June 12, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 12.06.2020, 20:00
COVID-19 Another 222 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Romania on Friday, bringing the total to 21,404, with the death toll standing at 1,380. All deaths were related to patients with serious underlying conditions, the Strategic Communication Group said on Friday. Over 15,445 patients have recovered, and 171 are currently in intensive care. At least 3,300 Romanian nationals living abroad have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and 114 have died. The Government will make a decision next week on extending the state of alert , PM Ludovic Orban has announced. In the meantime, a number of restrictions will be lifted as of Monday, June 15. Shopping centres will be reopened, except for indoor playgrounds, cinema halls and restaurants. Outdoor pools, lottery and bookmakers shops will also reopen.
ELECTIONS Romanias Senate on Friday endorsed a bill extending the term of office for local elected officials. This is an emergency procedure, given that the current term of office ends on June 21st and local communities would be left without mayors. The bill was introduced on Thursday following an agreement between the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Liberal Democrats, and extends the mandate of local officials until November 1. Under the law, the date of local elections must be set 60 days in advance, the minimum number of supporters for a candidate has been halved, and candidacy files may be submitted online. The bill is to be discussed by the Chamber of Deputies next week, for a final decision in this respect.
RUSSIA The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu ordered that the Russian Ambassador to Bucharest, Valery Kuzmin, be summoned on Friday at the ministrys headquarters. The Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs Dan Neculaescu informed him that mentioning the Russian Federation in Romanias National Defense Strategy should not be a reason for surprise, this being the effect of known behaviour of the Russian side in the region in the past years. “This behavior has been assessed as destabilizing, including in the common stands adopted at the level of the EU and NATO”, the Romanian diplomacy has stated, also adding that the new National Defense Strategy reflects Romanias status as a member of NATO and the EU, firmly committed to strengthening democracy, stability, peace and international security, in accordance with the rules-based international system. On Thursday, the Russian MFA spokesperson Maria Zaharova had stated that the new version of Romanias National Defense Strategy, in which Russia is mentioned as a security threat, will be used to enhance NATO and US presence in the Black Sea region.
COMMAND The Romanian Chief of Defense Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, attended on Friday the ceremony of taking over the command of the Multinational Division Southeast by Brigadier General Cristian Dan. At the ceremony held in Bucharest, Cristian Dan took over the position from the Bulgarian Brigadier General Plamen Yordanov, in command of the division since March 2020. Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast is a North Atlantic Council activated NATO military body under operational command of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).
THEATRE This years edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which started on Friday, is held exclusively online. This years theme is “Empowered.” For 10 days, 138 performances from 30 countries on 5 continents will be available free of charge on the Festivals home page, www.sibfest.ro, and on its Facebook page and YouTube channel. Adding to these are 12 special online conferences, an absolute first for the Sibiu Festival. According to the organisers, more than 250 hours of theatre, dance, music, contemporary circus, conferences, debates, play readings and childrens shows will be streamed free of charge until June 21st.
INFLATION The annual inflation rate in Romania dropped to 2.3% in May, from 2.7% in April, with prices going up 25% for foodstuffs, 2.6% for services and 0.15% for non-foods, the National Statistics Institute reports. Consumer prices in May 2020 as against April 2020 rose by 0.05%. The finance minister Florin Cîţu has recently estimated that this years inflation rate will fall below 2%, given the current downward trend. The National Bank of Romania also has lowered its inflation forecast for the end of this year, from 3% to 2.8%.
PANDEMIC The COVID-19 pandemic has killed at least 423,000 people worldwide since it first appeared in China in December, according to worldometers.info. A total of at least 7.5 million cases have been reported, with 3.8 million patients recovered. The US remains the worst hit country, with 116,000 deaths out of over 2 million cases, followed by the UK (41,000 deaths), Brazil (41,000 deaths), Italy (34,000), France (29,000) and Spain (27,000). The European Commission recommends the lifting of all travel restrictions within the EU and Schengen area as of June 15. Some EU member countries however, like Spain, decided to implement this measure at a later date. The Commission also considers a gradual opening of the EU external borders as of June 30, first of all to citizens from the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), where the epidemiological situation is comparable with or even better than the one in the EU.
FOOTBALL Romanias football championship, scheduled to be resumed on Friday night, was once again postponed, after the guest teams physician tested positive for COVID 19. The national championship was suspended in March over the pandemic. The defending champions are CFR Cluj, followed by FCSB. On the other hand, further to Wednesdays drawing of lots, the Bucharest clubs Dinamo and FCSB will play one of the semi-finals of Romanias Cup, with the other semi-final pitting Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe against CSM Poli Iasi. The two semi-final legs will be played on June 24 and July 8 respectively, with the final scheduled for July 22.
