May 13, 2020

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Newsroom, 13.05.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 ThThe COVID-19 death toll in Romania has reached 1016,
the Strategic Communication Group announced today. According to the latest
official data, the total number of cases is over 16,000, of which almost 8,000 patients
have recovered. The largest number of cases is reported in Suceava (north-east)
and in the capital Bucharest. Among the Romanians living abroad, more than 2,850
have so far tested positive for the virus, mostly in Italy, Spain and Germany,
and 102 have died since the start of the pandemic.

BILL The bill introduced by the Government with respect to the state of alert set to replace the state of emergency on May 15, is debated and voted on today in the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making parliamentary body in this case. The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday, but the text was substantially amended, mostly by the Social Democrats in opposition. Under the bill, the state of alert can only be in place for 30 days at most, and its introduction must be approved by Parliament. A number of articles were also scrapped, regulating among others the work of public administration institutions, criticised by most parties on grounds of introducing excessive political control on the administration. The bill concerns the introduction of temporary and gradual measures to prevent and contain the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, so as to safeguard citizens right to life, health and physical integrity at the cost of restricting other fundamental rights and freedoms.

MOTION Romanian Deputies are today voting on a simple motion tabled by the Social Democratic Party in Opposition against the Liberal finance minister Florin Cîţu. “The countrys resources must no longer be pawned, Romania must be saved from the ‘Florin Cîţu virus,’ and the finance minister must go, reads the text of the motion. The Social Democrats claim Cîţu proved unable to come up with efficient measures to support the economy. On Monday, when the motion was debated, minister Cîţu accused the Social Democrats of using the virus to promote their political agenda. He said that during the 2 months of the governments implementing measures to restart the economy, the Social Democrats tried to amend them in Parliament in a populist manner. Had their amendments been passed, Romania would have been in economic chaos, Florin Citu added.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT The Constitutional Court of Romania Wednesday ruled that the government emergency order regulating the state of alert is constitutional, but it cannot restrict citizen rights. The Court was notified by the Ombudsman, who claims that fundamental rights and freedoms can only be restricted by law, and not by emergency or government orders. Delegating legislative powers that affects citizens rights comes against the principle of the separation of powers, under which Parliament is the countrys only legislative authority, the Ombudsman argued. The Constitutional Court had previously ruled that the fines issued during the state of emergency were unconstitutional.

ECONOMY Romanias economy is expected to shrink 4% this year, as against a 3.2% growth rate predicted in November 2019, reads a report made public on Wednesday by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The EBRD lowered its estimates concerning the Romanian economy in 2020, as a result of the corona crisis. For 2021, the institution expects a 4% growth of Romanias GDP. The EBRD is the main institutional investor in Romania, with investments totalling over 8.6 billion euros. The European Commission has also adjusted its estimates for the Romanian economy this year and expects a substantial, 6% fall after years of robust growth, while the government deficit is forecast to reach 9.2% of the GDP this year. In turn, the IMF expects Romanias economy to drop 5% in 2020, and to recover in 2021, when a 3.9% growth rate is predicted.

PANDEMIC There are over 4.3 million cases of coronavirus infections worldwide, with the death toll standing at nearly 293,000. 1.6 million patients have recovered so far. In the US, the worst hit country in the world, the number of deaths is over 82,000. Russia, with more than 232,000 cases, comes second. China announced plans to test all the 11 million locals in Wuhan, the region where the outbreak started, after several new infections were reported early this week.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)