April 14, 2021

Romanian PM Florin Cîțu sacks health minister Vlad Voiculescu./ New lockdown criteria are published./Trade unions stage anti-government protests.

Newsroom, 14.04.2021, 13:55

Dismissal. For a year Romania has been going
through a difficult time in the fight against the pandemic and to prevail in
this fight we need to trust state institutions, said Liberal prime minister Florin Cîțu shortly after sacking health minister Vlad
Voiculescu, from the Save Romania Union. I strongly believe in the ruling
coalition, which is based around values and ideas and not individual persons,
the prime minister also said. Dan Barna, the co-president of the USR PLUS Alliance, which is part of the ruling coalition alongside the Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, said the prime minister no longer has the Alliance’s political support. Dacian Cioloş, the other co-president of the USR PLUS Alliance, described as unacceptable that the prime minister did not consult the USR PLUS leadership before sacking the health minister. Deputy prime minister Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, said his party accepted the prime minister’s decision and that the coalition must go ahead. From the opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, said Vlad Voiculescuţs dismissal came too late for many Romanians who lost their lives and ruined their health.

Covid-19 world. As many countries in Eastern Europe are faced
with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Bulgarian hotels and travel agencies
are worried that more and more Romanians are cancelling their Easter bookings
in the absence of clear rules for entering the country, while Israel’s tourism
and health ministries are considering opening borders for groups of foreign
tourists at the end of May, on certain conditions. In France, the government
has decided to postpone the local elections because of the pandemic and in
Austria, health minister Rudolf Anschober resigned due to exhaustion caused by
the management of the Covid crisis.

Protests. Trade unions are today staging
anti-government protests outside the government headquarters in Bucharest. They
demand a rise in the minimum wage to a decent level, fair pensions, quality
public services, unblocking collective bargaining, fair taxation and a fair
application of the law. Trade unions say they are unhappy with the measures
taken by the government and its refusal to engage in social dialogue and demand
its resignation. The gendarmerie recalls that a maximum of 100 persons are
allowed to take part in public demonstrations under the current coronavirus
restrictions and have recommended protesters to respect the hygiene and
physical distancing rules in place and wear facemasks. The demonstration, which
is organised by several trade unions, is split into different groups so as to
comply with the restrictions.

Gymnastics. Six Romanian gymnasts, three female
and three male, are taking part in the European Artistic Gymnastics
Championships hosted by Basel between 21st and 25th April,
the Romanian Gymnastics Federation has announced. Romania is pursuing two goals
at these championships: to have two more gymnasts qualified for the Olympic Games, one in the
men’s and one in the women’s events, and win medals in the individual and team
competitions. Only two Romanian gymnasts have so far booked their tickets for
the Tokyo Olympics: Marian Drăgulescu, in the men’s vault competition, and
Maria Holbură in the women’s all-around event. (CM)