June 19, 2025

A roundup

Newsroom, 19.06.2025, 13:55

TALKS – President Nicuşor Dan is today holding a new round of talks with political parties represented in Parliament to designate a new Prime Minister, an invitation declined by the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) and S.O.S Romania. The Presidential Administration recalls in a press release that, on May 28, the head of state had informal consultations with parliamentary political parties regarding the economic and political situation. AUR and S.O.S. Romania in opposition did not participate. After that round of talks, the Presidency announced that the delegations of pro-European parties – PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and representatives of national minorities emphasized that they understand the seriousness of the situation related to the budget deficit and expressed their joint commitment to contribute to identifying responsible solutions. All parties agreed that negotiations for the new government structure should be accompanied by discussions over a plan of measures designed to reduce public spending, to be assumed and implemented by the future government. For this purpose, pro-European parties and representatives of national minorities set up a special task force. Since then, several round of talks have taken place between the representatives of the pro-European parties and the president.

FEMICIDE – President Nicuşor Dan called on the relevant authorities to treat each case of domestic violence with utmost seriousness, noting that he will work together with the future Government to build a package of clear-cut measures that will ensure real protection for victims and the prevention of gender violence, Agerpres reports. “Romania is facing a concerning level of violence against women. In the first six months of this year alone, 26 women lost their lives, most of them as a result of attacks committed by former or current partners. Last year, over 130,000 cases of domestic violence were reported. The pain and outrage felt by society are fully justified. I strongly condemn any form of violence against women and reaffirm that it cannot be tolerated, ignored or treated superficially”, Nicuşor Dan wrote on social media. According to the source, he conveyed his full solidarity with the participants in a protest organized on Wednesday evening in front of the government headquarters.

AMBASSADOR – The White House has notified the US Senate regarding the nomination of Darryl Nirenberg as the new US ambassador to Bucharest. The US Congress confirms that the nomination of Darryl Nirenberg to be the US ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Romania was received from president Donald Trump on June 16 and was submitted the same day to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Darryl Nirenberg was nominated on May 20 by Donald Trump for the position of US ambassador to Romania. As with all nominations made by the US president, Nirenberg’s must also be confirmed by the US Senate. The approval process involves several stages of investigation and verification, starting with the submission of a personal financial information report and background check. The nominee is then interviewed in a hearing in the Foreign Relations Committee of the upper house of Congress.

RESOLUTION – The European Parliament has adopted a resolution whereby EU Member States will be granted an additional 18 months to complete projects funded under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism that have already been started. The document was drafted by Romanian MEPs Siegfried Mureşan and Victor Negrescu and must now receive the endorsement of the European Commission. The MEPs also propose to the Commission that the funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan be moved to other European financing mechanisms so that investments can continue, as well as the development of more cross-border projects between European countries.

CONFLICT – Israel and Iran engaged in mutual air strikes for the sixth consecutive night, while US president Donald Trump urgently consulted his top security advisers on the US entry into the war. According to US media, there was no consensus among the advisers on how the US should intervene against Iran. However, Washington is strengthening its military presence in the Middle East. After several days in which he urged the Iranians to return to negotiations, yesterday president Trump posted a series of messages on his own social network demanding Iran’s unconditional surrender and adding that he has full control of Iranian airspace. Iran’s religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, threatened that the war is just beginning and that he will show the Zionists no mercy. Meanwhile, Iran has launched a new wave of ballistic missiles at Israel, and, according to Israeli media, some of them have had a considerable impact. According to the Israeli aid service, dozens of people have been injured. Among the targets hit is a hospital in Beersheba. Meanwhile, the Israeli military aviation has continued to bomb several weapons manufacturing facilities in Iran and a university that is reportedly tied to the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army.

HEAT – A new wave of heat is today expected to engulf the southern half of Romania’s territory, with highs expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius. A meteorological alert will be in place all day. In Bucharest, the temperature-humidity index is expected to reach the critical level of 80 units. The noon reading was 31 degrees. (VP)