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The Week in Review July 11-18, 2020

The state of alert extended in Romania

Against the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Romania, the country extended the state of alert for thirty more days as of July 17. The authorities specified that relaxation is out of the question, but that they would not introduce further restrictions either. Still standing are measures such as the obligation to wear a mask and social distance in enclosed public spaces, in shops, in public transportation, and at work. Rallies and demonstrations in open air are also banned. Within localities it is forbidden to circulate in groups larger than 6 people who are not part of the same family. Private events indoors cannot have more than 20 people in the same place, and 50 in outdoor places. Restaurants remain closed unless they have outdoor seating. Shops in malls stay open, but movie theaters and playgrounds are still closed. Mass in church is permitted, but only provided the faithful wear masks and keep the recommended distance. At the same time, may flights are still grounded, and some border crossings are closed. Ahead of participating in the European Council summit in Brussels, aimed at issuing a budget for the next seven years for the EU, and a budget to counteract the effects of the pandemic on the economy, President Klaus Iohannis said that Bucharest would continue to take measures to lead to economic recovery. On Thursday, several bills aimed at economic recovery were endorsed by the executive. Among them are funds for digitization and training of workers, to benefit companies of all sizes. Young people would get support for start-ups, and 200 billion Euro were allocated for setting up companies in the rural environment. Another bill earmarks money for supporting new businesses created by students.

Corina Cristea, 18.07.2020, 12:30

The epidemic situation and restrictions for Romanians abroad

With hundreds of COVID-19 cases confirmed on a daily basis, Romania is in the worst situation so far since the start of the pandemic. The number of cases started rising once partial relaxation began, a few weeks ago, a situation made worse by many people failing to completely comply with safety rules. In addition, the Constitutional Court decided that home isolation, quarantining, and hospitalization can only be imposed by ministerial order, as was the case until now, even if the people in question are infected with the novel coronavirus. Shortly after the ruling, many of the people with confirmed infection have checked themselves out of care by signing an affidavit of personal responsibility. In order to take control of the situation, the executive introduced a bill that was rushed through the Chamber of Deputies, but barely passed the Senate, with many amendments. According to the caucuses in the upper chamber, the resulting law on quarantining and isolation is a compromise, but does offer the necessary framework for the health system. Because of their countrys epidemiological situation, Romanians abroad are facing several kinds of restrictions. In some countries, they have to present a negative test result at border crossings in order to circulate, while other countries impose self-isolation or quarantining in order to allow Romanians to stay in the country. The conditions imposed by each state can be seen on the website of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, under the travel conditions category set up specifically for the pandemic. Restrictions imposed by these states dont apply only to Romania, but also to other countries with high epidemic risk, with periodic updates.

The citizen initiative against public positions for people with criminal records

The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest this week passed with a wide consensus an emergency bill based on citizen initiative to amend the Constitution in order to ban from public positions people with criminal records. This law would bar from local administration positions, elected positions in Parliament, and the Presidency people who have a criminal record for first degree crimes with prison sentences, unless exonerated. The bill will be debated by the Senate, but, according to the Constitution, in order to become a law the bill has to be endorsed by referendum held within 30 days of passing the Senate.

Organized crime decision on the dossier of diaspora protests

Almost two years from the widespread protests in the Romanian diaspora against the then ruling Social Democratic government, prosecutors with the organized crime division have issued a partial ruling on the violence perpetrated during the protests of August 10, 2018. According to their decision, the evidence does not support the idea that the protests were an attempt at a coup detat, as the Romanian Gendarme Service claimed. At the same time, they said they found no evidence that there was advanced planning on their part to violently repress the rallies, as some protesters claimed. Romanian General Prosecutor Gabriela Scutea said that she understands the strong emotions around this issue, that sparked such a strong public reaction, adding that all the evidence on file will be closely scrutinized. Following the intervention of security forces during the rally of August 10, 2018, 700 people filed complaints with military prosecutors for being exposed to tear gas, and over 100 filed complaints with forensic documents showing bodily harm following the intervention of gendarmes. Prosecutors established that there have been situations in which security forces used unjustified violence against protesters, and passed jurisdiction on to the military section of the General Prosecutors Office.