November 23, 2021

A news roundup

Newsroom, 23.11.2021, 16:35

COVID – In Romania, on Tuesday, the authorities announced over 2,700 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Also, 273 deaths were reported, of which 34 are from previous days. More than 11,100 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, 1,539 being in ICUs. 150 of the ICU patients are vaccinated. A study by a Romanian medical company shows that the third vaccine dose increases by more than 10 times the number of antibodies as compared to the values recorded 6 months after the 2nd dose, having a very high efficiency against severe forms of COVID-19. The authors of the study say that the effectiveness of the third dose was noticed in all age groups without major differences between them.

Government program – In Bucharest, the prime minister designate, Nicolae Ciucă, is to submit, today, in Parliament, the governing program and the makeup of the new Government. The decision comes following the consultations that President Klaus Iohannis had, on Monday, with the parliamentary parties, at the end of which the interim Defense Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, was appointed Prime Minister. He is supported by a political majority that includes the PNL, PSD, UDMR and the Group of National Minorities.

PSD — The PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, was elected on Tuesday Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament. Cristina Prună representing USR also ran for this position. The ballot was secret. The position has been vacant since October 18, following the resignation of the former PNL leader Ludovic Orban after he lost the party leadership elections. According to the Rules of Procedure, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies is elected for the entire duration of the legislature. Also on Tuesday, the plenum of the Senate revoked Anca Dragu, representing USR, from the position of Speaker of the Senate, following the change of the parliamentary majority. The vote was secret, by card.

Survey – Romania climbed one position, to the 44th place out of 168 countries, in a world ranking made according to the quality of life and social welfare, but it is still on the last place among the EU member states, after Hungary and Bulgaria. Romania registered 78.41 points out of 100, a slightly higher score than in the previous year and is included in the ranking’s the third category, after Argentina, Hungary and Bulgaria, shows the study Social Progress Index (IPS) 2021 on the quality of life and social welfare, carried out by the non-profit organization Social Progress Imperative, with the support of Deloitte. Globally, Norway remains on top position with a score of 92.63 points. In 2021, the first places in the ranking, after Norway, are held by Finland and Denmark, and on the last placed Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

Visit – The Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population), enjoys overwhelming, lasting and cross-party support in Bucharest. ‘We are all dedicated to consolidating the bilateral Strategic Partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration and advancing on the path of reforms’, said Klaus Iohannis fresh from his meeting, in Bucharest, with his Moldovan counterpart, pro-Western Maia Sandu. He added that Romania would remain the closest friend of the Republic of Moldova. In her turn, Maia Sandu stated that she wanted to boost the partnership between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the Iași-Ungheni gas pipeline, operational from October 1, in the midst of the energy crisis. ‘We are counting on Romanias voice in the EU because European integration is our main objective’, the official from Chisinau also said. The agenda of talks also included, among others, institution consolidation, attracting investments, infrastructure projects, education, justice, and energy security. It is the first official visit the President of the Rep. Moldova pays to Romania, after the early parliamentary elections on July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS) by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of celebrating 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations this year, after Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow in 1991. (LS)