Freedom of the press is a democratic cornerstone in the European Union (EU). Nevertheless, recent results from the Civil Liberties Union for Europe show that freedom of information and expression in several EU nations, including Romania, is jeopardized by inadequate actions to safeguard national security, tackle hate speech, and counteract disinformation.

Moreover, the imbalanced application of data protection regulations and sluggish processing of information freedom requests obstruct the unimpeded flow of information. This overview of the present state of press freedom emphasizes some of the obstacles journalists face in the EU, focusing on Romania, as derived from the latest State of Press Freedom in the EU report.

In Romania, national security is being utilized as a pretext for restricting freedom of expression. The report’s findings reveal that in countries like Romania and Slovakia, growing apprehensions have emerged that national security is being exploited as a justification to formulate laws limiting freedom of expression. Such legislation frequently endangers media freedom and restricts journalists’ and media outlets’ capacity to report on crucial matters.

As cited in the report, there is no transparency in Romania regarding funding allocation by political parties. Public funds are employed to pay media outlets, as occurred during the pandemic. In this manner, newspapers have transformed into political party propaganda instruments. Civil society actors have tried to reveal this issue through freedom of information requests, but the parties have refused to divulge information.

There was an intention to support the press during the pandemic. However, beyond the Government’s intention, one cannot help but wonder: how many publications refrained from criticizing the authorities simply because they were paid with public funds?

The Emilia Șercan case is detailed separately in the report. Emilia Șercan, a Romanian investigative journalist, published an investigation in early 2022 alleging Romania’s Prime Minister plagiarized his doctoral thesis. Shortly afterward, Șercan received a threat from an unknown person containing her photos. Despite reporting the incident to the police, the screenshots she sent were leaked, prompting her to file numerous criminal complaints against the police and the Minister of Interior. The journalist’s case is the subject of seven criminal cases at various stages in several institutions.

Notably, officers from the Romanian Police Academy are indicted in this case, as they are charged with threatening the journalist to abandon the investigation.

The report mentions that civil rights organizations in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain report increased censorship and content restrictions. Public order and security are being used as arguments to propose new laws allowing for even further restrictions on free speech.

This is not good news for the evolution of the Romanian press or civil society, as pressures against the press mean less information and less freedom for society.

As the European Union continues to grapple with the challenges surrounding freedom of expression and information, it is essential to protect the rights of journalists and media outlets to ensure a healthy democratic environment. The abovementioned cases are just a few examples of journalists’ and civil society actors’ ongoing struggles. Ultimately, the EU must address these issues and ensure that the fundamental principles of press freedom are upheld.

Foreigners coming to Romania for a more extended period of time and working remotely for a non-EU company will benefit from tax breaks following the adoption by Parliament of the bill to clarify the tax regime for digital nomads.

Specifically, digital nomads will be able to choose Romania as their destination without worrying about double taxation of income earned outside Romania. They will be exempt from paying income tax, social security, and health insurance contributions.

Romanian MP Diana Buzoianu states that Romania has the potential of becoming a destinated demanded by digital nomads, as the country has extraordinary tourism potential. However, in order to accomplish this, the state must provide a clear tax regime for digital nomads who would like to choose Romania as their destination country.  

Romania is a country with a lot of potential and benefits: the country’s fixed-line broadband package average monthly rates, at $8.15, which is a lot cheaper in comparison to other EU countries. Romania might be the ideal location for someone who is seeking affordable, dependable internet connectivity.

Digital nomad in Romania – what are the advantages?

With an average broadband internet speed of 188 mb/s, an internet cost of €7.5 and an affordable rent of around €323, Romania has long been considered one of the best places to work remotely in the Central and Eastern European region.

Additionally, Romania offers reliable and fast internet service, making it an ideal location for those who require a stable online connection, such as those who need the best WordPress hosting.

The language is also an important aspect when moving to a foreign country, as in Romania, English is spoken on a large scale, so there is no language barrier.

Restaurants, clubs, and pubs are affordable, so it is easy to eat a good meal and feel good with little money.

Also, Bucharest, the capital of Romania offers a multitude of amazing touristic attractions to visit.

What are the requirements to work as a digital nomad in Romania?

The long-stay visa is granted by the diplomatic missions and consular offices of Romania in the country where the digital nomads have their residence or domicile. The conditions they must meet to obtain the visa are:

• have means of subsistence from the activity carried out, amounting to at least three times the average gross monthly earnings in Romania for each of the last 6 months preceding the submission of the visa application and for the entire period of the visa
• carry out the activities from which they derive their income remotely using information and communication technology

In order to obtain a digital nomad visa, digital nomads who meet the above-mentioned conditions will have to present a number of documents:

1. employment contract concluded with the company registered abroad / proof of at least 3 years of management of the company registered abroad – in original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian
2. a document issued by the company with which the foreigner has concluded an employment contract/which the foreigner owns, presenting its identification and contact data (including the field of activity and, if applicable, the foreigner’s participation in the company, as well as data on its legal representatives) – in original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian
3. letter of intent detailing the purpose of the trip to Romania and the activities the foreigner intends to carry out – in original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian
4. apostilled or super-certified document issued by the specialized institution of the public administration of the place of tax residence, certifying that the foreigner employed/company owned by the foreigner has paid taxes, duties, and other compulsory contributions up to date and is not registered for tax evasion or tax fraud – in original and accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian
5. reservation of a valid travel ticket or driving license, together with proof of itinerary, in the case of drivers
6. proof of medical insurance for the entire duration of validity of the visa, valid on the territory of Romania and covering at least EUR 30 000
7. proof of means of support amounting to at least three times the average gross monthly earnings in Romania
8. proof of accommodation
9. criminal record certificate or another document with the same legal value, apostilled or super-stamped, certifying that there are no records of criminal offenses – accompanied by an authenticated translation into Romanian
10. other supporting documents that the competent Romanian authorities require in addition to the above.

Thus, digital nomads will henceforth be included in the category of foreigners eligible for a long-stay visa, on the essential condition that their gross monthly income is at least three times higher than the average income of Romanian nationals. This means that future digital nomads will have to earn around €3 300 per month from remote work in Romania to be eligible for a visa.

The fight against cancer is challenging for doctors, oncology researchers and patients. Romania is currently one of the countries offering state-of-the-art solutions based on Artificial Intelligence to make the entire process of treatment and healing of patients more efficient.

AI is replacing humans at a rapid pace, but we still wonder. We don’t know; we only know the era of AI is here, and from doctors to marketers and decision-makers, no job is safe for the artificial intelligence revolution.

MCRO, one of the most reputable software development companies in Cluj Napoca, launched Docviser, the first oncology healthcare application in Romania, dedicated to improving the collaboration between doctors and the care of cancer patients.

Docviser is a product that incorporates Artificial Intelligence to extract relevant data and provide the best results to improve medical decisions for those who use it. And the numbers so far are highly encouraging.

Since the launch of this application, it has been used by 99 doctors, nurses and pharmacists from 29 clinics registered in the application.

Artificial Intelligence helped all these specialists to prescribe 5106 drugs and treatment schemes and monitor treatment progress for the benefit of 1876 patients. During all this time, the platform supported establishing remote medical commissions to analyze 67 complex cases requiring multidisciplinary decision-making, with specialists located in different locations.

Docviser involves intelligently prescribing treatment through the continuous development of an artificial intelligence model. It recommends the optimal treatment in each case, taking into account both the active substance through the treatment protocol and the dose prescribed based on the one calculated and adjusted according to comorbidities, creatinine level and other relevant indicators that will appear in the future.

The product was developed with the direct involvement of oncologists, adapted to their needs and streamlines the flow of information from the patient to doctors, medical staff and pharmacists, offering real-time progress on the status of the treatment protocol.

The process of using Docviser involves oncologists but also assistants and pharmacists:

1. Clinic doctors upload all patient data and initial diagnosis.
2. For each case, a treatment protocol is assigned with the drug and dose recommended by the platform, or the doctor can decide to prescribe a new treatment.
3. Once the treatment protocol is validated, it is sent to the pharmacy for preparation.
4. As soon as the treatment is prepared, it is sent to the nurse to be administered to the patient.

Throughout the process, all the medical personnel involved in the patient’s treatment receive, depending on the level of access, live notifications about the status of the treatment protocol. Doctors can communicate through the web application through messages, comments or video calls, which made it possible to streamline the meetings of tumor boards.

„Docviser helps me make better treatment decisions by leveraging the power of state-of-the-art technology and Artificial Intelligence. But even if we think about the current activities, such as meeting multidisciplinary committees – the application allows the oncologist to talk in real-time with other doctors from other specialties (pathological anatomy, radiotherapy, cardiology and others) or simply to ask for a second opinion, and this makes these decisions much easier to make in a very organized environment. Before Docviser, it was much more difficult to set up these commissions, and doctors had to send the documents from one to another to be analyzed and signed. It was harder to meet, we communicated in writing, and working remotely was impossible. Docviser offers us all the support we need to make decisions much easier and securely. Now I can focus on what matters most – taking care of my patients”.

Alexandru Iliescu, Medical Director and head of the Oncology Department of Zalău County Hospital.

Docviser unifies technology with the oncology patient care process. Within this application, medical records and health history exist securely in one place for physicians and licensed medical personnel to gain a fast, in-depth, data-driven understanding of each patient’s needs.

„Working with professionals in the field and having on our side medical expertise provided by oncology experts, we have created an intuitive and easy-to-use platform so that doctors and the entire medical staff can collaborate much more effectively within the clinics. Docviser perfectly combines scientific research and experience accumulated over the years with artificial intelligence and the latest generation of technological advances. I believe these fields are closely related, and there is an extraordinary potential in validating scientific research with real-life data; therefore, the application contributes to saving patients’ lives by making medical decisions easier”.

Alexandru Lazăr, Docviser CEO.

Docviser is an intelligent application for rapid care management of cancer patients and offers:

• Improving the collection of health data and the evolution of prescribed treatments;
• More accurate diagnosis, based on the medical experience of oncology professionals, transposed into the modules used by Artificial Intelligence;
• Personalized treatment protocols for each patient;
• The ability to communicate more quickly and efficiently between oncologists and the medical staff who help in oncological treatment;
• Cost and time management;
• Traceability of the medical document

Docviser is designed to become the online hub for cancer treatment services in the healthcare industry. This platform will become an indispensable tool for medical centers and open new cancer treatment and research horizons. The platform has the potential to revolutionize healthcare systems as we know them, using machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data and other intelligent technologies.

About MCRO

MCRO is a software development company focused on building innovative digital products. With over ten years of application development experience, MCRO’s software developers maximize the use of Artificial Intelligence from product creativity and design to development and scaling to provide companies with a maximized return on investment.

As mentioned by Valahia News, Romania started boycotting Austria following the December 8th vote on Schengen’s admission. As anticipated, Austria was the only country which opposed Romania, and the Eastern country was left outside the free economic area once again.

Romanian politicians, entrepreneurs, football club owners and large agricultural associations call for boycotting Austria and their brands. For a starter, Romania withdraws its ambassador to Vienna, but the political battle has just started. Some politicians publicly warned Austria to expect Romania to oppose its interest in Europe. Also, the Universitatea Craiova football club announced they won’t fuel in Austrian gas stations, and one museum cancelled the exhibition of an Austrian artist.

Also, politicians and influencers ask Romanians not to spend their vacations in Austria, as there are many other ski destinations for these winter holidays. Protests were summoned in front of the Austrian Embassy in Bucharest, and there is a certain turmoil in the country that show similar actions are to come.

Romanians have massively started boycotting Austrian companies. These days hundreds of social media posts ask or show fellow citizens boycotting Austrian brands. The easiest way to protest against the arbitrary decision to oppose Romania’s presence in Schengen was to stop buying fuel from OMV, the Austrian oil giant, and Romanians understood that quickly. Instead of driving to OMV petrol stations, Romanians are now heading for local brands like Rompetrol.

Another target is the banking and financial sector. Raiffeisen Bank and BCR – Erste Bank is on the list, and Romanians are asked to withdraw all their money from these banks or close their accounts here and head for the Romanian CEC Bank. Both Austrian banks issued rather boring than convincing press releases and posted them on their social media accounts, but this didn’t seem to help.

Also, the insurance sector is another battlefield for the ones upset with Austria’s decision: UNIQA or Vienna Insurance Group are also targeted by the boycott calls, and people are asked to head for other insurance companies.

An infamous company is on the list as well: Holzindustrie Schweighofer, now rebranded as HS Timber Productions, is the one seen as the usual suspect for exploiting the woods from the Romanian forests. More than that, the Austrian company was under investigation for using timber from illegal logging, but, as it always happens in Romania when it comes to Western companies, this investigation has never been concluded.

On top of that, products like coffee and natural juice are now pointed out: Julius Meinl, Red Bull and even Pfanner are only some of the Austrian brands for which they ask for a boycott.

Romania is one country whose citizens are not famous for this sort of boycott action or protesting against Western companies or decisions. Western companies thrive in Romania, especially the Austrian ones, which make billions in profit each year. Yet, this could be the beginning of an uprising that could wake the Romanian people and make them understand how to stand up for their rights.

While the European Union promotes women empowerment through gender equality, as it believes that diversity should be encouraged and men and women should have equal opportunities, Romania is a state that makes no exception to the rule. Inspired by the European way of thinking, this country strongly believes that women are brave, beautiful and powerful and that they should have the same opportunities to grow as men.

Women Empowerment in Romania – Challenges

That is not to say that Romania didn’t face its fair share of challenges regarding this issue. After the collapse of communism in Romania, new issues that had never been addressed emerged, one of them being the issue of gender equality. After it adhered to the European Union, a set of measures meant to promote women’s rights was passed, but it was never easy. One of them was the dissolution in 2010 of the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men following the financial crisis that hit the country. During this time, an increase was noticed in the rate of unemployment for women of about 1.8 percent, while the rate of unemployment for men was only 1.2 percent.
It hasn’t been the only difficulty women empowerment in Romania has faced. However, in the present, thanks to the efforts made by the European Union, women benefit from way more opportunities to grow than they did before communism fell.

Women Empowerment in Romania – Claret Credit Romania case study

Women empowerment in Romania is encouraged by way of thinking that strongly believes that creativity and homogeneity are the most important ingredients in a team. Homogeneity and creativity are key ingredients in a team’s success. This is because all members work together in the same direction. The same goes for creativity. It will make it easier to complete tasks and solve problems faster.
It is common to hear about the gender gap in the workplace. Many women don’t hold high-ranking leadership positions within companies in some countries. This is not uncommon, but Romanian companies have many women who have built successful businesses and helped many people who were looking for quick financing solutions. These companies consider women to be a fundamental pillar of their businesses. One of the examples of this fact is the way Claret functions as an institution.
The women of Claret have brought a positive change to the company through their professional way of dealing with any problem, showing patience, calmness and professionalism. They handle all situations encountered calmly, creating a relationship based on trust with any client. They are the ones who interact with customers, trying to understand the reasons why they turn to an IFN and give them the best advice for choosing a loan. The women of Claret empathize with those who come to ask for financial help from the company’s IFN and put themselves in their situation to be able to offer them the ideal solution to overcome the obstacles caused by the lack of money.

At Claret, the position of CEO also brings with it many responsibilities. As a woman, it is sometimes difficult to make your presence felt in a male-dominated world of business, but the determination I have shown has helped me advance and occupy this important position within this IFN. The team is made up of many strong and courageous women who show professionalism every day. The ability to work under pressure is vital for this leadership position, but I am a confident woman who can handle any difficult situation.

Laura Leanca, CLARET general director (CEO)

With their well-defined vision, spirit, creativity and ease with which they carry out their tasks, the women of Claret manage to create a work environment conducive to performance. In addition, the presence of strong and determined women in the company’s collective will always be an asset that Claret will have in front of competitors.

A second promising Romanian business joins its initial funding round and raises EUR 2 million for future growth.

In order to pursue a new market opportunity and spur expansion, Yarooms, a SaaS provider of industry-leading workplace experience solutions, has raised 2 million EUR in funding. With 1.6 million EUR, GapMinder is the principal investor. SeedBlink is another investment.

Dragos Badea, Emil Muhtu, and Marcel Preda collaborated to start Yarooms, a technology business in Romania, in 2010. The business develops robust yet user-friendly office management software, including options for desk reservations, meeting room reservations, hybrid work planning, digital signage, and visitor management.

To thrive in the modern world, workplaces must become more human-centric than ever. Strong collaboration culture, flexibility, and employee autonomy – Yarooms’ mission is to help companies foster these values and bring freedom to their employees. We are agile and understand our industry very well, allowing us to innovate and create solutions that help our clients create cutting-edge employee experiences even in the hardest times, such as the Covid pandemic. As we pursue newly identified market opportunities, we are looking to accelerate growth by expanding the team and its know-how.

Dragoș Badea, CEO and Co-founder of Yarooms

Their leading investor, together with the representative of SeedBlink, Andrei Dudoiu, praise the team at Yarooms behind the product and the product’s potential itself.

Over 50 nations are served by Yarooms, with the USA, Canada, Italy, and the UK being among the most significant markets. Business clients come from various sectors, including financial companies, governmental agencies, and educational institutions. Columbia University, Dedalus, the National Health Service, AAA, Dr. Martens, Cerved, and Robalino are a few examples of clientele.