Moldovan–Romanian collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic

Last updated

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Romania has supported Moldova on several occasions, supplying it with medical equipment and supplies, volunteer Romanian experts and doctors and even a series of COVID-19 vaccine units that arrived on 27 February 2021, which allowed Moldova to start its vaccination program.

Contents

Timeline

2020

On 27 April 2020, the Romanian Government announced that Romania would provide a team of volunteer doctors to assist in Moldovan hospitals for a certain period of time. The delivery of sanitary protection equipment and medical supplies was also promised. [1] The delivery of these objects worth about 3.5 million euros was made in a group of 20 trucks that left for Moldova on 6 May 2020. [2] Although the donation was supposed to arrive on the 30th anniversary of the Bridge of Flowers event, the Moldovan authorities delayed this delivery a day later so that it did not coincide with the anniversary. It has been claimed that this donation was attempted to be made as invisible as possible by pro-Russian former President of Moldova Igor Dodon. [3]

On 29 December 2020, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis visited the capital of Moldova, Chișinău and met with the country's new President Maia Sandu. During it, Iohannis promised that Romania would send a total of 200,000 COVID-19 vaccine units to Moldova to assist it in its vaccination process. Sandu said that these vaccines would be used for the medical personnel. Iohannis also said that Romania would provide medicines, medical equipment and equipment for the protection of patients to Moldova and a team of Romanian experts to assist the Moldovan authorities, as well as help with other topics not related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] [5] [6]

2021

This promised help began to arrive progressively. On 6 January 2021, Moldova received medicines and equipment to combat the pandemic of a worth of 31,000 euros from the Romanian Ministry of National Defence. A handover ceremony was held with the presence of the Romanian ambassador to Moldova Daniel Ioniță, the Counselor for Health Affairs to the President of Moldova Ala Nemerenco, the Moldovan Minister of Defense Victor Gaiciuc and others. [7] [8] On 28 January 2021, a Romanian delegation of health experts, led by Ioniță and the State Secretary of Ministry of Health of Romania Andrei Baciu, went to Chișinău with the intention of starting talks with the Moldovan authorities to implement the promises made by Iohannis to Moldova. [9] On 19 February 2021, Romania made a new delivery of medical equipment worth about 2.3 million euros. [10] On 24 February 2021, the Romanian Government approved the first batch of vaccines destined to be sent to Moldova, which were around 20,000 out of the promised 200,000. [11] [12]

On 27 February 2021, Moldova received a donation of 21,600 Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine units from Romania. [13] These vaccines started being administered on 2 March 2021, [14] and the first person to be vaccinated in Moldova was Alexandru Botizatu. [15] Nevertheless, these vaccines were rejected on the autonomous region of Gagauzia. [14] On 5 March 2021, Moldova gave 1,810 Romanian-donated vaccines to the authorities of the internationally unrecognized state of Transnistria, [16] [17] which initially declared that the vaccines came from the World Health Organization (WHO) [18] but later rectified and thanked Romania. [19]

Time later, on 27 March 2021, Romania sent 50,400 vaccine doses to Moldova. The Prime Minister of Romania, Florin Cîțu, reconfirmed Romania's intentions to fulfill the promise to send 200,000 vaccine units in total to Moldova. [20] [21] This became true on 17 April 2021, when Romania made its biggest donation of vaccines to Moldova, composed of 132,000 units, to date. [22] [23] [24]

On 20 April 2021, while returning from Strasbourg after a meeting in France back to Chișinău in Moldova, Sandu made a surprise visit to Bucharest. She met with several Romanian government officials, including Iohannis, with whom she discussed the strategic collaboration and the bilateral relations between both states, with Sandu thanking the help provided by Romania to Moldova and Iohannis sending a message of support to Sandu's reformist policies and the pro-European path of Moldova. Afterwards, she met with Cîțu and discussed with him about the possible conditions under which Romanian citizens in Moldova could be immunized against COVID-19 in Romanian vaccination centers regardless of whether they reside in Romania or not. Another government official Sandu met with was Anca Dragu, the President of the Senate of Romania. With her, she discussed issues related to politics, economy, human trafficking and domestic violence, with Dragu also commenting on the good quality of the relations between Moldova and Romania and expressing her support to Sandu's government. [25] [26]

On 7 May 2021, Romania made a new donation of 100,800 Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine units to Moldova and promised more would follow in the future. Upon hearing this, Sandu, who had said she would only get vaccinated once it was sure there would be a good amount of vaccines for Moldova's population, got vaccinated after hearing about Romania's donation. She also said Romania would offer to sell around 200,000 vaccine units a month to the country and encouraged all citizens who had not yet gotten vaccinated to do so. Furthermore, Cîțu said Romania was preparing to donate 100,000 vaccine units to Ukraine. [27] [28] Another 100,800 Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine units were donated to Moldova by Romania on 11 June 2021, under the promise made on 7 May of that year. [29]

On 16 October 2021, Nemerenco, now the Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Moldova, announced that on 18 October 2021, a Moldovan team of 22 medical personnel would arrive in Lețcani, near Iași, to help Romania in gratitude for all the help that Moldova received from the country at the beginning of the pandemic. Romania was being struck by a critical new wave of COVID-19 infections at the moment. [30]

Impact on Moldovan–Romanian relations

A poll carried out between 20 and 31 March 2021 by the company iData showed that 43.9% of Moldovans wanted a union with Romania. 1,314 people were surveyed and the margin of error was estimated to be ±2.5%. This represented a large increase from January 2021, when polls indicated that only 37.5% of Moldovans supported this stance. iData representative Veronica Ateș contended that the aid provided by Romania to Moldova and the inaction of Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic most likely contributed to this increase. There was also great support for Moldova's accession to the European Union (67.8%) and a decrease for support to the Eurasian Economic Union (from 48% of Moldovans wanting to join it in January 2021 to 40% in March 2021). [31] [32] [33]

Later, in a poll held between 12 and 27 April 2021, 50% of Moldovans indicated that they would support unification with Romania while 43% indicated that they would oppose if the wages and pensions in Moldova were to become the same as those in Romania. This poll, conducted by the company IMAS, surveyed 1,103 people and had an estimated margin of error of ±3.0%. [34]

Reactions

Domestic

International

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unification of Moldova and Romania</span> Movement for uniting Moldova and Romania

The unification of Moldova and Romania is a popular concept in the two countries that began during the Revolutions of 1989. The Romanian Revolution in 1989 and the independence of Moldova in 1991 further contributed to the development of a movement for the unification of the two Romanian-speaking countries. The question of reunification is recurrent in the public sphere of the two countries, often as a speculation, both as a goal and a danger. Though historically Romanian support for unification was high, a 2022 survey during the Russian invasion of Ukraine indicated that only 11% of Romania's population supports an immediate union, while over 42% think it is not the right moment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moldova–Romania relations</span> Bilateral relations

Modern Moldova-Romania relations emerged after the Republic of Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Pan-Romanianism has been a consistent part of Moldovan politics, and was adopted in the Popular Front of Moldova's platform in 1992. The official language of Moldova is Romanian. The peoples of the two countries share common traditions and folklore, including a common name for the monetary unit – the leu. At present, relations between the two states are exceptionally friendly, especially on account of the pro-Romanian administration of Maia Sandu in Moldova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moldova–Russia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Moldova–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation, two Eastern European, post-Soviet, ex-communist countries. Russian support for the self-proclaimed Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria) and a substantial Russian military presence therein strained Moldovan relations with Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor Dodon</span> President of Moldova from 2016 to 2020

Igor Dodon is a Moldovan politician who previously served as the President of Moldova from 23 December 2016 to 24 December 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. He served as minister of trade and economics in the governments of Vasile Tarlev and Zinaida Greceanîi from September 2006 to September 2009 and was a member of the Parliament of Moldova from 2009 to 2016. He lost his bid for re-election in 2020 to Maia Sandu in a rematch whom he had defeated four years earlier in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maia Sandu</span> President of Moldova since 2020

Maia Sandu is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 until 14 November 2019, when the government collapsed after a vote of no-confidence. Sandu was Minister of Education from 2012 to 2015 and member of the Parliament of Moldova from 2014 to 2015, and again in 2019. Sandu was elected President of Moldova in a landslide victory during the 2020 Moldovan presidential election. The first female president of Moldova, Sandu is a strong supporter of the accession of Moldova to the European Union, overseeing Moldova's granting of candidate status, and is considered 'pro-Western'. She has criticised and opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supported subsequent steps to reduce Moldova's economic dependence on Russia, frequently expressing sympathy and support for Ukraine in the conflict. Sandu has made anti-corruption, economic reform and liberalisation a central part of her political platform, as well as closer integration with Europe. In February 2023, she accused Russia of seeking to stage a coup of the Moldovan government and has continued to seek to reduce Russia's influence over the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party of Action and Solidarity</span> Centre-right political party in Moldova

The Party of Action and Solidarity is a liberal political party in Moldova. The PAS was founded by Maia Sandu, the former Minister of Education and the incumbent president of Moldova. A pro-European party, it is an observer of the European People's Party (EPP) and the International Democrat Union (IDU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chișinău Independence Day Parade</span> National event in Chișinău, Moldova

The Chișinău Independence Day Parade is one of the events of the Independence Day of Moldova held by the Moldovan National Army. The parade is held in Chișinău, Moldova on August 27 every 5 to 10 years on Great National Assembly Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrei Năstase</span> Moldovan lawyer and politician

Andrei Năstase is a Moldovan politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs from 8 June 2019 to 12 November 2019. He was member of Parliament of Moldova in 2019. Năstase has been leader of Dignity and Truth Platform Party from 2015 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Moldovan parliamentary election</span>

Snap parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 11 July 2021. Following the resignation of Ion Chicu, the position of Prime Minister became vacant, with the Parliament being obligated to form a new government within three months. After the expiration of the constitutionally mandated period and two failed attempts to win parliamentary approval for the proposed cabinets, the Constitutional Court ruled on 15 April that the circumstances justifying a dissolution of the parliament were met. President Maia Sandu signed the decree dissolving the Parliament on 28 April and snap parliamentary elections were called on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Moldovan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Moldova on 1 November. The fourth direct elections since independence in 1991, voters had the possibility to either elect a new president or re-elect the incumbent Igor Dodon. Because no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round, a run-off between the top two candidates, Maia Sandu and Dodon, was held on 15 November. Maia Sandu won the second round with 57.72% of the vote, becoming the first female President of the country and the first winner from the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Moldova

The COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached the Republic of Moldova on 7 March 2020, when a Moldovan woman who returned from Italy tested positive for the novel coronavirus. As the number of infected people started to rise during the next days, the Parliament declared a state of emergency on 17 March 2020 for the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova for a period of 60 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Moldovan presidential election</span>

Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Moldova in autumn 2024.

Events from the year 2021 in Moldova.

Events from the year 2021 in Romania.

COVID-19 vaccination in Romania started on 27 December 2020. It was announced that the process would be divided into three phases. Medical personnel would be vaccinated first, followed by the population at risk, and finally by the rest of the population. Vaccination was declared free and non-mandatory. As of March 2022, five types of vaccines were authorized to be used in Romania. This is the largest vaccination campaign in the modern history of Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccination in Moldova</span> Vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova

COVID-19 vaccination in Moldova started on 2 March 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moldova was very reliant on external help from other countries, having received donations of vaccines from Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China. In fact, Moldova's vaccination campaign started due to a donation from Romania on 27 February 2021 composed of 21,600 Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, with the first vaccinated person in the country being Alexandru Botizatu. Romania had promised earlier, on 29 December 2020, that it would help Moldova with a collaboration project which would include 200,000 vaccine doses to help Moldova combat the pandemic, but also other matters of the country. Romania subsequently made more donations on 27 March 2021 with 50,400 vaccine units; on 17 April 2021 with 132,000 vaccine doses, fulfilling its promise to Moldova; and on 7 May 2021 with 100,800 vaccine units even though this surpassed the promised 200,000 vaccine doses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Moldovan parliamentary election</span> Parliamentary election in Moldova

The next parliamentary elections in Moldova are to be held no later than 11 July 2025.

A political crisis began on 1 September 2021 in Romania, engulfing both major coalition partners of the Cîțu Cabinet, namely the conservative-liberal National Liberal Party (PNL) and the progressive-liberal Save Romania Union (USR). The crisis also involved former prime minister Ludovic Orban (PNL), who was set to face Prime Minister Florin Cîțu (PNL) in a leadership election during the party congress on 25 September, with the latter eventually replacing the former. Orban would eventually resign from his position as President of the Chamber of Deputies, with him and his supporters subsequently splitting from the PNL, in order to form the Force of the Right (FD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moldovan protests (2022–2023)</span> Protests against the countrys government

On 18 September 2022, protests in Moldova began in the capital city of Chișinău, demanding the resignation of the country's pro-Western government, amid an energy crisis causing rising natural gas prices and inflation, caused in part by the war in Ukraine.

References

  1. ↑ "România sprijină cetățenii Republicii Moldova în contextul pandemiei COVID-19" (in Romanian). Government of Romania. 27 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Serescu, Otilia (6 May 2020). "Convoi de 20 de camioane cu echipamente sanitare trimise de România în Republica Moldova / Reacția premierul Orban: E un gest normal și sper să nu încerce unii să politizeze acest gest". Mediafax (in Romanian).
  3. ↑ Călugăreanu, Vitalie (6 May 2020). "Igor Dodon capitalizează electoral și geopolitic ajutoarele externe anti-COVID-19" (in Romanian). Deutsche Welle.
  4. ↑ Pirv, Cosmin (29 December 2020). "Președintele Iohannis: România va furniza până la 200.000 de doze de vaccin Republicii Moldova". Mediafax (in Romanian).
  5. ↑ "Klaus Iohannis: România va furniza Moldovei până la 200.000 doze vaccin anti-Covid / Maia Sandu: Mă bucur foarte mult să vă găzduiesc aici, la Chișinău, după mulți ani de îngheț / Ați fost alături de noi și la bine, și la greu". HotNews (in Romanian). 29 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Călugăreanu, Vitalie (29 December 2020). "România anunță un nou pachet de sprijin pentru Republica Moldova" (in Romanian). Deutsche Welle.
  7. ↑ Butnăraș, Dorina (6 January 2021). "România a donat Moldovei un nou lot de medicamente și echipamente destinate combaterii pandemiei de COVID-19". NewsMaker (in Romanian).
  8. ↑ "România a donat R. Moldova circa o tonă de medicamente și echipamente destinate combaterii pandemiei de COVID-19". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian). 6 January 2021.
  9. ↑ Buciu, Laura (27 January 2021). "MAE: România sprijină Republica Moldova să înceapă vaccinarea". Mediafax (in Romanian).
  10. ↑ "VIDEO România a donat Republicii Moldova echipamente medicale de aproape 2,3 milioane de euro. Ursula von der Leyen mulțumește în limba română". HotNews (in Romanian). 19 February 2021.
  11. 1 2 "România donează Republicii Moldova 20.000 doze de vaccin anti-Covid / Maia Sandu: Aceste doze vor fi suficiente pentru a imuniza tot personalul medical". HotNews (in Romanian). 24 February 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Fodor, Simona (24 February 2021). "Romania's Govt. approves first batch of Covid-19 vaccine doses for Moldova". Romania Insider.
  13. ↑ Marina, Georgiana (27 February 2021). "România trimite Republicii Moldova primele 21.000 de doze de vaccin AstraZeneca". Digi24 (in Romanian).
  14. 1 2 Călugăreanu, Vitalie (3 March 2021). ""Politicienii care promovează geopolitica vaccinurilor sunt ucigași cu acte în regulă"" (in Romanian). Deutsche Welle.
  15. ↑ "El este primul medic care s-a vaccinat în Moldova împotriva Covid-19" (in Romanian). Pro TV. 2 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "Chișinăul a transmis la Tiraspol 1810 de doze de vaccin anti-COVID-19, oferite sub forma de donație din partea României pentru Republica Moldova" (in Romanian). Government of Moldova. 5 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Biroul de Reintegrare: Cele 1810 doze de vaccin, din lotul donat de România, au fost transmise la Tiraspol". Deschide.MD (in Romanian). 5 March 2021.
  18. ↑ Dobrea, Vlad (6 March 2021). "Liderul separatist din Transnistria dezinformează în legătură cu vaccinurile donate de România" (in Romanian). Pro TV.
  19. ↑ "Separatistul Krasnoselski recunoaște că primele vaccinuri ajunse în Transnistria sunt donate de România și mulțumește Bucureștiului". Deschide.MD (in Romanian). 5 March 2021.
  20. ↑ Necșuțu, Mădălin (26 March 2021). "România trimite în Republica Moldova încă un lot de 50.400 de doze de vaccin". G4 Media (in Romanian).
  21. ↑ Tobias, Andreea (27 March 2021). "România a trimis în Republica Moldova încă peste 50.000 de doze de vaccin anti-Covid". Ziarul Financiar (in Romanian).
  22. ↑ "România ajută R. Moldova cu 132.000 de doze de vaccin AstraZeneca". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian). 17 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "România a trimis 132.000 de doze de AstraZeneca pentru Republica Moldova". Digi24 (in Romanian). 17 April 2021.
  24. ↑ "132 de mii de doze de vaccin donate de România au ajuns astăzi în R. Moldova. Este cea mai mare tranșă primită până acum". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian). 17 April 2021.
  25. ↑ Ofițeru, Andreea (20 April 2021). "Ce a discutat Maia Sandu cu Klaus Iohannis și oficialii români în vizita rapidă la București". Radio Europa Liberă România (in Romanian).
  26. ↑ "Maia Sandu, întâlniri la București cu președintele Iohannis și premierul Cîțu". Euractiv (in Romanian). 20 April 2021.
  27. ↑ Marina, Georgiana (7 May 2021). "România a trimis R. Moldova încă 100.800 doze de vaccin. Maia Sandu s-a vaccinat cu serul AstraZeneca: Îi încurajez pe toți să o facă". Digi24 (in Romanian).
  28. ↑ Mihăescu, Alexandru (5 May 2021). "România donează vaccin anti-Covid Ucrainei și Moldovei și începe să vândă doze către Chișinău". G4 Media (in Romanian).
  29. ↑ "România donează alte peste 100.000 de doze de vaccin Republicii Moldova" [Romania donates another over 100,000 vaccine doses to the Republic of Moldova]. Digi24 (in Romanian). 11 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  30. ↑ Goraș, Marius (16 October 2021). "Cele 22 de cadre medicale din R. Moldova vor pleca luni la Iași pentru a ajuta România să lupte cu noul val de coronavirus. Ala Nemerenco: "Fiindcă sângele apă nu se face"". TV8 (in Romanian).
  31. ↑ Pleșca, Laurențiu (9 April 2021). "44% dintre cetățenii Republicii Moldova își doresc Unirea cu România. Ce pot face politicienii români pentru a menține viu acest deziderat?". HotNews (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  32. ↑ Necșuțu, Mădălin (7 April 2021). "Numărul unioniștilor, în creștere accelerată în Moldova: cel mai recent sondaj arată că 44% dintre ei vor unirea cu România". G4 Media (in Romanian).
  33. ↑ "Sondaj // Numărul unioniștilor, în creștere. Peste 40% ar vota "pentru" Unirea R. Moldova cu România". Deschide.MD (in Romanian). 6 April 2021.
  34. ↑ "Sondaj IMAS // În ce condiții majoritatea cetățenilor moldoveni ar vota pentru Unirea R.Moldova cu România". Deschide.MD (in Romanian). 11 May 2021.
  35. ↑ "132.000 de doze de vaccin donate de România au ajuns în această seară în Republica Moldova" (in Romanian). President of Moldova. 17 April 2021.
  36. ↑ Popescu, Andreea (11 November 2020). "Romania and the Republic of Moldova stand together to tackle COVID-19". World Health Organization.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.