February 11, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 11.02.2021, 20:00
VISIT — The Romanian Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu, on Thursday, the first day of his visit to Brussels, met with the head of the European Parliament David Sassoli and the leaders of the political groups in Parliament. According to a release by the Romanian Government, Citu emphasized at the meeting the importance of close European cooperation in terms of management of the pandemic situation and its consequences, as well as the importance of the success of the immunization campaigns in the member states and the need to maintain the functionality of the internal market and of the European free-movement area. The Romanian official thanked the European Parliament for supporting his country’s accession to the Schengen area. In his turn, Sassoli reconfirmed this support. Also on Thursday, PM Citu had a number of meetings with the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament.
EDUCATION — The situation is good after the reopening of schools in Romania, President Klaus Iohannis said Thursday after a meeting with Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu. According to the head of state, over 2 million pupils resumed in-person classes on Monday, that is over 70% of the total. Online classes are held for all others. Iohannis has warned, however, that the pandemic is not over, even if Romania is in a plateau stage. He pointed out that restrictions must be further observed and called on Romanians to get immunized.
EU — The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help member states fight the economic and social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the most important element of the incentives package of the Next Generation EU European Recovery Instrument. 672.5 billion Euros will be made available in the form of grants and loans, of which 30.44 billion will be allocated to Romania. The Romanian Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, said that the Romanian authorities are in permanent dialogue with the European Commission in order to complete the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, on the basis of which the funds will be approved.
MOLDOVA – The Moldovan Parliament rejected on Thursday the endorsement of a government headed by Natalia Gavrilita. No parliament member voted in favor of the cabinet and its governing programme, proposed by the candidate nominated by the country’s president, the pro-European Maia Sandu. According to Radio Chisinau, Natalia Gavrilita had asked not to be endorsed, so that early parliamentary elections can be called. In keeping with the Moldovan legislation, unless the Governmet is not invested after at least two attempts, parliament is dissolved. The Chisinau Government currently has Aureliu Ciocoi, the incumbent Foreign Minister, as interim PM after the former head of government, Ion Chicu, resigned on December 23rd, 2020, on the last day of mandate of the former pro-Russian President Igor Dodon.
FORECAST– The European Commission is expecting Romania’s economy to go up by 3.8% in 2021 and by 4% in 2022, according to the winter economic forecast made public by the European Commission on Thursday. Moreover, inflation will slightly go up to 2.6% this year, followed by a 2.4% drop in 2022. Private consumption should see a strong recovery in the second half of the year, due to vaccines. On the another hand, in Bucharest, the National Statistics Institute announced on Thursday a net average salary of around 740 euros in December last year, up by around 41 euros as against the month before. In the public sector, the net average salary went up in the healthcare, social assistance and public administration fields and decreased in the education field.
FIRE — Another two patients have died following the fire at the Matei Bals Hospital in Bucharest, on the 29th of January, bringing the death toll to 20, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday. The Bucharest Tribunal announced last Friday that investigations at the site ended. The procedure of identifying the corpses was also completed. As many as 33 people have been heard so far in relation with the fire. A similar tragedy took place in November at the emergency hospital in Piatra Neamt, where ten patients died.
WEATHER — Romanian meteorologists issued a code yellow alert for bad weather, with strong winds, snowstorms and glaze being expected across Romania valid until Monday morning. Freezing temperatures are expected in the north, northeast and center of Romania and snowfalls will be reported, at first in the west, center, north of the country and in the mountains, tXCo eventually extend to the entire country. Locally, frost will be reported. The wind will intensify throughout the country, amplifying the sensation of cold, with speeds of 55 up to 65 km/h. (EE)
