Ministry of Defence

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro made six Cabinet changes on March 29 in the biggest ministerial reshuffle since he took office as pressure mounts on the far-right leader over his handling of the pandemic that has killed over 300,000 in the country.

A C-27 J Spartan aircraft of the Romanian Air Force is carrying out on Monday an international humanitarian assistance mission in support of the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the transport of 1.5 tonnes of sanitary protection equipment, a Ministry of National Defence (MApN) release sent to AGERPRES informs.

Its mission was announced today by the Ministry of Defence

Postojna – The experiences of individual armies in helping to fight the Covid-19 epidemic and the strengthening of cooperation with countries in the Western Balkans were in the focus of a two-day meeting of the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC), an initiative chaired this year by Slovenia, that ended in Postojna on Wednesday.

Two Slovenian opposition parties, Levica, (the Left) and the Social Democrats, SD, have submitted more than 28,000 signatures to parliament in support of a referendum against additional defence spending planned by the government.

President Klaus Iohannis has participated, on Thursday, in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Carol I Park, on the occasion of Heroes' Day. Wreaths were also laid on the part of the Government and the Ministry of National Defence. The executive was represented by Deputy PM Raluca Turcan, and the Ministry of National Defence by Minister Nicolae Ciuca.

A team of 15 specialists from the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), made of five doctors, five nurses and five military experts in the CBRN field, will leave, on Monday, in the USA, to offer support to the authorities in the state of Alabama in the context of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Romania's defence spending of two percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for ten years should be found increasingly more in investments in the Romanian industry, in modern production facilities and highly qualified jobs created in the country, National Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Thursday.

National Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Friday that a large percentage of Romania's defence budget should be invested in the local industry, mentioning that there is a 10-year plan to equip the armed forces.

See also:

Live: Coronavirus Updates

Why Populists Love the Pandemic

Hungary 'No Longer a Democracy' After Coronavirus Law

Orban's seizure of rule by decree without an expiration date on March 30 raised fears that the EU now has a virtual dictatorship in its midst.