COVID-19 — A total of 31,683 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been registered in the last 24 hours in Romania. It is the second day in a row with over 30,000 cases. 71 deaths were also reported. The Health Minister, Alexandru Rafila, pointed out that the COVID-19 outbreaks in some hospitals are not a cause for concern, but solutions are being sought for the free testing of the medical staff. The vaccination of children aged between 5 and 11 started in Romania on Wednesday. Currently, more than 8 million people have been vaccinated with the first dose.
Visit — The Romanian Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu, has said today, fresh from a meeting, in Bucharest, with his French counterpart, Mrs. Florence Parly, that Romania is in a special partnership with France. He has highlighted that Romania can count on France’s firm support which was confirmed by the recent statement of President Emmanuel Macron, in which he announced that his country was ready to contribute NATO troops to Romania. Romania is concerned about recent developments in the region and hopes that dialogue and understanding between the sides in conflict will prevail – said Minister Vasile Dîncu, who also welcomed the announcement of US President Joe Biden on boosting the US contribution to the deterrence and defense posture in the Black Sea area, a proof of transatlantic solidarity. The French Defense Minister, Mrs. Florence Parly, who is on a visit to Romania, also has meetings with President Klaus Iohannis and the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
Ukraine — On Wednesday the United States and NATO presented written answers to Russias request that NATO should withdraw its troops from Romania and Bulgaria and not accept Ukraine and Georgia among its allies. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that NATO is not abandoning its open door policy and has proposed Moscow a diplomatic way to avoid war. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also believes that a political solution to the crisis is still possible if Russia makes efforts to deescalate tensions. On the other hand, France and Germany, mediators in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, received a good signal from Russia, even though the meeting in Paris was difficult – the French presidency announced. A 9-hour meeting of political advisers from the four countries took place in Paris on Wednesday. Talks under Franco-German mediation will continue in two weeks’ time in Berlin.
Holocaust – On Thursday, January 27, on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the Romanian Foreign Ministry officials paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, a tragic chapter in history and expressed solidarity with the survivors of the World War II atrocities. The Romanian Foreign Ministry officials have shown that Romania is one of the countries that has assumed its own past and is committed to keeping its memory alive for future generations, to protect the remaining survivors and to fight anti-Semitism and any manifestations of intolerance and discrimination. (…) This year it’s 77 years since the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau, where more than a million men, women and children lost their lives, 90% of whom were Jews mostly from Poland and Hungary. All in all, between 1941 and 1945, more than 6 million Jews were systematically killed in Europe by the Nazis and their collaborators. On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the presidents of the European Union’s three main institutions drew attention to the rise of anti-Semitic attitude and the proliferation of hate speech in recent years and asked for deterring such attitudes. (…) There are currently almost 166,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel, with an average age of 85 years. About 60% are women, and around 64% come from Europe, most from the former USSR, and also from Romania (12%), Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Germany.
Traffic Code – Today, in the third session of this week, the Romanian Government is sanctions for aggressive drivers and those who endanger traffic safety. The driving license will be suspended for 4 months in the case of speeding drivers and very high fines will be given for harassment in traffic. Also today, the Executive will approve the financing contract signed by Romania with the European Investment Bank, worth 305 million Euros, for funding the Cluj Regional Hospital (northwest). Another law on the government’s agenda establishes a new state aid to reduce the excise duty on diesel fuel used in agriculture. (LS)
