July 21, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 21.07.2025, 13:55
PRESIDENCY The president of Romania Nicușor Dan has received an official invitation to visit the United States from the US president Donald Trump, the president’s national security advisor Cristian Diaconescu announced during an interview on Sunday night. A date has not yet been set for the visit, but preparations are underway, with the help of the foreign ministry. “The two officials had a very good dialogue a month ago, at the NATO summit in The Hague. The invitation was conveyed via formal channels,” Diaconescu said, and explained that the organisation of the visit depends on the speed with which the agenda and the access level are set. “If the agenda can be set quickly, president Trump will be very interested in this dialogue,” Diaconescu added, emphasising Romania’s importance as a strategic player on NATO’s eastern flank. On July 25 and 26, President 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 attend a business forum. On Friday, the Romanian president made an official visit to Germany.
REFORM The reforms in the Romanian healthcare system that PM Ilie Bolojan intends to announce today include, among others things, sanctions for doctors who do not comply with the working hours at public hospitals and refer patients to the private units they own or where they work, and changes in medical personnel salaries based on the hospital workload. In addition, the government aims to increase the number of contributions to the public healthcare fund, especially among high-income pensioners. The PM recently mentioned that the misuse of funding in public healthcare, with personnel expenses increasing year by year, cannot go on. Cutting expenses in the healthcare system is a goal included in the second set of fiscal measures to reduce the budget deficit, in addition to the reform of special pensions, state-owned companies and local public administration.
INFLATION Short-term inflation prospects are worsening sharply in Romania, as an electricity price cap scheme comes to an end and VAT and excise duties are raised, the National Bank of Romania said. The annual inflation rate will increase considerably in the coming months. According to the central bank’s Board of Directors, the implementation of the recent fiscal consolidation legislation is likely to strengthen disinflation pressures in the medium term, due to the resulting temporary drop in people’s spending power. Although people will be under very high inflationary pressure in the coming period, the central bank argues that in the long term the effects of this set of measures will contribute to macroeconomic stabilisation and to narrowing imbalances in the economy.
DEFICIT The season adjusted government deficit decreased in both the EU and the Euro zone in the first quarter of this year, compared to the last quarter of 2024, with a similar trend also recorded in Romania, which has the largest deficit in the EU, according to data released on Monday by Eurostat. In the EU, the government deficit decreased from 3.3% of GDP in Q4 2024, to 2.9% of GDP in Q1 2025. In Romania, the deficit decreased from 9.6% of GDP in Q4 2024, to 7.5% of GDP in Q1 2025.
UKRAINE Four Ukrainian air targets accidentally entered for a few minutes the northern airspace of Romania. According to a news release issued by the defence ministry, the Ukrainian authorities confirmed that on Sunday night they took measures to disperse military aircraft from airfields in western Ukraine, following massive attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian airport infrastructure. As a result, the defence ministry notified civilian air traffic authorities for an integrated monitoring of the situation. Two Romanian F-16s took off for air recon missions, and later 2 Eurofighter Typhoon of the Italian Air Force were ordered to take off from the Air Police Combat Service at the 57th Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base. The incident did not endanger national security, the lives of Romanian nationals or Romanian assets, the defence ministry reported, and mentioned that it permanently monitors national and regional airspace, working closely with NATO allies to ensure the security and territorial integrity of Romania.
WILDFIRES The Romanian foreign ministry notifies citizens who are in Italy or transiting or planning to travel to that country that the Sicily Regional Civil Protection Department has issued an alert for wildfires for Monday. According to a ministry press release, a code red alert was issued in the provinces of Catania, Messina, Caltanissetta and Enna, and a code orange alert is in place in the rest of the Sicilian provinces. The authorities urge Romanian nationals to get up-to-date information before their trips, and to avoid traveling to areas where there are ongoing fires or an imminent danger in this respect. Romanian nationals can call to request consular assistance from the Romanian consular offices in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin, Trieste, Bari and Catania. (AMP)
