October 20, 2021
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 20.10.2021, 13:55
Covid-19. The Strategic Communication Group has today announced that 17,158 new Covid-19 cases were registered in the past 24 hours. Also, 423 related deaths were reported, of which 9 from before the reference timeframe. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has convened a meeting with all those responsible for managing the pandemic to decide the setting up of more restrictive measures, as the only way to curb the spread of the disease. On Tuesday, the head of state said that the preparation for the fourth wave of the epidemic in Romania was flawed, and the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 too slow. Vaccination is the only solution to stop the pandemic, the head of state said, adding that it is also necessary for parliament to adopt provisions on the green certificate or other measures to reduce human mobility and interaction in the short run.
Government. The one-party government proposed by the Prime Minister Designate Dacian Cioloş has not been endorsed by Parliament. Only 88 parliamentarians voted for, and 184 against. The outcome is no surprise, as the proposal would have needed 234 favorable votes for the government to be appointed and the Save Romania Union (USR) only has 80 MPS. The proposal included former ministers in the Liberal Citu Government, such as Stelian Ion, proposed for Justice, and Ioana Mihaila, for Health. The former Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna had been proposed for the Foreign Ministry’s portfolio. The new names included the environmental activist Mihai Gotiu proposed for the Environment Ministry, the former Prefect of Bucharest Alin Stoica for the Interior and the former military pilot Nicu Falcoi for Defense. The USR’s decision to go to parliament with a minority government was taken after the negotiations with former governing partners to rebuild the coalition had failed. PNL and UDMR said they did not want to resume collaboration with USR, because the former governing partner voted a motion against the Executive it was part of. The opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) call for snap elections. For that to be possible, the second PM designated by president Klaus Iohannis would have to fail having their government appointed by Parliament.
Visit. Security and stability in the Black Sea region are in the national interest of the United States and are critical to the security of the Eastern Flank, the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has said in a press conference in Bucharest, held together with his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă. According to the US official, it’s clear that the region is vulnerable to Russian aggression and we have seen this from the actions taking place in eastern Ukraine, the occupation of several parts of Georgia, the militarization of the Black Sea and the provocative air and sea drills. The US official has also stated that the US will continue to focus on the Black Sea area and to collaborate with its partners in the region. During his visit to Romania, Lloyd J. Austin III will visit the military base at Mihail Kogălniceanu (southeastern Romania). Romania is the third leg of the Defense Secretary’s tour, which has also included Georgia and Ukraine, before attending the NATO summit in Brussels starting on Thursday.
Green certificate. People caring for the elderly and other family members in Italy, the so-called badanti, can no longer work without the green certificate, the Italian Government has warned. If they are caught working without it, both employees and employers risk fines of 400 to 1500 Euro. Without a green certificate, they will have to leave those jobs, according to a statement by the Italian authorities, a few days after the decision became mandatory at national level. The same applies to housekeepers or nannies. The most affected are Romanian women, who are also the most sought after and who are currently holding most of such jobs. If left unemployed, they will have to return to Romania.
Poland. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in Strasbourg on Tuesday that the EU executive would act to defend the ‘common values’ of the European Union, following the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court challenging the primacy of European law. In reply, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has stated that Poland rejects the European Union’s ‘blackmail’, and that to his country, the Constitution remains the ‘supreme law’. Warsaw has been in open conflict with Brussels for several years now over controversial judicial reforms implemented by the right-wing populist party Law and Justice. More after the news.
