May 20, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 20.05.2021, 19:53

Covid-19 RO. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has stated that a new series of
anti-COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted starting next month. According to the
Romanian official, this does not necessarily depend on meeting the target of 5
million people vaccinated by June 1. The coordinator of Romania’s immunization
campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, has stated that is unlikely that the target will
be met by the end of May, but rather by mid-June. Over 4 million Romanians have
taken the anti-COVID jab. Romania ranks 7th at European level and 19th globally
in terms of the number of people who’ve completed the COVID vaccination scheme.
Right now, vaccination is available without prior appointment. People can get
vaccinated at any center upon presenting their ID. Tens of thousands of people
have been vaccinated these days in drive-through centers and as part of
vaccination marathons held across the country.628 new cases
of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, out of 31 thousand
tests run nationwide. 61 related fatalities were reported during the same
interval and 663 patients are still in intensive care.

NRRP. The Romanian
Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu, has stated that at the meeting he had on Thursday,
with the president of the opposition Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu,
he presented the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, by chapters, with all the
budgets and reform elements contained in the document. The meeting came after
the Social Democrats insisted to be consulted on the document, which they would
also like to be presented in Parliament. After the meeting with the prime
minister, Marcel Ciolacu said that he did not have access to the NRRP, but that
the Social Democrats wanted a ‘transparent and decentralized’ plan. Marcel Ciolacu was accompanied at the meeting
by several party specialists, but also by representatives of SMEs and trade
unions. The plan was also discussed in detail during Wednesday’s government
meeting. The Bucharest executive committed to submitting the National Plan to
Brussels by the end of the month.

DIICOT. The Directorate for Investigating Organized
Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) has announced that 1.4 tons of heroin, with a
market value of 45 million Euro, were seized in Romania, in the Black Sea Port
of Constanta on Thursday. The drugs came from Iran hidden in two
containers with building materials that were supposed to reach Western Europe.
It is the second largest heroin bust in the European Union in recent years.
Police officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and
prosecutors announced that they conducted 3 house searches on Thursday, at the
members of a group suspected of international heroin trafficking. Also, a day
ago, 5 searches were carried out in two Western European countries, targeting
the same criminal group. According to the Romanian Police and DIICOT, the
investigations began in July 2020, targeting a group involved in drug
trafficking, and the judicial authorities of several EU states also took part
in the actions.

Meeting. The head of
Romanian diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, will participate, on Friday, in the 131st
meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), which
will take place in videoconference system. The agenda of talks includes topics
such as democracy, conflicts and crises in Europe. According to a press release
of the MFA, during his speech, Minister Bogdan Aurescu will reiterate, among
other things, Romania’s position in favor of streamlining multilateralism and
strengthening resilience based on democratic values ​​and international law. At
the same time, the Romanian Foreign Minister will express his firm support for
freedom of expression and the fight against discrimination, racism, xenophobia
and hate speech.

Cybersecurity. The Romanian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs hails the adoption by the European Parliament of
the Regulation establishing the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology
and Research Competence Centre. The regulation will enter into force 20 days
after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. According to a EP communiqué,
the new Cyber ​​Security Competence Center, based in Bucharest, will bring
together cybersecurity expertise and competences. It will also provide
financial assistance from the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes for
innovative projects developed by start-ups and SMEs. The EU Council adopted the
regulation establishing the Cyber ​​Center in Bucharest at the end of April.

Exercise. Over 4,000
Romanian and allied soldiers will participate, with almost 600 technical devices,
in the multinational exercise NOBLE JUMP 2021, which takes place between May 19
and June 2, in Romania, the Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday. According
to the ministry’s communiqué, NOBLE JUMP 2021 is the third stage of the NATO
STEADFAST DEFENDER 21 exercise which includes sequences of training and
instruction of the allied forces by deploying them in a very short time in
Romania. NOBLE JUMP 21 consists in the deployment of the terrestrial component
of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) on ground, air and sea on
the Romanian territory, having as final destination the Getica National
Training Center in Cincu, Brasov county (center). (MI)