June 23, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news.

Newsroom, 23.06.2021, 20:00

VISIT – Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu will go on a regional tour to South Caucasus together with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg and the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. The tour, that includes visits to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia and takes place between June 24 and 26, will highlight the importance that the European Union attaches to its bilateral relations with these countries, to the South Caucasus region, and to the EU’s Eastern Partnership framework. The visit signals the EU’s readiness to support broader cooperation both with and between the South Caucasus countries, including through the opportunities available under the Eastern Partnership. Also, the visit will underscore the EU’s determination to promote and actively support sustainable and comprehensive conflict settlement efforts. The three ministers will have high-level meetings in Baku, Erevan and Tbilisi and consultations with their counterparts in the countries visited. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has said the visit is very important to Romania, for which South Caucasus has a high geostrategic importance and that solving the prolonged conflicts in the Black Sea region is a strategic goal.

NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION – The Social Democratic Party (PSD) in opposition, on Wednesday filed and read in Parliament a no-confidence motion against the centre-right coalition government led by the Liberal Florin Cîţu, which will be voted on next week. PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, says the motion, the first of its kind in the current Parliament, has every chance to pass. His party accuses the Cîţu government, which came to power six months ago, of inefficiency and leading the countrys economy to disaster and says the peoples living standards have dropped. It also says the government has failed with respect to the vaccine roll-out and Romanias recovery and resilience plan. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu says he is confident the motion will not pass, while the Liberals leader Ludovic Orban says Liberal MPs will attend the debate of the motion but will abstain from voting, to prove what he calls “the lack of majority and the uselessness of this petty political move of the Social Democrats.”

OMBUDSMAN – The Venice Commission sent a letter to the speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament requesting additional information about Renate Webers dismissal as Ombudsman. The Parliament in Bucharest on Wednesday begun procedures to appoint a new Ombudsman. The only candidate for the post, Fabian Gyula from the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and backed by the ruling coalition, was interviewed by the legal committees of the two chambers and received their positive opinion. The official appointment will most likely be made by Parliament next Monday. We recall that last week, in a joint session the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament dismissed Renate Weber from the position of Ombudsman. She was accused of breaking the law to serve the interests of the Social Democratic Party, now in opposition, which appointed her. In response, the Social Democrats accused the government of wanting an Ombudsman who doesnt challenge its decisions and contested Renate Webers dismissal in the Constitutional Court, which will discuss the case on 29th June. The Social Democrats believe the parliamentary majority should wait for the Courts decision before voting in a new Ombudsman, given the letter received from the Venice Commission.

EU – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is attending a meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. According to a statement from the presidents office, the agenda of the talks will again feature issues such as European coordination in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Unions economic recovery process, the management of migration and the EUs relations with Russia. Iohannis will also attend the Euro Summit in extended format which will tackle the economic challenges of the euro zone during the pandemic and the progress made with respect to the banking and capital market union. EU leaders will also have talks with UN secretary general António Guterres, whose mandate has been extended for a further five years.

CORONAVIRUS — The Bucharest authorities announced on Wednesday 66 new infections with the novel coronavirus in 24 hours, out of over 32,000 tests. 16 deaths were recorded in last 24 hours and a further 150 dating from earlier this year and which are only now being recorded by public health directorates around the country at the request of the health ministry. 141 patients are in intensive care. The Senate passed two decisions approving the regulations proposed by the European Parliament with respect to the framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of the digital green certificates. These documents will become valid in the European Union from 1st July. The regulations will cease to apply when the pandemic is over and can be used again in the event of another pandemic.

WEATHER – On Thursday and Friday, the west of Romania is under a red code alert for heat and thermal discomfort, with temperatures forecast to hit 39 to 41 degrees Celsius and the temperature-to-humidity ratio to pass the critical level as the dew point is expected to hit 80. Two people died following heavy rains in recent days. The eastern half of the country is at risk of more flooding and the authorities are advising the population not to travel to flood-risk areas and to places where a hydrological alert is in place and to avoid activities on river banks or near waterways. (EE)