February 14, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 14.02.2022, 13:52

Covid-19.
Authorities in Bucharest have today reported
more than 12,000 new coronavirus infections. In Romania, the highest number of
people infected with SARS-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic – 40,018 -
was registered on February 1. 75 deaths were also reported, of which 11 from
previous reporting timeframes. (…) The authorities are considering the
possibility that the current alert may not be extended, which would also lead
to the lifting of the restrictions in force. The Minister of Health, Alexandru
Rafila, has announced that details will be presented this week. He has again
called for vaccination, especially for vulnerable groups.

Energy. The Bucharest executive is continuing
talks to finalize new support measures that will help the population deal with
the crisis caused by rising energy prices. The authorities are also considering
the big consumers for whom they are preparing an additional assistance package,
a package that needs the endorsement of
the European Commission. In this regard, the Ministry of Energy will discuss
with EC representatives the
authorization of the scheme that would allow maintaining their competitiveness
in relation to the other competitors in the European area and outside it, but
also to retain about 200 thousand jobs.

Inflation.
In Romania, the annual inflation rate rose
to 8.35% in January, from 8.19% in December, given that the prices of non-food products
rose by more than 10%, food prices by 7%, and prices of services by almost 6
percent, according to data released today by the National Institute of
Statistics. The Central Bank forecasts an inflation rate of 11.2% at the end of
the second quarter, 10.2% at the end of the third quarter of this year and 9.6%
at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the Quarterly Inflation
Report published at the end of last week. The forecast trajectory of the annual
inflation rate is substantially influenced by the future evolution of energy
product prices, burdened by major uncertainties, the Central Bank says.

Protest.
Several unions in the Romanian
metallurgical industry, mainly representing employees from ALRO Slatina (south)
and Alum Tulcea (southeast), are protesting today at the Government
headquarters, the main demand being the regulation of the energy market. They
call for a cap on natural gas and electricity prices at the value of December
2020, for at least one year, and the establishment of a different regimen for non-domestic customers who have benefited from
state aid, under a 2019 emergency ordinance, and those who haven’t been covered
by the said ordinance. Also, the unions demand the elimination of exemptions
for the beneficiaries of this ordinance, and a maximum price of 750 lei / Mwh.

Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets today
in Kiev with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski in a bid to show solidarity
and help avoid a war in Europe, after warnings that a Russian invasion of
Ukraine could be imminent, Reuters reports. The trip is part of a string of
diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis through dialogue, in addition to the
West’s warning that Russia risks unprecedented sanctions if it decides to
invade Ukraine. Scholz will also travel to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with the
Russian President Vladimir Putin. In another move, Ukraine has called on Russia
for an urgent meeting, along with other OSCE countries, for Moscow to explain
the massive deployment of border troops. Russia has denied that the mobilization of
about 100,000 troops at Ukraine’s borders is for invading the neighboring
country, but several Western powers have warned that Moscow is preparing to
attack. (MI)