BUDGET The budget deficit target for Romania in 2021 remains 7%, the country’s
\nPrime Minister Florin Citu said upon the government meeting on Wednesday. He
\nunderlined that it is important that the trust of the European Commission, the
\nforeign investors and rating agencies be maintained. According to him the
\nbudget lays the foundation for a strong economy in the coming period 2021-2024.
\nFurthermore, the survey on this budget is a little bit different, because we
\nbegin the first part of a multi-annual budget, Citu went on to say. The
\nopposition Social-Democrats on Wednesday night presented their own draft budget
\nadding there are enough resources for investment, pay and pension rises as well
\nas for increased child benefits. On Tuesday, the PSD leadership held talks with
\nrepresentatives of the most important trade union federations in Romania. <\/p>\n
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VACCINE Romania’s vaccination campaign is in full swing with more than 570
\nthousand people being immunized so far against the novel Coronavirus. The
\ncountry’s Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu said that Romania is presently facing
\na shortage of the vaccine and pledged that sanctions would be applied to some vaccination centers, after many citizens from outside
\nthe risk categories, had been immunized. Last week, Romania got only half of
\nthe vaccine doses initially established, 117 thousand less. In the case of
\nfurther delayed supplies, authorities are to resort to worst-case scenario
\nstrategies and ban immunisation for certain categories. The goal of the first
\nstage in the immunization campaign, targeting the medical personnel, has been
\nmet 90%, campaign coordinator Valeriu Gheorghita says. Over 31 hundred new
\ninfections and 77 Covid-related fatalities were reported on Wednesday. Since
\nthe outbreak, over 718 thousand cases have been reported in Romania and more
\nthan 18 thousand fatalities. 1,025 patients are being treated in IC units. <\/p>\n
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HOLOCAUST Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, on Wednesday conveyed a message
\nmarking the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. President Iohannis said
\nremembrance doesn’t just bring back the pain, but also serves to educate us to
\nsteer clear of inherent traps generated by oblivion. Europe is currently
\nfacing waves of extremism, populism and anti-Semitism, the President argues,
\nand over the last 20 years Romania has developed a series of policies and
\ninstruments to combat such phenomena. In this context, the President urged the
\nGovernment to swiftly adopt the national strategy on the prevention and
\ncombating of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech. A brief
\nceremony honoring the victims of the Holocaust was observed in Bucharest on
\nWednesday. Various events were also staged in other cities across the country. <\/p>\n
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RELATIONS Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Wednesday sent a
\nletter of congratulations to his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, who took over
\nhis mandate as US Secretary of State after being confirmed in office by the US
\nCongress. According to the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Bogdan Aurescu
\nexpressed Bucharest’s readiness to continue the expansion of the Strategic
\nPartnership with the United States, a key pillar of Romania’s foreign affairs
\nand security policy. The Romanian Minister said Romania remains a trusted ally
\nand a close partner of the United States, expressing confidence that, over the
\nterm in office of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the two countries will
\ncontinue close coordination and ensure the security and prosperity of their
\ncitizens, as well as to promote regional stability, including in the Black Sea
\nregion. Moreover, Minister Aurescu argued in favor of a strengthened US
\nmilitary presence in Romania, underlying the development of a reliable and
\nsustainable deterrence capability in the Black Sea region, an area of strategic
\nimportance to trans-Atlantic security. At the same time, Bogdan Aurescu pointed
\nout one of Romania’s priorities is the continuous development of economic
\ncooperation with the United States. Also on this occasion, Minister Aurescu
\nextended an invitation to Secretary of State Blinken to visit Romania. <\/p>\n
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(bill)<\/p>\n
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