June 26, 2021 UPDATE

Events held in Romania to celebrate National Flag Day./ Foreign ministers of Romania, Austria and Lithuania end South Caucasus diplomatic trip on behalf of EU.

Newsroom, 26.06.2021, 19:00

Covid-19. 62 new Covid cases
from over 27,000 tests were reported in Romania on Saturday, as well as 6 new
related deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours. 532 Covid patients are
receiving hospital treatment, including 97 in intensive care. More than 4.7
million Romanians have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, which
accounts for 25% of the country’s eligible population. A further easing of
coronavirus restrictions will come into effect from 1st July.

Flag Day. On
National Flag Day on Saturday, president Klaus Iohannis issued a statement
saying the Romanian flag witnessed the most important events in modern Romanian
history and symbolises the link between the country’s past, present and future.
Together with the coat of arms and the anthem, the flag, the president also
said, forms part of the national identity and represents the unity of the
Romanian nation, the independence, sovereignty and indivisible nature of the
state. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban, who attended events in Iaşi to
celebrate National Flag Day, spoke about the importance of the flag in the
development of the Romanian state and the challenges faced by Romanians
throughout history. Various military and cultural events were held to mark
National Flag Day. In June 1848, the revolutionary government in Bucharest
established, in its first decree, blue, yellow and red as the colours of the
Romanian flag.

Diplomacy. During talks with Georgian officials in Tbilisi on Saturday, Romanian
foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu highlighted the risks posed by the protracted conflicts on Georgian
territory and the region to regional security and stability and reiterated
Romania’s and the European Union’s support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty
of this state within its internationally-recognised borders. Aurescu together
with his Austrian and Lithuanian counterparts were on a diplomatic tour of
South Caucasus as mandated by the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. On Friday
in Yerevan and Baku, the three ministers had talks with high officials from
Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively, reiterating the priority given by both
the European Union and member states to the stability and security of the
states in this region, including through enhanced involvement to find sustainable
solutions to protracted conflicts. According to a statement from the ministry
in Bucharest, Aurescu conveyed the European Union’s commitment to continue
efforts to diffuse tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with solutions to
achieve this including Azerbaijan’s release of the persons detained in last
year’s conflict and Armenia’s release of the map of land mines. Sensitive
subjects were tackled relating to general conflict regulation, such as
humanitarian access to the region affected by the conflict, demarcation of
borders and the pull-out of troops from the border area, with minister Aurescu
singling out the processes in which the European Union may become involved.

Healthcare. The government on
Saturday approved the framework agreement for the conditions for providing
medical care, medicine and medical devices, technologies and assistive devices
as part of the health insurance system for 2021-2022. The bill aims to increase
the share of primary and outpatient care and reduce unjustified hospitalisation.
The bill also introduces further specialist services provided through primary
and outpatient care, such as remote consultations for chronic patients,
psychiatric therapy and medical-related services provided by psychologists and
speech therapists.

Tennis. Romania’s Monica Niculescu
reached the Wimbledon main draw after defeating the American player Kristie Ahn
in straight sets on Friday in the last qualifying round. Romania has six
players on the women’s singles main draw at Wimbledon, which gets under way on
Monday: Sorana Cîrstea, Patricia Ţig, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan, Mihaela
Buzărnescu and Monica Niculescu. World no. 3 Simona Halep and the winner in
London two years ago, on Friday pulled out of the tournament with calf injury. (CM)