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COVID-19 The Strategic Communication Group Wednesday announced 17,158 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Also, 423 related deaths were reported, of which 9 from before the reference timeframe. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has convened a meeting with all those involved in managing the pandemic to decide the introduction of more restrictive measures, as the only way to curb the spread of the disease. On Tuesday, the head of state said that the preparation for the fourth wave of the epidemic in Romania was flawed, and the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 "too slow". Vaccination is the only solution to stop the pandemic, the head of state said, adding that it is also necessary for parliament to adopt provisions on the digital certificate or other measures to reduce mobility and human interaction in the short run.
GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis invited parliamentary parties to talks on Thursday morning, to designate a new PM. The talks come after on Wednesday the cabinet put together by the head of Save Romania Union, PM designate Dacian Cioloş, failed to get a confidence vote from Parliament. Only 88 MPs voted in favour of the executive team presented by Cioloş, as compared to 184 votes against. The nominees in Cioloş's team included former ministers in ex-PM Florin Cîţu's coalition government, such as Stelian Ion as justice minister, Ioana Mihăilă as health minister, and Cătălin Drulă as transport minister. Save Romania Union decided to come up with a proposed one-party, minority cabinet list after negotiations with their former partners in the ruling coalition failed. The National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians say they are no longer willing to work with USR, which backed a no-confidence motion against the Cîţu government. The Social Democrats and the nationalist party AUR, in opposition, request early elections. In order for this to happen, Parliament should reject a second prime minister designated by president Klaus Iohannis.
VISIT President Klaus Iohannis Wednesday received the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III on an official visit to Romania. Iohannis appreciated the remarkable bilateral cooperation between the two countries and reiterated the importance given by Bucharest to strengthening the Strategic Partnership both in terms of political dialogue, and in the defence, economic and energy sectors. The Romanian president also emphasised that Romania will remain a strategic partner and a reliable Ally, strongly committed to NATO's political and military consolidation, and to strengthening the Alliance's defence and deterrence posture in the Eastern Flank and at the Black Sea. In turn, the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin highlighted the US' interest in further developing and diversifying cooperation with Romania. The US official also had a meeting on Wednesday with his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă. Romania hosts US military bases and elements of NATO's missile defence system.
AWARD Kremlin critic and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny was awarded the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The announcement was made in Strasbourg, where the head of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, mentioned that Aleksei Navalny fought consistently against the Putin regime's corruption, helped unveil abuse and mobilised millions across Russia. In August 2020, Navalny was poisoned and spent several months recovering in Berlin. Upon his return to Moscow in January 2021, he was imprisoned and he is still behind bars at present. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thoughtis granted every year by the European Parliament as a tribute to human rights defenders.
EU The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned in Strasbourg on Tuesday that the EU executive would act to defend the 'common values' of the European Union, following the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court challenging the primacy of European law. In reply, the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has stated that Poland rejects the European Union's "blackmail', and that to his country, the Constitution remains the 'supreme law'. Warsaw has been in open conflict with Brussels for several years now over controversial judicial reforms implemented by the right-wing populist party Law and Justice. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
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