27 December, 2019

A roundup of some of the main stories in Romania.

Newsroom, 27.12.2019, 13:55

Government. The Romanian prime
minister Ludovic Orban has summoned his cabinet for a meeting this evening.
According to government sources, the agenda of the meeting features the
prorogation of a number of pieces of legislation that were about to come into
effect at the beginning of 2020. The Liberal cabinet also met on Monday to
approve some of the amendments introduced by MPs to the state and social
security budget bills, which were passed through government responsibility. The
government wanted these bills to come into force by the end of the year, but
they have been challenged in the Constitutional Court by the Social Democratic
speakers of the two chambers of Parliament, Marcel Ciolacu and Teodor
Melescanu. The government and Parliament now have until the 10th of
January to state their cases on the possible existence of a legal conflict
between the two powers.

Decoration. Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis on Friday signed a decree to award the journalist Mihai Creanga
the National Order for Merit in rank of Knight, posthumously. The decoration is
meant to recognise Creanga’s contribution to defending the freedom of the press
and promoting the principles of democracy and the dedication with which he
opposed the communist regime. Mihai Creanga died on Wednesday at the age of 77.
He was part of a group of four journalists working for the daily Romania
Libera, who, almost a year before the fall of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, tried
to publish an anti-communist newspaper. The regime found out about their plans
and the four were arrested and tortured before being released on the 22nd
of December 1989 after the victory of the anticommunist revolution.

Holiday. Orthodox
and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania today celebrate the Feast of St
Stephen, known as the first Christian martyr. He was one of the seven deacons
of the first community in Jerusalem, a position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy
which at the time also involved assisting the poor. Stephen is described in the
New Testament as being able to work wonders and was said to convert many to the
Christian faith, a success which was not to the liking of the Jewish leaders.
Stephen was thus arrested, tried and found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to
death by stoning. He died in 35 AD. More than 400,000 Romanians are named after
this saint and are celebrating their name day today.

Tourism. More than 2 million foreign
nationals visited Romania in the first nine months of the year, spending some
1.15 billion euros here, according to the National Institute for Statistics.
Almost half of these foreign visitors travelled to Romania for work to attend
congresses, conferences, courses, fairs and exhibitions. Half of the money
spent in Romania covered the accommodation costs, with another almost 18% being
spent in restaurants and bars and a little over 30% on gifts and souvenirs. 80%
of foreign visitors to Romania arrived here by plane, 11% by car and 7% by bus.

Accidents. The
Romanian interior ministry calls on motorists to drive carefully, respect
traffic rules and not to use their mobile phones while driving. This warning
comes after 27 people have been killed and several dozens injured in the last
few days in a number of serious accidents. The police also warns that the roads
are wet and there is a risk of ice forming, especially in the mountainous
regions. As for the weather in Romania, a cold snap is expected beginning on
Saturday across the country. Snow is also expected. The noon reading today in
Bucharest was 6 degrees Celsius.

Handball. The Romanian men’s
handball side are facing The Netherlands on Saturday in the semifinals of the
Carpati Trophy. In the other semifinal, North Macedonia face Algeria. The
competition’s final will take place on Sunday. The matches are part of the
training campaign for the first qualifying stage ahead of the 2021 World
Championship hosted by Egypt. Next month, Romania will face Italy, Georgia and
Kosovo in a preliminary tournament hosted by Italy. The manager of the Romanian
side Rares Fortuneanu, who also manages the French First
League side Saint Raphael, says he is confident Romania can qualify for the
2021 final tournament, which will bring together 32 sides for the first time.
In women’s handball, Romania reached as far as the Main Round of the World
Championship hosted by Japan this month.