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COVID-19 The Romanian authorities Thursday announced over 16,000 new Covid-19 cases and 448 related deaths in 24 hours. Some 1,800 patients are in intensive care. Bucharest has requested the European Commission to help supply Romanian hospitals with tocilizumab, which is used in treating severe forms of the disease. Romanian authorities have also asked for teams of experts to support front-line staff for specific periods. Meanwhile, as of Monday all school children will be on a 2-week holiday, access to most activities will be conditional on presenting a digital COVID certificate, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor areas and night curfews will be in place for the unvaccinated. These are just some of the restrictions introduced in an attempt to curb the pandemic. After having analysed the situation jointly with government officials, president Klaus Iohannis said the only solution to put an end to the epidemic is vaccination. However, until a significant proportion of people get vaccinated, restrictions are necessary.
GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis is having talks today with parliamentary parties, to designate a new prime minister after the proposed one-party cabinet headed by the president of Save Romania Union Dacian Cioloş Wednesday failed to get a confidence vote from Parliament. The minority government made up of the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania was dismissed following a no-confidence motion, and negotiations failed to rebuild the ruling coalition, broken up in September over disagreements between the Liberal PM Florin Citu and Save Romania Union. The Liberals said they were willing to discuss with all parliamentary parties, except for the nationalist party AUR, supporters of anti-vaccine theories. The Liberals' National Political Bureau Thursday decided to nominate Nicolae Ciucă as prime minister with a minority government comprising the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. Save Romania Union would like to restore the coalition with the 2 parties, but without Florin Citu as prime minister. In turn, the Ethnic Hungarians would like to see the coalition rebuilt. The largest party in Parliament, the Social Democratic Party, wants a government of experts, to help overcome the healthcare crisis, whereas AUR party asks President Klaus Iohannis to designate a prime minister backed by a sound parliamentary majority.
SUMMIT EU heads of state and government convene on Thursday and Friday in Brussels to discuss EU-wide cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union's digital agenda, the rise in energy prices, migration, the EU trade policy and foreign relations. On Monday, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis took part in a videoconference with the president of the European Parliament Charles Michel and other EU leaders, in preparation of this summit. The Romanian president highlighted the need to quickly identify efficient short-term solutions to the current energy crisis, which will have a notable social and economic impact on all EU member states. Klaus Iohannis also emphasised the importance of diversifying energy sources, of reducing the Union's reliance on third-country suppliers, and of ensuring energy supply security.
ECONOMY All EU member states concluded year 2020 with governmental deficits, Eurostat announced today. The highest levels were reported in Spain (11% of GDP), Greece (10.1% of GDP), Malta (9.7% of GDP), Italy (9.6% of GDP) and Romania (9.4% of GDP). According to Eurostat, Denmark and Sweden were the only EU countries with government deficits below the 3% of GDP ceiling stipulated in the Stability and Growth Pact. Across the EU, the government deficit skyrocketed from 0.5% of GDP in 2019 to 6.9% of GDP last year.
FOOTBALL Romanian football champions CFR Cluj are playing today at home against the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, in Group D of the Europa Conference League. The Romanians are ranking last in the group, with 1 point out of 2 matches, whereas their opponents are the group leaders, with 4 points. In the previous leg, CFR drew at home against Danish side Randers FC, and AZ Alkmaar won on home turf against the Czech club Jablonec. CFR is the only Romanian team playing in continental competitions this season. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
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