November 19, 2020 UPDATE

Coronavirus. Romania on Thursday reported over 10,000 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases so far up to 394,000. Nearly 70% of the people infected have so far recovered. The highest number of new cases were reported in Bucharest and the counties of Constanţa (south-east) and Cluj (north-west). Another 167 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported, and the number of patients in intensive care is 1,131. The pandemic has put a spotlight on the long-standing structural flaws of Romania's healthcare system, president Klaus Iohannis said. He previously had talks with officials and experts involved in the management of medical equipment, who presented reports on the infrastructure and failures in the national healthcare sector.

Iohannis-Merkel. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday had a telephone conversation with German chancellor Angela Merkel at the latter's request to discuss the pandemic and the EU multiannual budget. According to a statement from the president's office, the conversation took place ahead of Thursday night's meeting of the Council of the European Union in video format to discuss the coronavirus pandemic. Angela Merkel conveyed her condolences to the Romanian president for the victims of the recent fire at a hospital in Piatra Neamț and expressed hope that the wounded would recover soon. President Iohannis emphasised during the talk that the spread of the novel coronavirus across the EU remains worrying and that EU states should consolidate their coordination and cooperation in this respect. The two officials also discussed the negotiations on the EU multiannual budget for the 2021-2027 period and the European economic recovery plan. Iohannis said Romania constantly supported the need to finalise these talks as soon as possible and that it agreed with the compromise solutions negotiated by the German presidency of the EU Council with the European Parliament. He said Romania had supported from the very beginning to idea to link EU funding to the rule of law and therefore supports the agreement reached by the German presidency on this issue.

EU. The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu on Thursday attended an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers held online. According to the Foreign Ministry, Bogdan Aurescu voiced support for strengthening the EU-USA partnership, emphasising that only by consolidating trans-Atlantic ties can current and future global challenges be managed efficiently. Aurescu also presented an assessment of the presidential election in the Republic of Moldova won by the pro-European candidate Maia Sandu, highlighting the high turnout, which is a victory for democracy and European values. He emphasised the need for European institutions and EU states to intensify efforts in the near future to support the European and democratic course of the Republic of Moldova and to provide support for the ambitious reform programme of the president elect Maia Sandu.

NATO. Foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu on Thursday held a telephone conversation with NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg about the priorities of the upcoming meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December. According to a statement, Jens Stoltenberg thanked Romania for its role within NATO, including for spending 2% of its GDP to defence and hosting the missile defence system at the base in Deveselu. Aurescu reiterated Romania's firm commitment to NATO and the need for NATO to continue to monitor the security situation in the Black Sea area.

Defence. Romania will be receiving in a few months' time its own HIMARS rocket systems to become the first allied state to install these systems on its territory, which were tested successfully in theatres of operations, said US ambassador to Bucharest Adrian Zuckerman on Thursday. Together with defence minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă and the chief of defence staff, lieutenant-general Daniel Petrescu Zuckerman attended the Rapid Falcon joint Romanian-American exercise carried out at the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu and the Capul Midia air defence training centre, in the south-east of the country. Over 130 Romanian and American military took part in the exercise. The activity aims to develop and consolidate military cooperation between the land forces of Romania and those of the US and is an opportunity to develop the partnership between the two artillery units in the run-up to the equipping of the Romanian structures with HIMARS equipment as of next year.