EXTENSION
\nThe Romanian MPs debated
\nand approved by a landslide majority on Thursday a presidential decree on
\nextending the state of emergency by another 30 days. The Parliament’s approval
\nof the state of emergency also contains several recommendations for the government,
\nwhich have been passed by Parliament in plenary session. The opposition has
\ncalled on the Executive to present a weekly report on the measures for fighting
\nthe COVID pandemic and the reasons behind these measures. Within 30 days from
\nthe end of the state of emergency, the government must present a complete
\nreport about the actions taken and their consequences, while the Court of
\nAccounts must check on the way in which public resources have been spent. The
\ncountry’s president Klaus Iohannis has criticized the attitude of those MPs who
\nconditioned the Parliament voting and has reiterated his appeal to Romanians to
\nspend Easter by strictly observing the conditions stipulated by the military
\nordinances. COVID has so far killed 392 people in Romania, where the number of
\ninfections exceeds 77 hundred. According to the authorities 1357 people have
\nbeen declared cured and released from hospitals. <\/p>\n
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NATO The Romanian Defence Minister,
\nNicolae Ciuc\u0103, took part on Wednesday in a meeting of the North-Atlantic
\nCouncil defence ministers, convened by the NATO secretary general Jens
\nStoltenberg. The meeting, held by conference call, focused on the implications
\nof the COVID-19 for the Alliance. Minister Ciuc\u0103 presented the efforts made to
\ncontain the virus in Romania, with support granted by the Army to the national
\nauthorities. Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 also reiterated Romania’s commitment to a continuing
\nparticipation in NATO’s operations, missions and activities, where Allied
\ntroops are facing not only specific threats in theatres of operations, but also
\nones related to the spread of the coronavirus, and in this context he requested
\nclose monitoring of the situation by the Alliance. The NATO defence ministers
\ndecided to put together a pandemic response plan, based on the lessons derived
\nfrom the experience and best practices of the Allied states and international
\norganisations in the context of the current crisis.<\/p>\n
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ORDINANCE Romanian
\nInterior Minister Marcel Velea on Thursday announced in the context of the
\ncornavirus pandemic the approval of Military Ordinance 9, which is banning
\nflights from and to Austria, Britain, the USA, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey and
\nIran. Flights from and to Italy will be banned for another 14 days starting
\nApril 19th. Flights to France and Germany are also banned for 14 days starting
\nApril 21st. Under the same ordinance
\nworkers at the border between Romania and Bulgaria can be exempted from staying
\nin quarantine unless they have COVID symptoms. The ordinance lifted the
\ninterdiction for exports with cereals as food safety has been assured until the
\nnext harvest. Minister Velea has cautioned those willing to come to Romania for
\nEaster that they will be placed in institutionalized quarantine. He urged the
\nRomanians to avoid crowded places and interaction with other people and refrain
\nfrom paying visits or receiving guests. We recall that the former agreement
\nbetween the Interior Ministry and the Romanian Orthodox Church, which would
\nhave allowed citizens to attend outdoor religious services has been amended
\nafter sharp criticism from the presidency and the medical professionals.
\nBelievers have been banned from participating in outdoor religious sermons;
\nthey will be able to watch live transmissions on TV or on the Internet. <\/p>\n
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(translated by bill)<\/p>\n
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