November 26, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 26.11.2020, 20:00

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA
– The country’s Supreme Defense Council on December 3 will examine the national
anti-COVID-19 vaccination strategy, the Presidency announced on Thursday. The
strategy was previously adopted in a Government session. President Klaus
Iohannis expressed hope that, the moment the first results of the new
anti-COVID-19 vaccine come out, people will be less reluctant to take the shot.
Almost 450,000 people have had Covid-19 in Romania since the start of the
outbreak, with some 9,000 new cases and 171 new deaths reported on Thursday.
1,226 people are receiving intensive care treatment. A number of villages
around Bucharest are in lockdown. People’s health comes first and easing
restrictions too early risks undoing the progress made, said president Klaus
Iohannis. He explained that, according to statistical data, new infections have
begun to drop slightly countywide over the last six days.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD
– Global coronavirus cases pass 60 million and the death toll 1.42 million. The
US, which is the worst hit country in the world, has recorded 13 million cases
and at least 268,000 deaths. In Europe, the president of the European
Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the first European citizens may be
vaccinated before the end of December. In a speech before the European
Parliament, she said EU member states should start preparing the logistics for
the deployment of the vaccine doses. The European Union on Wednesday signed a
contract with the American biotechnology company Moderna for 160 million doses
of its vaccine, which offers 94.5% protection. Meanwhile, most countries are
struggling with high infection rates. Despite this, France, Ireland and the UK
have announced plans to ease restrictions around Christmas, to allow people to
visit friends and families.

PLAN– The Recovery
and Resilience Plan for Romania was presented on Thursday by President Klaus
Iohannis and Prime Minister Ludovic Orban. Under the plan, Romania will be
allotted €30 billion worth of European funds, to be invested in reforms, infrastructure
and many sectors that need to be modernized and revived. The Recovery and
Resilience Plan will be submitted to public consultation before being presented
in Brussels, so that funding be released next year.

MOLDOVA – The
European Union has paid the first installment worth €50-million to the Republic
of Moldova as part of the financial agreement signed this summer. The purpose
of this loan, the total value of which amounts to €100 million, is to reduce
restrictions on external funding, lowering the balance of payments and meeting
budgetary needs, the Moldovan Finance Minister has said. Moldova’s President
elect, Maia Sandu, thanked the EU for its financial support, saying it is
crucial to keeping the economy healthy. On the other hand, the Moldovan
official said the first weeks of her mandate will be devoted to organizing the
visit to Chişinău to
be paid by Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis.

BORDER POLICE -
The Romanian Border Police have apprehended six Syrian nationals who crossed
illegally into Romania on the Bulgarian border. Five adults aged 17-35 and a
10-year-old child, the migrants were in route to a West-European country. They
have been taken into custody by Bulgarian authorities who will conduct an
investigation. 3 Moroccan nationals aged 26-36 were also detained on the
Hungarian border, also claiming they were headed for Western Europe.

MARADONA – The former
great Romanian player Gheorghe Hagi deplores the death of Diego Maradona,
saying he was unique and an inspiration to him for his love of the game. Hagi
was often compared with the Argentina star player and was even called
Maradona from the Carpathians at the peak of his career. The former
Romanian international player Miodrag Belodedici also paid tribute to Maradona,
saying he considers him to be the best player in history. Maradona died from heart
attack aged 60 at his home in Buenos Aires on Thursday. He won the World Cup
with the national side in 1986, but was eliminated from the 1994 world
championship after testing positive for
doping. After struggling with drug use, overeating and alcoholism for many
years, Maradona reinvented himself and took over the management of the
Argentinean national side in 2008. Three days of national mourning were
declared in Argentina after his death.

FIFA RANKING -
Romania went up 7 places to the 37th position in the FIFA ranking published
today, so they will be in pot two for the 2022 World Cup qualifying draw. The
leap made by Romania in the world ranking comes after its results in November:
a 5-3 win against Belarus in a friendly match, a 3-nil win against Norway
Romania was handed by UEFA and a draw against Northern Ireland in the Nations
League competition. Romania is now in Europe’s top 20. The draw for the 2022
World Cup in Qatar will take place on 7th December. (C. Mateescu & V. Palcu)