December 31, 2021
A roundup of news from Romania
Newsroom, 31.12.2021, 13:37
Covid — On Friday, Romania reported a growing number of COVID-19 cases for the 4th consecutive day. The latest reporting shows 1,668 new cases of infection, most of them reported since December 3. 38 deaths were reported in the same period. Health experts say that the 5th pandemic wave will reach Romania in the first weeks of 2022 and estimate that a threshold of 25,000 infections per day might be reached. The PM Nicolae Ciuca said that the law on the introduction of the so-called COVID green certificate could be adopted either in a special session of Parliament or by a government decree. Since the onset of the pandemic, over 1.8 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered in Romania, and almost 60,000 people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus have died. The country has the second lowest immunization rate among the 27 EU members, after Bulgaria. Less than 7.9 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated, that is a little over 40% of the eligible population. About two million of them have had the so-called booster dose.
PNNR — Romania has fulfilled 18 of the 21 milestones that it had to reach by the end of the year, according to the targets set by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – says the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Dan Vîlceanu. He explained that the last seven milestones that depended on the government have been completed, and three more are under discussion between the European Investment Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Among the laws approved on Thursday by the Bucharest government for fulfilling the commitments assumed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan we can mention: a national dropout reduction program, an action plan aimed at increasing railway traffic by at least 25% in the next four years, a plan aimed at connecting several localities to water supply and sewerage, building two sections of highway and several plans on a number of energy renovation projects.
New Year celebrations — Over 25,000 Romanian policemen, gendarmes, firefighters and border policemen will ensure the protection and safety of citizens during the New Years celebrations. 280 speed cameras will be located on the roads, and road traffic will be monitored by the General Aviation Inspectorate aircraft. The Interior Ministry announces that 60 public events will be held on the New Years Eve, with more than 120,000 people expected to attend. Authorities are urging all those attending the events not to drink alcohol in the public space, to pay special attention to children, to refrain from any conflict situation or violence, and to ask for the support of the gendarmes, if they notice violations of the law. Part of the restrictions will be suspended on the New Year’s Eve. However, those in home quarantine or isolation must remain in their homes, and the protective mask should continue to be worn in crowded public spaces. The police and gendarmes will also be present in the mountain resorts, to ensure the safety of tourists.
Nomination — The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca (PNL) has announced that a nomination for the post of Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization, which has become vacant following the resignation of his party colleague, Florin Roman, will be made within two weeks at the most. Roman resigned on December 15, after the Bucharest press published information that he had falsified his CV. He is said to have completed short-term university studies at a university college and took the graduation exam at the prestigious Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (northwest). Thus, Roman obtained a graduation diploma, not a bachelors degree from Babeş-Bolyai University, as it was written in his CV. Prior to his resignation, the PM Ciuca asked Roman to also clarify the accusations of plagiarism brought against him. On December 17, President Klaus Iohannis signed the decree by which the Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, was appointed as interim minister at the helm of the Research, Innovation and Digitization Ministry. Romans resignation is the first in the coalition government installed on November 25, which is made up of the PSD-PNL-UDMR. (LS)
