February 18, 2021 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 18.02.2021, 20:07

MEASURES The government in Bucharest on
Thursday passed an emergency ordinance under which a series of budget
expenditures are being cut. The measures include maintaining the present value
of the pension point until 2022, the cancellation of the 30% bonus granted to
prefectures for managing the medical crisis and of the holiday gift vouchers. According
to Prime Minister Citu, the draft budget for this year designed to achieve 7.16%
of the GDP and significant funds for investment is to be passed on Friday. Also
on Thursday, the Romanian government adopted a draft law on dismantling the
controversial department for investigating offenses in the country’s legal
system. This is a pledge made by the ruling coalition and also a recommendation
for the observance of the Verification and Control Mechanism, the minister
explained.

VACCINE Roughly 40 thousand vaccine doses have been
administered in Romania in the past 24 hours, mostly produced by Pfizer,
AstraZeneca and Moderna, all three approved by the European Union. Since the
vaccination campaign kicked off on December 27th last year, nearly
one million three hundred thousand doses have been administered to more than
750 thousand people. In another development, 3058 new cases of Covid infections
have been reported in the past 24 hours. Since the onset of the pandemic,
Romania has confirmed over 771 thousand cases with a death toll exceeding
19,600. 936 people are presently being treated in IC units.

BRANCUSI A number of events devoted to the
Constantin Brâncuşi National Day, celebrated every year in Romania on February
19, are organised across the country this week, to mark 145 years since the
great sculptor’s birth. On Friday, the Tinerimea Română National Art Centre
will give a special concert devoted to the occasion, and illustrated with
images of Brancusi’s works on display at the National Museum of Art. Also on
Friday, an exhibition entitled Mirrors of Brâncuşi opens at the Romanian
Peasant Museum. On Saturday, the National Library has an event entitled
Dialogues at the table of silence: 145 years since the birth of sculptor
Constantin Brâncuşi. The event is held online, on Zoom platform, and can also
be followed on the Youtube channel of the National Library of Romania. In turn,
the Romanian Cultural Institutes
in Bucharest, Brussels, Chişinău, Lisbon, London, Madrid and Paris have
scheduled online events devoted to the world-famous Romanian artist.

DEFENCE The Romanian defence Minister Nicolae
Ciucă, taking part in a meeting of NATO defence ministers, pointed out
Romania’s commitment to covering defence expenditure. He reaffirmed Bucharest’s
support for deepening and strengthening NATO’s defence and deterrence
posture, in line with medium and
long-term security requirements. NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg
suggested the Alliance should increase funding for joint defence and deterrence
activities. One of the reasons for suggesting increased NATO funding for
deterrence and defence is that this will incentivise more Allies to provide
more capabilities, especially in the Baltic and Black Sea regions, the NATO
chief explained. Jens Stoltenberg also said the Alliance needs to invest more
in new technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

(bill)