COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The
\nGovernment has extended by another 30 days the state of alert in Romania.
\nAnother 4,013 new infections and 73 fatalities have been reported in the last
\n24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 168,490 and the
\nnational death toll to 5,674. Also there are currently 721 people in intensive
\ncare. The authorities have also launched the first test allowing for the
\nsimultaneous detection of COVID-19 and seasonal flu. Health Minister Nelu
\nT\u0103taru announced that based on an emergency decree that is currently being
\ndrafted, minor and medium cases of SARS-CoV-2 as well as asymptomatic patients
\nwill be treated at home and the patients will remain under the surveillance of
\nfamily physicians. Serious cases will be hospitalized. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
EUROPEAN COUNCIL – EU leaders
\nattending the European Council meeting in Brussels concluded their first round
\nof talks regarding upcoming relations with the UK. Attending the meeting,
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis said progress has been insufficient in this respect,
\nalthough negotiators have been encouraged to continue their efforts. The
\nPresident said Romania is in favor of an agreement, which is the best possible
\nway to guarantee a partnership between the EU and the UK. President Iohannis
\nalso pointed out an agreement would also favor the Romanian citizens living in
\nGreat Britain, but also Romanian businesses in this country. High on the agenda
\nof the meeting is also the COVID-19 pandemic and combating climate change. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TALKS – The Government
\nwill support the European Commission in its efforts to pass the 2021-2027
\nmultiannual financial framework and all details related to the Economic
\nRecovery program, adopted by the European Council, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban
\nhas said. The Romanian official on Thursday had talks with EU Commissioner for
\nBudget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, on a visit to Bucharest. The agenda
\nfor talks also includes the upcoming EU budget, the Recovery and Resilience
\nFacility and the rule of law. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
MEETING – Romania’s Foreign
\nMinister Bogdan Aurescu on Thursday had a conversation over the telephone with
\nhis Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, about boosting bilateral
\nrelations, the strategic partnership and cooperation between the two countries
\nin the context of the COVID-19 health crisis. According to a Foreign Ministry
\npress release, both parties also expressed a willingness to celebrate the
\ncentennial of bilateral relations in 2021, as well as to sign over the course
\nof next year a document in order to establish the Strategic Partnership between
\nthe two states. Foreign Minister Motegi took the opportunity to underscore the
\nfact that Romania is an important partner for Japan. On the other hand,
\nMinister Bogdan Aurescu reiterated Romania’s gratitude to Japan for the
\nlatter’s decision to donate 12,200 tablets of Avigan (Favipiravir), an
\nexperimental drug used to treat coronavirus-related conditions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
SANCTIONS – The European Union
\non Thursday adopted new sanctions against Russian officials close to President
\nVladimir Putin, deemed responsible for the poisoning of Russian opposition
\nfigure Alexei Navalny. Sanctions were also taken against a state-run research
\nfacility in Russia. We recall Alexei Navalny passed out during a domestic
\nflight in Siberia on August 20. Two days later he was transported to Germany in
\na coma. Army lab results confirmed
\nNavalny had been poisoned with a Novichok military-grade nerve agent. Russia
\ndenied any involvement in the matter. On Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Minister
\nSergey Lavrov warned Russia will respond with sanctions of its own. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
ACADEMY AWARDS – Alexander Nanau’s
\ndocumentary colectiv will be nominated by the National Cinema Center for the
\n2021 Academy Awards in the Best international feature section. This is the
\nfirst time Romania will nominate a documentary film for the Oscar Awards. American
\nfilm distributors announced they would enroll colectiv also in the Best
\ndocumentary section, which will increase its chances of being selected.
\ncolectiv has also been shortlisted at the European Film Academy Awards and
\ncan be voted in the European documentary section. The film tells the story of
\nthe Colectiv nightclub fire of October 30, 2015, which killed 64 people. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V.
\nPalcu)<\/p>\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":[34419,28963,29431,35374,28997,30665,30168,29000,35805,32920],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-academy-awards","tag-bogdan-aurescu","tag-colectiv","tag-covid-19","tag-european-council","tag-johannes-hahn","tag-ludovic-orban","tag-president-klaus-iohannis","tag-romania-japan-relations","tag-sanctions-on-russia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n