April 1, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 01.04.2025, 13:55
VOTE – Romanian deputies are today debating a vote of no-confidence filed by AUR (the nationalist opposition) against the Liberal Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu. AUR accuses Predoiu of having turned the Interior Ministry into a genuine political police institution, where the citizen is no longer protected, but is monitored, intimidated and silenced. AUR also demands an analysis for his criminal prosecution, for alleged abuse of office. Cătălin Predoiu said this approach is a democratic exercise and that he will answer any questions with arguments, as he has done every time he has been confronted with a vote of no-confidence. Yesterday, senators voted against a vote of no-confidence submitted by AUR, POT and SOS Romania, against Liberal Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, accused of promoting an incompetent, visionless policy, which deprived the country of sufficient electricity production. The three parties also criticize the fact that Romania imported natural gas from neighboring Bulgaria this year at prices much higher than it could have purchased from Central Europe. Sebastian Burduja denied the allegations and said that, for the first time in 17 years, Romania has a national energy strategy, whereas energy is safe, cheap and clean.
INVESTMENT – Romania’s Minister for Investment and European Projects, Liberal Marcel Boloș, is today expected to appear before the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on European Affairs to present amendments to Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and progress in negotiations with the European Commission. At the request of Save Romania Union (USR), Minister Boloș must also present measures to unlock payments from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism as part of its third funding application. So far, only €1.3 billion out of €2 billion was paid to Romania after our country failed to meet six milestones. Romania has another six months at its disposal to implement the required measures to unlock the remaining payments.
UNEMPLOYMENT – The unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in February, up by 0.1% compared to the level recorded in January, the National Statistics Institute reported on Tuesday. The number of unemployed aged 15-74 in February was 456,800 people, a slight increase compared to the previous month (450,900 people), but also compared to the same period of 2024 (436,300 people). Broken down by gender, the unemployment rate for men exceeded the rate of women by 0.4%, namely 5.7% and 5.3%, respectively. The Institute also reports a high unemployment rate of 26.3% among young people aged 15-24, recorded over October-December 2024. Youth unemployment accounts for 72.5% of total unemployment estimated for February 2025.
EXERCISE – The opening of the “Sea Shield 25” multinational exercise took place on Monday in the port of Constanta. “Sea Shield” is the most important training event organized by the Romanian Naval Forces. Until April 11, some 2,300 troops from Romania and 11 partner states will take part in the exercise. Romania will contribute 1,600 military personnel and 80 units of military equipment, including 28 maritime and river vessels, two helicopters and a mobile launch system. Overall, military personnel from 12 participating states will operate approximately 150 units of military equipment. “Sea Shield 25” includes combat sequences that will test the coordination and response capabilities of participating forces in highly complex scenarios, which will take place in the Black Sea, in the ports of Constanţa, Tulcea and Brăila, on the Danube and at the Babadag Training Center. During the first week, the exercise is carried out in a national context, activities being designed to test the defenses of critical coastal infrastructure. In the second week, for the first time partner states will interact with the Naval Mine Countermeasures Group, established in 2024 by Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
SCHENGEN – State Secretary with the Romanian Interior Ministry, Bogdan Despescu, said that Romania’s Schengen accession gave a boost of solidarity and confidence for Romania and its European partners. The statement marked one year since Romania joined the visa-free travel area with its land and maritime borders. We recall that starting this year, Romania became a full member of Schengen.
HANDBALL – The Romanian men’s handball champions, Dinamo Bucharest, are today taking on SC Magdeburg of Germany away from home in the return leg of the Champions League playoffs. In the first leg played in Bucharest, the German side won 30-26. (VP)
