Covid-19. Romania today reported 812 new Covid infections and 84 related fatalities, including 19 from an earlier date. The fortnightly incidence rate in Bucharest continues to drop, now standing at 0.77 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. Three new Omicron cases were identified, with the total number reaching 11. The European Commission said it expects this new variant to become dominant in the European Union by mid-January. The Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she was, however, confident that the Union has the strength and means to overcome the disease. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warned that the rapid increase in Omicron cases is imminent and that vaccination alone will not prevent transmission. To reduce the burden on healthcare systems, the Centre has again called for a fast reintroduction and consolidation of the so-called non-pharmaceutical interventions.
Summit. EU leaders meeting in Brussels are expected to discus the pandemic, vaccination and ways to combat vaccine reticence. Amid growing international instability, EU members decided that the Union should take greater responsibility for its own security. Leaders will therefore also discuss the consolidation of its cooperation with NATO, which remains the pillar of collective defence. Other topics on the agenda include the build-up of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine and the situation in Belarus. Romania's president Klaus Iohannis, who is attending the summit, said the significant rise in energy prices should remain a priority for European institutions. He said solutions must be found to protect vulnerable consumers and that nuclear energy and natural gas are options for an accessible energy transition.
Magistrates. The president and deputy president of the Superior Council of Magistracy are being elected today in Bucharest. The Council is due to make some important appointments this year, including the new heads of the High Court and the judicial inspections department. Running for the president position are judge Andreea Chiş, from the reformist camp, and judge Gabriela Baltag, who has constantly criticised what she called the abuses of the National Anticorruption Directorate. The Superior Council of Magistracy has 19 members: nine judges and five prosecutors, two representatives of civil society appointed by the Senate and three automatic members: the justice minister, the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the prosecutor general. Elected members can only serve a single 6-year term.
Anniversary. The 32nd anniversary of the start of the Romanian anti-communist revolution of 1989 is marked today in Timişoara, the city in western Romania where the uprising began. An open door event is held at the Revolution Memorial and pupils from 15 schools are laying flowers at the monuments of those killed in the revolution. Other commemorative events include the screening of a film called Remember 89 and a rally held under the motto Heroes Never Die. The day will end with a folk concert and a midnight church service. Tomorrow, 17th December, will be a day of mourning in Timişoara. The anti-communist uprising that would go on to spread across the country and lead to the fall of the communist regime began in this city on 16th December 1989, when a group of demonstrators blocked traffic and then marched to the city centre chanting anti-regime slogans. The first arrests were made and the following day the army opened fire on protesters. (CM)