September 3, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 03.09.2020, 19:46

COVID-19 – The
number of Covid infections in Romania stands at 90 thousand with a death toll
over 37 hundred. The country’s president Klaus Iohannis has again appealed for
compliance with prevention rules and regulations as worrying figures have been
reported during the pandemic. The president believes the school year can begin
on September 14 in Romania, but unless the situation improves, authorities are
considering alternative scenarios.

EU – The European Commission has greenlit an
investment worth €875 million from the Cohesion Fund to build the first phase
of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway in central Romania. This will be the first
motorway crossing the Carpathians, allowing for a better connectivity along the
Rhine-Danube corridor. The project will help ease traffic in Romania, boost
road traffic safety, reduce travel times and the costs for the transport of
passengers and goods, the EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform, Elisa
Ferreira has said. The European Commission has also adopted a funding worth
€578 million from the Cohesion Fund to improve the Romania’s disaster response
capacity. This investment will help improve the terrestrial, air and maritime
response through the purchase of new equipment and training of personnel.

MEETING – Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on
Thursday met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, as part of his second visit
to Israel. Talks focused on the contribution of the Romanian community in
Israel to the progress of Israeli society. Minister Aurescu said Romanians in
Israel serve as a bridge between the two countries, stressing the need to
preserve their Romanian cultural identity, particularly among the youth. At the
same time, the two officials discussed the prospect of the peacemaking process
in the Middle East. The Romanian Foreign Minister reiterated Romania’s
readiness to support the positive evolution of this file. Minister Aurescu also
met with Ofir Akunis, Israeli Minister for Regional Cooperation. On this
occasion, the two officials expressed a common interest to intensify cooperation
in the economic sector, with a focus on the need to identify projects that
should boost the two countries’ economies, including in the field of science,
research and innovation. Also on Thursday, Bogdan Aurescu paid an official
visit to Palestine, where he had consultations with Prime Minister Mohammad
Shtayyeh on bilateral relations and cooperation prospects, as well as on the
peace-making process in the region. The Romanian official expressed hope to
develop cooperation with Palestine in such fields as the economy, education or
home affairs. On Wednesday, the Romanian Foreign Minister also met with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two agreed to intensify bilateral political
dialogue. Additionally, Bogdan Aurescu also met with the Israeli Foreign
Minister, Gabi Ashkenazi. The two signed a cooperation agreement in the fields
of culture, education and sports and decided to set up a joint task force to
extend economic and trade cooperation.

HELICOPTERS – The Romanian company
ROMAERO and Sikorsky, which is part of the American group Lockheed Martin, have
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to setting up a Regional
Center for Black Hawk Equipping and Maintenance for Central Europe. Black Hawk
is the most commonly used multi-mission helicopter in the world. ROMAERO will
equip the helicopters both for military missions as well as for search and
rescue operations, emergency medical services, command and control missions or
transport of officials. The aircraft will be delivered from the PZL Mielec
factory in Poland, the biggest production plant owned by Lockheed Martin
outside the United States. Minister of Economy, Energy and the Business Sector,
Virgil Popescu, said the Memorandum creates the conditions to implement the
strategic partnerships Romania has signed with the United States and Poland.

NAVALNY – Western
leaders and institutions have firmly condemned the poisoning of Russian
opposition leader Alexei Navalny and called on Moscow to provide explanations
and assurances that the culprits will be brought to justice. Romania’s Foreign
Minister Bogdan Aurescu says that Navalny’s poisoning is completely
unacceptable and has called for a thorough and impartial investigation. On
Wednesday, Germany announced that Navalny, presently in a hospital in Berlin,
was poisoned with a novichok nerve agent. The use of chemical weapons under any
circumstances, is completely unacceptable and a breach of international law,
the head of the European diplomacy Josep Borrell said. The White House has also
voiced concern regarding the incident pledging cooperation with its allies to
bring the culprits to justice. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian
government, says the authorities in Moscow are ready to cooperate with the
German executive to uncover the circumstances of Navalny’s poisoning. This
fourth-generation nerve agent has been used to eliminate numerous Kremlin
critics, although Moscow has always denied any allegation.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Patricia Tig on Thursday lost to Donna Vekic of Croatia
in the second round at the US Open. Another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, is
playing Johanna Konta of Great Britain. In the men’s doubles, Horia Tecau and
Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands are playing Marcela Arevalo of San
Salvador and Jonny O’Mara of Great Britain.

(Translated by
D. Bilt & V. Palcu)