February 4, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 04.02.2022, 19:55

Covid-19 update. The Romanian government has extended the state of alert
by a further 30 days from 7th February. A number of measures will remain in
place, including the mandatory wearing of face masks in all indoor and outdoor
areas. The government also adopted the rule according to which the validity of
the Covid certificate for entering Romania is nine months without the booster
shot. Otherwise, a negative Covid test result or proof of recovery from
infection are needed. The deadline for filling in the digital form for entering
the country has been extended from 24 to 72 hours. The pilots of the planes
flying to and from Romania and the Romanian citizens living on the border and
working in neighbouring countries no longer have to fill in this form. On
Friday, Romania reported almost 32,000 new Covid cases and some 100 new related
fatalities.

Cooperation. The Romanian Minister of
Health, Alexandru Rafila, and his Italian counterpart, Roberto Speranza, signed,
on Friday, in Rome, a memorandum of understanding that provides for the
development of collaboration relations in the field, from public health
emergencies, training and intervention, to pandemic management . The signing
was preceded by a visit to the ‘Higher Institute of Health’, where the grounds
of a collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health in Romania were
laid. The collaboration is all the more important as there are over 1.2 million
Romanian citizens in Italy, a communiqué reads. The Italian authorities have
reconfirmed the commitments for the provision of medical assistance to children
in Romania who have oncological and cardiac diseases and for the training of
Romanian specialists in the field of pediatric cardiovascular surgery.

B9. We cannot accept the threat of the use of
force or outdated concepts such as that referring to the sphere of influence,
said the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu on Thursday in Bucharest,
speaking about concerns that Russia’s actions are seeking to undermine the
European security architecture. Aurescu hosted a round of talks held in hybrid
format and attended by the Bucharest Nine foreign ministers of the states on
the eastern flank. The talks were also attended by the French foreign minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian, who was on a trip to Bucharest, and the Ukrainian foreign
minister Dmytro Kuleba. Diplomatic actions to defuse the standoff on the
Russian-Ukrainian border have also taken place in other capitals in recent
days.

Protest. Trade unions in the metallurgical industry on Friday
staged a rally outside the government building in Bucharest to protest against
the fact that businesses in this sector do not benefit from a cap on energy
prices. The government exempted non-household users who already received state
aid from the cap on electricity and natural gas prices. Trade unions are saying
the move is unfair and are asking the government to cap electricity and natural
gas prices to the level of December 2020 for at least another year. The workers
at ALRO Slatina also staged a protest yesterday, their management having cut
production and sent 1,500 workers on furlough.

EU
sanctions. The European Union
has prepared a robust and comprehensive package of sanctions
against Russia if it continues its aggression against Ukraine, the European
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the Handeslblatt and Les Echos
newspapers, according to Reuters. The sanctions include limiting Russia’s
access to foreign capital and exports controls, especially on technical goods,
von der Leyen explained. The controversial North Stream 2 gas pipeline is also
targeted by the package of sanctions, depending on Russia’s
behavior if it is put into operation, she added. Russia, who annexed the
Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and supports the separatists in eastern
Ukraine, has massed some 100,000 soldiers near the Ukrainian border, demanding
security guarantees from the West, including that Ukraine would not be accepted
into NATO. The Kremlin accused Washington of ignoring its calls for easing the
tension as the latter said it would deploy an additional 3,000 troops to Poland
and Romania, Reuters also reports.

Rugby. Romania’s national rugby team will make its debut on
Saturday, on home turf, in Bucharest, against Russia, in a new edition of the
Rugby Europe Championship, the second best continental competition, after the
famous Six Nations tournament. The match is also part of the qualifyiers for
the World Cup to be hosted by France. The teams rank first and second at both
the 2021 and 2022 editions qualify straight
into the final tournament. In the Rugby Europe Championship rankings Georgia is
first with 23 points, followed by
Romania and Portugal with 14 points each.

Winter
Olympics. The 24th edition of
the Winter Olympic Games got under way in Beijing amid concerns about the Covid
pandemic and a diplomatic boycott from some western countries. Beijing is the
first city to have hosted both the Summer Games, back in 2008, and the Winter
Games. 22 Romanian athletes are taking part in the competitions, in sledding,
bobsled, skeleton, cross country skiing, alpine skiing, ski jumping, biathlon
and speed skating. On 17th January, following a rise in Covid infections and
the first confirmed case of Omicron in Beijing, the organizers announced
tickets would not be sold to the general public and that a limited number of
spectators would be admitted based on invitations. The US, Britain and other
allied states launched a diplomatic boycott of the Games because of China’s
human rights situation. Beijing denied, however, the accusations of human rights
violations. At the opening ceremony, against the background of the current
tense geopolitical situation, the president of the International Olympic
Committee, Thomas Back, conveyed a strong message to the world: Give peace a
chance! (MI)