July 18, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 18.07.2025, 13:55
VISIT The president of Romania Nicușor Dan is on an official visit to Germany today. The agenda includes official talks with president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and chancellor Friedrich Merz, followed by a meeting with German businessmen and a meeting with members of the Romanian community. The visit takes place as the high-level Romanian-German dialogue is deepening, and reflects the excellent strategic relations between the two countries. The talks will focus on developing collaboration in areas of interest, with an emphasis on economic cooperation projects and investments in sectors such as defence, energy, automotive, industry, as well as on close coordination regarding European affairs and in the fields of security and defence. Germany is Romania’s main economic partner and an Ally that contributes significantly to ensuring European security, the Romanian Presidency emphasised. The talks will also cover the continued support for Ukraine and efforts to ensure a just and sustainable peace, support for the Republic of Moldova and its EU accession efforts, the unity of action and the competitiveness of the EU globally, as well as the development of trans-Atlantic relations.
ANTI-SEMITISM The head of the ‘Elie Wiesel’ Institute, Florian Alexandru, believes that the Constitutional Court’s ruling declaring the new law on combating anti-Semitism constitutional was predictable, and said that a different ruling could have further complicated the issue. On Thursday the Constitutional Court dismissed as unfounded a complaint lodged by president Nicuşor Dan against new legislation on measures to fight anti-Semitism and xenophobia, which bans organisations, symbols and acts of a fascist, extreme right, racist or xenophobic nature. The president highlighted, among other things, what he viewed as lack of clarity in defining the term “fascist.” The Court found that ‘the law subject to constitutional review is clear, precise and predictable with respect to the content of the regulation, which it relates to the legitimate subject matter and purpose of the law, which is to use criminal law to protect the most important social values of a democratic society, based on the need to ensure the dignity of human beings and full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms’. The Court held that Nazi and fascist ideology are historical and political concepts that cannot be relativized by legal definitions, as they reflect historical social realities that have underpinned criminal political regimes which have physically eliminated groups of people, practicing systemic violence, political assassinations and anti-Semitism. By their purpose, these totalitarian political regimes have violated the principles of the rule of law, human rights and democracy, the Court also found.
EU The European Commission presented on Friday the funding allotted for the member states in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, after a budget of EUR 2,000 billion was proposed on Wednesday for the respective period, according to a statement from the Commission. Under the proposal, Romania is to receive a total EUR 60.2 billion, of which a general allocation of EUR 54.6 billion, EUR 1 billion for migration, security and home affairs, and EUR 4.6 billion for the Social Climate Fund. Of the total allocations, the highest amounts will go to Poland, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
RUSSIA The EU on Friday tightened its sanctions against Moscow, mainly targeting Russian oil, in the hope that the US will soon join the move, AFP reports. This 18th set of sanctions since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is one of the most severe against Russia to date, the EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas said. The decision is essential and comes at a good time, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on the social network X. The French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot voiced satisfaction with the unprecedented sanctions, while the German chancellor Friedrich Merz promised the bloc will maintain pressure on Russia. The sanctions include, among other things, a reduction in the price ceiling for Russian crude oil exports, currently set at just over USD 45 a barrel, 15% below the average market price. The mechanism prohibits any oil company or commercial fleet from selling Russian oil above a certain price, under the penalty of sanctions. The EU has banned all imports of Russian oil into its territory, but Moscow continues to export crude to other countries, including India and China, AFP explains.
FOOTBALL The winner of the Romanian Football Cup CFR Cluj moved up into the second qualifying round of the Europa League, after defeating on Thursday on home turf the Hungarian side Paksi FC, 3-0, in the second leg of the first round. The first leg had ended in a goalless draw. In the next round the Cluj team will take on Lugano, of Switzerland. Meanwhile the Romanian champions FCSB qualified for the second round of the Champions League qualifiers, to play against KF Shkendija, the champions of North Macedonia. Universitatea Craiova and Universitatea Cluj will play in the Conference League. (AMP)
