November 9, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 09.11.2021, 19:21
Government. The National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, which until recently have been known as fierce opponents, on Tuesday started negotiations over the formation of a new Government and parliament majority. The talks were also attended by representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and of the other national minorities, which will be part of the alliance. Negotiations will continue on Wednesday by chapters. After establishing a common governing program, the negotiations will focus on the configuration of the new Executive. The Social Democratic Party, which won the parliamentary elections a year ago, but is currently in the opposition, would like a number of ministers corresponding with its share of seats in parliament. The Liberals wouldnt give up the office of Prime Minister and that of Foreign Minister. Following the National Liberal Partys decision to form a new government with the Social Democrats, the Save Romania Union, a coalition partner before Septembers breakup, has announced it becomes an opposition party, criticizing the current coalition which is possible, they say, because of the Liberals weakness and countrys president, Klaus Iohannis, endorsing it. The former president of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, has critized his colleagues decision to negotiate with the Social Democrats, recalling that the entire election campaign was against the Social Democratic Party and in favour of a centre-right governing.
Covid-19. The state of alert has been extended for another 30 days in Romania, and the current measures and restrictions remain in force until December 9. Only vaccinated people and those who have had the disease in the last 6 months are allowed to get out of the house during the night, the protective mask is mandatory, including outdoors, and the green certificate is mandatory for access to restaurants, shopping malls and other activities. The number of infections has been decreasing lately. About 7,600 new cases and nearly 500 deaths were reported on Tuesday. So far, a little over 6.5 million people have been fully vaccinated. According to the president of the National Committee for Vaccination, the military doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, Bucharest has a vaccine coverage of over 63% of the eligible population over the age of 12. He also said that, if the current vaccination rate is maintained, about 50% of the Romanians will be immunized by the end of the year, which, however, is by no means enough.
Visit. The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu held consultations in Washington on Monday with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the invitation of the latter. The possibility of including Romania in the Visa Waiver program, which could eliminate visas for Romanian citizens traveling to the United States, but also aspects relating to the Strategic Partnership between the two countries were the main topics of the meeting. The two officials agreed that Romania and the USA should strengthen their cooperation in the political, security and defense fields. In another move, the Romanian official evoked the prospects of Romanias accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as one of the major foreign policy priorities of the country. He thanked his US counterpart for the USs support in this regard.
Economy. Romanias trade deficit amounted to 16.740 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, by almost 3.9 billion bigger than in the same period last year, according to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. In September 2021, exports stood at 6.33 billion and imports at 8.481 billion euros. In another development, the EU finance ministers agreed on Monday that the high level of public debt caused by the pandemic must be reduced, but in a way that does not affect the growth of the economy, Reuters reports.
Migration. Poland has announced that it has blocked an attempt by thousands of migrants to illegally cross its border with Belarus, the BBC reports. Warsaw authorities accuse Belarus of trying to provoke a major border confrontation, encouraging migrants to travel from the Middle East to Minsk and then force their way into Poland. NATO is monitoring the situation and has given assurances that it will defend the security of its members, including Lithuania and Latvia, the other member states facing migratory pressures from Belarus. This is not the first time that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have faced waves of migrants, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, who are trying to arrive illegally, especially in Germany. The EU has repeatedly accused Belarus of bringing these migrants into EU territory in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on Minsk for violating human rights and for Alexandr Lukashenko rigging the presidential election.
Tennis. Second seed Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Linz (Austria), with 190 thousand euros in prize money. On Tuesday, she defeated the Belarusian Aleksandra Sasnovici in two sets: 7-5, 6-3. Also on Tuesday, another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian, qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament in Linz, after the Swedish Rebecca Peterson abandoned the game at the score of 5-2 in favour of the Romanian player. (MI)
