March 22-26, 2021
New epidemic restrictions
As in most of Europe, the numbers of coronavirus infections is rising constantly in Romania, and the authorities periodically announce that emergency wards and hospitals all over the country are filled up. As part of new restrictions, in areas with more than 4 cases to a thousand, people's free circulation on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays will be curtailed at 8 PM, not 10 PM, as it was so far. Also on those days, stores close at 6 PM. If the rate of infections is 7.5 per thousand, restrictions go into effect for the entire week. The only exceptions are the major holidays, the Jewish Pessah, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Easter. This government decision comes after there had been public debate about putting in quarantine Bucharest, the largest, most populous, and most dynamic of cities in the country. In Ilfov County, where most localities are basically satellite towns of the capital city, there is an almost general quarantine. Many locals work in Bucharest by commute, and their children go to school in the capital. Commentators, who grow ever more skeptical of locking down cities, point to the failure of such measures in Timisoara, where, in spite of two weeks of quarantine, the rate of incidence in COVID-19 cases became even higher than before.
EU summit in full pandemic
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis took part in the latest European Council meeting, held by videoconference because of the pandemic. One major priority for the EU is an accelerated production and distribution of vaccines, according to a joint statement of heads of member states and governments. The Romanian president expressed his support for the recent proposal by the EC to tone down vaccine exports, but called for prudence in applying it, in order to protect free trade. European leaders also talked about the internal market, with an emphasis on industrial policy and the digital domain, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, and relations with Turkey, as well as resetting relations with the United States following Joe Biden's ascent to the White House.
Romania and the East
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu pleaded for NATO consolidating its deterrence and defense posture on its eastern flank. Attending the Brussels meeting of heads of diplomacy in member states, he presented Romania's analysis of persistent security threats on its eastern border, including the Black Sea. In this context, he also referred to a need to settle frozen conflicts that destabilize security in the region. Aurescu reiterated his support for NATO's present approach to Russia, emphasizing that dialog with Moscow can only take place if NATO presents a very robust deterrence and defense posture. Romania also announced that, together with 18 other states, along with the OSCE and the EU, it supports the International Responsibility Platform for Belarus. This is meant to document and investigate the grave human rights violations in Belarus, after the August 2020 presidential elections in that country. Romania is in support of a concrete agenda for a democratic Belarus, based on political dialog, to provide a foundation for a transition to a system based on democratic values, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. The foreign minister recalled that Romania granted in September 2020 aid to the amount of 100,000 Euro for independent media and civil society in Belarus. Also, the ministries of education and foreign affairs launched a program to grant 100 scholarships for students from Belarus for next year.
Epitaph for a special section
The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Wednesday passed a bill to dismantle the Special Section for Investigating Crime in Justice, which was a campaign promise for the present government coalition. Also called the Special Section, it was created by the former Social Democratic government, and, along with other measures it had taken in the justice system, it was perceived as a means of controlling magistrates and hobble the fight against corruption. The section had the exclusive jurisdiction to investigate law breaking by judges and prosecutors, and could be used to influence investigations in major cases of corruption, including political interference.
March in sports
Romania's women's national handball team defeated the host country in its last game ahead of the Olympics, in Podgorica, Montenegro, but missed qualification to the Tokyo Olympic Games. In their first game, the Romanians were defeated by Norway, the team holding the current continental title. All three teams have gathered two points, but Montenegro and Norway will be going to the Olympics because of their superior goal averages. In football, Romania started off on Thursday with a 3-2 victory against Northern Macedonia, in the preliminaries of the World Cup next year. In March, Romanians will be playing two more games as part of the preliminaries, at home, on the 28th with Germany, and with Armenia on the 31st. Iceland and Liechtenstein are also part of the group. In youth football, in Budapest on Wednesday night, Romania's Under 21 team tied against the Netherlands, 1-all, in its debut game in Group A of the European Championships hosted by Hungary and Slovenia. Two years ago, in the final continental tour in Italy and San Marino, Romania reached the semi-finals, which meant qualifying for the Summer Olympics.
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