April 25, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.04.2025, 18:30

Elections. The presidential elections in May will take place, assures the Romanian Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, after a judge from the Ploieşti Court of Appeal (south) decided on Thursday to annul and suspend the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding the resumption of the entire presidential electoral process. The Minister of Justice explained to Radio Romania that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are not administrative acts, so they cannot be challenged in administrative litigation, therefore its decisions are final and unassailable. “The decision of the Constitutional Court of Romania took effect at the time it was pronounced. The elections were annulled and it was ordered that the Government act according to the law to establish the calendar and organize new elections, which the Government has already done,” Radu Marinescu explained. The Central Electoral Bureau has already stated that the activity of all electoral bureaus continues. The first round of the presidential elections is to be held on May 4th.

CCR. The High Court of Cassation and Justice has admitted the appeals against the decision by which the Ploieşti Court of Appeal admitted a request to suspend the CCR decision of December 6, 2024, which annulled the presidential elections. The Constitutional Court of Romania and the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Ploieşti Court of Appeal had filed an appeal against the decision of the Prahova court. In the text of the appeal, the CCR stated that, “regrettably and in violation of the legal provisions”, the Ploieşti Court of Appeal ruled, “without constitutional and legal grounds”, on the effects of a binding decision. The High Court’s decision is final and irrevocable.

Arrest. The Russian security services (FSB) have announced the arrest of a Romanian suspected of spying for Ukraine in Sochi (southern Russia). In a statement, the FSB accused the man, born in 2002, of “collecting and transmitting data on the locations of air defense systems in the city of Sochi” to Ukrainian intelligence services in the summer of 2024. Russian media published a video provided by the FSB in which two of its agents arrest a man and pin him to the ground. The suspect, who was later filmed with his face blurred during interrogation, spoke in English and said that he had sent information about the location of a Russian anti-aircraft battery to a contact within the Ukrainian services.

Funeral. The last preparations are being made at the Vatican for the funeral of Pope Francis, due Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square with scores of political leaders, heads of state and government, attending. Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to arrive in Rome, where the Ukrainian president hopes to hold talks with his US counterpart. After the ceremony at the Vatican, the coffin is to be carried for burial, in keeping with the Pope’s wish, to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome. Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend the funeral and the Vatican has announced the tomb will be open to visitors the very the next day. After the funeral, the entire world is waiting for the vote of the 135 cardinals who are going to convene in a conclave to elect the new head of the Catholic Church. Under the Vatican rules, the Conclave is to convene between the 15th and 20th day since the Pope’s death, which is between 5th and 10th of May respectively.

Commissioner. Currently on a two-day visit to Romania, the EU Commissioner for Budget, anti-fraud and public administration, Piotr Serafin, is today visiting in Oradea, north-western Romania, several major infrastructure projects built with EU funds. On Thursday, the European official held talks with the country’s interim president, Ilie Bolojan, who highlighted the importance of continuing to earmark funds within the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy in the EU’s future budget and finding solutions to the present challenges in the fields of competitiveness, defence and security. The European commissioner has also met with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu, as well as with business people and investors, in order to learn their opinion on how the present EU funding is working. Commissioner Serafin’s visit, aimed at improving social inclusion, the creation of jobs and strengthening local communities by means of the EU funds, is part of the European Commission’s consultations before the July presentation of the next EU long-term budget.

Visit. The head of the European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, has announced in Chisinau a new aid package aimed at increasing the resilience of the former ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking state against threats from abroad. The new 60 million Euro assistance package is aimed, among other things, at strengthening the Republic of Moldova’s capabilities of preventing the fall of Russian drones on its territory, Kallas says. The total aid, through the European instrument for peace, amounts to roughly 200 million Euros, meant to make the Republic of Moldova stronger and safer for its citizens. In Chisinau, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy held talks with president Maia Sandu and with the country’s Prime and Foreign Ministers. High on the agenda was the headway made in implementing the reforms needed for European integration, and Kallas said the Union would continue to support the Republic of Moldova until accession.

Environment. The Minister of Waters, Forests and Environment, Mircea Fechet, says the Environment Fund Administration will this year rely on a record-high investment fund of 3.2 billion Euros. The Rabla (car-scrapping) programme, one of the most important, pledges higher vouchers for electric vehicles and the initiative for photovoltaic panels and heat pumps has been extended as part of the Green House Plus programme. Among the key programmes funded in 2025 there are also the LED public lightening, rising electric effectiveness in public buildings as well as new initiatives such as a Rabla-like programme for replacing heating systems and more urban parks for Bucharest. (MI)