April 20-24

A roundup of the week's top stories

România Internațional, 25.04.2020, 14:00

The COVID-19
pandemic in Romania

The number of
COVID-19 infections in Romania has exceeded 10,000 this week, with the death
toll standing above 500. Some 1,000 Romanian citizens living abroad have tested
positive for coronavirus and a few dozen have died. In another development,
Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday said that mobility restrictions
for individuals will be lifted at the end of the state of emergency on May 15.
Everyone will however have to wear protection masks in enclosed public spaces
and public means of transportation. All public gatherings will remain
forbidden. The President warned that Romanians must stay inside until May 15
and observe the restrictions imposed by the authorities aimed at preventing the
spread of the coronavirus. President Klaus Iohannis also said that Romanians
must remain vigilant, as the epidemic is estimated to peak in the first half of
May. The President insisted the risk of the epidemic rebounding remains high at
global level, even in areas where it is apparently in check. In turn Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban said people won’t be needing to sign declarations in
order to move around the city, although some restrictions will remain in place.
Social distancing will remain as a rule, gatherings in public places are still
limited at a maximum number of 3 people. The measure applies to all citizens,
including seniors, who are able to move around during a two-hour interval at
noon under the state of emergency.

The Romanian
Parliament passed a series of laws to combat the coronavirus pandemic

The Chamber of
Deputies in Bucharest on Thursday passed a bill tabled by the Social-Democratic
Party whereby the spouse or children of medical staff who died fighting the COVID-19
pandemic will be granted survivor’s benefits. Ion the absence of next of kin,
their parents will be paid half the amount. The bill was voted by all
parliamentary parties. Deputies also agreed to paid a 10% bonus to everyone
paying their taxes on time. The Chamber of Deputies also passed a Government
decree postponing the payment of loan installments until the end of the year,
although the bill has undergone substantial changes. The list of beneficiaries
has been expanded to include everyone with a bank loan, whether or not their
income has been affected by the pandemic, including people whose payments are
past due as well as companies whose revenues diminished by 15% during the
coronavirus crisis. No additional interest rate will be applied. Additionally,
farmers whose harvests have been compromised this year due to the drought will
also benefit from a postponement for loan payments up to 18 months. The
National Liberal Party announced it would challenge the Social-Democrats’ bill
at the Constitutional Court. The Senate also passed several bills, including
one that stipulates that parents can take a leave to take care of their
children, including during school breaks, whenever schools are closed down
under a state of emergency. The Chamber of Deputies also passed a law extending
by six-months the term of local officials. The extension period starts the day
the state of emergency is lifted. Parliament has also set the date for the
local elections this year. This was previously the Government’s prerogative,
and the Liberals have announced they would challenge this decision as well.
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Thursday said the local elections slated for
June might be organized in September, if the first wave of the pandemic passes
by early July. As regards legislative elections, slated for December, the Prime
Minister said a larger voter turnout might be secured by introducing postal
voting in the country as well, in addition to the Diaspora, as well as
electronic voting.

The European
Council presents roadmap for economic recovery

The 27 leaders
of the European Union on Thursday called on the European Commission to prepare
a bailout plan, postponing difficult decisions on solidarity, which southern
states have been calling on northern states. The plan is bound to include a
draft budget for 2021-2027, including an economic recovery fund. The plan will
be presented next month. Although an exact figure hasn’t been stated, officials
estimate the bailout plan would stand at some 1.5 trillion euros. Representing
Romania at Thursday’s video-conference was President Klaus Iohannis, who
expressed support for the creation of an economic recovery fund that would
benefit all member states. The President said the EU’s financial assistance to
Romania has so far totaled 1.5 billion euros.

(Translated by
V. Palcu)