February 25, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.02.2020, 13:53

GOVERNMENT – The main parliamentary parties in Romania are outlining their strategies, following the Constitutional Courts ruling that the nomination of the dismissed PM Ludovic Orban for the formation of a new government is unconstituonal. The National Liberal Party accuses the Court of political bias and does not give up the idea of having Ludovic Orban designated as the new Prime-Minister. The Social Democratic Party has stated it wants to stay in the opposition and will not make a proposal for PM. The Save Romania Union has its own candidate, while the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, the Peoples Movement Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats are waiting for a new proposal to be made by president Klaus Iohannis.

BREXIT – The EU Foreign and European Affairs Ministers have warned that the future trade negotiations with Great Britain after Brexit will be a challenge, ahead of a meeting in Brussels, where the EU mandate for the talks with London will be adopted, DPA reports. The agency reports that the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has voiced hope that the deadline, which is the end of the year, will help the parties focus on getting a good result. The EU member states are supposed to finalize today, at the General Affairs Council in Brussels, the negotiation priorities for the future trade agreement with the UK, for the talks with London to start next week. The UK left the EU on January 31st, but the EU regulations are still in force during the transition period. The two parties have to reach an agreement on their future relation by the end of the year.

CORONAVIRUS – There is no confirmed case of coronavirus infection on Romanian soil, although the number of suspicions is on the rise. The interim health minister Victor Costache has stated that there are some 1000 people isolated in their homes. He has also stated that there are some 4000 quarantine seats if cases are reported. Also, the authorities are working against the clock to ensure anti-epidemic medicine inventories and also other prevention materials. In turn, the head of state Klaus Iohannis has warned that Romania must be ready, in case things turn bad. That is why on Wednesday he will convene the countrys Supreme Defense Council. As there are some 300,000 Romanians living in northern Italy, the European country most affected by the coronavirus outbreak, all people travelling from Italy to Romania will automatically be placed under 14-day quarantine. We recall that two Romanians who tested positive onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship are now hospitalized in Tokyo. More on this after the news.

WHO – The number of coronavirus infections around the world has exceeded 80,000, and the impact of the outbreak is growing. The WHO has stated the world must be ready for a possible pandemic. The Organization also warns about the propagation of fear, given that at the moment we cannot speak of an uncontrolled spread of the virus. Against a downward trend in China, now worrying are the situations in Iran and Italy, where the number of confirmed cases of infection and deaths is growing. Some 50,000 people in northern Italy have been placed under quarantine. Given that many Italians intend to leave the red zone areas and even cross the borders, the Italian Government has proposed a meeting with the health ministers of the neighboring countries – France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Germany, in order to think of some joint actions. The European Commission has announced the allocation of an additional 232 million Euros to fight the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the EU.

DEFENSE – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis has stated today, when the Defense Ministry presented its 2019 report, that the ministry will have to focus on strengthening Romanias strategic profile within NATO and the EU, on accelerating the development of the armys operational capability and on starting and running equipping programs. The head of state has said that the membership to NATO and the EU and the Strategic Partnership with the US are the main strategic pillars of Romanias foreign and security policy. He has congratulated the Romanian military for their professionalism and competence. Romanian soldiers are part of many operations and missions under NATO and EU aegis, including Resolute Support in Afghanistan or NATO KFOR.

SOCIAL MEDIA – Half of the companies based in the EU used in 2019 at least one type of social media, according to data published on Tuesday by Eurostat. Companies in Romania rank last at this chapter, as only 33% have stated they used at least one form of social media. Other members states where the use of social media is less popular among companies are Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia. At the opposite pole, the use of social media by companies is extremely popular in Malta, Denmark, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland and Finland. As compared to 2004, the percentage of companies using social media has increased in all the EU member states.

BERLINALE – The Romanian documentary “The Exit of the Trains”, directed by Radu Jude and historian Adrian Cioflanca, will premier on Wednesday at the International Film Festival in Berlin, in the Forum section. Its a documentary made up of archive photographs and documents on the Iasi pogrom of June 1941. Radu Jude will participate in the Berlinale Forum also with the long-reel “Tipografic Majuscul” and also in the Berlinale Co-Production Market, one of the most prestigious cinema markets, which brings together producers, agents, distributors and donors from around the world, with the film “The Sleepwalkers”. Another Romanian film, the latest by Cristi Puiu, “Malmkrog” was screened for the first time at this edition of the festival.

TRANSMITTER – The BD 300-1 transmitter in Tiganesti, which broadcasts RRIs programs, is broken, Radiocom has announced. Works are underway to render functional the spare BD300-3 transmitter. In the meantime, you can listen to our shows on the second shortwave frequency indicated on our website www.rri.ro, for each show. The following programs in English are affected: 4 a.m. UTC to the US, 6.30 a.m. UTC to Australia, 12 a.m.UTC to Africa, 6 p.m. UTC to Great Britain, 9.30 p.m. UTC to the US and 11 p.m. UTC to Japan.