A costly ruling with political consequences

This is not simply a story about vaccines. It is a story about negligent governance. In 2021, when these commitments were made, Florin Cîțu was Romania’s prime minister. His government operated amid a panic-driven procurement climate, but panic is not a legal defence, and political theatre is not a procurement strategy.

Contracts worth enormous sums were accepted in the name of urgency, yet the state later behaved as if it could walk away when the political mood changed, and the public health reality shifted. The Brussels court has now made clear that this was fantasy, not policy.

The bill for incompetence: Romania signed first and thought later

Romania’s argument was essentially that circumstances had changed. Demand fell. The pandemic evolved. The war in Ukraine disrupted priorities. Pfizer’s market behaviour was questioned. None of that was enough.

The judges rejected the country’s position and treated the agreement as binding, with no unilateral escape hatch that Bucharest could invoke after the fact. In plain terms, Romania signed first, failed to think ahead, and then discovered too late that international contracts are not campaign slogans.

That is where the political scandal really begins. Governments are supposed to assess downside risk before committing public money on this scale. They are supposed to understand volume risk, timing risk, storage risk, demand collapse, legal exposure and the terms of exit. If Romania ended up trapped between surplus supply and a binding payment obligation, that points to failure at the level of judgment, negotiation or both.

The problem is not that officials were forced to make hard decisions in a crisis. The problem is that they made decisions with the recklessness of people who assumed no one would ever come back to pay the invoice.

And that invoice is not symbolic. Around €600 million is not abstract money. It is public money from a country that has spent years claiming it lacks fiscal room for hospitals, schools, infrastructure and serious state reform. Romanians are now being told, in effect, that the state may have to pay hundreds of millions for doses it did not use because the people in charge were incapable of matching emergency procurement with long-term responsibility.

That is not bad luck. That is administrative malpractice dressed up as crisis management.

The Cîțu government cannot hide behind the pandemic

The defenders of the old authorities will say everyone made mistakes during the pandemic. That is true, but it is also a convenient refuge. Not every mistake produces a court-enforced liability of this scale. Not every mistake survives because the underlying contract was apparently handled so badly that the state had no viable way out once demand collapsed.

Romania is not being punished for hindsight. It is being punished for the quality of the decisions made by those who were entrusted with power when it mattered most.

The Florin Cîțu era was full of performative confidence and inflated rhetoric about competence, reform and modern governance. What remains from that period is a familiar Romanian pattern: loud political branding on the surface, weak statecraft underneath. The same establishment that spoke in the language of responsibility now leaves behind a possible €600 million burden tied to a procurement fiasco it either failed to understand or failed to control.

Accountability should start now

Pfizer, from its perspective, sees the matter in simple terms: contracts were signed, obligations were fixed, and states cannot simply refuse delivery when the economics become politically inconvenient. That logic may be cold, but it is coherent. What is incoherent is the behaviour of governments that commit taxpayer money on a massive scale and then act surprised when courts enforce the contract.

Romania can still appeal, and the legal battle may continue for months or years. But the political verdict is already in. This was a failure of state judgment.

A serious country would now demand names, decisions, signatures, internal warnings and a full chain of responsibility. Who approved the volumes? Who assessed the legal exposure? Who believed Romania could later wriggle out. Who failed to protect the public purse?

Until those questions are answered, this case will stand as yet another monument to elite negligence in Bucharest: expensive, avoidable and paid for by everyone else.

The post Romania Loses Pfizer Trial: Must Pay €600 Million for COVID Vaccines appeared first on Valahia.News.

The Romanian Health Minister Alexandru Rafila states that Pfizer’s notice of summons before the court in Brussels for the anti-COVID vaccines was received by mail and that it is a situation that is not unexpected, considering that the same thing happened in the case of two other EU states, Poland and Hungary. The minister stated that enormous amounts of anti-COVID vaccine were contracted that Romania was not using, a situation that could not be accepted and was not even moral in this context, specifying that Romania should have ordered and received 28 million vaccine doses from Pfizer. According to Rafila, the government will look for a law firm, and Romania will try to coordinate with Poland from the point of view of the arguments against this contract. In this sense, they have already met with the Polish ambassador, News.ro reports.

Following a prolonged breach of contractual commitments and a period of good faith discussions between the parties, Pfizer and BioNTech have taken the difficult decision to initiate formal proceedings against Romania.
Pfizer and BioNTech aim to get Romania to meet its commitments for the orders of vaccines for COVID-19 placed by the Government of Romania as part of the European Union supply contract signed in May 2021.
Pfizer and BioNTech believe it is important that all parties honor their contractual obligations under the agreement that facilitated Europe’s successful response to the pandemic.
Pfizer and BioNTech continue to support this response and remain committed to providing vaccines for COVID-19 in accordance with their contractual agreements and the interest of public health.

Pfizer official answer to News.ro

The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, stated on December 6, about the anti-COVID vaccines, that the contractual obligations assumed by Romania in the first half of 2021 still produce effects, and he hopes that a negotiated solution will be reached with their producers. He added that there is no point in ordering vaccines that will not be used. In October 2023, he stated that there is a chance to agree with one of the manufacturers of anti-Covid vaccines to end the contract amicably. However, the contract with Pfizer is still looking for solutions because Romania should buy another 27 million doses.

The purchase of vaccines during the pandemic is the subject of the Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors’ investigation; the former Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, the former Ministers of Health Vlad Voiculescu and Ioana Mihăilă and the former Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health Andrei Baciu being prosecuted for abuse of office with dire consequences.

The post Pfizer Sues Romania for Refusal to Purchase Agreed Quantity of Anti-Covid-19 Vaccines appeared first on Valahia.News.

According to the legal experts, those fined for not wearing the mask during the emergency state can now contest the sanctions. But the consequences are multiple, and no authority in Romania is yet prepared for what might come.

According to the initial reaction from the Government, the authorities will wait for the motivation of the decision to be issued as well. Only after that, the Government will make a decision. Still, the decision was motivated on short, and it seems that the authorities issued the ordinance without abiding by the law.

In Romania, the state of alert is prolonged every 30 days, and the people were imposed some of the most drastic measures during this pandemic. At one point, the Romanian Government decided to send the military personnel on the streets, in armoured vehicles and with machine guns, just to make sure that Romanians stayed indoors. Also, the Romanian police issued abusive fines of 4,500 EUR in local currency for those who didn’t obey the now illegal ordinance.

The Romanian Ministry of Interior admitted the police officers committed abuses during the pandemic. But this didn’t change the police officers’ behaviours, and the abusive fines were issued constantly. Tens of thousands of Romanians are fined each month for not wearing the masks. All these have solid grounds to contest the harsh decision of the authorities.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling comes when the masks are mandatory indoors and outdoors in Romania, but some disobey this rule. In the following days, it is expected for more and more people to break this illegal ordinance following the Court’s decision.

Interesting enough, on Friday, the Romanian Freedom Convoy arrives in Bucharest. Moreover, on February 27, the Opposition is organizing a big protest in Bucharest against the restrictions. The decision seems to steam off some tension before these events from this perspective.

The post Romanian Constitutional Court Rules Out Mandatory Mask appeared first on Valahia.News.

We have received a total of 4,478,000 doses of AstraZeneca. 852,356 doses were administered and distributed in total, plus what entered the resale or donation mechanism, 3,300,000 doses, of which these 917,000 came out of the validity period.

Valeriu Gheorghita, Coordinator of the Vaccination Campaign in Romania

From a total of 4.5 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses that Romania has, only one million were administrated among the Romanian population. The vaccination campaign in Romania is a failure, as only 40% of the population has taken the jab.

We currently have 917,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of them in the regional storage centres. Another part can be found in the public health departments. The procedure for destroying these doses is being completed in the next period from the discussions I had with colleagues from the Ministry of Health because they must be taken out of stock and given for destruction. So they will not be returned to the distributor.

Valeriu Gheorghita, President of CNCAV

As ridiculous as it sounds, Romania loses a large sum of money on undistributed vaccine doses that now have reached an expiration date. Precisely, Romania loses 3 EUR for each dose of Astra Zeneca destroyed.

This is the result of the mismanagement in coordinating the vaccination campaign. Once again, this proof shows that those responsible are incapable of managing these emergencies, let alone minimise financial losses of this kind.

The post Romania Destroys 1 Million Expired Vaccine Doses Worth around EUR 3 M appeared first on Valahia.News.

Do you think this is preposterous? Think again!

The same opinion poll concludes that a quarter of Romanians think that there is a plan for small processors to be implemented for all vaccinated the moment they take the jab.

Are you puzzled yet? Wait a minute…

54% of the Romanians think they were exposed to fake news during the last months. By doing the math, we can easily understand that a good part of those thinking that world elites plan this pandemic also admit they were exposed to fake news.

But wait…there is more to it than that!

27% of the Romanians think the primary source of fake news in Romania is Russia.

All is crystal clear now. Is it not?

Russia – the usual suspect when something bad happens in Romania

Let us clear your thoughts then – these opinion polls only confirm what everybody knows already. Romanians are superstitious, early conspiracy theory adopters and point out to Russia whenever something terrible happens in the country.

Electricity and gas prices increasing? Russia is to be blamed for its Gazprom!

Not enough population is vaccinated? Russia’s influencers in the country are the culprit!

National Football Team not qualifying for the World Cup in the last 20 years? The Russian referees are the ones who hindered Romania play the championship!

Bad weather? Again, it’s the Russians with their weather guns!

The so-called ‘Romanian reformist party’ USR dropping in the opinion polls? Russia wanted it to happen!

Are the Nationalists climbing on second place in Romania? It’s because Russia supports this party!

Russia is the usual suspect whenever something unusual happens in Romania. This time it’s about them influencing the vaccination rate, controlling the climbing of the Nationalists in the opinion polls and dropping the Government. And whatever.

Do you want to understand the Romanian people? Take Russia into account, and you’ll succeed!

The post Opinion Poll: Two-Thirds of Romanians Think Pandemic Is Planned by World Elites to Control Population appeared first on Valahia.News.

During the red scenario, the access is limited to activities within restaurants to 30% of their capacity. Also, masks are mandatory in public and closed spaces.

Most cases of Covid were registered in Bucharest, around 700 a day. However, there is a decrease of 131 new infections compared to the previous day. Also, after Bucharest, most infections were reported in the counties of Cluj (440), Timiș (327), Constanța (318), and Suceava (233).

The list of cities that exceeded the incidence rate of 3 includes Rădăuţi (Suceava) – 5.49, Salcea (Suceava) – 5.17, Cluj-Napoca (Cluj) – 5.02, Predeal (Braşov) – 5.01.

More than 4,100 new cases of COVID have been reported across the country. Nationally, the incidence is 1.65 per thousand.

Wave 5 seems to take the authorities by surprise, again,, as the number of infections increases day by day. Thus, the red scenario could soon be installed in most counties.

The post Bucharest, Cluj Enter Red Scenario appeared first on Valahia.News.

What is Flurona?

Flurona is a term coined by combining two words: Influenza, flu on short, and Corona. Hence the expression: Flurona.

Basically, you have Flurona when you contracted both influenza and coronavirus at the same time.

The first case of the so-called Flurona occurred in Israel, but now the Spanish medical authorities reported several cases discovered on their territory.

How dangerous is Flurona?

On the one hand, there is insufficient data about Flurona. All doctors know is the medical situation when one person has influenza and COVID-19 at the same time. On the other hand, the new coronavirus co-existed with many other diseases and viruses simultaneously. No individual is perfectly healthy or 100% immune to viruses and infections. So far, we are sure that coronavirus has infected people infected with other viruses at the same time.

Besides, we are currently passing the influenza period. It’s the flu time. It’s normal for people to get the flu, as it’s normal to get infected with the new coronavirus.

The problem is that when such double infections occur, the person may have a weak immune system. Thus, that person could suffer more and have stronger symptoms than one with only flu or coronavirus.

If we are to conclude right now, we’d say that it’s too early to call it dangerous or not, as there is not enough data to be analyzed. But it’s better to be prudent and protect yourself rather than pretend it’s another conspiracy of a kind.

The post What is Flurona, What Do We Know About It? appeared first on Valahia.News.

Paxlovid is a new type of oral antiviral to be administered to patients suffering from Covid-19. Its efficacy was proven successful during the clinical trials in easy and medium forms of the disease.

The meeting between the Romanian Minister of Health and Pfizer’s representatives took place on Thursday, December 23. Romania is preparing for the 5th wave, expected to come in mid-January. At the moment, Romania is the only country with green areas in the middle of red European zones, despite the low level of vaccination in the country.

Also, the authorities are to adopt the Green Pass law amidst protests in Bucharest against the certificate.

The post Romanian Ministry of Health Starts Procedures to Buy ‘Paxlovid’ from Pfizer appeared first on Valahia.News.

Gendarmerie forces are overwhelmed and the Romanian Secret Service – SPP, which protects the building, blocked the large doors to secure the entrance inside. Nobody is able to enter or exit.

Notably, this large protest, gathering thousands of people from all over Romania, takes place exactly 32 years after the Revolution in 1989. On December 21, 1989, hundreds of young Romanians were shot or arrested for protesting for liberty.

The nationalist party AUR organizes the ongoing protest. Its leader, George Simion, is famous for his attitude against COVID-19 restrictions. His nationalist political approach makes him an undesirable partner for the other Parliamentary parties, mainly the Socialists, PSD, and the Liberals, PNL. Also, the Hungarian minority is against any cooperation with AUR, which makes this party the perfect Opposition formation of the moment.

Less than 35% of the population is vaccinated in Romania. Some say the percentage is less than 30%, considering the fake vaccination procedures identified so far. This means that close to 70% of the population oppose compulsory vaccination.

This is the context of today’s protest, and this is what the people want: no compulsory vaccination, no restrictions based on vaccination certificates. Instead, protesters want the interdictions to be applied for being infected, not for being unvaccinated.

A decision from Prime Minister Ciuca is waited for assuming or no his responsibility in the Parliament for this law.

The post Protests in Bucharest against Green Pass, People Force Entry into Parliament Building appeared first on Valahia.News.

Let the jokes alone; this is about a very serious, predictable, and mismanaged situation. It happened in Romania, where they have a saying which cannot be translated appropriately or reproduced, but it goes something like this: ‘When you do good to the others, you make love with your mother.’ The saying is about the situation when you try to help some, but harm yourself.

In November, this situation was with the Romanian National rugby champion team, Baia Mare, stuck in South Africa. They couldn’t return home, as the European Union banned all flights from Africa in an attempt to stop the Omicron variant from spreading on the old continent.

Romanian authorities thought differently. Up to a point, we might say their judgement was pretty solid. Basically, you don’t leave your comrades behind. The Romanian Government sent a charter to repatriate all the Romanians and helped other Europeans stuck in South Africa get back to Europe safely.

But there was where all the trouble began. As the rugby players and other passengers arrived, they were tested but declared ‘not infected.’ That offered them and all their dear ones a feeling of certainty. Even though they were supposed to be in quarantine, for sure, they were in contact with other people, such as family members and maybe some friends.

Only after a week, the first results of the tests arrive. Two of the passengers from that charter were confirmed as infected with Omicron. Later on, other passengers got the same result from the rugby team.

How can we call this? A successful import of Omicron. Before that plane arrived, no Omicron case had been detected in Romania. After that, seven patients are suspected or already confirmed as Omicron infected.

The conclusion? The Romanian authorities have not learned their lesson even after two years of madness. No problem, they will definitely quarantine the country again. It’s not Romanians’ fault, though. It’s because of this successful governmental import of Omicron, directly from the source: South Africa.

Don’t get us wrong. It is a good thing all Romanians were repatriated, it is very bad they were declared not infected at the airport, without being isolated, only to find out, a week later, that they were actually infected with Omicron.

The post How to Import Omicron: A Romanian Story appeared first on Valahia.News.