June 14-18

A roundup of the week's top stories

Roxana Vasile, 19.06.2021, 14:00

Vaccination – ups and
downs

For weeks, the number of
COVID-19 infections in Romania has been decreasing by the day. In equal measure,
the authorities are speaking about the possibility of a fourth wave of the
pandemic starting this autumn, which is why vaccination remains the best
pre-emptive measure. People’s interest to get vaccination is below expectations,
which has led to Romania having a surplus of vaccines right now. Accordingly,
Bucharest has asked that the delivery of anti-COVID doses from the European Commission
to be halted. Some immunization centers will temporarily close while others
will see their working hours reduced. The Government adopted an emergency
decree whereby it charges the Health Ministry to sign contracts on behalf of the
Romanian state with other countries for the reselling of vaccines that can no
longer be used at home. At the same time, since immunization has been largely
unsuccessful in rural areas, central and local authorities are coming up with
ways to boost vaccination, with initiatives such as The town vaccinates the
village. In Romania, under 5 million people have so far got immunized with one
or both of the anti-COVID jabs.

Manslaughter

Romanian magistrates this
week decided to place under house arrest two employees of the Victor Babeş Infectious Disease Hospital
in Bucharest, a hospital employee and the head of the Technical Service, both facing
manslaughter charges. In April this year, three patients being treated for COVID-19
in a mobile unit located in the courtyard of the hospital died. According to
preliminary reports, the tragedy occurred after a sudden rise in pressure in
the oxygen tanks, which cut off oxygen supply to the eight patients inside. The
incident is not isolated. In November 2020, a fire broke out at the ICU ward at
the Piatra Neamț Emergency County Hospital. Another fire burned down an a COVID
war at the Matei Balș Hospital in Bucharest. Multiple people were
killed in both fires. So far, no one has been held accountable.

Ombudsman gets sacked

On Wednesday, the Romanian Parliament removed Renate Weber
from the position of Ombudsman. Ruling coalition parties claim Weber overstepped
her prerogatives and breached the Constitution. PNL, USR-PLUS and UDMR accuse
madame Weber of having served the interests of those who appointed her, namely
the Social-Democrats in opposition. USR MP Andrei Lupu:

I am absolutely confident that you are a competent
person, but lately your activity has shown a major flaw: you have been carrying
out your duties selfishly, serving the interest of yourself and the people who appointed
you.

The Social-Democratic Party in Opposition, who did not
take part in the vote, accuse, however, the power for wanting to nominate an
Ombudsman that would meekly comply with the Government’s decrees. Senator Titus
Corlăţean:

You want the string of abusive emergency decrees to no
longer be challenged by the Ombudsman. You don’t want people to say that the Government’s
measures restricting fundamental rights and liberties are unconstitutional, and
prefer to work with institutions that generally fall in line.

The Social-Democrats have appealed Renate Weber’s
dismissal at the Constitutional Court. On Thursday, the Court also decided that
the appointment of interim presidents of the public radio and television broadcasters
is unconstitutional.

NATO Summit in Brussels

Russia and China are the top concerns for NATO,
alongside cyber threats, terrorism and the rise of totalitarian regimes. Monday’s
summit in Brussels concluded with a declaration whereby NATO allies have drawn
a number of security red lines. From Romania’s perspective, president Klaus
Iohannis expressed satisfaction that the Alliance continues to consolidate its
eastern flank, also reiterating that NATO’s anti-ballistic missile shield
hosted by Romania is purely defensive:

We have no intention of attacking anyone with this
shield. We are very determined to defend our countries, which is why we
accepted the deployment of elements of this shield in Romania as well.

Also in Brussels, leaders of NATO member states
decided to launch the process of devising a new Alliance strategy. Finally,
Klaus Iohannis extended an invitation to US president Joe Biden to visit
Romania.

EURO 2020 kicks off in Bucharest

Romania’s largest stadium, National Arena in Bucharest,
hosted matches in the EURO 2020 championship. Matches were played with 25%
crowd attendance. On Sunday, Austria defeated North Macedonia 3-1 in Group C.
Earlier this week, Ukraine defeated North Macedonia 2-1. On Monday, on June 21,
National Arena will be hosting the match pitting Ukraine against Austria, also
in Group C. On June 28, a round of 16 match will be played in Bucharest.
Romania failed to qualify to the 2020 edition of the European Football
Championship. (VP)