January 28, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.01.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA -
Romania’s national vaccination campaign is in full swing, with over 534
thousand people immunized so far. Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu has announced
that certain centers, which immunized people from outside the eligible
categories, are to face sanctions. In turn, Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu says that the personnel in
the country’s education system will benefit from a special immunization line,
adding that the evolution of the infection rate is decisive in the decision to
bring students back to school again. Last week, Romania received only half of
the doses requested and now has a deficit of 117 thousand. Over 2,900 new infections
were announced on Thursday. Since the outbreak, 721 thousand people have got
infected in Romania and more than 18 thousand died. About one thousand people
are currently being treated in IC units.

PANDEMIC – Europe’s
concern about the novel strains of the Covid-19 virus is on the rise. The UK
announced it can resort to additional prevention measures, including the
isolation of visitors in hotels made available by the authorities. With six
million, Britain boasts the highest number of people immunized so far. Norway
is expected to close its borders for all visitors, with the exception of those
essential, applying some of the toughest prevention measures in Europe. The
country, which is not an EU member, has announced these restrictions after the
discovery of an outbreak of the more contagious strain initially identified in
Britain. The government in Berlin is considering the cancellation of almost all
international flights in order to prevent the spreading of the mutating virus.
In Portugal, the government decided to cancel all the flights towards Brazil
starting this Friday, due to the growing number of infections. The new strain, initially
discovered in Britain, has also been detected in another 70 countries, the WHO
says. According to worldmeters.info, over 101 million infections have been
registered worldwide so far and at least 2.1 million people have died.

PROTEST – Members
of the Medical Solidarity Trade Union Federation on Thursday protested in
Bucharest, calling for protection measures for the workers in Romania’s medical
field after 93 professionals in this field have so far died in the line of
duty. Besides legal rights, other claims are focusing on various forms of
recognizing the efforts and sacrifices made by the medical personnel. According
to unionists, protests have also been caused by the government’s refusal to
participate in a social dialogue. Also on Thursday, in Iasi, north-eastern
Romania, trade unionists from the country’s penitentiary system protested over a
planned wage freeze in the sector. Protesters have called for the elimination
of unequal pay in the public system, the implementation of the pay law in
state-owned institutions and a minimum wage adjusted to the latest price hikes
in consumer goods.

SCHENGEN -
Romania is ready to become a Schengen member as soon as possible, Interior
Minister Lucian Bode said on Thursday on the sidelines of a videoconference of
the informal Justice and Home Affairs Council. Minister Bode called for
stepping up discussions in this matter, underlining the important contribution
Bucharest has made to common efforts to manage migration, by means of constant
participation to FRONTEX activities, by means of actions to relocate people in
need of international assistance in the wake of search and rescue operations in
the Mediterranean. Originally slated for March 2011, Romania’s Schengen
accession was repeatedly postponed due to opposition voiced by Member States
regarding insufficient reforms in the justice sector.

PENSIONS -
The Labor Ministry on Thursday started a large-scale assessment of the 5
million pensions in the public system by means of an EU-funded project that will
last 18 months. According to Labor Minister Raluca Turcan, based on this
assessment and on an upcoming law, a recalculation of pensions will follow.
Minister Turcan says discussions regarding a new pension law, which should
include a new formula for calculating pensions, will start within the month.
The last recalculation was operated in the 2005-2010 period. In other news,
children’s allowances will go up 20% starting February 1. Children aged 2-18
will receive some €44 per month. Children up to 2 years of age and those with
disabilities will receive €90 per month.

CORRUPTION -
Romania is one of the most corrupt countries in the EU, being bottom of a
ranking, the same as Hungary and Bulgaria, according to a Transparency
International report on the 2020 Corruption Perception Index. The ranking
reflects the perception of independent experts and businessmen on existing
corruption. Romania has a score of 44 points of a 100, the same as in 2012,
which, according to experts, indicate that the measures taken in the last 10
years have not been consistent, failing to change public perception on
corruption. The lack of transparency on public procurement, the underfunding of
the medical system, the lack of consistent measures to digitize administrative
processes are all constant issues at national level, which have only gotten
worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Romanian society, the report also shows,
has also lost its eagerness in sanctioning corruption and the lack of
integrity. (V.
Palcu)