March 4, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 04.03.2020, 13:55
AWARD – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has today received the European Prize Coudenhove-Kalergi 2020 during a ceremony held at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest. Prince Nikolaus von Liechtenstein, president of the European Society Coudenhove-Kalergi, presented the award. Donald Tusk, president of the European People’s Party and former president of the European Council, also attended the event. Klaus Iohannis was granted the prize for “his outstanding merits as a politician, who, through his dedication to European values, contributes decisively to the deeper integration of Romania into the community of European states,” taking into account, at the same time, that “his political action has an exemplary function for a formerly divided Europe,” the Romanian Presidency said in a press release. The prize is conferred by the European Society Coudenhove-Kalergi, founded in 1978 in honour of “the great European visionary” Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi.
CLIMATE – The European Commission has today adopted a proposal for a European “climate law” to make the blocs 2050 net zero emissions target legally binding, Reuters reports. The regulation, which requires approval from parliament and member states, would commit the EU to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
REPATRIATION — The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has announced that three Romanian citizens, including a minor, were repatriated on Tuesday from Yemen, via Jordan and Turkey. The move is part of the constant assistance measures granted by the Ministry to Romanian citizens in special situations. The Foreign Ministry has again reminded of the travel warning for Yemen, for which a maximum level alert has been issued, given the danger posed by the conflict areas.
COVID-19 – The fourth case of coronavirus infection in Romania was confirmed on Tuesday. Its a 47 year-old man from Timisoara, western Romania, who traveled by plane next to an infected woman. He has no symptoms and has been hospitalized. Out of the other three, one is healthy now and the other two are stable. Meanwhile, the National Emergency Committee has introduced strict quarantine rules for the people returning home from risk areas. The new coronavirus is now spreading a lot faster outside China than in the source country. Around 92,000 cases have been confirmed in over 70 countries worldwide. Of these, 48,000 patients have recovered and over 3,100 have died. The G7 countries on Tuesday voiced their commitment to use all the necessary instruments, including the fiscal ones, to deal with the threats posed by the spread of the new coronavirus across the world.
QUAKE — Romania commemorates today 43 years since the quake of March 4th, 1977, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale. The quake, the most serious one that has ever hit Romania, killed 1,570 people, most of whom in the capital Bucharest. Damages worth over 2 billion euros were reported at the time. Experts have warned that in case of an equally powerful quake, hundreds of buildings would collapse in Bucharest.
HEARINGS – The ministers proposed to form the government headed by the Liberal PM Designate Florin Citu are being heard, until Thursday, by Parliaments specialized committees. The candidates for the Labour, Health, Education, Transport and Culture and Youth portfolios are being heard today. Previously, 3 proposals received positive opinions and 3 negative. The only change as compared to the Ludovic Orban Government is the proposal for finance minister, namely Lucian Ovidiu Heius, given that the former minister is now the Prime Minister Designate. The leader of the Save Romania Union Dan Barna has stated that the Liberals have not explicitly requested their support. The president of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians Kelemen Hunor says that not decision has been made with regard to how the members will vote. The Social Democratic Party and the Pro-Romania party have stated that their MPs will attend the investiture session but will vote against. The Peoples Movement Party has decided to support the Citu Cabinet. President Klaus Iohannis nominated Citu after the Constitutional Court ruled that the designation of the interim PM Ludovic Orban for the same office from which he had been sacked under a no-confidence motion was unconstitutional.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
