September 14, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 14.09.2021, 13:55

Energy. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is
today receiving a delegation of the Italian energy and utility group Enel led
by the latter’s director Francesco Starace. The Enel delegation will also have
a working meeting with prime minister Florin Cîţu. The Enel visit to Romania
comes amid hikes in wholesale electricity and gas costs and the prospect of
significant increases in energy costs for end consumers this winter. In
Romania, Enel controls two major electricity and natural gas suppliers, three
electricity distribution operators, a renewable energy plant operator and a
local branch of an advanced energy solution company called Enel X.

Deficit. Romania’s current account deficit passed 9
billion euros in the first seven months of the year, compared with 5.35 billion
the same time last year, according to a National Bank report. The country’s
foreign debt also grew by over 6 billion euros since the beginning of the year
to reach 132 billion euros, of which almost 73% represents long-term foreign
debt. The National Bank report also says that direct foreign investments grew
to reach some 4 billion euros in the first seven months of the year.

Resolution. The European Parliament adopted a resolution requiring
the removal of all obstacles faced by LGBTIQ persons when exercising their
fundamental rights, including freedom of movement, anywhere in the European
Union, writes a statement published on Tuesday on the European Parliament’s
website. Under the resolution, the marriages and registered partnerships formed
in another member state must be recognised across the Union, while same-sex
spouses and partners must enjoy equal treatment as opposite-sex couples. Following
a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Coman &
Hamilton case recognising that the term spouse includes same-sex spouses
under the EU freedom of movement directive, the Commission is called on to take
measures against Romania if the government does not update the domestic
legislation to reflect this judgment, MEPs have requested. In June 2018, the
Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that EU states cannot hinder the
freedom of residence of a EU citizen by refusing to grant residency to their
same-sex spouse from a non-EU country. The case referred specifically to the
Romanian citizen Relu Adrian Coman and his American spouse Robert Clabourn
Hamilton. MEPs also take note of the discrimination faced by LGBTIQ communities
in Poland and Hungary.

Anniversary. Romania and the United States will
continue to be a bulwark of Euro-Atlantic values and they meet future challenges
together as friends and allies, reads a joint press statement from the Romanian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State. The statement was
released on the 10th anniversary of the signing of a joint
declaration on Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century and the
Agreement on the deployment of the Ballistic Missile Defense System in
Romania.

Covid-19. Romania reported almost 4,000 new Covid cases on
Tuesday from some 47,000 tests, as well as 96 new deaths. 675 Covid patients
are in intensive care, their number being on the rise. The coordinator of
Romania’s mass vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghita said the vaccination
rate among children over the age of 12 is nearing 15%, which he described as
insufficient. He warned that the number of intensive care admissions among
children is likely to grow. More than 5.2 million people are fully vaccinated
in Romania, which accounts for only a third of the eligible population. (CM)