August 7, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 07.08.2025, 20:00
FUNERAL The first president of Democratic Romania, Ion Iliescu was buried with military honours in a military cemetery in Bucharest on Thursday. State funeral was organized for two days to the memory of the one who led Romania between 1990-1996 and 2000-2004, while a day of national mourning was observed on Thursday. Iliescu’s body was buried only in the presence of his family, close relatives and friends. Under the present regulations in force, all institutions and public authorities, central and local, flew the Romanian flag at half mast. Iliescu died at 95 on Tuesday from lung cancer. The son of a militant of the interwar communist party, illegal at the time, Iliescu had a steady rise during the dictatorship installed by the occupying Soviet troops. During Nicolae Ceaușescu’s regime, he served as minister of youth, between 1967 and 1971. Suspected of being a pro-Soviet and fallen from grace, he was placed by Ceaușescu in positions considered, at the time, second-rate. Iliescu was regarded as leader of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, thus winning the first post-Ceausescu presidential elections of May 20, 1990, with 85% of the votes. At the same time, his party, a mix of authentic revolutionaries and communists from the second echelon, called the National Salvation Front, won two-thirds of the senators and deputies’ mandates. Iliescu would be re-elected in 1992 and 2000. During his last term, Romania joined NATO. Iliescu was put on trial for crimes against humanity, in the Revolution case, when over 800 people were killed after he had de facto taken power, and for crimes against humanity, in the so-called mining riot case of June 13-15, 1990, when he allegedly called miners from the Jiu Valley to Bucharest to violently suppress protests against his regime. The cases were never finalized in court.
VISIT Currently on a visit to Kyiv, Romania’s Foreign Minister, Oana Toiu, held talks with the country’s Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, and the president of the Supreme Rada, Ruslan Stefanciuk. High on the talks agenda were the European integration and the need for unblocking the negotiation process for the country’s EU accession, on cooperation in the economic field, including in the field of defence. During the meeting with the Ukrainian Prime Minister, the two officials have revised the headway achieved in several joint projects such as the bridge over the Tisa River. In this context, the Romanian Foreign Minister has mentioned the significant investment Romania made in cross-border projects since the onset of the Russian aggression in February 2022 with a positive regional impact, including from the economic point of view. The Ukrainian Prime-Minister has invited Romania and the Romanian companies to participate in the process of rebuilding Ukraine and made investment in this country. The minister has also underlined the importance of respecting the rights of the national minorities. “We very much appreciate Bucharest’s firm position in condemning the Russian aggression, its multidimensional support as well as its readiness to continue to provide assistance to the Ukrainians who found refuge in Romania” – says Ruslan Stefanciuk, who described Romania as a major partner and trustworthy ally of Ukraine. Talks also focused on the regional security situation, the consolidation of Ukraine’s air defence, the latest developments in the peace process and the importance of a just peace under the conditions established by Ukraine.
RESTORE Romania has for the first time activated the European RESTORE rapid disaster response mechanism for the situation in Suceava and Neamţ counties (northeast). The floods and strong storms at the end of last month destroyed 41 homes and damaged almost 700 in Suceava, and another 170 homes were affected in Neamţ county. The authorities in Bucharest must propose a modification of an operational, regional or national program, in order to redirect support funds to the affected areas, European Commission spokesman Maciej Berestecki told Radio Romania. The request to modify a program within the RESTORE mechanism must be submitted within six months from the date on which the damage caused by the floods was centralized. Once the Commission approves the amendment of the programme, it will pay 25% of the amount allocated as an exceptional pre-financing. After this pre-financing, the Commission will reimburse the costs once they have been incurred and will verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the measures implemented. The mechanism allows for the rapid channeling of millions of euros of European money to the areas in Romania damaged by the floods.
CINEMA A selection of contemporary films, from disturbing dramas to savory comedies, documentaries or spectacular historical productions, will be presented to the Romanian audience at the Ukrainian Film Festival, between August 15 and September 14, at Happy Cinema in Bucharest. The event, staged in partnership with the Embassy of Ukraine in Romania, is open to all film lovers. “The festival is a unique opportunity to discover current Ukrainian cinema, in a courageous and deeply human selection. (…) Through these films, we get closer not only to a neighboring culture, but also to universal life stories – about courage, love, survival and rediscovery”, a press release says. According to the Ukrainian Embassy, “despite the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, (the films) tell stories of life, love, loss and hope.” All films will have English subtitles.
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