News review of the day – October 15th

Most Romanians favour shorter terms of office for the President – survey

Most Romanians favour the idea of cutting down one year of the President’s mandate, according to a INSCOP survey published earlier today. Romanians also wish for merging parliamentary and presidential elections into a simultaneous process.
69.9 percent of those questioned have stated that cutting down presidential terms of office to 4 years would be beneficial whilst 17.4 percent have gone against the idea.
According to the survey, nearly half of the interviewees would want a two-year mandate for the upcoming President who is to be elected in November so that a new presidential poll be held in 2016 alongside parliamentary elections.
The survey has been carried out by INSCOP Research and commissioned by „Adevarul” newspaper between October 2nd and 8th on a relevant sample for Romania’s population above the age of 18.

Russia cuts down natural gas supplies to Romania once more – diplomatic explanation provided

The Russian Federation has cut down once more its natural gas supplies to Romania by almost 27 percent, according to the Government Energy Department. For the first time, however, the Russian diplomatic mission to Bucharest has offered an explanation regarding this decision. According to Minister Delegate for Energy, Razvan Nicolescu, the Russian ambassador Oleg Malginov has provided an official statement saying the decrease is accounted for by some technical inconveniences resulted from Gazprom’s gas-storage preparations for winter. Romania’s current import level from Russia is however insignificant as our country produces more natural gas than it consumes, RADIO Romania reported.

PM Victor Ponta publicly expresses Romania’s goal to become full member of OECD

Prime Minister Victor Ponta has stated today that Romania is willing to become full member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a goal that is considered achievable by the Romanian authorities. The message has been addressed in Bucharest to OECD’s Deputy Secretary General William Danvers.
„The will power exists, the wish is real and I believe we can achieve this goal” – PM Victor Ponta stated during his speech held at the launch event of a project regarding trade arrangements impact upon competitive environment in key sectors of Romanian economy. The project is being carried on within a partnership between Romania’s Government, OECD and the Competition Council in Romania.
The Prime Minister added that the business environment, the Competition Council and Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry have a significant role in notifying the Parliament about the risks of monopoly or decrease in transparency and competitiveness.
Romania’s accession to OECD is a strategic goal of the country’s foreign policy depending on several factors among which the existence of a functional market economy and democracy.

Weapon imports by Romania, Poland and Bulgaria have increased

Weapon imports by Romania, Poland and Bulgaria have increased, mainly those from the US, according to military news portal DefenseWorld.net. Arms worth two billion dollars have been delivered or ordered over the last few months, making the Eastern European market one of the fastest growing in the world. Bulgaria has announced on October 8th that its army will stop using three dozen fighter bombers made in Russia in order to state its independence from Moscow.

Bucharest needs Baneasa International Airport in view of development – Transport Minister

Romania’s Transport Minister Ioan Rus has taken things up with the consulting company that drafted the Transport Master Plan about Baneasa International Airport, which is missing from the General Transport Plan after year 2020. The minister asked for clarifications in writing and pleaded that Bucharest needs this particular airport for its future development. Ioan Rus has attended debates regarding airline sector projects included in this strategic document and discussed the opportunity of building a new air station in the Capital. During the debates today, the minister has announced that he plans to propose a schedule meant to facilitate construction of regional airports by private operators with additional support from the state.

Dacia carmaker hands over keys of its 3rd million model to Spanish customer in Paris

The Romanian branch of Renault carmaker, Dacia, has handed over the keys of its 3rd million model to a Spanish customer. Sales Manager of Renault Group Nicolas Wertans has officially presented the buyer with the Dacia Sandero Stepway model at Paris Motor Show, vehicle number 3.000.000 since the start of production in 2004, according to a press release by the company.
Year 2014 looks very well again to Dacia as sales of the brand have registered a 24.4 % advance in the first semester. Moreover, Dacia offers the youngest range of products on the automotive world market and reports significant rise of sales in all European countries. In this particular geographic area the increase reached 36.2 % in the first semester of 2014 despite less favourable economic backgrounds. The brand continues to see development and has recently announced it is bound to be marketed in Israel before the year ends. In 2013 there were other successful launches in six countries: The United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus and Malta.

Health condition of Romanian citizens returning from West Africa monitored for 21 days

Around 20 Romanian citizens recently returning from West African states affected by the Ebola epidemic are being monitored for 21 days according to international procedures in such cases. The World Health Organization representative in Romania Victor Olşavsky has explained the monitoring process consists of testing body temperature and examining overall health condition. Health Minister Nicolae Banicioiu has underlined that medical staff within hospitals, border consulting rooms, airports and in Constantza harbor have undergone instruction for personal protection measures after possible contact with a person suspected with haemorrhagic fever.

Rador News Agency presents its renewed website

Starting October 15th, RADOR News Agency presents its renewed website dedicated to those who look for information, entertainment and knowledge – all in the same place. The Internet has thus become a meeting point where we feel more open,  interconnected and united. We launch an invitation for you to visit a familiar, friendly virtual space and enjoy our community.
You can become instantly connected to relevant national and international news, set your daily agenda by consulting our events calendar or have a treat reading unique stories in our Oral History section.
Our foreign visitors will be provided daily with two news reviews in English and Hungarian published in the evening.
Rador is the most significant media monitoring center in the country with 57 radio and TV stations, over 60.000 web sources and 400 publications from all over the world in 15 languages in its schedule.

National music tour „Do you like tango?” brings out the character of Buenos Aires old slums

National music tour „Do you like tango?” – the first series of concerts dedicated exclusively to this genre in Romania – has proven quite successful so far since its kick-off date on September 28th and is now half-way to its closing date, October 24th, in Bucharest.
“Vă place tango?” („Do you like tango?”) continues the tradition of two other concerts – “Do you like Bach?” and “Do you like Brahms?” – both held by Razvan Suma, cello soloist in the Romanian Radio Orchestras and Choirs. This time, he performs alongside two young Argentinian musicians – Analia Selis (voice) and Julio Santillan (guitar) – in 12 cities throughout the country. The five remaining cities besides Bucharest are: Baia Mare – October 15th, Târgu Mureş – October 17th, Arcuş – October 18th, Sibiu – October 19th and Piteşti – October 23rd.
Bucharest will host the last two concerts of the tour: on October 22nd at the National Radio Hall and October 24th at Teatrelli. The tickets are sold out for the 22nd but still on sale for October 24th.
The program includes tango, milonga and valse standards signed by the greatest composers of the genre, from famous Astor Piazzolla to Carlos Gardel and Sebastian Piana or even creations of Julio Santillan, one of the artists performing in the tour, all pieces being played in the style of Buenos Aires’ old slums.

Bianca Ioniţă