March 9, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 09.03.2022, 20:00

COVID-19 Little over 4,000 new
SARS-CoV-2 infection cases were reported on Wednesday in Romania, along with 62
related deaths, one of which from a previous date, according to the
authorities. Since the start of the pandemic 2 years ago, nearly 2.8
million people have caught the disease in the country, and some 65,000 died. At
midnight on Tuesday, Romania lifted all COVID-related restrictions. Face
covering is no longer compulsory, and access to public areas is no longer
conditional on the digital certificate.

POLL More than 3-quarters of Romanians (75.2%) believe Russia is
the main party responsible for the war in Ukraine, and only 4.6% point to
Ukraine, according to an INSCOP MONITOR opinion poll. Close to 8% of the
respondents believe the West to be guilty for the conflict. Also, 79.2% of the
respondents agree with the sanctions imposed by the EU and the US against
Russia, with only 14.1% against them. The number of Romanians who believe their
country is heading in the right direction has gone up from 19.9% in February to
35.9%. According to INSCOP, this is because Russia’s aggression reminded people
of the importance of Romania’s NATO and EU membership and of what this
security and development umbrella means for the country. Moreover, we have
all seen infinite proof of kindness and exceptional mobilisation among people
to support the refugees, which might have had a positive influence on how
Romanians see their own country today, the organisation explains.

VISIT Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, will receive the US
Vice President, Kamala Harris in Bucharest on Friday. According to the
Presidency, Allied measures to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence posture
on the eastern flank will be discussed, including the prospect of further
increasing the US and allied military presence in Romania. They will also
address the coordination of the transatlantic community concerning new
sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The presence
of Vice President Kamala Harris in Romania reconfirms the solidity of the
bilateral Strategic Partnership, the Romanian Presidency also says.

SANCTIONS 14 business people in key sectors of Russian economy and 146 members
of the Federation Council (the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament) have been
added to the list of people who can no longer travel to the EU and whose assets
in Europe are frozen. The European black list, put together in 2014 when Russia
annexed Crimea, now comprises a total of 862 individuals and 53 organisations. Member
countries have also decided to ban the export of maritime navigation and radio
communication technology to Russia, after having already targeted the aviation
sector. They also decided to restrict Swift services to 3 Belarusian bank. Furthermore,
the EU prohibits transactions involving assets of Belarus’s central bank,
and are drastically restricting the access of Belarus to European financial
markets for amounts of over EUR 100,000. The measures were approved by EU member
states in Brussels and will take effect after publication in the Official
Journal. They are designed to prevent Russia from bypassing the sanctions
against its own financial and banking sector. The EU accuses Belarus of being
complicit in Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

REFUGEES Nearly 320,000 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania
since the onset of the Russian invasion until Tuesday at midnight, the Romanian
Border Police announced. Of these, about 235,000 have already left Romania. On
Tuesday, the inflow of Ukrainian refugees declined slightly. Both the Romanian
authorities and civil society have mobilised quickly and efficiently to provide
accommodation, food, clothing and medicines to those fleeing the Russian
invasion. The Romanians’ efforts have been praised by international political leaders
and Western media. (A.M.P., L.S.)