May 24, 2021

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Newsroom, 24.05.2021, 13:55

CONCERN The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has
voiced deep concern regarding the unacceptable decision by authorities in
Belarus to force a passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius to land in
Minsk. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has vehemently condemned the move, which
it considers very serious and by means of the embassy in Minsk has conveyed a
message to the authorities in Belarus over the need of the passengers to safely
resume their flight a.s.a.p. According to ministry, no assistance request has
been filed by any Romanian citizen so far.

COVID-19 The number of the new COVID-19 infections
is on a downward trend in Romania. Over 300 infections were announced on Sunday
the lowest number since July last year. The Covid-related deaths remain still
high though standing at 56. More and more hospitals around the country have
been reorganizing their activity against the background of the decreasing
number of patients. From 11 thousand last month, now their number now has
dropped to 3,600. The situation has also improved in IC units, which are presently
treating 590 people instead of 1000 last month.

ACCIDENT Concerning the cable car accident in the
Italian resort of Stresa, the local authorities haven’t so far notified the
consular office over the existence of Romanian citizens among the victims and
the General consulate in Turin has not received any assistance requests yet.
According to Radio Romania correspondent in Italy, 14 people have lost their
lives including two children. Italian and foreign tourists are allegedly among
the victims. The functioning of the aforementioned cable car had been
interrupted for several months during the pandemic and resumed in April. According
to the same sources, the accident occurred when a cable snapped plunging the car
into a pillar 300 meters before reaching the Mottarone peak at an altitude of
491 meters.

SCHOOL The Romanian Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu
has announced the national exams are to be held as scheduled and will be
attended in person. There will be two sessions hosting the National Evaluation Exam
and the Baccalaureate. In August schools will be able to stage more courses in an
attempt to offset the educational shortcomings caused by the pandemic. Teachers
are encouraged to stage summer camps and other activities in a bid to improve
the students’ education. We recall that last week all students in Bucharest and
other regions, where the infection rate dropped under 1 per thousand, came back
to schools in person. So 93% of Romania’s 3 million students were able to
return to school.

COUNCIL Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis is
today and tomorrow attending the special session of the European Council
underway in Brussels. High on the agenda are the EU coordination against the
background of the Covid-19 pandemic, fighting climate change, the EU’s relation
with Russia and the UK. Referring to the Covid-19 pandemic, the head of the
Romanian state is expected to stand for the rapid implementation of the digital
green certificates at the EU level on condition they should not hinder the free
movement. Regarding the climate change issue, Iohannis is expected to plead for
the setting up of a flexible legal framework to allow for the member states to
identify the best solutions for meeting the target of 55% cut in greenhouse
gases by the year 2030.

(bill)