July 15, 2025 Update 2
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Newsroom, 15.07.2025, 20:00
Visits – Romania’s President, Nicuşor Dan, has announced that he will pay official visits to Germany and Austria, focused on the economic component of the country’s foreign policy. At the end of this week, he will go to Germany, where he will meet with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as with representative businessmen from this country. On July 25 and 26, Nicuşor Dan will be in Austria, where he is scheduled to meet with President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Christian Stocker, and will also be present at a businessmen’s forum. The two countries provide over 25% of direct foreign investments in Romania.
Meeting – The Romanian FM, Oana Țoiu, participated on Tuesday, in the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the EU member states – the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in Brussels. According to a statement from the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the officials had, among other things, discussions on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. Oana Țoiu reiterated the need to continue EU support for Ukraine, with an emphasis on military, financial support and assistance in preparation for the upcoming cold season. She also stressed the need to increase pressure on Russia by adopting new restrictive measures and supported the rapid adoption of the 18th package of sanctions. Regarding developments in the Middle East, the Romanian minister stressed the importance of measures to improve the serious humanitarian situation. She also reiterated her support for concluding a peace agreement and releasing the hostages – the press release also states. On the sidelines of the meeting, Oana Ţoiu had a meeting with her Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, during which ‘the two officials showed their determination to continue coordination on the regional security dimension, with an emphasis on strengthening NATO’s Eastern Flank’.
Recovery Plan – Projects worth 6.3 billion Euros included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) can no longer be completed by the scheduled deadline, the end of August 2026, the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragoş Pîslaru announced on Tuesday. However, he gave assurances that Romania would not lose a single euro of the financing represented by the non-reimbursable funds. Dragoş Pîslaru presented the conclusions of the meeting of the Interministerial Coordination Committee of the PNRR, with explanations about the negotiations taking place during this period so that Brussels accepts the changes desired by the Romanian authorities, in order not to lose funds from the PNRR. He specified that the last technical discussions should take place next week, and in parallel, work is being done to simplify the targets and milestones assumed by Romania.
Industry – Industrial production increased by 3.4% in the European Union and 3.7% in the euro zone in May, compared to the same period of 2024, and Romania is among the EU member states where this indicator increased, according to data published on Tuesday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). The largest increases in industrial production in May, compared to the same period in 2024, were in Ireland, Finland, Sweden and Romania, and the most severe declines in Belgium, Bulgaria and Denmark.
Rating – The Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and the Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, had a meeting with the representatives of the rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Tuesday in Bucharest, during which the main fiscal-budgetary measures adopted by the Government through ‘Package 1’ were presented, as well as the measures under preparation, which aim to make the activity of state-owned companies more efficient and to manage public resources more rigorously. Also on Tuesday, the financial rating agency Fitch announced that the implementation of the latest consolidation package announced by the authorities in Bucharest would be reflected in its new revised fiscal forecasts to be published on August 15, when the next review of Romania’s country rating is scheduled. All three major rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch) currently have a ‘negative’ outlook associated with Romania’s sovereign rating, which places the country one step away from a ‘junk’ rating (not recommended for investment).
Ukraine – The UN called on Tuesday for the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine to be stopped ‘urgently’, in the context in which June was the deadliest month for civilians since May 2022, AFP reports. The call comes in the context in which US President Donald Trump gave Russia, on Monday, a 50-day ultimatum to end the war in Ukraine, under the threat of severe sanctions and announced a massive rearmament of Kyiv through NATO. In Brussels, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, assessed that the 50-day deadline granted to Russia represents a ‘very long’ period in a situation in which ‘innocent civilians are dying every day’. In Bucharest, the Defense Minister Liviu-Ionuţ Moşteanu, who met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Romania, Ihor Prokopchuk, reiterated Romania’s firm and consistent support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. He stressed that, in the face of direct threats to regional security, Bucharest remains committed to multidimensional and sustainable support for Ukraine, in close coordination with NATO and the EU. (LS)
