Radio România Internațional

Tag: government

Nicolae Ciucă, PM designate once again

At the end of a third round of talks with the parliamentary
parties in the almost three months since USR left the ruling coalition, the
head of state once again designated the interim defence minister Nicolae Ciucă to
form a new government.

Klaus
Iohannis: I am satisfied that there is a robust majority in the Parliament
of Romania, a majority consisting of the National Liberal Party, the Social
Democratic Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the ethnic
minorities group. They nominated a PM and I accepted this nomination. I will therefore
designate Mr. Nicolae Ciucă to form a government team and to come before
Parliament for a confidence vote.

Nicolae
Ciucă was previously designated for the post on October 21, but he stepped down
after a minority coalition made up of the National Liberal Party and the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians failed to secure enough votes in Parliament for
endorsement.

This time
around, extensive negotiations led to an agreement on the governing programme, a
new Cabinet structure (with two new ministries) and the concept of a rotation
of prime ministers between the Liberals and the Social Democrats.

Nicolae
Ciucă said Romanians expect the new government to provide stability and
solutions for the difficulties entailed by the pandemic and the energy crunch,
and voiced hopes that the new team will get to work thoroughly as of Thursday.

The Liberals
will have eight ministries in the new government. They are keeping the foreign
and interior ministries, the education ministry and the energy ministry, and
will head four more, including justice, and the ministry for European funds and
investments.

Not all
Liberals are happy with this scenario, however, and senior party members are criticizing
their leader’s handling of the negotiations. Florin Cîţu argues however that
the coalition with the Social Democrats is not unconditional, and promises that
citizens’ interests and financial stability will not be compromised.

After a
stint in the opposition, the Social Democrats will head nine ministries plus
the Government secretariat general. Important fields are included, such as the public
finances, defence, transports and economy.

The PM
rotation order was one of the most passionately debated issues. The Social
Democrats eventually agreed to take their turn at the helm of the cabinet in 18
months’ time. The party president Marcel Ciolacu explained that the Social
Democrats agreed to back the Liberal’s PM nominee in return for the inclusion
of important social support measures in the governing programme.

In turn, UDMR
will have a deputy PM post in the Ciucă Cabinet, alongside with the three
ministries they are already heading-regional development, environment and
sports.

The USR would
not attend the consultations with the president, and leader Dacian Cioloş argued
that president Klaus Iohannis renounced his role as a mediator. Also in
opposition, AUR mentioned they would not endorse the new government in
Parliament. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

23 November 2021
November 22, 2021 UPATE

COVID – In Romania, the number of coronavirus infections continues to drop, 1,550 new cases of COVID-19 being reported in the last 24 hours. 154 deaths were also reported, of which 29 were registered prior to the reference period. More than 11,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are hospitalized. There are 1,539 patients in ICUs, a smaller number compared to the previous day, and 150 of them have a certificate attesting to their vaccination, according to the authorities. The average infection rate is now below 3.5 cases per thousand inhabitants, and more than half of Romania’s counties are no longer in the red scenario. The head of the COVID vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, warned that there is a risk that the scenario experienced by Germany, which quickly passed from the 4th to the 5th wave of the pandemic, will be repeated in Romania, where the vaccination rate is low. An even greater danger would be the emergence of a mutation of the coronavirus that bypasses the bodys immune response, said Gheorghiţă. The number of fully vaccinated people is close to 7.2 million.

Government – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Monday signed the decree on the appointment of the Liberal senator Nicolae Ciucă to the position of prime minister. He said, after consultations with the parliamentary parties and groups, that Ciucas nomination is supported by a solid majority in Parliament, which includes PSD, PNL, UDMR and the group of national minorities other than the Hungarian one. Klaus Iohannis received the representatives of PNL, PSD and UDMR simultaneously during the consultations. He also spoke with the leaders of the nationalist opposition party, AUR, while USR, a former junior partner of the Liberals in the government, boycotted the presidents invitation, accusing him of being the godfather of a monstrous coalition. According to the Constitution, the candidate to the position of prime minister has ten days since nomination to ask Parliament for a vote of confidence on the governing program and the entire list of ministers. PSD spokesman Radu Oprea said that, in the future Executive, the Social Democrats would have a ministerial position for the Secretary General of the Government, as well as the portfolios of Finance, National Defense, Economy, Transport, Agriculture, Health, Labor, Culture and Youth. UDMR keeps the three ministries it already manages – Local Development, Environment and Sports. And the Liberals are left with the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Investment and European Projects, Energy, Education, Research and Tourism. According to the media, Liberal leaders across Romania and from Bucharest have virulently criticized the PNL president, the outgoing prime minister Florin Cîţu, because he ceded too many key portfolios to the Social Democrats. A retired general, Ciucă had been appointed last month by President Iohannis to form the government, but he relinquished his mandate after it became clear that the minority government made up of PNL-UDMR would not receive the investiture vote. Earlier, the USR government proposed by the partys leader, Dacian Cioloş, was rejected by senators and deputies. If he is invested, Ciucă will become the first career soldier to lead a government of post-communist Romania. His first nomination came shortly after an opinion poll confirmed that the Army and the Church are on the first places in a classification of institutions enjoying the highest degree of Romanians trust. According to the survey, conducted by the Laboratory for Information Warfare Analysis and Strategic Communication, 87% of Romanians say they trust the Army, 70% – the Church, and 67% – the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Romanian Academy. Over 40% of respondents consider corruption and the incompetence of the political class as the main threats to Romania.

Visit — The President of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet republic with a majority Romanian-speaking), pro-Western Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to neighboring Romania on Tuesday, at the invitation of her counterpart, Klaus Iohannis. It is the first visit to Romania since the early parliamentary elections of July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS) by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of the celebration, in 2021, of 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, after in 1991, Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow. The visit, states the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, is a very good opportunity to reconfirm the special, privileged relationship established under the Strategic Partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration, based on a common language, culture and history. The political consultations of the two presidents will strengthen the excellent and substantial bilateral cooperation at the political, economic and sectoral levels and will stimulate the advancement of joint projects of strategic interest in the fields of energy, transport, health, education and IT. The focus will be on those projects aimed at connecting the Republic of Moldova to the European Union space, through Romania, and at bringing real and concrete benefits to all its citizens – the abovementioned source also shows.

Tennis – Romania has five representatives in the WTA top 100, the world ranking of professional tennis players, published on Monday. The former world leader Simona Halep holds the best position, 20th, but this is her weakest ranking at the end of the season over the last nine years. If in 2013 she finished on 11th position, Halep was then in the Top 10 every time except this year, when she started in 2nd position. Sorana Cîrstea remains on 38th position, Irina Begu on 60th place, Jaqueline Cristian on 71st position, and Gabriela Ruse on 85th. In doubles, Romania has six players in the top 100: Raluca Olaru is still on 36th place, Monica Niculescu maintains the 39th place, Irina Begu dropped one place on 64th position, while Irina Bara managed a jump of 12 places and now being on 84th position, after the title she won this weekend in Montevideo. The other two Romanians in the doubles top 100 are Andreea Mitu (98) and Gabriela Ruse (99). (LS)

22 November 2021
November 21, 2021 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT The Social
Democrats and the Liberals, which have the largest
number of seats in Parliament and are seeking to form a new cabinet jointly
with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), announced
they would present president Klaus Iohannis on Monday with a joint nomination
for the PM post. The structure of the new government was agreed on in Sunday’s
negotiations, the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu announced, and added
that Romania will have an operational government on Thursday. According to the
chief of the Liberal negotiation team, the interim defence minister Nicolae Ciucă,
the ministries of transport and finances will be headed, in principle, by the
other party than the one nominating the PM. In turn, the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen
Hunor, says 2 new ministries will be created, one for tourism and
entrepreneurship and one for family and youth. Political sources say the
new PM designate will be Nicolae Ciucă (Liberal). A retired general, Ciucă was
designated by president Iohannis to form a new government, but he stepped down
following indications that his minority government would not be endorsed in
Parliament. A previous minority cabinet headed by the president of USR, Dacian
Cioloş, also failed to get a confidence vote in Parliament. If endorsed, Ciucă will
be the first senior military officer to head a post-communist Romanian government.
He will replace the Liberal leader Florin Cîţu, dismissed last month following a no-confidence vote
initiated by the Social Democrats.

COVID-19 The number of new coronavirus infections in Romania dropped
below 2,000 on Sunday, for the first time in 9 weeks. 1,936 new COVID-19 cases were reported out of
nearly 23,000 tests, along with 121 related fatalities, 16 of them from an
earlier date. As many as 1,573 patients are in intensive care, but the number
of patients is on the decrease. The National Committee on Emergency Situations agreed that in places with infection rates below 3 per
thousand schools may resume on-site teaching regardless of the vaccination rate
among teaching staff. Several activities subject
to restrictions in recent weeks may now be resumed, but a final decision is to
be made by the government. Such activities include sports events, concerts,
performances and outdoor festivals, conferences and training sessions. Only
holders of the digital Covid certificate will be permitted to take part.

MOLDOVA The president of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu
will be on an official visit to Romania on Tuesday, at the invitation of her
Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. This is Sandu’s first visit to Romania
since July’s early election won by her party Action and Solidarity (PAS), and
it takes place in the context of the celebration of 30 years of diplomatic
relations, after in 1991, the ex-Soviet republic proclaimed its independence
from Moscow. According to the Romanian presidency, this is an opportunity to
reconfirm the special, privileged Strategic Partnership between the 2 countries,
based on common linguistic, cultural and historical elements. The talks between
Iohannis and Sandu will encourage the development of joint projects in the
fields of energy, transport, healthcare, education and information society, with
a focus on projects designed to help connect the Republic of Moldova with the
EU to the benefit of all its citizens.

SPORTS Romania’s national rugby team defeated Tonga 32-20,
in a test match in Bucharest. According to the media, the game was quite useful
to both teams, which are trying to qualify for the 2023 World Championships in
France. Won the other 2 matches played this month, 29-14 against Uruguay, in a
test match in Verona, Italy, on November 7, and 56-15 against the Netherlands
in Bucharest, in Rugby Europe Championship 2021, on November 13. Romania is
currently placed 15th in the World Rugby standings. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

21 November 2021
November 18, 2021

Government. The
Social Democrats and the Liberals may resume today negotiations on the
structure and governing programme of the new Cabinet they intend to form
jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. While both parties agreed to the idea of a rotation government, Wednesday’s
talks were suspended as each party insisted on being the first to designate the
prime minister. The Social Democrats nominated their president, Marcel Ciolacu,
who promised his cabinet would be in office as early as next week. In turn, the
Liberals want their own leader and interim PM to stay in office, although he
was dismissed last month in a no-confidence vote. Two subsequent attempts
at forming a minority government failed, and President Klaus Iohannis has said he will only invite parties to consultations
after a parliamentary majority is agreed on.

COVID-19. Romania reported little over 3,000
new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, as well as 332 related
fatalities, 76 of them from an earlier date. According to official data, 311 of
the total number of deaths were reported among unvaccinated patients. More than
1,600 patients are currently in intensive care. The infection rate across the
country is dropping, but scores of cities still have incidence rates above 6
per 1,000 inhabitants. As of Wednesday Romania has over
7 million fully vaccinated citizens.

Vaccination. The
digital COVID certificate and the vaccine are our main instruments in fighting
the pandemic, and we must use them, the European Commissioner for internal
market Thierry Breton said while on an official visit to Bucharest. He
emphasised Europeans are rather lucky to have an effective vaccine against the
virus available. The EU official also said the low vaccination rate jeopardises
Romanians’ health and is a barrier to the full recovery of Romania and of the
EU as a whole. During his meeting with the interim health minister Cseke
Attila, the 2 officials discussed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the vaccine
supply and the measures taken by member states with respect to the digital
certificate. Thierry Breton will also have a meeting with president Klaus Iohannis
later today.

Pandemic. A new COVID-19 wave hit
the centre and west of Europe, with nearly 53,000 new cases reported in 24
hours in Germany, 25,000 in Poland, 20,000 in France, 14,000 in Austria, 10,000
in Hungary. The Netherlands also announced a 44% increase this week compared to
the previous one. Restrictions are once again introduced, especially against
the unvaccinated, which prompts new interest in getting the vaccine. Sweden for
the first time introduces a green pass to be used as of 1 December for events
with more than 100 participants. France on the other hand does not plan new
restrictions.

Moldova. Chișinău continues to call for the pull-out of
Russian troops from the east of Moldova, the country’s foreign minister Nicu
Popescu said in Moscow, at a joint press conference with his Russian
counterpart Sergey Lavrov. This is a priority of our foreign
policy, Popescu said, referring to the troops deployed in the breakaway region
of Transnistria, which Russia’s ex-president Boris Yeltsin undertook to pull
out as far back as in the 1999 OSCE Summit in Istanbul. The Republic of Moldova
has had no control on the breakaway region of Transnistria since 1992, after an
armed conflict that killed hundreds of people was ended by the intervention of
Russian troops on the side of the separatists. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

18 November 2021
November 18, 2021

Government. The
Social Democrats and the Liberals may resume today negotiations on the
structure and governing programme of the new Cabinet they intend to form
jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. While both parties agreed to the idea of a rotation government, Wednesday’s
talks were suspended as each party insisted on being the first to designate the
prime minister. The Social Democrats nominated their president, Marcel Ciolacu,
who promised his cabinet would be in office as early as next week. In turn, the
Liberals want their own leader and interim PM to stay in office, although he
was dismissed last month in a no-confidence vote. Two subsequent attempts
at forming a minority government failed, and President Klaus Iohannis has said he will only invite parties to consultations
after a parliamentary majority is agreed on.

COVID-19. Romania reported little over 3,000
new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, as well as 332 related
fatalities, 76 of them from an earlier date. According to official data, 311 of
the total number of deaths were reported among unvaccinated patients. More than
1,600 patients are currently in intensive care. The infection rate across the
country is dropping, but scores of cities still have incidence rates above 6
per 1,000 inhabitants. As of Wednesday Romania has over
7 million fully vaccinated citizens.

Vaccination. The
digital COVID certificate and the vaccine are our main instruments in fighting
the pandemic, and we must use them, the European Commissioner for internal
market Thierry Breton said while on an official visit to Bucharest. He
emphasised Europeans are rather lucky to have an effective vaccine against the
virus available. The EU official also said the low vaccination rate jeopardises
Romanians’ health and is a barrier to the full recovery of Romania and of the
EU as a whole. During his meeting with the interim health minister Cseke
Attila, the 2 officials discussed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the vaccine
supply and the measures taken by member states with respect to the digital
certificate. Thierry Breton will also have a meeting with president Klaus Iohannis
later today.

Pandemic. A new COVID-19 wave hit
the centre and west of Europe, with nearly 53,000 new cases reported in 24
hours in Germany, 25,000 in Poland, 20,000 in France, 14,000 in Austria, 10,000
in Hungary. The Netherlands also announced a 44% increase this week compared to
the previous one. Restrictions are once again introduced, especially against
the unvaccinated, which prompts new interest in getting the vaccine. Sweden for
the first time introduces a green pass to be used as of 1 December for events
with more than 100 participants. France on the other hand does not plan new
restrictions.

Moldova. Chișinău continues to call for the pull-out of
Russian troops from the east of Moldova, the country’s foreign minister Nicu
Popescu said in Moscow, at a joint press conference with his Russian
counterpart Sergey Lavrov. This is a priority of our foreign
policy, Popescu said, referring to the troops deployed in the breakaway region
of Transnistria, which Russia’s ex-president Boris Yeltsin undertook to pull
out as far back as in the 1999 OSCE Summit in Istanbul. The Republic of Moldova
has had no control on the breakaway region of Transnistria since 1992, after an
armed conflict that killed hundreds of people was ended by the intervention of
Russian troops on the side of the separatists. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

18 November 2021
November 15, 2021

COVID-19 The latest updates released by Romanian
authorities point to a decrease in the number of new cases in the
country-little over 2,100. The authorities also reported 195 fatalities,
and more than 15,000 COVID patients are hospitalised, 1,720 of them in
intensive care. In the capital Bucharest the infection rate dropped below 6 per
thousand. On the other hand, as compared to a peak of over 110,000 people
vaccinated on 27th October, the vaccination rate in Romania has also
been dropping steadily. So far 6.8 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.

CERTIFICATE The draft law that makes the digital COVID
certificate compulsory at the workplace may be discussed as of today in the
Chamber of Deputies. In a first stage, the document was rejected by the Senate.
The interim PM Florin Cîțu called for exemplary mobilisation in the Chamber of
Deputies, so as to ensure the bill gets enough votes to pass. Florin Cîţu also
said he disagreed with the proposed free-of-charge testing of unvaccinated
workers, because this would put pressure on the public budget, whereas the
vaccine comes at no cost to citizens. In several cities, including Bucharest, rallies
were held to protest the possible introduction of the digital certificate and
other restrictions.

GOVERNMENT Negotiations continue in Bucharest, with
the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians trying to reach an agreement on a governing
programme. After Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition in September, the
Social Democrats introduced a no-confidence motion and dismissed the Liberal
cabinet. Today the talks will focus on the public
finances and justice fields. The
Liberal Party leader and interim PM Florin Cîţu announced that as far as the
labour area goes, a 7% pension rise has been discussed, but that a final
decision is to be made after the impact on the public budget has been analysed.
He also said child allowances are also to be raised. In turn, the Social
Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu mentioned the pension and child allowance
increases, but said several scenarios are being analysed and a complete set of
measures in this respect will be announced this week. So far the 3 parties have
not reached an agreement on a new prime minister designate.

MIGRANTS Brussels is hosting today a meeting of EU
foreign ministers focusing on the situations in Belarus, Ethiopia, Western
Balkans and the Sahel. Romania is represented by foreign minister
Bogdan Aurescu. According to a news release, the Romanian official is
taking part, alongside his EU counterparts, in an informal working brunch with
the Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba. Bogdan Aurescu will
also attend the ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership. As regards the
situation in Belarus, Romania’s foreign affairs chief will express the
country’s solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, which are facing a
growing number of migrants at their borders with Belarus, and will promise to
support swift additional sanctions against Minsk.

CLIMATE The agreement to reduce coal use, reached
at the UN Climate talks in Glasgow, is a game-changing agreement which sounds the death knell
for coal power, said the British PM Boris Johnson, the host of the
COP26. According to analysts, the document, although imperfect, is nonetheless
an achievement, insofar that for the first time in the 25 climate conferences
held so far, it explicitly mentions fossil fuels as elements contributing to
climate change. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in the UK, one of
the critics of the deal was India, who said the plan to phase out coal use was
unfair for poorer countries.

FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team Sunday defeated
Liechtenstein 2-0 in Vaduz, but still failed to qualify into the playoffs for
the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as it finished the preliminary phase 3rd
in its group. Second in the group came North Macedonia, which has reached the
playoffs after defeating Iceland 3-1. The top-ranking team in the group,
Germany, goes straight into the World Cup final tournament. Romania’s coach Mirel
Radoi announced he would leave the national team. Romania last took part in a
World Cup final tournament in 1998. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

15 November 2021
November 5, 2021

Covid — 8,268 cases of COVID-19 and 483 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, 20 of the deaths being reported previous to the reference interval, shows data announced on Friday by the authorities. All beds in ICUs across the country are occupied. Most new cases were registered in Bucharest, where the incidence rate is dropping towards less than 12 cases per thousand inhabitants. The president of the Medical College, Daniel Coriu, said that over 92% of the infected people who died were not vaccinated against COVID. The vaccination rate has slowed in recent days, after a surge reported in the past two weeks. More than 82,000 people have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, of whom 43,000 with the first dose. The total number of fully vaccinated people stands at a little over 6,400,000.

WHO — A World Health Organization delegation is in Bucharest where they visited several hospitals in Romania. Their conclusion is that the situation in hospitals across Romania is dramatic and immediate sanitary measures are needed to protect vulnerable people, above all. At the same time, vaccination against COVID-19 is the main solution to prevent new waves of infection. WHO representatives also met with members of the parliamentary health committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Schools — Classes will start on November 8 for all students and preschoolers in Romania, both in the state and private education systems, the interim Education Minister, Sorin Cîmpeanu said today in a press conference. He explained that courses will be attended physically in the schools where the COVID vaccination rate among teachers is over 60%. One week ago, the minister had announced that more than half of the schools and kindergartens exceeded this level. Instead, several student associations across the country request the opening of schools with physical attendance only in those localities where the incidence of COVID cases is less than 6 per thousand inhabitants.

Government – On Monday the National Political Bureau of National Liberal Party – PNL will make a decision regarding the negotiations with Save Romania Union – USR and the Social Democratic Party — PSD, the interim prime minister and Liberal leader Florin Cîţu announced on Friday. According to him, at the meeting with PSD, the option of a rotating prime minister position was suggested, but they did not talk about portfolios. He said that the talks with USR, a former governing partner, would continue. On Thursday, Florin Cîţu declared after the negotiations with the PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, that he found many things that could bring the two parties together. In his turn, the Social Democrat’s president said that the two parties are on a correct path, which could lead to the formation of a majority. The PNL and PSD negotiating teams are trying to find a governing formula, with a solid parliamentary majority, after two attempts to form a minority government failed. On Thursday evening, President Klaus Iohannis announced that he would call the parties for consultations only when an assumed parliamentary majority is formed. We recall that the minority government made up of the PNL – UDMR headed by Florin Citu was dismissed by a no confidence motion.

EBRD — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development — EBRD estimates that Romanias economy will grow by 7% this year, after forecasting a 6% growth in the summer, the main engine behind growth being domestic demand, an EBRD report shows. For 2022, EBRD experts say that the European money that will be channeled through the Recovery and Resilience Program is to bring about increased investments and improved exports, which, together with the expected fiscal consolidation and a slowdown in private consumption, could translate into an increase in the GDP by more than 4%. However, the EBRD also warns in todays report that these forecasts are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. The main risk, in the case of Romania, is the evolution of the pandemic, given that Romania has the second lowest vaccination rate in the EU. Another risk is posed by the high prices of natural gas and oil, because Romania, like other states, is pressured to offset high energy expenditures for low-income households. (LS)

5 November 2021
October 24, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 New restrictions take effect on Monday in Romania, as the country is struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. For 30 days, the digital COVID certificate will be compulsory in most public places, except for food shops and drugstores, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor public areas, and a ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on private events, including weddings, conferences and workshops, will be in place. Also on Monday, public and private kindergartens, primary, secondary schools and high schools will take a 2-week break. After-schools will also be closed, although nurseries will stay open. Companies with more than 50 employees will organise shifts or remote work, sports competitions will be held without public in attendance, and a night curfew will also be introduced, between 10 pm and 5 am, for the unvaccinated. On Sunday the authorities reported 11,725 new SARS-CoV-2 cases and 389 COVID-related deaths in 24 hours.

VACCINE A new batch of over 300,000 doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is set to arrive in Romania on Monday and will be distributed across the country. So far Romania has received more than 13.6 million doses of Pfizer BioNTech serum, and almost 9 million of them have already been used. Romania is also using AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson&Johnson vaccines. The vaccination campaign has been energised in recent days as the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections surged and as people see their access to various activities restricted without the digital COVID certificate. Since the start of the vaccination programme in late December, some 5.9 million people have completed the vaccination plan.

GOVERNMENT The head of the National Liberal Party and interim PM Florin Cîţu said on Sunday that after the Liberals nominated Nicolae Ciucă as prime minister designate, it is time for the parties that voted the no-confidence motion to prove responsible and to back a cabinet made up of the Liberals and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. This was a reference to the Social Democratic Party and Save Romania Union, the latter formerly partners with the Liberals in the ruling coalition. Meanwhile, the prime minister designate carried on negotiations over parliamentary support for his new cabinet. Nicolae Ciucă discussed on Saturday with representatives of ethnic minorities and with the head of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu. The Social Democrats made their temporary support for a minority government conditional on the inclusion of 10 urgent measures suggested by the Social Democrats to overcome the healthcare and energy crises. Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition over disagreements with PM Florin Cîţu and backed a no-confidence motion initiated by the Social Democrats against the Cîţu government. The first politician designated by president Klaus Iohannis to form a new government, Save Romania Union leader Dacian Cioloş, failed to get endorsed by Parliament.

CENTENNIAL On Monday Romania marks the centennial of the birth of Michael I of Romania, the countrys last king. On this occasion, public radio stations will broadcast a show entitled “Romania needs art,” produced jointly with the Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation, benefitting the Young Talents Programme. The National Art Museum will also open to visitors the historic areas of the Royal Palace. The public will be able to visit the Royal Dining Hall, the Throne Hall and the Voivodes Staircase, as well as an exhibition on Fragments of memory: royal potraits, comprising art works depicting King Michael at various stages of life. The 25th of October is also the Day of the Romanian Army, and the “King Ferdinand I” National Military Museum will open a temporary exhibition entitled “Michael I: a century of history.” King Michael I passed away on the 5th December 2017. Thousands of people, who saw him as a model of dignity, patriotism and duty towards his country, queued for days to pay tribute to the late king in Bucharest. He was buried in the Mausoleum of the Royal Family in Curtea de Argeş (south), where his predecessors, kings Carol I, Ferdinand and Carol II also rest.

UN The values and principles of the United Nations Charter remain relevant 76 years later, and are the basis of international relations today, says the Romanian Foreign Ministry in a message on UN Day. According to the institution, the COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that global issues require joint solutions, solidarity and international cooperation, and in this respect, supporting and strengthening multilateralism, founded on the UN system, are essential. “In its 66 years of UN membership, Romania has stood out as an active supporter and advocate of the achievements of multilateral diplomacy. The Romanian diplomacy will continue to actively promote the UN goals, in its efforts to ensure progress towards a safer, freer and more thriving world,” the message also reads. The United Nations Day is celebrated on the 24th October, when the UN Charter entered into force in 1945. Romania joined the organisation on 14th December 1955.

HANDBALL Romanian womens handball champions, CSM Bucharest, won at home on Sunday against Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro, 30-22, in a Champions League Goup A match. This is the 3rd consecutive win for CSM, which in the previous leg defeated away from home the German side Borussia Dortmund. The Romanian team is next to take on the French side Brest Bretagne Handball, on 30th October. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

24 October 2021
October 24, 2021

COVID-19 New restrictions take effect on Monday in Romania, as the country is
struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. For 30 days, the
digital COVID certificate will be compulsory in most public places, except for
food shops and drugstores, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and
outdoor public areas, and a ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on
private events, including weddings, conferences and workshops, will be in place.
Also on Monday, public and private kindergartens,
primary, secondary schools and high schools will take a 2-week break.
After-schools will also be closed, although nurseries will stay open. Companies
with more than 50 employees will organise shifts or remote work, sports
competitions will be held without public in attendance, and a night curfew will also be introduced, between 10 pm and 5 am, for
the unvaccinated. On Sunday the authorities reported 11,725 new
SARS-CoV-2 cases and 389 COVID-related deaths.

VACCINE Over
45,000 people got vaccinated in Bucharest since Friday, almost half of them as
part of a vaccination marathon held in the capital city over the weekend.
Nation-wide, some 127,000 people got vaccinated in the last 24 hours, most of
them (over 91,000) with the first dose. The vaccination campaign has been energised
in recent days as the number of SARS-CoV-2
infections surged and as people see their access to various activities restricted without the
digital COVID certificate. Since the start of the vaccination programme in late
December, nearly 5.9 million people have completed the vaccination plan. An
efficiency survey on COVID-19 vaccination in Romania indicates that
immunisation has reduced contamination risks 5 times,
hospitalisation risks 10 times, intensive care admission risks nearly 14 times
and COVID-related death risks over 20 times.

GOVERNMENT The head of the
National Liberal Party and interim PM Florin Cîţu said on Sunday that after the
Liberals nominated Nicolae Ciucă as prime minister designate, it is time for
the parties that voted the no-confidence motion to prove responsible and to
back a cabinet made up of the Liberals and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania. This was a reference to the Social Democratic Party and
Save Romania Union, the latter formerly partners with the Liberals in the
ruling coalition. Meanwhile, the prime minister designate carried on
negotiations over parliamentary support for his new cabinet. Nicolae Ciucă
discussed on Saturday with representatives of ethnic minorities and with the
head of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu. The Social
Democrats made their temporary support for a minority government conditional on
the inclusion of 10 urgent measures suggested by the Social Democrats to
overcome the healthcare and energy crises. Save Romania Union left the ruling
coalition over disagreements with PM Florin Cîţu and backed a no-confidence motion initiated by the Social
Democrats against the Cîţu government. The first politician designated by
president Klaus Iohannis to form a new government, Save Romania Union leader
Dacian Cioloş, failed to get endorsed by Parliament.

CENTENNIAL On Monday Romania marks the
centennial of the birth of Michael I of Romania, the country’s last king. On
this occasion, public radio stations will broadcast a show entitled Romania
needs art, produced jointly with the Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation,
benefitting the Young Talents Programme. The National Art Museum will also open
to visitors the historic areas of the Royal Palace. The public will be able to
visit the Royal Dining Hall, the Throne Hall and the Voivodes’ Staircase, as well as an exhibition on ‘Fragments of
memory: royal potraits,’ comprising art works depicting King Michael at various
stages of life. The 25th of October is also the Day of the Romanian
Army, and the King Ferdinand I National Military Museum will open a
temporary exhibition entitled Michael I: a century of history. King
Michael I passed away on the 5th December 2017. Thousands of people, who saw him as a model of dignity,
patriotism and duty towards his country, queued for days to pay tribute to the
late king in Bucharest. He was buried in the Mausoleum of the Royal
Family in Curtea de Argeş (south), where his
predecessors, kings Carol I, Ferdinand and Carol II also rest.

UN The values and principles of the United Nations
Charter remain relevant 76 years later, and are the basis of international
relations today, says the Romanian Foreign Ministry in a message on UN Day.
According to the institution, the COVID-19 pandemic has once again proved that
global issues require joint solutions, solidarity and international
cooperation, and in this respect, supporting and strengthening multilateralism,
founded on the UN system, are essential. In its 66 years of UN membership, Romania
has stood out as an active supporter and advocate of the achievements of
multilateral diplomacy. The Romanian diplomacy will continue to actively
promote the UN goals, in its efforts to ensure progress towards a safer, freer
and more thriving world, the message also reads. The United Nations Day is
celebrated on the 24th October, when the UN Charter entered into
force in 1945. Romania joined the organisation on 14th December 1955.

HANDBALL Romanian women’s handball
champions, CSM Bucharest, play at home today against Buducnost Podgorica of
Montenegro, in a Champions League Goup A match. In the previous leg, CSM defeated away from home the German side Borussia
Dortmund. The Romanian team ranks 6th in the group, but should they
win this match they would move on to 4th place. The top 3 teams in
the group are Rostov on Don (Russia), FTC-Rail Cargo of Hungary
and Team Esbjerg (Denmark). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

24 October 2021
October 23, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 New restrictions take effect on Monday in Romania, as the country is
struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. For 30 days, the
digital COVID certificate will be compulsory in most public places, except for
food shops and drugstores, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and
outdoor public areas, and a ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on
private events, including weddings, conferences and workshops, will be in place.
Also on Monday, public and private kindergartens,
primary, secondary schools and high schools will take a 2-week break.
After-schools will also be closed, although nurseries will stay open. Companies
with more than 50 employees will organise shifts or remote work, sports
competitions will be held without public in attendance, and a night curfew will also be introduced, between 10 pm and 5 am, for
the unvaccinated. On Saturday the authorities reported 15,261
new SARS-CoV-2 cases and 446 COVID-related deaths.

VACCINE An
efficiency survey on COVID-19 vaccination in Romania indicates that
immunisation has reduced contamination risks 5 times,
hospitalisation risks 10 times, intensive care admission risks nearly 14 times
and COVID-related death risks over 20 times. The data analysed included over 2.7 million
tests (both positive and negative), collected from over 1.7 million people aged
over 16 and vaccinated. The survey was run in February – May, when the Alpha
variant of the virus was prevailing in Romania. Following repeated appeals from
physicians, for fear of getting infected or simply because they no longer have
access to various activities without the digital COVID certificate, many
Romanians previously reluctant to the vaccine seem to have changed their minds.
According to the latest official figures, over 127,000 people got vaccinated in
the last 24 hours, most of them (over 91,000) with the first dose. This weekend
the capital Bucharest is hosting a vaccination marathon. Since the start of the
vaccination programme in late December, more than 6.3 million Romanians have
received COVID-19 vaccines, and nearly 5.9 million of them are fully vaccinated.

GOVERNMENT In Romania, prime
minister designate Nicolae Ciucă, a retired general, carried on negotiations
over parliamentary support for his new cabinet. The Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania will be the Liberals’ partners in the ruling coalition. The
head of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, Saturday had
a telephone conversation with the prime minister designate, requesting him to
come up with a clear, short-term action plan on handling the pandemic and to
include in his governing programme 10 urgent measures suggested by the Social
Democrats in the healthcare, economic and social areas. A new discussion will
be held next week. Unhappy with a possible cooperation with the Social
Democrats, many Liberals will leave the party and will start a new one jointly
with the former party leader Ludovic Orban, said an ex-government spokesman, Ionel Dancă. Romania has been faced with a governmental crisis since
September, when Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition over disagreements
with PM Florin Cîţu and backed a
no-confidence motion initiated by the Social Democrats against the Cîţu
government. The first politician designated by president Klaus Iohannis to form
a new government, Save Romania Union leader Dacian Cioloş, failed to get
endorsed by Parliament.

MOLDOVA The PM of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavriliţă, announced the
rationalisation of natural gas and other resources during the one-month state
of emergency declared by Parliament on Friday. She said the government was
looking for alternative gas sources, due to the lack of a new contract with
Russia, which has cut supplies by one-third and raised prices to an unacceptable
level. Russian-Moldovan talks in Moscow ended after 2 days without an
agreement, and Moldova might see Russian gas supply completely suspended as of
November.

TENNIS Raluca Olaru (Romania) / Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine) Saturday
lost the final of the tennis tournament in Moscow (WTA 500), to 2nd
seeded Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) / Katerina Siniakova (the Czech Republic) 6-3,
4-6, 10-8. This was the 24th
WTA doubles final for Raluca Olaru, who has won 11 titles so far. Olaru and
Kicenok this year won the tournaments in Sankt Petersburg and Chicago, and lost
the final in Bad Homburg. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

23 October 2021
October 23, 2021

COVID-19 New restrictions take effect on Monday in Romania, as the country is
struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. For 30 days, the
digital COVID certificate will be compulsory in most public places, except for
food shops and drugstores, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and
outdoor public areas, and a ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on
private events, including weddings, conferences and workshops, will be in place.
Also on Monday, public and private kindergartens,
primary, secondary schools and high schools will take a 2-week break.
After-schools will also be closed, although nurseries will stay open. Companies
with more than 50 employees will organise shifts or remote work, sports
competitions will be held without public in attendance, and a night curfew will also be introduced, between 10 pm and 5 am, for
the unvaccinated. On Saturday the authorities reported 15,261
new SARS-CoV-2 cases and 446 COVID-related deaths.

VACCINE Following repeated appeals from physicians, for fear of getting
infected or simply because they no longer have access to various activities
without the digital COVID certificate, many Romanians previously reluctant to
the vaccine seem to have changed their minds. According to the latest official
figures, over 128,000 people got the vaccine in the last 24 hours, most of them
(over 86,000) with the first vaccine dose. This weekend the capital Bucharest
is hosting a vaccination marathon. The National Defence Minister will also
organize on Monday and Tuesday, a vaccination marathon in 6 military hospitals
in the country. President Klaus Iohannis Saturday once again called on people
to get the vaccine, saying this is the only way to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. Since
the start of the vaccination programme in late December, more than 6.2 million
Romanians have received COVID-19 vaccines, and more than 5.8 million of them
are fully vaccinated.

GOVERNMENT In Romania, prime
minister designate Nicolae Ciucă, a retired general, carries on negotiations
over parliamentary support for his new cabinet. The Liberal leader Florin Cîţu
also took part in Friday’s talks with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
in Romania, the Liberals’ partners in the ruling coalition. Cîţu said that
early next week the governing programme and distribution of cabinet seats would
be submitted to Parliament. He added that in order to secure parliamentary support,
the Liberals would discuss with Save Romania Union as well, although the latter
originally announced they would not back a minority government. On the other
hand, the Social Democrats, the main party in opposition, were not contacted
for talks. Unhappy with a possible cooperation with the Social Democrats, many
Liberals will leave the party and will start a new one jointly with the former
party leader Ludovic Orban, said an ex-government spokesman, Ionel Dancă. Orban’s supporters have already called on president
Klaus Iohannis and on Florin Cîţu not to accept the support of the Social
Democratic Party. Romania has been faced with a governmental crisis since
September, when Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition over disagreements
with PM Florin Cîţu. Cîţu’s
cabinet was dismissed following a no-confidence motion initiated by the Social
Democrats and backed by Save Romania Union. The first politician designated by
president Klaus Iohannis to form a new government, Save Romania Union leader
Dacian Cioloş, failed to get endorsed by Parliament.

MOLDOVA The PM of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavriliţă, announced the
rationalisation of natural gas and other resources during the one-month state
of emergency declared by Parliament on Friday. She said the government was
looking for alternative gas sources, due to the lack of a new contract with
Russia, which has cut supplies by one-third and raised prices to an unacceptable
level. Russian-Moldovan talks in Moscow ended after 2 days without an
agreement, and Moldova might see Russian gas supply completely suspended as of
November.

TENNIS Raluca Olaru (Romania) / Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine) are
today playing the final of the tennis tournament in Moscow (WTA 500), against 2nd
seeded Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) / Katerina Siniakova (the Czech Republic). On
Friday, Raluca Olaru and Nadia Kicenok defeated the Russians Natela Dzalamidze /
Kamila Rahimova 7-5, 7-5. This is the 24th WTA doubles final for
Raluca Olaru, who has won 11 titles so far. Olaru and Kicenok this year won the
tournaments in Sankt Petersburg and Chicago, and lost the final in Bad Homburg. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

23 October 2021
October 22, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The interim cabinet Friday introduced new restrictions in Romania, as
the country is struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. The
measures will take effect on Monday, 25th October, and will be valid
for 30 days. Face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor public
areas. Access to all central and local public institutions and to the offices
of private businesses will be conditional on the digital COVID certificate. A
ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on private events, including
weddings, conferences and workshops, will also be in place. Shops will only be
open between 5 am and 9 pm, restaurants will be open until 9 pm but will only
admit COVID certificate holders. A night curfew will also be introduced,
between 10 pm and 5 am, for the unvaccinated. Also on Monday, public
and private kindergartens, primary, secondary schools and high schools will
take a 2-week break. On Friday the Strategic Communication Group reported 15,410
new SARS-CoV-2 cases and 357 COVID-related deaths. 1,848 patients are in intensive care.
Over 128,000 people got vaccinated in the last 24 hours.

AID Romania is receiving aid from several European countries, including
Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Poland, as well as from the
World Health Organisation. The aid consists in medicines, equipment, tests, and
the transfer of some COVID patients, the head of the Department for Emergency
Situations Raed Arafat announced on Friday.Five Romanian COVID patients, in a critical condition, were taken on
Friday to Austria and Poland, by 2 military aircraft. Other patients have been
transferred to Hungary.

GOVERNMENT In Romania, the interim
defence minister Nicolae Ciucă, designated by president Klaus Iohannis to form a
new government, initiated negotiations over parliamentary support. A first
meeting was held on Friday, with the head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor. The latter said his party would stay in
power together with the National Liberal Party, and mentioned that in the
coming days the governing programme and distribution of cabinet seats would be
discussed. Save Romania Union is waiting for an invitation to talks, and will try to persuade the Liberals to go for a
coalition government with majority support in parliament. PSD says it will talk
with Nicolae Ciuca about a parliamentary majority to support the minority
government, and AUR has stated it will not support such a government. The Prime
Minister Designate has called on all political actors to support the new cabinet,
so that Romania can quickly overcome the medical and economic crisis it is
going through.

AUTOMOTIVE Registrations of new hybrid vehicles in the EU accounted for nearly
21% of the Union’s automotive market in the 3rd quarter of the year,
outperforming Diesel vehicle registrations for the first time. According to the
European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, in July-September sales
of petrol-based cars dropped by 35%, while registrations of new diesel cars
more than halved across the EU region. Alternatively-powered vehicles saw a 69%
increase in sales in Central Europe in the same period. In Romania, sales rose
by over 153% compared to 2020.

MOLDOVA The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Friday
declared a 30-day state of emergency in the country over a natural gas
shortage. The government requested the measure in order to be able to procure
natural gas from alternative sources, given that the Russian supplier Gazprom is
no longer providing sufficient quantities to meet the demand, Radio Chişinău
announced. According to the resolution, until 20th November, a
special procedure will be in place, to speed up the procurement of natural gas.
If necessary, energy consumption will be rationalised, and instruments to
quickly collect payments from consumers will be introduced. According to Radio
Chişinău, negotiations with the Russian energy giant carry on, but in the
meantime the government is discussing with other states as well, including
Ukraine, Romania, and Poland, to purchase natural gas from alternative sources.
Natural gas prices has risen steeply in recent months in international markets,
and some officials accuse Russia of energy blackmail.

EUROPEAN
COUNCIL The European Council president Charles Michel and the head
of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Friday at the end
of a meeting in Brussels, that the energy topic will be once again on the
agenda of the December meeting of the European Council. In the meantime, the
Commission will conduct an analysis of the EU electricity and natural gas
market and on the carbon transaction market, after several member states blamed
the recent energy price rises on problems in these areas. An emergency meeting of
EU energy ministers was also scheduled for next week. Romania was represented
by president Klaus Iohannis, who emphasised ahead of the meeting the
need to quickly identify
efficient short-term solutions, as the current energy crisis will have serious
effects in all EU countries, with a profound socio-economic impact.

(tr. A.M. Popescu)

22 October 2021
October 21, 2021

COVID-19 The Romanian authorities Thursday announced
over 16,000 new Covid-19 cases and 448 related deaths
in 24 hours. Some 1,800 patients are in intensive care. Bucharest
has requested the European Commission to help supply Romanian hospitals with tocilizumab,
which is used in treating severe forms of the disease. Romanian authorities
have also asked for teams of experts to support front-line staff for specific periods.
Meanwhile, as of Monday all school children will be on a 2-week holiday, access
to most activities will be conditional on presenting a digital COVID
certificate, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor areas
and night curfews will be in place for the unvaccinated. These are just some of
the restrictions introduced in an attempt to curb the pandemic. After having
analysed the situation jointly with government officials, president Klaus
Iohannis said the only solution to put an end to the epidemic is vaccination. However,
until a significant proportion of people get vaccinated, restrictions are
necessary.

GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis is having talks today with parliamentary
parties, to designate a new prime minister after the proposed one-party cabinet
headed by the president of Save Romania Union Dacian Cioloş Wednesday failed to
get a confidence vote from Parliament. The minority government made up of the
National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania
was dismissed following a no-confidence motion, and negotiations failed to
rebuild the ruling coalition, broken up in September over disagreements between
the Liberal PM Florin Citu and Save Romania Union. The Liberals said they were
willing to discuss with all parliamentary parties, except for the nationalist
party AUR, supporters of anti-vaccine theories. The Liberals’ National
Political Bureau Thursday decided to nominate Nicolae
Ciucă as prime minister with a minority government comprising the National
Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. Save Romania Union
would like to restore the coalition with the 2 parties, but without Florin Citu
as prime minister. In turn, the Ethnic Hungarians would like to see the
coalition rebuilt. The largest party in Parliament, the Social Democratic
Party, wants a government of experts, to help overcome the healthcare crisis,
whereas AUR party asks President Klaus Iohannis to designate a prime minister
backed by a sound parliamentary majority.

SUMMIT EU heads of state and government convene on Thursday and Friday in
Brussels to discuss EU-wide cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union’s digital agenda, the
rise in energy prices, migration, the EU trade policy and foreign relations. On
Monday, the
president of Romania Klaus Iohannis took part in a videoconference with the
president of the European Parliament Charles Michel and other EU leaders, in
preparation of this summit. The Romanian president highlighted the need to
quickly identify efficient short-term solutions to the current energy crisis,
which will have a notable social and economic impact on all EU member states.
Klaus Iohannis also emphasised the importance of diversifying energy sources,
of reducing the Union’s reliance on third-country suppliers, and of ensuring
energy supply security.

ECONOMY All EU member states concluded year 2020 with governmental
deficits, Eurostat announced today. The highest levels were reported in Spain
(11% of GDP), Greece (10.1% of GDP), Malta (9.7% of GDP), Italy (9.6% of GDP) and
Romania (9.4% of GDP). According to Eurostat, Denmark and Sweden were the only
EU countries with government deficits below the 3% of GDP ceiling stipulated in
the Stability and Growth Pact. Across the EU, the government deficit
skyrocketed from 0.5% of GDP in 2019 to 6.9% of GDP last year.

FOOTBALL
Romanian football champions CFR
Cluj are playing today at home against the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, in Group D of
the Europa Conference League. The Romanians are ranking last in the group, with
1 point out of 2 matches, whereas their opponents are the group leaders, with 4
points. In the previous leg, CFR drew at home against Danish side Randers FC,
and AZ Alkmaar won on home turf against the Czech club Jablonec. CFR is the
only Romanian team playing in continental competitions this season. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

21 October 2021
October 20, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The only way to
curb the Covid-19 epidemic is vaccination, the president of Romania Klaus
Iohannis said on Wednesday night, at the end of a meeting with those involved
in managing the healthcare crisis. Until a significant proportion of the
country’s population gets vaccinated, the authorities decided, among other
things, that face masks will be compulsory as of Monday in both outdoor and
indoor public areas. Night curfews will be in place for the unvaccinated, while
during the day access to an important number of activities will be conditional
on the digital COVID certificate. Iohannis also announced that as of Monday all
school children will have a 2-week holiday. Previously, the head of state had said
that preparations for the fourth wave of the epidemic in Romania had been
flawed, and the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 too slow. On Wednesday
the Strategic Communication Group Wednesday announced 17,158 new Covid-19 cases
in 24 hours, and 423 related deaths, of which 9 from before the reference
timeframe.

GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis invited parliamentary parties to
talks on Thursday morning, to designate a new PM. The talks come after on
Wednesday the cabinet put together by the head of Save Romania Union, PM
designate Dacian Cioloş, failed to get a confidence vote from Parliament. Only 88
MPs voted in favour of the executive team presented by Cioloş, as compared to
184 votes against. The nominees in Cioloş’s team included former ministers in
ex-PM Florin Cîţu’s coalition government, such as Stelian Ion as justice
minister, Ioana Mihăilă as health minister, and Cătălin Drulă as transport
minister. Save Romania Union decided to come up with a proposed one-party,
minority cabinet list after negotiations with their former partners in the
ruling coalition failed. The National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians say they are no longer willing to work with USR, which backed
a no-confidence motion against the Cîţu government. The Social Democrats and
the nationalist party AUR, in opposition, request early elections. In order for
this to happen, Parliament should reject a second prime minister designated by
president Klaus Iohannis.

VISIT President
Klaus Iohannis Wednesday received the US Secretary of Defence
Lloyd J. Austin III on an official visit to Romania. Iohannis appreciated the
remarkable bilateral cooperation between the two countries and reiterated the
importance given by Bucharest to strengthening the Strategic Partnership both
in terms of political dialogue, and in the defence, economic and energy
sectors. The Romanian president also emphasised that Romania will remain a
strategic partner and a reliable Ally, strongly committed to NATO’s political
and military consolidation, and to strengthening the Alliance’s defence and
deterrence posture in the Eastern Flank and at the Black Sea. In turn, the US
Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin highlighted the US’ interest in further
developing and diversifying cooperation with Romania. The US official also had
a meeting on Wednesday with his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă. Romania
hosts US military bases and elements of NATO’s missile defence system.

AWARD Kremlin
critic and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny was awarded the 2021 Sakharov
Prize for Freedom of Thought. The announcement was made in Strasbourg, where the head of the European
Parliament, David Sassoli, mentioned that Aleksei Navalny fought consistently against
the Putin regime’s corruption, helped unveil abuse and mobilised millions
across Russia. In
August 2020, Navalny was poisoned and spent several months recovering in Berlin.
Upon his return to Moscow in January 2021, he was imprisoned and he is still
behind bars at present. The Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thoughtis granted every year by the
European Parliament as a tribute to human rights defenders.

EU The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in
Strasbourg on Tuesday that the EU executive would act to defend the ‘common
values’ of the European Union, following the decision of the Polish
Constitutional Court challenging the primacy of European law. In reply, the Polish
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has stated that Poland rejects the European
Union’s blackmail’, and that to his country, the Constitution remains the ‘supreme
law’. Warsaw has been in open conflict with Brussels for several years now over
controversial judicial reforms implemented by the right-wing populist party Law
and Justice. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

20 October 2021
October 20, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The Strategic Communication Group Wednesday announced 17,158
new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Also, 423 related deaths were
reported, of which 9 from before the reference timeframe. The Romanian President
Klaus Iohannis has convened a meeting with all those involved in managing the
pandemic to decide the introduction of more restrictive measures, as the only
way to curb the spread of the disease. On Tuesday, the head of state said that
the preparation for the fourth wave of the epidemic in Romania was flawed, and
the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 too slow. Vaccination is the only
solution to stop the pandemic, the head of state said, adding that it is also
necessary for parliament to adopt provisions on the digital certificate or
other measures to reduce mobility and human interaction in the short run.

GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis invited parliamentary parties to
talks on Thursday morning, to designate a new PM. The talks come after on
Wednesday the cabinet put together by the head of Save Romania Union, PM
designate Dacian Cioloş, failed to get a confidence vote from Parliament. Only 88
MPs voted in favour of the executive team presented by Cioloş, as compared to
184 votes against. The nominees in Cioloş’s team included former ministers in
ex-PM Florin Cîţu’s coalition government, such as Stelian Ion as justice
minister, Ioana Mihăilă as health minister, and Cătălin Drulă as transport
minister. Save Romania Union decided to come up with a proposed one-party,
minority cabinet list after negotiations with their former partners in the
ruling coalition failed. The National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians say they are no longer willing to work with USR, which backed
a no-confidence motion against the Cîţu government. The Social Democrats and
the nationalist party AUR, in opposition, request early elections. In order for
this to happen, Parliament should reject a second prime minister designated by
president Klaus Iohannis.

VISIT President
Klaus Iohannis Wednesday received the US Secretary of Defence
Lloyd J. Austin III on an official visit to Romania. Iohannis appreciated the
remarkable bilateral cooperation between the two countries and reiterated the
importance given by Bucharest to strengthening the Strategic Partnership both
in terms of political dialogue, and in the defence, economic and energy
sectors. The Romanian president also emphasised that Romania will remain a
strategic partner and a reliable Ally, strongly committed to NATO’s political
and military consolidation, and to strengthening the Alliance’s defence and
deterrence posture in the Eastern Flank and at the Black Sea. In turn, the US
Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin highlighted the US’ interest in further
developing and diversifying cooperation with Romania. The US official also had
a meeting on Wednesday with his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă. Romania
hosts US military bases and elements of NATO’s missile defence system.

AWARD Kremlin
critic and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny was awarded the 2021 Sakharov
Prize for Freedom of Thought. The announcement was made in Strasbourg, where the head of the European
Parliament, David Sassoli, mentioned that Aleksei Navalny fought consistently against
the Putin regime’s corruption, helped unveil abuse and mobilised millions
across Russia. In
August 2020, Navalny was poisoned and spent several months recovering in Berlin.
Upon his return to Moscow in January 2021, he was imprisoned and he is still
behind bars at present. The Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thoughtis granted every year by the
European Parliament as a tribute to human rights defenders.

EU The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in
Strasbourg on Tuesday that the EU executive would act to defend the ‘common
values’ of the European Union, following the decision of the Polish
Constitutional Court challenging the primacy of European law. In reply, the Polish
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has stated that Poland rejects the European
Union’s blackmail’, and that to his country, the Constitution remains the ‘supreme
law’. Warsaw has been in open conflict with Brussels for several years now over
controversial judicial reforms implemented by the right-wing populist party Law
and Justice. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

20 October 2021