December 8, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

România Internațional, 08.12.2021, 19:50

Covid-19RO. The number of cases of
Covid-19 has dropped in Romania as compared to last week. 1,279 new cases and
100 related deaths were reported on Wednesday. The number of people hospitalized has also
dropped to almost 5000, of whom approximately 800 are in intensive care. In
another development, the Bucharest Government has extended by another 30 days the
state of alert in Romania but has also eased some of the restrictions for the winter
holidays. The Health Minister Alexandru Rafila has announced that an
information campaign will be run over the coming period, to make sure people
adopt a preventive behavior and keep observing the protective measures. On
Tuesday, the national Committee for Emergencies proposed, among other things,
the lifting of restrictions during the night. Also, wearing masks outdoors may
no longer be mandatory except for crowded areas and theatres and cinemas could
operate at 50% capacity. The proposal of easing restrictions comes in the
context of an infection rate below 1.2% per one thousand at national level.

Chancellor. Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis has congratulated Olaf Scholz on his election as
Germany’s federal Chancellor. I look forward to our future co-operation in the
European Council and bilaterally, the head of state wrote on Twitter on
Wednesday. The president of the Social Democratic Party and Speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, has too wished success to the new German Chancellor.
He can count on our friendship to build a fruitful and constructive
dialogue between Romania and Germany in the years to come, Marcel Ciolacu
wrote on Twitter. The Social Democrat Olaf Scholz became Germany’s new Chancellor
on Wednesday after 16 years of Christian Democratic rule with Angela Merkel at
the helm. The three partners that form the current coalition in Berlin – the
Social Democrats, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens – signed an agreement on
Tuesday that allows the inauguration of the new, firmly pro-European Cabinet. The
federal executive, made up of eight women and eight men, will have to deal with
important issues such as overcoming the pandemic, accelerating the transition
to a green economy or the tensions with Russia over Ukraine. Olaf Scholz, whose
party won the September 26th legislative election, will make his first trip
abroad as head of the German government to Paris.

Visit. The Romanian
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca will hold, on Thursday, a meeting with the Prime
Minister of the Republic of Moldova, (ex-Soviet state, predominantly Romanian-speaking)
Natalia Gavriliţa, who will pay an official visit to Bucharest. According to
Radio Chisinau, the Moldovan PM’s agenda also includes meetings with Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel
Ciolacu. The Moldovan official has stated that the discussions will focus on
the priority topics of collaboration between Romania and the Republic of
Moldova. Natalia Gavriliță has also announced that next week the Moldovan
Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Andrei Spânu, will also
come to Bucharest to address issues related to energy security.

Budget. The leaders of
the governing coalition in Bucharest on Wednesday discussed again the draft
budget for next year. The leaders of PNL, PSD and UDMR have different opinions
on the construction of the budget and the sources for increasing the budget
revenues, given that, starting January 1, pensions, child allowances and
allowances for people with disabilities will be higher. PSD and UDMR are
considering a 1% solidarity fee for companies with a turnover of more than 100
million euros a year, while the Liberals oppose the measure. Prime Minister
Nicolae Ciuca announced that a first version of the budget for 2022 will be
presented on Monday before the governing coalition by the Minister of Finance,
Adrian Câciu, and confirmed that the date set for the adoption of the budget in
Parliament is December 23.

Diplomacy. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, had a meeting on Wednesday with the ambassadors of the EU member states accredited to Bucharest, on the occasion of the conclusion of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council. During the meeting, the participants addressed the main topics that will be on the agenda of the future European Council on December 16, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, energy prices, the tense situation on the EU border. President Klaus Iohannis also presented Romania’s priorities and expectations from the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Brussels on 15 December.

Fencing. Romanian fencer
Ana-Maria Popescu, an Olympic vice-champion in Tokyo, has announced her
retirement from sports after a career of 20 years. Aged 37, Popescu’s last
participation in a sports competition has been this year in the World Cup in
Dubai, where she won silver. The athlete’s record includes, among other things,
3 Olympic, 6 world and 11 European medals, with 9 gold medals in total. Ana
Maria Popescu was named the best swordswoman in the world in the seasons
2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2012-2013, 2019-2020, 2020-2021. (MI)