June 17, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 17.06.2021, 20:07

Visit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, discussed, on Thursday, in Tallinn, with the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, the prospects of the bilateral relationship, topics of mutual interest on the European agenda, as well as priority topics at regional and multilateral level. Bilaterally, the President of Romania emphasized the desire to strengthen economic cooperation, including by intensifying trade. During the discussions, the common interest for the development of cooperation in the digital sector was highlighted, in this context President Iohannis emphasizing the interest for cooperation in the field of cyber security and artificial intelligence, given the experience in this field of Estonia and also of Romania, which hosts the new Cyber ​​Center of the European Union, the Presidential Administration in Bucharest states in a press release. During the discussion with the President of the Estonian Parliament, Jüri Ratas, the Romanian head of state expressed interest in intensifying parliamentary cooperation. The meetings with the two Estonian officials were followed by the laying of a wreath at the War of Independence Monument and a visit to Tallinn City Hall, as well as visits, together with the Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, at the e-Estonia Center and the Unicorn Squad start-up. “Romania and Estonia share common visions and interests at the level of the European Union, which facilitates the close cooperation between us in relation to the current agenda and the priorities of the Union in the future”, President Iohannis said.

Covid-19RO. The president of the National Committee for the Coordination of Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in Romania, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced on Thursday that the vaccination coverage at national level stood at almost 25% of the eligible population. According to the military doctor, the highest vaccination coverage rates were registered in Bucharest – almost 45% of the eligible population – and Cluj (northwest) – with over 41%. The Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health Andrei Baciu pointed out that vaccination is the solution at hand until a possible treatment appears. On the other hand, all counties and Bucharest remain in the green scenario in terms of new infections, the highest incidence per thousand inhabitants being reported in the counties of Prahova (south) and Alba (center) – 0.2, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Thursday. In the Capital, the infection rate remained at 0.12 cases per thousand inhabitants, as the day before. 87 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infected people were recorded in the last 24 hours, among some 27,400 tests performed. There were also 87 deaths reported, but 82 of them were from last year and the first half of this year, introduced in the database following updates by the Public Health Directorates, at the request of the Ministry of Health. Since the onset of the pandemic, 31,115 people diagnosed with Covid-19 have died in Romania. 944 infected people are hospitalized in specialized health units, of which 186 in intensive care .

Ombudsman. A new Ombudsman will be appointed by the Bucharest Parliament next Wednesday, according to the calendar established on Thursday by the Legislatures leadership, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban has announced. He has specified that candidacies from the parliamentary groups will be submitted until Tuesday, and the vote will be held the next day, in the plenary of the two Chambers. Also on Thursday, the Opposition Social Democratic Party announced that it would challenge at the Constitutional Court the parliamentary majoritys decision to dismiss Renate Weber from the office of Ombudsman.

Public Radio and TV. The Constitutional Court of Romania admitted, on Thursday, the claim filed by the Social Democratic Party (in opposition) and ruled that Parliaments decisions regarding the appointment of the interim general directors of the public radio and television were unconstitutional. The judges invoked the failure to observe several articles in the law on the functioning of the two public institutions, including the one regarding the transition between two legislatures in which appointing interim directors of the public radio and television stations is allowed. In a statement for Radio Romania News, the former president of the RCC, Augustin Zegrean, claims that Parliament can review the decisions to appoint the two interims by resuming the procedure. Liviu Popescu and Ramona Săseanu were appointed interim directors of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation and of the Romanian Public Television respectively, on May 11, after the activity reports on several years, submitted by the former managements, were rejected by the Romanian Parliament.

Task Force. The French Defense Minister Florence Parly on Thursday welcomed in a Twitter message Romanias decision to deploy 45 soldiers for the Takuba Task Force which assists Malian Armed Forces in Sahel. France Presse reports that Romanias aid comes at a time when France is counting on this mobilization to reduce its staff in the region. “We thank our Romanian friends for their commitment”, the French official said. Romanian senators and deputies approved on Wednesday the draft decision on the participation of the Romanian Army with forces, means and equipment in the European mission Takuba Task Force in Sahel, under the leadership of France, starting with the fourth quarter of 2021. We recall that in March 2020, 13 states announced the creation of the Takuba Task Force to combat terrorist groups in the Liptako region, at the confluence of the African states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

European Commission. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen continued her European tour on Thursday, with stops in Greece and Denmark to present the Commissions assessment of these countries national recovery and resilience plans, under which EU money will be spent on economic after the Covid-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the European Commission approved the first plans. One is that of Portugal, which holds the six-month presidency of the EU Council and was the first to send its reform and investment program to Brussels in April. After Lisbon, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, went to Madrid, where she announced the approval of the plan submitted by Spain, which, after Italy, benefits from the most generous amount of investments, of almost 70 billion euros. On Friday, the President of the Community Executive will arrive in Luxembourg.

Euro2020.The Ukrainian national football team defeated the team of North Macedonia with the score of 2-1, on Thursday, in Bucharest, in Group C of the final tournament EURO 2020. Its for the first time in history that the Romanian capital hosts four matches, one in group C and one in the round of sixteen. In the first match played on Sunday in Bucharest in the group that also includes the Netherlands, Austria defeated North Macedonia 3-1. The last match of group C hosted by the National Arena in the Romanian capital will take place on June 21 between Ukraine and Austria. The round of sixteen match in Bucharest will take place on June 28. At the current edition of EURO 2020, Romania has, also for the first time, two brigades of referees. Unfortunately, due to a mediocre run in the preliminaries, the Romanian national team is not participating in the competition. (MI)