April 3, 2025
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 03.04.2025, 13:55
Taxes – We will protect Romanian companies, with all available resources, from the effects of the new trade war of customs tariffs between America and Europe. We are preparing support measures for all affected industries, through state aid schemes that are as efficient and simple to apply as possible, so that they can produce effects in the shortest possible time, said the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the opening of the government meeting, just a few hours after the US President Donald Trump announced new customs duties, between 10 and 50% for all trading partners of the US. The US leader claims that he wants to balance trade deficits of hundreds of billions of dollars and bring wealth back to America. Experts warn, however, that the escalation of the trade war will lead to higher prices for American consumers and will lead to a decline in the global economy.
Defense – Increasing defense investment is a high point on the agenda of the meeting of the foreign ministers’ of NATO countries hosted by Brussels, where Romania is represented by the Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu. They are continuing preparations for the upcoming summit in The Hague in June and are debating urgent security issues. In a press conference organized on the eve of the two-day meeting, the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed the importance of increasing defense investment, a key point for the future success of the North Atlantic Alliance. He welcomed the Alliance’s efforts aimed at bringing a just and sustainable end to the war in Ukraine and highlighted NATO’s solid support for Kyiv by announcing the commitment of over 20 billion Euros in security assistance – promised by the Allies – since the beginning of the year. NATO foreign ministers will meet this evening with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sîbiga and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, within the NATO-Ukraine Council. ‘The threat we face from Russia remains, and Russia continues to work closely with China, Iran and North Korea in a way that not only affects Ukraine, but also poses risks to the Alliance and the world,’ said Mark Rutte.
OECD – Romania has already complied with half of the conditions necessary to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a target that once reached will allow us a huge economic leap, said the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at a conference on the prospects of joining this organization. The participants, including numerous businessmen, identified this integration as the new objective of the country, after NATO, the EU and Schengen. Romania has set itself the goal of completing the integration process into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development next year. The organization is made up of 38 states, which account for 60% of the global GDP.
EU budget – The MEPs have approved Parliament’s priorities for the EU budget next year, which will be negotiated with the Commission and the Council of the EU. In the adopted text, the MEPs call for improving the EU’s security and defense capabilities, as well as for financing dual-use transport infrastructure. The MEPs also underline the need for sufficient resources, given the sharp drop in international funding, and pledge to support Ukraine unconditionally. The European Commission is expected to present its proposal for next year’s budget in June, with the European Council and Parliament to agree on it by the end of the year.
Handball – The Romanian men’s handball title holder, CS Dinamo Bucharest, was eliminated from the Champions League by the German team SC Magdeburg, who won with the score 35-29 on Wednesday evening, in Dessau, in the second leg of the competition’s play-off. The Romanian champions had also lost the first match, in Bucharest, score 26-30. In the women’s Champions League, the champions CSM Bucharest will play against the Esbjerg team for a place in the Final Four of the competition. (LS)
