December 9, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

România Internațional, 09.12.2021, 19:50

Covid-19RO. A
new case of Omicron infection was confirmed in Romania, the Health Ministry
said on Thursday. The patient, who had been fully vaccinated, has no serious
symptoms. So far, three such cases have been confirmed in Romania. As regards the
total number of daily infections, a little over 1000 were reported on Thursday,
as well as 74 related deaths, of which 2 from the previous reporting period. The
state of alert has been extended in Romania for another 30 days, but given the
downward trend of infections, some of the restrictions have been eliminated. So,
wearing a mask in areas that are not overcrowded is no longer mandatory, and
the unvaccinated who show a negative PCR test are allowed indoors. Also, there
the night curfew has been lifted. On Christmas and New Year’s restaurants will receive
guests, at 50% capacity.

Visit. The President of
Romania, Klaus Iohannis, received on Thursday, in Bucharest, Natalia Gavriliţa,
the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly
Romanian-speaking). Klaus Iohannis reaffirmed Bucharest’s commitment to fully
supporting the processes of transformation, modernization and implementation of
reforms in areas such as energy, transport, information society, green
transition, justice, education, in the spirit of the Strategic Partnership for
European integration. Earlier, the Prime Minister Natalia Gavriliţa had a
meeting with her Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă. The latter stated that he
supported the consolidation of Romanian investments in the Republic of Moldova
and for that the business environment in that country would have to
improve. Ciuca also said that the
parties inteded to conclude a new agreement on granting non-reimbursable
financial assistance for the benefit of the Republic of Moldova as soon as
possible, as the old agreement expired this year. The head of the Chisinau
government said the two states had a historic chance to turn the language
community into one of the big projects for the benefit of the people on both
sides of the Prut. A better economic and commercial integration of Romania and the
Republic of Moldova is the guarantee for an accelerated accession of the latter
to the EU, Natalia Gavrilita said.

Summit. The head of the
Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis, stated, on Thursday, in the message conveyed at
the Summit of Democracy, organized by the US President, Joe Biden, in video
format, that Romania was determined to prevent and fight all negative phenomena
that undermine trust in democracy. Iohannis stressed that progress in the field
of human rights is a key component in ensuring the safety and security of
communities, individuals and institutions against anti-Semitism, xenophobia,
radicalization and hate speech. He said that another priority for Romania is to
prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, an objective that is
impossible to achieve in isolation.

Forum. The NATO Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg called on the Aspen Forum in Bucharest on Thursday for allies to
invest in critical infrastructure and reduce dependence on resources coming
from potentially adversary states. Jens Stoltenberg repeatedly mentioned
Russia’s aggressive behavior. The same message about resistance to risks and
vulnerabilities came from the Romanian head of state, Klaus Iohannis, who
insisted on energy independence. The NATO Secretary-General named Russia and
China as the main global actors that undermine the rules-based world order and
operate in areas that have become essential to the security of the democratic space.
Jens Stoltenberg also drew attention to other global threats, such as
‘increasingly frequent and sophisticated’ cyber attacks, the persistent
terrorist threat, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the impact of
climate change. Stoltenberg noted that the NATO 2030 agenda aims to ensure
security in a more unpredictable world and to invest in the latest
technologies, from ‘artificial intelligence to biotechnology and quantum
computers’.

Paris. TheFrench President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for a Europe that knows how to protect its borders in the face of migration crises. He outlined a series of reforms, including of the Schengen area, which will be considered by the upcoming French presidency of the EU Council, which starts on January 1, AFP reports. Emmanuel Macron proposes the creation of emergency support mechanisms for crises at the border of a Member State, which must be able to count on the support of Frontex, but also on the help of the Member States with police and gendarmes. Macron also hopes to ‘advance’ during the six months of the French presidency talks on the Migration and Asylum Pact, presented by the European Commission in September 2020.

Journalists. The number of
journalists around the world who are held in prisons has reached an all-time
record in 2021, according to a report by the non-profit organization Committee
to Protect Journalists. 293 reporters have been put behind bars until December
1 this year. At least 24 journalists have been killed because of their reports,
and another 18 have died in circumstances that make it too difficult to
determine whether they were targeted because of their work, the annual document
on press freedom and attacks on the press also shows. While the reasons for the
imprisonment of reporters vary from country to country, the record number of
imprisoned journalists reflects the political unrest around the world and a
growing intolerance towards independent reporting, according to the US-based
nonprofit organization.

Handball. The Romanian
women’s handball national team was defeated, on Thursday, in Castello, with the
score of 31-30, by the Dutch team, the defending champion, in the Main Group II
of the World Championship in Spain. Following this result, the Netherlands took
the first place in the Main Group II, and Romania remains on the 4th place. The
first two teams from the four main Groups will qualify for the quarterfinals,
which will take place on December 14-15. For the Romanian national team, the
matches with Puerto Rico on December 11th and with Sweden on December 13th are
next. Romania is the only team that has
attended at all 25 editions of the World Championship. (MI)