THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Social Democrat Angel Tilvar was designated as defense minister by the leadership of his party, in the governing coalition, after the portfolio was vacated last week by the resignation of Vasile Dincu. Tilvar said that his priorities have to do with the unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and with Romanian troops stationed in various theaters of operation. He had already talked on Thursday in Bucharest the security situation at the border with Sebastien Lecornu, French minister of the armed forces, since France has the leadership of the NATO task force in Romania. The two inaugurated in Cincu the headquarters of the Collective Defense Battle Group, and visited the Getica National Joint Training Center. The French minister also talked with President Klaus Iohannis and PM Nicolae Ciuca about the strategic bilateral partnership, with an emphasis on the defense component and the security situation in the Black Sea. The head of state thanked France for the efforts to constitute and make operational the NATO combat group in Romania, as part of the commitment to strengthen the alliances eastern flank posture of defense and deterrence. Sebastien Lecornu said he appreciated the professionalism of Romanian soldiers, and the very good cooperation in executing training missions and activities in an allied or bilateral context. Last month, France decided to send additional troops and high performance equipment to Romania, and some of them have already reached the country.

Daniela Budu, 04.11.2022, 18:51

New minister of defense starts activity

Social Democrat Angel Tilvar was designated as defense minister by the leadership of his party, in the governing coalition, after the portfolio was vacated last week by the resignation of Vasile Dincu. Tilvar said that his priorities have to do with the unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and with Romanian troops stationed in various theaters of operation. He had already talked on Thursday in Bucharest the security situation at the border with Sebastien Lecornu, French minister of the armed forces, since France has the leadership of the NATO task force in Romania. The two inaugurated in Cincu the headquarters of the Collective Defense Battle Group, and visited the Getica National Joint Training Center. The French minister also talked with President Klaus Iohannis and PM Nicolae Ciuca about the strategic bilateral partnership, with an emphasis on the defense component and the security situation in the Black Sea. The head of state thanked France for the efforts to constitute and make operational the NATO combat group in Romania, as part of the commitment to strengthen the alliances eastern flank posture of defense and deterrence. Sebastien Lecornu said he appreciated the professionalism of Romanian soldiers, and the very good cooperation in executing training missions and activities in an allied or bilateral context. Last month, France decided to send additional troops and high performance equipment to Romania, and some of them have already reached the country.

Romania provides assistance to Moldova

In Bucharest on Tuesday, the Romanian president and PM met the president of the Republic of Moldova, who called for help from the Romanian authorities. With the war on its borders, as the winter is around the corner, Chisinau is relying more and more on imports of electricity from Romania, and the head of state thanked its neighbor for helping supply Moldovan citizens with power, natural gas, fuel oil, and tinder. The Romanian authorities assured her that they would continue to support the neighboring state in the context of the energy and natural gas crisis, aiding Chisinau in managing the flow of Ukrainian refugees, considering that the Republic of Moldova is the state most affected by migration from Ukraine. Maia Sandu addressed the difficulties in supplying energy:

“I know how hard it is to offer help when it is already hard in your own house, but we are living truly dramatic and decisive times, and we need one another. Because of the war, we are undergoing a major energy crisis, and we risk being left without gas and electricity this winter.”

From Chisinau, Deputy PM Iurie Turcanu expressed gratitude to Romania for its aid in firewood, natural gas, and electricity. He gave special thanks to Romania for its help in this very difficult time for his country.

National plan against cancer

The Federation of Cancer Patients appreciates the day on which the National Plan for the Prevention and Fight against Cancer was passed, as a historic occasion for Romania and a further chance to life for cancer patients. The head of state, who introduced the initiative, underlined on Wednesday, at the ceremony for passing the law that enforces the plan, that solutions must be found for allowing much better access to adequate therapeutic options:

“The nations state of health is an indisputable vector of progress, and, from this perspective, it is imperative for public policies in this area to be well founded.”

The plan provides guaranteed access for Romanian citizens to medical, social, and psychological support services. Its application would lead to reducing cancer mortality by 15%, by introducing early diagnosis programs nationally, subsidizing genetic tests and equipment for treatment centers. The science coordinator of the plan is Professor Patriciu Achimas-Cadariu, PhD, who pointed to the aspects that have to be considered in treating cancer patients:

“It is very important to have a multidisciplinary committee to include a medical genetics specialist, and a clinical psychologist specializing in oncology. Further on, of course, what is important is surgery, systemic treatments, access to radiotherapy, and the time until we can access palliative care.”

Also this week, the government in Bucharest decided that, starting next week, new medication for treating oncology patients will go on the list of free or subsidized drugs.

Earthquake in Romania

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale occurred on Thursday morning in Buzau County, in the south east of Romania, and was felt strongly in the capital, Bucharest. The authorities announced that no one was hurt as a result, there were no emergency calls, and no material damage was reported. The spokesperson for the General Inspectorate of Emergency Situations, Adrian Marin, specified a few things for the press:

“Information about measures and behavior before, during, and after a seismic event can be found on the national website fiipregatit.ro, the DSU mobile app, and the website of the national campaign to prepare for earthquakes. At the same time, it is important to specify that, in the case of earthquakes, the RO-ALERT system will not issue notifications previous to such events.”

Buzau County also had another seismic event, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, in October 2018.