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Tag: Orban

December 20, 2024 UPDATE

PARLIAMENT The two chambers of the Romanian Parliament resulting from the elections on December 1 Friday convened in separate sessions for the first time. The new legislature comprises as many as 465 MPs, 331 Deputies and 134 Senators. Seven political parties have members in the 2 Chambers, of which 4 are pro-European (the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania) and 3 are sovereigntist parties (the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians—AUR, SOS Romania and the Party of Young People—POT). The 19 national minorities are also represented in Parliament. Until a new Senate speaker is elected, the most senior Deputy, the Social Democrat Ioan Stan, an MP since 2000, serves as acting speaker. He said Parliament’s top priorities are citizen safety, economic development and strengthening social balance. In turn, the most senior Deputy, Seres Dénes of the UDMR, who has been an MP since 1992, serves as acting speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. “It is time we worked together to protect the fundamental values of democracy, overcoming any political differences,” Seres Dénes said.

VISIT Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban was received in Bucharest on Friday by his Romanian counterpart, PM Marcel Ciolacu. On this occasion, the Romanian Prime Minister highlighted the “decisive” role that Hungary played in Romania’s full Schengen accession. “It is an excellent result that would not have been possible without the decisive involvement during the Hungarian presidency of the EU”, Marcel Ciolacu emphasised. He added that Hungary is one of Romania’s most important trade partners. In turn, Viktor Orban said he believes that “a new era of cooperation” between Romania and Hungary is beginning. “Hungary wants to continue and deepen its collaboration with Romania,” the Hungarian PM stated. On November 22, the Romanian PM met his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest, for talks, among others, on Romania’s full Schengen accession. The visit to Budapest took place in the context in which Hungary is holding the rotating EU presidency until the end of December.

DEFENCE Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, accompanied by senior defence officials, made a working visit to Romania on Friday, in the Caracal Garrison, where Portuguese troops are currently deployed. According to a news release issued by the Romanian defence ministry, the defence chief of staff, General Gheorghiţă Vlad, met with the Portuguese officials to discuss the security situation, bilateral cooperation in the field of defence and joint training opportunities. General Vlad highlighted the strengthening of the relations between Romania and Portugal this year, emphasising the valuable contribution of the Portuguese troops to consolidating NATO’s response capacity in Romania.

FORESTRY The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Friday signed into law the Forestry Code, endorsed on December 17 by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. The Code defines the legal framework for the digitised fight against illegal logging. Video surveillance of forest roads with monitoring/recording systems is introduced, which will help detect theft and illegal logging. New forestry offences are also defined, such as falsifying digital forestry data or declarations, which will be punished by imprisonment for up to 5 years. The new Forestry Code provides, among other things, for the establishment of a National Forestry Registry, which will include all forest owners in Romania.

EU SUMMIT The war in Ukraine, the EU’s trade relations with the United States, the situation in the Middle East and Russia’s interference in the elections were some of the topics discussed at the EU winter summit in Brussels. Attending the summit was also Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, who called for unity between the European Union and the United States to obtain peace and save Ukraine. The EU heads of state and government also discussed the supply of military equipment and ways to consolidate Ukraine’s energy sector and other civilian infrastructure that has come under deliberate and increasingly intense attacks by Russia. Talks also looked at the effects of Donald Trump’s return to office on transatlantic trade relations. The EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU and the United States should do everything to avoid a trade war, because both economies would be affected and China would be only one standing to gain. Also, European leaders recognised Russia’s meddling in the election process in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia and called for more efficient coordination across the Union to counter Moscow’s hybrid attacks. (AMP)

20 December 2024
22.07.2023 (mise à jour)

Orban – Déclarations provocatrices et ironiques du premier ministre hongrois Viktor Orbán ce samedi dans le cadre de l’université d’été déroulée à Tusnad les Bains, dans le centre de la Roumanie. Le leader de Budapest a commenté ironiquement les recommandations que celui-ci affirme avoir reçu de la part du ministère roumain des Affaires Etrangères au sujet des thèmes qu’il pourrait évoquer dans son discours. Le chef du gouvernement magyar a suggéré dans ce contexte que la Hongrie pourrait jouer un rôle dans l’adhésion de la Roumanie à l’espace Schengen de libre circulation européenne, vu qu’au milieu de l’année prochaine, ce pays doit assumer la présidence tournante du Conseil de l’UE. Il a souhaité bonne chance au premier ministre roumain, Marcel Ciolacu, qui vient de commencer son mandat, mais a commenté ironiquement que depuis qu’il dirige l’exécutif de Bucarest, la Roumanie a eu une vingtaine de premier ministres. Avant de participer à l’événement de Tusnad les Bains, Viktor Orbán a rencontré le chef du cabinet de Bucarest, Marcel Ciolacu.

Santé – Le système informatique de la Caisse nationale d’assurance de santé de Roumanie, la Sécu, qui gère tous les rendez-vous et les prescriptions, sera modernisé avec des fonds du Programmé national de relance et de résilience. D’une valeur de 70 millions d’euros, le projet ne devrait devenir entièrement fonctionnel qu’à l’horizon 2025. D’ici là, l’actuel système sera utilisé malgré les nombreuses pannes qui s’enchainent depuis plusieurs semaines. La porte-parole de l’institution, Larisa Mezinu Bălan, a déclaré qu’un des raisons pour lesquelles le système fonctionne de cette manière est le fait qu’il a été inauguré il y a une bonne vingtaine d’années et que les spécialistes nécessaires pour lui assurer la maintenance sont assez rares, puisque les salaires proposées sont inférieures aux salaires du marché. Elle a précisé qu’avant le 30 avril 2025, la sécu envisage d’élargir l’espace de stockage du système actuel, pour que les temps opérationnels s’améliorent. Parallèlement, l’institution demande aux fournisseurs de services de santé et aux médecins de ne pas ajourner les traitements nécessaires aux assurés à cause des problèmes du système informatique, puisque le décompte des services médicaux pourrait se faire aussi hors-ligne.

Pompiers – Un contingent supplémentaire de sapeurs-pompiers roumains, composé de 50 pompiers est parti ce vendredi pour la Grèce pour rejoindre les 80 camarades déjà présents sur le terrain. Le comité national des situations d’urgence de Roumanie a décidé d’envoyer un module d’intervention supplémentaire pour combattre les incendies en Grèce. Donc au total 130 roumains pompiers combattront les incendies de forêt et de végétation. Selon l’Inspection générale des situations d’Urgence, les pompiers roumains étaient déjà intervenus jeudi pour soutenir les homologues hellènes qui luttent contre les incendies de végétation et de forêt dans des régions au nord-ouest d’Athènes. L’Attique d’ouest est une des régions les plus touchées par les incendies, et plusieurs localités ont déjà été évacuées. Les forces roumaines ont été déployées avec des moyens techniques considérables : véhicules spécialisés dans la lutte contre les incendies de végétation, camions citerne et véhicules tout-terrain.

Avions – Les deux compagnies aériennes low-cost qui relient les villes de Bucarest, Cluj et Iasi à l’île Italienne de Sicile ont annulé leurs vols. Cette décision est une conséquence de la fermeture de l’aéroport international de Catania Fontanarossa jusqu’au 24 juillet pour des travaux de réparation des dégâts produits par un incendie la semaine dernière. Selon le correspondent de la radio publique roumaine, la fermeture de cet aéroport, un des plus importants de l’île et du sud de l’Italie et le 5e du pays pour une période de sept jours au lieu de trois comme il était prévu initialement, touche fortement le tourisme. Ceux qui en souffrent, sont premièrement, les voyageurs, qui sont redirigés vers les aéroports les plus lointains de l’île et doivent voyager à bord de bus et de cars alors que les températures vont jusqu’à 47 degrés.

Alerte – Le ministère des Affaires Etrangères de Bucarest annonce que les autorités du Portugal réintroduisent les contrôles aléatoires à la frontière à compter d’aujourd’hui et jusqu’au 7 août, durant la Journée mondiale de la Jeunesse. La mesure vise les postes-frontières terrestres avec l’Espagne, ainsi que les poste-frontière des aéroports. Le long de cet événement, pour la Capitale Lisbonne et pour la région métropolitaine, les autorités portugaises ont établi un paquet de mesures qui implique entre autres, des restrictions de circulation et même la fermeture de plusieurs stations de métro et de train. Du 1er au 6 août, les transports publics à Lisbonne et dans la région métropolitaine circuleront selon un itinéraire et un programme modifié.

Météo – 16 bassins hydrographiques de la moitié ouest de la Roumanie sont visés par des alertes hydrologiques jusqu’à dimanche à midi. Il y a une alerte code jaune aux inondations pour les basins des rivières Somesul mic, Cris, Mures, Miraj, Aries, Târnava Mica et Târnava mare. D’autres rivières sont également concernées par des alertes. C’est le cas des rivières Bega, Timiş, Bârzava, Caraş, Nera, Cerna, Jiu, Motru, Râul Negru, Olt, mais aussi Ialomiţa, Prahova, Buzău, Putna et Râmnicu Sărat. En effet, la moitié ouest du pays fait l’objet d’une alerte code jaune à l’instabilité avec des phénomènes orageux importants. Les quantités d’eau dépassent les 40 litres par mètre carré pour aller jusqu’à 50 litres.

22 July 2023
June 17, 2023 UPDATE

USR 800 delegates from all over the country
have arrived in Bucharest to participate in the congress of the opposition
group known as Save Romania Union (USR). High on the congress’ agenda is a
political alliance with the right-wing splinter known as the Force of the Right
led by the former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, and PMP, founded by the former
Romanian president, Traian Basescu, and currently headed by MEP Eugen Tomac.
The USR wants to create an alternative to the present ruling coalition and
president Catalin Drula has asked for a mandate to hold talks with the other
right-wing groups as well as with the academic and business world. One of the
invitees to the aforementioned congress was UDMR leader, Kelemen Hunor, whose
political group has recently left the government coalition presently made up of
PSD and PNL. According to a poll ordered by the USR, the Social Democrats would
muster 28% of the votes, the nationalist opposition AUR comes next with 22%,
PNL 18, USR 13 and UDMR with 6%. PMP and The Force of the Right would not clear
the 5% threshold. Next year is an election year in Romania whose citizens will cast
their ballots for the European Parliament, as well as in the local, legislative
and presidential elections.

FOOTBALL On Monday Romania’s
national eleven will take on Switzerland in a new away match counting towards
Group 1 in the qualifiers for EURO 2024 in Germany. Switzerland ranks first in the
group’s ranking with the highest number of points, 9, followed by Romania with
7. Next comes Israel with four, Kosovo with 3 and Andorra with one. Belarus is
at the bottom of the ranking with no point. The first two sides in the group’s
ranking will qualify for the final tournament.

VISIT Romania’s new Prime Minister, Marcel
Ciolacu will be paying a formal visit to Germany for talks with German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz – government sources in Bucharest have announced. The
Prime Minister will be accompanied by several members of his executive team. As
for Romania’s accession to Europe’s border-free area, Schengen, the Prime
Minister expects a stepped-up round of talks involving Interior Minister
Catalin Predoiu and Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu.

RELATIONS Between June 14-16, the Romanian city of Timisoara, which is also
European capital of culture this year, played venue for the 26th
session of the Romanian-German government commission for the problematic of the
ethnic Germans in Romania. State Secretary Daniela Gitman has emphasized the
excellent level of the Romanian-German relations based on mutual trust,
stepped-up political dialogue, growing economic dynamics, and very tight
inter-human relations. The Romanian official has mentioned the significant
contribution of the German minority in Romania and the Romanian community in
Germany to the consolidation of the bilateral dialogue and their role as a
catalyst in the cooperation between the two countries. Gitman has also voiced
appreciation for the decision of the German government to carry on its 5.4
million Euro support for the ethnic Germans in Romania.

(bill)

17 June 2023
The state of alert is over in Romania

Already
overshadowed by the fears fueled by the war raging in neighboring Ukraine, the
traumas caused by the Covid-19 pandemic need also to be cured among the Romanians.
Since the beginning of the pandemic 2.8 million contamination cases have been
reported in Romania, where roughly 65 thousand people have been killed by the
virus. According to pundits, in two years, Romania lost to the virus the
population of a medium town.

The
process of going back to normal seems to be slow and painful, though the state
of alert ended this week. The Covid-19 pandemic is on a downward trend and the
fifth wave is about to end – the head of the Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis has
said.

Instated
in May 2020, after two months of emergency, the state of alert entailed
numerous restrictions, which have impacted the economic development and social
cohesion in Romania

The
country has been ruled by three governments in this period, a minority Liberal
and two coalitions and the measures imposed by the authorities to contain the
pandemic were most of the time incoherent and sometimes even abusive. The Constitutional Court has invalidated some of these decisions, ranging from huge
fines during the state of emergency to the mask mandates in outdoor spaces.

One of the most outrageous cases signaled was that of an old peasant woman
who got fined for not wearing a mask outside her courtyard while the Liberal
ministers were throwing a birthday party in the government building to
celebrate the country’s then Prime Minister and their president Ludovic Orban.

Authorities are now trying to rebuild their dialogue with society
announcing new measures for the post-pandemic period. The regulations imposed
to the country’s health system during the pandemic will remain in place until
the end of this month, while family physicians are deploring the cessation of online
consultations, which used to benefit patients and doctors alike.

In the
absence of a state of alert, there is no more technical unemployment, no
further adjustment of the working hours and no more online working. ID cards, which expired between March 1st
2020 and March 7th 2022 remain valid for a period of 90 days since
the end of the state of alert. Population register offices are facing the heavy
task of issuing hundreds of thousands new ID cards and passports until the
deadline of June 7th. Collective Labour Agreements must also be renegotiated,
and experts fear that could trigger new social unrest and protests put up by trade
unions across the country.

(bill)

10 March 2022
La semaine du 31.05 au 05.06.2021

Le recul de la Covid-19 se poursuit en Roumanie

Sur la toile de fond de la baisse constante du nombre de contaminations au SARS-CoV-2 depuis le 1er juin, la Roumanie est entrée dans une nouvelle étape de relâchement des restrictions anti-pandémie. Les fêtes privées sont désormais autorisées, tout comme les compétitions sportives qui peuvent avoir lieu en présence de spectateurs dans des espaces clos. Les clubs et discothèques, les aires de jeux et les piscines intérieures ont également rouvert. Le nombre des participants est limité, mais il peut croître si tous les participants sont vaccinés. Qui plus est, des activités culturelles peuvent être organisées à l’intérieur pour réunir jusqu’à mille participants. Le port du masque n’est plus obligatoire sur le lieu de travail dans des espaces clos, là où travaillent un maximum de 5 personnes, à condition que toutes soient vaccinées. Et c’est également depuis le début de ce mois que les enfants de plus de 12 ans de Roumanie peuvent se faire immuniser contre la Covid-19 avec le vaccin Pfizer, mais uniquement avec l’accord préalable des parents et des tuteurs légaux. Cette décision a été adoptée sur le fond de la baisse du taux d’immunisation à travers le pays, une situation qui préoccupe les autorités. En fait, de moins en moins de Roumains se font vacciner et c’est pourquoi la cible que les autorités de Bucarest avaient proposée, de 5 millions de personnes immunisées avant le 1er juin, n’a pas été atteinte.

Le Plan national de relance et de résilience de Roumanie a été soumis à Bruxelles

Le 2 juin dernier, le gouvernement de centre-droit de la Roumanie a rendu public le Plan national de relance et de résilience, soit un document de 1 200 pages envoyé à la Commission européenne, qui comprend une série de mesures grâce auxquelles la Roumanie devrait absorber un peu plus de 29 milliards d’euros. Il s’agit de subventions et de crédits disponibles par le biais d’un ample programme chiffré à 672 milliards d’euros élaboré à Bruxelles et censé aider tous les Etats membres à dépasser les conséquences économiques de la pandémie de Covid-19. L’enveloppe qui pourrait être mise à disposition de la Roumanie est de 29 milliards d’euros et sera utilisée selon les autorités de Bucarest pour construire plus de 400 km d’autoroutes, des centaines d’écoles et de crèches et pour rénover des dizaines d’hôpitaux. Reste à voir dans quelle mesure ces projets dont la Roumanie a besoin respecteront les directives de l’UE qui vise à utiliser le Plan de relance et de résilience pour financer des projets visant le numérique et l’environnement.

De son côté, le premier ministre Florin Cîțu a précisé que les prêts contractés par Bucarest via le PNRR serviraient uniquement à faire des investissements : « De toute façon, il fallait souscrire des crédits pour investir en Roumanie. Nous avons besoin d’autoroutes, d’hôpitaux, d’écoles et les crédits contractés par le PNRR ont un taux d’intérêt beaucoup plus bas, à savoir 0% ou zéro et quelque, c’est-à-dire le même taux d’intérêt dont bénéficient l’Allemagne, l’Espagne ou l’Italie dans la zone euro. Donc, pour la Roumanie, pouvoir emprunter de l’argent à ces taux d’intérêt est un avantage. Cela nous permettra de faire des investissements », a affirmé Florin Cîțu. A noter que le PNRR comporte aussi plusieurs réformes, dont celle des retraites. Le PSD, d’opposition, affirme que les fonds mis à la disposition des autorités de Bucarest par le biais de ce Plan iront directement à la clientèle politique des partis au pouvoir, alors que pour le Roumain lambda, une période d’austérité, de gel des salaires et de majoration de l’âge du départ à la retraite est prévue.

Et d’ailleurs, le lendemain de la publication du Plan national de relance et de résilience, le premier ministre Cîțu a annoncé que les allocations familiales ne seraient plus majorées cette année, comme le prévoyait la législation, et qu’une nouvelle loi des retraites pourrait entrer en vigueur au premier trimestre de 2023. La majoration graduelle de l’âge du départ à la retraite dans le cas des femmes serait aussi possible. Le PSD promis de contester à la Cour constitutionnelle le projet de loi qui suspend la majoration des allocations familiales à partir du 1er juillet. En plus, les sociaux-démocrates souhaiteraient déposer une motion de censure à l’encontre du Cabinet de Bucarest.

L’espace Schengen, à l’horizon

La Commission européenne soutient l’entrée rapide de la Roumanie, de la Bulgarie et de la Croatie dans l’espace Schengen, a annoncé mercredi le commissaire aux Affaires intérieures, Ylva Johansson. Selon la Commission, les trois Etats respectent les conditions d’accès à l’espace de libre circulation, sans contrôles frontaliers, et c’est pourquoi une décision à ce sujet pourrait être adoptée prochainement par le Conseil. Actuellement, 22 Etats membres de l’Union sont aussi membres de l’espace européen de libre circulation, qui inclut aussi l’Islande, le Liechtenstein, la Norvège et la Suisse.

Le Parquet européen a commencé son activité

Le Parquet européen, sous la direction de l’ancienne cheffe de la Direction nationale anticorruption de Roumanie, Laura Codruţa Kövesi, a commencé son activité cette semaine. L’institution est censée lutter contre les fraudes aux fonds communautaires et se propose d’enquêter et de déférer à la Justice les auteurs d’infractions qui portent atteinte au budget de l’Union. La tâche de l’institution ne sera pas facile du tout : la nouvelle structure veillera à la dépense correcte des milliards d’euros mis à la disposition des Etats membres par le Plan de relance postpandémie. Le siège central du Parquet européen est au Luxembourg. Sur les 27, 5 Etats – Hongrie, Pologne, Irlande, Suède et Danemark – ne participent pas à cette initiative.

Un tournant pour le Parti national libéral

Le premier ministre roumain Florin Cîţu a annoncé son intention de se porter candidat au fauteuil de président du Parti national libéral, le principal parti de la coalition gouvernementale. Il est désormais l’adversaire de l’actuel patron libéral, Ludovic Orban, dans le cadre des élections internes prévues au Congrès du 25 septembre. Aux dires de Florin Cîțu, le PNL a besoin d’un nouveau souffle et se propose de maintenir le parti au pouvoir au moins pour les huit prochaines années. Il est d’ailleurs soutenu par plusieurs figures de proue du Parti national libéral. De son côté, Ludovic Orban a salué la décision du premier ministre de devenir son contre candidat à la direction du Parti national libéral, soulignant que cette compétition ne devrait pas influencer l’activité du parti, ni la gouvernance. Ludovic Orban : : « Je me porte candidat pour un nouveau mandat par un profond sentiment de responsabilité envers le Parti national libéral et notre destinée commune ». Ludovic Orban, qui a été premier ministre l’année dernière, a assuré qu’aucune fissure provoquée par la lutte interne n’existerait entre lui-même et Florin Cîţu, vu les objectifs à accomplir – le programme de gouvernance, la campagne de vaccination anti-Covid et le Plan national de relance et de résilience.(Roxana Vasile)

5 June 2021
Two candidates for the presidency of the National Liberal Party

Romanian Liberals convened in
Bucharest on Sunday in a National Council with a view to electing their new
president during the Congress they are going to stage on September 25th.
Two candidates are vying for this position, the incumbent leader Ludovic Orban
and the country’s present Prime Minister Florin Citu. Whether Orban’s intention
to run for the PNL presidency had been known for quite some time, Citu made
public his intention during the aforementioned Council.

However, the two politicians’
intentions were predictable as they had increased their public appearance of
late. The incumbent president has paid a series of visits to the party branches
in an attempt to gather support and had some media appearances in the company
of several PNL mayors. In turn the Prime Minister has focused on the vaccine
rollout and his latest efforts have been largely covered by the media.

According to Prime Minister Citu, the
PNL, the main political group of the centre-to-right government in Bucharest
needs a fresh impetus. He has also mentioned his intention to keep the party in
power for at least 8 years. Romania is changing. Europe is changing. The world
is changing and there is a need for another kind of politicians, the Prime
Minister went on to say.

Ludovic Orban, who was Romania’s
Prime Minister last year, has hailed Citu’s decision to run for the party’s
presidency adding that this situation is not going to affect either the party’s
activity or its ruling abilities. He has given assurances that there is going
to be no rift between him and his opponent caused by intestine fights as they
have a series of common objectives such as the ruling programme, the anti-Covid
vaccine rollout and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

‘Even if there is competition, which
is only natural because every four years we stage elections in our party, we
are making all decisions together and are all attending the party sessions’
says Ludovic Orban, who is currently the president of the Chamber of Deputies.

The Prime Minister has also mentioned
the team work and common goals, but newspapers in Bucharest have pointed out
the two leaders have not been seen together for quite some time now, not even
at the 146th anniversary of their political party.

The party is going to elect its local
leaders over 1st June and 15th July, while elections for county
leaders are due between 1st July and 10th August. After
these first rounds, the two presidential candidates must submit a motion to the
local branches, which must decide what candidate they are going to support.

However, if a local branch makes a
decision to support a certain candidate, it doesn’t mean that all its members must
endorse that candidate. And in order to win the election a candidate must be
supported by 10 county branches.

(bill)

31 May 2021
Deux candidats pour le fauteuil de président du Parti national libéral.

Réunis dimanche dans le cadre d’un Conseil national, les libéraux roumains ont décidé d’élire un nouveau président durant le Congrès du 25 septembre. L’actuel leader du parti, Ludovic Orban, affrontera le premier ministre Florin Cîtu. Si l’intention de M Orban de se porter candidat était déjà connue, celle de M Cîtu a été annoncée dimanche matin, à la veille en fait de la réunion des leaders libéraux. Les deux décisions étaient pourtant attendues et prédictibles, vu qu la visibilité des deux politiciens est de plus en plus importante depuis un certain temps. L’actuel président, Ludovic Orban a visité les filiales du parti à la recherche d’appui et s’est affiché à des événements publics aux côtés de plusieurs maires du parti, alors que le chef de l’exécutif a mis son empreinte sur la campagne de vaccination et a multiplié ses apparitions dans les médias.

Florin Cîtu affirme que le PNL, qui est le principal parti de la coalition gouvernementale à Bucarest a besoin d’un nouveau souffle et qu’il se propose de maintenir le parti au pouvoir pour au moins huit ans. « La Roumanie change. L’Europe change, le monde change. Il faut un nouveau type d’homme politique. » a soutenu l’actuel premier ministre roumain.

Ludovic Orban, qui a été premier ministre l’année dernière a salué la décision de M Cîtu de devenir son adversaire dans la course à la direction du PNL, déclarant que cette compétition n’allait affecter l’activité ni du parti, ni du gouvernement. Il a assuré qu’aucune fissure provoquée par la lutte interne n’existerait entre lui-même et Florin Cîtu, vu les objectifs à accomplir – le programme de gouvernance, la campagne de vaccination anti-Covid et le Plan national de relance et de résilience. Même s’il existe une compétition, ce qui est tout à fait normal, parce que nous tenons des élections tous les 4 ans, nous prenons toutes les décisions importantes ensemble, nous participons ensemble aux réunions de la coalition, a également dit M Orban, actuellement président de la Chambre des Députés.

Le premier ministre s’est également déclaré favorable à la continuation du travail en équipe. Et pourtant, comme remarquait la presse de Bucarest, les deux leaders ne se sont plus affichés en public ensemble depuis un certain temps, ni même au cours du 146e anniversaire de la création du Parti. Le calendrier des actions internes dans lme cadre du parti prévoit durant la période 1er juin – 15 juillet d’élire de nouvelles équipes de direction au niveau départemental.

A la fin de ces démarches, une période de 45 jours doit s’écouler, durant laquelle les candidats aux fonctions de président du parti sont tenus à présenter une motion aux filiales, qui décident du candidat à soutenir. Et pourtant, si une filiale décide de soutenir un candidat, cela ne signifie pas automatiquement que tous les délégués devraient voter pour le même candidat. L’appui accordé à un candidat est est plutôt une condition statutaire parce qu’afin de pouvoir aspirer au fauteuil de président du parti, un candidat devrait être agréé par au moins 10 filiales départementales.

31 May 2021
May 30, 2021 UPDATE

DAY
We need the competence of all Romanians to build a prosperous country so that
all those who emigrated may come back home with joy, the country’s president
Klaus Iohannis said on Sunday in a message conveyed on the occasion of the Day
of the Romanians from all over the World, the country celebrates on the last
Sunday of May. The head of the Romanian state thanked all the Romanians abroad for
the responsibility and solidarity they showed with those who stayed at home. He
recalled the difficult moments we had been through during the pandemic, which
proved tough for both the Romanians abroad and their relatives at home. According
to the president, since Romania benefits from European funds, which are to ease
massive investment in all areas, the country is going to enter an ample process
of development and reforms. The Day of the Romanians from All Over the World
represents a moment in which we are considering the importance of keeping
identity and national values every Romanian keeps in their heart, Foreign
Minister Bogdan Aurescu has underlined in his message. According to him,
strengthening the dialogue and the ties with members of the Romanian communities
is the Foreign Ministry’s key priority together with the promotion of the
historical and cultural heritage.

GYMNASTICS According to the Romanian Gymnastics
Federation, our athletes have walked away with gold from the group finals of
the 16th edition of the World Aerobic Gymnastics Championship held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The victor team
includes Gabriel Bocser, Teodora Cucu, Daniel Tavoc, David Gavrilovici and
Mihai Alin Popa. At the present edition of the aforementioned competition,
athletes from Romania have also reaped silver in the teams contest and bronze
in the trio event. The teams ranking is based on the best results won in trio,
mixed, aerobic dance and the men’s and women’s individual events.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Ana
Bogdan on Sunday qualified for the second round of the tournament in Roland
Garros, the year’s second Grand Slam after a two-set win 6-1, 6-3 against
Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto. In the competition’s second round Bogdan will
be up against Naomi Osaka of Japan who on Sunday eliminated Romanian Patricia
Tig, 6-4, 7-6. The other Romanians on the main draw in Paris are Sorana
Cirstea, Mihaela Buzarnescu, Irina Begu and Irina Bara. Injuries have prevented
Simona Halep, the world’s third tennis player and Roland Garros champion in
2018 from attending this year’s edition of the prestigious French competition.

PNL The national council of the
National Liberal Party (PNL), Romania’s main ruling political force on Sunday
decided to stage the party’s congress on 25th September and voted on
the committee to stage the event. The participants also established the election
procedures inside the party. Before the proceedings kick-off, the country’s
incumbent Prime Minister Florin Citu announced his intention to run for the
party’s presidency, underlying the party’s need for a new impetus. The party’s
vice-president, Florin Citu pledged that PNL would stay in power for at least 8
years and that together they would be changing Romania into a liberal country
where all citizens were going to live happily. According to the incumbent PNL
president Ludovic Orban, we are going to witness a beautiful presidential race,
proving to the Romanians the Liberals are actually relying on strong human
resources and are able to rule the country properly.

COVID-19 The number of Covid-19 infections continues
to go down in Romania. The entire Romanian territory including capital city
Bucharest are in the so-called green zone with an infection rate below 1 per
thousand. 158 new infections were reported on Sunday as well as 29 fatalities.
443 people are in intensive care. Vaccine rollout has been stepped up in
Romania with more than 76 thousand vaccinations in the past 24 hours. Marathon
vaccination campaigns and drive-through centers were staged across Romania
during the weekend, while mobile units went to crowded places in an attempt to
make the vaccine available to as many people as possible. Since the vaccine
rollout kicked off in December last year, more than 3 million people have been
fully vaccinated in Romania. According to the authorities, over one million
Pfizer doses are to arrive in Romania, this being the biggest quantity of
vaccine Romania has received so far. This type of vaccine can be administered
to children with ages between 12 and 15, after the European Medicines Agency
has recommended it for this age bracket.

VISIT The EU
Vice-president for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maros Sefcovic
will be paying a visit to Romania on Monday, the European Commission
Representation in Bucharest has announced. The EU high official is going to have
talks with Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Citu, with Leonard Orban, the
presidential adviser for European Affairs as well as with the presidents of the
two Parliament Chambers, Anca Dragu and Ludovic Orban respectively. Sefcovic is
expected to deliver a speech at the Atlantic-Black Sea Security Forum 2021
hosted by the Aspen Romania Institute and will be attending the inauguration
ceremony of the Euro-Atlantic Center for Resilience.

(bill)

30 May 2021
הפרלמנט הרומני והיחס נגד גזענות, שנאת זרים ואנטישמיות

גישה גלויה של הפרלמנט הרומני נגד גזענות, שנאת זרים ואנטישמיות היא הכרחית ואף דחופה, אמר נשיא לשכת הצירים, לודוביק אורבן, מנהיג PNL.

לעתים קרובות נראה כי השיח הציבורי על עמיתינו רומא נשלט על ידי הסתה לשנאה ולעתים קרובות יש שקט כאשר מי שצריך להילחם בגזענות ואפליה לא עושה זאת. עלינו לשים לב אפוא לאותות האזעקה שנשלחו על ידי העמותות, לניתוחים של מכוני מחקר ומומחים בחקר תופעות חברתיות אלו, הכריז אורבן במהלך שולחן עגול שאורגן על ידי הקבוצה הפרלמנטרית למיעוטים לאומיים ועמותת רומא פרו-אירופה, לרגל ציון יום הרומים הבינלאומי ויום הרומים הרומני.

כיום, כאשר המפלגה הליברלית הלאומית נמצאת בשלטון, יש לנו פרויקט למודרניזציה של המדינה, הכולל מאבק בכל צורות הגזענות, שנאת זרים, אנטישמיות, גינוי ללא סייג של התנהגות ושפה מפלה. אלו עמדות שלעולם לא נוכל לוותר עליהן. נשיא PNL הוסיף כי רומניה של העתיד, המשגשגת והמכובדת, היא מדינה שיכולה להסתכל קדימה לאחר קבלת הטעיות שנרשמו בהסטוריה.

11 April 2021
March 12, 2021 UPDATE

VACCINE Romania has decided to temporarily suspend
the use of doses from a batch of AstraZeneca vaccine until its complete assessment
by the European Medicines Agency. The National Committee for Coordinating
Vaccination has decided to carry on the immunization campaign with the British
vaccine from other batches, where no problems have been reported. The decision
comes after serious side effects and even deaths have been registered in some
European countries, after using the aforementioned batch. Romania has received
81,600 doses of AstraZeneca ABV 2856 of which it has administered over 77
thousand doses. The rest have been temporarily quarantined as a precaution
measure until the European Medicine Agency completes its investigation. Over
100 thousand doses of Moderna vaccine have arrived in Romania. Also in an
attempt to step up the vaccination campaign and limit the effects of the
pandemic, the third stage of the vaccination rollout programme kicked off on
Thursday. It mainly targets people from the regions with an infection rate over
4.5 per thousand but also people from other regions who may want to get an
anti-Covid vaccine. Over five thousand fresh Covid-19 infections were reported
in Romania on Friday. 108 people have died following Covid-related complications
whereas 1,166 patients are in intensive care.

PANDEMIC The Digital Green Pass, which is to be
presented in Brussels on Wednesday, will cover only the Covid-19 vaccines
approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) an EU high representative
announced on Friday. Only four vaccines have been approved so far,
Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford and Johnson & Johnson. The
Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, used in Hungary including by the country’s president
Viktor Orban, as well as the Russian vaccine Sputnik V ordered by Hungary, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia have not been included in the list. In the meantime
as a precautionary measure, several countries have suspended the use of a batch
of AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot fears. Other countries using the vaccine
have not reported issues in the use of this vaccine. 17 EU members have
received doses from the respective batch and the European Commission has called
on its members to apply the scientific indications provided by the EMA.
According to the Agency, there is no proof so far of a higher blood clot risk
in vaccinated individuals. AstraZeneca insists that its vaccines have been
tested extensively and tests proved they are well tolerated by the human body.
In the USA, the country most affected by the pandemic, president Biden
delivered his first primetime speech since he took power marking one year since
the beginning of the pandemic and the restrictions imposed with a view to
keeping the pandemic at bay.

PENSIONS Public and private sector
employees may continue working until the age of 70 if they choose to, the
Romanian labour minister Raluca Turcan announced. She explained that unlike
private sector staff, in the public sector the employees reaching retirement
age who continue working cannot receive both public pensions and salaries.
Another bill drafted by the Labour Ministry concerns an increase of the bonuses
paid to new parents who stay on parental leave for less than 6 months, from 130
euros to around 300 euros.

ENVIRONMENT The environment ministry on Friday launched a
campaign called Green Friday, calling on Romanians to switch from
automobiles to walking, cycling or using public transport every Friday. The
point is primarily to reduce pollution in big cities. Minister BarnaTanczos explained
that 60% of urban pollution is caused by automobiles.

(bill)

12 March 2021
February 15, 2021

VACCINE Romania carries on its anti-Covid campaign,
which kicked off on December 27th 2020 with 687 thousand vaccinated
so far. 1.1 million doses have been given in Romania so far mostly produced by
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The AstraZeneca vaccine starts being used as of
today. According to the authorities, Romania comes sixth in an EU ranking in
terms of the number of doses used. On the other hand the number of infections
in Romania is coming near 762 thousand since the beginning of the pandemic with
a death toll of 19,400. As of today, people coming to Romania from countries in
the so-called yellow zone, with an infection rate higher than Romania’s, must
comply with fresh rules.

PROTESTS ‘Many countries in Europe are resorting to the system of holiday
gift vouchers in order to support the
HoReCa industry heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas Romania
eliminates them without any reason whatsoever’, employers’ associations in
Romania’s HoReCa domain are saying in a communiqué. Last week, the country’s
Liberal Prime Minister announced that the gift vouchers that should be given
this year would be issued next year stirring discontent among hotel owners who
believe the measure will contribute to deepening the crisis already affecting
this sector. Representatives of these organizations are today having talks with
the country’s economy minister Claudiu Nasui and have planned a nation-wide
protest in front of hotels and restaurants in Romania.

MOTION A simple motion tabled against Romania’s incumbent Health
Minister Vlad Voiculescu, (member of the co-ruling USR-PLUS alliance) is being
discussed in Bucharest today. Under a suggestive title, ‘Incompetence and the
lack of responsibility kill – Vlad Voiculescu puts the life and health of the
Romanians at risk’, the motion has been tabled by the opposition PSD 2 months
after the government led by Liberal Florin Citu came to power. The USR-PLUS
co-president Dan Barna has said the alliance firmly supports all the ministers
it has in this cabinet while Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said the Liberal MPs
would be voting against the motion on Wednesday.

BUDGET The Romanian government wants the draft
budget it subjected to public debates last week to get Parliament approval by
February 20th along with the amendments accompanying it, including
an emergency ordinance on the cancellation of holiday gift vouchers as well as
other on freezing pensions to the level of last year. According to the
government, the present draft budget is set to lay the foundations for a
multi-annual approach of the reforms and public finances with a gradual
reduction of the deficit from 7.16% this year to 3.4% in 2024. At the same
time, the budget proposes investment funds of 5.5% of the GDP, the largest so
far. According to Prime Minister Citu, the aforementioned draft budget enjoys
support from the European Commission, from where the biggest part of the funds
destined for reform and investment is to arrive.

TENNIS The world’s number two tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep is expected
to take on US challenger Serena Williams in the quarter finals of the
Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The American had a 9-2
wins in head-to-head matches although Simona won a major Wimbledon tournament
in 2019. In the doubles eighth finals, a Romanian-Brazilian pair Horia
Tecau/Marcelo Melo lost to Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia
4-6, 3-6.

(bill)

15 February 2021
December 10, 2020

TALKS The ruling Liberals in Romania
have today kicked off talks to forge a Parliament majority after the
legislative election on December 6th. This majority is supposed to
back the future executive in Bucharest and Ludovic Orban, head of the National
Liberal Party has announced the talks will be held with the USR-PLUS Alliance,
with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, UDMR, and the group
of the national minorities other than the Hungarian one. The talks will be held
by a team headed by Ludovic Orban and the Prime Minister proposed by the
Liberals Florin Citu. On the other hand the Social-Democrats (PSD) insist that
president Iohannis appoint a Prime Minister from the PSD, as they went first in
the legislative election on Sunday. They believe that professor Alexandru
Rafila, Romania’s WHO representative is the best solution to the present
medical crisis.

SUMMIT EU leaders have today convened in Brussels
for two day talks over the Covid-19 pandemic and the coordinated efforts to
fight it. Also high on the agenda are climate change, security and foreign
relations. The heads of state and government of the EU countries are expected
to assess the situation and held talks about the measures to fight the disease,
including vaccines and tests but also the gradual lifting of restrictions. At the
present Brussels summit, Romania is expected to stand for the reduction of
greenhouse gases by at least 55% by the year 2030 and president Iohannis to be
pleading for the creation of a flexible framework to allow all member states,
irrespective of their development to effectively meet the objectives in the
field of climate change. The European Council is expected to also tackle the
situation in eastern Mediterranean and the head of the Romanian state is to
stand for a dialogue between Turkey and the EU, mentioning the fact that this
state remains a major partner.

ECONOMY Romania’s trade balance deficit
rose by 827 million Euros, in the first ten months of the year as compared to
the same period last year up to 15 billion Euros, according to data the
National Institute for statistics released today. Between January 1st
and October 31st, exports stood at 51 billion Euros while imports
accounted for 66 billion Euros. According to the same sources, exports went
down by 12% and imports by 8.7% compared to the same period last year.

SPORT Romania’s football champions CFR Cluj
today take on Young Boys, in Bern, Switzerland in a match counting towards the
last leg of Europa League’s groups. The Romanians are hankering for a win
because only a victory allows them to play in the European spring competitions
for a second year in a row. With five points out of five matches, CFR rank 3rd
in group A, which is headed by Italian side AS Rome. Also today, the Romanian
women’s national handball side will be up against Croatia, in their first game
in Group 2 of the European Championship underway in Denmark. Romania will also
play the en titre champions, the Netherlands on December 14th and
Hungary, a day later. Group 2 also includes Norway and Germany. The first two
sides in the group’s ranking will qualify for the semifinals.

PANDEMIC The total
number of Covid-19 infections has exceeded 69 million worldwide. 1.5 million
people died and 48 million have been cured, worldometers.info says. The USA remains
the world’s most affected country with 15.8 million infections and roughly 300
thousand fatalities. The USA has constantly exceeded the daily threshold of
2,000 fatalities for two weeks now and Americans are waiting for a nationwide
vaccine distribution. A vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech could be authorized
in the following days while the Moderna vaccine next week. Severe side effects
in allergic persons have been reported in the case of the Pfizer vaccine.
Britain is the first country in the world to have distributed a completely
clinically-tested vaccine.

COVID-19 Over 7,000 new Covid infections were reported in
Romania on Thursday, most of them in capital Bucharest, followed by Constanta,
in the south-east, which also registered the highest infection rate of 7 cases
per thousand. 1288 people are being treated in IC units. 80% out of the total 540
thousand cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic, have been cured,
while roughly 13 thousand people have died. Romania so far boasts roughly 1,000
vaccination centers and this number could be increased to ease the access of
all those interested. Most likely Romania will get the Pfizer vaccine and 13
million people could get immunized in the first six months of the year.

(bill)

10 December 2020
December 9, 2020 UPDATE

AGREEMENT An agreement between Romania
and the USA over cooperation on nuclear-energy projects in Cernavoda,
south-eastern Romania was signed in Bucharest on Wednesday by Virgil Popescu,
Minister of Economy and US ambassador Adrian Zuckerman in the presence of
interim Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca. On this occasion, the Prime Minister and
the US ambassador held talks about bilateral cooperation within the Strategic
Partnership in several fields of activity, such as politics, military, energy
and economy. Minister Ciuca reiterated the Romanian authorities’ support for
the Three Seas Initiative, pointing out that the US support for key
interconnection projects within this initiative can be a major support for
post-pandemic economic recovery. Ciuca went on to say that a solid US economic
presence in Romania can be a major encouraging signal for other foreign
investors. The US ambassador highlighted the special character of the bilateral
relation between the two countries as well as Romania’s major role in the region.

HANDBALL The women’s handball side of
Romania on Thursday will be playing Croatia in their first game in group 2 of the
European Championships – EHF EURO 2020 in Denmark. Romania’s two opponents will
be the en titre champions, the Netherlands, whom they are to play on December
14th and Hungary a day later. The group also includes Norway and
Germany. The teams qualified in group one are Russia, France, Denmark, Sweden,
Spain and Montenegro. The first two sides in the main groups will qualify for
the semifinals. The finals is due on December 20th and the winner
will be directly qualified for the European Championship in 2022. Romania ended
on the fourth position in the latest European Championship held two years ago.

EU Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is
participating in the European Council proceedings due in Brussels on Thursday
and Friday. In the context of this meeting Iohannis had a phone conversation
with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, upon the latter’s
request. According to the presidential administration, talks focused on
fighting climate changes as well as the relations between the EU and Turkey.
The president pleaded for the creation of a flexible framework to allow all the
member states, irrespective of their development to effectively meet the
objectives in the field of climate change. Iohannis has underlined that transition
towards a green economy must be equitable and acceptable at social level so
that it may lead to the economic progress of the states and not to deepen the
gaps between them. Referring to the relations between the EU and Turkey, the
Romanian president stood for the continuation of talks between Brussels and
Ankara, adding that Turkey remains a major partner of the EU. At the same time,
against the latest developments in Eastern Mediterranean, president Iohannis
has voiced Romania’s full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus.

NEGOTIATIONS The Social Democrats have mustered 29.32% of the
votes for Senate and 28.90% for the Chambers of Deputies in the Sunday’s
election, while the National Liberal Party has got 25.58% for the Senate and
25.19 % for the chamber of deputies, according to final figures presented by
the Central Election Office on Wednesday. Third comes the USR Plus Alliance
with 15.86% for the Senate and 15.37% for the Chamber of Deputies. The Party
for the Union of Romanians (AUR) has 9.17% of the votes for the Senate and
9.08% for the Chamber of Deputies while UDMR mustered 5.89% for the Senate and
5.74% for the Chamber of Deputies. PMP and Pro Romania failed to clear the 5%
threshold for Parliament seats. Talks for forging the country’s future
government have intensified in Romania. The Liberal Party, currently in
power, the party that grabbed the second highest number of votes on December 6,
claims they can make up a Parliament majority with the Save Romania Union -
PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. Party officials
estimate they can rely on a comfortable majority of 244 MPs, adding to which
will be representatives of national minorities. Finance Minister Florin Citu
has been proposed by the Liberals as the country’s Prime Minister, the party’s
president Ludovic Orban announced on Wednesday. The three center-right parties
must now agree on a governing program and distribute the 16 Ministries among
themselves. On the other hand, the Social-Democratic Party has also expressed
its willingness to govern, considering it grabbed the highest number of votes
in the election. The Social-Democrats said they are entitled to nominate the
Prime Minister, based on the result in the election, and thus will not be
voting for a Liberal Cabinet. The Social-Democrats will be proposing Dr.
Alexandru Rafila, a WHO expert, for the position of Prime Minister. The
Social-Democratic Party is willing to accept two options: either a minority
Government led by the Social-Democratic Party, or a technocratic Government led
by a Social-Democrat Prime Minister. For the first time in the history of
Romania, Parliament will also include the Alliance for the Union of Romanians,
a recently founded far-right party, which grabbed the fourth-highest number of
votes in the parliamentary election.

(bill)

9 December 2020
December 7, 2020 UPDATE

Elections – The Social Democratic Party – PSD has won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Romania with 30.16% of the votes for the Senate and 29.71% for the Chamber of Deputies, followed by the National Liberal Party – PNL with 25.62% votes for the Senate and 25.21% for the Chamber of Deputies, the Central Electoral Bureau announced on Monday, after centralizing results from 95.25% of the polling stations. 3rd placed is the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance – USR-PLUS with 15.21% of the votes for the Senate and 14.73% for the Chamber of Deputies. The Alliance for Romanians’ Union got 8.69% votes for the Senate and 8.6% for the Chamber of Deputies while the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania UDMR got 6.21% votes for the Senate and 6.05% for the Chamber of Deputies. There is no outright winner of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, and the centre-right parties total 50% of the votes cast, President Klaus Iohannis stated on Monday. He announced that in the coming days he would call the parliamentary parties for consultations. In another move, the Liberal PM Ludovic Orban has resigned. Romanians in the Diaspora voted over the course of two days, on Saturday and Sunday, the highest voter turnout being reported in Italy, Moldova, Spain, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany and France. The new Parliament will have 465 MPs – 136 Senators and 329 Deputies. Sundays voter turnout stood at 27% of the total number of voters registered on permanent electoral lists, the lowest in the last 30 years.

COVID-19 Ro – Another 3,660 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 and 127 related deaths were reported in last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Monday. The total number of infections has thus climbed to 517 thousand, while the death toll stands at 12,447. 1,280 people are currently in intensive care. 80% of people infected with COVID-19 have recovered. Several towns and villages in Romania are still in quarantine. In Sibiu County, where the infection rate is 5 per thousand inhabitants, authorities have decided to extend the quarantine for another week in Sibiu and 6 villages.

Moldova – Thousands protested on Sunday in the Moldovan capital-city Chişinău, calling for the dissolution of Parliament, at present controlled by a pro-Russian majority. The Moldovan Parliament recently voted for limiting the presidents prerogatives and strengthening the status of the Russian language. The rally was staged following a public appeal launched by the pro-European President elect, Maia Sandu. Sandus call was answered by the leaders of the opposition parties and also of the non-parliamentary political parties. Protesters accused Parliament and the Government of promoting corruption and of the misappropriation of public funds, also calling for snap elections. Maia Sandu said Sundays protest was not advocating any ideology or political party, but was simply aimed at voicing the will of the people, who grew tired of corruption and want a better life. The acting president, Igor Dodon, as well as members of the Socialist Party in Parliament, have refused to comment on the allegations.

Brexit – Representatives of Great Britain and the European Union continue negotiations in Brussels with a view to reaching consensus on a post-Brexit agreement, the absence of which would have serious economic consequences for both sides. On Sunday evening, the chief negotiators conveyed diverging messages on how talks are progressing. EU officials said they are close to solving one the major obstacles, related to the fishing rights agreement, whereas the British side dismissed the information. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to make an assessment on Monday night on the progress reported so far in striking a trade agreement, which both the British and the European Parliament must ratify before taking effect on January 1, 2021. Londons future relation with Brussels is also expected to rank high on the agenda of the summit in Brussels, to be held on Thursday and Friday. The UK is still subject to EU legislation following its official withdrawal on January 31, 2020. (Tr. V. Palcu, L. Simion)

7 December 2020
December 7, 2020 UPDATE

Elections – The Social Democratic Party – PSD has won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Romania with 30.16% of the votes for the Senate and 29.71% for the Chamber of Deputies, followed by the National Liberal Party – PNL with 25.62% votes for the Senate and 25.21% for the Chamber of Deputies, the Central Electoral Bureau announced on Monday, after centralizing results from 95.25% of the polling stations. 3rd placed is the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance – USR-PLUS with 15.21% of the votes for the Senate and 14.73% for the Chamber of Deputies. The Alliance for Romanians’ Union got 8.69% votes for the Senate and 8.6% for the Chamber of Deputies while the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania UDMR got 6.21% votes for the Senate and 6.05% for the Chamber of Deputies. There is no outright winner of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, and the centre-right parties total 50% of the votes cast, President Klaus Iohannis stated on Monday. He announced that in the coming days he would call the parliamentary parties for consultations. In another move, the Liberal PM Ludovic Orban has resigned. Romanians in the Diaspora voted over the course of two days, on Saturday and Sunday, the highest voter turnout being reported in Italy, Moldova, Spain, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany and France. The new Parliament will have 465 MPs – 136 Senators and 329 Deputies. Sundays voter turnout stood at 27% of the total number of voters registered on permanent electoral lists, the lowest in the last 30 years.

COVID-19 Ro – Another 3,660 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 and 127 related deaths were reported in last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Monday. The total number of infections has thus climbed to 517 thousand, while the death toll stands at 12,447. 1,280 people are currently in intensive care. 80% of people infected with COVID-19 have recovered. Several towns and villages in Romania are still in quarantine. In Sibiu County, where the infection rate is 5 per thousand inhabitants, authorities have decided to extend the quarantine for another week in Sibiu and 6 villages.

Moldova – Thousands protested on Sunday in the Moldovan capital-city Chişinău, calling for the dissolution of Parliament, at present controlled by a pro-Russian majority. The Moldovan Parliament recently voted for limiting the presidents prerogatives and strengthening the status of the Russian language. The rally was staged following a public appeal launched by the pro-European President elect, Maia Sandu. Sandus call was answered by the leaders of the opposition parties and also of the non-parliamentary political parties. Protesters accused Parliament and the Government of promoting corruption and of the misappropriation of public funds, also calling for snap elections. Maia Sandu said Sundays protest was not advocating any ideology or political party, but was simply aimed at voicing the will of the people, who grew tired of corruption and want a better life. The acting president, Igor Dodon, as well as members of the Socialist Party in Parliament, have refused to comment on the allegations.

Brexit – Representatives of Great Britain and the European Union continue negotiations in Brussels with a view to reaching consensus on a post-Brexit agreement, the absence of which would have serious economic consequences for both sides. On Sunday evening, the chief negotiators conveyed diverging messages on how talks are progressing. EU officials said they are close to solving one the major obstacles, related to the fishing rights agreement, whereas the British side dismissed the information. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to make an assessment on Monday night on the progress reported so far in striking a trade agreement, which both the British and the European Parliament must ratify before taking effect on January 1, 2021. Londons future relation with Brussels is also expected to rank high on the agenda of the summit in Brussels, to be held on Thursday and Friday. The UK is still subject to EU legislation following its official withdrawal on January 31, 2020. (Tr. V. Palcu, L. Simion)

7 December 2020