March 27, 2025
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.03.2025, 13:55
Summit. The interim President of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, is participating today in the “Coalition of the Willing” summit on security in Ukraine, hosted by Paris. British and Italian prime ministers Keir Starmer and Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, as well as European Union leaders are attending. According to the RRA correspondent, this new meeting of European leaders should allow the finalization of decisions on short-term military support for Ukraine, a model of a strong Ukrainian army, able to prevent new possible attempts at aggression by Russia and the security guarantees that European and allied armies can offer, including through deployments on Ukrainian territory, after the end of the conflict. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced, together with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, an additional two billion euros in military aid for Ukraine, FP reports. The French president also called on Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions. He accused Moscow of adding new conditions to a US-brokered deal for a ceasefire in the Black Sea and a moratorium on strikes on energy targets.
Spending. Romanian public institutions spent 380 million lei (over 76 million euros) less on goods and services in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2024, said Finance Minister Tánczos Barna. He stressed that a reduction in operating expenses of 5% was achieved at the state budget level and of almost 4 percent at the local authorities level. Also, VAT revenue increased and reached over 25 billion lei (a little over 5 billion euros) in January and February. According to data from the Ministry of Finance, during the mentioned period, the deficit was 1.58% of the Gross Domestic Product, compared to 1.64% of the GDP in the first two months of 2024. The Bucharest government announced that it will continue the campaign to cut expenses for the functioning of the state apparatus. It also plans to borrow 13 billion euros from international markets this year, after raising a record amount of 18 billion euros in 2024.
PNRR. Romanian MPs adopted two bills on Wednesday, milestones in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The first requires members of the Government and other dignitaries with positions in the central administration to register in the Single Register of Transparency of Interests, as well as the prohibition of requesting or accepting gifts from people they are connected with while performing their duties. The second bill adopted refers to streamlining the activities of public enterprises.
Tariffs. The European Union deeply regrets the Trump administration’s decision, announced on Wednesday evening, to impose 25% tariffs on imported cars as of next month. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned that such a measure would particularly affect consumers, both European and American. In turn, Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney has accused Donald Trump of violating bilateral agreements and warned that his country will react with tariffs on American products. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said he is considering all options for response. This is the latest measure in a wide-ranging trade war, the BBC notes. The new tariffs are due to come into effect on April 3.
RCA. In Romania, the capping of RCA (the mandatory civil liability for car owners) prices will be extended until June 30 this year, according to a decision made by the Romanian Government today. The measure is aimed at preventing possible imbalances in the market and the increase in tariffs for these policies. In 2024, the Executive, however, allowed insurers to increase RCA prices by 6.8%, to be adjusted to the inflation rate. According to some government sources, this would be the last extension, after two years of capping.
Handball. The Romanian men’s handball champion, CS Dinamo Bucharest, lost on Wednesday at home, 30-26, to the German team SC Magdeburg, in the first leg of the Champions League play-off. The return leg will take place on April 2, away from home. Magdeburg, the former winner of the Champions League, is the first seed as regards qualifying for the quarterfinals. (MI)
