January 26, 2025 UPDATE 3
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 26.01.2025, 19:28
PNL The former PNL president, Crin Antonescu, has been unanimously confirmed as the joint candidate of the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition for the upcoming presidential election. ‘The presidential election campaign is the most important political battle for Romania after the fall of communism’, says the PNL interim president, Ilie Bolojan. He pointed out that firm actions, good ruling practices and transparency are needed to regain the trust of the Romanians. Antonescu says he is not running in the presidential race for himself or for the National Liberal Party, but for the country’s citizens and for Romania. The Liberals are the first to have officially validated Antonescu’s candidacy. UDMR is to announce its preference next week, while on February 2, the Social-Democrats are going to convene for a special congress. The first and second round of the presidential election have been slated for May 4 and 18. We recall that in December last year, Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidated the presidential election on grounds of foreign interferences in the election process. That cancelled first round had been won by the pro-Russia extremist candidate, Calin Georgescu.
REACTION Romania’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, on Sunday announced the setting up at the government level of a crisis cell for the effective coordination of the activities of recovering the four Romanian ancient artefacts stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands. The aforementioned cell includes representatives of the Romanian police as well as from the Foreign, Interior and Culture Ministries. The Prime Minister says he held talks with Interior Minister, Catalin Predoiu, on the urgent dispatching of a forensic team, who will work together with the Dutch authorities on the case. The General Prosecutor’s Office says that a criminal file has been made ex officio on the burglary in Assen. All the stolen artefacts have been insured under the Romanian and international legislation according to exhibition staging procedures. In a news conference at the National History Museum in Bucharest, director Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu says the artefacts stolen from the Dutch museum are being covered by a-35 million Euros insurance with a Dutch insurance company.
VISIT Romania’s Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu, will be attending the proceedings of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, which is getting underway in Brussels on Monday. The meeting’s agenda includes Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the EU-US relations. The energy crisis in the Republic of Moldova and the latest developments in Georgia are also high on the agenda. On Tuesday, Minister Hurezeanu is expected to hold talks with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, with the Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu, and with the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos.
WIN The Romanian women’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, on Sunday won their away game against Danish side Nykobing, 29-27 and advanced to the third place in the Champions League’s Group A. The Hungarian side Ferencvaros ranks first in the group followed by the French from Metz. Another Romanian side, Gloria Bistrita, is ranking 7th in the group, while the third Romanian team in the competition, Rapid Bucharest, lost to Danish side Esbjerg in group B 26-28 on Sunday. Rapid is presently ranking 7th in the group.
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