March 30, 2021 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 30.03.2021, 20:05

PROTESTS According to Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, protests are normal in
functional democracies, but he underlined that violence, extremism and
xenophobia are intolerable and completely unacceptable. The president has said
that he understands that people are discontented after a year of restrictions
but has reiterated that these measures are the only ones that can keep the
Covid-19 pandemic at bay. He made an appeal to the authorities in charge to
step up their dialogue with the people, explaining to them why such measures
need to be implemented and which is their effectiveness. The president’s
statement comes after a second day of protests in Bucharest and several other
big cities across Romania. Some of these protests turned violent. The country’s
Prime Minister Florin Citu said that after one year of restrictions, the
citizens are entitled to protest, but these protests must be done under the
law. According to Marcel Ciolacu, president of the opposition PSD, people took
to the streets out of despair, being fed up with poverty and the ongoing
crisis. In his opinion, a solution might be to reconsider the restrictions
implemented. Interior Minister Lucian Bode has said that over 12 hundred
protesters have been fined nationwide. 12 gendarme troops were wounded in the
protest in Bucharest on Monday. Over 180 people have been investigated by the
police in relation to the protest.

VACCINE Over
6,200 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Tuesday in Romania, out of 30,000
tests. A record 1,405 patients are in intensive care, and 175 people died. The
total number of infections since the start of the pandemic in Romania is over
946,000, and the death toll is 23,400. Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout continues in
Romania, with some 2 million
people having received at least one dose so far and nearly half of them having
also got the booster. The coordinator of the vaccination rollout
programme, physician Valeriu Gheorghita on Tuesday announced the vaccination
rollout in April would also involve family physicians. Gheorghita also said
that foreigners residing in Romania would be able to schedule their vaccination
online after April 10th. Romania is to receive over 3.3 million
vaccine doses in April, when, according to Prime Minister Florin Citu, the
vaccination rate is expected to reach 100,000 people per day. New measures are
in place to contain the epidemic. In areas with infection rates above 4 per
thousand, a weekend curfew is in place between 8 pm and 5 am, and shops must close
at 6 pm. Where the infection rate is over 7.5 per thousand, these measures are
applied throughout the week.

BSEC Romanian diplomat Lazar Comanescu
has been appointed Secretary General of the Organisation of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation BSEC. According to Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan
Aurescu, the appointment represents a success of the Romanian diplomacy and a
proof of Romania’s commitment to the Black Sea cooperation. Comanescu served as
a Foreign Minister, as Romania’s ambassador in Germany between 2009 and 2015
and head of Romania’s representation with the EU from 2001 to 2008. At present
BSEC consists of 13 member states: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, the Russian
Federation, Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia. In 2020 Romania assured the BSEC’s
rotating presidency for the sixth time since its foundation in 1992.

ASSISTANCE The Romanian government is
to provide a 150 thousand Euros assistance package to Syrian refugees in 2021
and will fulfill the multi-annual pledges assumed, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan
Aurescu has announced. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Ministry
in Bucharest, Aurescu delivered a speech over the future of Syria and the
region during a video conference staged by the EU and UNO on Tuesday.

(bill)