July 27, 2025 Update 2
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Newsroom, 27.07.2025, 19:52
Corruption – The Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Dragoş Anastasiu announced his resignation from office on Sunday afternoon. “At this moment, in this climate, it is very clear to me that I can no longer help, that no matter what I say, no matter what I do, the process of denigration will continue, based on some facts, but taken to the extreme. This is the reason why it is time for me to take a step back and resign,” he said. Reports have emerged in the press that Anastasiu, as a businessman, was a witness in the corruption case of a former inspector of the National Agency of Fiscal Administration (ANAF) and admitted to signing a fictitious contract through which he made payments to that official for eight years. Anastasiu claims that he was only a witness in that case, but the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) announced on Saturday that the businessman officially had the status of a whistleblower witness in the case, even though he did not actually sign a complaint. His resignation is the first from the pro-Western government in Bucharest, made up of the PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR, installed on June 23 and led by the liberal Ilie Bolojan.
Protests – Teachers in Romania have announced that they will launch a series of protests starting next week, accusing several provisions of the fiscal measures package promoted by the government and promulgated by President Nicuşor Dan. The increase in the teaching norm from 18 to 20 hours per week may lead to the disappearance of some departments, union leaders say. They say that the merger of educational institutions will also create administrative problems, especially in rural areas, due to the long distances between schools.
Sports – The Romanian athlete Constantin Popovici won the bronze medal in the 27 meters springboard high diving event at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Sunday. World champion in this event in 2023, in Fukuoka, Japan, Popovici, who was the leader after the preliminary phase, totaled 408.70 points. The world title went to American James Lichtenstein, with 428.90 points, and the Spanish diver Carlos Gimeno won the silver, with 425.30 points. Romania’s other representative, Cătălin Preda, winner of the silver medal in Fukuoka and of bronze in Doha, Qatar, last year, ranked fifth, with 405.25 points.
Moldova – In September 2025, the European Commission will officially launch a call for registration for national and international private investors interested in contributing to the economic development of the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet republic, with a majority Romanian-speaking population). The initiative is part of the European Union’s Growth Plan for the Republic of Moldova, a large package of economic and political support, worth 1.9 billion Euros, aimed at supporting structural reforms and accelerating its economic convergence with European standards. According to officials from Chişinău, the call aims to attract investments in priority sectors of the economy: energy, agriculture, industry, digital/IT, transport and logistics, as well as health. The initiative is aimed at companies from the European Union, the European Economic Area and the Republic of Moldova, and the proposed projects must have a minimum value of 10 million Euros and an equity contribution of at least 15% from the investor. Selected projects could benefit from support in the form of loans, guarantees, grants, technical assistance and other instruments offered by the European Commission and partner financial institutions.
Weather – The heat wave persisted on Sunday in the eastern half of Romania, where weather code alerts were maintained. A code red alert targeted counties in the south of the country and the municipality of Bucharest, where the highs reached 41 degrees Celsius. The rest of the eastern part of Romania faced code orange and yellow alerts for heat, with highs between 33 and 39 degrees C. The heat recorded on Saturday brought the hottest day in the last 50 years in the south of the country, where numerous temperatures above 40 degrees C were recorded, with a maximum of 43.4 degrees C in Calafat, on the banks of the Danube. By contrast, the west of the country was swept by devastating storms, with damage recorded in 27 localities in 8 counties, and several people were injured in Timisoara, both following the fall of a tree and the storm that affected a music festival. (LS)
