December 1, 2020 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 01.12.2020, 19:00

National Day. Low-key celebrations
due to the pandemic were held on Tuesday in Romania and the Romanian communities
abroad to celebrate the National Day on 1st December and 102 years since the
creation of the Romanian nation state. In Bucharest’s Arch of Triumph Square,
usually the site of military parades involving thousands of troops and attended
by thousands of spectators, a modest military celebration was held this year
with around 150 troops. The guests included doctors, medical staff and foreign
ambassadors, alongside president Klaus Iohannis, prime minister Ludovic Orban
and the interim Senate speaker Robert Cazanciuc. Dear Romanians, the
involvement of each an every one you is needed today, just like in the
important moments we celebrate on National Day, said president Iohannis. He
continued: We have seen all over the country heart-warming stories about
people who reach out to help others, about people who volunteer and about
people who are donating for hospitals in difficulty. This is what the union of
Romanians signifies in 2020!. On National day, the president decorated a
number of doctors and nurses for their contribution to the fight against
coronavirus and to saving lives. Low-key events attended only by the local
authorities were held in all big cities in Romania.

Coronavirus Romania. For Romania, November was the
most difficult month in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, recording almost
half of all infections so far and more than a third of all coronavirus-related
fatalities. 2,000 more people than at the end of October are receiving hospital
treatment and 300 more people are in intensive care. Recent days have seen
signs, however, that the situation is improving slightly. Tuesday saw 4,272 new
daily cases and 199 new deaths, while 1,259 people are now in intensive care. While
two weeks ago almost the entire country was in the high-risk red category,
with counties where the infection rate over 14 days was 8 and 9 cases per 1,000
inhabitants, only two counties now have an infection rate of more than 7 cases
per 1,000 inhabitants and two others are in the green category, with an
infection rate of less than 1.5 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. The authorities
are urging people to continue to respect the sanitary rules in place.

Vaccination. The European Medicines
Agency announced on Tuesday it would hold an extraordinary meeting to
decide whether to give the green light to the marketing of the Covid vaccine
developed by the German company BioNTech and the American company Pfizer. Also
on Tuesday, French president Emmanuel Macron said in a press conference that
France is planning to launch a widespread vaccination campaign for the public between
April and June, after a first vaccination drive targeted at the most
vulnerable. In Romania, president Klaus Iohannis said the national vaccination
campaign will be approved on Thursday by the Country’s Supreme Defence Council.
He said the first vaccination drive would target the medical staff and the
vulnerable people, with widespread vaccination to start, most probably, in
spring.

EU funding. Starting on 1st December,
Romania can access 3 billion euros worth of European Union funding as part of a
temporary support programme to mitigate unemployment (SURE). Romania is to
receive a total of 4 billion euros in two stages, the president of the European
Commission Ursula von der Leyen told Radio Romania. She also said she hoped an
agreement would eventually be reached, but that the European Commission is
working on alternatives for member states to be able to access the recovery
package which is currently blocked by Hungary and Poland who are opposed to EU
funding being linked to the rule of law. Von der Leyen also said the first
vaccinations against Covid-19 may take place before the end of the year.

NATO. NATO. The Romanian foreign minister
Bogdan Aurescu is attending a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers to
discuss security in the Black Sea region. The talks, which are held in a
video-conference format, are looking at the application of allied decisions
with regard to NATO’s adjustment to current security developments and strategic
challenges. In the first working session on Tuesday, the Romanian foreign
minister said special attention should still be given to consolidating NATO’s
role, reaffirming the central role of the transatlantic relation based on the
principles of cohesion, unity and allied solidarity, as well as revitalising
NATO partnerships, including by continuing the open doors policy. He also reiterated
support for the peace process in Afghanistan and expressed hope that a peace
accord would be achieved soon.

Inflation. The annual inflation rate
in the eurozone remained at minus 0.3% in November compared with the previous
month, according to preliminary data published on Tuesday by Eurostat, the
European statistics office. The annual inflation rate in the eurozone remained
in negative territory, which analysts see as a result of lower demand because of
the coronavirus pandemic. The stable inflation rate in November is mainly
explained by the fact that the price of food, alcoholic beverages and
cigarettes grew by 1.9% (compared to a 2% growth in October), and the price of
services grew by 0.6% (compared with a 0.4% growth in October), while energy
prices saw an 8.4% drop (compared with an 8.2% drop in October). In October,
the annual inflation rate in the European Union remained stable at 0.3%, with
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania with the highest rates. (CM)