February 21, 2020
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 21.02.2020, 13:55
Attack — The Romanian Foreign Ministry officials confirmed last night that a Romanian citizen is among the victims of the double attack in Germany that targeted immigrants. The attack occurred in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt, in central Germany. The Romanian authorities conveyed condolences to the family of the victim and firmly condemned any act of violence and Xenophobia. A 43 year old German killed 9 people on Wednesday evening in two cafes in Hanau. The other victims, besides the Romanian citizen, are immigrants of Kurdish, Bulgarian and Bosnian origin and 3 German citizens. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced what she called the ‘poison represented by racism in Germany’ adding that the German authorities were opposed strongly and determinedly to all those who were trying to divide German. The political class accused the far right group ‘Alternative for Germany’ of instigating people to violence through its messages. The co-president of the Alternative for Germany, the former Christian Democrat Alexsander Gauland vehemently rejected the accusations. Solidarity manifestations took place last night in several cities across Germany. At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin several hundred people commemorated the victims of the attack, making a human chain around the gate.
Brussels — European leaders are meeting for the second day in Brussels to discuss the new budget for the next 7 years, which deeply divides the EU countries. Last night, the summit proceedings were interrupted for the president of the European Council Charles Michel and the head of the EC Ursula von der Leyen to have bilateral talks with all the heads of state and government attending the summit, in an attempt to reach an agreement. On Friday morning the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis met with the two European leaders. President Iohannis wants Romania to be allotted enough money for the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy in the future multiannual budget of the EU. He also asked for more funds for Romania than what was allotted in the previous budget. Klaus Iohannis believes that each country will try to maximize its chances in the negotiations, but expressed skepticism over a compromise being reached after this extraordinary summit. The president of the European Council is expected to forward today to all European leaders a new draft of the EU multiannual budget after he had previously proposed an EU budget of 1.7% of the member states’ GDP, that is 1,095 billion Euros.
Green Deal — The European Parliament Office in Romania is presenting today the situation of the financial measures proposed through the European Green Deal. The rapporteur of the European Parliament on the financing of the Green Deal, Siegfried Muresan, will deliver a speech regarding the resources allotted for the proposed measures and the connection with the new Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. At the EP extraordinary session held in Brussels in December 2019, the EC presented the European Green Deal which provides for turning Europe into the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The plan is designed to attract public and private investments worth at least 1,000 billion Euros in the coming decade.
Sports — The world’s no. 2 tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep, top seeded in the Dubai tennis tournament, is meeting today the American Jennifer Brady (24 WTA) in the semifinals. The Dubai tournament in the UAE has prizes up for grabs worth a total of 2.6 million dollars. In the quarter finals Halep defeated Aryna Sabalenka (13 WTA) of Belarus 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Also today Romania’s women’s handball vice champions CSM Bucharest will be up against Ferencvaros of Hungary. The Hungarians defeated the Romanian hanballers 33-23 in the first leg of the Champions League main groups. In another development, Romania’s football champions CFR Cluj ended in a 1-all draw the home match against the Spanish eleven FC Seville in the Europa League round of 32. The return match is scheduled for next week.
Coronavirus — The new coronavirus has killed another 118 people in continental China, especially in Hubei province, taking the death toll to 2.236 victims at national level- the Chinese health authorities have announced. However, the number of new cases reported in China has declined, which is encouraging, said in Geneva, the secretary general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus. Two Romanian citizens who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship are hospitalized in Japan after they tested positive for Covid-19, but their heath condition is good. (translation by L. Simion)
