This week Prime Minister Cîțu dismissed another member of his cabinet — this time his finance minister. On Wednesday activists unveiled a living, golden statue of the PM to protest his government’s possible withdrawal of Roşia Montană as a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the same time it became clear that Romania is not prepared to implement the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive, which means that plastic plates and cutlery, among other plastics, should no longer be for sale.

Romanian Dispatch #37 (July 3—9, 2021)