September 5, 2020 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 05.09.2020, 19:20

Coronavirus. 1,269 new daily
coronavirus cases were reported on Saturday in Romania, taking the infections
number to almost 94,000. 38 new deaths were also reported, which raises the
death toll to 3,850. The highest number of new cases were in Bucharest, 352,
followed by Iasi and Bacau counties. 476 people are in intensive care. Among the
Romanian nationals living abroad, 6.599have
contracted the virus, mostly in Germany, Italy and Spain, and 126 have died.

Forum. The
European Union is still divided with respect to defence and military industry -
was the conclusion of discussions on day two of the Black Sea and Balkans
Security Forum organised in Bucharest by the New Strategy Center with the support
of the foreign affairs
and defence ministries. Talks looked at all types of security risks and threats
in the Black Sea region and the Balkans, including those arising in the context
of the coronavirus pandemic. On day one of the forum on Friday, the Romanian
defence minister Nicolae Ciuca warned that the Black Sea is one of NATO’s most
vulnerable regions and that the entire region has become the place where NATO’s
credibility and defence and deterrence posture are most frequently tested. Ukraine’s
defence minister Andriy Taran, who attended the forum,
requested Romania’s expert assistance to improve Ukraine’s defence planning and
capabilities and boost the interoperability of Ukraine’s troops with those of
NATO. On Saturday, the
defence ministers of Romania and Ukraine signed an inter-governmental agreement
for technical and military cooperation.

UN. The Romanian foreign minister
Bogdan Aurescu on Friday addressed an informal UN Security Council meeting held
online on the human rights situation in Belarus, a meeting initiated by Estonia
and backed by Romania alongside the UK, the US, Canada, Denmark, Iceland,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Aurescu said Romania would continue to
call on the Belarus authorities and their supporters to put an end to
repression and intimidation, to engage in genuine dialogue with the opposition
and civil society, to stop unfounded accusations against neighbouring states
and to act responsibly to achieve social peace and prosperity based on
democracy and respect for fundamental rights in a free, independent and
sovereign Belarus. Bucharest is also in favour of EU sanctions against those
responsible for repression and for rigging the elections and is looking for
ways to support civil society and the free press in Belarus, the Romanian
minister also said.

Energy. Romania exported on Saturday
around 1,500 MW of electricity following a large production of wind energy.
This form of energy accounted for more than 32% of the total amount of
electricity generated on Saturday nationwide, while the country’s nuclear power
plant accounted for 17%, its hydropower plants for some 17%, coal for 13%,
photovoltaic systems for 9%, hydrocarbons for 9% and biomass for 0.5%. The
large output of wind energy is the result of the strong winds in Constanta and
Tulcea counties in the south-east, where most of Romania’s windmills are. Romania
also exported wind energy on Friday, after a summer dominated by imports.

Enescu competition. 13 young cellists
from 54 participants reached the second stage of the George Enescu International
Competition. The participants selected after the second stage will take part in
the competition’s semifinal, which will be held on the 13th of May
next year at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. This year’s edition of the
George Enescu International Competition, which was due to take place between 29th
August and 20th September, has been reorganised because of the
pandemic into two separate events: the first two stages are held online in
September, as initially scheduled, while the semifinals and the finals in each
category will be held in May next year. The competition has brought together
205 musicians from 39 different countries. 184 are in competition in the three
instrument sections, namely violin, cello and piano, while 21 are in competition
in the composition section.