Radio România Internațional

Category: Today in the News

  • Preparations for the 2025 George Enescu Festival

    Preparations for the 2025 George Enescu Festival

    The International Classical Music Festival George Enescu is this year expected to be a genuine reference point for the classical music. The 2025 edition to be held between August 24 and September 21 will be a special one as it is going to commemorate 70 years since the great composer’s passing into eternity.

    “Every edition and the creation of the festival per se has been meant to render Enescu’s work more visual and globally emphasize his music and genius and we are carrying on in this direction. We are going to have more of Enescu’s compositions this year. A series of novel things are going to be presented during the festival regarding Enescu’s compositions, of course”, conductor Cristian Macelaru, the Festival’s artistic director says.

    According to him the festival’s 17th edition focuses on cultural events and concerts, to be staged in great numbers all over the country. This edition will also focus on anniversaries and commemorations: 50 years since the death of Dmitri Shostacovich, 150 years since the birth of Maurice Ravel, 100 years since the birth of Romanian conductor Marin Constantin, founder of the Madrigal choir, 100 years of activity for the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, 45 years since the foundation of the Bremen Philharmonics and 70 years since the foundation of the Transylvania Philharmonics Orchestra in Cluj Napoca, western Romania.

    The George Enescu Festival is an international landmark in artistic excellence, says the Culture Minister Natalia Intotero. She believes the festival is much more than a mere artistic event, being also a symbol of Romanian cultural value, an opportunity of celebrating the legacy of a classical music genius.

    The Culture Minister has voiced satisfaction for the educational activities devoted to students and young artists this edition includes such as internships programmes, sessions of training and masterclass.

    The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, says it is with great joy that Bucharest hosts the aforementioned event. “It is one of our concerns to stimulate cultural, academic, sporting events so that Bucharest may become a brand for this type of activities. Romania’s cultural landscape needs the Enescu Festival as it imposes a certain standard and makes the other cultural operators comply with this standard,” the mayor went on to say.

    The 17th edition of the Enescu festival seems to be one of the most challenging from the organizational point of view: 80 symphonic and chamber concerts, choirs, music groups, ranging from two to ten musicians from 28 countries, are going to come to Romania and to Bucharest; out of these 18 are local, 9 from Germany, 6 from various European projects, others will come from France, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia. 50 concerts and recitals are expected to take place during the festival in Romania alone.

    (bill)

  • Reactions as three Gaza hostages freed

    Reactions as three Gaza hostages freed

     

    Three Israeli hostages were released on Sunday by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, more than 15 months after they were kidnapped in a terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. Israel, in turn, freed 90 Palestinian prisoners, teenagers and women, from its prisons.

     

    It was the first exchange of prisoners after the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian enclave. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Israel reports that Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, aged between 24 and 31, were released after 471 days of captivity, and adds that, after an initial checkup, the three were taken to a hospital in the center of the country, where they will remain for several days, for full examinations. They seem to have returned to the country in good health.

     

    Doron Steinbrecher, a veterinary assistant, also has Romanian citizenship. Romi Gonen, a dancer, has Romanian roots, as do several hundred thousand other Israelis.

     

    Through its ministry of foreign affairs, Romania welcomes the release of the first Israeli hostages after 15 months in captivity. In a statement, Bucharest thanks all the national stakeholders, including top-level institutions, for their excellent and permanent cooperation.

     

    “The release of the first hostages after the agreement was signed is a time of joy and relief for the families. The ceasefire agreement must be fully implemented in order to ensure the safe return of those still detained and to end the suffering of their families and loved ones, as well as of the civilian population in Gaza. At the same time, the implementation of the agreement paves the way for a lasting peace, which would ensure the security of the region as well as the reconstruction and humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” the statement reads.

     

    Romania also praises what it calls the substantial efforts of the United States, Egypt and Qatar in brokering the deal between Israel and Hamas.

     

    Under the agreement, a total of 33 hostages and over a thousand Palestinian prisoners should be released in a first stage. The deal would also increase the volume of humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza, where, since the start of the Israeli military intervention, almost 47,000 people have been killed.

     

    In a second stage, Hamas is to release the last 65 hostages, while Israel is to pull out its troops from the enclave.

     

    According to Romanian mass media, Romania’s Ambassador to Israel Radu Ioanid calls for moderate optimism, because the situation in the Middle East is very fluid, and “what is gray today is pink tomorrow and black the day after.” (AMP)

  • World Bank revises downward Romania’s outlook

    World Bank revises downward Romania’s outlook

    Romania’s economic growth rate will slow down in 2025, according to the World Bank.

     

    The Romanian economy will register an advance of only 2.1% this year, compared to a level of 3.8% estimated in the middle of last year, according to the World Bank’s “Global Economic Prospects” report , made public recently. The institution’s forecast for next year is also revised downwards, from 3.8% to 2.6%. According to the World Bank, growth in Central Europe is forecast to rebound to 2.8% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, driven by robust private demand.  However, export  from Central Europe is expected to remain modest due to subdued growth in the euro area.

     

    Investment, particularly in Poland and Romania, is projected to gain traction from structural reforms and delayed EU funding, experts of the international institution say. These countries have disbursed 19% and 33%, respectively, of their Recovery and Resilience Facility allocations, with approximately 13% of milestones achieved and positively assessed, the report shows. Despite the inflow EU funding, recently announced fiscal consolidation measures have contributed to notable downward revisions to Romania’s outlook since June.

     

    At the beginning of February, an IMF mission will travel to Bucharest, for meetings with representatives of the new Romanian Government and the National Bank. The visit aims to analyze recent economic and financial developments and update the macroeconomic outlook. At the end of last year, Fitch rating agency revised downwards its outlook for Romania’s GDP growth for 2025 and 2026, to 1.4% and 2.2% respectively, given a less pronounced recovery in the euro area. In fact, the World Bank forecasts that, in the euro area, GDP would grow by only 1% in 2025, after estimating an advance of 1.4% in June.

     

    The worsening prospects come against the backdrop of reduced consumption, low corporate investments and weak industrial development. The World Bank draws attention to the effects that the problems facing Germany, which is responsible for almost 30% of the euro area’s GDP, may have. In addition, the World Bank warned that potential additional 10% tariffs by the United States could decrease the already fragile global economic growth by 0.3% if the US trading partners impose their own tariffs. The potential additional tariffs would shrink US economic growth by 0.9%, estimated at 2.3% in 2025. Foreign direct investment in developing countries is now half their level in 2000, and global trade restrictions are five times higher than the average in 2010-2019, the World Bank reports.

     

  • New rules for the election campaign

    New rules for the election campaign

    It is now official: the Romanian government has established, by emergency ordinance, that the presidential election will take place on May 4th and 18th respectively. The presidential vote was supposed to put an end to last year’s electoral marathon, but the Constitutional Court cancelled it, shortly before the second round on December 8, on the grounds that the entire electoral process would have been flawed and hijacked, with the involvement of an external state actor, in the favor of the winner of the first round, Călin Georgescu, considered a pro-Russian extremist. The executive came up with new rules, related to voting in the diaspora and the unfolding of the campaign. Romanians outside the country’s borders will be able to vote for three days, as before, but in modified time intervals.

     

    Thus, on Friday and Saturday, voting in the diaspora will last from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time, but on Sunday, May 4, when voting is also held in the country, the vote will end at 9:00 p.m. Romanian time. This measure was adopted at the proposal of the Permanent Electoral Authority, to avoid leaving a time gap in which the vote can be influenced, after voting ended in Romania, but continued abroad, in the polling stations located west of Romania, on the related time zones. If there are still people abroad who want to vote, the extension of voting in the countries located west of Romania can be done until midnight, Romania’s time. The ordinance also establishes several obligations for posting and distributing election campaign materials online. They must have clear identification elements such as political advertising, including who is paying them or if targeting techniques are used.

     

    Failure to comply with the new rules is sanctioned with a fine of up to 50,000 lei, the equivalent of 10 thousand Euros, and in the case of the large online platforms the fine can reach 5% of the turnover, if the advertising material in question is not removed within five hours from the notification of the Permanent Electoral Authority. According to the government, a monitoring mechanism is underway for the materials that will be published on social networks, and notifications and complaints regarding possible violations of the regulations must be submitted to the Central Electoral Bureau. The new rules aim to prevent what happened before the first round, when the candidate Georgescu, who declared himself independent, was massively promoted, disproportionately compared to the others, on TikTok.

     

    Several important non-governmental organizations have criticized, however, these new provisions which they say were introduced without a prior public debate and could affect the fundamental rights of citizens, being a threat to the freedom of expression. According to the NGOs, the ordinance risks restricting political opinions and legitimate debates. The Save Romania Union (USR) leader, Elena Lasconi, who had qualified in the decisive round alongside Georgescu, criticized the modification of the voting program in the diaspora, saying that it represents an act of discrimination and a serious violation of the right to vote of Romanians abroad. (LS)

  • The respiratory virus season

    The respiratory virus season

    The number of respiratory virus cases, in certain Romanian regions, has tripled from one week to the next.

     

    The number of patients diagnosed with respiratory viruses  in the last week in Arad county, in western Romania, has increased threefold compared to the previous week. According to the county’s Public Health Department (DSP), 1,414 respiratory infections were recorded, compared to 548 in the previous week or 513 in the last week of 2024. This increase in the number of viruses also occurred because family doctors were free during the winter holidays, during which diagnoses were fewer and were made mainly in the hospital, according to say representatives of the DSP Arad. The number of cases of pneumonia has registered an insignificant decrease, from 160 to 159 new cases in the last seven days.

     

    In the case of flu virus infections, if in the first week of January there were 4 confirmed cases, in the second week there were 23. Specialists say that Arad is not an exception, but a representative case for the entire country. The Satu Mare County Emergency Hospital (northwest) has introduced access restrictions to the unit, due to the increase in the number of cases of flu and respiratory viruses. The infectious diseases department of the Slatina County Emergency Hospital (south) is almost full, according to the medical director of the healthcare unit.

     

    Most cases, however, have been reported in Bucharest. At the “Victor Babeş” Clinical Hospital for Infectious Diseases in the capital, between 150 and 200 people with various forms of respiratory viruses are seen by doctors daily. In short, more and more Romanians are going to family doctors’ offices and hospital emergency rooms, with acute symptoms of a cold or flu.

     

    The President of the Epidemiology Commission within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Doina Azoicăi, said on Radio Romania that there are over 200 respiratory viruses that, during the cold season, can cause infections. Depending on each person and the type of virus, infections can evolve from simple colds to severe  respiratory disease. Dr. Azoicăi says that the COVID-19 pandemic should have taught people many things. First of all, to avoid crowded areas and contact with people who already have symptoms. However,  vaccination remains the easiest, safest and most effective method of protection against seasonal diseases, the expert also said,  emphasizing that, with the increase in the number vaccinated people, the spread of the flu virus in the community decreases. However, according to the media, with the winter season already halfway through, the Romanians who have been vaccinated or are willing to do so are a minority.

  • No new taxes in the 2025 Budget

    No new taxes in the 2025 Budget

    Delayed due to the formation of the government, the approval of the budget for 2025 is the number one priority. It’s not just any budget, but one carefully constructed, without the excessive expenses that were included in the previous one and that generated a worrying deficit, which rose to 9% of the GDP. Meeting on the topic of the budget, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the finance minister, Tánczos Barna, concluded that Romania could no longer afford an increase in spending on goods and services. On the other hand, the deficit target of 7% this year, assumed in the discussions with the European Commission, cannot be reached without freezing the salary and pension fund and an additional pressure on the National Agency of Fiscal Administration (ANAF) for better VAT collection.

     

    However, in the case of small and medium pensions, the executive will look for solutions to supplement them, Marcel Ciolacu promises. Tánczos Barna pleaded for a rigorous control of expenses, so that Romania should respect its commitments to its European partners and insisted that, in terms of income, only the achievable ones should be included.

     

    Tánczos Barna: “The medium-term structural fiscal budgetary plan assumed by Romania provides for this year 7%, and for the next seven years it stipulates a progressive reduction of the budget deficit up to 3%. And this commitment should be respected not only now, what we build today, what we build for 2025 must also have an impact for the following years, so that on the investment side we should not reduce the amounts allocated for investments, we should constantly increase these amounts, and, on the other hand, we should not exaggerate on the side of unachievable incomes, to avoid a situation in which the difference has to be covered by loans”.

     

    Against the background of the scenarios circulated in the press according to which the authorities will increase some taxes, the PM and the finance minister have given assurances that the Value Added Tax remains unchanged.

     

    Marcel Ciolacu: “We are not increasing the VAT. Why don’t we increase the VAT? I represent the social democratic party. First, the effort would be transferred equally to all Romanians, regardless of income, effort meaning a decrease in the purchasing power. I am not doing this, and I am very glad that the minister says the same thing. At this moment, consumption will decrease and automatically, you will see, we will also have a decrease in inflation”.

     

    The ordinance adopted by the new coalition government (PSD – PNL – UDMR) at the end of the year provides for the reduction of state expenditures, the elimination of some fiscal facilities, in the case of IT, constructions, and the agri-food industry, as well as the reorganization and merger of agencies within the General Secretariat of the Government. A similar approach will also target the executive’s own functioning apparatus, as Romania needs a structural reform, Marcel Ciolacu also said. (LS)

  • National Bank of Romania maintains reference interest rate

    National Bank of Romania maintains reference interest rate

    The National Bank is maintaining its cautious attitude and will keep its monetary policy interest rate unchanged at 6.5% a year, in the context of domestic and international uncertainties. After two successive cuts, the reference interest rate has remained unchanged since August, amid efforts to bring down the inflation rate. The central bank says the inflation rose in the last quarter of last year more than expected. The Bank also decided to maintain the level of interest rates at which commercial banks can borrow from the National Bank or which they receive for deposits with the Central Bank at 7.5% and, respectively, 5.5% a year. The current levels were also maintained of the rates of the minimum obligatory reserves for lending institutions’ liabilities in lei and hard currency.

    Specialists are not surprised by these decisions, which they had anticipated, and believe the National Bank will continue to act cautiously so as to keep the inflation in check and not to hinder the otherwise low level of economic growth. Financial analyst Dragoş Cabat has more details:

    “The decision is absolutely normal given that we are going through a period of great uncertainty at home and internationally. Romania still has no budget, no plans to cut the budget deficit. Public debts continues to rise from one month to the next precisely so as to cover the budget deficit. Romania is also faced with a trade deficit. We don’t know whether taxes will go up and how public spending will decrease.”

    The inflation rate went up in the last months of 2024. The economic growth rate is very low, the war in Ukraine wages on and there is political uncertainty in the European Union in several important countries, says Dragoş Cabat. He believes the chances that the Central Bank may cut the monetary policy interest rate this year are quite low. The National Bank blames the increase in the inflation rate above expectations mainly on the rising cost of fuel, especially as a result of the appreciation of the US dollar on international markets, and less so on the rise in the cost of food, following a severe drought last summer. According to the latest data, the annual inflation rate will go down in the first quarter of 2025 but will still be higher than expected.

    The Central Bank’s experts emphasise that significant uncertainty and risks connected to the evolution of the inflation rate will be the result of the future fiscal and income policy, following the implementation of a recent package of tax and budget measures aimed at fiscal consolidation, as well as of the situation on the labour market and the wages dynamics. There will still be significant uncertainty related to the evolution of energy and food prices and the future quotation of crude oil amid geopolitical tensions. We recall that Romania ended 2024 with an inflation rate of 5.1%.

  • National Culture Day 2025

    National Culture Day 2025

    Since 2011, Romania has celebrated, every year, the National Culture Day, which marks the date of birth of the national poet Mihai Eminescu. This day is dedicated to Romanian culture, art and academic effort, emphasizing the role of Mihai Eminescu in shaping the national cultural identity, through his contributions in literature, journalism, philosophy and theater. This year marks 175 years since the birth of the one who is considered the greatest Romanian poet. The National Culture Day was initiated by the former president of the Romanian Academy, Eugen Simion, and enacted by the Romanian Parliament in 2010.

     

    Adrian Cioroianu, director of the National Library of Romania, believes that this day should be celebrated every day of the year, not just on January 15. “In my opinion, it is a very good idea to establish a National Culture Day, given that culture remains, I think, the main piece of identity in any society, including the Romanian society”, Adrian Cioroianu pointed out. He added that the simple establishment of a National Culture Day keeps the cultural leaders alert and manifestations take place all over the country, many of them quite successful and which, in a way, could turn into an example of good practices.

     

    Now in its 15th edition, the National Culture Day is celebrated in all communities inhabited by Romanians, inside or outside the country’s borders. In Bucharest and across the country, numerous events have been scheduled: conferences, debates, concerts and exhibitions, and entry to many museums is free. Among the events organized in Bucharest are book and photography launches, creative workshops, debates and performances. The “Carol I” Central University Library has scheduled an “Eminescu Evening” dedicated to the National Culture Day, the event featuring the soprano Arlinda Morava, the actor Claudiu Bleonţ and the pianist Adriana Alexandru.

     

    The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation also marks the National Culture Day. The stations Radio Romania Regional, Radio Romania Village Antenna (Antena Satelor), Radio Romania International, the Minorities Department and Radio Romania Radio 3Net have prepared special programs dedicated to this celebration and the main theme of this year: facilitating access to culture for the general public. In November 2024, the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training launched the “Cultural Consumption Barometer 2023. Consumption communities in the context of societal changes”. According to the research, the frequency of visiting the culturally relevant objectives increased rapidly. Thus, 67% of the respondents visited historical monuments and archaeological sites at least once a year in 2023, compared to 59% in 2022, and 45% visited a museum, exhibition or art gallery at least once a year in 2023, compared to 30% in 2022. (LS)

  • Energy Crisis in the Republic of Moldova

    Energy Crisis in the Republic of Moldova

    Half of the electricity consumed in the Republic of Moldova, on the right bank of the Dniester, comes from internal sources, including renewable energy, and the other half is represented by imports from Romania, announced on Tuesday, in a press conference, the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu . The Chisinau leader called a meeting of the Supreme Security Council, to discuss the situation in the energy sector and assistance measures for the population. She accused the Russian Federation of wanting to cause a political crisis in the Republic of Moldova by stopping the supply of natural gas to the breakaway Transnistrian region, which is mostly Russian-speaking.

    Maia Sandu reiterated that, although it was going through a humanitarian crisis, the administration of the separatist region refused help and set conditions to accept the proposed solutions. Chisinau proposed to buy gas from the European market for the left bank of the Dniester, and together with Ukraine’s partners to offer coal to the Transnistrian region for the generation of electricity. Tiraspol, however, had no reaction to these proposals, Maia Sandu stressed:

    “Chisinau has said very clearly that if there are patients in a complicated condition, they can be transferred to the hospitals on the right bank. This offer was also refused and the access of ambulances from the right bank to the left bank is still not allowed to help people in need. The purpose of this humanitarian crisis caused by the Kremlin on the left bank is to generate a political crisis on the right bank and escalate the situation”.

    Recently, the authorities in Transnistria had announced that power conservation measures allowed them to ease the restrictions caused by the stoppage of Russian gas supply, resulting in shorter power outages. Transnistria, which separated from the Republic of Moldova at the end of the Soviet regime, has until now relied on Russian gas transported through Ukraine. For almost three years at war with Russia, the Ukrainian authorities have refused to extend the gas transit agreement in 2025. The Russian giant Gazprom has announced that it will not send gas to the Republic of Moldova through alternative routes, citing Moldovan “arrears” of over 700 million dollars.

    Chisinau, which has been denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, denies this figure. President Maia Sandu has stated that Gazprom could supply gas to Transnistria through an alternative route, the Turkstream pipeline, via Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. In Bucharest, the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, once again assured that Romania has no problems regarding the supply of energy for the entire cold season, that there are sufficient stocks and that the domestic natural gas need is not affected by the daily exports to the Republic of Moldova, which takes place under commercial conditions. In this context, he once again discussed the need for Europe to reduce its dependence on the Russian gas. (MI)

  • Incomes and expenses in Romanian households

    Incomes and expenses in Romanian households

    Household spending in Romania increased in the third quarter of last year.

     

    In the third quarter of last year, a household in Romania had an average total monthly income of 8,255 lei, equivalent to about 1,650 euros, up 0.5% per household compared to the second quarter of the same year. According to the National Institute of Statistics, calculated for a single person, average monthly incomes were almost 3,300 lei, by 0.7% higher. Compared, this time, with the third quarter of the previous year, the average total monthly incomes of a household and those of a single person increased by just over 13%. Of the 8,255 lei earned in a family, last year, in the third quarter, most were spent. Higher by 9% compared to the previous year, the average monthly total expenses represented, in total, 85% of income.

     

    In 2024, an increase in the purchasing power of the population was recorded, according to financial analyst Adrian Codirlaşu, who explains why inflation is perceived as higher than the statistics indicate: ʺWe see an increase in expenses higher than inflation. It is true, there is also a volume component, because, as income increased, a larger quantity was purchased ; ideally it would be possible to separate the volume part from the price increase part. But it is possible that certain things that are part of the expenses are not included in inflation and that is why inflation is actually felt much stronger than it is in reality. In principle, the shares remained relatively similar to the previous period.ʺ

     

    The most important source of Romanians’ income was salaries and other salary rights, followed by those from social benefits, pensions,  unemployment or social assistance. In an urban household, the average total monthly income was 1.3 times higher than in rural areas, and, calculated for a single person, 1.5 times higher.

     

    Most expenses in the third quarter were incurred by the consumption of agri-food products, non-alcoholic beverages and non-food products, for the payment of utility bills, taxes, contributions, dues or fees, but also for the purchase of clothing and footwear. The lowest level of average monthly expenses of households in Romania was the one made for education. ʺ85% of incomes go to taxes and expenses,ʺ  the Bucharest press reports, concluding, ironically, that ʺRomanians have higher incomes, but spend almost everything.ʺ

     

     

  • The European Union cannot decouple from the United States

    The European Union cannot decouple from the United States

    In his first appearance in the European Parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committees, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe cannot afford to decouple from the United States in the area of defence. He told MEPs that the US is currently covering around 60% of NATO spending and that without the US, Europeans would have to raise their defence spending four times. In that case, defence security would only be achieved in the next 10-15 years, Rutte said, before suggesting that arms purchase and delivery procedures should be simplified.

    He urged Europeans to allocate more to defence spending. 2% of GDP is too little given the war in Ukraine, the NATO Secretary General pointed out, adding that security is the most important thing to preserve what European democracy has achieved so far. He proposed that the hybrid attacks we’ve seen in the last 15 years should be considered a “destabilisation campaign” by Russia, which has been attacking Europe in different ways:

    “Russia’s war against Ukraine rages on. At the same time, Russia’s is accelerating its destabilisation campaign against our own countries, with cyber attacks, with assassination attempts, acts of sabotage and more. We used to call this hybrid; I’m trying to get rid of that word, hybrid, I would call it destabilisation campaign. And Russia is not alone, it has China, North Korea and Iran, by its side. Meanwhile, many other dangers persist, from terrorism, nuclear proliferation, disinformation, and, of course, climate change. NATO allies have certainly increased defence spending, two thirds are now spending at least 2% of GDP on defence. And that’s good, and we very much welcome their efforts, but to be honest, 2% is not nearly enough. Our industry is still too small, it is too fragmented and, to be honest, it is too slow. I welcome and support that the EU is now redoubling efforts to remedy this by enhancing our defence industrial base and, with the European defence industry programme, we have opportunity to bolster our shared security.”

    At the moment, only 23 of NATO’s 32 member states are meeting the targeted defence spending of 2% of GDP, with Romania being one of the former. The new US president elect Donald Trump asked NATO member states from Europe to boost their defence budgets to at least 5% of GDP per year, a target seen, however, as unrealistic in the European Union. A possible decision to raise this target is expected at the next NATO summit to be held in The Hague in June this year.

  • Protests and preparations for the presidential election

    Protests and preparations for the presidential election

    The ruling coalition in Romania made up of the PSD-PNL-UDMR last week decided that the presidential election be held on May 4th and 18th. The Executive in Bucharest is now preparing the documents needed for making these dates official. The country’s Social-Democratic Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, says there is obviously a huge public expectation related to the date of the presidential election. However, the people in the street have conveyed a more radical message: the Constitutional Court cancelled the first round of voting in an unjustified manner and should now re-think the ruling it made on December 6th.

    Such a review appeal was made by the lawyers of the independent candidate, Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russia extremist, who unexpectedly emerged as winner of the first presidential round held on November 24th. The moment of the appeal registration was accompanied by an unauthorized protest staged by thousands of Georgescu’s supporters.

    The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the flagship party of the sovereignist trio in the Romanian Parliament, staged a large-scale protest in Bucharest, during which people from all over the country called for the resumption of the second round of the presidential election and the sacking of president Klaus Iohannis.

    ‘The Meeting for Democracy’, as it was titled, also included a march between the government and presidential buildings.

    “In a normal Romania, at the end of this day, the illegal resident of the Cotroceni Palace, Klaus Werner Iohannis, will announce his resignation and we’ll rejoin the institutional framework so that we may be able to observe the will of the Romanian people”, the AUR leader, George Simion says. According to him, the protests will continue until all the protesters’ claims are met, and thousands of people will take to the streets on January 24th, when we celebrate the Union of the Romanian Principalities. The USR president, Elena Lasconi, who also qualified for the presidential race together with Georgescu, says that she understands the Romanians who took to the streets in order to point out to the Constitutional Court, quote, ‘the fact that it used its power discriminately’. She says the solution is neither in the street, nor on social networks, though.

    In her opinion, it would be normal for president Iohannis to step down and let the head of the Senate take over the country’s leadership as an interim.

    We recall the CCR cancelled the presidential election in November-December last year, after the country’s Higher Defence Council had published a report on foreign interferences in the election process that favoured Georgescu and the alleged illegal funding of his campaign.

    However, the facts, on which the Court based its unprecedented ruling, have not been confirmed by legal investigations yet, which casts a question mark upon its decision. As a result Klaus Iohannis is still Romania’s president, although he finished its second and last mandate on December 21.

    (bill)

     

  • Visa-free travel to the USA for Romanian citizens

    Visa-free travel to the USA for Romanian citizens

    After March 31, Romanian citizens will be able to travel to the United States under a liberalized regime, after US authorities granted Romania the status of a participating country in the Visa Waiver program. The lifting of visas for Romanians was officially announced on Friday at the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington. “It is an important and happy moment for all Romanians, and the decision of the United States shows how strong the bond between Romania and the US has become over the years” Romania’s ambassador to Washington said on this occasion. Andrei Muraru also explained what this approach brings: “Beyond clear economic and security benefits, Romanians who want to travel to America can now do that much easier, faster and cheaper. Romanians no longer have to wait for months for an appointment, no longer have to pass an interview test, and no longer have to pay a considerable fee. As of today, the journey to America is shorter. Romania becomes the first country in the Black Sea region to enter this elite program, and this is in the interest of promoting bilateral and regional security cooperation”.

     

     

    Before traveling to the US, Romanian citizens will have to register in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization – ESTA, and people who do not obtain approval will not be able to board any airline to the US. The travel authorization that replaces visas will be valid for two years, with an unlimited number of entries or exits from the United States. According to the US Embassy in Bucharest, the authorization can be used for visits of up to 90 days and will cost 21 USD. In an interview to Radio Romania, Ambassador Andrei Muraru said that only type B visas are being replaced, namely visas for tourism and business, while visas for any other type of travel, whether work, studies or medical procedures, will remain in place, in addition to application procedures. At the same time, Romanians will still be able to apply for American visas, with the advantage they are valid for 10 years, with the maximum duration of six months for each trip . “It is an achievement that will determine the even more dynamic development of our bilateral relations, at all levels”, president Klaus Iohannis said, congratulating all those who contributed to Romania’s inclusion to the Visa Waiver program. (VP)

  • Budget deficit must be reduced

    Budget deficit must be reduced

    The 2025 draft budget will be built on a 7% deficit, without additional tax increases, says Finance Minister Tánczos Barna.

     

    Romania ends 2024 with a budget deficit of 8.6%, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. Experts point out that this is a huge deficit level and is among the highest in the EU. Economic growth is not robust, as it is based on large internal and external imbalances, and the Government must try to keep spending under strict control, experts also say. The deficit must decrease this year, which is a real challenge, says Finance Minister Tánczos Barna. He specified that the objective for 2025 is the wise management of public money, given that 2024 was a difficult year for Romania, from all points of view. Tánczos Barna: “It was a year with many elections, it was a year in which pensions were recalculated, salaries were increased in several areas and investments were supported with unprecedented amounts. I believe this is the most important element of the 2024 budget, even if the year ended with a deficit of 8.6%. The year 2025 will mean a 7% deficit and, indeed, this is a challenge given that we want to keep the amounts allocated for investments and pay salaries at the level of November and pensions at the level of November 2024. We have to support the education system, the health system, all public institutions, to fit into this deficit. At the same time this must also be the year in which we begin to create that flexible state, which does not collect taxes to become obese and to hire even more and provide the same services with a larger number of employees, with high, high costs.”

     

    Tánczos Barna recalled that, in 2024, Romania made a 7-year commitment to the European Commission, and at the end of this timeframe it must reach a 3% deficit. He also said that, in drafting the state budget for 2025, the authorities are not considering an increase in VAT or any changes to the payroll tax. The minister mentioned that the draft budget will be presented to the governing coalition by January 27, to be adopted by Parliament in the first week of February.

     

    We recall that the Government led by the Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu recently approved an emergency ordinance regarding some fiscal-budgetary measures in the field of public spending, to substantiate the general budget for 2025. The measures have sparked dissatisfaction among the private sector, which complains about legislative unpredictability and the change of tax laws from one day to the next. In turn, the unions signal the fact that protests will be held in the upcoming period and have asked the Ombudsman to challenge the article that provides for the freezing of pension indexation at the Constitutional Court. Having taken effect on January 1, the ordinance also provides for a salary freeze, the elimination of some tax incentives and the restriction of certain benefits.

     

  • Romania and the strategic industries

    Romania and the strategic industries

    The European Union supports Romania in becoming a key player in new industries.

     

    Visiting Romania, as part of a European tour, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Stéphane Séjourné, responsible for industrial prosperity and strategy, promised to support important sectors of the local industry, from battery production to the steel sector. He announced that, next month, the European Commission will publish a strategic plan that will simplify the regulatory framework in the field of reindustrialization and will include all the issues of the battery sector, including decarbonization and the competitiveness of companies. He visited, together with the Minister of Economy, Bogdan Ivan, the Romanian factory “Prime Batteries Technology”, which produces state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries and customized energy storage systems.

     

    The European official had meetings with the authorities in Bucharest and also visited the National Institute for Aerospace Research and Development, the main research center in the field of aerospace sciences in the country. In this context, he stated that Romania is one of the most industrialized states in Europe and that he will support the continuation of this process. “We need Romania in these moments of economic uncertainty and reindustrialization”, he said. In turn, Minister Bogdan Ivan emphasized the importance of this visit, as a clear message that the Union supports Romania in becoming a key player in new industries. Bogdan Ivan: “When we talk about the industrial development of Europe and reducing dependence on other continents, we talk about making the most of the resources that we have here, and Romania has huge resources of critical materials. It has, on the other hand, an extremely important geo-strategic position”.

     

    The minister added that the focus will be on complementary projects between the EU member states, avoiding internal competition and aligning national objectives with the European vision. The value of the global battery market is estimated to double in the coming years, due to the increase in demand for lithium-ion batteries, considered the most efficient energy storage solutions for the automotive and energy industries. Currently, Europe depends significantly on imports of rare metals and, in terms of batteries, it produces much less than the market needs. To reduce this dependence, the European Union aims to become the second largest battery producer in the world, after China. As for the steel industry in Romania, the European official said that this is an essential sector for batteries, automobiles and wind energy, which is why it will be a priority topic of his upcoming visit to Bucharest.