February 18, 2022 UPDATE

A news update

Newsroom, 18.02.2022, 20:27

Coronavirus Ro — In Romania the number of new COVID-19 cases is dropping, while the number of related deaths remains quite high. 14,524 new cases and 135 deaths – of which 10 from the previous days were reported on Friday. The health minister Alexandru Rafila and those in charge of managing the crisis are talking about a gradual relaxation, by fields of activity, which might start in two or three weeks’ time. As to vaccination, more than 8.1 million people have been vaccinated with the first doze, and 2.5 million with the 2nd one.

Brussels – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday met in Brussels with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. The two discussed security developments in the EUs Eastern Neighborhood, the support for the Republic of Moldova’ EU accession, energy security, the package of measures to combat climate change and the enlargement of the Schengen area. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Romanian President’s participation in the 6th European Union-African Union Summit, held on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. President Iohannis underlined that for Romania, education is traditionally an important area of ​​cooperation with Africa. He pointed out that thousands of African citizens are using their skills acquired in Romanian universities to serve their countries and to help build bridges. More than 17,500 young Africans have studied at Romanian universities in the last five years alone, and around 3,500 students from at least 40 African countries are getting enrolled in universities each year. Their presence in Romania enriches the academic life and stimulates a better understanding between the people from the two continents, shows a communiqué of the Romanian Presidential Administration.

Berlin – The Romanian defense minister, Vasile Dîncu, participates, between February 18-20, in the Munich Security Conference, where talks will focus on the context created by the massive deployment of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine. According to a Defense Ministry communiqué, the officials will also address issues related to the importance of nuclear security, risk reduction in this area and transparency in terms of disarmament and non-proliferation, for global and regional stability and security. Topics such as climate change and hybrid threats will also be approached. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Munich on Friday that the escalation of clashes in eastern Ukraine was a “challenging scenario” designed by Russia to justify an attack on Ukraine. ‘Although we are doing everything in our power to make it clear that there is a diplomatic way’, ‘we are deeply concerned that this is not the way Russia has embarked on’ the US Secretary of State said.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has failed to qualify to the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Dubai, which has total prizes worth approximately 800 thousand dollars. She was defeated in the semifinals by Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, in three sets: 6 – 2, 6 – 7, 0 – 6. Halep won the Dubai tournament twice, in 2015 and 2020.

Transports — Three employers organizations of Romanian road haulers are preparing to organize street protests if the Government does not intervene for capping the prices of motor liability insurance (RCA), shows a communiqué issued on Friday by the Confederation of Romanian Authorized Operators and Carriers (COTAR). The president of this confederation, Vasile Ştefănescu, pointed out that the increase in the price of motor liability insurance policies will have the effect of bankrupting the road transport companies, which means that Romania will get blocked. The employers organization recalls that in recent years the Financial Supervisory Authority has identified, on several occasions, violations of the law by insurance companies, increases in tariffs made even after capping, non-transparent tariffs which included all operating costs of insurance companies, although these companies have several business lines. The finance minister, Adrian Câciu, said on Friday that a law that will limit the price of insurance policies for 6 months was put out for public debate, adding that he was convinced that the bill will be adopted by the government as a matter of urgency. (LS)