February 1, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 01.02.2020, 19:59
ARAB LEAGUE The Arab League has rejected the Middle East peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump, saying it would not lead to a just deal for both sides. The Arab League said in a release that it will not cooperate with the United States to carry out the plan because it “does not meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people.” The pan-Arab bloc also said Israel should not implement the initiative by force.
MOTION The censure motion against the Liberal government in Bucharest tabled by the opposition Social Democratic Party will be presented in Parliament on Monday. The move was triggered by the Orban Cabinets decision to take responsibility for a bill reintroducing the 2-round voting system for the election of mayors, half a year ahead of local elections. The text of the motion entitled The Orban/Liberal Government — the privatisation of Romania’s democracy’ reads that the Government must go not only because attempting to change the voting system right before the election comes against European standards, but also because these changes were operated unilaterally, without parliamentary consultation and debate. PM Ludovic Orban has said he is not concerned with the motion, and that he does not believe it has any chances to pass.
FLU Twelve people died in Romania from seasonal flu so far, according to the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control. Experts announced that the week of January 20th was the season’s first week of epidemic. Several schools in Bucharest and elsewhere in the country were also closed because of flu cases. The Education Ministry announced that full or partial suspension of classes because of the flu affects over 5,500 students, but that this is not the number of cases among children. Neighboring Bulgaria is also affected, with 19 regions officially declaring a flu epidemic and classes suspended in nearly 1,900 schools and kindergartens.
BREXIT Britain is no longer a member of the EU, starting on Saturday. It is the first state to leave the EU since its establishment. The British economy accounted for 15% of the EU economy, and London is the world’s financial capital. The UK was also the EU member state with the largest defence budget. The kingdom joined the European community in 1973, 16 years since the Rome Treaty had been signed and 22 since the European Coal and Steel Community had been set up by France, West Germany, Italy and Benelux. In 2016, the UK decided through a referendum to leave the bloc, which kicked off a controversial and complicated negotiation process. The transition period which begins on Saturday ends late this year. One of the most critical aspects that need working out is a trade agreement to avoid customs duties between the 2 parties. Romania regrets Britain’s decision and hopes it will remain a close and trustworthy partner, sharing the same system of values, President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement. He emphasised that Bucharest’s main goal has been to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Romanian citizens who live, work and study in the UK, a goal which is properly reflected in the Withdrawal Agreement. Romania wishes to deepen its strategic partnership with Britain, so as to strengthen the post-Brexit relation between the 2 countries, president Iohannis also said.
VIRUS No coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Romania so far, the ministerial committee for the management and monitoring of the potential infections with the new virus has announced. Prevention measures have been put in place in airports and medical units designated for the treatment of possible infection cases. The National Authority for Consumer Protection in Romania has given assurances that there is no contamination risk from goods imported from China since the virus has a lifespan of 24 hours outside the human body, and it takes around 35 days to transport goods from China into Romania. The World Health Organisation has declared the new coronavirus a global emergency as the death toll in China stands at 259, out of nearly 12,000 cases. The virus has also reached Europe, with cases being reported in Spain, Sweden, Germany, Britain, France and Russia.
POVERTY Romania has made headway in reducing poverty among its employed persons, the EU statistics office Eurostat has announced. Nevertheless, in 2018 the country was the EU member with the highest risk of poverty among its employed, 15.3% against a European average of 9.5. At the opposite end, with the lowest degree of poverty among employed persons, are Finland, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium and Croatia. The Eurostat data shows an increasing trend of poverty among the people with jobs all throughout the European Union, but the sharpest drops have been seen in Greece, Latvia and Romania.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
