July 7, 2020 UPDATE

A news update

Newsroom, 07.07.2020, 20:12

Covid-19 — Another 31 people have died in Romania from coronavirus infection, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 1,799. 397 new cases of contamination were reported also on Tuesday which brings the total number of cases to 29.600. 5,095 Romanians from abroad have tested positive for the new coronavirus and 122 people have died. The National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of green countries, whose citizens will not be isolated or quarantined upon entering Romania. As of Tuesday flights have been resumed to and from 32 European states and 12 countries from other continents. These countries are: Bulgaria, Monaco, Croatia, the UK, The Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Island, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Lithuania, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Andorra, the Faeroes Islands and Vatican. The list of third countries includes Canada, Morocco, Algeria, Australia, Rwanda, Uruguay, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, New Zealand, Tunisia and Thailand. The list has been drafted according to the number of new cases of contamination reported in the past 14 days per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Economy — Romania’s economy will register a 6% decrease in 2020, according to estimates made public on Tuesday by the EC. The estimates are similar to those made in May. For next year, the EC estimates a growth rate of Romania’s GDP of 4% as against the 4.2% forecast made in May. The EC warns that growth prospects are still susceptible to certain risks. In another move, the EC estimates show an inflation rate of 2.5% in 2020 and of 2.8% in 2021. As regards the EU economy, the EC has warned that it is going to face deep recession following the coronavirus pandemic, despite the rapid and comprehensive response given by the EU states.

Motion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday debated a simple motion of no confidence filed by the opposition Social Democratic Party against the Liberal minister of development Ion Stefan, whom they accused of incompetence and forgery. The Social Democrats also mentioned integrity issues related to minister Stefans financial statements and his controversial move of cutting down on the anticorruption personnel and resources within the ministry. Minister Ion Stefan replied that the motion only included calumnies and verbal attacks. The vote on the motion is scheduled for next week.

Senate – The Romanian Senate on Tuesday voted a bill stipulating that local elections will be held on September 27. The draft law also mentions that the polling stations will be located within lightweight constructions and living containers. The bill will be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, a decision-making body. Initially scheduled for June, the local elections have been postponed due to the pandemic. The mandates of the mayors, county council presidents and of the local and county councilors have consequently been extended by 6 months.

Football – The Bucharest-based football teams FCSB and Dinamo will play, on Wednesday evening, the decisive match of the Romanian Football Cup’s semifinals. In the first match, played on Dinamo’s turf, FCSB won 3-0. The other semifinal will be played on Thursday pitting CSM Poli Iasi against Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe. In the first match Sepsi defeated Poli Iasi 5-1. The final of Romania’s Cup will be played on July 22, in Ploiesti, in the south.

Cybercrime — The Italian and Romanian police have arrested 12 alleged cyber criminals accused of financial fraud and money laundering. The damage stands at more than 20 million dollars. Eurojust, the EU Agency dealing with judicial cooperation in criminal matters among agencies of the member states, says that following searches, one of the most important organized crime groups from Italy was dismantled. The group was selling inexistent goods and services, including fictitious properties, and it was cloning known websites to make the victims transfer the money. (tr. L. Simion)