August 12, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 12.08.2025, 19:51
Ukraine. We continue to support Ukraine, together with our European and transatlantic partners, for a secure, stable and democratic future in the region, said Romania’s president Nicușor Dan on Tuesday. He said he signed, together with the other European leaders, a statement saying that “peace cannot be built without Ukraine, without respecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity and without the Ukrainian people having the freedom to decide their future”. The statement also says that meaningful peace negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire. The European Union has insisted that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky be invited to Friday’s meeting in Alaska between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday, Zelensky and a number of European leaders will hold a videoconference with Donald Trump.
Inflation. The governor of Romania’s Central Bank, Mugur Isarescu, on Tuesday presented the Bank’s quarterly report on inflation. The bank has revised its inflation forecast for the end of the year upwards, from 4.6% to 8.8%. According to the governor, the inflation rate will peak in September, when it is expected to reach 9.6-9.7%, before falling below 3.5% towards the end of 2026. Isarescu underlined that in order to avoid recession this year, as a result of the latest fiscal consolidation measures, Romania must step up its absorption of EU funds. Romania gave up a horizon for adopting the euro when it gave up its fiscal and budgetary target, and the decision was political, the governor added. According to the National Institute for Statistics, in July this year the annual inflation rate went up to 7.84% from 5.7% a month ago, following a rise in the price of food and non-food products and services. Food prices in Romania went up by roughly 8%, prices for services grew by more than 7% and that of non-food products by over 8%.
Reform. The reform of the local administration in Romania aims to cut 40,000 jobs, with an annual impact of over 400 million euros, said the Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration, Cseke Attila. He said these measures are absolutely necessary because the state will no longer be able to financially support next year the current structure of the local administration. Public institutions will have to give up on new hirings and even axe jobs, the minister also said. The local administration reform is part of the second package of fiscal and budgetary measures aimed at reducing the country’s budget deficit. The first austerity package already came into effect on August 1st.
Seaside. The Romanian sea coast is preparing for its busiest weekend, with more than 140,000 tourists expected from Friday till Sunday. Friday will be a bank holiday in Romania, marking the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and the celebration of the Romanian Navy. Aquatic performances and air shows will be held in all Black Sea ports and on the Danube river. According to the spokesman for the defence ministry, Corneliu Pavel, in the Black Sea port of Constanţa, the events at sea will also involve foreign military vessels, two from Turkey and one from Bulgaria, while the air shows will involve German and American partners.
Tennis. Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea on Monday qualified for the round of last 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, a competition with more than 5.1 million dollars in prize money. She defeated China’s Yue Yuan in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. Cirstea will next be playing Iga Swiatek of Poland, who advanced to the next round following the withdrawal of Ukraine’s Marta Kostiuk. Swiatek has so far won all the head-to-head matches against Cirstea. (CM)
