Morning headlines – February 2nd 2022

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 17.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 8,07 million people got the vaccine, with more than 7,98 getting both doses and 2,39 of them getting the third dose. (Press release)
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 40.018 SARS CoV-2 cases, 95 deaths, and in ICU there are now 937 people hospitalized. (Press release)

Global political and military events

• Putin wants to continue the negotiations on Ukraine and criticizes, again, the ballistic system from Romania. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has expressed, on Tuesday, his hope that Russia and the US will find a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, warning over the risks of accepting this country into NATO and criticizing again the ballistic systems from Romania and Poland, during the meeting he had in Moscow with Hungary’s prime-minister, Viktor Orban. (Mediafax)
• Ukraine is giving up the mandatory military service. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has signed on Tuesday a decree which foresees giving up the mandatory military service in Ukraine starting with January 1^st 2024 and the transition of the Ukrainian armed forces to one composed by professional soldiers. (UkrInform)
• A tripartite alliance was created: Great Britain, Poland and Ukraine. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has stated on Tuesday, in front of the Parliament, that a new cooperation format was created in Europe, the Tripartite Alliance, composed of Great Britains, Poland and Ukraine. (UkrInform)
• Boris Johnson: Russia is not threatening only Ukraine, but also Georgia and Moldova. Russia continues the military pressure on Ukraine and it is obvious the danger of a military invasion, said on Tuesday, Great Britain’s prime-minister, Boris Johnson, during his visit in Kiev, warning that the Moscow Administration is threatening other states as well, like Moldova and Georgia. (Mediafax)
• The US is asking Russia to withdraw the troops from the border with Ukraine and continue the dialogue. US Secretary of Staate Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to "immediately de-escalate and withdraw" Russian troops from the Ukrainian border, while reiterating his "readiness" to continue the "substantive" dialogue with Moscow on diplomatic channels, according to a statement from the State Department, sent after the phone conversation between the two officials. (Digi24)
• The FBI is urging athletes and officials attending the Beijing Olympics to leave their personal phones at home. "The FBI urges all athletes to leave their personal phones at home and use some temporary ones while they are at the Olympics", the US news agency wrote in a note, according to the BBC. The agency also warned about malware, data theft and the installation of tracking tools on mobile phones. (Digi24)

Romania's defense and security

• The president, the minister of defense and the head of the armed forces visit the base from Cîmpia Turzii. The Minister of National Defense, Vasile Dîncu, and the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, will pay an information visit to the 71st Air Base “General Emanoil Ionescu” on Wednesday, February 2, starting with 14.00, together with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. ”From Câmpia Turzii. (Press release)
• Reserve police and military protest in front of the government. The Federation of National Trade Unions of Police and Contract Personnel (FSNPPC) is organizing a protest action in front of the Government on Tuesday, according to a communiqué sent by the organization. The action takes place after the requests addressed by FSNPPC and 14 other organizations of the employees from the occupational family Defense, Public Order and National Security were not fulfilled by the Government. The main claims refer to the full application of the Salary Framework Law no. 153/2017, regarding Annexes VI and VIII, which refer to the police, military and contract staff of the occupational family Defense, Public Order and National Security, indexation of state military pensions with the inflation rate, according to the law, for 2019  not only for the year 2020) and ensuring quality healthcare in the conditions in which the beneficiaries are CASS payers. (Agerpres)
• Solemn sitting of Parliament on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of EU accession. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies meet on Wednesday in a solemn sitting, which will be attended by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who will give a speech. (TVR)