December 1, 2020

Romania celebrates National Day with low-key events amid coronavirus pandemic.

Newsroom, 01.12.2020, 14:00

National Day. Low-key celebrations
due to the pandemic are held today in Romania and the Romanian communities
abroad to celebrate the National Day on 1st December. In Bucharest’s Arch of
Triumph Square, usually the site of military parades involving thousands of
troops and attended by thousands of spectators, a modest military celebration
was held this year with around 150 troops, to pay tribute to the Romanian
heroes who contributed to the creation of Greater Romania. The guests included
doctors, medical staff and foreign ambassadors, alongside president Klaus
Iohannis, prime minister Ludovic Orban and the interim Senate speaker Robert
Cazanciuc. Dear Romanians, the involvement of each an every one you is needed
today, just like in the important moments we celebrate on National Day, said
president Iohannis. He continued: We have seen all over the country
heart-warming stories about people who reach out to help others, about people
who volunteer and about people who are donating for hospitals in difficulty.
This is what the union of Romanians signifies in 2020!. The president kept a
moment’s silence in memory of the Romanian soldiers who died on battlefield and
of the victims of the pandemic. Low-key events attended only by the local
authorities were held in all big cities in Romania. This year, the foreign
ministry is running a digital diplomacy project to mark national day. This is a
platform for virtual encounters and dialogue dedicated to Romania’s friends and
partners and Romanian citizens and communities abroad held in a format adapted
to the current global health crisis. To celebrate the National Day, the
Romanian Cultural Institute is hosting a series of online events to promote
Romanian culture and civilisation.

Coronavirus Romania. For Romania, November was the
most difficult month in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, recording almost
half of all infections so far and more than a third of all coronavirus-related
fatalities. 2,000 more people than at the end of October are receiving hospital
treatment and 300 more people are in intensive care. Recent days have seen
signs, however, that the situation is improving slightly. Tuesday saw 4,272 new
daily cases and 199 new deaths, while 1,259 people are now in intensive care. While
two weeks ago almost the entire country was in the high-risk red category,
with counties where the infection rate over 14 days was 8 and 9 cases per 1,000
inhabitants, only two counties now have an infection rate of more than 7 cases
per 1,000 inhabitants and two others are in the green category, with an
infection rate of less than 1.5 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. The authorities
are urging people to continue to respect the sanitary rules in place.

EU funding. Starting on 1st December,
Romania can access 3 billion euros worth of European Union funding as part of a
temporary support programme to mitigate unemployment (SURE). Romania is to
receive a total of 4 billion euros in two stages, the president of the European
Commission Ursula von der Leyen told Radio Romania. She also said she hoped an
agreement would eventually be reached, but that the European Commission is
working on alternatives for member states to be able to access the recovery
package which is currently blocked by Hungary and Poland who are opposed to EU
funding being linked to the rule of law. Von der Leyen also said the first
vaccinations against Covid-19 may take place before the end of the year.

NATO. The Romanian foreign minister
Bogdan Aurescu is attending a new meeting of NATO foreign ministers to discuss
security in the Black Sea region. The talks, which are held in a
video-conference format, are looking at the application of allied decisions
with regard to NATO’s adjustment to current security developments and strategic
challenges. According to a statement from the foreign ministry in Bucharest,
minister Aurescu is expected to speak about the need to keep up efforts to
consolidate allied presence in the region and strengthen the coherence of the
eastern flank. The meeting consists of three working sessions, one in allied
format on Tuesday and two with partner states on Wednesday.

Piracy. At least one Romanian
national is among the sailors kidnapped from a vessel attacked by pirates in
the Gulf of Guinea, in the Atlantic Ocean. The attack took place on Monday on a
British oil tanker with a crew of 23 people of different nationalities, four of
whom were kidnapped. Piracy is common in this area along the West African
coast, with kidnappers usually demanding a ransom to release the sailors.