May 26, 2021

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Newsroom, 26.05.2021, 13:55

CERTIFICATE During the special European Council meeting last
night the leaders of the 27 EU members endorsed the green certificate, which
should allow for the opening of borders and ease travel inside the bloc.
According to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the
infrastructure for the implementation of the green certificate is to be ready
by June 1st and the member states can connect into the system in mid-June. Also
attending the meeting, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis stood for the
rapid and unitary implementation of this certificate, which must not infringe
upon the citizens’ right to free movement.

COVID-19 As of today the anti-Covid vaccination centers in the
medical units of Romania’s Interior Ministry are open for all people above 18
within the limit of the vaccine supplies. Those willing to get the jab can
visit one of these 11 centers in Bucharest and other big cities around Romania without
an appointment. According to data released by the RO Vaccination platform,
since the vaccine rollout kicked off in Romania in late December last year,
roughly 26% of Romania’s eligible population, (more than 4 million people), has
got at least the first dose of the anti-Covid vaccine. According to the same
sources, over 3.3 million people have got the booster. Romania’s Prime Minister
Florin Citu has announced that the government is going to launch a
pro-vaccination media campaign but those who aren’t vaccinated are not going to
be discriminated against. In another development, the number of new infections
has maintained its downward trend with 381 infections reported on Tuesday and
63 fatalities. The death toll has exceeded 30 thousand. 545 patients are being
treated in IC units across the country.

PLAN Prime Minister Florin Citu is today presenting before
Parliament in Bucharest the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR). Parliament
groups are subsequently going to have their say over the document, which is to
be submitted to the EU officials by the end of the month. The briefing has been
requested by the opposition PSD, which conditioned it on their endorsement of a
European treaty calling for higher contributions from the member states to the
EU budget and which needs the approval of two thirds of the Legislature. The
Social Democrats have lashed out at the PNRR, which comprises measures to
freeze pensions, salaries and other benefits as well as higher taxes and duties
to be levied on various enterprises. The PNRR will allegedly allow Romania to
access 30 billion euros worth of EU funds for development.

TENNIS Romania’s tennis player Sorana Cirstea (61st
WTA) is today taking on 41st WTA Shuai Zhang of China in a match
counting towards the round of 16 of the tennis tournament in Strasbourg. The only
match the two played was in 2008 in Cuneo, Italy, which the Romanian won.
Cirstea has qualified for the round of 16 after a victory against US challenger
Venus Williams, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, the first obtained by Cirstea against Venus.

PROTEST The ‘Farmers’ Force’ association is staging a
protest in Bucharest today in an attempt to denounce Romania’s underfunded agriculture.
The farmers are expected to drive their tractors to Parliament, the world’s
second largest administrative building, in a move, which will seriously disrupt
road traffic in Romania’s capital city Bucharest. One of the farmers’ claims is
that Romania’s agriculture must be included among the strategic priorities this
year. The farmers have suggestively entitled their protest ‘Political leaders,
how did the farmers wrong you this time?’ We recall that in February this year,
Romanian farmers picketed the Ministry of Agriculture to protest a government’s
decision not to include drought compensations in the state budget law.

(bill)