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President Klaus Iohannis will ask the European Union leaders in the video conference due this afternoon to develop as a matter of urgency procedures through which the member state should launch common acquisitions for medical equipment (surgical gloves, protective suits, respirators and lab equipment).
The Romanian head of state is also asking EU for a more consistent financing, while stressing the need to remove the supplying barriers among the EU member states.
Iohannis argued that the EU must find post-crisis solutions, both on economic and social level. He also called on Romanians, once again, to observe the isolation rules and to stay home.
“Considering the situation has worsened rapidly in Romania as well in the past days, some urgent common acquisition procedures for medical equipment are crucial across the EU.
It is important these procedures to be concluded as soon as possible, to enable interested member state, like Romania, to take possession of those products quickly”, said Klaus Iohannis.
The Romanian president announced that Romania is the first member state that received the European Commission’s green light to start the necessary procurement procedures to buy medical equipment within the limit of EUR 10 million.
“The EU has agreed on setting up a strategic supply of medical equipment, within the European Mechanism of Civil Protection, destined to preventing various crises and disasters, such as the current epidemic.
It’s very important to mention that Romania is the first EU member state that received the EC’s consent to start the procurement procedures to buy necessary medical equipment. In a first stage, the acquisition in Romania, in the name of the EU, is within the limit of EUR 10 million ad will encompass medical protective equipment: masks and individual protective jumpsuit, and also respirators. When these materials are available, Romania will be able to ask part of this strategic supply“, Iohannis pointed out.
Romania’s president further said he would ask the EU for a more consistent financing. “I will show Romania’s availability to get involved more in other areas of this mechanism. On a separate note, I will tell our EU partners that we need functional supplying chains to provide our citizens with a proper access to the basic goods and for this the barriers of the supply chains must be removed and further deadlocks must be avoided“, Iohannis said.
The Romanian head of state added that the EU must find solutions to mitigate the effects this crisis is causing on economic and social level. “Romania, like other member states, is strongly affected by this crisis, particularly in the industrial sector, and, therefore, we need a more coordinated action within EU.”
New message to Romanians
President Iohannis has sent a new message to the Romanian citizens to respect the restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and to stay home. “Stay home, for this is the only way we can protect our health! The more we manage to control better and limit the transmission of the coronavirus, the sooner we’ll be able to get back to the activities that we are now missing! I know it’s hard, but only making this sacrifice we’ll win the fight against this extremely dangerous enemy,” the President concluded.
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