December 29, 2020 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 29.12.2020, 20:03
Visit — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday paid an official visit to the Republic of Moldova at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, pro-western Maia Sandu. Romania was by Moldova’s side on the very first day of its independence and it is currently its most important trade partner, said Maia Sandu. She went on to say that the countries have a common language as well as a common history and culture. In turn, President Klaus Iohannis said that Romania would remain a sincere friend of Moldova, which needs reforms for sustainable development. He announced a new aid package to be granted by Bucharest. The two officials adopted a Joint Declaration aimed at consolidating the bilateral strategic partnership. The document reconfirms the special bilateral relation on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Strategic Partnership for Moldova’s European Integration as well as Moldova’s commitment to follow its European path and to implement the democratic reforms necessary to reach that goal. The visit paid by Klaus Iohannis was the first high level visit for Maia Sandu, after she took over the presidential seat following the November 15 election, when she defeated the former pro-Russian Socialist president Igor Dodon. Holding dual citizenship, Moldovan and Romanian, an economist with an MA in public administration at Harvard, a former advisor to the executive director of the World Bank, a former minister and prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu became, at 48, the first woman president of Moldova, three decades after the country proclaimed its independence from Moscow.
Covid-19 Romania — Tuesday saw the arrival to Romania of a second tranche of more than 140 thousand doses of Covid-19 vaccine doses necessary for the immunization, in a first phase, of the medical staff. The first tranche of 10,000 doses was delivered on Saturday, and vaccination began the next day. Over 4,600 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Romania on Tuesday. Bucharest reports the largest number of infections in the country. In terms of incidence, Ilfov county, near the capital, is the only county with over 5 cases per thousand inhabitants accumulated in the last 14 days, and Bucharest reached a contamination rate of less than 4 cases per thousand. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs has decreased to about 1,162. 135 people have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. More than 85% of the COVID-19 patients have recovered since the start of the pandemic.
Chamber of deputies — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies met on Tuesday in a plenary session, the 2nd in the new legislature that started on December 21. The deputies ran several tests regarding remote voting on a new type of tablets. Last week saw the first session in which the deputies were sworn in, the permanent committees were set up and the speaker of the chamber and the members of the permanent bureau were elected. The Liberal leader, the former PM Ludovic Orban, was elected speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
Budget deficit – Romania reported a budget deficit of 8% of the GDP in the first 11 months of 2020, accounting for 84 billion lei (about 17 billion Euros), as compared to 3.5% of the GDP in the same period of 2019, according to data made public by the Finance Ministry. According to the Finance Ministry, the increase was triggered by the unfavorable evolution of the budget revenues, as well as the postponement of the payment of some fiscal obligations by companies during the health crisis. The deficit difference was also caused by the exceptional payments generated by the pandemic.
Protests — One of the biggest trade union confederations in Romania, Cartel Alfa, protested on Tuesday in Bucharest against the level proposed by the government for the increase in the minimum wage in 2021. The trade unionists say that the increase of 70 lei, that is 15 Euros, added to the minimum wage, as announced by the government, does not even cover for the additional expenses needed for the purchase of masks and other individual protection stuff. Cartel Alfa also adds that prices have gone up and will continue to increase and that, at present, the minimum wage in Romania does not even cover for half of the expenses for a decent living. The government representatives met with the trade unionists and suggested a 6-month moratorium when the two sides are to establish together a new calculation mechanism. The government is to make a decision on the level of the minimum wages in Wednesday’s session. (tr. L. Simion)
