|
RRI newsletter subcription
(e-mail address):
|
 |
Archives:
|
|
| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 25-31/01/2010 |
| (2010-01-29) |
| Last updated: 2010-02-01 13:03 EET |
Romania was hit by a wave of cold this week, with temperatures dropping in some areas to almost minus 35 degrees Celsius. More than 50 people died of the cold. More people would have probably died unless the authorities had taken measures to protect the homeless, who were taken from the street and accommodated in hospitals and other locations during the night. On Monday, the authorities declared a state of emergency in the supply of natural gas, so gas deliveries to some companies were interrupted, for the population not to be affected by a possible drop in the gas flow rate. Road, railway and air traffic was also disrupted by snow and blizzards.
The representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the World Bank this week ended their joint mission to Romania and made public the conclusions of their assessment of the economic and social programmes agreed in 2009, when an almost 20 billion stand-by loan agreement was signed. The conclusions are positive, and the IMF experts say all the conditions are met to disburse the third and fourth payments of 2.3 million euros of this loan. The head of the IMF mission, Jeffrey Franks said he would request the IMF board to agree that half of this sum be used to support the budget and the rest to go to the National Bank to support the balance of payments. He explained that the IMF board would have the final say, but that he was optimistic about the outcome.
According to Jeffrey Franks, although the economic situation remains fragile in 2010, Romania will see a 1.3% growth rate of the GDP, following a 7% contraction in 2009. With regard to the modification of several terms in the loan agreement, Romania’s IMF representative said they are related to reaching a 5.9% deficit in 2010, a goal which also depends on the implementation of a number of laws, such as the pensions and fiscal accountability laws. The two bills are to be voted on in Parliament in the first half of the year and come into affect by the end of the year. The IMF money will be made available to Bucharest in the second half of February. Later, Romania may receive 1 billion euros from the European Commission and another 300 million euros from the World Bank.
President Traian Basescu has made his first foreign visit since winning a new term in office to the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian speaking population. In Chisinau, the Romanian president reiterated his country’s support for the Republic of Moldova in its efforts to join the European Union. The president also announced a number of concrete measures, such as granting 100 million euros to modernise schools and local infrastructure, speed up the implementation of the agreement on small-scale border trade and the connection of Moldova’s energy infrastructure to Romania’s. Traian Basescu also spoke about speeding up procedures to grant Romanian citizenship and announced the establishment of a special agency to this end. Mihai Ghimpu, the interim president of the Republic of Moldova, spoke about the new, closer ties between the two neighbouring states and the reconstruction of the relationship damaged during the former communist government in Chisinau:
“I believe there are no reasons today for the governments of Bucharest and Chisinau not to be able to solve the problems between the Republic of Moldova and Romania. We are two different states, but we share the same blood, the same culture, the same language.”
The Romanian president said Bucharest would never sign a treaty that redefines the border between the two neighbouring states, saying that Romania has recognised the state borders inherited by the Republic of Moldova from the former USSR.
At an International Conference on Afghanistan in London, the Romanian foreign minister Teodor Baconschi presented Romania’s contribution to the efforts of the international community to ensure Afghanistan’s security, stability and development. Recently, the Higher Defence Council decided that Romania would send an additional 600 military to the 1,020 already stationed in Afghanistan. The 70 foreign ministers meeting in the British capital created a new strategy which they hope will put an end to the conflict in Afghanistan. Under the new plan, the handover of the security mission to the Afghan government will start in 2010 and will end within the following 5 years. The Afghan army may increase to over 300,000 by 2011. Also, 140 million dollars will go to a fund for the reintegration of Taliban fighters.
|
|
| |
WMA |
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
MP3 |
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
AAC+ |
|
|
48kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
 Historical mascot of
RRI |
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again