Radio România Internațional

Tag: presidential election

  • March 14, 2025

    March 14, 2025

    FAIR Over March 13-16 the Belgian capital is hosting the international book fair Brussels Book Fair 2025, one of the most important events of this kind in Europe. Romania is attending this fair with over five hundred titles on view at the stand of the Romanian Cultural Institute also known as ICR. There are books and albums translated in several languages, predominantly in French, some of which have been funded through the ICR programmes with a view to promoting the Romanian authors at international level. Besides Romanian authors, the ICR stand is also promoting authors from the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. The ICR is expected to stage several events, during which authors are going to have a dialogue with foreign authors or with the Belgian readership. The Brussels Book Fair is one of the most important cultural events in the Belgian capital, which is also the EU capital, and brings together several thousand authors, illustrators, publishers, critics as well as readers annually.

     

    EBRD The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, will be visiting Bulgaria and Romania next week, the aforementioned financial institution has announced in a communiqué. The visit of the EBRD president comes at a time when the institution is preparing fresh five-year strategies for both countries, which will be subjected for public consultations at the end of this year. The EBRD investment in Romania rose from 658 million Euros up to 707 million last year. The EBRD official will be seeing Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Finance Minister, Tanczos Barna, Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, as well as representatives of the business environment, diplomats and representatives of civil society.

     

    ELECTION Candidates for the presidential election in May have two more days to register with the Central Election Bureau, the deadline being March 15 at midnight. So far, only two candidates are officially enrolled in the race, their candidacies having been validated by the Constitutional Court: Crin Antonescu, supported by the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition, and the Bucharest Mayor General, Nicuşor Dan, who runs as an independent candidate. Deputy Victor Ponta also registered his candidacy as an independent candidate, for which he was excluded from the Social-Democratic Party. On the other hand, the Constitutional Court’s decision to definitively reject the candidacy of independent candidate Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist who unexpectedly won the first round of last year’s presidential election, has prompted the parties that supported him, AUR and POT, to prepare a new electoral strategy. Thus, the leaders of the two parties, George Simion and Ana-Maria Gavrilă, announced they would both submit their candidacies for the presidential election, and one of them will withdraw once their candidacies are validated. The leader of USR, Elena Lasconi, who advanced to the second round last year, Diana Şoşoacă (from SOS Romania), who expressed confidence her candidacy would be upheld this time, as well as and MEP Cristian Terheş from the Romanian National Conservative Party, also submitted their candidacies.

     

    TRADE DEFICIT – Romania’s trade deficit increased by 38% in January, compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute reports. In 2024, Romania exported goods worth €92.6 billion, while its imports stood at €133.4 billion. Romania’s deficit remains significant, especially in relations with China, Germany and Poland, while recording surpluses with the UK, the Republic of Moldova and the USA, although in smaller volumes. Trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs remains vulnerable, as Romania mainly exports raw materials and imports end products. To reduce the €5 billion trade deficit in this area, experts recommend a strategy focused on the export of value-added products and more efficient use of statistical data for better-founded economic decisions.

    (bill)

  • March 10, 2025 UPDATE 3

    March 10, 2025 UPDATE 3

    VIOLENCE – Leaders of REPER Party have filed a criminal complaint on Monday for acts of public incitement and outrage in the context of Sunday’s clashes at the Central Election Bureau. The complaint concerns the public statements made by the president of AUR, George Simion, the mercenary Horaţiu Potra and the former independent presidential candidate, the pro-Russian and anti-Western extremist Călin Georgescu. According to REPER leaders, the two incited violence against state authorities, directly resulting in acts of vandalism and aggression against law enforcement in the center of the capital-city. The National Liberal Party (PNL) also firmly condemned and rejected any form of violence in public or private life. Over 500 people were identified in the area of ​​the violent protest on Sunday evening at the headquarters of the Central Election Bureau (BEC), and based on the footage of security forces and public sources, the individuals who committed acts of public violence will to be identified and prosecuted, the Bucharest Riot Police says. As a result of the clashes, 13 riot police officers were injured and taken to hospital, four of whom are receiving treatment. The protesters, supporters of Călin Georgescu, also caused destruction. The violence broke out after BEC rejected Georgescu’s candidacy for the presidential election in May. The Bureau invoked the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the presidential election at the end of last year, stating that Georgescu’s candidacy does not meet the conditions of legality since, by failing to observe the electoral procedure, he violated the very obligation to defend democracy, which is based on fair, honest and impartial suffrage.

     

    DISINFORMATION – The Romanian Riot Police reports that several accounts on TikTok and Facebook are running a disinformation campaign regarding Sunday night’s incidents in central Bucharest. According to the false narratives, the riot police beat women, used rubber bullets and tear gas, brought agitators to cause violence, beat people on the subway and used drones to launch tear gas. All these messages are false, the Riot Police reports, and are intended to manipulate citizens with the aim of provoking other acts of violence.

     

    CHALLENGE – Independent presidential candidate Călin Georgescu announced that he has filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court against Sunday’s decision of the Central Election Bureau to reject his candidacy for the presidential election in May. In response to the request, the rector of the National School of Political and Administrative Studies, Remus Pricopie, filed a memorandum calling on the Court to maintain the ruling of rejecting Călin Georgescu’s candidacy, arguing that its registration goes against constitutional provisions. Also on Monday, a complaint against Nicuşor Dan’s candidacy for the presidency was also filed with the Constitutional Court. The Court announced that it will rule on all complaints filed so far on Tuesday. Announcing Călin Georgescu’s intention to refer BEC’s decision to the Constitutional Court was the leader of the opposition party Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), George Simion. The Central Election Bureau does not have the authority to reject a candidacy on the merits, George Simion argued, accusing the institution of committing an abuse. Simion called on Călin Georgescu’s supporters not to resort to violence if they continue to protest against BEC’s decision.

     

    MEDAL – Romanian athlete Andrei Rareș Toader has won gold in the shot-put event at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. With a throw of 21.27 meters, Toader managed to set a new national record. Romania ends the aforementioned competition with two medals, Toader’s gold and the silver medal won by Diana Ana Maria Ion in the triple jump event. Seven Romanian athletes took part in the competition in Apeldoorn. (DB & VP)

  • March 10, 2025 UPDATE 1

    March 10, 2025 UPDATE 1

    VIOLENCE – Leaders of REPER Party have filed a criminal complaint on Monday for acts of public incitement and outrage in the context of Sunday’s clashes at the Central Election Bureau. The complaint concerns the public statements made by the president of AUR, George Simion, the mercenary Horaţiu Potra and the former independent presidential candidate, the pro-Russian and anti-Western extremist Călin Georgescu. According to REPER leaders, the two incited violence against state authorities, directly resulting in acts of vandalism and aggression against law enforcement in the center of the Capital. The National Liberal Party (PNL) also firmly condemned and rejected any form of violence in public or private life. Over 500 people were identified in the area of ​​the violent protest on Sunday evening at the headquarters of the Central Election Bureau (BEC), and based on the footage of security forces and public sources, the individuals who committed acts of public violence will to be identified and prosecuted, the Bucharest Riot Police says. As a result of the clashes, 13 riot police officers were injured and taken to hospital, four of whom are receiving treatment. The protesters, supporters of Călin Georgescu, also caused destruction. The violence broke out after BEC rejected Georgescu’s candidacy for the presidential election in May. The Bureau invoked the Constitutional Court’s decision to annul the presidential election at the end of last year, stating that Georgescu’s candidacy does not meet the conditions of legality since, by failing to respect the electoral procedure, he violated the very obligation to defend democracy, which is based on fair, honest and impartial suffrage.

     

    DISINFORMATION – The Romanian Riot Police reports that several accounts on TikTok and Facebook are running a disinformation campaign regarding Sunday night’s incidents in central Bucharest. According to the false narratives, the riot police beat women, used rubber bullets and tear gas, brought agitators to cause violence, beat people on the subway and used drones to launch tear gas. All these messages are false, the Riot Police reports, and are intended to manipulate citizens with the aim of provoking other acts of violence. (VP)

  • March 6, 2025 UPDATE 1

    March 6, 2025 UPDATE 1

    PRESIDENCY – On a visit to Brussels, Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan on Thursday discussed with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen regarding Romania’s priorities in implementing the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and increasing the absorption of European funds. “We also expressed our support for the European Commission’s initiatives in the field of defense and competitiveness”, Ilie Bolojan wrote on social media. The Romanian president also met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and the two officials discussed opportunities to strengthen the Eastern Flank. Ilie Bolojan is attending an extraordinary European Council, where heads of state and government from the European Union are discussing support for Ukraine and the situation of European defense. Ahead of the summit, the European Commission president said that Europe is at a crossroads and stressed the importance of Europe defending itself through a massive increase in defense spending but also by helping Ukraine achieve a lasting and fair peace. Ursula von der Leyen proposed a European armament plan, with defense investments of up to €800 billion. In turn, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, assured European leaders that the European Parliament can move quickly and effectively to respond to present-day unprecedented security challenges. “Peace must guarantee freedom for Ukraine, security for Europe and deterrence for those who think they can take it by force”, president Metsola added. Present in Brussels, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the EU for its strong support.

     

    APPEAL – Magistrates on Thursday dismissed as unfounded the complaint filed by Călin Georgescu against the judicial control measure, in the investigation where he faces several charges. A former independent candidate in last year’s presidential elections, Călin Georgescu was last week placed under judicial control by the Prosecutor General’s Office for a period of 60 days. He is subject to a number of interdictions, including the right to leave the country without the approval of judicial authorities. At the same time, Georgescu cannot post content of a legionary, fascist, anti-Semitic, racist or xenophobic nature on social media. Georgescu is being prosecuted for committing six crimes, the most serious being that of inciting actions against the constitutional order. Investigators claim that he Georgescu had come up with a plan to destabilize the country after the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election in December. The first round was won by Călin Georgescu. Meanwhile, prosecutors have raided new locations linked to the financing of his election campaign. Also on Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights rejected Călin Georgescu’s appeal challenging the annulment of the presidential election in Romania in December 2024. The decision is unanimous and final. Călin Georgescu recently announced that he will submit his candidacy for the presidential election in May with the Central Electoral Bureau on Friday.

     

    GOVERNMENT – The Romanian Government on Thursday passed several emergency orders, concerning, among other things, the healthcare reform and the spending of EU funds. In the field of healthcare, the government wants to improve regulations on public medical care for freelancers, on the taxation of medicines, on the organization and operation of medical offices and the granting of sick leaves. In a separate emergency order, the Romanian government earmarks the financing for certain local authorities to complete works to extend and upgrade natural gas infrastructure. Finally, the cabinet has also approved the amount of this year’s state aid for the livestock sector. (VP)

  • March 1, 2025 UPDATE 1

    March 1, 2025 UPDATE 1

    ROMANIA – MOLDOVA RELATIONS – Romania is Moldova’s most important partner, on which it has relied in any circumstances, Maia Sandu said upon meeting her Romanian counterpart, Ilie Bolojan, in Chișinău. „These are difficult times, which is why Romania’s support is all the more important. Beyond joint projects, we are tied by a common vision for the future, our will to live in peace, freedom and democracy”, Maia Sandu pointed out. In turn, interim president Ilie Bolojan said he wants to consolidate the bilateral relations, and that he visited Chișinău for consutlations with Maia Sandu in a very difficult context. “I assure you Romania stands with you. We will support you, in our dialogue with European partners, and will step up support at all levels, in terms of finance, expertise and projects. Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to generate challenges for the Republic of Moldova. The Republic of Moldova does not stand alone. Romania and numerous other external partners fully support Moldova’s objective to consolidate its resilience and security”, Ilie Bolojan said. The Romanian president on Monday is expected to join countless other European leaders who will attend a security summit in London focusing on Ukraine, called by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

     

    PROTEST – A few hundred thousand people are protesting in Victory Square in central Bucharest in a rally organized by the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR). Its leader, George Simion, says the protest is directed against the Romanian government and the Constitutional Court’s ruling that annulled the second round of last year’s presidential election. Participants were seen waving national flags and banners in support of the independent candidate, Călin Georgescu.

  • January 18, 2025 UPDATE

    January 18, 2025 UPDATE

    Protest – Thousands of members and supporters of the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the main opposition party in Romania’s Parliament, protested on Saturday in Bucharest and across Romania, demanding, among other things, the resumption of the second round of the presidential election. They criticized the court’s decision by which the action opened by the independent candidate Călin Georgescu in the case of the cancellation of the presidential election was definitively rejected and said that it defies millions of Romanians who demand the resumption of the second round of voting and that it ignores the lack of clear evidence. Organized on time, on November 24, 2024, the first round was invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), which, based on documents provided by the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT), invoked the interference of a so-called state actor. The second round, scheduled for December 8, was to be contested by Georgescu, accused of connections with Russia, and the opposition Save Romania Union (USR) leader Elena Lasconi. In the diaspora, where the polling stations for the decisive round opened on December 6, tens of thousands of Romanians had already voted when the CCR decided to invalidate the first round. The costs of the invalidated election allegedly stand at almost 1.4 billion lei (the equivalent of about 280 billion Euros). On December 21, the acting president’s second and last five-year presidential mandate was to expire, according to the Constitution, but his mandate was extended until the election of a new president to be validated by the CCR.

     

    NATO – Hundreds of British military vehicles are on their way to Romania, loaded on ferries, to take part in a major NATO exercise, the British government announced. 2,400 British soldiers, with 730 military vehicles, will form the main battle group, supported by representatives of five other NATO countries, and the United Kingdom will ensure the command of the land component. The new allied reaction force replaced the NATO response force last year and aims to quickly and effectively respond to any threat in peacetime, crisis or conflict.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk qualified for the round of 16 of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, after defeating the pair Elise Mertens (Belgium)/Ellen Perez (Australia) 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday in Melbourne. In another second round match, the Romanian Jaqueline Cristian and her Italian partner Camilla Rosatello were defeated by the pair Leylah Fernandez (Canada)-Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Jaqueline Cristian was also defeated in the singles by the German Eva Lys 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the third round.

     

    Intelligence Service – The Romanian Intelligence Service presented new details about the strategic objectives in Romania that a Colombian citizen intended to blow up, at the instigation of a person from Russia. The target was a recyclable waste deposit, two oil extraction wells and a Natural Gas Regulating Metering Station. Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa was sent to court last November for crimes against national security. According to the investigators, the Colombian was affiliated with an extensive network of saboteurs, controlled through intermediaries by the Russian secret services, which targeted several European states. A former military, trained in intelligence gathering activities, Diosa arrived on Romanian territory in July 2024.

     

    Fair – Romania will participate in the largest organic products fair in the world, BioFach 2025, which will take place in Nuremberg (Germany) between February 11-14, announced the Bio-Romania Association, supported by the Romanian Government through the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade. According to the Association, Romania has been present for 20 years at this event dedicated to agriculture and ecological products. Since 1990, BioFach has become the essential meeting point for organic food producers worldwide, offering networking opportunities and a place where ideas can be exchanged between all actors in the value chain of the organic sector.

     

    US – The inauguration ceremony of the US President-Elect, Donald Trump, will be moved indoors, as the weather forecast for Monday in Washington indicates very low temperatures, the American press announces. Therefore, the swearing-in ceremony, which was supposed to take place on the steps of the Capitol, will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda, just as it was done at the ceremony for the second term of the former president Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump has told his supporters that they will be able to see the inauguration ceremony on screens located inside the Capital One Arena, a sports arena in Washington with a capacity of 20,000 people. The transition team announced that, on Monday, Donald Trump would again use his own Bible, and also the “Lincoln Bible”, a copy known by this name because it was the holy book used by the 16th president of the USA , Abraham Lincoln. The Republican leader also used these two copies when taking the oath for his first mandate, in 2017, the EFE agency reports. (LS)

  • New rules for the election campaign

    New rules for the election campaign

    It is now official: the Romanian government has established, by emergency ordinance, that the presidential election will take place on May 4th and 18th respectively. The presidential vote was supposed to put an end to last year’s electoral marathon, but the Constitutional Court cancelled it, shortly before the second round on December 8, on the grounds that the entire electoral process would have been flawed and hijacked, with the involvement of an external state actor, in the favor of the winner of the first round, Călin Georgescu, considered a pro-Russian extremist. The executive came up with new rules, related to voting in the diaspora and the unfolding of the campaign. Romanians outside the country’s borders will be able to vote for three days, as before, but in modified time intervals.

     

    Thus, on Friday and Saturday, voting in the diaspora will last from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time, but on Sunday, May 4, when voting is also held in the country, the vote will end at 9:00 p.m. Romanian time. This measure was adopted at the proposal of the Permanent Electoral Authority, to avoid leaving a time gap in which the vote can be influenced, after voting ended in Romania, but continued abroad, in the polling stations located west of Romania, on the related time zones. If there are still people abroad who want to vote, the extension of voting in the countries located west of Romania can be done until midnight, Romania’s time. The ordinance also establishes several obligations for posting and distributing election campaign materials online. They must have clear identification elements such as political advertising, including who is paying them or if targeting techniques are used.

     

    Failure to comply with the new rules is sanctioned with a fine of up to 50,000 lei, the equivalent of 10 thousand Euros, and in the case of the large online platforms the fine can reach 5% of the turnover, if the advertising material in question is not removed within five hours from the notification of the Permanent Electoral Authority. According to the government, a monitoring mechanism is underway for the materials that will be published on social networks, and notifications and complaints regarding possible violations of the regulations must be submitted to the Central Electoral Bureau. The new rules aim to prevent what happened before the first round, when the candidate Georgescu, who declared himself independent, was massively promoted, disproportionately compared to the others, on TikTok.

     

    Several important non-governmental organizations have criticized, however, these new provisions which they say were introduced without a prior public debate and could affect the fundamental rights of citizens, being a threat to the freedom of expression. According to the NGOs, the ordinance risks restricting political opinions and legitimate debates. The Save Romania Union (USR) leader, Elena Lasconi, who had qualified in the decisive round alongside Georgescu, criticized the modification of the voting program in the diaspora, saying that it represents an act of discrimination and a serious violation of the right to vote of Romanians abroad. (LS)

  • January 8, 2025 UPDATE

    January 8, 2025 UPDATE

    TALKS Leaders of the ruling coalition in Bucharest convened on Wednesday for their first meeting this year. They decided that the first round of the presidential election be held on May 4 and the second on May 18. The coalition also reconfirmed the former PNL leader, Crin Antonescu as their common candidate for the presidential race. They also decided that the 2025 budget be presented before January 27 so that it might get Parliament approval in the first week of February. The Minister of Finance, Tánczos Barna, had earlier said the draft budget would observe the deficit cap of 7% of the GDP, without new tax increases, but through a more rigorous control of public spending. On the other hand, the unions called on the Ombudsman to appeal at the Constitutional Court the article in the recent emergency ordinance that provides for the freezing of pension indexation. The ordinance, which came into force on January 1, also provides for the freezing of salaries, the elimination of some tax benefits and the restriction of certain benefits.

     

    VISAS Romanians will be able to travel to the USA without a visa starting March this year. The only thing they need is a notification in a platform known as ESTA – Electronic System for Travel Authorization, the country’s Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu said on Wednesday. Romania’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver programme will be formally marked on Friday, January 10, through an event staged in Washington DC. The US State Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Romania’s ambassador in Washington, Andrei Muraru, are going to meet to record Romania’s accession to the US visa-free programme. The technical details and the date of the effective activation of the new travel regime are to be announced shortly. The Romanian citizens no longer need to give interviews at the US consulate while the travel permit, which replaces the present visas, will be valid for two years, with an unlimited number of entries into the United States. The aforementioned permit can be used for visits up to 90 days with the cost of 21 US dollars, says a notification posted on the Facebook page of Romania’s embassy in Washington.

     

    OMV The Austrians from OMV have concluded an agreement with the German utility group Uniper regarding the supply of natural gas under the Romanian “Neptun Deep” project in the Black Sea, as of 2027, Reuters reports. The deal comes after Russia stopped delivering gas through Ukraine on January 1, as well as a wider reduction in the European Union’s energy purchases from Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. In the “Neptun Deep” area there are reserves of gas estimated at approximately 100 billion cubic meters, which makes it one of the most important extraction area in the EU. OMV and the Romanian state producer Romgaz own equal shares of the “Neptune Deep”. In total, Romania’s territorial waters of the Black Sea are said to host reserves of approximately 200 billion cubic meters of gas.

     

    ENERGY The liberalization of the energy market as of April 1, together with appropriate preparation while there is still time, is the only option for Romania – claims the president of the NGO Asociaţia Energia Inteligentă (Smart Energy Association), Dumitru Chiseliţă. In his opinion, the biggest challenge of the year is related to the fact that on March 31 the current capping and compensation scheme for natural gas and electricity prices will expire. Chiseliţă believes that an extension of this measure involves large expenses from the state budget, with the payment of compensations to suppliers. In addition, he mentions Romania’s commitments to the European Union for market liberalization, appreciating that a possible continuation of the ceiling will lead to a decrease in community funds, which Bucharest cannot afford.

    (bill)

  • January 5, 2025 UPDATE

    January 5, 2025 UPDATE

    BUDGET – The government seeks to set the final details for the draft budget for 2025 by the end of the month, so that the new Parliament may debate and vote on the law in a special sitting. The government relies on a budget deficit of 7% of the GDP, as per a deal with the European Commission, without taking additional fiscal measures. The authorities need to slash public spending and carry out reforms stipulated in the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The government wants to freeze salaries in the public sector as well as child-rearing allowances. Party funding will also be cut by 25% compared to the previous year. A hiring freeze will be introduced in the public sector, while certain institutions will undergo a restructuring process. The tax on dividends is expected to go up from 8% to 10%, while a new tax on special constructions will be introduced. Pensions too will see no increase this year, with the reference point expected to stagnate at 16 EUR. The authorities also seek to cut overspending by 1% of the GDP, tantamount to some 19 bln EUR, but also to boost budget revenues by implementing reforms provided in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

     

    ELECTION – Interim PNL president, Ilie Bolojan, has warned that the presidential election might be postponed for May unless parliamentary parties adopt the election timetable by next week at the latest. The Liberals want the election to take place before Easter. As regards the official designation of former PNL leader Crin Antonescu as the common candidate of the ruling coalition, Bolojan explained the candidacy may be validated by each party once the election timetable is approved. Ilie Bolojan called for consistency and solidarity in supporting a single candidate. In turn, UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor said the date of the presidential election must be set as soon as possible, also arguing in favor of holding the election before Easter. Instead, USR leader Elena Lasconi accused ruling coalition parties of seeking to preserve power and privileges to the detriment of the country’s stability.

     

    AGREEMENT – Former PNL leader, Crin Antonescu, says the ruling coalition agreement for supporting his candidacy in the 2025 presidential election is de facto suspended. Antonescu told a private TV station on Saturday that he won’t withdraw from the race, but that he noticed the four political leaders who nominated him “did not make a powerful enough commitment when signing the agreement”. We recall that on December 23, ruling coalition parties (PSD, PNL, UDMR and the group of national minorities) agreed to support Crin Antonescu’s candidacy in the 2025 presidential election, with the executive bodies of each party being expected to vote the decision. The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for March 23, while the second round will take place on April 6, with the authorities expected to pass a decree on this matter by January 7.

     

    CHRISTMAS – Eastern rite Orthodox Christians are making preparations to celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar. Armenians in Romania celebrate Christmas on January 6.  Following the Christmas  Eve vigil, groups of young children and men go caroling from house to house, bringing the new of the birth of Jesus  Christ, Rafaela Cazazian, producer on Radio România Constanţa, explains. Guesthouses in the Danube Delta but also in mountain resorts are fully booked on this occasion.

     

    HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s handball team lost to Georgia 34-35 the last match in the Carpați Trophy tournament. Also today, Serbia won 35-30 against Turkey. Romania on Friday grabbed a 35-26 win over Turkey, and drew 31-31 against Serbia, the team that finished in top position.

     

    TENNIS – Five Romanian tennis players will represent Romania in the qualifiers of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year set to kick off on January 12. Ana Bogdan (114 WTA) will play Destanee Aiava of Australia (194 WTA) in the first round. Anca Todoni (118 WTA) will take on Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra (156 WTA). Gabriela Ruse (121 WTA) will play Leonie Kung of Switzerland (221 WTA), while Miriam Bulgaru (213 WTA) will go up against Giorgia Pedone of Italy (193 WTA). In the men’s competition, Filip Cristian Jianu (214 ATP) will play Mitchell Krueger of the USA (147). Three Romanian players, Sorana Cîrstea, Jaqueline Cristian and Irina Begu, are already seeded in the main draw. (VP)

  • December 28, 2024 UPDATE

    December 28, 2024 UPDATE

    Election – The first round of the presidential election in Romania might take place on March 23, 2025, and the decisive round on April 6, the media in Bucharest announced on Saturday, citing political sources from the government coalition made up of the PSD-PNL-UDMR. Organized on time, on November 24, 2024, the first round was invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), which, based on documents provided by the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT), invoked the interference of an unnamed state actor. Running in the second round, scheduled for December 8 were the independent nationalist Călin Georgescu and the opposition USR leader, Elena Lasconi. In the Diaspora, where the polling stations for the decisive round opened on December 6, tens of thousands of Romanians had already voted until the CCR decided to invalidate the first round. The costs of those invalidated elections is said to be almost 1.4 billion lei (the equivalent of about 280 billion Euros). On December 21, the second and last five-year presidential mandate of the current president, Klaus Iohannis, expired but his mandate was extended until the election of a new head of state, to be validated by the CCR.

     

    Ordinance – On Saturday, talks were held in Bucharest on the Emergency Ordinance regarding the reduction of public sector expenses, between the social-democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the representatives of employers’ associations and trade unions that are part of the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue. The union leaders believe that the freezing of salaries means a decrease in the incomes of the state employees, and the employers’ associations believe that the coalition government (PSD-PNL-UDMR) will manage to reduce the budget deficit next year, if it applies the measures included in the document. It stipulates that in 2025 state employment will be blocked, overtime will be compensated with free time, state salaries and pensions will be frozen. The government claims that it thus wants to reduce budget expenses by 19 billion lei (almost 4 billion Euros), i.e. 1% of the GDP, and, in parallel, to improve the lives of Romanians and maintain investment programs.

     

    Crime report – Romania is among the states with the lowest level of crime, offering a more favorable situation from this point of view than many Western European countries, shows a Romanian Interior Ministry (MAI) press release based on the reports of the US Department of State and the European Commission. According to them, Romania is recognized as a very safe country for citizens and tourists. In the ‘Report for American citizens traveling abroad’, Romania is indicated as having a low and very low risk of crime. According to the MAI, official international documents highlight Romania’s significant progress in combating crime, confirming its status as a safe country. In recent years, Romania has recorded figures below the European and international average for crimes such as robberies, thefts and other acts committed with violence, the press release also shows.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian tennis players Anca Todoni and Ana Bogdan on Saturday qualified for the main draw of the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane. Ana Bogdan faced the Colombian Emiliana Arango in the decisive match, whom she defeated 6-2, 6-4, and will debut in the main draw in Brisbane against the Russian Anastasia Potapova. Anca Todoni won the match with Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-2, 6-3, and will debut in the competition against Cristina Bucsa from Spain.  The WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane (Australia), with total prizes worth more than 1.5 million dollars, will take place between December 29 and January 5.

     

    Gas – The Russian energy giant Gazprom announced on Saturday that it would suspend gas exports to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population) from January 1, 2025, due to an alleged unpaid debt by the Moldovan authorities. The company claims that it reserves the right to take any action, including termination of the supply contract. Russia delivers to the Republic of Moldova about 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year, through Ukraine invaded by Moscow’s troops. The gas is transported through pipelines to the pro-Russian separatist region of Transndniester, which uses the gas to generate cheap electricity, which it then sells to the rest of Moldova. (LS)

  • The structure of the new Parliament

    The structure of the new Parliament

    2024 saw local, European, parliamentary and presidential elections in Romania, and the young democratic state did not handle the election marathon well. On December 6, just two days before the second round of the presidential election, the Constitutional Court annulled the election, claiming the electoral process was encroached upon. According to the Court, the freely expressed nature of the vote was violated by a campaign seeking to disinform voters, one where independent candidate Călin Georgescu, the winner of the first round of the presidential election, benefited from aggressive promotion, circumvented national electoral legislation, by abusing social media platform algorithms and the lack of specific electoral advertising regulations.

     

    The victory in the first round of a pro-Russian extremist strengthened the entire self-proclaimed sovereigntist movement. Sovereigntist is the term widely adopted by ultranationalist parties, often with xenophobic and anti-Semitic, populist views, voicing fierce criticism against the EU and NATO, and spreading conspiracy theories. Three representatives of this movement, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), SOS Romania and POT (The Young People’s Party) entered Parliament, the first with a very good score, following the December 1 parliamentary election, held just a week after the first round of the presidential election. For this very reason, DREPT party referred the election to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, challenging its fair organization. DREPT claimed that, throughout the November election campaign, foreign interference, illegal financing, neo-legionnaire propaganda and the influence of various underworld crime figures had been officially documented. However, the Court rejected its request to annul the parliamentary election, which means that, on December 21, Romania will have a new Parliament.

     

    The Social-Democratic Party (PSD, currently part of a ruling coalition with the National Liberal Party – PNL), grabbed the largest number of MP seats, 120, followed by AUR, with 93 and PNL, with 71. The fourth-largest parliamentary party will be USR – the Save Romania Union, with 59 elected representatives. The SOS România party, will be represented by 40 MPs, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR) and POT, each by 31. The Chamber of Deputies also includes the national minorities group, which holds 19 seats. Two more parliamentary seats will be assigned. Two senators and four deputies will represent Romanians in the diaspora in Parliament. Given the fragmented legislature, a stable majority is needed to form a government, ideally by the end of this year.

     

    Inevitably, there will be a ruling coalition, whose urgent mission is to set the calendar for the presidential election. The pro-Europeans, namely PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR, had agreed to form a common front against extremism, but nothing is certain after the cancellation of the presidential election. President Klaus Iohannis is expected to remain in office until the new president is sworn in next year, and many have been quick to analyze his 10-year presidential mandate. (VP)

  • Concern about Romania

    Concern about Romania

    Considered an essential partner in the Euro-Atlantic security framework, owing to its strategic position on NATO’s eastern flank, and a firm voice in a European Union, fully committed to supporting Ukraine, Romania not only lived up to expectations, but also offered no reason for concern so far. Things changed dramatically after the first round of the presidential election, won by an independent candidate, heavily promoted on TikTok, an opponent of NATO and the EU, an admirer of Putin’s Russia and some gloomy figures from the interwar period, anti-Semitic fascists, an advocate of resource nationalization and an autarchic economy. His victory in the first round was no accident: intelligence services later presented evidence pointing to serious Russian interference in the electoral process, stating that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Romania.

     

    The United States have expressed concern about reports of Russian interference in the elections. The State Department has warned that Romania’s break with Western alliances in terms of foreign policy might have serious negative effects on security cooperation with the United States. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Romanian authorities had uncovered a large-scale and well-funded Russian effort to influence the presidential election. In addition, six former US ambassadors to Bucharest conveyed a message to Romanians, expressing concern that Romania was the target of a massive social media and cyber-attack, orchestrated by a state actor. In the letter, Alfred Moses, James Rosapepe, Michael Guest, Nicholas Taubman, Hans Klemm and Adrian Zuckerman expressed confidence that the Romanian people will see these attacks by authoritarian states as failed coups d’état and will not allow them to erode the close relationship the United States has always had with Romania. “Romania has no better friend than the United States, and the United States deeply values ​​this relationship. Together, the people of Romania and the United States will achieve peace, democracy, and prosperity”, the letter reads.

     

    A reaction also came from Berlin: “Reports from the Romanian authorities show that Russian disinformation is influencing the presidential election in Romania: Putin wants to divide us and undermine unity within the EU and NATO. But Europe remains strong. Together, we will protect our democracies from hybrid threats”, the German Foreign Ministry said.

     

    The tense electoral context and uncertainty have also reduced analysts’ confidence in the Romanian economy. The CFA Romania Association’s Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator fell by 13.5% in November, to 31.4%, the lowest level recorded since July 2020 during the pandemic, amid extremely high political uncertainty and a sharp increase in investors’ risk aversion levels, the association’s president, Adrian Codirlaşu, has argued. A slight increase in inflation, around 5% in the coming year, higher interest rates on loans contracted by the state and a slight devaluation of the national currency, are equally anticipated, the CFA Romania president added. (VP)

  • December 5, 2024

    December 5, 2024

    COALITION – The leaders of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR), in addition to the group of national minorities, have agreed to create a coalition meant to ensure stable governance and continue reforms. The coalition seeks to avoid isolating Romania at global level, to uphold a sustainable pace of economic growth and to safeguard the country’s European track, the absorption of EU funds, implement reforms stipulated in the Recovery and Resilience mechanism and ensure Romania’s accession to Schengen and the OECD. The exact structure of the cabinet will be decided after Sunday’s second round of the presidential election.

     

    DOCUMENTS – The Prosecutor General’s office announced it would investigate the documents presented by secret services at the meeting of the country’s Supreme Defense Council, to ascertain whether there is sound legal basis to start a criminal investigation targeting Călin Georgescu, an independent candidate enrolled in the presidential race. According to documents declassified by president Klaus Iohannis, a state actor coordinated the activity of TikTok accounts, which boosted Călin Georgescu’s standing in global trends on TikTok, ahead of the first round of the presidential election. Tens of thousands of Russian cyber-attacks targeted the Permanent Electoral Authority, including on election night, intelligence services say. An independent candidate criticized for his pro-Russian, extremist views, Călin Georgescu will face pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi of USR in the presidential runoff slated for December 8.

     

    CRIME – Anti-crime prosecutors (DIICOT) have arrested a 34-year-old Columbian, suspected of planning various subversive actions. In July, the suspect devised a plan to destroy objectives of national security importance, prosecutors say. The Columbian national was reportedly radicalized by a Russian citizen. Investigators also say that the man had been trained to collect intelligence in his home country, and had taken pictures of the objectives he was planning to attack.

     

    MOLDOVA – The Moldovan government could call a state of emergency in connection to the energy crisis, the line minister Victor Parlicov said, as the Russian provider Gazprom could cut gas supplies. Prime Minister Dorin Recean said he would announce a number of measures meant to ensure energy security on Thursday, adding that gas prices will not go up over the coming months.

     

    FRANCE – Michel Barnier’s Cabinet, sworn in in September at the end of a tough negotiation, has collapsed in the wake of a no-confidence vote called by the opposition in connection to next year’s budget. The far right and the alliance of left-wing parties all voted to oust Barnier. Sources close to Emmanuel Macron say the president will announce a new Prime Minister over the next 24h. The future head of government will need to stabilize financial markets on the short term, to prove France has a leadership, and to vote the state budget for 2025. At the end of Wednesday’s Parliament sitting, the French left-wing alliance persistently called on the president of the Republic to entrust them with forming a government. In turn, the far right warned it would block any and all actions of a leftist cabinet. Given the current structure of the National Assembly, none of the three main political groups can secure absolute majority to form a government by itself.

     

    HANDBALL – Romania tonight takes on France, the Olympic vice-champions, at the European Handball Championship hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, in its first match in the main group phase. Romania will next play Sweden on Friday and Hungary on Sunday. We recall Romania has taken part 14 times in the European Championship, obtaining a single medal, bronze in 2010. Romania ranked 12th at the previous edition of 2022. (VP)

  • December 4, 2024 UPDATE

    December 4, 2024 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT – The interim president of the National Liberal Party, Ilie Bolojan, on Wednesday said the pro-European parties in the new Parliament, PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the group of national minorities have agreed to create a coalition as part of a joint resolution. The coalition will seek to ensure stability and reforms. The four parties are expected to hold together over 55% of total seats in Parliament after the completion of the redistribution process. The other three parties that entered Parliament, AUR, SOS Romania and POT, seen as ultranationalist and sovereigntist, will hold 37% of MP seats. The exact figures will be made public at the end of the week once all mandates that were left vacant after the election are redistributed, the president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says. The new Parliament is expected to officially start its activity on December 20, when the four-year term of the current legislature is set to end.

     

    DOCUMENTS – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Wednesday declassified 5 documents presented by the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Special Telecommunications Service in the November 28 meeting of the Supreme Defense Council. The documents regard infringement of electoral advertising regulations ahead of the 1st round of the presidential election. We recall that following last week’s meeting, Council members noticed that cyber-attacks sought to influence the first round of the presidential election, held on November 24.

     

    FINANCE – Finance Minister Marcel Boloș on Wednesday said the Government has withdrawn 6 bln EUR from the Reserve Fund to deal with imbalances triggered by the recent political uncertainty. Romania is undergoing a period of uncertainty until a new government is sworn in to stabilize and finalize the country’s budget policies, the Finance Minister added, expressing hope the crisis would end. The same difficulties in terms of state bonds and loans are also transparent on the stock market, Minister Boloș went on to say.

     

    FLOODS – The Government has updated the national strategy for the management of medium and long-term flood risks. The updated document provides a number of general objectives, including the need ot modernize the protection infrastructure, including embankments and dams, implementing natural solutions, such as water draining, introducing tight regulations for the use of farmland in at-risk areas and providing risk management training to technical staff. The implementation of these goals are estimated to cost approximately 18 bln EUR, which will be covered with EU funds from the Recovery and Resilience mechanism.

     

    NATO – Ukraine’s allies should provide enough military assistance to “alter the course of the war once and for all”, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in Brussels, which hosted the two-day meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers. On Tuesday, in her speech before the Foreign Affairs Council, Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, said NATO membership presented Romania with the strongest security guarantees it ever had. Over 5,000 NATO troops are currently deployed to Romania for deterrence and security consolidation purposes, the Romanian official recalled. Another positive effect of the presence of foreign troops is an economic boost, while NATO membership itself reinforces Romania’s credibility at international level, including on financial markets, the Romanian official said.

     

    GAUDEAMUS – A new edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair has kicked off in Bucharest. Organized by Radio Romania, the event this year is presided by a special honorary guest, Mircea Cărtărescu, one of the best-known and internationally acclaimed Romanian contemporary writers, the recipient of countless national and international awards. Some 200 exhibitors are taking part in the fair, which until December 8 will bring visitors hundreds of book launches and numerous premieres. (VP)

  • December 2, 2024 UPDATE

    December 2, 2024 UPDATE

    CCR – The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) validated the first round of the presidential election held on November 24. After counting the votes from all polling stations in the country and from 161 stations abroad out of the 950 organized in the Diaspora, the CCR judges concluded that, although there were some differences compared to the first count, they were not the result of fraud. At the same time, they decided not to wait for the recount of all the votes cast in the Diaspora, as they were not contested. Thus, with unanimity of votes, the CCR judges rejected as ungrounded the notification of the MEP Cristian Terheş, according to which votes obtained by a candidate who withdrew from the race at the last moment would have been transferred to the account of another and decided that the independent Călin Georgescu, perceived as a pro-Russian extremist, and the president of the Save Romania Union – USR, Elena Lasconi, will run in the second round of the presidential election. Also, the CCR confirmed that the presidential final will take place on the previously established date, December 8.

     

    Elections – Romania’s new Parliament will include 7 political parties. In Sunday’s general elections, the Social Democratic Party – PSD, in power, won the largest number of votes, around 22%, followed by the sovereigntist Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR with roughly 18%, double their figure in the last election 4 years ago. Third comes the National Liberal Party – PNL, another member of the ruling coalition for the past 4 years, which won some 14% of the votes, and 4th is the right-of-centre Save Romania Union – USR, with around 12%. The 5% parliamentary threshold was crossed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the extremist party S.O.S. Romania led by the controversial MEP Diana Șoșoacă, and the newly founded sovereigntist Young People’s Party (POT). The voter turnout was over 52%, the highest in the last 20 years. Outside Romania, some 800,000 Romanian nationals voted, 3 times more than in the previous parliamentary election.

     

    December 1 – Romania’s National Day, marked on December 1, was celebrated on Sunday throughout the country with parades, military and religious ceremonies, shows, artistic events, and fireworks. The traditional parade took place in Bucharest, being attended by over 2,500 Romanian and foreign military personnel. President Klaus Iohannis, who hosted his last National Day reception as head of state, sent a message of unity and solidarity to overcome crises and move forward with dignity.

     

    Duckadam – The former great Romanian goalkeeper Helmut Duckadam, known as the “Hero of Seville”, passed away at the age of 65. The Romanian Football Federation confirmed the sad news and sent their condolences to the family and loved ones. Born on April 1, 1959, in Semlac, Arad county in western Romania, Helmut Duckadam started playing football in 1975, at Gloria in Arad. Until 1983, when he transferred to Steaua Bucharest, he played at UTA (1977 and 1978-1983) and Constructorul Arad (1977-1978). He became the “Hero of Seville” in the final of the European Champions Cup of 1986, when he managed to save four shots in a row in the penalty shootout which secured Steaua’s win against Barcelona (2-0). His performance in Barcelona made him enter the Book of Records. Duckadam also defended the goal of the Romanian national team twice.

     

    Internship pay – The executive vice-president of the European Commission, Roxana Mînzatu, participated on Monday in her first council meeting together with the European labor ministers. The agenda included the directive for interns, through which the member states try to find a solution by which young people can be paid for the internship period, within a campaign or institution. Mânzatu stated that there are many situations in which employers exploit the concept of apprenticeship and internship and use young people in the jobs they need, but without paying them. We remind you that Roxana Mînzatu received the European Parliament’s vote of confidence last week, together with Ursula von der Leyen’s entire team, and will deal with social issues and crisis preparation in the new European Commission. (LS)