July 12, 2021

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 12.07.2021, 13:55

ELECTION Authorities in Bucharest have hailed the
victory of the Action and Solidarity Party founded by President Maia Sandu in
the early parliamentary election last Sunday in the Republic of Moldova. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis has congratulated the Moldovan citizens for their
community spirit and their clear option for reforms, the rule of law and
European integration. Iohannis has congratulated president Sandu for her
courage, perseverance and vision and has assured her that Romania will stay by
the Republic of Moldova in the process of implementing European reforms. A
message of congratulation for the election win has also been conveyed by
Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Citu who hails the victory of the pro-reform
European parties and voiced hope that the republic will soon have a
pro-European government to carry on the reforms. We recall that Action &
Solidarity won 52.5% of the votes, the Election Bloc of Communists and
Socialists has mustered over 28% whereas SOR got 5.78%. These three political
groups will occupy seats in Parliament.

FOOTBALL Italy has reaped the second
European title following the shoot-out win over England on Sunday night.
Romania didn’t qualify for Euro 2020 but Bucharest hosted four games in the
competition including one in the round of sixteen. Romania’s Under-23 selection
has qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo where they will be taking on Honduras,
South Korea and New Zealand.

DIPLOMACY The head of the Romanian diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, is in
Brussels to attend the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers. High on the agenda
are the geopolitical aspects of the new digital technologies, the EU strategic
compass (an EU reflection process, focusing on the EU’s role in the field of
security and defence) the situation in Ethiopia as well as the latest
developments in Afghanistan and Lebanon. According to the Foreign Ministry, the
head of the Romanian diplomacy will be presenting the results and conclusions
of the latest visits he paid together with foreign ministers from Austria and
Lithuania to Southern Caucasus. The ministers are expected to have talks over
the EU’s strategic compass. This round of talks is very important from the
viewpoint of the member states’ outlooks on partnerships and resilience, which
are to be taken into account in the process of drawing up the EU’s compass.
Minister Aurescu is expected to refer to the importance of these partnerships,
particularly the USA – NATO partnership.

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania have extended the
state of alert for another month starting today. The decision was endorsed last
week by the National Committee for emergency situations and includes among
other things new provisions for those who had suffered from the disease,
extending the period these people are exempted from restrictions. Thus, those
who had been identified positive in the past 6 months are now allowed to attend
sporting events in open areas, outdoor shows, concerts and cultural events.
They can also attend outdoor private events such as weddings or baptism
ceremonies. According to the latest data released by the authorities 39 new
infections have been reported in the past 24 hours and two people died. 55
people are being treated in ICUs. Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in
Romania in late December, 4,630, 000 people have been vaccinated in this
country.

(bill)