January 24, 2021, UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 24.01.2021, 20:00
Coronavirus – A number of restrictions in place in the capital Bucharest, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, will be lifted Monday, following a decision of the Committee for Emergencies. Thus, theaters and cinemas, restaurants, bars and cafes will be open between 6 am and 9 pm, with an allowed occupancy rate of maximum 30%. At the same time, licensed gambling operators will be allowed to resume their activity, with the observance of the 30% occupancy rate. According to Bucharest’s Prefect Traian Berbeceanu the decision to ease restrictions was taken following a contamination rate below 3 cases per thousand people, in the past few days. He called on Bucharesters to be prudent. In his turn, Romanian Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu said that the interest in reopening schools on February 8th is still present, but that the epidemiological situation will be analyzed, after the new variant of the Covid-19 was detected at a school in Bucharest. A final decision in this respect will be taken on February 2. We remind you that for almost a year, Romanian schools have been closed with the exception of two months. Since the onset of the pandemic, a total number of 711,000 contaminations has been reported. Over 90% have recovered but 17,800 have died. More than 1,000 patients are in ICUs. Over 433,000 people have been immunized and the sixth batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be delivered to Romania on Monday.
Union — The heritage passed on by the architects of the Union of 1859, both institutional and symbolic, is the solid ground on which we should further build Romania’s modernization, President Klaus Iohannis said on Sunday in a message occasioned by the anniversary of 162 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities. One of the main directions of modernization is the consolidation of Romanian education system that should offer accessible and competitive education, Iohannis went on to say. He criticized the politicization of institutions and pleaded for meritocracy. PM Florin Citu and Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu as well as other political leaders conveyed messages on this occasion. The anniversary of 162 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities is marked through small-scale events in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. On January 24, 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. During his 7-year rule, Cuza promoted several radical reforms, which established the institutional foundation of modern Romania, further consolidated by Kings Carol I and Ferdinand.
Reactions — The US has condemned the use, by the Russian authorities, of brutal measures against tens of thousands of people who protested in Russia for the release of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. In his turn, the head of the European diplomacy, Joseph Borell, denounced the massive arrests and the disproportionate use of force, during Saturday’s protests. We remind you that tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday in Moscow and many other cities across Russia asking for Navalny’s release. Aleksei Navalny had been detained a week before, upon returning to Russia from Berlin, where he had been treated from poisoning with a nerve agent. The most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is behind the poisoning. Amnesty International has accused Russian authorities for the arrest and beatings of the protesters. There are some of the largest protests against President Vladimir Putin in the last years.
Protests – Trade unionists with various activity sectors, and civil and military pensioners protested on Sunday in front of the Bucharest Government’s headquarters, of embassy offices and central public administration institutions against what they see as the abusive measures taken by the authorities. Protesters ask for the annulment of the government orders in the fiscal and judicial fields, and the immediate enforcement of the laws on salaries, pensions and subsidies. Protestsrs also want a raise in the minimum gross salary to 490 euros per month starting January 2021 and an increase in the pension point by 40%, a genuine reform of the judiciary, the safe reopening of schools as well as investment in the healthcare and transportation systems and in education.
Foreign policy – Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu will attend on Monday in Brussels the EU foreign ministers’ meeting. The foreign ministers and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borell, will discuss, among other things, the EU strategy on vaccine distribution to third countries, the Navalny case, perspectives for strengthening trans-Atlantic ties and the recent evolutions in the relation with Turkey. Minister Aurescu will brief his colleagues on the evolutions regarding the setting up and hosting by Romania of the Euro-Atlantic Centre for Resilience. The European ministers will also tackle, during an informal working breakfast, the ties between the EU and the UK in terms of foreign policy and security perspectives. (Translated by EE)
