May 29, 2020 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 29.05.2020, 20:07

CONFERENCE
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan
Aurescu on Friday attended a videoconference with his EU counterparts, which
had high on its agenda the EU-China relations and the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic in the Asia-Pacific region. Also high on the agenda were the two
upcoming high-level meetings, the EU-China summit in June and the EU-China
meeting in Leipzig in September expected to be attended by EU and Chinese
leaders. Ministers have tackled the most effective ways of engaging China in a
constructive dialogue, the Ministry in Bucharest has announced. Minister
Aurescu has underlined the importance of endorsing the EU-China Strategic
Agenda for 2025 and the Common Action Plan for cooperation in the field of
science, technology and innovation as well as the signing of the EU-China
Agreement on the protection of geographical indications. The head of the
Romanian diplomacy has also referred to the need for redefining the long-term
relations between the EU and China against the new background created by the
pandemic. He has also underlined the importance of Transatlantic coordination
including in fields like cyber-security and investment in major infrastructure.

UN Romania has supported and continues to support the UN peace-keeping
efforts being a major contributor to the missions and operations under its
aegis, the Defence Ministry in Bucharest announced on Friday, the Day of the UN
Peace-keeping Forces. In 2020 Romania celebrates a record of 29 years of
ongoing participation in this kind of missions, starting with the first
observers during the UNIKOM mission in Iraq and Kuwait. Since then over 10
thousand Romanian servicemen have been deployed to various world regions and
participated in 25 peacekeeping missions, the Ministry has informed. According
to the same sources, the Romanian army is currently participating in
peace-keeping missions in Congo, Kosovo, South Sudan, the borderline between
India and Pakistan and the Republic of Mali.

SCHOOL Romanian pupils in their final secondary and high school years will
return to school on 2nd June for ten days to prepare for their
upcoming national exams. Education minister Monica Anisie said, however, that
attendance is optional. The authorities have decided to go ahead with the
established timetable for examinations, namely 15th June for
secondary school exams and high school exams beginning a week later, on the 22nd
June. All schools were closed in Romania on 11th March because of
the coronavirus pandemic with teaching being conducted online, and will only
reopen in autumn.

SUPPORT
The Romanian government has
adopted a series of measures to support the employees returning to work after 1st
June, as well as employers. The state is to cover salary costs for the next
three months, with employers undertaking to maintain the respective jobs for a
further six months. The areas that will still be affected after 1st
June are also going to be identified, with the furlough scheme to still be
supported by the state. Around 430,000 employments contracts have been
terminated and some 596,000 suspended because of the health crisis generated by
the new coronavirus.

RENAULT The French giant Renault has unveiled an
extensive cost-saving plan part of which some 15,000 jobs will be cut
worldwide, including 4,600 in France. The group also says it will freeze plans
to expand production in Romania and Morocco. France Presse news agency quotes
experts as saying that Renault was facing a weakening of its brand in Europe
and difficulties in its alliance with the Japanese companies Nissan and
Mitsubishi even before the coronavirus crisis. According to experts, between
2009 and 2019, Renault managed, however, to increase its market share in Europe
by more than 1% to reach 10.5%, this achievement is linked exclusively to the
Romanian brand Dacia, which saw its sales double. Dacia was taken over by
Renault in 1999 and relaunched in 2004 with the Logan car, becoming in the
following years a significant player on the European car market.