June 16, 2025 UPDATE (2)
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 16.06.2025, 20:00
GOVERNMENT – Romanian President Nicuşor Dan is expected to nominate a new prime minister this week, given that the term of the current Executive, led by the Liberal Cătălin Predoiu, expires on Friday, the Bucharest media reported on Monday. The four pro-European parties likely to participate in the government make-up, PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR, have failed to agree on a Prime Minister nomination that would also have solid parliamentary support. The parties’ negotiators have not made much progress either regarding the concrete measures to reduce the budget deficit, which should also be presented to the European Commission later this week. President Dan said that the technical teams discussed for 50 hours and managed to review 60-80 possible measures to reduce the deficit, and that representatives of political parties have agreed on some of these measures.
FRIGATE – The “King Ferdinand” frigate on Monday morning returned to the Military Port of Constanța, after a 40-day mission in the Mediterranean Sea, carried out alongside ships from France, Greece and Italy. The mission consisted in monitoring the compliance with the arms embargo imposed on Libya. It was the fourth participation of the Romanian Naval Forces in an operation of this kind, which reflects the commitment to the European Union’s efforts for security and stability in the region, a Naval Forces General Staff’s press release reads. The frigate returned from the mission without one of the crew members, who disappeared from the ship on June 1. The search took four days and involved naval and air equipment. Seven allied and partner states came to the support of the Romanian frigate, but the sailor was not found.
EVACUATION – Some 200 Romanians have requested evacuation from Israel and Iran, in the context of the escalating conflict in the region, Secretary of State for European Affairs, the Middle East and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Clara Staicu announced on Monday. “The situation is constantly changing. Our colleagues are in constant contact with the citizens to assess evacuation windows and safe exit routes. Other repatriation actions are expected to follow”, Clara Staicu told a press conference. Last week, a crisis unit was created at the Foreign Ministry, tasked with coordinating necessary actions in this context, the Romanian official pointed out.
CONFLICT – The underground facilities of the Natanz NPP were not hit in the attack carried out by Israel to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced. “There was no additional damage there’ after Friday’s strikes that destroyed surface buildings and electrical infrastructure”, according to the IAEA director-general, Rafael Grossi, who attended the opening of an extraordinary meeting in Vienna on Monday. A uranium enrichment facility, the one at Fordo, was also attacked, but “no damage was reported”, Grossi added. In contrast, at the Isfahan nuclear site, four buildings were damaged: the central chemistry laboratory, a uranium conversion plant, a fuel fabrication plant for the Tehran research reactor, and a facility under construction.
RADIO DRAMA – The 13th edition of the Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival, organized by Radio Romania, started in Bucharest on Monday. Every day of the week, until Friday, auditions are scheduled in the presence of artists and producers, and meetings and debates are held, attended by professionals and radio drama lovers. As many as 24 productions from 15 countries enrolled in the two categories of the competition. The festival can also be followed on the grandprixnova.ro platform, on the official Facebook and Instagram pages and on the YouTube channel. This year’s edition is dedicated to innovation in the field of audio content production. (EE & VP)
