A look at the main stories in Romania today.
Toll. The death toll goes up to 886 in Romania. One of the victims is a Bulgarian truck driver, the first foreign citizen to die from Covid-19 on Romanian territory. The total number of confirmed cases is nearing 14,500, of whom over 6,100 have recovered. Another 2,419 Romanian citizens living abroad have tested positive for the virus, most of them in Italy and Spain. Since the start of the pandemic, 96 Romanians living abroad have died, many of them in the UK. Meanwhile, the Romanian interior minister Marcel Vela announced, in a video posted on social media, that after May 15, when the state of emergency ends, people will be allowed to leave their towns or counties. Prosecutor General Gabriela Scutea said the Romanian justice system will be facing a huge wave of complaints filed by the people who received fines for breaching the military orders issued in the context of the pandemic. On Wednesday the Constitutional Court ruled that the fines were unconstitutional. As many as 300,000 people received fines totalling around 120 million euros.
Criticism. Romania's president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday harshly criticised the Social Democrats in opposition, saying that, together with their "acolytes" are "doing their best to cause the efforts towards the reconstruction of the entire nation to fail". He referred among others to two laws adopted recently by Parliament. "Today, the Social Democratic Party wants to defend criminals, those who defy the rules and break the laws, with help from their usual satellites", the president also said. In response, the interim president of the Social Democratic Pary Marcel Ciolacu said Klaus Iohannis is a politician with dictatorial tendencies who constantly attacks fundamental state institutions, such as the Parliament and the Constitutional Court. He also said the Liberal government is no longer credible and that the money for pensions and salaries will soon run out. Also on Thursday, Iohannis criticised the satisfaction with which some politicians welcomed the Constitutional Court's ruling to declare unconstitutional the fines levied for breaking lockdown during the state of emergency, saying it showed carelessness, recklessness and lack of understanding of their mission. He described as surprising "the position of authorities, who, by their mission and legal nature, have the constitutional obligation not to lose sight in their decision-making process, of the general interest of society". Iohannis emphasised that without the penalties imposed during the state of emergency more people would have died.
Aid. A convoy of 20 trucks full of medical equipment as part of aid provided by Romania to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova to help it fight the Covid-19 outbreak reached its destination. The convoy is accompanied by an official delegation including the Romanian health minister Nelu Tătaru, the head of the Emergency Situations Department Raed Arafat and the secretary of state for relations with the Republic of Moldova Ana Guţu. Last week, the government in Bucharest decided to grant Moldova humanitarian aid worth 16.5 million lei in the form of medical equipment and medicines. Romania has also sent a team of 52 doctors and nurses who will be working in hospitals in Moldova treating patients infected with the novel coronavirus.
EU-Western Balkans. The EU is experiencing a crisis, but it will not forsake its strategic goals and its closest partners, said the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis at a video conference of EU and Western Balkan leaders. According to the president's office, Iohannis welcomed the strategic decisions taken by the EU in March 2020 with respect to furthering the enlargement process, by initiating accession negotiations with Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia. The Romanian president also called for a strengthened partnership with the Western Balkans as the best response to the ongoing crisis and as a means of consolidating fundamental values and democratic principles. The participants in the summit adopted the Zagreb Declaration, concerning, among others, an economic aid package granted by the EU to help the states in the Western Balkans fight the Covid-19 pandemic and recover economically after the crisis. This includes immediate aid in the healthcare sector, particularly through delivering medical equipment, as well as a 750 million euro package of Macro-Financial Assistance and a 1.7 billion euro package of assistance from the European Investment Bank.
Economy. The most important objective of the Romanian government is to support the economy once the peak of the epidemic has passed to help it return to its previous levels as soon as possible, said prime minister Ludovic Orban on Thursday. He visited the Ford and Dacia-Renault factories, both in southern Romania, which have resumed work gradually. The president of Ford Romania Ian Pearson said the priority was ensuring workers' health safety, with a comprehensive set of additional measures being implemented in order to maintain social distancing. Enhanced protection measures were also taken at the Dacia factory, with first resumed work on a volunteer basis on 21st April. The car industry accounts for over 10% of Romania's GDP and for more than 14% of its exports. The prime minister called on the population to purchase especially cars made locally.
Sports. Romanian football celebrated on Thursday 34 years since Steaua Bucharest won the European Cup final. On May 7, 1986, in Seville, Spain, the Bucharest side defeated the famous FC Barcelona in the final after a penalty shoot-out in which Steaua's goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam saved all 4 penalty kicks. In February 1987, in Monte Carlo, Steaua also won the European Super Cup, defeating the Soviet side Dinamo Kiev 1-0. (CM)
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