November 4, 2021 UPDATE

A news update

Newsroom, 04.11.2021, 20:07

Covid — Almost 9,000 SARS-CoV-2 contamination in 24 hours and 489 deaths, of which 55 prior to the reference interval, were announced on Thursday in Romania. All beds in ICUs at national level are occupied, and 1,902 patients are hospitalized, of whom 33 are children. Most new cases were registered in Bucharest, where the incidence rate stands at 12.44 cases per thousand inhabitants, on a downward trend for 13 days. The president of the Medical College, Daniel Coriu, stated that over 92% of the infected people who have died were not vaccinated against COVID. The vaccination rate has slowed in recent days, after it was on an upward trend for two weeks. Over 82 thousand people have got vaccinated against Covid in the past 24 hours, of whim 43 thousand with the first dose. The total number of fully vaccinated people is a little over 6,400,000.

Government — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on Thursday evening that he would call the parties for consultations when an assumed parliamentary majority that wants to propose a government is formed. According to him, it is clear that the attempts at forming minority governments have not yielded results. Iohannis recalled that the latest proposal did not gather enough votes in Parliament and the Ciuca Government did not go for approval in Parliament. The last Prime Minister designate, the liberal Nicolae Ciucă, relinquished his mandate, on Monday, after having failed to obtain parliamentary support for a minority government made up of the PNL – UDMR. The first person President Iohannis appointed as prime minister was the USR leader, Dacian Ciolos, who did not gain Parliament’s support. We remind you that the government led by the liberal Florin Citu was dismissed by a censure motion. Meanwhile, negotiations between the parties continue. The Liberal representatives discussed on Thursday with those of the opposition Social Democratic Party – PSD for the formation of a government with full powers and a stable majority in Parliament. On Wednesday, the Liberals resumed negotiations with USR and according to the PNL leader, Florin Cîţu, there are great chances for the right-wing coalition to be rebuilt. USR leader Dacian Cioloş was more reserved and is waiting for the Liberals decision, after discussions with PSD.

EBRD – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD has significantly improved its estimates on Romania’s economic growth in 2021 forecasting a 7.2% growth this year as against 6% as it estimated in June, a report published on Thursday shows. In 2022 the Recovery and Resilience Facility could lead to a rise in investment and a gradual increase in exports whereas the reduced private consumption and the fiscal consolidation could translate into a 4.4% GDP growth, the bank experts believe. According to them the main risk is posed by the development of the pandemic as Romania has the second slowest EU vaccination rate. According to the EBRD, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria are seeing a significant economic recovery after the difficult year 2020. Romania’s main growth engine seems to be its domestic demand.

Tax evasion – The European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) coordinated an action following which 4 people were arrested and 23 million Euros worth of assets were confiscated in a tax evasion case in the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia. According to an EPPO statement, those arrested are suspected of organized crime and tax evasion. The core of the criminal activity was located in Hamburg (Germany), and the money laundering was organized by companies from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with important connections in Romania. EPPO started operating on 1 June this year, being an independent EU body in charge of investigating, prosecuting and arraignment of those who perpetrated crimes against the EUs financial interests, including: fraud, corruption, money laundering, cross border VAT fraud. 22 of the 27 EU states are members of the EPPO.

COP 26 — Nuclearelectrica executive director Cosmin Ghiţă and NuScale Power (USA) President and CEO John Hopkins on Thursday signed in Glasgow the official documents of the agreement based on which the two companies will work together to build a small modular nuclear reactor (Small Modular Reactor – SMR) in Romania. The power plant will be the first of its kind built in Europe. Nucleaelectrica and NuScale Power have concluded the partnership for its construction at a recent meeting of the heads of state, government officials, non-governmental associations and scientists at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

Foreign workers — The Romanian Labor Ministry suggest an increase in the number of newly admitted foreign workers on the Romanian labor market to 100,000 by 2022, double the figure reported in 2021. Foreign labor force is needed for the construction of residential and non-residential buildings, restaurants and road transport of goods. According to data provided by the General Inspectorate for Immigration, most foreign citizens who come to work in Romania are from Vietnam, the Republic of Moldova, Turkey and Nepal.

WHO — The World Health Organization is concerned about the deteriorating health situation in Europe, currently considered the epicenter of the pandemic. According to the organizations director for Europe, Hans Kluge, the current transmission rate is worrying in several countries, and if the trend continues, there could be half a million new deaths by February. According to the WHO, the most complicated situations are currently reported in Eastern European countries that have poor vaccination coverage. Most deaths reported in the last seven days were registered in Russia, over 8,000, in Ukraine, 3,800 and in Romania, 3,100. The UK and Belgium have also been facing a surge in the number of new contaminations. A record number of new infections, almost 34,000, in 24 hours, has been reported in Germany, a situation that it last faced in December last year.

Wrestling — The Romanian athlete Andreea Beatrice Ana won the gold medal in the 55 kg category on Thursday, in the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, after defeating the Russian Viktoria Vaulina in the final. Also on Thursday, another Romanian, Stefania Claudia Priceputu, won the bronze medal in the 50 kg category, after defeating the Tunisian, Sarra Hamdi (LS)