November 1, 2016

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Newsroom, 01.11.2016, 12:00

PERFORMANCE Romania is still seeing low performances and incomplete processes, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has today said in Bucharest during ceremonies marking 25 years of partnership with the World Bank. According to Iohannis, Romania could make a better use of the assistance provided by international institutions such as the World Bank. The WB-Romania partnership is the expression of a wide-range cooperation in various social and economic fields; it also reflects the complex evolution of the WB’s role in Romania’s reform agenda, Iohannis added. According to the Romanian head of state, ongoing reforms are essential for sustainable development and economic growth. Iohannis has also pointed out that reforms in public and fiscal administration are among Romania’s key priorities.

RADIO Radio Romania today celebrates 88 years of existence. November 1st 1928 saw the first broadcast aired by the Society of Radio-Telephonic Broadcasting, as the public radio corporation was named back then. 88 years ago, Romanians were able to hear for the first time in speakers, ‘Hello, hello, this is Bucharest Calling’. Since its early days, the public radio has been a promoter and supporter of Romanian culture and civilization a major vector in forging civic spirit and community cohesion. The institution’s name has changed many times along its existence, sometimes under the pressure exerted by various political regimes that ruled Romania at certain times in history. The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is presently a structure with three national channels and several regional ones, including an international channel broadcasting in ten languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Serbian, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian) as well as in Romanian and the Aromanian dialect. As every year, the Sala Radio (Radio Hall) in Bucharest has seen an anniversary concert while the institution has hosted the Open Doors Day, allowing listeners to visit its studios and see the activities going on there.

DRILL Over November 1st and 12th Romanian troops are participating together with their US allies in Patriot Shock V, a joint drill held at the Capul Midia Shooting Range in Constanta, southeastern Romania. According to sources with the Romanian Defence Ministry, Patriot Shock V is a joint drill of tactical level involving ground troops and surface-to-air missile installations. The drill’s objectives are planning and fighting air strikes as well as checking on the inter-operability of command-control units of the two surface-to-air structures, Patriot and Hawk PIP lll.

QUAKE Italy has again been rocked by an earthquake, measuring 4.7 degrees on the Richter scale. The quake’s epicenter was in Macerata, the same region that saw the devastating quake in August this year. Another 130 aftershocks of the Sunday’s earthquake were reported during the night. 40 thousand people have been left without shelter after the earthquakes of the past days, including 200 Romanian citizens. A mobile team of the Romanian embassy on Monday has been deployed to the affected region. There are no Romanian citizens in hospitals and most of those who cannot return to their homes have been offered accommodation in hotels in the Umbria region. According to a communiqué by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, four Romanians have asked for repatriation assistance. The Romanian embassy has also called on the Italian authorities to investigate the case of a Romanian who died 24 hours after Sunday’s earthquake.

MEASURES Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos believes the measures adopted by Parliament in the past months concerning pay rises in various sectors of the economy, amounting to 2 billion lei, over 1% of the GDP, might impact the budget significantly; they could either result in a swollen deficit, which might prove disastrous for Romania, or in curbed investment. Ciolos said that such pay rises are causing more imbalances in the employees’ treatment without solving the payment issue altogether. The Prime Minister’s statements came after MPs in the assembled labour & budget commissions on Monday had endorsed several pay rises for some categories of employees in the country’s healthcare system and education. Both the Labor Minister and the Finance Minister have voted against the measures. Labour Minister Dragos Paslaru has described the measures as having only an election purpose.