August 15, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 15.08.2020, 19:00

Navy Day. The Black Sea
region is an area of ​​strategic interest not only to Romania, but also to NATO
and the European Union, so it must be a safe and predictable space, said the
President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in the speech delivered on the occasion
of Navy Day on Saturday. According to the head of state, the objectives in the
Black Sea area remain the consolidation, in the eastern proximity, of a stable,
democratic and prosperous place, by connecting the Black Sea area to the values
​​and processes of European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation, and rendering
regional cooperation more dynamic. The Romanian Naval Forces, established 160
years ago, are an important part of the Romanian Army and work with their NATO
allies to make the seas and oceans safer, the president said. In his turn,
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban promised the sailors, in a message, that the
government would support them to continue the restructuring on a modern basis
of the Romanian navy, both civilian and military, and the tradition of
training new generations of navy top level professionals. Due to the
pandemic, this year, the Navy Day ceremonies were held without spectators, but
the public could watch a parade of military ships from the beaches of
Constanţa, Mamaia and Năvodari.

Assumption. Christians celebrated the Assumption of Mary on Saturday.
According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was raised to heaven after
death. She is the patron saint of most monasteries in Romania and the
Assumption is considered the feast of pilgrimages. Authorities took special
measures to avoid congestion and physical contact between believers in the
context of the pandemic. Those who participated in pilgrimages were required to
wear a mask and were not allowed to touch the icons considered miraculous.

State of alert. The Romanian government has extended by 30
days, starting Sunday, the state of alert established 3 months ago. All
previously imposed restrictions are maintained, but terraces will be allowed to
stay open until midnight. Romania has exceeded the threshold of 69,000 cases of
coronavirus infection diagnosed since the beginning of the pandemic. The total
number of victims is close to 3,000. According to the latest study published by
the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Romania has reached the
first place in terms of death rate caused by COVID-19, per one million
inhabitants in the EU, with a ratio of 19.1 as to 4.1 the European average.
Also, the rate of new cases detected per hundred thousand inhabitants is almost
four times the European average.

Restrictions.
Serbian authorities published, on
Friday evening, with effect from Saturday at 00.00, a new decision to review
the conditions of entry and transit in Serbia for foreign nationals from
Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Northern Macedonia, the Romanian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday. Thus, according to the new provisions,
access is allowed only with the presentation of a negative molecular test (PCR)
for COVID-19 infection, not older than 48 hours, performed in nationally
accredited laboratories. Several categories of persons are exempted from the
mandatory measure on the presentation of a negative molecular test, including
foreign nationals who are domiciled or resident in Serbia and have valid
documents to that effect, members of road haulage crews in transit, if the
duration of the transit does not exceed 12 hours and railway staff of trains to
Serbia.

Merger. The representatives of USR – Save Romania
Union, the third force in the Bucharest Parliament, and those of PLUS,
extra-parliamentary, gathered in separate congresses, voted, on Saturday, for
the merger of the two parties. Following the merger, the party will be called
USR and will be led until the first congress, when the new president will be
elected by two co-presidents, USR leader Dan Barna, and Dacian Ciolos, leader
of PLUS, former prime minister and
European commissioner. We recall that, in early July, the Senate and the Chamber
of Deputies adopted the law that provides for the organization of local
elections on September 27. They were supposed to take place in June, but were
postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Budget. The Romanian Government approved, on Friday evening, the second
budget adjustment this year. It was made against the background of an economic
decline of over 12 percent in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter
of the year, and a budget deficit of 8.6% of the GDP. More money will go to
Labor, Health, Education and Transport. The Minister of Finance, Florin Cîţu,
specified that the budget adjustment allows the increase of the pension
point, as of September 1. Children’s allowances will also be increased, but
there will be no increase in teachers’ salaries, as anticipated.

Anonimul. Malmkrog, the latest production of the Romanian director
Cristi Puiu, closed on Saturday the 17th edition of the ANONIMUL International
Independent Film Festival,hosted by
Sfantu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta. The film was awarded the Best Director
Award in the Encounters Section at the prestigious Berlin International Film
Festival and was praised by critics in France, where it premiered on the big
screens in July. Malmkrog is a co-production of Romania, Serbia,
Switzerland, Sweden, Bosnia and Northern Macedonia. Cristi Puiu is considered
the pioneer of the New Wave in Romanian cinema.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has qualified for the final
of the WTA tournament in Prague, with more than 200,000 dollars in prize money.
In the semifinals she defeated another Romanian, Irina Begu, 7-6, 6-3. In the
final she will play against the Belgian Elise Mertens, who defeated Kristyna
Pliskova of the Czech Republic. The last time Halep took on Mertens was at the Australian
Open, where she won 6-4, 6-4.