January 8, 2021

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 08.01.2021, 13:55

VACCINE The EU has concluded a fresh
agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for the purchase of another 300 million doses of
anti-Covid vaccine, besides the 300 million already purchased, the head of the
European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has been cited by DPA as saying.
According to the EU official, 75 million doses would be delivered in the second
quarter of the year. The EU immunization campaign with the vaccine produced by
the German-US consortium Pfizer-BioNTec kicked off in December. The EU has also
approved the Moderna vaccine and is waiting for the delivery of the first 160
million doses. The European Commission has attracted a lot of heat for the slow
pace of the immunization campaign addressing its 450 million citizens.

EC The European Commission has again
cautioned the centre-right coalition government in Bucharest that it has to
keep budget deficit at bay, after expenditures soared in 2020 whereas incomes
went down against the background of the health crisis. ‘We are expecting from
Romania a robust 2021 budget’ the vice-president of the European Commission
Valdis Dombrovskis said in a phone talk with the Romanian Finance Minister
Alexandru Nazare. The Romanian official has pledged that promoting investment
remains a priority and so does the use of EU funds. Minister Nazare has given
assurances that Bucharest is considering a gradual reduction of the deficit,
starting this year so that it may reach 3% of the GDP in 2024.

COVID-19 Romania’s Health Ministry
wants to simplify procedures for setting up and authorizing the anti-Covid
vaccination centers across the country. According to Minister Vlad Voiculescu
the government is working on amending legislation to set the regulations
concerning the authorization and functioning of these centers. The minister
went on to say that Romania must shortly have about one thousand suchlike points
able to immunize 150 thousand citizens a day. 76 thousand people have been
immunized in Romania so far and experts believe that immunization comes a week
after getting the second dose of the vaccine produced by PfizerBioNTech, the
only one used in Romania so far. Roughly 5 thousand fresh Covid infections were
reported in Romania on Thursday after nearly 31 thousand tests had been
conducted. Most of the cases, 940, were reported in Bucharest. 11 people died
and 1106 are in intensive care. Out of the 658 thousand infected since the
onset of the pandemic in Romania, nearly 90% have been cured.

SCHOOLS Students might come back to schools
starting February 8th, Romania’s Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu
said at a meeting with representatives of trade unions in the field and of
associations of students and teachers. However, the decision hinges on the
evolution of the pandemics, and the opening of schools and kindergartens will
be done differently depending upon the infection rate in every region. National
exams are to be held face-to-face with the strict observance of the prevention
measures in place.

MEETING Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis is today holding talks with the Liberal Prime
Minister, Florin Citu, and with the ministers nominated by the National Liberal
Party in the executive, such as Defence minister Nicolae Ciuca, Foreign
Minister Bogdan Aurescu, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare and Interior
Minister Lucian Bode. On Thursday the president held talks with the Prime
Minister and the ministers nominated by the USR-PLUS alliance. The coalition
cabinet in Bucharest, whose activity commenced on December 24th, also includes
three UDMR ministers.

US In a video message posted on
Twitter, the outgoing US president, Republican Donald Trump, has declared
himself ‘outraged by the lawlessness, violence and mayhem’ caused by his
supporters who stormed the US Capitol. The new message was in stark contrast to
the previous one in which he praised his supporters. Trump has also pledged a
smooth transition for president-elect Joe Biden’s administration. Democrat
leaders have called on Vice-president Mike Pence to invoke the 25th
amendment and remove Trump from power in the wake of the violent events on
January 6th, in which 5 people were killed. Some senior members of
his administration have resigned in the wake of the US Capitol riot in order to
protest the violence.

(bill)