February 11, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 11.02.2022, 13:55

NATO – Romania, as NATO member country and strategic partner of the US, benefits all security guarantees that it needs, in the context of the heaviest crisis after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The statement was made by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday, during a visit he made together with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg and the Alliance’s Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, at the military base in Mihail Kogalniceanu, south-eastern Romania. The officials met with military personnel from allied nations deployed to Romania. Military equipment for the US Task Force (TF) Cougar has already reached Romania. In his turn, Stoltenberg said the presence of NATO troops in Romania is important because it is “a powerful demonstration” of NATO unity. Around 1,000 American military are dispatched in Romania, amid concerns raised by the military build-up at the border with the neighboring Ukraine. A NATO member since 2004, Romania was already hosting 900 American military, 250 Polish and 140 Italian soldiers.

MOLDOVA — The Romanian prime Minister, Nicolae Ciuca noticed, at the start of a joint meeting of the Romanian and Moldovan governments on Friday in Chisinau, the ”biggest openess” ever recorded in the bilateral ties. According to PM Ciuca, Romania will continue to be a firm and vocal supporter of Moldova’s European path. He reminded that in 2020, a year of crisis, Romania granted Moldova assistance for development worth a record 46.8 million euros, that went mainly to education and scholarship. In turn, the Moldovan PM, Natalia Gavrilita, said her cabinet is firmly committed to securing a predictible and atractive framework for foreign investors, in keeping with the best European practices. Ahead of the meeting, the Chisinau Government approved a bilateral accord on the implementation of the technical and financial assistance programme, based on an unrepayble financial aid worth 100 million euros granted by Romania and also an accord on cutting tariffs for roaming services between the two countries at lest ten times.

CORONAVIRUS — The number of new Covid-19 infections continues to drop in Romania. On Friday, the Group for Strategic Communication announced 22,737 new cases and 132 deaths, five of which from an earlier date. The Romanian authorities consider easing the restrictions taken in the context of the pandemic, but in a graddual manner, after the model of the countries which have already passed the peak of the current wave, the head of the Department for Emergencies, Raed Arafat, said. The number of new cases is dropping, and, if this tendency maintains, we could be restriction free before Easter, Arafat said. In his turn, the head of the mass immunization campaign, Valeriu Gheorghita, said that in the future vaccination against Covid-19 will be seasonal, just like the flu vaccine, but adjusted to the strain in circulation at that moment. The immunization rate among adults stands at 50.5% in Romania at present, Valeriu Gheorghita said.

UKRAINE – US President Joe Biden has urged American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, for fear of a Russian invasion. He has warned that “things could go crazy quickly” in spite of diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis. Biden has made it clear he will not send troops to Ukraine nor even to evacuate American citizens in the event of a conflict, as, if American and Russian troops start shooting one another, a world war could start. Last month the US and its western allies already evacuated the families of the diplomatic personnel in Ukraine. Biden’s warning comes after the latest Russian troops’ movements and joint Russian-Belarusian military drills on the territory of the latter.

ECONOMY – Romanias economy went up by 6.3% in 2021, thanks to a sound domestic demand, but the pace will slow down to 4.2% this year, to reach 4.5% in 2023, according to the winter economic forecast released by the European Commission on Thursday. Last autumn the EC estimated Romanias GDP would grow by 7% in 2021, with rates of 5.1% and 5.2% forecast for 2022 and 2023 respectively. The most recent data concerning confidence in the economy indicate positive, although moderated economic growth prospects, especially in services, retail, constructions and industry. Private consumption is also expected to recover in the second half of the year, when restrictions will be eased out and inflation will slow down. Meanwhile, the EC substantially adjusted its 2022 inflation forecast for Romania, from 4% estimated in November to 5.3% this winter, after a 4.1% inflation rate in 2021.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (56 WTA) is today up against Tereza Martincova( 42 WTA) of the Czech Republic, in the quarterfinals of the Sankt Petersburg tournament. Begu managed a spectacular win on Thursday over Czech Petra Kvitova, 6-4, 6-0. Another Romanian in the competition, Jaqueline Cristian, was defeated by Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-3. (EE)