February 8, 2024 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 08.02.2024, 19:48

NATO. The standing bureaus of the
Romanian Senate and Chamber of Deputies took note on Wednesday of a letter from
president Klaus Iohannis informing Parliament that he approved the entry and stay
in Romania of NATO’s response force or its transit through Romania to prepare
or conduct military operations in 2024, if necessary. In the letter, the head
of state said he took the decision against the backdrop of concurrent crises and
instability as the main element of the new security dynamics, following an
analysis of the NATO requests. In another move, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu
said domestic legislation should provide for paid volunteering services in the
military field. He said that while Romania was facing no danger, every country
must also prepare for the worst. The Ministry of Defence has announced
that it is currently working on a draft law that provides for paid volunteer
military training.

Elections.
The ruling coalition in Romania formed by the Social Democratic Party and the
National Liberal Party will resume on Monday talks on a proposal to hold
European and local elections, as well as parliamentary elections and the first
round of presidential elections on the same date, having failed to reach a
decision on this subject on Thursday. The Social Democrat prime minister Marcel
Ciolacu has already rejected concerns that the move would be undemocratic,
saying other European countries took similar decisions. The Liberals also
support the idea, saying that holding the two ballots simultaneously will
ensure a higher voter turnout and consequently enhance the winners’ legitimacy.
The opposition, however, is harshly criticising the idea, deeming it undemocratic
and unconstitutional. The brand-new alliance between the Save Romania Union (USR),
the Force of the Right (a Liberal splinter group), and the People’s Movement
Party (PMP) said it would challenge any legislative initiative of this kind in
the Constitutional Court, while the Alliance for the Union of Romanians staged
protests in front of the headquarters of the ruling parties. This year, Romania
is holding all four types of elections, European, local, parliamentary and
presidential.

Congo. Two Romanian
nationals were killed and four wounded in recent events in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, the foreign ministry in Bucharest said in a statement on
Thursday. The ministry said it is keeping a close eye on the situation and
efforts are being made to verify information coming from the ground through
specific channels. It also advised citizens to avoid travelling to Congo, given
that the security situation in this country is extremely volatile, especial in
the east and north-east, in the areas bordering Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.

Cooperation.
The Romanian government approved a draft law aimed at boosting cooperation with
the US in terms of preventing and combating serious crime. The project aims,
among other things, to create, at national level, the mechanisms that will
allow for the exchange of information with the US Department of Homeland
Security through an IT platform developed and administered by the Romanian Home
Affairs Ministry. At the same time, the Romanian Police General Inspectorate,
the Border Police General Inspectorate and the General Inspectorate for
Immigration were designated as national contact points for conducting automated
inquiries for the purpose of preventing, discovering and combating serious
crimes.

Flu. The
incidence of respiratory infections over the past week in Romania has exceeded
the average for the last few seasons. The National Public Health Institute said
14 new deaths caused by flu were recorded over this period, as well as over
135,000 cases of respiratory infection. Most flu cases were reported in
Bucharest, Cluj (north-west), Braşov (in the centre), Constanţa (in the
south-east), Prahova (in the south) and Iaşi (in the east). (CM)