Romania bans exports of cereals, energy firms’ sales

DUBLIN

Celebrity donations. Irish Rock outfit U2 have become the latest celebrity donors to the cause of fighting the coronavirus outbreak. The group has contributed €10 million to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical staff in the republic.

Meanwhile, the government ordered large stocks of PPE from China, worth over €200 million. The equipment will be delivered to Ireland on a series of Aer Lingus flights, the first of which arrived in Dublin the weekend before last. (Samuel Stolton | EURACTIV.com)

EUROPE’S SOUTH

MADRID

Covid-19 fatalities drop as MPs debate lockdown extension. The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Spain jumped above 15,000 although the daily fatality rate dropped to 683 on Thursday, down from 757 the previous day, the Spanish health ministry said. EURACTIV’s media partner EFE has the detail.

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LISBON

Distance learning. All classes up to the 9th grade in Portugal will continue with distance learning until summer holidays and assessment without benchmarking or exams. Distance learning will be reinforced with the support of television broadcasting.

Students between 10th and 12th grade may be able to return to school in May, depending on the evolution of the spread of the novel coronavirus. If schools reopen, students will only have classes in the 22 subjects requiring national exams. (Lusa.pt)

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ROME

Easter temptation. The family Easter lunch followed by a trip with friends on Easter Monday are long-standing traditions in Italy. For this reason, the Interior Ministry has asked its public servants and the police to be extremely vigilant during the Easter holidays to ensure compliance with the restrictions on travel. (Gerardo Fortuna | EURACTIV.com)

ATHENS

Government satisfied with Eurogroup results. The Greek minister of economy Christos Staikouras hailed the Eurogroup results yesterday, describing it as a good deal as it offers new financial instruments. “It should be the starting point for even more ambitious – future – European initiatives, with a watchful eye on the effects of the coronavirus, but also with a view to restoring the economy to normalcy,” he said.

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

More restrictions. On Thursday, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the postponement of eighth-grade and high school graduation exams. The exact date will be announced at least 3 weeks before the planned date. Until 19 April, leaving home should be kept to a minimum, and the distance from others should be at least two metres. Until then, restrictions on shopping malls, cinemas, theatres, all such places, hairdressers, cosmetics and service points will be extended. This also applies to the limit for people in shops and churches.

Closure of schools, suspension of air traffic and international rail traffic will be extended until 26 April. For the next 20 days, until 3 May, the borders will be closed. From next Thursday (16 April), there will be an obligation to cover the mouth and nose in public space. At the same time Morawiecki tentatively suggested that some restrictions may be lifted after Easter in order to mitigate some of the economic crisis. (Łukasz Gadzała | EURACTIV.pl)

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PRAGUE

Loosening strategy is coming. Restrictive measures introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic have been gradually relaxed in the Czech Republic. For example, the government ruled on Thursday (9 April) that public transport drivers or people in cars no longer have to wear face masks. More shops are to open after Easter holidays, and on 20 April, state institutions should open for the public, too. However, epidemiologist and member of the Central Crisis Staff, Roman Prymula, is somewhat more cautious. “We have a stable addition every day, the virus is here, but under the rules and measures that have been introduced, we are able to control the process,” he warned. (Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)

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BUDAPEST

Orbán extends lockdown indefinitely. “We are extending the duration of movement restrictions. We are extending them indefinitely,” PM Viktor Orbán said on Thursday (9 April), adding that “we will reconsider the restrictions and decide on the possible extensions on a weekly basis.” The PM also encouraged mayors to impose extra restrictions until Easter Monday (13 April), beyond the ones already in place.

The indefinite extension is made possible by the law passed by the Hungarian parliament on 30 March, empowering the government to rule by decree indefinitely during the COVID-19 emergency. (Vlagyiszlav Makszimov | EURACTIV.com)

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

SOFIA

Churches to remain open on Easter. Bulgaria is the only Orthodox country where churches will remain open on Easter Saturday night, on 18 April. This became clear after PM Boyko Borissov met with the heads of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on Thursday. The religious leaders rejected the call of the authorities that mass be celebrated in the churches and broadcast to worshippers. Instead, it was agreed that those who really need to attend mass would be able to do so, respecting social distancing. The bishop of Lovech Gavriil said that contamination could not occur in churches which benefitted from heavenly protection. Borissov said the Orthodox Church would be compensated by the state from the lost income of selling candles.

More by Krassen Nikolov reporting from Sofia.

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LJUBLJANA

Romanians to the rescue? Slovenia’s Agriculture ministry has become actively engaged in seeking seasonal workforce to work in the fields, with particularly pressing needs seen in hop cultivation. Because of the restrictions, foreign workers are not expected any time soon. However, the Slovene Association of hop growers said on Thursday that 193 Romanian workers are expected to come at the weekend. After the Association secured approval for their transfer through Hungary, the national news agency STA reported.

(Zoran Radosavljevic | EURACTIV.com)

ZAGREB

Deep recession. The government has prepared a package of temporary measures potentially reaching almost 8% of GDP, intended to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy. On Thursday, the government redistributed extra budget funds worth HRK 2.1 billion (€280 million) and most of those funds will be used for the government’s measure to help employers retain their workers. Tea Trubić Macan has the story.

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BELGRADE

Croatian portal: Vucic uses COVID-19 to suspend institutions and democracy. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has used the coronavirus pandemic to declare a state of emergency, suspend the work of parliament and seize even greater power, while psychologically terrorizing Serbian citizens, threatening them with police, making daily public appearances, adopting draconian measures, and suspending civil liberties ad hoc, leading Croatian news portal Index.hr reported on 9 April. EURACTIV Serbia reports.

Epidemiologist: We are dealing with a coronavirus shockwave, no time to discuss democracy. Epidemiologist and Crisis Headquarters member Branislav Tiodorovic said Serbia is dealing with “a [coronavirus] shockwave that is sure to last until (Orthodox) Easter [19 April], which is an optimistic estimate and depends on [people] keeping social distance.” Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Benjamin Fox]