January 27, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 27.01.2021, 13:55

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The anti-COVID-19
vaccination campaign continues in Romania. Over 487 thousand Romanians have
taken the anti-COVID shot so far, and only 1,200 minor adverse reactions have
been reported. Last week Romania received only half of the vaccine doses
scheduled to arrive. Therefore, of the people performing key duties, included
in the second phase of the campaign, people under 65 years of age without
chronic illnesses will be reappointed for vaccination with a 10-day delay,
Valeriu Gheorghiță, the head of the
National Committee overseeing the campagin has said. The Romanian official
explained there’s a shortage of some 117 thousand doses, and given that delays
are likely to continue, the authorities have prepared several scenarios under
which certain categories of people will receive the vaccine with certain
delays. The goal for the first phase of the campaign has been met. 90% of the
people included in this phase have been vaccinated or are scheduled for
vaccination, Valeriu Gheorghiță added. According to the latest update released
today by the Group for Strategic Communication, another 3,174 new infections
with SARS-CoV-2 were reported in the last 24 hours, as well as 77 related
fatalities. So far 718,612 people got infected with COVID-19 since the start of
the pandemic and 18,015 have died to the virus. 1,025 patients are currently in
intensive care.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Companies producing anti-COVID-19 vaccines, which have received
massive investments from the European Union, must now make good on their
promises and honor their delivery obligations, European Commission President,
Ursula von der Leyen, has warned. The statement comes after a string of delays
announced by the Pfizer-BioNTech group in the delivery of its vaccine, which
was followed by a similar announcement from the AstraZeneca group. In other
news, the World Health Organization has approved the use of the anti-COVID-19
vaccine produced by the American biotechnology company Moderna, which must be administered
in two doses 28 days apart. On Tuesday, the United Kingdom became the first
country in Europe to exceed the 100,000 COVID-related death toll, which deepens
the crisis in this country. At global level, over 100 million infections have
been confirmed since the start of the outbreak and at least 2.1 million people
have died, the latest worldometers.info update reveals.

BUDGET – President Klaus Iohannis
yesterday evening talked with leaders of the ruling coalition on the 2021 state
budget, which is due to be submitted to Parliament for debate early next month.
Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor told Radio Romania the draft budget is a
priority right now, saying the deficit cannot exceed 7.1% of the GDP. The
Social-Democrats in opposition claim the Government is working on an austerity
budget. After consulting with representatives of trade unions on Tuesday on
this matter, the Social-Democratic Party will release its own alternate budget
later today. In Bucharest, trade unionists with the Publisind trade federation
staged a protest against the low salaries in the public sector and the
Government’s plans to freeze salaries over 2021. The federation warns that,
unless their demands are met, protest actions will continue indefinitely.

ROMANIA-US RELATIONS – Foreign
Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu today sent a letter of congratulations to his
US counterpart, Antony Blinken, who took over his mandate as US Secretary of
State after being confirmed in office by the US Congress. According to the
Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Bogdan Aurescu expressed Bucharest’s
readiness to continue the expansion of the Strategic Partnership with the
United States, a key pillar of Romania’s foreign affairs and security policy.
The Romanian Minister said Romania remains a trusted ally and a close partner
of the United States, expressing confidence that, over the term in office of
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the two countries will continue close
coordination and ensure the security and prosperity of their citizens, as well
as to promote regional stability, including in the Black Sea region. Moreover,
Minister Aurescu argued in favor of a strengthened US military presence in
Romania, underlying the development of a reliable and sustainable deterrence
capability in the Black Sea region, an area of strategic importance to trans-Atlantic
security. At the same time, Bogdan Aurescu pointed out one of Romania’s
priorities is the continuous development of economic cooperation with the
United States. Also on this occasion, Minister Aurescu extended an invitation
to Secretary of State Blinken to visit Romania.

HOLOCAUST – Romania’s President, Klaus
Iohannis, today conveyed a message marking the International Holocaust
Remembrance Day. President Iohannis said remembrance doesn’t just bring back
the pain, but also serves to educate us to steer clear of inherent traps
generated by oblivion. Europe is currently facing waves of extremism, populism
and anti-Semitism, the President argues, and over the last 20 years Romania has
developed a series of policies and instruments to combat such phenomena. In
this context, the President urged the Government to swiftly adopt the national
strategy on the prevention and combating of anti-Semitism, xenophobia,
radicalization and hate speech. A brief ceremony honoring the victims of the
Holocaust was observed today in Bucharest. Various events are also staged in
other cities across the country.

US-RUSSIA RELATIONS – The
newly instated American President, Joe Biden, had his first telephone
conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The two leaders
agreed to have their teams work urgently to complete the extension of the New
Start nuclear arms control treaty by another five years. The Treaty signed by
the United States and Russia, is due to expire on February 5. Political pundits
say Biden said he would adopt a harsher tone in his relations with Vladimir
Putin than his predecessor, Donald Trump, who repeatedly refused to face his
Russian counterpart. The White House writes Joe Biden also expressed the United
States’ support for the sovereignty of Ukraine, raising other issues of
concern, such as Russia’s involvement in various elections, cyber-attacks and
the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The American President
underlined he wants to cooperate with President Putin, wherever this is
possible.

WEATHER – A code yellow alert against heavy snowfalls is in place until
tonight for eight counties in the southern half of the country and the capital
city. Blizzards and strong wind are expected in the mountains. The snowfalls
have disrupted road traffic, which has been shut down on certain national roads
due to reduced visibility. Rail traffic has also been affected, over 25 trains
have already been cancelled. Due to the strong wind all maneuvers in Romanian
ports on the Black Sea have been suspended. (V. Palcu)