28 May, 2020

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 28.05.2020, 20:00

Coronavirus Romania. 197 new
infections with Covid-19 were reported in Romania on Thursday, taking the toll
to almost 19,000. 12,629 people have recovered and 182 are in intensive
care. The death toll stands at 1,231. We cannot speak yet about a significant
reduction of the epidemic, said president Klaus Iohannis, but announced a
further easing of restrictions beginning on 1st June. International
passenger rail travel will reopen and people will no longer have to carry a
declaration when travelling out of town stating the purpose and destination of
their journey. Outdoor bars and cafes will also reopen and access to beaches
will be allowed as of 1st June, while respecting physical distancing
rules. Outdoor performances with at least 500 spectators will also be allowed
as of this date, as well as sports competitions that don’t involve physical
contact.

Coronavirus world. Almost 5.7 million people have been
infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide, while the death toll passes
355,000. The situation continues to deteriorate in Brazil, where the number of
infections exceeds 410,000 and where 25,000 people have died. Brazil is the
world’s second most affected country after the United States, where there are
1.7 million cases and more than 100,000 deaths. In Italy, the third worst hit
country in Europe in terms of number of deaths, the authorities are tightening
restrictions to prevent a second wave, after reports that people are not
complying with social distancing recommendations. France
announced it would reopen bars, cafes and restaurants on 2nd June,
while Croatia said it would reopen its borders for ten EU countries. Spain is holding ten days of national
mourning, the longest in history, in memory of the more than 27,000 people who
died due the pandemic.

EU. The European Commission has
warned that access to the funds laid down in the recovery plan proposed on
Wednesday will be linked to economic reforms. The conditions will not,
however, be as strict as during the previous financial crisis, but will be aligned
with the European agenda for environment and digitalisation, France Presse
quotes European officials as saying. The plan entails a recovery fund of 750
billion euros, of which 500 in subsidies and the rest in loans, which the
European Commission wishes to attract from financial markets. To have access to
these funds, member states must present projects that will then be approved in
Brussels and other European capitals, explained the vice president of the
European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday. The main beneficiaries of
the relief fund will be Italy and Spain, which were considerably hit by the
coronavirus pandemic. Romania may be entitled to around 33 billion euros. The
proposal of the European Commission will be subject to intense negotiations
among member states, whose leaders will meet on the 18th and 19th
June, when they will also discuss the EU multiannual budget for the period
between 2021 and 2027.

Talks.
Romania’s Prime Minister
Ludovic Orban on Thursday talked on the phone with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel. They mentioned the special strategic relations between Romania and
Germany and agreed to continue efforts to expand them, especially in the
economic sector. The two officials also tackled the situation of Romanian seasonal
workers in Germany. The chancellor conveyed her government’s constant concern with
respect to observing and protecting the rights of Romanian workers and
readiness to maintain close contact at all levels between the authorities of
the two countries, building on the recent visit to Germany by the Romanian Minister
of labour and social protection, Violeta Alexandru. The federal government recently
initiated amendments to the domestic legal framework to provide increased
protection for and guarantee the rights of Romanian workers.

Repatriation. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest announced
on Thursday that 64 Romanian nationals were repatriated from France thanks to joined
efforts by several Romanian institutions. Among those repatriated are students
and their families who were unable to extend their stay in France. According to
the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest these repatriations are part of efforts to
facilitate the return of Romanian citizens stranded abroad because of air
travel restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ascension. Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians on Thursday celebrated the Ascension of Jesus. This holiday was also declared Heroes’ Memorial Day in Romania after the First World War, in 1920, when all provinces with a majority Romanian population came under Bucharest’s control. Religious and military services were held outside churches and memorials dedicated to Romania’s heroes. In an address on this day, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said, quote: This special day in which we celebrate both our heroes and the Ascension of Jesus has a special meaning for the Romanian people. On this occasion we pay homage to the martyrs of the Romanian nation who gave their lives for us. Iohannis also paid tribute to the Romanian soldiers who died in the line of duty in various theatres of operation in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Western Balkans as part of international missions.

Judiciary. The Superior
Council of Magistracy in Bucharest on Thursday issued a negative opinion on a
bill initiated by the centrist Save Romania Union, in opposition, on the
dismantling of the special department for the investigation of crimes in the
judiciary. The bill was endorsed by 40 deputies and senators from the Save
Romania Union and the independent MP deputy Ana Birchall, a former member of
the Social Democratic Party and former justice minister. Established by the
former Social Democratic government, this department was presented as a means
of preventing abuses in the judiciary but its critics say it was intended in
fact to intimate magistrates and thus hinder the fight against corruption.