November 23, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 23.11.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 – In Romania, on Tuesday, the authorities announced over 2,700 new cases
of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Also, 273 deaths were reported, of which 30 are from
previous days. More than 10,100 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, and nearly
1,500 are being treated in ICUs. 10% of ICU patients are vaccinated. A study by
a Romanian medical company shows that the third vaccine dose increases by more
than 10 times the number of antibodies as compared to the values ​​recorded 6
months after the 2nd dose, having a very high efficiency against
severe forms of COVID-19. The authors of the study say that the effectiveness
of the third dose was noticed in all age groups without major differences
between them.

GOVERNMENT – In
Bucharest, the prime minister designate, Nicolae Ciucă, on Tuesday submitted to
Parliament the governing program and the structure of the new Government. The
decision comes following consultations president Klaus Iohannis had, on Monday,
with the parliamentary parties, at the end of which the interim Defense
Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, was appointed Prime Minister. He is supported by a
political majority that includes the PNL, PSD, UDMR and the Group of National
Minorities. Ministers nominated in the new Cabinet will appear
before appear before
Parliament’s specialized committees on Wednesday, whereas the investiture vote
is scheduled for Tuesday.

PARLIAMENT – PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, on Tuesday was elected Speaker of the Chamber
of Deputies in Romania’s Parliament. Cristina Prună representing USR also ran
for this position. The ballot was secret. The position has been vacant since
October 18, following the resignation of the former PNL leader Ludovic Orban after
he lost the party leadership elections. According to the Rules of Procedure,
the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies is elected for the entire duration of
the legislature. Also on Tuesday, the plenum of the Senate revoked Anca Dragu,
representing USR, from the position of Speaker of the Senate, electing Liberal
leader, Florin Cîţu, in her
stead.

SURVEY – Romania climbed one position, to the 44th
place out of 168 countries, in a world ranking made according to the quality of
life and social welfare, but it is still on the last place among the EU member
states, after Hungary and Bulgaria. Romania registered 78.41 points out of 100,
a slightly higher score than in the previous year and is included in the
ranking’s the third category, after Argentina, Hungary and Bulgaria, shows the
study Social Progress Index (IPS) 2021 on the quality of life and social
welfare, carried out by the non-profit organization Social Progress Imperative,
with the support of Deloitte. Globally, Norway remains on top position with a
score of 92.63 points. In 2021, the first places in the ranking, after Norway,
are held by Finland and Denmark, and on the last placed Chad, the Central
African Republic and South Sudan.

VISIT – The Republic
of Moldova enjoys overwhelming, lasting and cross-party support in Bucharest. We
are all dedicated to consolidating the bilateral Strategic Partnership for the
Republic of Moldova’s European integration and advancing on the path of reforms,
said Klaus Iohannis fresh from his meeting, in Bucharest, with his Moldovan counterpart,
pro-Western Maia Sandu. He added that Romania will remain the closest friend of
the Republic of Moldova. In turn, Maia Sandu stated that she wanted to boost
the partnership between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the
Iași-Ungheni gas pipeline, operational from October 1, in the midst of the
energy crisis. We rely on Romania’s voice in the EU because European
integration is our main objective, the official from Chișinău also said. The agenda for talks also included, among other things,
strengthening state institutions, attracting investments, infrastructure
projects, education, justice, and energy security. Also on Tuesday, Maia Sandu
met with interim prime minister, Florin Cîțu. The two officials signed an agreement between the two countries
for the mutual recognition of academic diplomas, certificates and titles. It is the first official visit the president
of the Republic of Moldova pays to Romania, after the early parliamentary
elections on July 11, won by the presidential party Action and Solidarity (PAS)
by a landslide. The visit takes place in the context of celebrating 30 years
since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations this year, after
Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow in 1991. (LS & VP)