Radio România Internațional

Tag: negotiations

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 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 16, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The coronavirus epidemic stays on a downward trend in Romania. On Tuesday the
authorities reported 4,128 new Covid infections out of over 55,000 tests, which
accounts for a 7.41% positive rate. Another 397 related fatalities were also
reported, including 54 that had not been recorded in the system earlier. Some
14,000 Covid patients are currently receiving hospital treatment, including
almost 1,700 in intensive care. The incidence rate is on the decrease in
Bucharest, dropping to 5.34 cases per 1,000 inhabitants on Tuesday. In related
news, non-invasive testing is due to begin in schools for children and
teachers. At the moment, almost three quarters of Romanian schools and kindergartens
are holding in-person classes, the rule being that only schools with a
vaccination rate among their staff of at least 60% can reopen for in-person
teaching, the rest holding classes on line. As for vaccination, the pace has
dropped steadily in recent days, compared to a peak of over 110,000 doses
administered on 27 September. Nearly 7 million Romanians are fully vaccinated
at present.

SCHOOLS Legal and financial education have become
compulsory skills in primary and middle schools in Romania. President Klaus
Iohannis Tuesday signed a law amending the Education Act, to include these
areas in the national curriculum. The document also includes financial and
legal education in the teaching programmes of local lifelong learning community
centres. In a first stage, these subjects can be introduced as optional school
subjects only, because national curricula must be approved by the Education
Ministry.

ECONOMY Romania,
Hungary and Lithuania have the biggest annual growth rate in the European Union
in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year,
according to preliminary data published by the European statistical office
Eurostat. GDP grew in the EU by 3.9%, with Romania at 8%, Hungary at 6.1% and
Lithuania at 6%. However, according to the latest figures published by the
National Institute for Statistics, Romania’s economic growth rate slowed down
to 0.3% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter. In the first
nine months of the year, GDP grew by 7.1% compared with the same period last
year. Economic experts say the growth rate will slow down even more this autumn
and winter, while the inflation rate may go up to 8% in the context of the
current political crisis.

EU Romania’s
foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu attended a ministerial meeting of the Eastern
Partnership held in Brussels, where EU foreign ministers agreed to expand the
criteria for imposing new sanctions against Belarus. The new sanctions would
target those involved in weaponising the plight of migrants. The European Union
is accusing Belarus of intentionally creating a migrant crisis on the border
with Poland and the Baltic countries in retaliation to the Union’s earlier
sanctions against the regime in Belarus for its crackdown on the opposition.
Minister Aurescu presented Romania’s stand on the strategic priorities of the
Eastern Partnership post-2020 and called for a consolidation of the security
dimension in the Eastern Neighbourhood, as well as for greater involvement from
the EU in solving the frozen or protracted conflicts in this region.

MILITARY The EU is considering a joint military force of up to 5,000 troops by
2025, to intervene in a number of crises without needing to rely on the US,
according to a draft strategic plan, Reuters says. The EU
Rapid Deployment Capacity should include land, sea and air capabilities. Two decades after the EU leaders first agreed to
set up a force of 50,000-60,000 troops, which never became operational, the
strategy drafted by the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell is the most concrete
effort to create an independent military force that does not rely on US assets.
Not all the 27 EU member states would have to contribute troops, but a
consensus would be required for any deployment. Since 2007, the EU has had
battlegroups of 1,500 troops available, but they have never been deployed, in
spite of efforts to use them in Chad and Libya.

Radio and TV Parliament
approved the new leadership of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation,
which Radio Romania International also forms part of. With the support of the
Social Democratic Party, the new director general at Radio Romania isRăzvan-Ioan
Dincă, a former National Opera director who has a court of first instance
conviction for abuse of office and false statement but who was later acquitted.
The leadership of the Romanian television was also appointed, with the
journalist Dan Cristian Turturică becoming the new director general, with the
support of the National Liberal Party. The members of the new boards are
appointed for a 4-year term and have to take an oath in Parliament. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

16 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
Towards a big 3-party coalition?

In Bucharest, the idea of a new government made up of the PNL (National Liberal Party) — PSD (Social Democratic Party) – UDMR (Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania) is getting shape, after the minority cabinet made up of the Liberals and ethnic Hungarians, led by the Liberal leader Florin Cîţu, was dismissed by a censure motion in early October, and after Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis announced last week that he would call the parties for consultations only when an assumed parliamentary majority was formed. The Liberals no longer agreed to rebuild the alliance with USR (Save Romania Union), so, for the Liberals, the winning option seems to be the Social Democrats, for the time being. PNL previously had an alliance with PSD between 2013 and 2014, and that was not the first governing alliance between the Right and the Left. In 2008, the Democratic Party, de facto led by the then President Traian Basescu, formed a government with Mircea Geoanas Social Democrats.

Therefore, the Liberal leadership decided, with a vast majority, to officially start negotiations with PSD to form the government. UDMR and the national minorities will also be part of this new majority. The conditions set by the Liberals are not negotiable. They want no taxes to be increased and that the state should be an honest partner of the business environment. Last but not least, they want the formation of a majority around the PNL with a Liberal prime minister. PNL also intends to continue the administrative reforms, especially in relation to salaries and pensions, as well as to respect the partnership with the head of state, Klaus Iohannis. The Liberal president and the interim prime minister Florin Cîțu says, quote: “Reforms are important to me. I have to see with whom I can make these reforms in the next period, and we must find a partner, because PNL alone does not have a majority in Parliament. I am interested in carrying on with the reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Program – PNRR, with the pension system reform, the salary reform, the public administration reform, and I want to make sure that we maintain the growth rate of investment expenditures” Florin Cîțu said.

In turn, the PSD leadership, which views the alliance with the Liberals as a chance to come to power, unanimously voted to start negotiations with them. “The National Political Council has given its consent, because we are open to negotiate in order to speed up the resolution of the Romanians problems,” said the first vice-president of PSD, Sorin Grindeanu. The Social Democrats have also come up with a list of measures to be taken in the next period, which includes: managing the pandemic, raising allowances, increasing pensions and the minimum wage. The UDMR is also to be part of the future government. They decided to start negotiations for the formation of a large coalition with PNL and PSD supported by the national minorities. The ethnic Hungarians president Kelemen Hunor has said that this coalition makes sense if reforms can be made to revise the Constitution, in order to introduce the concept of parliamentary republic, which is an important goal. (LS)

9 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 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
December 20, 2020 UPDATE

Meeting — The two chambers of Romania’s new Parliament elected on December 6 were summoned by President Klaus Iohannis to meet on Monday in separate sessions in the opening of the 2020-2024 legislature. The two chambers are declared legally set up after the validation of two thirds of the MP mandates and after their being sworn in. 466 MPs were elected following the December 6 legislative elections, 330 deputies and 136 senators. In parallel, the representatives of the future majority center-right coalition in Parliament continued negotiations regarding the common governing program. PNL, USR-PLUS and UDMR also reached an agreement over the distribution of the key positions in the state. The presidency of the Chamber of Deputies will be held by a Liberal and that of the Senate by a representative of the USR-PLUS alliance. The proposal for the PM post will be the current Liberal finance minister Florin Citu. In the future cabinet, PNL will hold 9 portfolios, USR-PLUS 6 and UDMR 3. There will also be 2 deputy prime ministers from USR-PLUS and UDMR. On the other hand, PSD, ranked first after the legislative elections, insists that the correct solution, in the context of the pandemic, would be a national union government, headed by Professor Alexandru Rafila, Romania’s representative at the WHO. The Social Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu said that his party would never vote for a government made up of PNL- USR-PLUS and UDMR, which keeps Romania in a crisis, according to him.

Covid-19 Ro — 3,350 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours in Romania, after a little over 12,200 tests were performed. The total number of cases exceeded 591,000, according to data provided on Sunday by the Strategic Communication Group. At the same time, another 98 Romanians have died from Covid-19, the total death toll reaching almost 14,400. 1,267 patients are in ICUs. In another development, preparations are being made in Romania before the arrival of the first COVID 19 vaccines. The Cantacuzino National Institute for Medical-Military Research and Development in Bucharest is expected to be approved as a national vaccine storage center. The Institute has already completed all stages of arranging the storage spaces, including the installation of the storage freezers providing a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius. The unit will have a storage capacity of approximately 1.5 million doses, while around 200,000 doses will be stored in each of the six regional centers. During this period, the training of the personnel who will perform the vaccination will also take place. The first 10,000 doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine are expected in Romania on December 26. They are intended for the medical staff from 10 infectious diseases hospitals across Romania.

Commemorations — Manifestations continue in Romania, in the context of the pandemic, to honor the memory of the heroes who died 31 years ago in the anti-Communist revolution. Started on December 16 in Timisoara (western Romania) the revolution extended on December 21 to Bucharest and other cities of Romania, culminating on the next day with the dictators fleeing in a helicopter from the headquarters of the Communist Party central committee that was being besieged by thousands of protesters. Arrested, the dictators were superficially tried and shot dead on December 25 in a military barracks in Targoviste (south). Romania was the only country in central and southeastern Europe where the toppling of the Communist regime turned into a bloodshed. More than 1,100 people died and over 3,000 were seriously wounded while several hundreds were illegally arrested and tortured.

Gymnastics – Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache on Sunday won gold in the floor event at the European Women’s’ Artistic Gymnastics Championships hosted by Mersin, Turkey. Previously she had obtained gold in the beam event and silver in the vault event. The silver medal won by Silviana Sfiringu in the beam event and the silver medal Romania obtained in the team competition bring to 5 the total number of medals the Romanian senior gymnasts won in Turkey. To all these also add the medals won Romania’s junior gymnasts — 6 gold medals in all events (team, all-around, apparatus), two silver medals in the all-around and floor events and one bronze in the beam event.

Handball — CSM Bucharest easily obtained qualification to the eighth finals of the men’s handball competition of the EHF European Cup on Sunday, after defeating, on home ground, the Turkish team Spor Toto SC 38-28 in the second leg of the 3rd round. CSMB had also won the first match hosted by Ankara 33-27. One week ago, Minaur Baia Mare (north) had qualified to the eighth finals of the same competition after a double victory against the Cypriot team Parnassos Strovolou, 28-25 and 29-24 respectively. (tr. L. Simion)

20 December 2020
December 20, 2020

Meeting — The two chambers of the new Parliament of Romania elected on December 6 were summoned by President Klaus Iohannis to meet on Monday in separate sessions in the opening of the 2020-2024 legislature. The new MPs will have their mandates validated and then will be sworn in. The two chambers are declared legally set up after the validation of two thirds of the MP mandates and after their being sworn in. 466 MPs were elected following the December 6 legislative elections, 330 deputies and 136 senators. In parallel, the representatives of the future majority center-right coalition in Parliament continue negotiations regarding the common governing program. PNL, USR-PLUS and UDMR have announced the program will be finalized on Sunday or Monday at the latest. On Saturday the 3 parties reached an agreement over the distribution of the key positions in the state. The presidency of the Chamber of Deputies will be held by a Liberal and that of the Senate by a representative of the USR-PLUS alliance. The proposal for the PM post will be the current Liberal finance minister Florin Citu. In the future cabinet, PNL will hold 9 portfolios, USR-PLUS 6 and UDMR 3. There will also be 2 deputy prime ministers from USR-PLUS and UDMR. On the other hand, PSD, ranked first after the legislative elections, insists that the correct solution, in the context of the pandemic, would be a national union government, headed by Professor Alexandru Rafila, Romania’s representative at the WHO. The Social Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu said that his party would never vote for a government made up of PNL- USR-PLUS and UDMR, which keeps Romania in a crisis, according to him.

Covid-19 Ro — 3,350 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours in Romania, after a little over 12,200 tests were performed. The total number of cases exceeded 591,000, according to data provided on Sunday by the Strategic Communication Group. At the same time, another 98 Romanians have died due to Covid-19, the total death toll reaching almost 14,400. 1,267 patients are in ICUs. In another development, preparations are being made in Romania before the arrival of the first COVID 19 vaccines. The Cantacuzino National Institute for Medical-Military Research and Development in Bucharest is expected to be approved as a national vaccine storage center. The Institute has already completed all stages of arranging the storage spaces, including the installation of the storage freezers providing a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius. The unit will have a storage capacity of approximately 1.5 million doses, while around 200,000 doses will be stored in each of the six regional centers. During this period, the training of the personnel who will perform the vaccination will also take place. The first 10,000 doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine are expected in Romania on December 26. They are intended for the medical staff from 10 infectious diseases hospitals across Romania.

1989 revolution — Manifestations for the commemoration of the heroes who lost their lives in the anti-communist December 1989 Revolution continue, in the context of the pandemic. Today, the sound of sirens was heard in Timişoara for three minutes, to mark Victory Day, the day when Timisoara was declared the first city of Romania free of communism. The uprising against the communist regime broke out in Timisoara, 31 years ago, on December 16. On December 17, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ordered the use of lethal weapons against people who protested against the communist regime in the street. On December 19, in order to do away with any trace of the massacre, the communist authorities applied the so-called “Rose” operation, under which corpses were stolen from the morgue in Timisoara and transported to Bucharest to be cremated. The protests extended, on the 21st to the capital Bucharest and to other big cities of Romania to culminate, the next day, with the fleeing of the dictator, in a helicopter, from the headquarters of the central committee of the communist party, that was being besieged by hundreds of thousands of protesters. We recall that the protests in Timisoara, where almost 100 people died and about 350 were wounded, represented the spark that led, a few days later, to the fall of the dictator, following the bloodiest Revolution in southeastern Europe.

Gymnastics – Romania’s representatives in the European Women’s’ Artistic Gymnastics Championships hosted by Mersin, Turkey have qualified to all apparatus finals. In today’s finals Larisa Iordache will perform in the vault, uneven bars, beam and floor events. Ioana Stănciulescu qualified for the vault final. Silviana Sfiringu will perform in the beam final, and Irina Antonia Duţă in the floor final. On Saturday, the Romanian team won the silver medals after having dominated Thursday’s qualifiers. Romania was outclassed by Ukraine, which won gold. Hungary came in third. (tr. L. Simion)

20 December 2020
December 18, 2020

Covid-19 Ro — 5,340 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 contamination have been registered in Romania in the last 24 hours, after 27,482 tests have been made at national level – the Strategic Communication Group informed today. In the same period, 188 infected people died, taking the total death toll to 14,157. 1,270 patients are in intensive care. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 582, 786 cases of people infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania, of whom over 484 thousand have recovered. The number of Romanians abroad confirmed with the new coronavirus increased to 7,036, 2 more than the latest figure reported, with the number of deaths increasing at 128. The health minister Nelu Tataru announced that the executive approved the norms regarding the authorization, organization and functioning of anti-COVID-19 vaccination centers.

Negotiations — Nnegotiations continue today in Romania between PNL, USR-PLUS Alliance and UDMR for the formation of a parliamentary majority and of a center-right governing coalition, following the December 6 legislative elections. A sensitive issue remains the appointment to the posts of PM and Speakers of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said the three parties would made efforts to finalize negotiations, since President Iohannis already summoned the future Parliament meeting for December 21. The Liberals have come up with two options for the prime minister post – the current finance minister, Florin Cîţu and the former PM, the Liberal president Ludovic Orban. The USR- PLUS Alliance has rejected the idea of Ludovic Orban re-entering the race for the PM position. UDMR calls for a balanced distribution of the key positions in the state. On the other hand, the Social Democrats, that ranked 1st following the December 6 elections, criticize all the proposals of the parties that want to make up the center-right coalition. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu reiterated that the correct solution, in the context of the pandemic, would be a national union government, headed by Professor Alexandru Rafila.

Minorities – President Klaus Iohannis has today conveyed a message on the occasion of the National Minorities Day in Romania, in which he emphasizes that it is essential that all responsible political forces should understand the need to eliminate hate speech, chauvinistic and extremist agendas. ‘On this day, we honor the essential role which all national minorities play in the society, history and future projects of Romania’ President Iohannis went on to say. Klaus Iohannis has also emphasized that Romania, in full agreement with the values of the great European family to which it belongs, recognizes the importance of unity in diversity, of spiritual richness resulting from historical coexistence, mutual respect and the current commitment to protecting the rights of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. In Romania there are almost 20 ethnic minorities.

Commemoration — 31 years after the December 1989 Revolution, Timisoara (in western Romania) continues to commemorate its heroes, in the context of the new coronavirus pandemic. Today, the Revolution Memorial Association has organized a pilgrimage to 14 monuments in Timisoara, which were erected in the hottest places of December 1989 uprising, and where people laid wreaths The manifestations will continue, during the evening, with the lighting of candles on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral, in memory of the young people who were shot by the repression forces while they were protesting against the communist regime. Thursday was a day of mourning in the town on the Bega River, where, on December 17, 1989, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ordered the use of lethal ammunition against people who contested the communist regime in the street. The protests in Timisoara, where almost 100 people died and about 350 were injured, were the spark that led, a few days later, to the fall of the dictator, following the bloodiest Revolution in Southeastern Europe.

MAE – All people entering Greece, as of December 18, are obliged to self-isolate at their domicile a period of three days, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. The measure, valid until January 7, 2021, adds to the other measures in force such as the obligation to present a negative result of a PCR test made 72 hours at the most before entering Greece, filling in the location form and, in case of crossing the border by car, taking a quick test. Exempted from these rules are drivers undertaking international merchandise transport who are in transit or take over merchandise from Greece and immediately leave the territory of that state. In another development, starting on December 19, people traveling to Austria, including people from Romania, will be quarantined for 10 days immediately after entering Austrian territory, the Foreign Ministry also reports. The quarantine measure may be suspended following the presentation of the negative COVID-19 test made not earlier than the 5th day since entering Austria, at the expense of the person concerned. MAE officials point out that the restriction will apply for an indefinite period of time. (tr. L. Simion)

18 December 2020