October 18, 2021
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 18.10.2021, 13:55
Government. The Romanian Prime Minister Designate and leader of the Save Romania Union (USR), Dacian Cioloş, submitted, today, to Parliament, the governing program and the list of his one-party cabinet. According to regulations, the Permanent Bureaus are to meet to set the date of the joint meeting of the two chambers, no later than 15 days after receiving the proposed program and government membership. They were validated, on Sunday, by the leadership of the party. The new Executive includes USR ministers from the former cabinet, as well as new names. Dacian Cioloş chose the option of a minority and one-party government, after the negotiations for the restoration of the coalition, with the former partners the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR), failed. The program includes decisions related to rebalancing of energy prices, measures regarding the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and other specific issues, such as the abolition of the Special Section for the Investigation of Judicial Crimes or the elimination of special pensions. To become official, the Cioloş Government needs 234 votes in Parliament, and the USR has 80 parliamentarians. We recall that the former PNL government led by Florin Citu was dismissed by a motion of no confidence filed by the Social-Democratic opposition and supported by USR and AUR (nationalist opposition).
Covid-19RO. The Romanian interim Interior Minister, Lucian Bode, has announced that 26 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been transferred to Hungary. One of them has unfortunately died. He has added that the situation these days is extremely critical. Authorities in Bucharest announced on Monday more than 10,000 new SARS-CoV-2 infections and 261 deaths. More than 1,700 patients are currently in intensive care. Regarding vaccination, in Romania, the number of people that went through a full vaccination regimen stands at a little over 5.6 million.
EU meetings. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, participates, today, in a videoconference with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and other European leaders, in preparation for the European Council meeting due on October 21 – 22, the Presidential Administration has announced. In another move, the Romanian interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, participates in the meeting of the EU heads of diplomacies hosted by Luxembourg. The main topics on the agenda of the meeting will be the EUs relations with the states in the Gulf region, as well as the prospects of the Eastern Partnership. Topics such as the situation in Afghanistan, Tunisia, the Western Balkans, climate diplomacy, the situation in Belarus and Mali will also be addressed. On the sidelines of the meeting, the EU foreign ministers will attend a working brunch with the Libyan Foreign Minister Nayla El-Mangoush.
Human trafficking. The fight against human trafficking is a priority for the Government and the goal is zero tolerance for modern slavery, says the Romanian interim prime minister, Florin Cîţu, in a message conveyed on Monday, on the occasion of the EU Anti-Trafficking Day. Hundreds of Romanians, children and adults become victims of trafficking networks every year and are exploited through sex, work or begging, Cîţu also says in his message. Romania now has a prosecuting department dedicated to investigating trafficking cases and a unitary database at national level on victims of trafficking. Romania has a network of non-governmental organizations that support the latest government initiative to create an Action Plan for medical services tailored to the needs of victims, the Prime Minister also said.
