RSS
President Iohannis announces Defence Council decisions on healthcare, nuclear energy, NATO Summit
The Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) discussed on Friday an action plan for the healthcare system.
"We have discussed and agreed on an action plan, materialized in a Council decision that sets some measures on norms, procedures, control and laboratories," President Klaus Iohannis announced after the CSAT sitting.
Norms aligned to the European requirements on antiseptics and chemical disinfectants should be drafted by the Government by end-July and include more drastic sanctions, the president said. To this effect, the government should gather a group of experts — physicians, biologists, chemists, food safety specialist, etc. — to set up rules for marketing biocides, for hospital cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. The Health Ministry should strengthen its control capability, and the state sanitary inspection is also in focus.
According to Iohannis, regulations are also necessary to coordinate the human and animal health and the food safety, and measures must be taken for the efficient use of antibiotics.
"The Government of Romania will monitor the implementation of all the goals set in the 2016-2018 Strategic Plan for preventing and combating the nosocomial infections, which provides for the prevention, the incidence abatement, the monitoring, and the increase of the diagnostic capabilities for intra-hospital infections," the president stressed.
The CSAT decided to create a reporting, information and control mechanism, as more thorough control is also necessary, besides the stricter norms. "The Government will submit quarterly information to the CSAT on the public health system and on the citizens' health condition," Iohannis announced.
The Council also ordered the Government to start training programmes on intra-hospital infections for the medical staff.
Romania must develop a network of accredited laboratories, which must be able to analyse the disinfectants, too, the CSAT ruled. The Government must draft a long-term investment programme to this effect.
The Council specifically addressed the issue of biocides for hospitals following weeks of public outrage on inefficient disinfectants used in Romania's hospitals. Starting from a press investigation, the revelation of forged products was followed by official inquiries and by the resignation and replacement of the health minister earlier in May.
The CSAT on Friday has also approved a report of Energy Minister Victor Vlad Grigorescu on the project of reactors 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda nuclear plant, establishing that it is a priority investment for Romania, the president also declared.
"During the Council's sitting we have analysed and approved the report by the Energy Minister on the stage and evolution of the units 3 and 4 project from the Cernavoda nuclear plant, and established that this is a priority investment project for Romania that will ensure the growth of the nuclear energy share to 30 or even 32 percent of the total national electric energy production and will contribute substantially to the economic growth, to the maintenance and also to the increase of the number of jobs," the head of state said at te Cotroceni Palace.
The CSAT sitting also approved the outlines of the mandate of Romania to the 8-9 July NATO Summit in Warsaw, with the mention that "they should be updated and adjusted based on the the negotiations within the Alliance and the evolutions of the international situation," the president added.
CSAT also has approved on Friday the participation of 1,401 Army troops and civilians and of 783 servicemen and police officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to missions abroad in 2017.
These forces are available for missions led by NATO, the European Union, the UN and the OSCE, President Klaus Iohannis announced after the CSAT sitting at the Cotroceni Palace, seat of the Presidential Administration.
The Council also approved Romania's military strategy, which translates the national defence and security policy and defines the framework for the military development, based on the 2015-2019 National Defence Strategy, on the Defence White Paper, and on NATO and EU documents.
The CSAT also endorsed the programme for the Army reform and equipment until 2026 and on long term; according to the president, it presumes the observance of the existing national political agreement on increasing the defence budget to two percent of the gross domestic product.