December 31, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 31.12.2021, 20:00

COVID-19 – On Friday, Romania reported a growing number of
COVID-19 cases for the 4th consecutive day. The latest reporting shows 1,668
new cases of infection, the highest number reported since since December 3. 38
deaths were reported in the same period. The number of confirmed Omicron cases
stands at 43. Health experts say that the 5th pandemic wave will reach Romania
in the first weeks of 2022 and estimate that a threshold of 25,000 infections
per day might be reached. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucăsaid that the
law on the introduction of the so-called COVID green certificate could be
adopted either in a special session of Parliament or by a government decree.
Since the onset of the pandemic, over 1.8 million cases of COVID-19 have been
registered in Romania, and almost 60,000 people diagnosed with coronavirus have
died. The country has the second lowest immunization rate among the 27 EU
members, after Bulgaria. Less than 7.9 million Romanians have been fully
vaccinated, that is a little over 40% of the eligible population. About two
million of them have had the so-called booster dose.

PNNR – Romania has fulfilled 18 of the 21 milestones that it had to reach
by the end of the year, according to the targets set by the National Recovery
and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – says the Minister of European Investments and
Projects, Dan Vîlceanu. He explained that the last seven milestones that
depended on the government have been completed, and three more are under
discussion between the European Investment Fund and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development. Among the laws approved on Thursday by the
Bucharest government for fulfilling the commitments assumed under the National
Recovery and Resilience Plan we can mention: a national dropout reduction
program, an action plan aimed at increasing railway traffic by at least 25% in
the next four years, a plan aimed at connecting several localities to water
supply and sewerage, building two sections of highway and several plans on a
number of energy renovation projects. In early 2022, the European Commission
will disburse another 1.9 billion Euro, tantamount to the pre-financing stage.
For the first quarter, the Minister for Investments and European Projects has
set the following priorities: signing the funding contracts with line
ministries, so as to launch investment; finalizing negotiations with the
European Commission for operational commitments, which are key to the process
of monitoring and adopting future payment requests; drafting and submitting the
first payment request.

NEW YEAR – Over 25,000 Romanian policemen, gendarmes,
firefighters and border policemen will ensure the protection and safety of
citizens during the New Year’s celebrations. 280 speed cameras will be located
on the roads, and road traffic will be monitored by the General Aviation
Inspectorate aircraft. The Interior Ministry announces that 60 public events
will be held on the New Year’s Eve, with more than 120,000 people expected to
attend. Authorities are urging all those attending the events not to drink
alcohol in the public space, to pay special attention to children, to refrain
from any conflict situation or violence, and to ask for the support of the
gendarmes, if they notice violations of the law. Part of the restrictions will
be suspended on the New Year’s Eve. However, those in home quarantine or
isolation must remain in their homes, and the protective mask should continue
to be worn in crowded public spaces. The police and gendarmes will also be
present in the mountain resorts, to ensure the safety of tourists.

NOMINATION -Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă (PNL) has announced that a nomination for the position
of Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization, which has become vacant
following the resignation of his party colleague, Florin Roman, will be made
within two weeks at the most. Roman resigned on December 15, after the
Bucharest press published information that he had falsified his CV. He is said
to have completed short-term university studies at a university college and
took the graduation exam at the prestigious Babeş-Bolyai University in
Cluj-Napoca (northwest). Thus, Roman obtained a graduation diploma, not a
bachelor’s degree from Babeş-Bolyai University, as it was written in his CV.
Prior to his resignation, Prime Minister Ciucă asked Roman to also clarify the
accusations of plagiarism brought against him. On December 17, President Klaus
Iohannis signed the decree by which the Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, was
appointed as interim minister at the helm of the Research, Innovation and
Digitization Ministry. Roman’s resignation is the first in the coalition
government installed on November 25, which is made up of the PSD-PNL-UDMR. (LS
& VP)