May 28, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 28.05.2021, 20:00

Vaccination.
The European Medicines
Agency on Friday authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in 12-15
year-olds. This becomes the first vaccine to be administered to adolescents in
the 27 EU member states. In Romania, the number of new Covid cases continues to drop
in Romania. 321 new cases and 43 new fatalities were recorded on Friday. Capital
city Bucharest and all the other counties are now in the so-called green zone.
Since the vaccine rollout began in Romania in late December, over 3.3 million people
have been fully vaccinated. Over 1,000 physicians, nurses and auxiliary staff have
volunteered for the second edition of a vaccination marathon held this weekend
in Bucharest. Over 20,000 people were given the vaccine during the first edition
held earlier in May. New relaxation measures are to come into effect from June
1st. The government has established the conditions in which wearing face masks
is no longer mandatory in workplaces, how many people can take part in various
events and what entertainment facilities may open.

Aid. The government in Bucharest approved the
delivery of more humanitarian aid for the neighbouring Romanian-speaking
Republic of Moldova to help the authorities there to contain the pandemic.
According to the Health Ministry, the aid consists of 100 thousand doses of the
AstraZeneca vaccine. In another development, state secretary with the Romanian
Foreign Ministry Dan Neculaescu is on a working visit to Cernauti with a view
to providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine. He will meet representatives of the ethnic
Romanian community in Ukraine and have talks with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister
Vasyl Bodnar and with officials from the Regional State Administration in
Cernauti.

Corruption. The National Anticorruption
Directorate said in a statement that 48 people were convicted in April in corruption
cases, including the president of a county council, a city deputy mayor, a
Bucharest sector mayor, a president and two directors of the Bucharest Chamber
of Trade and Industry, a county police chief, an army doctor, the president of
the College of Physicians in Romania. The crimes committed include taking and
giving bribe, trafficking in influence and embezzling European funds, while the
sentences range from 6 years in prison to 10 months delayed sentence.

IMF. The IMF experts believe the Romanian
authorities should relaunch the fight against corruption and efforts to make
public administration more efficient, as well as improve the governance of
state companies, read the conclusions published after an assessment mission of
the Romanian economy. Romania’s efforts to fight corruption during the EU
accession period have been recognized internationally. However, both the fight
against corruption and efforts to improve government effectiveness need to be
re-energized. There cannot be convergence of living standards to those in
richer EU economies without convergence in economic governance standards, the
report says. IMF experts also believe
that Romanian authorities should also focus on reversing
the worsening financial performance of state enterprises, which will require
enhanced monitoring and necessary reforms in the energy and transport sectors.
Strengthening the governance of SOEs will be crucial for absorbing EU funds,
bridging public infrastructure gaps with EU peers and meeting climate targets. Better
corporate governance of SOEs would be an important first step, the IMF reports
also says.

NATO. NATO deputy secretary general and former
Romanian politician Mircea Geoană travels to Romania on Monday to visit the Headquarters
of the Multinational Division South-East which is taking part in the NATO Steadfast
Defender exercise, the North Atlantic Alliance said in a statement on Friday.
Together with the chairman of the NATO military committee, air chief marshal Stuart Peach, Geoană will
meet Romanian defence minister Nicolae Ciucă and chief of defence staff,
lieutenant general Daniel Petrescu. He will also attend talks as part of the
Atlantic- Black Sea Security Forum hosted by Aspen Institute from Romania.
During his visit Geoană will also attend the opening of the Euro-Atlantic
Centre for Resilience together with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, foreign
minister Bogdan Aurescu and the Vice-President
of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations Maroš Šefčovič. A
former Washington ambassador and Social Democrat politician, Mircea
Geoană served as foreign minister between 2000 and 2004, when Romania joined
NATO.

Recovery. Building post-pandemic Romania is not
just about returning to what was before, but significant progress towards a new
stage, and this can only be achieved through the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan, said president Klaus Iohannis on Friday. He called for
mobilisation and solidarity to support and implement the plan, days before the
document is submitted by the government to the European Commission. Investments
cannot work without reforms, he explained, saying Romania has around 80 billion
euros at its disposal. Now is the time for all responsible political forces to
leave party interests behind, to show solidarity and responsibility and support
this national effort, the president also said. The Social Democratic Party in
opposition says the government committed to austerity measures in the plan and
that it will file a no-confidence motion.
Each member state must present an investment plan in Brussels, with 19
countries having already done so.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Irina Bara
reached the main draw at Roland Garros as she defeated Poland’s Magdalena Frech in her final qualifying round on Friday. Bara’s
best result in Paris was last year, when she reached as far as the last 16. She
is the 6th Romanian player on the main draw in Paris this year,
alongside Sorana Cîrstea, Patricia Ţig, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan and Mihaela
Buzărnescu. World no. 3 Simona Halep will not compete at Roland Garros because
of an injury. She won here in 2018 and lost in the final in 2014 and 2017. Also
on Friday, Sorana Cîrstea reached the final of the Strasbourg tournament after
defeating Poland’s Magda Linette in the semis in three sets. She will face the
winner of the other semifinal between Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic
and Jule Niemeier of Germany. (CM)