One in six Romanians is not connected to the water or sewage network. In Bulgaria and the Baltic states the figures are also worrying – but the situation is finally improving, also thanks to European funds
In many European countries people increasingly use trains for their travel, preferring them to cars. This is not happening in Romania and Bulgaria, because of the poor state of rail service. Something is starting to change however
The Facebook group "RoOmenia" connects tens of thousands of Romanian citizens scattered across Europe, providing concrete help – from housing to medication – and contrasting the loneliness of many expats. An initiative launched by a group of lorry drivers
Betting and gambling companies have gained enormous influence in Bulgaria and Romania. Not only on the people who slip into gambling addiction, but also on the media, which suffer from their economic power. New laws seek to contain this influence, but their impact is unclear
Coal Mining Expansion Leads to Deforestation: Over 470 Hectares of Forest Cut Down in Gorj, Romania. At the same time, Romania has committed itself, through the NRP, to phasing out lignite and hard coal energy production and to the phased closure of mines by December 2032
Installing photovoltaic panels in condominiums in Romania can be a real challenge, given the difficulty of obtaining permits and authorizations. But to increase the impact of solar we must also promote a community attitude on energy and ecological issues
Romania produces more and more photovoltaic energy also thanks to the rapid increase in prosumers - consumers who resell excess energy from their panels to the grid. A virtuous process, but limited by long delays in payments and an unclear legal framework
In addition to EU structural and investment funds, from 2021 Romania also has access to money from the Just Transition Programme. What does this programme mean, how much money can Romania actually receive and what is it earmarked for?
Since 2007, the year Romania entered the EU, over 62 billion euros have flowed into the country from the EU. There could have been more, but the Romanian state failed to attract them all. Why?
A journalist and a photographer from Romania have been living in a van for ten years to be able to write their investigations on how life is in Romania and how expatriate Romanians live. They are Elena Stancu and Cosmin Bumbut: we met them
Despite some positive signs, corruption continues to weigh on the Romanian healthcare system. The main victims are citizens, forced to pay under the table to obtain the services of doctors and nurses
Austria remains one of the EU countries most sincerely interested in enlargement to the Western Balkans, but its policy towards the region suffers from populism and a lack of vision. We talked about it with Adelheid Wölfl, historical correspondent from the region for the newspaper Der Standard
In Romania, also thanks to dedicated European funds, the number of photovoltaic panels installed is growing rapidly. So quickly, that some programmes have been suspended, as the increase in energy production strains the distribution network, which is still obsolete
Romania is a virtuous example of how European funds for investment in information and telecommunications infrastructure can make a difference in offering quality services to citizens. A look at the data
For the 2014-2020 programming period, the European Union allocated around 5.9 billion Euros under its cohesion policy to implement renewable energy projects. An overview of the data
Large carnivores are returning to populate more and more natural areas of the Old Continent: a success for the conservation of ecosystems, but also a cause of conflicts with the population. Coexistence is built by harmonising laws, good practices, and scientific knowledge. The Interreg LECA project moves in this direction
Following a complaint by 21 couples, the European Court of Human Rights is asking Romania to legally recognise same-sex families. For civil society this is a historic sentence
Investigative journalist and university lecturer Emilia Sercan is at the centre of a new smear campaign after revealing that the Interior minister had plagiarised his doctoral thesis. We met her
In Europe, Romania has one of the lowest general unemployment rates and one of the highest youth unemployment rates. And the trend is not getting better
For families who emigrated from Eastern Europe, affection and memory are also handed down through culinary inheritances. Distant and recent memories of a Transylvanian grandmother intertwine remembering Erzsebet's passion for coffee and her lost pickled gherkins recipe
In this conversation with Emilia Șercan, investigative journalist and senior lecturer at the University of Bucharest, we explored the state of the art of Romanian journalism and reflected upon the different meanings of plagiarism in a country where corruption remains rampant
A recent report by the Council of Europe exposes the flow of money that goes from political parties to the media in Romania, and the consequent subordination
18 EU countries, including Romania, have already signed a partnership agreement with the European Commission for cohesion funds. Now the country can work on individual programmes
The Resource Centre for Public Participation is an NGO that seeks to promote citizens’ participation in the decision-making process. This is particularly difficult in Romania. We interviewed director Oana Preda
In Romania, having an abortion has become increasingly difficult. Under the pressure of the Church and pro-life NGOs – and with the complicity of the state – women are losing this fundamental right. A reportage
Poor infrastructure, little maintenance. The Romanian railways are in bad shape even though the network is among the longest in Europe. Will the local PNRR reverse course?
In Romania, Cluj-Napoca is one of the cities that have most believed in European planning, investing most of the funds in sustainability and new technologies
2022 has been proclaimed by the United Nations "International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development". For the occasion, the Euromontana association promoted an interesting survey among young European mountain people
Ciugud, in Transylvania, is the Romanian municipality with the most investments per capita in European funds. Let's discover this phenomenon, in contrast to national data
