September 21, 2021

ADDRESS – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is today addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, convened in plenary session. President Iohannis is heading, until Thursday, Romania’s delegation at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is also part of the delegation. The theme of the current session is “Building Resilience Through Hope — To Recover from COVID-19, Rebuild Sustainably, Respond to the Needs of the Planet, Respect the Rights of People and Revitalise the United Nations.” According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the participation of Romania’s President in the current session is an occasion to highlight the country’s stand as regards global challenges that need common solutions, solidarity and cooperation based on solid democratic principles and respect for the rule of law.

CORONAVIRUS — More than 200 Romanian localities have entered the red zone after the Covid-19 infection rate exceeded 3 per thousand inhabitants, case in which people willing to attend various events or go to restaurants will need to present the green certificate, proving that the holder has been fully vaccinated, recovered from the disease or tested negative. Authorities in Bucharest on Monday announced over 3,300 new infections and 78 new Covid-related fatalities. Almost 8,000 people are treated in hospital, of whom around 1,000 are in intensive care. After a long period in which the pace of immunization has been very low, a slight increase has been registered lately. Stay tuned for more on this topic, after the news.

INSURANCE – The Romanian government is working on 2 emergency orders on the insurance sector. One of the orders concerns policy prices, and the other one provides for some form of protection for the clients of City Insurance, the country’s leading issuer of civil liability insurance for car owners, with over 3 million policies issued and which is currently declaring bankruptcy. A guide with useful information has been published for policy owners and for drivers involved in car accidents with vehicles insured at this company. Stay tuned for more on this topic, after the news.

AWARD — The young Romanian tailor Vlăduţ Mihail Motău won the prestigious Golden Scissors Award 2021, a competition that has reached its 70th edition. The awards ceremony was held in Rome. The Romanian, aged 27, was born in Neamt county and moved to Italy eight years ago, where he has been working with his mentor, Daniel Robu, at the latter’s tailor shop in Turin. The theme of this year’s edition was Technique and Elegance.

MEETING – The situation in Afghanistan was the main topic of an informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers, where Romania was represented by its head of diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu. Held on the sidelines of the 76th session UN General Assembly in New York, the meeting set the opening of an EU cooperation platform with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries – Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – to deal with the multiple consequences of the crisis in this country. Aurescu voiced support for reaching the objectives of the platform, namely stability and security, prevention of terrorism and crime, migration control, border protection and humanitarian assistance. (EE)