COVID-19- The National Committee for Emergency Situations has
\nupdated the list of green countries, lifting mandatory quarantine and isolation
\nfor arrivals from these countries. Flights will resume to and from 32 states in
\nEurope: Bulgaria, Monaco, Croatia, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland,
\nAustria, Iceland, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia,
\nDenmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus,
\nFinland, Malta, Lithuania, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Andorra, the Faeroe
\nIslands and the Vatican. Another 12 countries, Canada, Morocco, Algeria,
\nAustralia, Rwanda, Uruguay, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, New Zealand, Tunisia
\nand Thailand are subject to the same measure. The list is compiled depending on
\nthe number of new cases reported in the last 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants.
\nThe Group for Strategic Communication in Bucharest has announced 397 infections
\nreported in Romania, taking the total number of confirmed cases to over 29.600.
\nThe death toll stands at 1.799, accounting for 6% of the total number of
\ninfected.<\/p>\n
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MOTION – Romanian Deputies are today debating a simple motion
\nfiled by the Social-Democratic opposition against Liberal Development Minister,
\nIon Stefan, accused of incompetence and forgery of public records. The Social-Democrats
\nhad filed the motion early last month, but it has been delayed due to health
\nproblems invoked by Ion Stefan. The Social-Democrats have pointed to integrity
\nissues related to Stefan’s financial statements and his controversial cuts in
\nthe Development Ministry’s anticorruption personnel and resources. The motion
\nwill be voted later today in the Chamber of Deputies. <\/p>\n
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ELECTIONS – Senators have also convened today to debate two
\ndraft laws on the local elections, one put forth by the Democratic Union of
\nEthnic Hungarians, and a second one launched by the Government, both seeking to
\nschedule local elections on September 27. The two documents on Monday got the
\ngo-ahead in the Senate’s committee on public administration without any further
\namendments being pushed. The two documents also stipulate measures to help
\norganize the elections, such as setting up voting polls in light buildings and
\ncontainer houses. <\/p>\n
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\n
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GDP – Romania’s GDP was by 0.3% higher in the first three
\nmonths of the year compared to the last quarter of 2019, reporting a 2.4% gross
\ngrowth and a 2.7% seasonal growth compared to the same period in 2019,
\naccording to a preliminary report made public today by the National Statistics
\nInstitute. <\/p>\n
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ECONOMY – According to today’s estimate released by the
\nEuropean Commission, Romania’s economy will shrink by 6% this year, close to
\nthe estimate the Commission announced in May. For next year, Romania’s GDP is
\nexpected to grow by 4%, as compared to the 4.2% estimate in May. Growth
\nprospects are still susceptible to certain risks, the Commission states. The
\nCommission estimates an inflation rate of 2.5% this year and 2.8% for 2021. As
\nregards the EU economy, the Commission warns it might be facing a fierce
\nrecession as a result of the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic,
\ndespite swift and far-reaching reactions across the community bloc. <\/p>\n
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\n
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ANTICORRUPTION – Corruption is a widespread phenomenon, not just in
\nEU member states, and its scope depends on the involvement of local
\nauthorities, EU chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi has told Euronews. The
\nformer head of the National Anticorruption Directorate spoke of the new remit
\nof the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), saying it will investigate
\nand prosecute fraud related to the EU budget. At present, the EPPO has been
\ndelayed in its activity by Malta, which has so far failed to submit an eligible
\nprosecutor representing this country. Referring to corruption in Romania, Laura
\nCodruta Kovesi refused to comment on the activity of the institution she
\nspearheaded up until two years ago, but claimed the independence of the
\njudiciary has been hampered by constant attacks and legislative changes. In
\n2018 Kovesi was removed from the helm of the Directorate following a
\nConstitutional Court ruling. Kovesi subsequently won a court case against the
\nRomanian state in this matter at the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR
\nruled that Kovesi was denied her right to freedom of expression and free access
\nto a court, after having been removed from office by the Justice Minister at
\nthe time, Tudorel Toader, without being given the opportunity to defend her
\nrights in relation to her disciplinary dismissal. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/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":[33199,35374,31801,35631,30916,35629,35630,29799,29336,30130],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-anticorruption","tag-covid-19","tag-eppo","tag-european-commission-summer-forecast","tag-gdp-growth","tag-green-countries","tag-ion-stefan","tag-laura-codruta-kovesi","tag-local-elections","tag-simple-motion"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n