COVID-19 ROMANIA – A little over 14 thousand new cases of
\nCOVID-19 infection were reported on Sunday in Romania, in addition to 22
\nrelated fatalities. Compared to previous waves, the rate of hospitalization of
\npeople who got infected is much lower, authorities say. Some 600 people are
\ncurrently in intensive care. The authorities expect the infection rate to
\ncontinue to rise in following days, which will in turn determine a rise in the
\nrate of bed occupation across hospitals. In the worst-case scenario, Romania
\ncould report as many as 70 thousand daily infections in February. At present,
\nthe incidence rate in Bucharest has reached 9.50 per thousand inhabitants.
\nStarting Sunday, people from Bucharest and Ilfov can test for COVID-19 in 20
\nmedical units, with an additional 8 expected to open next week. The measure
\nfollows an announcement made by the Ambulance Service, who said the number of
\npeople calling for COVID testing has increased alarmingly, causing delays of up
\nto 72 hours in the arrival of testing teams. Over 8 million Romanians have so
\nfar received at least one shot of the anti-COVID vaccine. <\/p>\n
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UNION – Romania will mark 163
\nyears since the Union of the Romanian Principalities on Monday by means of
\nvarious events. On January 24, 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was proclaimed ruler
\nof the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, voted by the Elective Assembly
\nin Bucharest. Cuza’s rule (1859-1866) laid the foundations of modern Romania
\nthrough radical reforms. Cuza adopted the Civil and Criminal Codes and created
\na national army. It also introduced mandatory primary education and founded the
\nfirst universities. Cuza was forced to step down and go into exile in 1866. His
\nsuccessor was King Charles I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. His
\nlong rule wound earn Romania its independence from the Ottoman Empire. In 1918,
\nKing Ferdinand the Unifier completed the nation-building process by uniting the
\nterritories with a Romanian majority population in 1918. <\/p>\n
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FAC MEETING – Romania’s Foreign
\nMinister, Bogdan Aurescu, is attending the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC)
\nmeeting in Brussels on Monday. EU Foreign Ministers will discuss security
\ndevelopments in Europe and the developments in Libya and Syria. Attending by
\nvideoconference will also be US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. High on the
\nmeeting’s agenda are also the latest developments in Mali, Sudan and the
\nIndia-Pacific area. The meeting will continue debates occasioned by the Gymnich
\nmeeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brest, France, held on January 13-14.
\nMinister Aurescu will reiterate Romania’s position in the current context, with
\na focus on EU unity, based on the shared principles and values. The Romanian
\nofficial will call on the EU to continue to adopt firm and reliable deterrence actions
\nwith respect to Russia, while at the same time to consolidate Ukraine’s
\nresilience and other partners in the Eastern vicinity. <\/p>\n
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RUSSIA-NATO RELATIONS – The United States
\nfind the accusations over Moscow’s plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine
\ndeeply concerning, the White House said in response to a report by
\nthe British Foreign Office. The Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to
\ndetermine their own future, and we stand with our democratically elected
\npartners in Ukraine, National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said.
\nIn a harsh press release, British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, condemned what
\nshe has termed the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine.
\nThe British Foreign Office claims Russia is trying to install a pro-Russian
\nleader in Kiev as Moscow weighs up a further invasion and occupation of
\nUkraine. In another development, NATO has rejected Russia’s request to withdraw
\nits troops from Bulgaria and Romania and denounced the idea of a spheres of influence
\nin Europe. Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, urged European leaders to
\nadopt a firm and unitary attitude against Russia, in the wake of Moscow’s plans
\nto invade Ukraine. Moscow has rallied over 100 thousand troops on the Ukrainian
\nborder. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all members of NATO, will provide
\nUkraine with anti-tank and anti-air missile systems made in the United States.
\nRomania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, has called a meeting of the country’s
\nSupreme Defense Council to discuss the growing tensions in the region. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[28963,35374,32673,36525,36524],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-bogdan-aurescu","tag-covid-19","tag-fac-meeting","tag-russia-nato-relations","tag-union-of-the-romanian-principalities"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n