PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group

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PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian
Presidency

                                 1
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
Table of contents
INTERVIEW OF Siegfried Muresan, MEP (EPP)
                           `                  4­7
PRIORITIES OF THE Romanian PRESIDENCY        8­10
POLITICAL CALENDAR FOR THE NExT SIx MONTHS   10­11
wHAT ABOUT Romania?                          12­17
Some useful words                              18
Let's play OinA!                               19
                                                     3
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
INTERVIEW OF Siegfried MureSan                                                                    relationship between the EU and the UK.        Climate change is a crucial global challenge

                              `
                                                                                                  This new relationship, which will probably     that asks for a European solution for the

             Romanian EPP MEP                                                                     be a trade agreement, should guarantee
                                                                                                  that the interests of EU citizens and
                                                                                                                                                 future of our planet. My political family, the
                                                                                                                                                 EPP, is very much aware of the challenges
                                                                                                  businesses are preserved.                      we are facing in terms of global warming
Hot Topics                                                                                                                                       and CO2 emissions. We believe that Europe
                                                                                                  Last October, the Intergovernmental            must engage with its international partners
On November          14th,the European                                                            Panel on Climate Change released a very        to internationally binding climate change
Parliament adopted its position on the                                                            alarming report highlighting a number of       agreements and invest in innovative, safe,
Multinational Financial Framework (MFF)                                                           climate change impacts that could be           and      sustainable   low-carbon     energy
post 2020. At Council level, there are still                                                      avoided by limiting global warming to          technologies that minimise our dependency
remaining sticking points. What are the                                                           1.5ºC compared to 2ºC. Global human-           to fossil fuels. The reduction of CO2
ambitions of the Romanian Presidency                                                              caused emissions of CO2 would need to          emissions is crucial, but must be done at a
with regard to the adoption of the MFF                                                            fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by          realistic pace and while protecting
post 2020? Would its adoption still be                                                            2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050.         European jobs and industries, which face
possible before the next European                                                                 What should be the European political          fierce international competition.
elections?                                                                                        answer to scientific data brought up by
                                                                                                  the report?
The MFF post-2020 should be agreed upon
before the European elections of May 2019.                                                        Priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council
This is the position of the European
Parliament and this is what the Romanian                                                          Romania joined the EU in 2007 (which           billion EUR in EU structural and investment
Presidency should aim for. The European                                                           makes it one of the newest). From your         funds. These funds have provided crucial
Parliament has set out its priorities in a very                                                   point of view, what are the main benefits       support to SMEs and to farmers, as well as
clear manner. First of all, as a matter of                                                        you have observed since the adhesion?          to investments in infrastructure and
principle, if we call for the EU to be more             Siegfried Mureșan
                                                                                                                                                 research.
ambitious and take up more tasks, we need                                                         There are plenty of benefits Romania is
a bigger budget. And we can clearly see           After months of negotiations, the UK and        reaping from its EU membership. First, there   It is the very first time Romania is taking
that the priorities of the EU have multiplied     EU have come up with a draft withdrawal         is the advantage of being part of such a big   over the presidency of the Council. Do
in the past years, security being one of          agreement. The UK Parliament and EU             family of nations in a project that aims at    you consider this aspect to be a strength
these new priorities.                             Member States should ratify the                 peace, prosperity and freedom. This has led    or a weakness? What kind of vision could
                                                  agreement before 29 March 2019, which           to significant reforms in Romania in many       Romania bring to other Members States?
On the other hand, the European                   will allow the parties to start negotiating     areas of EU competence.
Parliament calls for maintaining the level of     their new relationship after Brexit. How is                                                    I think it is always a challenge when a
investments in the EU regions and the             Romania looking to advance the                  Secondly, being able to access the largest     country has never held the Presidency
agricultural sector. Regional policy is the       negotiations in the coming months?              Single Market in the world brings economic     before, especially a newer Member State.
main investment tool of the EU which                                                              growth and creates job opportunities.          This could be a great opportunity to put
generates millions of jobs across Europe. At      The truth is that, whether we like it or not,   Romanians are also allowed to travel, work     Romania on the map of the European
the same time, investments in agriculture         on 29 March 2019 Britain will leave the EU.     and live freely in any of the other EU         Union.
and our rural areas guarantee a high level of     Having in place a withdrawal agreement by       Member States. I think this brings positive
food security and standards.                      that date is imperative in order to avoid a     developments to our country through the        It will also be an opportunity to advance
                                                  disorderly exit of the UK from the Union,       diffusion of Western values and norms, as      certain priorities and files which are being
The adoption of the new MFF before the            which will have negative consequences for       well as through the economic contribution      discussed at EU level. The multiannual
European elections is necessary in order to       citizens and businesses alike.                  the diaspora brings.                           budget of the EU should definitely be one
avoid delays such as those which we                                                                                                              of these priorities. The EU Neighbourhood
experienced in the current MFF. Due to            In case the agreement is ratified by both        Last but not least, Romania largely benefits    and the Western Balkans are another
these dalays, full implementation of EU           parties, the Romanian Presidency will have      from    the    European    Structural  and     priority which should be brought forward
funded programmes was very late and it            an important role in steering discussions       Investment Funds. Since our accession to       during the Romanian Presidency.
affected primarily beneficiaries of EU funds.      within the EU Council on the new                the EU, Romania has received more than 48
                                                                                                                                                                                                  5
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
Tell us
Two weeks before the May 23-26                     Brexit negotiations, where we have had the                                                         Which Romanian culinary specialty would
European Parliament elections, Romania             upper hand because we spoke with a single                                                          you recommend?
will host, in Sibiu, the first EU summit            voice.
after Brexit, in which the future of the                                                                                                              I recommend the dessert called papanași,
                                                   Regional policy, which generates economic,                                                         which is a traditional fried or boiled pastry,

                                                                                                          more about
Union will be discussed. How do you think
EU officials could encourage voters to              social and territorial cohesion in the EU, is                                                      doughnut shaped with a small sphere on
participate in the elections, bearing in           the most important investment policy of the                                                        top. They are filled with a soft cheese and
mind that the turnout has constantly               EU. This is why the EP will push for a strong                                                      served covered in sour cream and jam.
                                                   cohesion policy after 2020 which favours

                                                                                                          Romania
fallen since 1979? How is Romania
                                                   investments in areas that generate                                                                 Of which Romanian tradition are you
preparing for the Sibiu summit?
                                                   sustainable growth and jobs.                                                                       proudest?
I think politicians must engage more with
                                                   The European elections in May 2019 are                                                             Romania has many beautiful traditions and
the citizens. I think the low turnout in the EU
                                                   approaching quickly. What are the                                                                  one that I particularly like is Mărțișor, a
elections is the result of a lack of
                                                   dossiers on which the Romanian                                                                     celebration at the beginning of spring. On
communication between the EU and its                                                                 Could you briefly introduce your country?
                                                   Presidency would like to focus and finalize                                                         March 1st, Romanians buy silky red-white
citizens. We, the European politicians, must
                                                   before the next European elections?                                                                threads (șnur) tied into a bow to which a
do more and better communicate the                                                                   Geographically speaking, Romania is one of
                                                                                                                                                      small trinket is attached and offer them to
benefits of the EU on the daily life of                                                               the largest countries in Europe (roughly the
                                                   As previously mentioned, it is very important                                                      their family members, friends and
citizens. It is important that we show to                                                            size of the United Kingdom). One finds a
                                                   to reach a good agreement on the                                                                   colleagues to show friendship, respect or
citizens concrete projects and policies of the                                                       variety of beautiful landforms in Romania,
                                                   Multiannual Financial Framework and its                                                            admiration. It is mostly offered to women,
EU which have a positive impact on their                                                             from     the    breathtaking      Carpathian
                                                   sectoral proposals. We must achieve a                                                              but in some regions of the country also to
lives. This is also the proper way to fight                                                           Mountains, to the Black Sea and the
                                                   budget that is simple and flexible, with                                                            men.
against populists and extremists, who use                                                            Danube Delta.
                                                   instruments that can be easily activated in
disinformation to criticise the EU.                                                                                                                   Could you recommend me a contem-
                                                   situations of crisis or unpredictability. We      It joined the EU in 2007 and has ever since
                                                   must also make sure that it fosters cohesion                                                       porary Romanian singer/writer/artist?
The Summit in Sibiu is an important                                                                  been on a pro-European trajectory,
occasion for leaders to discuss the future of      and prosperity for all, whilst dealing with the   reflected by the voice of Romanian people,        I strongly recommend Herta Müller, an
Europe and what we envisage our Union to           gap Britain’s exit will leave on the existing     who often show their support for and             ethnically German Romanian novelist, poet
be from now on. Romania should do its best         budget.                                           openness to the EU.                              and essayist. She writes about issues such as
to make sure that this summit is a success,                                                                                                           identity, belonging and the violence and
                                                   With regard to Brexit, the Romanian               If I plan to go to Romania for one week-
given the high stakes it has. It is also                                                                                                              terror of the Socialist Republic of Romania.
                                                   Presidency should also be prepared for a          end, what should I absolutely see/
another important occasion to put Romania                                                                                                             Her work has been extremely well
                                                   situation   in   which    the    Withdrawal       discover?
on the map of the European Union and                                                                                                                  acclaimed and translated into over 22
                                                   Agreement is not ratified by the British
show the cultural, touristic and social                                                                                                               languages. In 2009, she obtained the Nobel
                                                   Parliament. If this is the case, then             As I am from Transylvania, I will be a bit
richness of our country in a beautiful city like                                                                                                      literature prize for her work.
                                                   negotiations need to start all over again on      subjective and recommend this beautiful
Sibiu.
                                                   many important topics and a great dose of         region, where you can visit the well
The motto of the Romanian Presidency is            diplomacy and competence will be needed           preserved medieval towns such as
“Cohesion, a shared European value”. Do            to reach a new deal.                              Sighișoara, or the most important Gothic-
you think that the EU could do more to                                                               style secular building in Transylvania - the
                                                   Another priority should be the relationship       Hunyad Castle - located in Hunedoara, my
enhance the cohesion in Europe?
                                                   with     Moldova       and  the      Eastern      hometown.
I think this is a very important point and I       Neighbourhood, paying special attention to
indeed share the view that we must                 fostering    stabilisation, security    and       Alternatively, for a great weekend of history,
enhance the cohesion in our European               prosperity in these regions and bringing          culture and entertainment, there is much to
Union. From East to West, from North to            them closer to our Union.                         do and see in the Romanian capital,
South, we must be more united and strive                                                             Bucharest, where you could visit the House
to work together constructively. I think a                                                           of People, the Romanian Atheneum and
good example of team work has been the                                                               enjoy the city’s many museums, cafes and
                                                                                                     restaurants.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       7
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
PRIORITIES OF THE RomaniaN                                                                        The Romanian Minister for EU Affairs George Ciamba has
                                                                                                  already declared that his country will put a specific focus on

PRESIDENCY
                                                                                                  the asylum and migration legislative packages that are
                                                                                                  currently discussed by the European Parliament and the
                                                                                                  Council of ministers.
For the first time since its accession, Romania is taking over the Presidency of the Council of    More concretely, the Romanian Presidency will be in charge
the EU in January 2019. The Romanian Presidency, which is the first one of the forthcoming         of finding political agreements on legislative texts such as
TRIO made of Romania, Finland and Croatia, is coming at a seminal moment for the                  the Asylum Procedure Regulation, the Reform of the Dublin
European Union. The discussions on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU will          Regulation, the Directive on the Return of Illegally Staying
enter in their final phase. From March 2019, with or without a transitional deal, Brexit will be   Third-Country Nationals as well as the Regulation on the
a reality. Then, in May 2019, citizens all across the continent will vote in the European         European Border and Coast Guard on which the Interior
elections and express their preferences on the future of the European integration and the         Ministers have recently reached a partial general approach.
political colours of the next European Commission.
                                                                                                  The discussions on the Reform of the Dublin Regulation,
In the meantime, the Romanian Presidency will have to take the lead on the tough talks            clarifying Member States’ responsibilities in processing
between the Member States on the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework of the                     asylum applications as well as the concept of solidarity, are
European Union for the period 2021-2027. This key piece of legislation defines the EU’s            expected to be the toughest ones. In addition, a specific
budget and priorities at large through countries’ contributions and specific expense lines.        attention will be given to cybersecurity as well as to the
The Romanian Presidency will have the hard task to favour a compromise on this text, as the
national governments will count every single resource they will provide to the EU budget as
well as how much they are likely to get back in terms of funding opportunities.
                                                                                                  fight against terrorism and radicalisation. More precisely, an
                                                                                                  agreement is expected to be reached on the proposal for a
                                                                                                  regulation on the European Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA).
                                                                                                                                                                     02
                                                                                                                                                                  Security
Finally, on the 9th May 2019 Romania will host on its territory the Summit of Sibiu that will
conclude the discussions launched in 2017 on the “Future of Europe”. There, the European
leaders are likely to have a frank debate on which European Union they want for the future
while addressing the most divisive pending issues of the MFF 2021-2027.                           In the field of External Relations, the Romanian Presidency
                                                                                                  has the intention to put an accent on the development of
                                                                                                  the EU’s defence capacities (European Defence Fund,
               Romania is determined to advance the discussions on the                            Permanent Structured Cooperation) and on the
               different funding programmes of the European Union: the                            reinforcement of the cooperation between the European
               European Regional Development and the European                                     Union and the United Nations in the field of crisis response.
               Cohesion Funds, the Connecting Europe Facility, Horizon
               Europe, Erasmus, etc. In addition, the country will                                The advancement of the EU’s enlargement policy in the
               concentrate on issues such as connectivity, transport and                          Western Balkans will be another important priority of the
               energy.                                                                            Romanian Presidency. The country will have to continue the
                                                                                                  enlargement negotiations with the technically most
               In the energy sector, a specific focus will be put on the                           advanced candidate countries – Montenegro and Serbia –
               Recast Regulation on the Agency for the cooperation of                             for which the European Commission has already set an
               energy regulators.                                                                 indicative accession date in 2025.

               In the field of Transports, the Presidency will try to reach                        The Romanian Presidency will also have to work on the
               agreements on a series of legislative texts from the First                         preparation for the start of the accession talks with Albania
               and the Second Mobility Packages: the Directive on                                 and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that are
               combined transport of goods, the Regulation on the                                 expected to begin in June 2019. Finally, the Eastern
               international market for coach and bus services as well as
               on the Regulation on emission standards for heavy duty
                                                                                        01        Partnership, which will be celebrating its ten-year
                                                                                                  anniversary, is also expected to be at the centre of the
                                                                                                                                                                     03
               vehicles.                                                           Growth &       upcoming Romanian Presidency.                                   External
                                                                                   Cohesion                                                                         Policy
                                                                                                                                                                             9
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
Finally, Romania has declared its intention to put at the
             heart of its Presidency a discussion on the common
             European values. Topics such as European solidarity,
                                                                                           03 | March                                    05 | May
             cohesion, equal opportunities and social justice as well as                   • Estonia will hold legislative elections     • 9th: Special Summit on the Future of
             the fight against racism, xenophobia and intolerance should                      on the 3rd. The Centre party of the           Europe (Sibiu, Romania): at their first
             be addressed at the highest political level.                                    current Prime Minister Jüri RATAS and         meeting after Brexit, the European
                                                                                             the opposition Reform Party, led by           heads of State and government are
             Issues such as the recent tightening of social rights by some                   former MEP Kaja KALLAS, could be              expected to adopt a declaration that

                                                                                  04
             Member States for Europeans coming from other EU                                the biggest winners and thus form a           will enshrine their vision for a
             countries, the intensive discussions on social dumping                          coalition with other smaller parties.         modernized EU27.
             practices and on the selling of dual-quality products in the                  • Presidential elections in Slovakia are      • The European elections will take place
             Union are also likely to be addressed.                            common        scheduled to be held by the 9th. The          on from 23rd to the 26th of May. The
                                                                                values       race is expected to be quite open as          number of MEPs will be reduced from
                                                                                             the current President Andrej KISKA            751 to 705 and the traditional partisan
                                                                                             has announced that he will not seek a         balance is expected to change
                                                                                             second term and numerous                      following a surge of populist groups.
                                                                                             candidates have declared their              • In Belgium, legislative and regional

Political calendar
                                                                                             intention to run.                             elections will take place on the 26th.
                                                                                           • 29th: The United Kingdom will officially       Belgians will thus elect their members
                                                                                             leave the EU. A transition period,            of Parliament at the federal, regional

for the next six
                                                                                             lasting until at least 2020, will follow.     and community levels as well as their
                                                                                           • 21st & 22nd: EU Council on economic           members of the European Parliament.
                                                                                             issues and trade.

months
                                                                                           • Ukraine is set to hold its Presidential
                                                                                             elections on the 31st. Former Prime
                                                                                             Minister Yulia TYMOSHENKO is said
                                                                                             to be a favourite.
                                                                                                                                         06 | June
01 | January                                  02 | February                                                                              • 20th – 21st: European Council meeting
                                                                                                                                           devoted to adopting the Strategic
• On the 14th, the European Parliament
  will adopt its own-initiative report on
  the Future of the EU and will hold two
                                              • 18th or 19th February: The Parliament’s
                                                AGRI committee is expected to adopt
                                                its reports on the reform of the
                                                                                           04 | April                                      Agenda 2019-2024, which will guide
                                                                                                                                           the work of the EU over the next five
                                                                                                                                           years, and to discussing the Multi-
                                                                                           • Finland, which will hold the next             Annual Financial Framework 2021-
  debates on this topic in plenary with         Common Agricultural Policy but may
                                                                                             Presidency of the Council, will               2027 which is expected to be adopted
  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro                  not close the files before the end of its
                                                                                             organize legislative elections on the         later in 2019.
  SANCHEZ (14th-17th) and Estonian              term due to time constraints and
                                                                                             14th. The latest polls indicate that the    • The Danish general elections are
  President Juha SIPILÄÄ (30th-31st).           political sensitivity.
                                                                                             Social Democrats will beat all the            scheduled to take place by the 17th.
• The European Parliament is expected         • The European Parliament will hold its        three current coalition parties.
  to give its consent on the withdrawal         last debate in plenary on the Future of                                                    Polls suggest that the Social
                                                                                           • The last plenary session of the               Democrats could win the election. In
  agreement of the United Kingdom.              Europe with Italian Prime Minister
                                                                                             European Parliament will take place           this scenario, current opposition
• The European Commission will                  Giuseppe CONTE (11th-14th).
                                                                                             on the 15th-18th of April, marking the        leader Mette FREDERIKSEN could
  present its proposals to extend             • ALDE will elect its Spitzenkandidaten,       official launch of the election                become the country’s next Prime
  qualified majority voting to certain           choosing a team of candidates rather         campaigns.                                    Minister.
  areas in taxation and social policies.        than one candidate.

                                                                                                                                                                                     11
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
Salina Turda is a salt mine in the Durgău-Valea
Sărată area of TurdaSalina. Turda was ranked
among the "25 hidden gems around the world that
are worth the trek". Since 1992, Salina Turda has
been a halotherapy center and a popular tourist
attraction.

What about Romania?
                           GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS                                                                              HISTORY
• Romania is a southeastern European country which borders 6 countries: Moldova,         • Dacians, the first mention of people living in Romania, come from Herodotus, a branch of
  Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria.                                                   Thracians, that inhabited Dacia
• The Romanian landscape is approximately one-third mountainous and one-third            • Dacians were conquered by the Roman Empire before being invaded by the Goths
  forested. Therefore, Romania enjoys an important wealth of natural resources: fecund   • In the Middle Ages, Romanians were divided among three distinct principalities:
  land for agriculture, pastures for livestock, etc.                                       Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania before being under Ottoman influence
• Romanian is the only Romance language in Eastern Europe and this has an important      • As in other European countries, 1848 brought up the revolution upon Moldova, Wallachia
  impact on the identity of Romanian people. The roman heritage has been reshaped          and Transylvania, through Tudor VLADIMIRESCU and his Pandurs and the country
  continuously by Romania’s position as a major continental migration route.               became independent in 1877 (and a kingdom in 1881)
• Romania joined the European Union in 2007.                                             • A long communist period took place between 1947 and 1989 until an uprising that
                                                                                           resulted in more than 1,000 deaths in Timișoara and Bucharest, and brought about the
                                                                                           fall of Ceauşescu and the end of the Communist regime in Romania.
                                                                                                                                                                                     13
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
tourist tips : food, drinks & places                                                                           FUN FACTS

                                Sarmale (cabbage rolls) are
                                considered to be Romania’s
                                                                  When it comes to drinks, Ţuica
                                                                  (also known as palincă or
                                                                                                                                                The historic blueprint for modern
                                national dish. These stuffed      horincă) is the most common                                                   espresso machines is not Italian !
                                cabbage rolls are actually of     Romanian spirit. You will be
                                Turkish origin, but the           served with one small glass of                                                Francesco Illy, founder of the Italian coffee

 Take a shot !                  Romanians claim that theirs are
                                the best.
                                                                  this spirit wherever you will go
                                                                  in Romania. Take it easy! (it
                                                                                                                                                roasting company and inventor of the
                                                                                                                                                revolutionary coffee machine, was actually born
                                                                  contains 28 - 60% alcohol by                                                  in Timișoara (Romania). He later moved to
Arts & books

                                Mici are the most popular         volume and is prepared only                                                   Vienna, and then to Trieste (Italy).
                                Romanian grill dish. Any          from plums).
                                Romanian couldn’t even
                                imagine a proper barbercue        Romanians really like soups. A
                                without them.                     local famous soup is called          Did you know that Romania has one
                                                                  “ciorbă de burtă” (tripe soup).               of the best 4G coverages?
                                                                                                     Romania occupies an impressive 4th place out of 78 countries.
                                                                                                        Users in the country can expect speed of 35.61 Mbps, on
                                                                                                                 average, compared to just 21.16Mbps in the UK.

               Bucharest has one of the world’s prettiest bookshops

   Cărturești Carusel opened in 2015 in a restored 19th century
          building. It contains more than 10,000 books, 5,000
                                                                                                                                            Romania holds the
                  albums and DVDs and has a top floor bistro.
                                                                                                                                            biggest population
                                                                                                                                            of bears and wolves
                                        National Museum of Art of Romania (MNaR)
                                                                                                                                            in all Europe
                                        The National Museum showcases the most important and
                                        the most comprehensive collection of fine art works in the    Bucharest’s Palace of the Parliament is the
                                        country. It offers on display a permanent collection that    world’s heaviest building
                                        includes works by Romanian and international artists.        Guinness World Records recognizes it as the heaviest
                                                                                                     building on the planet.

                    National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC)

    It opened in 2001, housed in the southwestern wing of the
       Parliament Palace, and in time it has become one of the
         most important contemporary art museums in Eastern
        Europe. You will find an eclectic collection of Romanian
     and Eastern European artists, as well as several temporary
             exhibitions by thought-provoking, up-and-coming
                                               Romanian artists.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  15
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
SPORTS
                                                                                                             Tennis player Ilie NĂSTASE, who won several Grand Slam titles and
                                                                                                              dozens of other tournaments. He was the first player to be ranked
                                                                                                              as number 1 by ATP from 1973 to 1974 and presented by the
                                                                                                               Tennis Hall of Fame as "the most talented player ever to hold the
                                                                                                                racquet. Simona HALEP won the last Roland Garros tournament.

                                                                                                                  Among other famous sportsmen/
                                                                                                                  women, Gheorghe MUREȘAN who is
                                                                                                                   the tallest player (2,31m) ever to have
                                                                                                                    played in the NBA, Gymanstic
The Transfagarasan                                                                                                  legend Nadia COMĂNECI, who at
                                                                                                                     the age of 14 was the first
highway is not only                                                                                                   gymnast to ever score a perfect
                                                                                                                      10 at the Olympic Games,
a beautiful road                                                                                                       during the 1976 Summer
                                                                                                                       Olympics.
Ceausescu wanted to ensure that in case
of a Soviet invasion there was a speedy
way of escaping through the strategic
                                          Romania has one of the happiest
mountain passes of the Southern
Carpathians.
                                          cemeteries on Earth. Known as Merry
                                          Cemetery (Cimitirul Vesel) and located in
                                          the small town of Săpânţa, this cemetery
                                                                                                                 Gheorghe
                                          is filled with darkly humorous
                                          gravestones. An example:
                                                                                                                 MURESAN
 Arc de triomphe (Who
 needs Paris? Bucharest
    has got its own)                                                                                                 '               Want to show off a
                                                                                                                                 bit during a conversation?
                                                                                                                            There you go: Steaua Bucharest was
                                                “Underneath th
                                                               is  heavy cross                                             the first Eastern European side to win
                                                                                                                           the European Cup and the European
                                                  Lies my mothe
                                                                   r in laws                                                 Supercup in 1986 (Take that PSG
                                                  Try not to wak                                                                     and Man City fans!)
                                                                  e her up
                                               For if she com
                                                               es back home
                                                She’ll bite my
                                                                 head off.”
                                                                                      Football is the most popular sport
                                           Stay here my de
                                                            ar Mother-in-law
                                                                             ”.
                                                                                      in the country
                                                                                      Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", Gheorghe
                                                                                      HAGI is the greatest Romanian footballer of all time and one of
                                                                                      the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and
                                                                                      '90s. He can even brag himself to be one of the few to have
                                                                                      played for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
                                                                                                                                                                                   17
PLAYING OINA WITH the Romanian Presidency - Arcturus Group
Oină
                   Some useful words

                         Hello! Bună ziua                                                 According to some theories, oină is the predecessor of baseball,
                                                                                            brought to the United States by Romanians who emigrated there.
                      Goodbye La revedere                                                     This traditional sport was documented for the first time in the 14th
                                                                                                century and became Romania’s national sport in 2014.
                 Good morning Bună dimineața                                                         There are several similarities between oină and baseball.
                                                                                                      Oină is played between two teams of 11 players each, one
                    Good evening Bună seara                                                             batting side and one catching side. Their roles switch at
                                                                                                         half time and the game lasts about 30 minutes, far
                                                                                                           shorter than the three hours of a typical baseball
                      Thank you Mulțumesc
                                                                                                             match. The team at bat is selected through a
                                                                                                              procedure in which the referee throws the bat into
                     Excuse me! Mă scuzați !                                                                   the air and the players have to catch it. The last
                                                                                                                 one able to place at least four fingers on the bat
                      Please Te rog / Vă rog                                                                      wins.

                                                                     Historically speaking, oină became
   One language is never enough O singură limbă nu e suficient
                                                                     compulsory in Romanian schools in
                                                                     1897 and was practiced in all the
I only speak a few words of Romanian Vorbesc foarte puțin româna !   Romanian regions. This initiative came
                                                                     at a time when Romania was a young
                 One beer, please! O biere, vă rog                   country and the nationalistic narrative
                                                                     was strong. During the communist years,
                                                                     the sport was also quite popular, and
                  Cheers! Good Health! Noroc !                       several clubs were run under the patronage
                                                                     of state institutions such as the army or the
               What's your name? Cum vă numiți ?                     police.

                                                                     Today, oină is mainly played in Romania and
                                                                     Moldova at the local and regional levels but
                                                                     also got its brief moment in the spotlight on
                                                                     the global stage. In fact, the first international
                                                                     oină match in history took place in Germany
                                                                     in June 2010. The winner was, perhaps not
                                                                     too surprisingly, Romania.

                                                                                                                                                                     19
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