EASTERN PARTNERSHIP – Romania’s
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis is today taking part in an Eastern Partnership
\nvideoconference. The meeting is chaired by European Council President Charles
\nMichel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU’s High
\nRepresentative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. Attending
\nare heads of state and government from the EU27 in addition to the six partner
\nstates in the region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of
\nMoldova and Ukraine. The agenda will focus on three main topics: cooperation
\nand solidarity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reasserting the
\nstrategic importance of the Eastern Partnership and its core values as well as the
\nPartnership’s achievements and long-term goals. President Iohannis will be
\ncalling for a firm and continued commitment from the EU in its Eastern
\nNeighborhood, which based on the partner states’ visible progress in the field
\nof reforms, can become a stable, predictable and prosperous space, compatible
\nwith European values and principles, the Presidency informs. In another move,
\nthe President on Friday is attending the European Council meeting, also held in
\nvideoconference format. The agenda will include the Economic Recovery Plan and
\nthe 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework recently proposed by the European
\nCommission, the negotiation process for the future relations between the
\nEuropean Union and Great Britain, as well as foreign policy topics. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The number of
\nconfirmed infections continues to rise in Romania. Another 320 cases have been
\nreported since the last update, taking the total number of infected to 23.080.
\nOver 16.300 people have recovered and 1.473 have died. 178 patients are now in
\nintensive care. According to Health Minister Nelu Tataru, the rise in the
\nnumber of cases is the result of several measures aimed at easing lockdown
\nrestrictions. On the other hand, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said theatres and
\nrestaurants in Romania, will be reopened whenever the epidemiological context
\nallows it. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said that, for the time being, the
\nauthorities don’t know how the situation will evolve, and has called on
\neveryone to remain vigilant and strictly observe the regulations.<\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Some 8.4
\nmillion people around the world have been infected with COVID-19, with the
\nglobal death toll standing at some 451 thousand, considering over 4.4 million
\npeople infected with SARS CoV2 have recovered, worldometers.info reports.
\nAmerica totals some 4 million cases, followed by Europe with 2.5 million, the
\nMiddle East with over 800 thousand and Southeastern Asia with over half a
\nmillion infections. According to BBC surveys, over 130.000 people worldwide
\nhave died to the virus on top of officially reported fatalities. The World
\nHealth Organization has announced its plans to restrict the clinical treatment
\nof COVID patients using hydroxychloroquine. WHO experts have concluded that
\nthis medicine, commonly used to prevent malaria, has no impact in reducing mortality
\nrates. <\/p>\n
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PENSIONS – Parliament is
\ntoday debating and voting a draft law on taxing the so-called special pensions,
\nwhich was yesterday approved in the Chamber of Deputies. The vote is necessary
\nas the document also refers to the special pensions of MPs. Romanian deputies
\ndecided to levy a tax on the difference between the special pension and the
\nregular contribution-based pension. Therefore a 10% tax will be levied on
\npensions ranging between \u20ac400 and \u20ac1.450, while any pension above this mark
\nwill be subject to an 85% tax. <\/p>\n
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NATO – Romanian Defense
\nMinister Nicolae Ciuca attended a NATO ministerial videoconference, on which occasion
\nhe reiterated his call on NATO to increase its contribution to projects in the
\nBlack Sea, a region of strategic importance to NATO. According to a Defense
\nMinistry release, NATO Defense Ministers reviewed progress in implementing NATO’s
\ndeterrence and defense actions, with a focus on the ramifications generated by Russia’s
\ndevelopment of dual-capable missile systems. In this respect, NATO sanctioned a
\npackage of political and military adjustment measures, reiterating its firm commitment
\ntowards arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament efforts. <\/p>\n
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(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[35374,32064,28945,28921,29669],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-eastern-partnership","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-nato-meeting","tag-special-pensions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n