COVID-19 The interim cabinet Friday introduced new restrictions in Romania, as
\nthe country is struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. The
\nmeasures will take effect on Monday, 25th October, and will be valid
\nfor 30 days. Face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor public
\nareas. Access to all central and local public institutions and to the offices
\nof private businesses will be conditional on the digital COVID certificate. A
\nban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on private events, including
\nweddings, conferences and workshops, will also be in place. Shops will only be
\nopen between 5 am and 9 pm, restaurants will be open until 9 pm but will only
\nadmit COVID certificate holders. A night curfew will also be introduced,
\nbetween 10 pm and 5 am, for the unvaccinated. Also on Monday, public
\nand private kindergartens, primary, secondary schools and high schools will
\ntake a 2-week break. On Friday the Strategic Communication Group reported 15,410
\nnew SARS-CoV-2 cases and 357 COVID-related deaths. 1,848 patients are in intensive care.
\nOver 128,000 people got vaccinated in the last 24 hours. <\/p>\n
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AID Romania is receiving aid from several European countries, including
\nItaly, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Poland, as well as from the
\nWorld Health Organisation. The aid consists in medicines, equipment, tests, and
\nthe transfer of some COVID patients, the head of the Department for Emergency
\nSituations Raed Arafat announced on Friday.Five Romanian COVID patients, in a critical condition, were taken on
\nFriday to Austria and Poland, by 2 military aircraft. Other patients have been
\ntransferred to Hungary.<\/p>\n
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GOVERNMENT In Romania, the interim
\ndefence minister Nicolae Ciuc\u0103, designated by president Klaus Iohannis to form a
\nnew government, initiated negotiations over parliamentary support. A first
\nmeeting was held on Friday, with the head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic
\nHungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor. The latter said his party would stay in
\npower together with the National Liberal Party, and mentioned that in the
\ncoming days the governing programme and distribution of cabinet seats would be
\ndiscussed. Save Romania Union is waiting for an invitation to talks, and will try to persuade the Liberals to go for a
\ncoalition government with majority support in parliament. PSD says it will talk
\nwith Nicolae Ciuca about a parliamentary majority to support the minority
\ngovernment, and AUR has stated it will not support such a government. The Prime
\nMinister Designate has called on all political actors to support the new cabinet,
\nso that Romania can quickly overcome the medical and economic crisis it is
\ngoing through.<\/p>\n
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\n
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AUTOMOTIVE Registrations of new hybrid vehicles in the EU accounted for nearly
\n21% of the Union’s automotive market in the 3rd quarter of the year,
\noutperforming Diesel vehicle registrations for the first time. According to the
\nEuropean Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, in July-September sales
\nof petrol-based cars dropped by 35%, while registrations of new diesel cars
\nmore than halved across the EU region. Alternatively-powered vehicles saw a 69%
\nincrease in sales in Central Europe in the same period. In Romania, sales rose
\nby over 153% compared to 2020.<\/p>\n
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\n
\nMOLDOVA The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Friday
\ndeclared a 30-day state of emergency in the country over a natural gas
\nshortage. The government requested the measure in order to be able to procure
\nnatural gas from alternative sources, given that the Russian supplier Gazprom is
\nno longer providing sufficient quantities to meet the demand, Radio Chi\u015fin\u0103u
\nannounced. According to the resolution, until 20th November, a
\nspecial procedure will be in place, to speed up the procurement of natural gas.
\nIf necessary, energy consumption will be rationalised, and instruments to
\nquickly collect payments from consumers will be introduced. According to Radio
\nChi\u015fin\u0103u, negotiations with the Russian energy giant carry on, but in the
\nmeantime the government is discussing with other states as well, including
\nUkraine, Romania, and Poland, to purchase natural gas from alternative sources.
\nNatural gas prices has risen steeply in recent months in international markets,
\nand some officials accuse Russia of energy blackmail. <\/p>\n
EUROPEAN
\nCOUNCIL The European Council president Charles Michel and the head
\nof the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Friday at the end
\nof a meeting in Brussels, that the energy topic will be once again on the
\nagenda of the December meeting of the European Council. In the meantime, the
\nCommission will conduct an analysis of the EU electricity and natural gas
\nmarket and on the carbon transaction market, after several member states blamed
\nthe recent energy price rises on problems in these areas. An emergency meeting of
\nEU energy ministers was also scheduled for next week. Romania was represented
\nby president Klaus Iohannis, who emphasised ahead of the meeting the
\nneed to quickly identify
\nefficient short-term solutions, as the current energy crisis will have serious
\neffects in all EU countries, with a profound socio-economic impact. <\/p>\n
(tr. A.M. Popescu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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