April 12, 2025
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 12.04.2025, 13:55
Palm Sunday – In many cities of Romania, a country with a majority Orthodox population, including Bucharest, traditional Palm Sunday pilgrimages are taking place this afternoon, on the eve of the important Christian holiday of the Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Members of the clergy and believers participate in street processions with willow branches, flowers and icons, in memory of the moment when Jesus was triumphantly received in Jerusalem. The Palm Sunday celebration opens the Holy Week or Passion Week, which culminates with the death of Jesus by crucifixion on the cross, then with His Resurrection, celebrated this year by all Christians on the same date, Sunday, April 20. Authorities estimate that over 1 million believers will participate in the religious events this weekend. Therefore, the Interior Ministry has mobilized significant forces at the national level, to ensure the safe conduct of the events, but also to be able to intervene quickly to support citizens, including in the case of medical emergencies.
Foot and mouth disease – Romania has activated emergency mechanisms to protect the national livestock sector, due to the worrying evolution of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks at European level – four confirmed in Hungary, six in Slovakia and one in Germany. The sanitary-veterinary authorities met urgently on Friday and took several immediate measures, including updating the restriction zones, prohibiting the transport of livestock, feed and manure from Hungary to Romania, as well as blocking imports from the affected areas. It was also decided to inspect Romanian farms that brought animals from Hungary and Slovakia after February 1, to set up sanitary-veterinary checkpoints on access routes from Hungary and to conduct extensive testing at national level for the detection of the foot-and-mouth disease virus.
Festival – Romania is present with an impressive stand this weekend at the Paris Book Festival, the largest literary event of the year in France. 450 French and international publishing houses are participating, and Morocco is the guest of honor. The Romanian stand, organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in collaboration with the Embassies of Romania and the Republic of Moldova in France, invites the public to a journey through Romanian literature of yesterday and today. Visitors can choose from over 50 volumes translated into French, published in France and Switzerland, and over 20 titles in Romanian, proposed by publishing houses in Romania. Titles in bilingual editions are also on display.
Defense – The European finance ministers continue discussions today at an informal Council hosted by Warsaw, which will focus on European defense spending and the consequences of the new US trade policy. On Friday, the European Commissioner for the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, stressed that the European Union was ready to work with Washington to reach a mutually beneficial trade agreement after the Trump administration postponed the application of increased trade tariffs on European countries by 90 days. European leaders cautiously welcomed the postponement. In Paris, the French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a positive signal and an open door to negotiations, but warned that Europe would not win without solidarity.
Migrants – The border police officers discovered, in Calafat, in southern Romania, on the border with Bulgaria, after checking a minibus, 12 foreign citizens who did not have a valid visa or residence permit to travel to the Schengen area. The minibus was registered in Romania and was driven by a Romanian citizen. The people who did not have identity documents were Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, aged between 15 and 41. A criminal case was filed against the Romanian driver for migrant smuggling, and the foreigners were returned to the Bulgarian territory. We remind you that, as of January 1 this year, Romania and Bulgaria are fully part of the Schengen area. (LS)
