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\n<\/p>\n
COVID-19 -
\nThe largest batch of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will reach Romania today,
\ntotaling 1.1 million doses. The vaccine may now be administered to children
\naged 12-15, after the European Medicines Agency greenlit the vaccine as safe
\nfor this age bracket. Since the start of the vaccination campaign at the end of
\n2020, over 4.3 million people got vaccinated against COVID-19, three quarters of
\nwhom with both shots. Last weekend saw new vaccination marathons across the
\ncountry. Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 infections continues to drop. All counties
\nare reporting an incidence rate below 1 per thousand inhabitants in the last 14
\ndays. On Monday, the Group for strategic communication announced the lowest
\nnumber of infections reported in the last 24 hours since the start of the
\npandemic – 153. Another 36 related fatalities have also been reported. 425
\npeople are still in intensive care. <\/p>\n
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MEASURES -
\nStarting June 1 the Government is easing a number of COVID-related
\nrestrictions. Private parties with a limited number of attendants are allowed
\nagain, while sports events will resume in enclosed spaces as well. Clubs,
\nnightclubs, as well as interior playgrounds and pools will also reopen. The
\nnumber of participants can exceed the maximum allowed provided all participants
\nare vaccinated. Outdoor cultural events are also permitted with a maximum of
\n1,000 participants, provided the incidence rate is below 3 per thousand
\ninhabitants. Face masks can also be eliminated in workplaces with a maximum of
\n5 employees allowed in each office, provided they are vaccinated. <\/p>\n
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PNRR – Romania’s
\nNational Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) might be submitted to the European
\nCommission today, as announced by Cristian Ghinea, the Minister of Investments
\nand European Projects. 30 separate documents for each of the Plan’s sections
\nwill be uploaded to the Commission’s digital platform. After the Commission
\nrejected the first draft submitted by the Romanian Government, the revised Plan
\nwill be made public on June 2, Romania being one the few countries at EU level
\nto do this, Minister Ghinea explains. Liberal Prime Minister Florin
\nC\u00ee\u0163u said the document has already been presented in Parliament’s specialised
\ncommittees, while experts from the Social-Democratic Party in opposition have
\nseen the final draft. Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu expressed
\ndisapointment that the plan hasn’t been discussed in detail and claimed the
\nreforms and funds alloted to SMEs are unknown. Romania will receive nearly \u20ac30
\nmillion Euro under its National Recovery and Resilience Plan. <\/p>\n
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\n
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INQUIRY – Interior Minister Lucian Bode said Romania is a safe
\ncountry, and the assassination in Arad is an isolated case. The Romanian
\nofficial promised the culprits will be brought to justice. On Saturday, a known
\nbusinessman in Arad died after his car exploded. The Prosecutor General’s
\nOffice has taken lead in the inquiry. Arad County Prefect, T\u00f3th Csaba, has
\nordered additional measures to maintain public order. The businessman owned one
\nof the few African salmon farms in Eastern Europe outside Arad.<\/p>\n
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\n
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EPPO – The
\nEuropean Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), the EU’s new anti-fraud prosecution
\nbody, starts its activity on June 1, under the leadership of former head of the
\nRomanian Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Laura Codru\u0163a K\u00f6vesi. According to estimates,
\ncorruption, embezzlement and fraud are causing losses of some \u20ac500 million
\nevery year in the EU budget. Starting June 1, European prosecutors will take
\naction against criminal activities of this kind and will make sure no funds are
\nwasted due to corruption and fraud, European Commissioner for Values and Transparency,
\nV\u011bra Jourov\u00e1, has said. Charged with identifying and investigating corruption
\ncases, EPPO will have an annual budget of \u20ac45 million. Five EU member states
\nhave refused to take part in the EPPO. <\/p>\n
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NATO – NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoan\u0103, is today paying
\na visit to Romania, accompanied by the president of the NATO Military
\nCommission, General Stuart Peach. Mircea Geoan\u0103’s agenda is very busy,
\nincluding a visit to the NATO Multinational Division Southeast, which is taking
\npart in the NATO Steadfast Defender 21 multinational exercise. Mircea Geoan\u0103
\nwill meet with Romania’s Defense Minister, Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 and with Chief of
\nGeneral Staff, Daniel Petrescu. The NATO official will also attend the Black
\nSea Atlantic Security Council, hosted by Aspen Institute – Romania. During his
\nvisit Mircea Geoan\u0103 will open the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Center, alongside
\nRomania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, and EU
\nCommissioner for Inter-institutional relations and forecast, Maros Sefcovic,
\nthe vice-president of the European Commission. <\/p>\n
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\n
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ROLAND GARROS
\n– Three Romanian tennis players are today playing in the first round at Roland
\nGarros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. Irina Begu will take on
\nSerena Williams of the United States, the tournament’s seventh seed. Sorana
\nC\u00eerstea will go up against Johanna Konta of Great Britain, while Mihaela
\nBuz\u0103rnescu will play Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. On Tuesday, Irina Bara
\nwill go up against Astra Sharma of Australia. We recall Ana Bogdan has advanced
\nto the second round, where she will take on Naomi Osaka of Japan, world no. 2,
\nwho in the first round knocked out another Romanian, Patricia Tig. Simona
\nHalep, world no. 3 and the winner of Roland Garros in 2018, will not take part
\nin the tournament due to an injury. (VP)<\/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":[35374,31801,36225,36226,36165,29710,29089,36217],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-covid-19","tag-eppo","tag-inquiry-in-arad","tag-nato-romania-relations","tag-pnrr","tag-restrictions","tag-roland-garros","tag-vaccination-marathons"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n