February 28, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.02.2021, 14:00

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination campaign continues
in Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccine having been administered so
far. Over 900 thousand people have received the vaccines developed by Pfizer /
BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 2,800 new COVID-19 infections were
reported on Sunday by the Group for Strategic Communication, the total number
of infections exceeding 801 thousand. 90% of people infected with COVID-19 have
recovered, while some 20,350 people have died. 1,000 people are in intensive
care.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The third wave of the pandemic
comes with the reintroduction of harsh restriction in several European states.
Meanwhile new vaccines are being greenlit across the globe, and doctors say
they are viable against the new strains of COVID as well. Schools in the
Republic of Moldova will close down for two weeks, although nursery schools
remain open. As of Monday, a lockdown will be in place in the Czech Republic.
People are not allowed to leave cities or villages, while schools and stores
selling non-essential products will be closed. In Italy, the Government will keep
anti-COVID measures in place until after Easter celebrations, with gyms, public
pools, entertainment areas and ski resorts staying closed. All bars and
restaurants will close at 6 PM. In Germany, most people seem to favor the idea
of a vaccination passport, if this will allow them to go to theatre, do sports
or travel abroad. In Hungary, the country’s president has taken the Chinese
Sinopharm vaccine. It is the only EU state to have accepted vaccines developed
by Russia and China. According to the latest worldometers.info update, at least
114 million infections have been confirmed worldwide since the start of the
pandemic, 2.5 million people have died while 89 million people have recovered.

BUDGET – The Romanian Parliament’s committees on
Saturday adopted the 2021 state and social security budget bills. The documents
passed in the form presented by the Government, and none of the 3,000
amendments were adopted. The opposition says this is an austerity budget,
providing for no increases in salaries, pensions and state allowances, while
the power claims the allocations will help overcome the health and economic
crisis caused by the pandemic. Labor Minister Raluca Turcan said the
social-security budget is higher than that of the past two years, and child
benefits will be increased in two stages. According to the calendar established
by the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies
and the Senate on the state and social security budgets is scheduled for
Monday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday. The budget is based on a
deficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic growth rate of 4.31%.

POSEIDON 21 – Some 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9
aircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention vehicle and a remote-controlled underwater
robot will be deployed during the exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the
Romanian Naval Forces between February 26 and March 6. It is the first
multinational exercise in the Black Sea this year, and involves the
participation of forces and equipment from France, Greece, Romania, Spain, USA
and Turkey. Bulgaria had to cancel its participation due to last-minute COVID
infection cases reported among its sailing crews. The NATO maritime command has
authorized the participation of NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The
exercise will include training against underwater threats, involving
hydrographic mapping operations to identify and neutralize mines and IEDs,
combat sequences to suppress air strikes, as well as towing damaged ships,
at-sea resupplying and rescue maneuvers.

EUROSTAT – Romania was one the countries that
earmarked the least funds to social protection in 2019, according to a recent
EUROSTAT report. Romania’s social welfare budget stood at 11.9% of the GDP,
nearly 7% under the EU average. Other countries with comparatively low social
welfare allocations were Ireland, Malta and Bulgaria. At the opposite pole are
Finland, France, Denmark, Italy and Austria, with over a 20% budget share for
social welfare. According to the same report, Romania’s healthcare allocations
were also below the EU average of 7%, while its education spending was also
under the EU average of 4%.

MĂRŢIŞOR – Mărţisor, the celebration of the start of spring
on March 1, will be marked by the Romanian Cultural Institute abroad by means
of children’s workshops, screening documentaries, hosting debates featuring
ethnologists, sociologists and anthropologists and the publication of a series
of digital postcards signed by Romanian artists, comic books or the
presentation of March porcelain and ceramic amulets. The Institute’s branches
in Brussels, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm,
Tel Aviv, Warsaw and Venice will be promoting the Mărţisor celebration online. Cultural
practices associated with Mărţisor in 2017 were included on UNESCO’s list of
the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of a joint application
filed by Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Romania.

FILM – The Berlin Film Festival will
be held online starting Monday. There will be no red carpet or grandiose film
screenings this year, and even no jury president. The 71st edition
was divided in two phases, as screenings in front of the public were postponed
for June. For the first time in a major film festival, the Silver Bear prizes
for best acting will go gender neutral. Romanian film director Radu Jude, who
won the Golden Bear in 2015 with his film, Aferim!,
is returning to the competition with his latest feature, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, a Romania-Luxembourg-Croatia-the
Czech Republic coproduction, which will be premiered in the event. The film
deals with individual relations with society, and tells the story of a school
teacher who finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex
tape is leaked on the Internet. Adina Pintilie, the 2018 winner of the Golden
Bear award for best film for Touch Me Not,
will be part of the jury this year. (V.P.)