While Romania registered almost 20,000 corona infections on Friday, a record, Parliament and the government abandoned the green pass, the coalition partners could not agree on measures to alleviate rising energy prices, and the Prime Minister was accused of a copy-paste job. On top of that a strike of the public transport company threw traffic in the capital into chaos.
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‘Op een dag zag ik 25 jonge mannen slapen bij een tramhalte in het stadscentrum’, vertelt Flavius Ilioni-Loga. ‘We waren geschokt en kwamen bijeen om geld in te zamelen om hen eten en warme dranken aan te bieden.’
Parliament adopted the 2022 national budget just before Christmas, after the government had prepared it in record time (by skipping some of the usual consultation processes). Parliament continues to be divided, however, about if and where the so-called green or electronic certificate should be mandatory to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the work place, including Parliament itself. And Romania will not adopt the euro before 2029.
This and much more in this week’s Romanian Dispatch. If you like it, why not pass it on? New readers can subscribe here. The next issue will appear on January 8, 2022.
Boekarest — Afgelopen week heeft een rechtbank in Boekarest een strafzaak heropend tegen voormalig president Ion Iliescu vanwege zijn betrokkenheid bij het neerslaan van studentenprotesten door mijnwerkers in juni 1990. Iliescu is in de afgelopen decennia al vaker vervolgd — afgelopen maand nog voor mensenrechtenschendingen en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid tijdens de december 1989 revolutie — echter zonder succes.
With infections on a downward trend and the number of Romanians that daily succumb to the coronavirus also going down, discussions about a mandatory green certificate for employees are stalled in Parliament. The infighting among the Liberals has come to a climax with the PNL expelling its former president, Ludovic Orban. Meanwhile the PNL is exploring a merger with the PMP. And, more urgently, negotiating forming a government with the PSD and UDMR.
This and much more in this week’s Romanian Dispatch. If you like it, why not pass it on? New readers can subscribe here.
Prime minister-designate Nicolae Ciucă held negotiations with parties in Parliament this week and will present his cabinet line-up this weekend. Romanians came out in huge numbers to get the anti-COVID-19 jab.
This and much more in this week’s Romanian Dispatch. If you like it, why not pass it on? New readers can subscribe here.
Sweeping new corona restrictions were introduced yesterday as infections and deaths are soaring. As of Monday, schools will be closed, a curfew put in place for unvaccinated people and a ban on sporting events, weddings and christening parties. Green certificates will become mandatory. President Klaus Iohannis called the current situation “catastrophic”. He appointed a new prime minister-designate, reserve general Nicolae Ciucă, who promised to negotiate “with all the responsible forces” so that a new government will be formed and approved by Parliament soonest.
This and much more in this week’s Romanian Dispatch. If you like it, why not pass it on? New readers can subscribe here.
The corona pandemic does not let up in Romania. Mobile hospitals have re-opened and the first patients have been transferred to Hungary in order to relief intensive care units. President Iohannis appointed the leader of the reformist USR to form a new government. And along with other nuclear powers, Romania publicly appealed to EU leaders to consider nuclear energy on par with other low-carbon sources.
This and more in this week’s Romanian Dispatch. If you like it, why not pass it on? New readers can subscribe here.
After having weathered the pandemic well for 18 months, coronavirus infections are now skyrocketing. A devastating milestone of 15,000 daily infections was recorded this week — the highest number since the start of the health crisis. The problem is compounded due to a government crisis that has been raging for months; parliament toppled the centrist government on Tuesday.
This and more in this week’s Romanian Dispatch. If you like it, why not pass it on? New readers can subscribe here.
We are back after a summer hiatus! The next few days will determine the fate of Prime Minister Florin Cîțu and his (rump) cabinet. After winning the PNL leadership last weekend, will he survive the motion(s) of non-confidence from the opposition and his former governing partner, USR-PLUS? Will there be a new cabinet or will Romanians go to the polls for the first early elections since 1990?
