December 18, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.12.2020, 20:09

Negotiations. In Bucharest, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance (USR PLUS) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) have reached an agreement to form a parliamentary majority and a center-right governmental coalition, following the December 6 legislative elections. The Liberal leader, Ludovic Orban, has announced that the current Liberal Finance Minister Florin Cîţu will be the Prime Minister. The presidency of the Chamber of Deputies will return to the National Liberal Party, and that of the Senate to USR PLUS. In the future Cabinet, PNL would hold nine portfolios, USR PLUS six, and UDMR three. There will also be two positions of deputy prime minister. Dacian Ciolos, co-president of the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance has stated that negotiations will continue over the following days to establish the governing program. On the other hand, the Social Democrats, who came in first in the December 6 election, insist that the correct solution, in the current pandemic, is to form a government of national union, led by Dr. Alexandru Rafila, who entered the new Parliament on their list.

Covid-19 Ro. According to the Strategic Communication Group, 5,340 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were registered in 24 hours in Romania, following 27,482 tests at national level. In the same period, 188 infected people died, bringing the total number of deaths to 14,157. 1,270 people are hospitalized in intensive care. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 582,786 cases of people infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania, of which over 484 thousand have been declared cured. The number of Romanians abroad confirmed with the new coronavirus increased to 7,036, two more than the last report, and the number of deaths increased to 128. The restrictions established to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus remain in force at Christmas and New Year, said President Klaus Iohannis on Friday. He visited the CantacuzinoNational Institute for Medical-Military Research-Development in Bucharest, which is the national center for receiving and storing doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The head of state advised the Romanians to stay at home for the holidays. In turn, the Minister of Health, Nelu Tătaru, announced that the Executive approved the norms regarding the authorization, organization and operation of the vaccination centers.

Restrictions. All persons entering Greece, starting December 18, are obliged to isolate themselves at home for a period of three days, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. The measure, valid until January 7, 2021, is complementary to the other conditions already in force: the obligation to present a negative result of a PCR test performed no later than 72 hours before entering Greek territory, filling in the location form and, in case of road border crossings, performing a quick test with immediate result. Exceptions are drivers of international goods transport who are in transit or take over goods from Greece and immediately leave the territory of that state. On the other hand, from December 19, people traveling to Austria, including Romanians, will be placed in quarantine for 10 days immediately after entering Austrian territory, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also announced. The quarantine measure may be suspended following the presentation of the negative result of a test for SARS-CoV-2 infection, carried out not earlier than the 5th day after entry into Austria, at the expense of the person concerned. The Romanian MFA states that the restriction will apply for an indefinite period.

Pandemic. Vaccination against Covid-19 in the EU will begin immediately after Christmas, between December 27-29 – announced the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The European Medicines Agency will soon take a decision on the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, already administered in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. On Friday, US Vice President Mike Pence was given the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, and the moment was broadcast live on television as the US prepares to authorize a second vaccine, that of Moderna. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the health minister will open the vaccination campaign in front of the cameras on Saturday, to serve as personal examples. Vaccination of medical staff across the country and then people over the age of 60 will begin on Sunday. On the other hand, more and more European countries are reintroducing restrictions in an attempt to limit the growing number of Sars-Cov-2 infections, which are considered worrying. The Czech Republic has announced traffic bans during the night, the closure of restaurants and bars. Restrictions have also recently been imposed in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Bulgaria.

Minorities. President Klaus Iohannis on Friday conveyed a message on the occasion of the National Minorities Day in Romania, stressing that its essential that all responsible political forces understand the need to eliminate hate speech, chauvinistic and extremist agendas. On this day, we honor the essential role which all national minorities play in society, history and future projects of Romania President Iohannis also said in his message. Klaus Iohannis also stressed that Romania, in full agreement with the values ​​of the great European family to which it belongs, recognizes the importance of unity in diversity, of spiritual richness resulting from historical coexistence, mutual respect and the current commitment to protecting the rights of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. There are almost 20 ethnic minorities in Romania.

Commemoration. 31 years after the December 1989 Revolution, Timisoara (in western Romania) continues to commemorate its heroes, in the context of the new coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, the Revolution Memorial Association organized a pilgrimage to 14 monuments in Timisoara, which were erected in the hottest places of December 1989 uprising, and where people laid wreaths. Thursday was a day of mourning in the town on the Bega River, where, on December 17, 1989, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ordered the use of lethal ammunition against people who contested the communist regime in the street. The protests in Timisoara, where almost 100 people died and about 350 were injured, were the spark that led, a few days later, to the fall of the dictator, following the bloodiest Revolution in Southeastern Europe.

Digitalization. The Ministry of Education and Research launched for public consultation the Strategy for the Digitalization of Education in Romania 2021-2027: SMART-Edu. The proposed targets are the following: 90% of the countrys population to be digitally literate, the training of 82% of the population aged between 20 and 34 for emerging trades, in order to successfully enter the labor market., and quipping all educational units in Romania with infrastructure and technological resources adapted to permanent changes. The relevant minister, Monica Anisie, has stressed that this document must become a country project. More than 1,200 people, 72 experts, 24 civil society organizations and 18 companies with relevance in the field of digitization have contributed to its development. (M. Ignatescu)