Radio România Internațional

Tag: Diplomacy

September 6, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The number of Covid-19
infections is on the rise in Romania. 1035 fresh cases were reported on Monday
out of roughly 18 thousand tests. 25 new fatalities have been announced in the
past 24 hours while 33 hundred patients are being treated in hospitals. 405
patients are reportedly in IC units. 5.1 million people have been fully vaccinated
since Romania’s vaccine rollout kicked off in late December last year, which
means under a third of the eligible population.

RESIGNATIONS The
co-president of Romanian political group USR PLUS, deputy Prime Minister Dan
Barna, on Monday announced that ministers of this political group would
withdraw from the cabinet headed by Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu. The
ministers who will be tendering their resignations on Tuesday morning are
Cristian Ghinea from the Ministry of Investment and European Projects,
Transport Minister Catalin Drula, the Minister of Economy Claudiu Nasui, the
Minister of Research Ciprian Teleman and Ioana Mihaila from the Health
Ministry. The lack of quorum on Monday prevented the Parliament’s Permanent
Bureaus from making a decision on the timetable of debating and voting on the
censure motion tabled by the USR PLUS and the nationalist opposition AUR. The
USR PLUS wants to maintain the coalition with the National Liberal Party and
the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania but without Prime Minister
Catu after the latter sacked the USR Justice Minister Stelian Ion. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis on Saturday called on the USR PLUS to stage talks in
the coalition and find a viable and rational solution to the present political deadlock.

VISIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will be paying a formal visit
to Switzerland on Thursday, at the invitation of his Swiss counterpart Guy
Parmelin. According to the presidential administration in Bucharest, the visit
comes as part of the consistent high-level bilateral dialogue in the past years
as well as in the context of celebrating this year 110 years of diplomatic
relations between the two countries. The two heads of state will be having
political talks on strengthening the bilateral relations, including the economic
cooperation with emphasis on investment. Switzerland comes 10th in
an investor ranking in Romania. Also high on the agenda are topical issues on
the international arena, such as the latest political and security developments
in the EU’s eastern vicinity, in the West Balkans as well as the Romanian-Swiss
cooperation inside international organizations.

DIPLOMACY The
foreign ministers of the Republic of Moldova, Greece, Italy and India are the
special guests of this year’s edition of the Annual Meeting of the Romanian
Diplomacy which is getting under way in Bucharest on Tuesday. Participants will
discuss the role of diplomacy to consolidate Romania’s resilience. The event,
which is traditionally held by the foreign ministry around the date of Romanian
Diplomacy Day, is held this time online. It brings together the heads of
Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad and its special
guests will include the vice-president of the European Commission for Democracy
and Demography Dubravka Šuica and the Secretary General of the Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe Helga Schmid.

(bill)

6 September 2021
September 6, 2021

Talks. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is meeting prime minister
Florin Cîțu today to discuss the government crisis. On Saturday, he called on
the Save Romania Union and PLUS Alliance to resume dialogue within the
coalition and to find a viable and rational solution to unblock the situation.
The president criticised the Alliance for its possible association with the
Alliance for the Union of Romanians, a party considered extremist and
anti-western, accusing it of betraying the will of the people who placed their
hopes in a centre-right coalition for the development of their country. Also
today, Parliament’s standing bureaus are meeting to discuss the timetable for
debating and discussing the no-confidence motion filed by the Save Romania
Union and PLUS Alliance, in the ruling coalition, and the opposition Alliance
for the Union of Romanians. The former say they want to remain in the coalition
with the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
in Romania, but that they no longer support Florin Cîțu as prime minister. The
Alliance for the Union of Romanians says the motion seeks to bring down the
current government and that it will join forces neither with the Social
Democratic Party, the main opposition party, nor with the Save Romania Union
and PLUS Alliance. The Social Democrats for the moment gave up filing their own
no-confidence motion and say that if the current motion is put to the vote,
they will vote in favour. The liberal leadership reiterated their support for Cîțu but called for the resumption of dialogue in the coalition. The
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania also called for
responsibility, saying no other government formula is possible at the moment.

Diplomacy. The foreign ministers of
the Republic of Moldova, Greece, Italy and India are the special guests of this
year’s edition of the Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy which is getting
under way tomorrow in Bucharest. Participants will discuss the role of
diplomacy to consolidate Romania’s resilience. The event, which is
traditionally held by the foreign ministry around the date of Romanian
Diplomacy Day, is held this time online. It brings together the heads of
Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad and its special guests will include the vice-president of the European Commission for Democracy
and Demography Dubravka Šuica and the Secretary
General of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Helga Schmid.

Death. Romania lost two well-known
public figures on Sunday: actor Ion Caramitru, currently the director of the
National Theatre in Bucharest and a former minister of culture and president of
the Romanian theatre union. He was also one of the best known figures of the
Romanian communist revolution of 1989. He passed away, aged 79, only hours
after former rowing Olympic champion Ivan Patzaichin, aged 71. Patzaichin
took part in five Olympic Games, winning 5 medals, and also had 22 world
titles. We are saying goodbye to two of the most beloved Romanians, wrote
president Klaus Iohannis on Facebook.

Tennis. The Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău and Kevin Krawietz reached
the men’s doubles quarterfinals at the US Open after defeating the
Mexican-Argentinean pair Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni. Tecău and Krawietz,
who are seeded sixth, will next be facing Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey of the
US. In the women’s doubles, Raluca Olaru of Romania and Nadiia Kichenok of
Ukraine reached the last 16 after winning against Andrea Petkovic of Germany
and Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. They will next be playing Alexa Guarachi of
Chile and Desirae Krawczyk of the US. The all-Romanian pair Monica Niculescu and
Gabriela Ruse are today facing Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Erin Routliff of
New Zealand in the last 16. Romania has no player in the singles competition,
after 12th seed Simona Halep lost to Elina Svitolina on Sunday. Halep
missed both Roland Garros and Wimbledon because of an injury.

Football. Romania defeated Liechtenstein 2-nil on Sunday in Bucharest
and went up to third place in World Cup qualifying group J, with 9 points. Romania
won their second consecutive victory in this qualifying campaign, after 2-nil
against Iceland away. On Wednesday, they will play North Macedonia in Skopje,
who are currently in fourth place. Germany top the group with 12 points,
followed by Armenia with 10. Winning the group means qualifying for the World
Cup, which will be hosted by Qatar, while the second-placed side will go into
play-offs. (CM)

6 September 2021
September 2, 2021 UPDATE

Covid-19 Ro — 1,470 new SARS-CoV-2 infections have been registered in Romania in the last 24 hours, following the testing of 40,677 people – the Strategic Communication Group informed on Thursday afternoon. During the same period, 26 patients infected with the novel coronavirus have died. 2,642 COVID patients are hospitalized in specialized health units, of whom 322 in intensive care. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 1,101,678 cases of people infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania and 1,056,922 patients have recovered. The constant increase in the number of cases is not a good enough reason for Romanians to get vaccinated. Romania is at the bottom of the European Union ranking, with a share of only 26.4% people vaccinated with both doses, i.e. a little over 5.1 million people. In another development, 400 people are being investigated in almost 200 criminal cases in relation to false vaccination certificates.

Bucharest — On Thursday the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis signed the decree dismissing Stelian Ion, who represents the USR-PLUS Alliance, from the position of Justice Minister and appointed the interior minister, Liberal Lucian Bode, as interim justice minister. On Wednesday, the USR-PLUS Alliance, a junior partner in the governing coalition, announced that they withdrew their political support for the Liberal PM Florin Cîţu, after the latter announced that he had dismissed Stelian Ion, for refusing to endorse an extensive infrastructure program – the “Anghel Saligny” project. Stelian Ion claims that “many constitutionality and illegality issues have been identified in the draft program”. USR PLUS calls for negotiations to appoint a new prime minister and announces that if talks fail, they could support a motion of censure against the prime minister. The Deputy Prime Minister representing the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR Kelemen Hunor says it is necessary for the “Anghel Saligny” project to be adopted before the budget rectification prepared by the government and he believes that the present deadlock facing the government can be overcome. From the opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the Social Democratic Party – PSD called on the USR-PLUS representatives to either leave the government or sign the censure motion to be tabled by the Social Democrats.

Diplomacy – The Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is participating, on Thursday and Friday, in the informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the EU member states (in Gymnich format), which takes place in Kranj, Slovenia. High on the agenda of the meeting are the crisis in Afghanistan, the EUs approach to the Gulf region, the EU-China relations and the migration situation on the border with Belarus, from the perspective of its impact on Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. The Romanian official will express Romanias full solidarity with these states, showing that to instrumentalize migration against some EU member states is unacceptable. On the sidelines of the Gymnich meeting, Bogdan Aurescu participated, at the invitation of his Slovenian counterpart, in the Bled Strategic Forum. There, he met with the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tihanovskaia, at her request. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated the Romanian sides concern with the continuous deterioration of the internal situation in Belarus and the continuation of serious and systematic human rights violations in that country. For her part, Tihanovskaia expressed thanks especially for Bucharest’s support as well as for the concrete assistance provided, with special reference to the Comprehensive Plan Of Economic Support To Democratic Belarus presented by the European Commission following the initiative of Romania’s President and of his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts.

Enescu — The first concert scheduled for Thursday, the 6th day of the George Enescu International Festival, takes place at the Radio Hall in Bucharest. Under the auspices of the Royal Family of Romania, the Symphony Orchestra of the Brasov Philharmonic, under the baton of conductor Răzvan Apetrei, will give a “Royal Concert”, in the series “Music of the XXI century”. The Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne (Switzerland) will perform again on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada will conduct the Filarmonica della Scala (Italy) at the Palace Hall in Bucharest. “The Festival across the country” section also starts on Thursday. The artistic director of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Liebreich, conducts the Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra from Cluj-Napoca. 32 orchestras from 14 countries are participating in the 2021 anniversary edition of the festival “George Enescu” International Festival. (LS)

2 September 2021
September 1, 2021 UPDATE

PARLIAMENT The bicameral Legislature in Bucharest convened for a fresh
Parliamentary session on Wednesday. MPs designated their leading structures
except for the presidents of the two chambers who are elected for the entire
mandate of the present Legislature. High on the agenda are the law of the
so-called vulnerable consumer, dismantling the Special Section for the
Investigation of Offences Committed by Magistrates as well as the law known as
‘No Criminals in Public Office’. The opposition is threatening with a censure
motion against the PNL-USRPLUS-UDMR government, which is currently seeing
tensions concerning the National Investment Programme. Speaking in the opening
of the Parliament session, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said that people’s
confidence in Parliament is low because politicians don’t fulfill their pledges
and they need to adjust their agendas to meet the citizens’ real needs.
According to the Romanian president some of the reforms are still pending and
has called on the MPs to prove to the Romanians they respect them.

VISIT The visit paid to Romania by Igor Grosu, the president of
Parliament in the neighboring ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova
is a historic one, Ludovic Orban, the president of the Chamber of Deputies in Romania
said on Wednesday. According to him, Moldova now has a majority, which is
sending clear signals of democratization, European integration and friendly
cooperation. In turn, the Moldovan official said that ‘after years of
wandering, the Republic of Moldova is coming back to the right way, a way of
the Western-type of development and modernization and Romania is the main
advocate of this country on its way towards European accession and integration.
The Moldovan official has thanked Romania for its consistent support for the
past 30 years since the country declared its independence. He also mentioned
the humanitarian support Romania gave during the pandemic, which saved hundreds
or maybe thousands of lives.

DIPLOMACY The challenges
on the international arena are a driving force for the adaptation and
reinvention of diplomacy to serve more efficiently the best interest of the
state and its citizens, said Romanian foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu on Romanian Diplomacy Day, September 1st. Rooted in sustainable values
and objectives, Romanian diplomacy has in the last year built and developed
important landmarks in the construction of a more resilient Romania, the
minister also said. He added that the process of reflection and strategic
planning for the coming period will continue at the Annual Meeting of Romanian
Diplomacy to be held online between the 7th and the 9th
of September and discussing the role of the diplomatic service in consolidating
Romania’s resilience.

FESTIVAL
Between the 1st and the 30th of September, Radio Romania
is hosting the 9th edition of the Grand Prix Nova Radio Drama
International Festival, held exclusively online this year. This edition, which
is dedicated to innovation in radio drama, is available at www.grandprixnova.ro and www.eteatru.ro. The festival is divided into three sections,
radio drama, short forms and binaural, bringing together 40 productions from
around the world.

(bill)

1 September 2021
September 1, 2021

Parliament. Bucharest’s two-chamber
Parliament today resumes after the summer recess. The senators and deputies
will elect their new leaders, including deputy speakers and secretaries, with
the exception of the speakers, who are elected for the whole term of the
current Parliament. The priorities of the new parliamentary session include a
bill on vulnerable consumers, dismantling the special department set up to
investigate crimes in the judiciary and a bill seeking to ban persons with
criminal convictions from holding public office. The Social Democratic
opposition are threatening to file a no-confidence motion against the
government formed by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and
PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

Diplomacy. The
challenges on the international arena are a driving force for the adaptation
and reinvention of diplomacy to serve more efficiently the best interest of the
state and its citizens, said Romanian foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu on Romanian Diplomacy Day today. Rooted in sustainable values and
objectives, Romanian diplomacy has in the last year built and developed
important landmarks in the construction of a more resilient Romania, the
minister also said. He added that the process of reflection and strategic
planning for the coming period will continue at the Annual Meeting of Romanian
Diplomacy to be held online between the 7th and the 9th of
September and discussing the role of the diplomatic service in consolidating
Romania’s resilience.

Covid-19. The number of new
coronavirus cases is on the rise in Romania, with more than 1,440 new
infections recorded on Wednesday and 21 deaths. The authorities have again
called on the vaccine reticent population to get the vaccine. In another
development, the EU said on Tuesday that it reached its goal of vaccinating 70%
of adults, a goal established at the beginning of the year. Romania is bottom
of the ranking, with only 26.4% of its population being fully vaccinated.

Schools. Romanian health minister Ioana Mihaila and education minister Sorin Campeanu signed a common
order about the new school year which gets under way on 13th
September. Wearing facemasks will be mandatory in school and children will also
be able to use textile masks if they comply with certain criteria. Depending on
the infection rate in each locality published every Friday on the website of
the public health directorate, the authorities will decide whether learning
moves online in the following week. Classes will be held in person in all
nursery schools, kindergartens and schools below an infection rate of 6 per
1,000 inhabitants. Above this rate, only nursery schools and kindergartens will
remain open, with school children moving to online teaching, with the exception
of special learning.

Tennis. Romania’s Simona Halep, who
is no. 13 in the WTA ranking, is today playing Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova,
world no. 111, in the second round at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tennis
tournament of the year. Another Romanian player, world no. 39 Sorana Cîrstea
reached the second round after defeating Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, world
no. 31, in three sets. Cîrstea will next face world no. 43 Shelby Rogers of the
US.

Radio drama. Between the 1st and the 30th of
September, Radio Romania is hosting the 9th edition of the Grand
Prix Nova Radio Drama International Festival, held exclusively online this
year. This edition, which is dedicated to innovation in radio drama, is
available at www.grandprixnova.ro and www.eteatru.ro. The festival is divided into
three sections, radio drama, short forms and binaural, bringing together 40
productions from around the world. (CM)

1 September 2021
June 26, 2021 UPDATE

Covid-19. 62 new Covid cases
from over 27,000 tests were reported in Romania on Saturday, as well as 6 new
related deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours. 532 Covid patients are
receiving hospital treatment, including 97 in intensive care. More than 4.7
million Romanians have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, which
accounts for 25% of the country’s eligible population. A further easing of
coronavirus restrictions will come into effect from 1st July.

Flag Day. On
National Flag Day on Saturday, president Klaus Iohannis issued a statement
saying the Romanian flag witnessed the most important events in modern Romanian
history and symbolises the link between the country’s past, present and future.
Together with the coat of arms and the anthem, the flag, the president also
said, forms part of the national identity and represents the unity of the
Romanian nation, the independence, sovereignty and indivisible nature of the
state. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban, who attended events in Iaşi to
celebrate National Flag Day, spoke about the importance of the flag in the
development of the Romanian state and the challenges faced by Romanians
throughout history. Various military and cultural events were held to mark
National Flag Day. In June 1848, the revolutionary government in Bucharest
established, in its first decree, blue, yellow and red as the colours of the
Romanian flag.

Diplomacy. During talks with Georgian officials in Tbilisi on Saturday, Romanian
foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu highlighted the risks posed by the protracted conflicts on Georgian
territory and the region to regional security and stability and reiterated
Romania’s and the European Union’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty
of this state within its internationally-recognised borders. Aurescu together
with his Austrian and Lithuanian counterparts were on a diplomatic tour of
South Caucasus as mandated by the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. On Friday
in Yerevan and Baku, the three ministers had talks with high officials from
Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively, reiterating the priority given by both
the European Union and member states to the stability and security of the
states in this region, including through enhanced involvement to find sustainable
solutions to protracted conflicts. According to a statement from the ministry
in Bucharest, Aurescu conveyed the European Union’s commitment to continue
efforts to diffuse tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with solutions to
achieve this including Azerbaijan’s release of the persons detained in last
year’s conflict and Armenia’s release of the map of land mines. Sensitive
subjects were tackled relating to general conflict regulation, such as
humanitarian access to the region affected by the conflict, demarcation of
borders and the pull-out of troops from the border area, with minister Aurescu
singling out the processes in which the European Union may become involved.

Healthcare. The government on
Saturday approved the framework agreement for the conditions for providing
medical care, medicine and medical devices, technologies and assistive devices
as part of the health insurance system for 2021-2022. The bill aims to increase
the share of primary and outpatient care and reduce unjustified hospitalisation.
The bill also introduces further specialist services provided through primary
and outpatient care, such as remote consultations for chronic patients,
psychiatric therapy and medical-related services provided by psychologists and
speech therapists.

Tennis. Romania’s Monica Niculescu
reached the Wimbledon main draw after defeating the American player Kristie Ahn
in straight sets on Friday in the last qualifying round. Romania has six
players on the women’s singles main draw at Wimbledon, which gets under way on
Monday: Sorana Cîrstea, Patricia Ţig, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan, Mihaela
Buzărnescu and Monica Niculescu. World no. 3 Simona Halep and the winner in
London two years ago, on Friday pulled out of the tournament with calf injury. (CM)

26 June 2021
June 26, 2021

Covid-19. 62 new Covid cases
from over 27,000 tests were reported in Romania on Saturday, as well as 6 new
related deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours. 532 Covid patients are
receiving hospital treatment, including 97 in intensive care. More than 4.7
million Romanians have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, which
accounts for 25% of the country’s eligible population. A further easing of
coronavirus restrictions will come into effect from 1st July.

Flag Day. On
National Flag Day on Saturday, president Klaus Iohannis issued a statement
saying the Romanian flag witnessed the most important events in modern Romanian
history and symbolises the link between the country’s past, present and future.
Together with the coat of arms and the anthem, the flag, the president also
said, forms part of the national identity and represents the unity of the
Romanian nation, the independence, sovereignty and indivisible nature of the
state. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban, who attended events in Iaşi to
celebrate National Flag Day, spoke about the importance of the flag in the
development of the Romanian state and the challenges faced by Romanians
throughout history. Various military and cultural events were held to mark
National Flag Day. In June 1848, the revolutionary government in Bucharest
established, in its first decree, blue, yellow and red as the colours of the
Romanian flag.

Diplomatic tour. Romanian foreign
minister Bogdan Aurescu and his Austrian and Lithuanian counterparts are in Georgia’s
capital Tbilisi today, on the last leg of a tour of South Caucasus aimed at
consolidating the European Union’s geopolitical profile in its own
neighbourhood and boost its involvement and role in solving the region’s
protracted conflicts. On Friday in Yerevan and Baku, the three ministers had
talks with high officials from Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively. The
Romanian minister emphasised during talks that the trip to South Caucasus by
three EU foreign ministers reiterates the priority given by both the European
Union and member states to the stability and security of the states in this
region, including through enhanced involvement to find sustainable solutions to
protracted conflicts.

Investment. Prime
minister Florin Cîţu conveyed
to German investors that he would like to see stronger economic ties between
Romania and Germany. In a Facebook post, he said his government would carry out
reforms and that its strategy is to gradually increase the budgets for
development and investments on the international market leading to accumulation
of technology and know-how. He emphasised that his government will keep its
promise not to introduce new taxes and will focus on the efficient spending of
the funds in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Cîţu attended on Friday
an economic conference held in Bucharest by the Romanian-German Chamber of
Industry and Commerce.

Government. The government is today
discussing the framework agreement for the conditions for providing medical
care in Romania. The bill aims to increase the share of primary and outpatient
care and reduce unjustified hospitalisation. The bill also introduces further specialist
services provided through primary and outpatient care, such as remote
consultations for chronic patients, psychiatric therapy and medical-related
services provided by psychologists and speech therapists.

Tennis. Romania’s
Monica Niculescu reached the Wimbledon main draw after defeating the American
player Kristie Ahn in straight sets on Friday in the last qualifying round.
Romania has six players on the women’s singles main draw at Wimbledon, which gets
under way on Monday: Sorana Cîrstea, Patricia Ţig, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan,
Mihaela Buzărnescu and Monica Niculescu. World no. 3 Simona Halep and the
winner in London two years ago, on Friday pulled out of the tournament with
calf injury.

Weather. 50 localities in 22 counties were affected
by the bad weather seen in the last 24 hours, with many households and
basements being flooded. Road travel was disrupted on 35 county roads. The wind
tore down the roofs of several buildings, felled over 200 trees and damaged electric
power poles. The electricity supply was disrupted in 162 localities in seven
counties. (CM)

26 June 2021
Romania on the international stage in the 1960s

In the 1960s, Romania was looking for its own voice on the international
political arena. Having moved, after 1945, under the sphere of influence of the
Soviet Union together with the whole of Eastern Europe, it was forced to change
its political and social-development model. Its foreign policy was also affected,
the break-up of ties with the western world being the first directive issued from
Moscow. From 1948, when the communist regime fully came to power, until the beginning of the 1960s,
isolationism and hostility towards the West and the capitalist world dominated Romania’s
foreign policy.

Stalin’s death in 1963, Khrushchev’s condemnation
of Stalin and the USSR’s intervention against the Hungarian revolution of 1956 were
some of the most important events leading up to a change in the international
relations of the former socialist bloc. The Soviet Union began to diminish its
control over the states it had occupied after 1945, while these countries’
communist leaders were trying to rebuild the ties affected after the war. Romania
was itself trying to rebuild its international identity. Its foreign ministry
was in need of a reformist leader, and Corneliu Mănescu,
Romania’s ambassador to Hungary, was believed to be fit for the job. In 1961,
he was summoned in Bucharest and told he would take over as Romania’s foreign
minister by the head of state himself, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.

At that time, Romania had diplomatic ties with around 30 states. Mănescu
believed this was risible and the first thing he did was opening an avenue of communication
with the United Nations, where Romania did find friends. One such friend was the
Burmese diplomat U Thant, the organisation’s third secretary general. Romania was
thus accepted as a United Nations member in 1955. In 1994, Radio Romania’s Oral
History Centre recorded an interview with Corneliu Mănescu, who was 78 at the
time:

U Thant was a great friend of Romania. He helped us become an
honourable member of the United Nations Organisation and establish the UN
centre in Bucharest, as well as with many other things. He did everything he
could to help us. In 1968, when Romania was at threat from [Russian] invasion, he
was the first person I got in touch with in New York and he promised to hold an
extraordinary international meeting of the United Nations to support us. So, we
owe him our respect and gratitude.

Corneliu Mănescu also sought to restore Romania’s ties with the West,
beginning with France:

In 1961, when I took over the foreign ministry, Romania almost only had
ties with the states in the Warsaw Pact. With the western states, alongside
which we fought against Hitler’s armies, we had been in a state of near war since
1945. Relations had been almost frozen. From 1961, we systematically began to
expand our ties. First of all, we restored relations with countries like
France. In 1961, our relations with France were almost non-existent. I met the
then French foreign minister Couve de Murville in 1961 in the first year of my
tenure and he invited me to France. I immediately said yes, which wasn’t regular
practice. It wasn’t customary for someone to make such a decision on their own.
Of course, I later also received the approval from back home.

Another western country Romania set its sights on was Italy:

Romania was having an unforgivable attitude towards international
organisations, it was rejecting them, rejecting assistance. I will never forget
a discussion I had with the Italian prime minister Amintore Fanfani in
Bucharest when I told him Romania needed the help of industrial countries, such
as Italy. And he said ‘What took you so long? We waited for you to ask for our
help but you never asked. So, we gave our help to the countries who asked,
especially Yugoslavia’. These were Fanfani’s words.

Romania would make the big step in 1967, namely restoring ties with West
Germany. Romanian communist-era foreign minister Corneliu Mănescu recalls:

At around that time I gave an interview to a reporter from The Christian Science Monitor, his name was Rossi and was working in New York.
He asked me about our attitude towards West Germany, whether we wanted ties
with them, whether we believe we should have a formalised, stable relationship.
And he also asked if I thought Germany was fascist, to which I categorically replied:
‘No!’ This interview sparked a lot of discontent among the other Warsaw Pact
countries, especially East Germany, who protested vehemently. They asked me
what right did I have to express such a position. But this didn’t change anything,
things had been clarified, it was something that needed to be done.

Corneliu Mănescu was a successful foreign minister and enjoyed support
from the highest level. On 19th September 1967, he was elected
president of the 22nd session of the UN General Assembly, being the
first representative of a socialist country to occupy this position. At this
time, Romania’s image abroad was excellent, something it would go on to take
advantage of throughout the 1980s. (CM)

3 May 2021
February 16, 2021

COVID-19 2,676 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported
in Romania in the last 24 hours, out of nearly 33,000 tests conducted
nation-wide, according to the Strategic Communication Group. So far Romania has
had around 766,000 confirmed coronavirus infections. Nearly 90% of the patients
have recovered. The authorities also announced another 81 COVID-19 related
deaths, taking the death toll to over 19,500. Another 943 patients are in
intensive care.

ECONOMY PM Florin Cîţu says a “V-shaped recovery of the Romanian economy is certain, after data made public by the National Statistics Institute for the last quarter of 2020 point to a 5.3% growth rate. He mentioned that in 2020, Romanias economy, just like the global economy, was hit by the biggest crisis of the last century. Florin Cîţu also added that last year Romania performed 5% better than originally estimated, and 2.5% in average better than all forecasts made by international institutions, the EC, financial rating agencies and other financial institutions.

PROTESTS Representatives of the hospitality industry organise in Bucharest today new protests against the pandemic containment measures introduced by the authorities. Employers in the sector demand the payment of the promised compensations for last year, when their operations declined by 70%. In Mondays meeting with hospitality representatives, the economy minister Claudiu Năsui promised that the government earmarked over 510 million euros for financial support in the draft budget. On Monday, members of Sanitas Union Federation picketed the Finance Ministry headquarters to warn that a smaller budget for public healthcare in a year with a coronavirus pandemic is not only an injustice to the workers in the system, but also deeply immoral to Romanias citizens.

MOTION The Chamber of Deputies is to vote on Wednesday on the first simple motion of this legislative term, tabled by the Social Democrats in opposition against the health minister Vlad Voiculescu. The Deputies discussed the motion on Monday. The Social Democrats claim that minister Vlad Voiculescu was not sufficiently involved in the immunisation and testing programmes, and that he issued messages conflicting with the coordinators of the national vaccination campaign, discouraging the healthcare workers involved in the process. Vlad Voiculescu replied that during his 2 months in office, he earmarked close to 19 million euros for investments in hospitals.

DIPLOMACY Slovakias foreign minister, Ivan Korcok, is on an official visit to Bucharest today, when he has meetings scheduled with his counterpart Bogdan Aurescu and PM Florin Cîţu. According to the Foreign Ministry, the visit is a new opportunity to reconfirm the excellent bilateral relation and the continuity of the dialogue and historical ties between the 2 countries. The officials will also discuss the coordination of topics of mutual interest at EU level, such as fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing the multi-annual framework and the European Recovery Plan, the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Eastern Partnership and the EU enlargement process.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 2 in the world, Tuesday lost in Melbourne to the American Serena Williams (no 11 WTA), 6-3, 6-3, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Halep and Williams have so far had 11 matches in professional competitions, with Williams winning 9 of them. The latest match was the Wimbledon final of 2019, when the Romanian won 6-2, 6-2. In 2019, they also played against each other in the eighth-finals in Melbourne, when Williams won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

16 February 2021
February 3, 2021

Romania
Covid update. More than 600,000 people have received the Covid vaccine in Romania,
of whom 140,000 also received the second dose. The total number of infections
passed 735,000 on Wednesday, almost one year since the first case was reported
in this country, while the death toll hit 18,600 have died. More than 1,000
Covid patients are in intensive care.

Schools. Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu said
today that he will issue a joint order together with the health minister
containing all the measures for the reopening of schools in Romania as of 8th
February. The order will stipulate the rules to be respected when children
physically return to classrooms beginning with the second semester. Schools,
high schools and kindergartens will be reopening for in-person learning in
Romania next week, Romania thus joining most European Union countries in
this respect.

Romania-Spain.
Spain’s foreign minister Arancha González
Laya today began an official visit to Romania. According to a foreign ministry
statement, the trip comes in the context of Romania and Spain’s celebrating the
140th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year and ahead of a
joint meeting of the two governments also this year. Arancha González Laya
will be meeting prime minister Florin Cîţu and her counterpart Bogdan Aurescu
and will be received by president Klaus Iohannis. This is Laya’s first foreign
trip this year and takes place at the invitation of her Romanian counterpart. The
two foreign ministers are expected to discuss a series of topical issues on the
bilateral, European and international agenda.

Aid.
The Romanian government is expected to approve emergency humanitarian to Croatia
in the wake of December’s earthquake near Zagreb, aid worth some 130,000 euros.
In its meeting today, the government is also due to approve a number of
measures in the education system, including payments to teachers doing extra
hours for pupils to catch up on lost learning during online teaching. An
amendment to a loan agreement signed in 2014 by the Romanian government and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and linked to a project
to reform the healthcare system and improve its quality and efficiency is also expected
to be approved today. The total cost of the project is estimated at 250 million
euros.

Moldova-France.
The pro-western president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu is in Paris
today and tomorrow for official talks with her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
She will also be meeting the French minister for Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Yves
Le Drian and other officials. According to the president’s office in Chişinău, the
trip to France is meant to give a new impetus to the political, economic and
cultural relations between the two countries. This is Maia Sandu’s third visit
abroad, after Kiev and Brussels. After taking office, at the end of last year,
she met Romanian president Klaus Iohannis in Chișinău and together signed a joint declaration on
the consolidation of bilateral strategic partnership.

Russia. The US and other western
powers have met with concern Russia’s jailing of Putin critic Alexei Nalavny
and the violent reprisal of anti-government protests and have called for his immediate
release. On Tuesday, the Russian police arrested more than 900 people during a
pro-Navalny rally. Navalny had been detained since 17th January when
he returned from Germany where he had received treatment for a Novichok
poisoning he blames on president Vladimir Putin and the Russian secret services.
His arrest led to large street protests, with the police using force and making
thousands of arrests.

Tourism. 6.3 million tourists
visited Romania last year, half compared with 2019. More than 90% were
Romanians and only 7% from abroad, according to the National Institute for
Statistics. The most popular destinations were Constanţa county,
in the south-east, on the Black Sea coast, the mountain city of Braşov and the
capital Bucharest. Most foreign tourists who visited Romania last year came
from Germany, Italy, France, Israel and the UK.

Tennis. World no. 2 Simona Halep of
Romania today defeated Germany’s Laura
Siegemund to reach the quarterfinals of the Gippsland Trophy tennis tournament in
Melbourne, in Australia. Halep will next be playing Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. Another Romanian player, Irina
Begu, defeated UK’s Johanna Konta in three sets and will be facing world no. 3
Naomi Osaka of Japan in the quarterfinals. Gippsland Trophy is organised as a
lead-up to the Australian Open, which gets under way on 8th
February. In another similar tournament, Grampians Trophy, also held in Melbourne,
Romania’s Sorana
Cîrstea defeated Georgia’s Oksana Kalashnikova to reach the round of last 16,
where she will be playing second seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. (CM)

3 February 2021
October 27, 2020 UPDATE

COVID-19 Another 4,724 new COVID-19 cases were announced in Romania on Tuesday, and a record-high number of deaths, 104—which takes the death toll so far to over 6,500. Over 820 people are in intensive care. On Tuesday, president Klaus Iohannis held a meeting with the health minister, Nelu Tătaru and ICU experts, to assess the crisis. According to the president, the situation is worsening steadily both at European and at national level. He cautioned that sustained effort is needed in order to contain the pandemic. Iohannis added that the authorities strategic plan for the forthcoming period includes, among other things, opening new intensive care units in the country, and increasing the ICU capacity in 7 hospitals in Bucharest. He also said that accessing EU funding would help improve Romanias capacity to handle the crisis by purchasing new hospital equipment. Iohannis explained that at present Romania has over 3,000 beds in ICUs, for both Covid and non-Covid patients, and over 2,200 ventilators, plus 5 mobile ICUs, 2 modular field hospitals and an ICU module. Interior minister Marcel Vela also announced that a new centre will be set up within the Dimitrie Gerota Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, for recovered COVID-19 patients to donate plasma for severe cases.

VISIT On the last day of his visit to France, the Romanian PM Ludovic Orban Tuesday had a meeting with the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development José Ángel Gurría, and gave an address in the OECD Council meeting. In his speech, Ludovic Orban reiterated Romanias firm commitment to becoming a member of this structure, and emphasised Bucharests determination to invest in key areas like transport infrastructure, digital connectivity, energy and environmental transition, urban development, healthcare, agriculture, education, social protection and research-innovation. Also on Tuesday the Romanian PM met separately with the speakers of the French Parliaments two chambers, and had a meeting with members of the Romanian community in France. Ludovic Orban also talked to representatives of the
French business environment, members of France’s largest employers’ union -
MEDEF, about investment opportunities in Romania. On Monday, following talks with the French PM Jean Castex, important agreements were signed for strengthening political, economic and military ties between Romania and France.

DEFICIT Romanias budget deficit reached 6.36% of GDP in the first 9 months of this year, as against 2.6% of GDP in the corresponding period of last year, according to the Finance Ministry. More than half of the deficit registered in January – September 2020 is accounted for by amounts channelled into the economy through tax facilities, investments and exceptional expenditure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Official estimates point to an 8.6% deficit this year.

AMBASSADORS Six nominees for Romanian ambassadors will be interviewed on Wednesday by Parliaments committees on foreign policy and the Romanian diaspora. The new ambassadors will serve in Morocco and Mauritania, North Macedonia, Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan and Albania. On October 7 and 19, the relevant committees heard 16 other candidates, all of whom received Parliaments green light for their posts.

DIPLOMACY In Chişinău, the Russian Embassy and the ruling Socialist Party are accusing the Romanian ambassador of attempting to re-write the history of WW2. The response came after Ambassador Daniel Ioniţă paid tribute to the Romanian soldiers fighting to reunite Romanian regions, during a ceremony on the Romanian Army Day. The Embassy of Romania to Moldova replied it did not want to be dragged into the disputes triggered by the election campaign in that country. The unprecedented attack stirred harsh criticism among historians, academics and civil society. Analyst Nicolae Negru told Radio Chişinău that Russia has no moral right to give humanity lessons, given the persecution suffered by Bessarabian people under the Soviet regime. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

27 October 2020
September 11, 2020 UPDATE

COVID-19 1,391 new infections with SARS CoV-2 have been reported in Romania in the last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication has said, bringing the total up to 101,075 cases at national level. Another 35 people have died, taking the total death toll to 4,100. 478 patients are in intensive care. 7,125 people infected with COVID-19 are currently receiving treatment in hospitals. 10,772 are in home isolation, 5,754 in institutional isolation. 33,129 people are quarantined at home while 12 are in institutional quarantine. Of the Romanians living abroad, 6,599 have tested positive so far, and 126 died.

PANDEMIC Over 28 million infections with SARS CoV-2and 914,000 deaths have been reported worldwide since the start of the pandemic. The United States continues to be the most affected country, with nearly 6.6 million infections and some 196,000 deaths. India is the second-most affected country in terms of the total numbers of infections, some 4.5 million, and 76,000 deaths. The resurge in the number of infections has forced many European states to consider new restrictions to contain the pandemic. France, Belgium, Italy and Great Britain are hit by a second wave, although less serious than that of March and April. In Croatia, Greece and Malta on the other hand, the increase in the number of cases is higher than in the first wave. As a result, the annual meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), presented as ‘the largest European conference on human rights, has been cancelled. A disquieting situation is also reported in Israel.

SCHOOLS The Government has earmarked an additional €20 million to the budget of the Education Ministry to fund the Safe Education National Programme. The money will be used for the purchase of laptops, medical equipment and electronic devices, such as webcams and tablets, so that teachers can conduct their lessons online where required. A new school year is starting in Romania on Monday.

INNOVATION The city of Cluj-Napoca (in north-western Romania) is among the EUs 6 most innovating cities, alongside Vienna, Valencia, Espoo (Finland), Helsingborg (Sweden) and Leuven (Belgium). The announcement was made by the European Commission on Friday, following a competition run in several stages with hundreds of participating localities. The Commission will announce the 2020 European Capital of Innovation on September 24, in an online ceremony. The winning city will receive one million euros.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a telephone talk on Friday with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau, on topics of mutual interest, with an emphasis on the situation in Belarus. The 2 diplomats reiterated their ‘firm support for the democratization of the country and for the civil society in Belarus’. In this context, minister Aurescu resumed his call for the authorities in Minsk to end the pressure on the opposition and civil society or the mass media. The talks also tackled the developments in the Three Seas Initiative, given the extensive cooperation between Romania and Poland in this respect.

9/11 Friday marked 19 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11 in the United States, considered the bloodiest in world history. Some 3,000 people, including Romanians, were killed by 19 Al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked 4 passenger airliners, crashing them into key buildings in the US. The death toll continued to rise after the attacks, many people dying due to exposure to dust from the site. (translated by: A.M. Popescu, V. Palcu)

11 September 2020
The Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy

The essential coordinates of Bucharest’s foreign actions remain
unchanged: to strengthen the role it plays in the European Union and NATO and
the Strategic Partnership with the United States. These pillars of the Romanian
foreign policy have this week been mentioned by the country’s President Klaus Iohannis,
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban and Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu at the annual
meeting of the Romanian diplomacy.

The event has been held as a videoconference to prevent the spread
of the coronavirus pandemic. In a message conveyed to the participants, NATO
Deputy Secretary General Romanian Mircea Geoana has underlined that Romania is
a vital member of the Alliance and plays the role of a ‘regional pivot’ in
terms of defence and deterring the threats against the alliance.

He pointed out to the fact that older security risks have been
amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic including in the Black Sea region. Russia,
Mircea Geoana went on to say, is continuing the aggressive-behaviour pattern with
disinformation campaigns, cyber-attacks and military actions.

The former head of the Romanian diplomacy in early 2000, the Deputy
Secretary General of NATO added that China’s global ascension is changing the
international balance and the allies must pay attention to this process. The
guest of honour, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security policy, Josep Borrell has said that the EU members must continue to
work together in an integrated manner to give a common response to the new
geopolitical challenges. Another invitee, the Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha
Gonzalez Laya has said that ‘Spain doesn’t have any geopolitical ambition in
Belarus, its support in the context of the tensions in this country being
solely related to the precious values of the European Union.’

Viorel Mosanu, Romania’s ambassador in Minsk, conveyed a similar
message on Wednesday. The Romanian official joined his colleagues from other EU
countries to pay a visit to a leading figure of the opposition in Belarus,
writer Svetlana Aleksievich.

A recipient of the Nobel prize in literature, Alexievich, who has
been actively opposing president Alexander Lukashenko, has confessed that she
is afraid of being apprehended by his political police, which has kept the
dreadful soviet name KGB.

Romania’s
Foreign Minister has specified that the goal of Mosanu’s visit was to ensure
that human rights are being observed. I believe we must put pressure on the
regime to have an open dialogue with the opposition and stop using repressive
measures, the head of the Romanian diplomacy went on to say.

The latest
abuses by president Lukashenko, who has been in power for the past 26 years,
and has been described as Europe’s last dictator, have prompted reactions in
the two chambers of Parliament in Bucharest. The Romanian MPs have recently
passed two declarations calling on the authorities in Minsk to observe the
human rights and put an end to reprisals against their own citizens.

(tr. bill)

10 September 2020
September 6, 2020 UPDATE

Coronavirus. 1,150 new daily
coronavirus cases were reported on Sunday in Romania, with infections now
passing 95,000. 43 new deaths were also reported, which raises the death toll
to 3,893. 474 people are in intensive care. The largest number of new cases
were in Bucharest and Bacau county.

Diplomats. The annual
meeting of the Romanian diplomatic service organised by the foreign ministry is
taking place in Bucharest from Monday to Wednesday. This year’s edition, which
is held by video-conference, is looking at the impact of the pandemic on
international trends and the response of the Romanian foreign office. The event
brings together heads of Romania’s diplomatic missions, consular offices and
cultural institutes as well as foreign officials, foreign ministers of partner
states, leaders of international organisations and leading members of the
international academic community. Guests include the EU high representative for
foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman
Safadi, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, Spanish foreign minister Arancha
González Laya and South-Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha.

Forum. The European Union must be
prepared in the future to give more convincing answers about its role in the
Balkans and the Black Sea region, said the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu at the end of a security forum held in Bucharest. He added that the
Union should pay more attention to its neighbourhood, citing as an example the
Black Sea area, where there are a number of sources of insecurity, from the open
conflict in eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia to
the growing militarisation of the Black Sea. The Romanian minister also warned about
what he called infodemic, an epidemic of disinformation and fake news. He
said everything has become geo-politicised, including vaccines, treatments,
science and expertise, even citizens’ private lives and convictions. The Black
Sea and Balkans Security Forum held on Friday and Saturday in Bucharest and
organised by the New Strategy Center with the support of the Romanian foreign
affairs and defence ministries looked at all types of security
risks and threats in the Black Sea region and the Balkans, including those
arising in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elections. The
pre-election period ahead of the parliamentary elections of 6th December
begins in Romania on Monday, the Permanent Election Authority has announced.
The Central Election Bureau will be set up next Friday and 21st
September is the deadline by which Romanian voters abroad can register with the
Election Registry and state whether they wish to vote in person or by mail. The
election campaign for the local elections of 27th September is
currently in full swing in Romania.

Exercise. More than 200 military
from the engineer corps are taking part in a multinational exercise called Blonde
Avalanche 20 which got under way today in Braila, in south-eastern Romania. The
defence ministry said in a statement that the purpose of the exercise is joint
training of the Multinational Engineer Battalion which includes military from
Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary for missions to limit and eliminate the
consequences of natural disasters. The military from Slovakia and Hungary are
taking part in the exercise online.

Festival. The first stage of the
violin section of the George Enescu International Competition is under way
between the 5th and the 9th of September and features 60
recitals by young violinists from around world which can be watched online on
the festival’s website, at www.festivalenescu.ro.
The results will be made public on 10th September. Only 12 out of 60
participants will go to the next stage. In the cello section, 13 participants
reached the second stage, which comes to an end on Monday. This year’s edition
of the George Enescu International Competition, which was due to take place
between 29th August and 20th September, has been
reorganised because of the pandemic into two separate events: the first two
stages are held online this month, as initially scheduled, while the semifinals
and the finals in each category will be held in May next year. The competition
has brought together 205 musicians from 39 different countries. 184 are competing
in the three instrument sections, violin, cello and piano, while 21 are competing
in the composition section.

Tennis. Romania’s Simona Halep was chosen August tennis
Player of the Month based on fan vote on the WTA website. In other tennis news,
Sorana Cirstea lost on Saturday to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in
the third round at the US Open. In the men’s doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair
Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer reached the competition’s quarterfinals after
defeating the first seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia. On
Sunday, the Romanian-Belorussian pair Andreea Mitu and Lidziya Marozova won the women’s double title of the Prague Open.

Football. Romania will be facing
Austria on Monday in a League B Group 1 match as part of the Nations League
competition. The group also includes Norway, which Romania will be playing next
month. On 8th October, Romania will also be playing Iceland in the
semifinals of the qualifying playoffs for the European Championship. If they
win, Romania will face the winner of the other playoff semifinal, Hungary or
Bulgaria. On Tuesday, Romania’s under-21 side are facing Malta in a qualifying
match for the European Under-21 Championship next year. (CM)

6 September 2020
July 25, 2020 UPDATE

COVID-19 In Romania the Strategic Communication Group reported on Saturday a new record-high number of COVID-19 cases—1,284 out of over 22,500 tests. This is the 4th consecutive day with over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. The total number of cases so far is 43,678, with over 25,300 patients having recovered and the death toll standing at 2,165. So far 1,087,783 tests have been processed in Romania. Abroad, 5,329 Romanian nationals have tested positive for coronavirus, and the number of deaths has reached 123. Passengers landing in Greece on flights from Romania and Bulgaria as of July 28 must present a negative COVID-19 test taken no earlier than 72 hours before the date of arrival, the Greek authorities decided. Romanias PM Ludovic Orban promised the authorities will use all lawful means available to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, but warned that this goal requires the contribution of all citizens, who are once again urged to observe protection measures. The health minister Nelu Tătaru announced Romania is to receive 600 doses of Remdesivir, used in treating COVID-19 patients. He explained this is only used as part of a clinical trial and will only be sent to the clinics included in the programme.

PANDEMIC The total number of COVID-19 infections worldwide is quickly nearing 16 million, with 10 million patients recovered and more than 640,000 dead, according to Worldometers.info. A growing number of governments are now considering reintroducing restrictions, as the easing of containment measures in the past month has led to a worsening of the situation. On Friday the US reported over 70,000 new cases for the second day in a row as well as 1,000 deaths, Johns Hopkins University announced. The number of new cases rose in Europe as well. on Friday Italy announced 14-day quarantine requirements for people coming from Romania and Bugaria. France introduced compulsory testing for citizens coming from 16 non-EU countries with high COVID-19 infection rates, including the US and Algeria. As of Saturday, Czechs will have to wear face masks when attending indoor events with more than 100 participants.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a telephone discussion on Friday with his Spanish counterpart Arancha Gonzalez Laya, regarding the excellent bilateral cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2 officials reviewed the measures taken by both states to mitigate the effects of the crisis at healthcare, economic and social level. Minister Aurescu thanked Spain for its support during the pandemic in terms of the mobility of Romanian citizens to and from Spain. In turn, the Spanish official emphasised the excellent consular cooperation during this complicated period, and voiced hopes that this will carry on. Aurescu also spoke about the essential role of the Romanian community in key areas of the Spanish economy and thanked Spanish authorities for their support in integrating the Romanian citizens who work and live in Spain.

NAVY The French command and support vessel “Var Saturday conducted joint drills with the Romanian Navy, as part of its stopover in the Black Sea port of Constanţa. According to the French Embassy in Romania, this mission, alongside other French Navy missions at the Black Sea, was designed to ensure maritime protection, to facilitate cooperation between partners and interoperability. The main mission of the 169-strong crew of the French offshore support vessel is to provide logistical support and materials for vessels during missions, including refuelling and water, food, ammunition, medicine and spare part restocking.

WORKERS 11 Romanian nationals working on a farm in Borken, Germany, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. According to the employer, around 120 Romanian citizens are currently working there. The patients are asymptomatic and have been isolated from the rest of the employees, with food and other necessary items provided to them. So far Romanias consular office in Bonn has not received any requests for consular assistance from the employees of the farm in question, but it stays in contact with local authorities and is ready to provide assistance if necessary.

WEATHER Several bad weather alerts are in place this weekend in Romania. A code orange alert concerning the western half of the country is valid until Sunday morning, a code yellow alert is already in place in the west, south-west, north and in the mountains, while a second one will be effective as of Sunday morning. Heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms, strong wind and hail storms are expected. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

25 July 2020