June 2, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 02.06.2021, 19:56
Vaccination. As of
Wednesday, in Romania children aged 12 to 15 can be vaccinated against
Covid-19, after the European Medicines Agency endorsed the use of the serum for
this age group. The
electronic platform is optimized to allow their registration for vaccination
through the accounts of parents or legal guardians. As of December 27, 2020,
almost eight million doses of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson &
Johnson vaccines have been administered in Romania throughout the country. More
than 4.3 million people have been immunized, most of them with both doses.
Lately, the number of COVID-19 cases has remained low. All Romanian counties
are in the green zone, the aggregated incidence rate in 14 days standing below
one case per thousand inhabitants. On Wednesday, 164 new cases of SARS-CoV-2
infected people were reported after some 16,700 tests were run. 391 people are
hospitalized in intensive care units. Several measures to ease the restrictions
came into force on 1 June. Activities are allowed in open spaces with a large
number of participants, such as shows or parties, indoor swimming pools have
been reopened, as well as playgrounds for children.
Certificate. Seven EU member states -
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland -
have connected to the portal on which digital Covid-19 certificates can be
verified and started issuing the first certificates – the European Commission
announced on its website. The EU certificate has been proposed by the
Commission for a safe resumption of travel this summer. It is free, secure and
accessible to all citizens. Available in digital or paper format, this
certificate is proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, tested
negative or cured of an infection. 22 countries have already successfully
tested the portal. The regulation will apply from 1 July, but all Member States
that have passed the technical tests and are ready to issue and verify the
certificates can already start using the system voluntarily.
NRRP. The Romanian Prime
Minister, Florin Cîţu, presented on Wednesday, in Bucharest, together with the
Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna, the Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor and
the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Cristian Ghinea, the
National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The document was sent to the
European Commission two days earlier and will be evaluated for two months
before reaching its final form. The loans that Romania will attract through NRRP
will be used only for investments, not consumption, the prime minister stressed.
It’s 29.2 billion euro that can be used to build about 450 km of highway,
hundreds of schools and nurseries. Dozens of hospitals will also be built and
renovated. Florin Citu explained that there are three major sectors that will receive
money: transport – 6.7 billion euros, health – 2.4 billion euros and education
– 3.6 billion euros. The plan includes measures on sustainable transport,
education, healthcare, building renovation and digitization of public
administration. Loans through NRRP are obtained at a very low interest rate,
and all investments must be completed by 2026.
Debate. President Klaus Iohannis
said on Wednesday that he remained a ‘Euro-optimist’ and stressed that Romanian
citizens supported the European project too. He added that in a changing
world, the European Union must remain true to the goals of the founding
fathers. He made the statements at an online debate on the future of Europe
organized by the European People’s Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament.
According to the Romanian head of state, solidarity and cohesion must remain
core values of the community project, and the reforms that the Union will go
through must prepare it to face the opportunities and challenges that will
appear in the future. President Klaus Iohannis also called for enhanced
cooperation with the neighboring countries. The President of the EPP Group in
the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, and the Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan
also took part in the debate.
Film. Romanian director
Cristian Mungiu (53 years old) will chair the jury of the Semaine de la
Critique (Critics’ Week) section – a parallel section of the Cannes
International Film Festival, set up six decades ago with the intention of
creating opportunities for alternative cinemas, the organizers announced on
Wednesday. In 2002, the Romanian director presented his debut film
Occident in the Quincene de Realisateurs section, another parallel
section of the Festival. Cristian Mungiu has a prestigious history at Cannes:
in 2007 he won the Palme d’Or for the feature film 4 months, 3 weeks and
2 days, he received the award for the screenplay of the film Beyond
the Hills in 2012, and in 2016, with Graduation won the trophy
for best director. Writer and producer, he was also president of the
Cinefondation and Short Films jury at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film
Festival in 2017. Mungiu built a work very marked by the history of his
country, reads a press release issued by Semaine de la Critique, which
will take place from 7 to 15 July, while the Cannes Film Festival will take
place from 6 to 17 July.
Israel. Labor leader Isaac Herzog
was elected president of Israel on Wednesday in the midst of a political crisis
and just hours before the expiration of the ultimatum to form a coalition
government, France Presse and Reuters report. Isaac Herzog (60) will become
Israel’s 11th president and will replace Reuven Rivlin next month, his 7-year
term beginning on July 9. In Israel, the office of president is apolitical and
eminently honorary, while executive power is in the hands of the prime
minister.
Tennis. Romanian tennis
players Sorana Cirstea (54 WTA) on Wednesday qualified for the third round of
the Roland Garros tournament, after she defeated the Italian Martina Trevisan
(97 WTA). Next Cirstea will take on the Russian Daria Kasatkina, who defeated
the Swiss Belinda Bencic. Sorana Cirstea is the second Romanian to reach the
third round after Ana Bogdan, who won the match against world’s no.2, the
Japanese Naomi Osaka. Simona Halep, the third best player in the world and
winner of the French Open in 2018, cannot participate this year because of an
injury. On Tuesday, the Romanian – German pair Horia Tecau / Kevin Krawietz
qualified for the second round of the men’s doubles, defeating the pair Ariel
Behar of Uruguay/Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador. (MI)
