August 2, 2025

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 02.08.2025, 13:50

SPECIAL PENSIONS – President Nicușor Dan, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and Justice Minister Radu Marinescu discussed, on Friday, in Bucharest, with representatives of the magistrates, the Prime Minister’s proposals to modify the age and amount of pensions for this professional category. The meeting took place in the context of criticism and attacks from the judicial system generated by the changes announced by Prime Minister Bolojan. These include increasing the retirement age for magistrates to 65 years, increasing the length of service from 25 to 35 years and limiting the pension to a maximum of 70% of the net salary, compared to 80% of the gross salary, as it is now. The Prime Minister’s announcement was met with a harsh reaction from the Higher Council of Magistracy (CSM), who argued that the measures are “blatantly violating the principles of the Constitution”. There is no final conclusion yet, and talks will continue to bring the positions of the Government and the magistrates closer together, Radu Marinescu said.

INFORMATICS – The Romanian students won four gold medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics, held in Bolivia. This is the best result obtained by Romania at this competition, which is in its 37th edition. The Olympiad took place in Sucre, with the participation of over 90 countries, the Ministry of Education has announced on Saturday on its Facebook page. The medals were won by students from the ‘Vasile Alecsandri’ National College in Galati, the International Theoretical High School of Informatics in Bucharest and the ‘Tudor Vianu’ National College of Informatics in Bucharest. This result comes in a context in which other Romanian students have also achieved notable international results. In July, the Romanian team won two gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals at the European Geography Olympiad in Lithuania. In May, Romanian students brought home seven medals from the Asian Physics Olympiad.

RROMA – Every year, August 2 is marked as the European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rroma Holocaust, to commemorate the 500,000 Rroma who were murdered in Europe by the Nazi regime during WW2. On the night of August 2, 1944, almost 3,000 Rroma and Sinti men, women and children were murdered in the gas chambers of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, an atrocity committed with horrifying precision by the Nazi authorities. The commemorative events dedicated to this day serve to recall the suffering endured, the devastating effects of racial hatred and the danger of extremist ideologies. The European institutions and each member state of the Union have a shared responsibility to fight discrimination and racist attitudes towards Rroma and to improve their integration. The Rroma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe. Of the estimated 10 to 12 million Rroma living in Europe, approximately 6 million are EU citizens or residents. To honor the memory of the victims, August 2 was declared the European Day of Commemoration of the Rroma Genocide by a 2015 European Parliament Resolution.

AUSTERITY – The first package of fiscal-budgetary austerity measures to reduce the country’s excessive deficit has been in force in Romania since August 1. Among the measures are the increase in VAT and excise rates, health contributions for pensions higher than 3,000 lei (about 600 euros), the freezing of pensions and salaries in the public sector and the limitation of bonuses and state employment. In Education, the teaching norm of teachers is increasing. At the same time, the amount for hourly pay and scholarship funds is decreasing, so there will be fewer beneficiaries. Employees from many fields of activity have protested against these measures, with unions warning that they could even trigger, in September, a general strike.

AID – The Government in Bucharest decided, on Friday, in an extraordinary meeting, a first support package for people affected by the floods in Suceava and Neamţ (northeast). The aid consist in amounts between 15,000 lei (approx. 3000 euros) and 30,000 lei and will be granted after the damage assessment is completed, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced. Aid of 15,000 lei will also be granted to the three families that reported victims. In Suceava, approximately 78 million euros are needed for the reconstruction of the city of Brosteni and other affected localities, the president of the County Council estimated. The Minister of Environment, Diana Buzoianu, was also in Suceava and Neamţ on Friday. She assessed the situation and discussed with the authorities how to help the people who went through the disaster. Firefighters, mountain rescuers, employees of the forestry departments and numerous volunteers continue interventions in the areas affected by the floods. Over 680 homes were affected, and several dozen were completely destroyed, as was the water and sewage network. The road infrastructure was also seriously damaged. In recent days, aid from the state reserve has reached the residents affected by the floods. (EE)