February 22, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 22.02.2021, 19:46

VACCINE – A new tranche
of 200,000 dozes of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Romania on Monday.
According to the National Committee for the Coordination of Vaccination
Activities, the total doses administered so far, to more than 820 thousand
people, exceeds 1.4 million. The Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, has
stated that approximately 60,000 people employed in the education system want
to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next week. According to the minister, in a
first phase, the teaching staff from primary, secondary, high school and
university education benefit from priority vaccination in mobile centers. He
has stated that more than 200,000 employees in the education system have
expressed their readiness for vaccination. 42,000 have already been vaccinated.
In another development, about 1,600 new cases of coronavirus were reported on
Monday. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic in Romania, about a year
ago, over 780,000 cases of infection have been registered in this country.

COVID-19 IN THE
WORLD – Some 112 million infections with COVID-19 have been confirmed in the
world, in addition to 2.5 million related fatalities. European states have
intensified their efforts to combat the spread of the strains of coronavirus.
Italy has extended travel restrictions between regions until March 27 due to an
increase in the infection rate. In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
announced a timetable for lifting the hard lockdown in this country in an
effort to restart the British economy. The British official expects things to
return to their normal track at the end of June.

PROTESTS – The miners will
receive their due salaries and benefits in three installments, the Romanian
Labor Minister Raluca Turcan gave assurances at the end of Monday’s talks with
leaders of the coal miners’ trade unions, who have been protesting in Jiu
Valley for several days. On February 25 and 26 the Government will disburse
additional funds to pay the miners’ overdue salary rights, as well as part of
their benefits, such as meal vouchers and transport subsidies, Minister Turcan
said. The Romanian official said this solution allows the Hunedoara Energy
Power Plant to reorganize its activity within three months. The 70 miners
protesting in underground shafts in Lupeni on Monday decided to resurface and
end their protest. The decision was taken following talks in Bucharest between
trade union representatives and the Ministers of Labor and Energy.

MIGRANTS – The Romanian
Border Police discovered 18 migrants originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq
and Somalia, while crossing the Danube onboard a boat from Romania to Serbia.
Ten migrants were underage. The boat was navigated by two Syrian nationals who
returned to Serbia and who received some €1,500 per each migrant to take them
across the border. The Romanian Border Police is investigating the case trying
to ascertain the extent of the crime before taking action in this matter.

FAC – The Romanian
Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, on Monday attended a Foreign Affairs Council
(FAC) meeting in Brussels. Talks focused on relations with Moscow. According to
the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Minister Aurescu pointed out that EU-Russia
relations are at a turning point, as Russia has become increasingly assertive
in its relations with EU institutions and member states. Minister Aurescu
called for introducing new restrictions on Russia amidst the deteriorating
human rights context in this country, including the developments in the case of
opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Bogdan Aurescu said the EU needs a more
strategic approach to relations with Russia, including in a regional key. Ahead
of the meeting, Aurescu and European
counterparts took part in an informal meeting with representatives of the team
of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny. On Saturday, Navalny, listed as the
Kremlin’s main political opponent, received two sentences in a single day: two
and a half years in prison, in a fraud case, which he says was politically
fabricated, and a €9,500 fine, on charges of defaming a supporter of President
Vladimir Putin, a nonagenarian veteran of the Soviet army in World War II. On
the sidelines of the FAC meeting, Minister Aurescu highlighted the need for a
firmer political cooperation with ex-Soviet states in the Eastern Partnership,
including the Republic of Moldova. In a videoconference with EU Ministers and
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Bogdan Aurescu underlined the need for
close EU-US cooperation in regional dossiers, such as the Eastern Vicinity, the
Black Sea region and the Western Balkans.

MOLDOVA – The Republic of
Moldova will receive €15 million from the EU to help combat the effects of the
coronavirus pandemic. According to Radio Chişinău, the pro-European
president, Maia Sandu, said the money will be allocated to the hardest-hit
sectors, such as healthcare, agriculture and SMEs. President Sandu promised she
would call on the relevant institutions to monitor the money trail, in order to
make sure the funds reach the destination. On Friday, Romania sent a new
humanitarian aid package to neighboring Moldova consisting in medical and
protection equipment to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press
release issued by the Moldovan Presidency, the donated equipment, whose value
stands at some €2.3 million, consists in 1.5 million surgical masks, 100,000
FFP3 masks, 100,000 isolation gowns and 100,000 single-use gloves.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep went down to third place in the world ranking of
professional tennis players (WTA), published today. The second position is now
held by the Japanese Naomi Osaka, who won the title at the Australian Open on
Saturday. We recall that Halep stopped in the quarterfinals of the first grand
slam tournament of the year. The Australian Ashleigh Barty remains the WTA
leader. Romania has 4 more representatives in the top 100: Patricia Ţig, Sorana
Cîrstea, Irina Begu and Ana Bogdan. (M.I & V.P.)