place playoff of the World Football Championship hosted by Russia, thus obtaining bronze. Belgium already played in a third-place playoff at the 1986 World Cup, when it was defeated by France. A world champion in 1966, England fought for bronze in 1990 but it was defeated by Italy.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • June 21, 2018 UPDATE 18:41

    June 21, 2018 UPDATE 18:41

    Sentence – The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison for instigation to abuse of office by the High Court of Cassation and Justice in a case related to the fictitious employment of two persons with the Teleorman Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection. In the same case he was acquitted for intelectual forgery. The suspension of the sentence he had previously received in the Referendum case was cancelled. The two sentences were merged resulting a total sentence of 3 and a half years imprisonment. The decision is not definitive and can be appealed in court.




    PROTESTS — Thousands of Romanians took to the streets of the capital Bucharest and several other cities across the country in protest at the modification, in Parliament, by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), of the justice laws and also of the Criminal Procedure Code, two days before. Incidents between protesters and security forces were reported in Bucharest, and several participants in the rallies were taken to the police station. Protesters chanted slogans against the Government, asking for their resignation and for early elections. The National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Save Romania Union (USR), in the opposition, say that some of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code endanger the act of justice, so they will appeal the bill in Court. The High Court of Cassation and Judice has taken a similar decision. According to the ruling coalition, the amendments are aimed at transposing into national legislation the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European directives.




    VISIT – Romania provides economic stability and ensures an attractive environment for investment, Romanian deputy PM Ana Birchall has said at a meeting with the US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, on Wednesday. The Romanian official is paying a working visit to the US that ends on June 29th. The agenda of talks included the consolidation of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, America’s support for Romania’s accession to the OECD and the Three Sees Initiative Summit to be held in Bucharest in September. Ana Birchall is accompanied in the US by a government delegation that participates, alongside representatives of the Romanian business environment, in the SelectUSA Investment Summit to be held in Washington DC between June 20 and 22. The Romanian official will also attend the first part of the works of the World Gas Conference due between June 25 and 29 in Washington DC.





    CHISINAU — The issue of the invalidation of the elections in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, is today on the agenda of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Romanian MEP Cristian Preda, coordinator of the European People’s Party Group in this Committee, told Radio Free Europe. According to Preda, the decision of a court in Chisinau to invalidate the election victory of a pro-European candidate to the post of mayor of Chisinau clearly shows the political influence over justice. The Chisinau Court ruled Tuesday that Andrei Nastase was not the winner of the June 3 vote, but did not say why. On Wednesday, Nastase appealed the ruling, claiming it was “arbitrary” and politically motivated. Analysts say Nastase may have broken election rules by addressing voters after the end of the permitted campaigning period. The election was called after Dorin Chirtoaca, who had been mayor of Chisinau for the past 10 years, stepped down after being probed for influence trafficking in a city parking contract.




    FOOTBALL — The World Cup in Russia continues with matches pitting France against Peru and Denmark against Australia in Group C, and also Argentina against Croatia as part of Group D. On Wednesday, in Group B, Portugal defeated Marroco, 1-nil, and Spain beat Iran, also 1-nil. In Group A, Uruguay qualified to the round of sixteen, alongside Russia, who beat Saudi Arabia 1-nil. Romania is not present at the current edition of the World Cup. (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • June 19, 2018

    June 19, 2018

    PRESIDENCY – President Klaus Iohannis has a meeting today with the EU ambassadors to Bucharest, to discuss the forthcoming Romanian presidency of the Union Council in the first half of 2019. According to a news release issued by the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis will state that a compromise solution for the multi-annual budget, must be balanced and meet both the new priorities of the Union, such as border protection, migration, the ERASMUS programme, innovation and defence, and keep a substantial level of funding for traditional policies such as cohesion and the common agricultural policy. The President will also express Bucharests determination to support the efforts to resume the full implementation of the Schengen system and will add that the consolidation of the visa-free area cannot be completed without full integration of Romania and Bulgaria.




    PRIME MINISTER – PM Viorica Dăncilă presents the joint Parliament Chambers with a progress report on Romanias preparations to take over the EU Council presidency in January 2019. “The talks occasioned by this presentation will be a substantial support to the Governments drawing up and adopting a first working programme for the Presidency, Dǎncilǎ said. She believes the Council presidency will be an opportunity for Romania to prove its capacity to contribute to re-launching the European project, by means of a powerful political vision and relevant administrative capacity.




    CODE – The changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure were endorsed on Monday by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making chamber of Parliament in this case, after having been passed by the Senate as well. 175 Deputies voted in favour and 78 against. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition announced they will refer the bill to the Constitutional Court.




    JUDICIARY – The Constitutional Court of Romania today discusses President Klaus Iohannis notification concerning changes to the Referendum Law. One of the claims is that the document includes provisions concerning the initiation and procedural steps in revising the Constitution, which fall outside its competence. Also today, Constitutional Court judges discuss the notifications filed by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union in opposition, as well as by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, concerning the bill on the statute of judges and prosecutors. The High Court argues that the phrasing in the new bill is too broad and imprecise making the law impossible to enforce.




    US-ROMANIA – Romanias deputy PM for strategic partnerships, Ana Birchall, has had a meeting today with Wess Mitchell, Assistant US State Secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, as part of the 6th annual political meeting for Romania-US Strategic Dialogue. Ana Birchall emphasised Romanias interest in identifying and implementing new joint projects contributing to the development and strengthening of the Strategic Partnership with the US. She pointed out the huge potential in the fields of energy, IT and film industry. On the other hand, she requested the support of the American side for Romanias Visa Waiver application and thanked the US for its support to Romanias efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and development. On Monday, in an address given at the University of Bucharest, the American official said Romania made progress towards a strong judicial system and must not backtrack on it. The US official added that the US appreciates the resilience of Black Sea countries, but also warned against the danger posed by the influence of Russia and China in the region.




    FOOTBALL – Romanian football champions CFR Cluj are finding out today their opponents in the second preliminary round of the Champions League, in a UEFA draw in the Swiss city of Nyon. The draw for the Europa League will take place tomorrow, with Romanian vice-champions FCSB (former Steaua Bucuresti) and Viitorul Constanta taking part. The Romanian Cup winners CSU Craiova will play straight into the third preliminary round.




    WORLD CUP – Poland-Senegal and Columbia-Japan, in Group H, and Russia-Egypt in Group A, are the football World Cup games scheduled for today. On Monday in Group A, Sweden defeated South Korea 1-0, while in Group G Belgium outplayed Panama, 3-0 and England beat Tunisia 2-1. The Panamanian goalie Jaime Penedo, playing for Dinamo Bucharest, is the only footballer from the Romanian championship taking part in the Russia World Cup. The last final tournament Romania took part in was in 1998.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 17, 2018

    June 17, 2018

    CONSUL – In Constanţa, Romanias biggest sea port, the honorary consular office of Estonia was opened today, in the presence of the Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă and her Estonian counterpart, Jüri Ratas. On Saturday they arrived on the Romanian Black Sea coast by the first regular flight connecting the Estonian capital city, Tallin, to Constanţa in Romania. The flight will be operated throughout the summer season. Viorica Dăncilă said she was hoping this connection to improve the trade and the economic, educational and cultural relations between the 2 countries. The head of the Romanian Government was on a 3-day visit to Lithuania and Estonia. On Saturday, the last day of the visit to Tallin, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Romanian Ministry for the Business environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship and the Estonian Investment Agency, allowing for the development of a mechanism to encourage trade and increase bilateral investments. The first effect of the Memorandum will be the visit of an Estonian economic delegation to Romania in November.



    THEATRE – The Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the largest performing arts festival in Romania and one of the most important in the world, comes to a close tonight. For 10 days, the event brought together 3,000 artists in over 500 performances and tens of thousands of spectators. The highlight of Sundays agenda is a dialogue between the French actress Isabelle Huppert and the Palme dOr winner, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. Isabelle Huppert was awarded a star on the Sibiu Walk of fame on Saturday. Also on Saturday, at the Festival Gala, the British Ambassador to Romania, Paul Brummell, read out Romanian poetry and said he will remain a friend of the Sibiu Festival and of Romania after the end of his diplomatic mission to Bucharest. The diplomat also presented a message to the Festival from HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, one of the patrons of this years edition. He congratulated the Festival on its 25th anniversary. Britain is proud of what you have achieved and of its modest contribution to your impressive journey, reads the message.




    MACEDONIA – The foreign ministers of Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, Nikos Kotzias and Nikola Dimitrov, Sunday signed an agreement stipulating the change of the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia into the Republic of North Macedonia. The document was signed on Sunday in the border town of Prespes, in Greece, and is set to take effect in 6 months. The agreement paves the way for Greece giving up its veto to the EU and NATO accession of Macedonia. In the former Yugoslav republic, the deal must be ratified by Parliament, endorsed by a referendum and activated through a constitutional review. The agreement must be next approved by the Parliament of Greece.




    REFORM – The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, announced that France and Germany are very close to an agreement on the reform of the eurozone, the BBC reports. Further to talks with his German counterpart in Hamburg, Minister Le Maire expressed hope that the French President Emmanuel Macron will sign an agreement in this respect with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on Tuesday. The French leader proposes substantial reforms, including the allotment of a separate budget for the eurozone, BBC explains.




    FILM – The 14th Bucharest International Film Festival concluded on Saturday night. The Grand Prize went to the Turkish production Butterflies, which premiered in Berlin. The award for the best director was handed to Daniel Sandu, for One step behind the seraphims. The Bucharest International Film Festival also had a special section devoted to the celebration of 70 years since the establishment of the state of Israel.




    FOOTBALL – The defending world champions, Germany, are playing today their first match in the Russia World Cup tournament, against Mexico, in Group F. Also scheduled for today are the Group E games pitting Serbia against Costa Rica and Brazil against Switzerland. On Saturday in Group C, France defeated Australia, 2-1, and Denmark beat Peru 1-0. In Group D, twice world champions Argentina drew against Iceland, 1-1, while Croatia outplayed Nigeria, 2-0. Romania has not qualified into the World Cup final tournament.




    WEATHER – 4 counties in the north-east of Romania are under a code orange alert for heavy rainfall, while in 24 counties in the centre, east and south a code yellow alert for thunderstorms is in place. According to the authorities, over the past 24 hours over 30 towns and villages in 14 counties were affected by heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 14, 2018 UPDATE

    June 14, 2018 UPDATE

    PRIME MINISTER – The Prime Minister of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, is on an official 3-day visit to Lithuania and Estonia. On Thursday in Vilnius the Romanian official and her Lithuanian counterpart, Saulius Skvernelis, discussed bilateral trade and means to identify new fields for cooperation, such as IT, energy and agriculture. The parties have also tackled European topics of mutual interest, such as supporting the Eastern Partnership and the future of the Union. Dancilas visit to Estonia will be the first by a Romanian prime minister since diplomatic relations with this Baltic state were reinstated in 1991.




    FORUM – In its capacity as presidency holder, Romania is hosting the ministerial conference of the Salzburg Forum, an informal platform of Central and East-European countries promoting security cooperation. Taking part in the conference are officials from the 9 member countries, of whom 6 interior ministers, including the Romanian Interior Minister Carmen Dan, and the Europol chief Catherine De Bolle. The Salzburg Forum was launched in 2000 and comprises Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Since 2007, the Republic of Moldova and countries from the Group of Friends (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) have also been invited to attend its sessions.




    FINANCIAL – Private-sector credit risks are rising, reads a Report on financial stability made public on Thursday by the National Bank of Romania. The document also mentions other risks, such as the deteriorating investor confidence in emerging economies such as Romania, strains on macroeconomic balances and the rising real estate prices. On the other hand, the report also says that last year total household debt rose, and so did consumer loans granted by banks and non-banking financial institutions. The central bank officials presented the document at a time when the year on year inflation rate reached a 5-year high of 5.4% in May, the exchange rate for the national currency revolves around 4.66 lei for the euro, deficits deepen and the public debt is growing.




    JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice Thursday dismissed the charges against the former Social Democrat deputy Sebastian Ghiţă, in a case in which he was tried jointly with former police and prosecutor office chiefs. The ruling is not final. The Court also cancelled a pre-trial arrest warrant, ordered the lifting of a freeze on Ghitas assets and the return of the roughly 11.5 million euro bail. The other defendants in the same case were also aquitted, on grounds that the alleged acts were not criminal offences or had not taken place. Sebastian Ghiţă is in Serbia. He fled the country in December 2016 and is subject to several criminal proceedings in Romania.




    UKRAINE – The Romanian Education Minister, Valentin Popa, and the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, Thursday had a telephone conversation on the Education Law of neighbouring Ukraine. The two agreed that the law, which bans tuition in ethnic minority languages after primary school, is “unacceptable insofar as it takes away rights previously secured by ethnic minorities. The Education Ministry explained that the Ukrainian authorities had signed no agreement with the Romanian community in that country with respect to this law. The 2 officials have agreed to carry on consultations regarding the measures to be taken in this respect. Nearly half a million ethnic Romanians currently live in Ukraine.




    FOOTBALL – The 21st edition of the World Football Championship kicked off in Russia on Thursday. It is the first edition of the championship hosted by a former communist bloc country. Proving their mettle in the final tournament are 32 national teams, while 11 cities across Russia make the venues for the scheduled fixtures. In the opening game, Russia defeated Saudi Arabia, 5-0. According to the correspondent of Radio Romanias News and Current Affairs Channel in Moscow, Russia has invested tens of billions of dollars in the championships infrastructure, as well as a significant amount of political capital, hoping the event would bolster Russias image around the world. We recall Romanias national team has failed to make it to the current edition of the World Cup. The World Championship held in France in 1998 was the last edition the national squad took part in.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Romania disqualified from the World Rugby Cup

    Romania disqualified from the World Rugby Cup

    Qualified to every edition of the World Cup, including next year’s edition to be hosted by Japan, Romania’s rugby team has been dealt a heavy blow from World Rugby, the international governing body in the field. World Rugby announced that, in light of an analysis conducted by its independent disputes committee, Romania, Spain and Belgium have been deducted points for fielding ineligible players in the qualifying tournament in the run-up to next year’s World Cup.



    Regulation 8 covering eligibility is essential to maintaining the unique characteristics and culture of elite competitions between unions, and the integrity of international matches depends on strict adherence to eligibility criteria set out in the regulation, World Rugby writes in an online statement. According to the international body, Romania used an ineligible player from Tonga in eight matches this season, six of which were in the qualification campaign for the 2019 World Cup. As a result, Romania was deducted 5 points for each game the player was used. Russia will replace Romania while Germany will take the place of Spain in the European playoff for the qualification to the World Cup.



    The Romanian Rugby Federation says it will attack the decision, claiming that it sent World Rugby all the necessary documents attesting the eligibility of the player in question ever since 2015. Moreover, the Federation says the player signed a statutory declaration which confirms he never played for his country’s national team. The Romanian Rugby Federation says it observed the verification procedure to the letter, as stipulated by World Rugby regulations, in the case of each foreign player in order to clear them as eligible for the national team.



    Although it does not enjoy the reputation of Romania’s rugby team in the 80s, a time when the country took on the world’s superpowers, Romania’s rugby team does have several important achievements, such as winning this year’s edition of Rugby Europe Championship, a competition devoted to lower-tier teams from Europe. In the absence of proper funding that should ensure its future development, Romanian rugby continues to feature quality players that are enjoying success in Europe’s top championships. Ever since the 1990s, Romanian rugby players have been playing for teams in Italy, England and France.

  • March 18, 2018 UPDATE

    March 18, 2018 UPDATE

    WEATHER – Several road segments were closed down Sunday afternoon in the south and south-east of Romania, because of the freezing rain and black ice. Traffic was also disrupted in Bucharest. The freezing rain prevented take-offs on the countrys main airport, Otopeni – Henri Coanda, while the airport landing strips were treated with anti-icing substance to enable aircraft to land safely. Until Tuesday, a warning will be in place, against moderate sleet and snow falls, black ice and extremely low temperatures.




    DEFENCE – This years first meeting of the Supreme Defence Council, chaired by President Klaus Iohannis, will be held on Tuesday. According to the presidential administration, the participants will analyse the work conducted by the Council and relevant institutions in the field of national security in 2017, and will set the main goals for this year. Other topics of interest with respect to national security will also be approached.




    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu will take part in Brussels on Monday in the monthly meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. The main topics are Ukraine, Syria and Iran, the Romanian foreign ministry announced. On the sidelines of the Council meeting, the participants will have an informal lunch on recent developments in the Korean Peninsula, with the South-Korean Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-wha, at the invitation of the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. The FAC will be preceded by an informal meeting over breakfast with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin.




    MOLDOVA – Save Romania Union, the second-largest opposition party in Romania, firmly supports the EU accession of the Republic of Moldova, the party president Dan Barna said on Sunday, after a meeting with several mayors from Moldova. At this stage any other statement would be rushed and strictly aimed at gaining political capital, Barna said, hinting at a possible union of Moldova with Romania. Without support from Moldovan citizens, lobbying for such a scenario at EU and international level would be very hard to do, Dan Barna also stressed. He and the vice-president of Save Romania Union Vlad Alexandrescu met on Sunday with a group of mayors from the Republic of Moldova, who signed a symbolic declaration of union with Romania. A former province with a Romanian majority under Tsarist rule, Bessarabia joined Romania at the end of WW1, on March 27, 1918. The USSR re-annexed the province, following an ultimatum in 1940, and part of this territory is todays Republic of Moldova.




    RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team lost on Sunday in Tbilisi against Georgia, 25-16, in the last stage of Rugby Europe International Championship 2018, but it managed to qualify into the 2019 Japan World Cup thanks to a surprising win by Belgium against Spain, 18-10. The score in Brussels enables Romania to stay as no 2 in the REIC standings, which allows direct access to the 2019 World Cup. Romania has taken part in all rugby World Cup editions so far.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)