December 7, 2025
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 07.12.2025, 13:40
Elections. By-elections are held today in Romania for the position of Buzău County Council president and mayor of the capital Bucharest and 12 other localities. Almost 1,800,000 voters are expected at the ballots in Bucharest in the almost 1,300 voting stations, to elect their new general mayor, as Nicuşor Dan left this post to become the president of the country in May. 15 candidates are in the race for mayor of Bucharest. 11 are backed by political parties and an electoral alliance and 4 are running as independents. By 6 pm local time, some 27% of voters had cast their ballots, fewer than at the same time at the previous local elections, in June 2024. Apart from the administrative importance of the vote, today’s elections are also an X-ray of the current political scene in Romania.
Motion. A no-confidence motion against Ilie Bolojan’s government, made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, will be presented in a plenary parliamentary session on Monday. The motion was initiated by MPs who entered Parliament last December as candidates of the populist opposition parties SOS Romania and the Party of Young People, but have since left these parties. They accuse the government of being incapable of managing the country’s vital areas, from finance to social protection. The ruling parties are giving assurances that the motion will fail, as the ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in Parliament. The debate and vote on the motion are due to take place on 15th December.
Agriculture. Only 30% of Romanian farmers obtained European or national funding this year, while 70% say they did not benefit from any form of support because of the bureaucracy or the shortage of human and financial resources to work on the projects. These are the conclusions of a White Paper on Agriculture report published by the organisation defending the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises. The organisation says most of the farmers who made investments used the money for the modernisation of their agricultural equipment and machinery, the refurbishment of administrative spaces, accounting and marketing services, consultancy for European projects and for digitalisation. However, 12% of farmers have channelled the funds into maintaining their current activity, that is, for the survival of their business.
Visit. Romanian President Nicuşor Dan will pay a visit to France on Monday and Tuesday, according to the president’s office. He will be received by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and will meet Romanians living in France. Nicuşor Dan is also due to have talks with representatives of French business companies, visit the Thales factory specialising in the manufacture of defence and space products, and meet the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
Defence. German defence minister Boris Pistorius will visit the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu, in the south-east of Romania, on Tuesday. The talks with the Romanian officials will focus on bilateral defence cooperation, joint projects and the latest developments with respect to regional security. The visit by minister Pistorius demonstrates Germany’s constant commitment to Romania’s security and to strengthening cooperation within NATO, the Romanian defence ministry said in a statement.
Pensions. The Constitutional Court of Romania will analyse on December 10 a notification from the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the government’s second version of a bill amending retirement rules for magistrates. The government recently assumed responsibility in Parliament for this new law that limits the pensions of judges and prosecutors to 70% of the net income earned in their last month before retirement and gradually increases their retirement age to 65 years. The High Court of Cassation and Justice says the bill discriminates against other categories of employees who benefit from special pensions, is unclear and lacks predictability. Previously, it also challenged the government’s first version of the bill to reform magistrates’ pensions, with the Constitutional Court saying the bill was unconstitutional on procedural grounds.
Book fair. Today is the last day of the 32nd edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair organised in Bucharest by Radio Romania. Since Wednesday, book lovers have had the chance to attend hundreds of publishing events, from meetings with writers to the promotion of cultural and educational projects. The fair has brought together 180 exhibitors, including prestigious publishers, Romanian and foreign book distributors, university publishing houses and higher education institutions, as well as music distributors. (CM)
