6 research outputs found
Unirea Basarabiei cu România în narațiunea lui Alexandru Marghiloman. Oameni și fapte
No full textOur work aims to highlight the contribution of Alexandru Marghiloman to the union of Bessarabia with Romania, as reflected in the speeches he gave in the Parliament or within various festive gatherings. Some of his discourses were printed, others reported in the press of the time or in his memoirs. Aware of the importance of this historic act and of his own role, Alexandru Marghiloman accurately captured the complexity and drama of both the internal and external context in which the 1918 Union took place. The unification of Bessarabia with
Romania was, in his opinion, the result of “a Pronation ..., that one may call Providence, or the genius of the race [...] the first ray of light” that foresaw the Great Union. Among the Bessarabian personalities with whom Alexandru Marghiloman carried out this act, he mentions particularly the names of Ion Inculeț, Daniel Ciugureanu, Pantelimon Halippa and Constantin Stere
The mixed legacy of the European Neighbourhood policy: The Moroccan exception
No full textSince the creation of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU has aimed to create a ring of stability outside its borders, in its eastern and southern neighbourhoods. In this challenging landscape, going from east to south, one of the few European successes in terms of neighbourhood policy has been Morocco, country which became a privileged partner of the EU. The paper assesses Morocco's successful cooperation with the EU, which cannot be separated from the developments regarding Western Sahara. The paper argues, by using a neo-realist approach, that the EU-Moroccan success story can be explained through the lens of history and the mutual search for security enhancement. Even though the Moroccan case study presents specific characteristics, a security centred approach could benefit the EU in relation to other neighbour countries
High potential for CH4 emission mitigation from oil infrastructure in one of EU's major production regions
No full textAmbitious methane (CH4) emission mitigation represents one of the most effective opportunities to slow the rate of global warming over the next decades. The oil and gas (O&G) sector is a significant source of methane emissions, with technically feasible and cost-effective emission mitigation options. Romania, a key O&G producer within the EU, with the second highest reported annual CH4 emissions from the energy sector in the year 2020 (Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data - Comparison by Category, 2022), can play an important role towards the EU's emission reduction targets. In this study, we quantify CH4 emissions from onshore oil production sites in Romania at source and facility level using a combination of ground- and drone-based measurement techniques. Measured emissions were characterized by heavily skewed distributions, with 10% of the sites accounting for more than 70% of total emissions. Integrating the results from all site-level quantifications with different approaches, we derive a central estimate of 5.4 kg h-1 per site of CH4 (3.6 %-8.4 %, 95% confidence interval) for oil production sites. This estimate represents the third highest when compared to measurementbased estimates of similar facilities from other production regions. Based on our results, we estimate a total of 120 kt CH4 yr-1 (range: 79-180 kt yr-1) from oil production sites in our studied areas in Romania. This is approximately 2.5 times higher than the reported emissions from the entire Romanian oil production sector for 2020. Based on the source-level characterization, up to three-quarters of the detected emissions from oil production sites are related to operational venting. Our results suggest that O&G production infrastructure in Romania holds a massive mitigation potential, specifically by implementing measures to capture the gas and minimize operational venting and leaks
Airborne in situ quantification of methane emissions from oil and gas production in Romania
No full textProduction of oil and gas in Romania, one of the largest producers in the European Union (EU), is associated with substantial emissions of methane to the atmosphere and may offer high emission mitigation potential to reach the climate objectives of the EU. However, comprehensive quantification of emissions in this area has been lacking. Here we report top-down emission rate estimates derived from aircraft-based in situ measurements that were carried out with two aircraft during the 2019 ROmanian Methane Emissions from Oil and gas (ROMEO) campaign, supported by simulations with atmospheric models. Estimates from mass balance flights at individual dense production clusters and around larger regions show large variations between the clusters, supporting the important role of individual super-emitters, and possibly show variable operation practices or maintenance states across the production basin. Estimated annual total emissions from the southern Romanian oil and gas (O&G) infrastructure are 227 ± 86 kt CH4 yr−1, consistent with previously published estimates from ground-based site-level measurements during the same period. The comparison of individual plumes between measurements and atmospheric model simulations was complicated by unfavorable low-wind conditions. Similar correlations between measured and simulated CH4 enhancements during large-scale raster flights and mass balance flights suggest that the emission factor determined from a limited number of production clusters is representative of the larger regions. We conclude that ground-based and aerial emission rate estimates derived from the ROMEO campaign agree well, and the aircraft observations support the previously suggested large under-reporting of CH4 emissions from the Romanian O&G industry in 2019 to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We also observed large underestimation from O&G emissions in the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) v7.0 for our domain of study
Extended Analysis of the Hospitalization Cost and Economic Burden of COVID-19 in Romania
No full textBackground/Objectives: COVID-19 has impacted Romania’s healthcare, economy, society, and public health. This study aims to evaluate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania by analyzing both hospital costs and key elements of economic costs. The assessment was conducted from the perspective of the national payer. Hospital costs were analyzed covering two distinct timeframes: Q4 2020–Q3 2021 and Q1 2022–Q4 2022. The estimation of economic costs covered Q4 2020–Q3 2021. Methods: Hospital care costs were estimated using financial data from eight hospitals. The costs were extrapolated to inpatient data from 60 public hospitals for each of the two study periods. The disease burden was determined based on official data, including the number of confirmed cases, hospital bed occupancy, reported fatalities, and various cost components from an economic perspective. Results: The findings indicate that the average hospital cost per patient episode was EUR 2267 (95% CI: 2137–2396) during the first period and EUR 2003 (95% CI: 1799–2207) in the second. The total national hospitalization expenses amounted to EUR 1.35 billion and EUR 730 million, respectively. When accounting for productivity losses and testing costs, the overall expenditure reached EUR 5.39 billion for Q4 2020–Q3 2021. Conclusions: In conclusion, the total economic burden of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania by the end of 2021 was estimated at EUR 5.39 billion, encompassing hospitalization, isolation, premature deaths, quarantine, testing, and parental allowances. Despite the emergence of costlier treatment options, overall treatment costs declined, possibly due to increased vaccination rates. The study highlights the significant financial strain on the healthcare system and underscores the importance of evidence-based resource allocation to better manage future public health crises
High potential for CH<sub>4</sub> emission mitigation from oil infrastructure in one of EU's major production regions
No full textAmbitious methane (CH4) emission mitigation represents one of the most effective opportunities to slow the rate of global warming over the next decades. The oil and gas (O&G) sector is a significant source of methane emissions, with technically feasible and cost-effective emission mitigation options. Romania, a key O&G producer within the EU, with the second highest reported annual CH4 emissions from the energy sector in the year 2020 (Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data - Comparison by Category, 2022), can play an important role towards the EU's emission reduction targets. In this study, we quantify CH4 emissions from onshore oil production sites in Romania at source and facility level using a combination of ground- and drone-based measurement techniques. Measured emissions were characterized by heavily skewed distributions, with 10% of the sites accounting for more than 70% of total emissions. Integrating the results from all site-level quantifications with different approaches, we derive a central estimate of 5.4 kg h-1 per site of CH4 (3.6 %-8.4 %, 95% confidence interval) for oil production sites. This estimate represents the third highest when compared to measurement-based estimates of similar facilities from other production regions. Based on our results, we estimate a total of 120 kt CH4 yr-1 (range: 79-180 kt yr-1) from oil production sites in our studied areas in Romania. This is approximately 2.5 times higher than the reported emissions from the entire Romanian oil production sector for 2020. Based on the source-level characterization, up to three-quarters of the detected emissions from oil production sites are related to operational venting. Our results suggest that O&G production infrastructure in Romania holds a massive mitigation potential, specifically by implementing measures to capture the gas and minimize operational venting and leaks.</p
