December 18, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Elena Enache, 18.12.2024, 14:01
A roundup of local and international news.
RATING – Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Romania’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Negative from Stable, meaning a further downgrade is possible, the rating agency said in a statement. According to Fitch, the assessment reflects the major risks Romania faces due to additional political tensions on the political scene after the cancellation of the presidential elections due to external interference, as well as the parliamentary elections that resulted in a more divided Parliament, with a rise in the far right and anti-EU parties, reflecting the increased polarization of Romanian society. The Fitch outlook, which measures a Government’s ability to fulfill its financial obligations, could lead to an increase in interest rates for the loans that the Government plans to take out from the foreign market.
SUMMIT – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is participating, today and Thursday, in Brussels, in the EU – Western Balkans Summit and the European Council meeting. On Thursday, the European Council agenda will include topics such as Ukraine, migration, the situation in the Middle East, the EU’s civil and military preparedness and response to crises, the EU’s role in the world and the enlargement of the Union, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and issues related to freedom, security and justice.
PARLIAMENT – A reception center for the newly elected senators and deputies is open as of today until Friday at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest. The new MPs are being guided, these days, through the formalities needed in order to take over their mandates. The new Parliament resulting from the legislative elections of December 1 was convened, on Friday, for its constituent session. In the meantime, the first clear results are emerging after almost a week and a half of negotiations between the parties that want to form the future Parliament majority. PSD, PNL, UDMR and the national minorities other than the Hungarian one have presented the main directions of a 4-year governing program. After tensions in recent days, it is not yet known whether the USR will also be part of the future government.
COMMEMORATION – In Timişoara, events dedicated to the anti-communist Revolution of December ’89 continue today. Tuesday, the city in western Romania was a day of mourning in memory of those killed at the outbreak of the Revolution. After the bloody repression of the uprising on December 17, the large factories went on strike, and the workers gathered in the city center. On December 20, Timişoara became the first Romanian city free from communism and from here the flame of the Revolution spread throughout the country, to culminate, on the 22nd, in Bucharest, with dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife, trying to escape.
INVESTIGATION – The European Commission has launched an official investigation into TikTok, for Russia’s interference in the Romanian presidential elections. The EC is collecting data to determine whether the platform violated EU law. Among other things, the risks to civic discourse or paid political advertising and content are being investigated. On the other hand, the leadership of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee condemned Russian interference and the role of TikTok, a Chinese-controlled platform, in destabilizing the democratic process in Romania.
