August 28, 2015
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Newsroom, 28.08.2015, 12:00
The total population residing in Romania remains under 20 million people, according to preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute. On January 1, 19,861,000 people were residing in Romania, down 85,900 since the beginning of the previous year. According to experts, the main cause of this decrease is the negative rate of natural increase. The urban and female population account, respectively, for 53.8%, and 51.1% of the total, and the ageing phenomenon is deepening, with the difference between the population over 65 and the young population of up to 14 years of age having widened to more than 300,000 people. The survey also indicates that Romania remains an emigration country, with a number of emigrants 42,000 higher than the number of immigrants last year.
The Bucharest Court has today dismissed a notification filed by the management of the Romanian Air Traffic Authority (ROMATSA) regarding the unlawfulness of the strike announced by employees. Their union leaders announced an all-out strike starting in September 1, unless an agreement is reached with the Transport Ministry on the unions demands. Air traffic controllers want a pay raise, the reduction of the retirement age from 65 to 55, improved working conditions as well as the resignation of the management. On July 15, the employees went on a two-hour warning strike, an unprecedented situation in the Romanian air transport system. According to the Romanian Air Traffic Authority, which currently has around 1,500 employees, between 2,500 and 3,000 planes transit the Romanian territory every day. On Wednesday, union leaders from the state-owned sector announced that 85,000 public sector employees might express their solidarity with the air traffic controllers planned strike.
The Embassy of Romania in neighbouring Hungary has been notified by the Hungarian police that 12 Romanian citizens, suspected of trafficking in human beings, were detained and questioned by the Hungarian authorities, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. According to a news release, the Embassy is monitoring the case, stays in touch with the local authorities and is prepared to provide consular assistance, within the limits of the law. Meanwhile, the Austrian police carry on investigations into the case involving a lorry abandoned near the Hungarian border, and which contained tens of dead immigrants. According to a spokesperson for the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, the vehicle had been registered by a Romanian citizen, but the Romanian Foreign Ministry has learned, through its embassies, from the Hungarian and Austrian authorities, that no Romanian citizens are actually involved in the case. After the news well have more on the measures taken by Bucharest with respect to the migrant wave facing Europe.
The Romanian Youth Orchestra will open in Bucharest on Sunday night the 22nd “George Enescu International Festival. Nearly 2,500 foreign artists and 500 Romanian ones will take part in this years edition of the Festival. The participating orchestras include the San Francisco Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, conducted by the world famous Zubin Mehta, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian State Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, London Symphony Orchestra, Sankt Petersburg Orchestra, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. According to the organisers, the 2015 edition of the largest cultural event organised in Romania and the worlds leading promoter of the works of the great Romanian composer George Enescu, will take place between August 30 and September 20, and will consist in 58 indoor concerts and many other outdoor events.
BUCURESTI – In Romania, the autumn session of the Baccalaureate exam concludes today, when over 36,000 high-school graduates give the last written test in their chosen major. The first results will be announced on September 1, appeals may be filed on the same day. The final results will be made public on September 4. Around 55,000 high school graduates took part in the autumn session of the Romanian Baccalaureate.
For the first time in 12 years, Romania will have no representatives in the group stage of the European inter-club football competitions. Although on Thursday night Romanian champions Steaua defeated Norways Rosenborg Trondheim, 1-0 away from home, the Romanians were knocked off the Europa League play-off, because the Norwegian team had won in Bucharest 3-0. The new failure comes after Steaua was also eliminated from the third round of the Champions League by the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade. Also in Thursdays Europa League play-off, Astra Giurgiu failed to qualify, after losing 0-2, against the Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, which it had beaten in the first leg. The other two Romanian teams in the competition, vice-champions ASA Târgu Mureş and FC Botoşani, were sent home from the qualifiers stage. According to Romanian sports media, the last hope for the local football fans remains the national team, which is the leader of the preliminary group of next years European Championships. Romanias next match in the group is scheduled for September 4, when the national team takes on Hungary in Budapest.
