COVID-19 The Romanian authorities Thursday announced
\nover 16,000 new Covid-19 cases and 448 related deaths
\nin 24 hours. Some 1,800 patients are in intensive care. Bucharest
\nhas requested the European Commission to help supply Romanian hospitals with tocilizumab,
\nwhich is used in treating severe forms of the disease. Romanian authorities
\nhave also asked for teams of experts to support front-line staff for specific periods.
\nMeanwhile, as of Monday all school children will be on a 2-week holiday, access
\nto most activities will be conditional on presenting a digital COVID
\ncertificate, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor areas
\nand night curfews will be in place for the unvaccinated. These are just some of
\nthe restrictions introduced in an attempt to curb the pandemic. After having
\nanalysed the situation jointly with government officials, president Klaus
\nIohannis said the only solution to put an end to the epidemic is vaccination. However,
\nuntil a significant proportion of people get vaccinated, restrictions are
\nnecessary. <\/p>\n
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\n
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GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis is having talks today with parliamentary
\nparties, to designate a new prime minister after the proposed one-party cabinet
\nheaded by the president of Save Romania Union Dacian Ciolo\u015f Wednesday failed to
\nget a confidence vote from Parliament. The minority government made up of the
\nNational Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania
\nwas dismissed following a no-confidence motion, and negotiations failed to
\nrebuild the ruling coalition, broken up in September over disagreements between
\nthe Liberal PM Florin Citu and Save Romania Union. The Liberals said they were
\nwilling to discuss with all parliamentary parties, except for the nationalist
\nparty AUR, supporters of anti-vaccine theories. The Liberals’ National
\nPolitical Bureau Thursday decided to nominate Nicolae
\nCiuc\u0103 as prime minister with a minority government comprising the National
\nLiberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. Save Romania Union
\nwould like to restore the coalition with the 2 parties, but without Florin Citu
\nas prime minister. In turn, the Ethnic Hungarians would like to see the
\ncoalition rebuilt. The largest party in Parliament, the Social Democratic
\nParty, wants a government of experts, to help overcome the healthcare crisis,
\nwhereas AUR party asks President Klaus Iohannis to designate a prime minister
\nbacked by a sound parliamentary majority.<\/p>\n
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\n
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SUMMIT EU heads of state and government convene on Thursday and Friday in
\nBrussels to discuss EU-wide cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union’s digital agenda, the
\nrise in energy prices, migration, the EU trade policy and foreign relations. On
\nMonday, the
\npresident of Romania Klaus Iohannis took part in a videoconference with the
\npresident of the European Parliament Charles Michel and other EU leaders, in
\npreparation of this summit. The Romanian president highlighted the need to
\nquickly identify efficient short-term solutions to the current energy crisis,
\nwhich will have a notable social and economic impact on all EU member states.
\nKlaus Iohannis also emphasised the importance of diversifying energy sources,
\nof reducing the Union’s reliance on third-country suppliers, and of ensuring
\nenergy supply security.<\/p>\n
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\n
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ECONOMY All EU member states concluded year 2020 with governmental
\ndeficits, Eurostat announced today. The highest levels were reported in Spain
\n(11% of GDP), Greece (10.1% of GDP), Malta (9.7% of GDP), Italy (9.6% of GDP) and
\nRomania (9.4% of GDP). According to Eurostat, Denmark and Sweden were the only
\nEU countries with government deficits below the 3% of GDP ceiling stipulated in
\nthe Stability and Growth Pact. Across the EU, the government deficit
\nskyrocketed from 0.5% of GDP in 2019 to 6.9% of GDP last year.<\/p>\n
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FOOTBALL
\nRomanian football champions CFR
\nCluj are playing today at home against the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, in Group D of
\nthe Europa Conference League. The Romanians are ranking last in the group, with
\n1 point out of 2 matches, whereas their opponents are the group leaders, with 4
\npoints. In the previous leg, CFR drew at home against Danish side Randers FC,
\nand AZ Alkmaar won on home turf against the Czech club Jablonec. CFR is the
\nonly Romanian team playing in continental competitions this season. (tr. A.M. Popescu) <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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