COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Another 698 new infections were reported in
\nRomania on Saturday by the Group for Strategic Communication, the highest
\nnumber since the start of the outbreak, taking the total number of infections
\nat 32.079. 23.613 people have recovered and 1.871 have died. Some 239 patients
\nare now in intensive care. Another 5.104 Romanians have tested negative for the
\nvirus abroad. Of these, 122 have died. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban says the
\nstate is virtually incapacitated in dealing with the pandemic, after the Senate
\non Saturday postponed the debate and vote on a Government bill on isolation and
\nquarantine. On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies passed the law in a heavily
\nmodified form. The Social-Democrats in opposition claim the law infringes on citizens’
\nrights and liberties, calling on the Prime Minister, Justice Minister and
\nrepresentatives of the Superior Council of Magistracy and human rights
\nassociations to attend the debate in the Senate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
RESTRICTIONS – Several states have announced restrictions for
\nRomanians travelling abroad. People with holiday plans in Austria need
\ndocuments proving they tested negative for SARS CoV2, which must be no older
\nthan 4 days at the time of entry. The document needs to be translated into
\nGerman and English and be accompanied by proof of accommodation in this
\ncountry. The Romanian Foreign Ministry says that anyone failing to provide the
\nsaid documentation will be placed in isolation for 14 days. The measure will be
\nlifted if the person in isolation tests negative during the interval. As of
\nMonday, Lithuania will deny access to Romanians, with the exception of people
\non transit to Romania. As of Tuesday, all Romanians travelling to Greece,
\nentering trough the Promachonas crossing point, will have to provide proof of negative
\ntesting against COVID-19, no older than 72 hours. Finally, Norway announced
\nthat all arrivals will stay isolated for 10 days starting July 15. Prime
\nMinister Ludovic Orban said he would call on all centers doing corona testing
\nto take priority for Romanians with planned holidays abroad. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
BUDGET -
\nEuropean Council President Charles Michel on Friday presented the proposals for
\nthe 2021-2027 EU budget, expected to stand at \u20ac1.074 billion and an economic
\nrecovery fund of \u20ac750 billion, aimed at helping countries cope with the
\neconomic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders of EU Member States next
\nweek will decide whether to change the proposed figures, as well as how the
\nmoney and funds will be allotted and spent for various policies. The economic
\nrecovery plan has been met with reluctance by Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden,
\nDenmark and Finland, which estimate they will have to fund southern European
\neconomies that have been hit bad by the pandemic. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
RESOLUTION
\n– In a resolution on Saturday the European Parliament laid out the principles
\nof the upcoming EU health strategy. MEPs have pointed out the current pandemic
\nis far from being over, insisting on the need for EU health systems to be
\nbetter equipped and coordinate with each other to deal with future threats to
\npublic healthcare. The resolution presents minimum common standards for quality
\nmedical assistance and the swift creation of the European health response
\nmechanism for all types of crises. According to the European Parliament, the
\nupcoming pharmaceutical strategy should provide measures that essential drugs
\nbe made available straight away in Europe, while diversified supply chains
\nshould guarantee access to drugs at affordable prices at any time. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
ARREST -
\nThe former head of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and
\nTerrorism (DIICOT), Alina Bica, wanted internationally, was arrested on
\nSaturday night in Italy, the Romanian Police General Inspectorate has
\nannounced. Alina Bica was evading the execution of her prison sentence. Alina
\nBica was sentenced in 2019 to 4 years in prison in a case where she was charged
\nfor favoring a businessman. According to the Romanian Police, after a series of
\njudicial formalities, Alina Bica will be handed over to Romanian authorities. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
JUDICIARY
\n– Romania is at the lower end of a ranking of EU Member States in terms of the
\nperceived independence of national justice systems, a Eurobarometer reveals.
\nAccording to the survey, 45% of Romanians have a fairly bad and very bad
\nimpression on the independence of judges and courts of law, and only 37% have a
\ngood and very good impression. 49% of Romanians say the magistrates’ lack of
\nindependence is the effect of a mix of Government and political pressure, while
\n27% believe this matters to a certain extent. <\/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":[29234,35641,35374,32844,35643,35644,35254,35642],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-alina-bica","tag-bill-on-isolation-and-quarantine","tag-covid-19","tag-eu-budget","tag-healthcare-resolution","tag-independence-of-the-judiciary-survey","tag-liberal-government","tag-restrictions-for-romanian-travellers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n