June 24, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 24.06.2025, 20:00
SUMMIT – Romanian President Nicușor Dan is attending the two-day NATO summit in The Hague, where he met with a delegation from the United States and is taking part, alongside the other leaders, in a dinner hosted by the Royal House of the Netherlands. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the decisions of the NATO members to invest 5% of GDP in defense and in the development of new capabilities, are the only viable solutions to destroy Russia’s aggressive military illusions. According to him, Moscow is supported by state or non-state actors from China, Iraq, North Korea and that, unfortunately, certain essential components for Russia’s military production still come from the allied states. This circuit must be stopped, Zelenskky said. He welcomed the EU’s decision to increase the level of sanctions applied to Moscow or those who help the Kremlin. At the same time, he called on the Union and NATO to increase investments in Ukraine’s defense industry, because his country has developed production capabilities, has essential knowledge gained in war and will share all these elements with the allies for the defense of the entire continent. Before the summit in The Hague, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recalled that the “SAFE” program, worth 150 billion euros, is open also to Ukrainian defense projects and collaboration between European and Ukrainian industries. In turn, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the support provided by the allies will exceed last year’s volume, given that the EU states and Canada alone have already pledged 35 billion euros to Kyiv.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Romanian Senate on Tuesday validated the current president of the Court of Accounts, Mihai Busuioc, as a Constitutional Court judge for a nine-year term. During the hearings, he said he is a suitable candidate for this position, given his experience in public and central administration. Busuioc was proposed by the Social Democratic Party and replaces Marian Enache, whose term expires next month. Also on Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies’s plenary approved the proposal of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania to appoint Csaba Asztalos as a CCR judge. He held two terms as president of the National Council for Combating Discrimination and said that, in his new capacity, he would support compliance with the law. Asztalos will replace Varga Attila, whose term also expires in July.
GOVERNMENT- The new government in Bucharest, sworn in on Monday, will operate on the basis of a coalition agreement signed by the leaders of the four pro-European parties that compose it: PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR. The document is valid until 2028, the year in which new parliamentary elections will be held. According to the agreement, the new Cabinet will have 16 ministries, 5 deputy prime ministers – one designated by each pro-European party – plus a deputy prime minister for the reform of the State apparatus. The protocol also stipulates that until April 2027 the government team will be led by the liberal Ilie Bolojan and then, until December 2028, by a representative designated by the Social Democratic Party.
PARLIAMENT- The Social Democratic MP Sorin Grindeanu, the party’s interim leader, is, as of Tuesday, the new president of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest. He replaces Ciprian Şerban, who became Minister of Transport in the new government. In the Senate, the Liberal Mircea Abrudean was voted speaker on Tuesday. He will take the place of Ilie Bolojan, the interim leader of the PNL, who is now the PM of Romania.
BUDGET – Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Tuesday reviewed the state budget revenues with Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare. The PM said that they discussed packages of measures aimed at improving collection, including potential legislative changes, such as the insolvency law. Bolojan also said that, together with the Finance Minister, he would meet with representatives of a major rating agency on Wednesday, as Romania is on the verge of being downgraded to the “junk” category, not recommended for investment. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Sorin Grindeanu, said that the current ruling coalition was determined to implement the fiscal measures agreed to reduce the budget deficit. He acknowledged that certain decisions taken by previous coalitions brought the country to a situation that requires fiscal corrections.
BORDER – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest (MAE) informs Romanian citizens who are inside, transiting or intending to travel to Slovenia that the authorities in that country have decided to extend checks at the land borders with Hungary and Croatia for another six months, until December 21. The measures apply to both road and rail border crossing points. The MAE recommends that Romanian citizens carry a valid identity document (passport or national identity card) with them at all times during their journey to and from the Republic of Slovenia. Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone number of the Romanian Embassy in Ljubljana (+38615058294), calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and taken over by operators around the clock. (EE)
