March 13, 2025 UPDATE 1
The latest news from RRI
Newsroom, 13.03.2025, 18:03
Candidacy – The leader of the populist, ultranationalist opposition party S.O.S. Romania, Diana Şoşoacă, on Thursday submitted her candidacy for the May presidential election to the Central Electoral Bureau. Also on Thursday, the president of the pro-Western opposition party Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, will also submit her candidacy. Şoşoacă also ran in last year’s presidential race, but the Constitutional Court (CCR) rejected her candidacy. Elena Lasconi qualified for the final round of the presidential race, along with the pro-Russian extremist Calin Georgescu, but the CCR cancelled the vote due to the flaws in the electoral process which favored Georgescu. The Court definitively rejected Georgescu’s candidacy for the upcoming election. Following this decision, the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, and the leader of the Party of Young People (POT), Ana Maria Gavrilă, populist ultranationalists who supported Georgescu, announced that they would submit their candidacies, with one of them withdrawing after their validation. The former Social Democratic (PSD) leader and Prime Minister Victor Ponta also entered the competition. Following this move, the PSD leadership excluded him from the party. The government coalition (PSD – PNL – UDMR) has a common candidate, the former liberal leader Crin Antonescu. He and the current Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, are the only political competitors accepted, so far, by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) and validated by the CCR. The deadline for registering candidacies at the Central Electoral Bureau is March 15.
Deficit – Romania’s trade deficit increased by 38% in January, compared to the same period last year, data from the National Institute of Statistics shows. In 2024, Romania exported goods worth 6.5 billion Euros and imported goods worth 11.4 billion Euros. Romania continues to have a major deficit, especially in relations with China, Germany and Poland, while recording surpluses with the UK, the Republic of Moldova and the US, although at smaller volumes. A vulnerable sector remains trade in agricultural and food products, where Romania mainly exports raw materials and imports finished products. To reduce the trade deficit, of about 5 billion Euros, experts recommend a strategy focused on the export of value-added products and more efficient use of statistical data for better-founded economic decisions.
Pensions – Pensioners in Romania whose pension incomes do not exceed 2,574 lei (517 Euros) will receive financial support of 800 lei (160 Euros). The decision, approved on Thursday by the Romanian Government, stipulates that the amount will be granted in two equal instalments of 400 lei (80 Euros) in April and December respectively. In the case of people whose pension rights are established after April 1, the financial aid will be granted in December and will amount to 400 lei (80 Euros). The support targets Romanian pensioners residing in the country or abroad. According to official data, almost 2.7 million pensioners have incomes lower than or equal to 2,574 lei (517 Euros), and of these, over 86,000 are in the diaspora. Also on Thursday, the executive amended, by emergency ordinance, the Statute of Forestry Personnel. Thus, the bonuses equivalent to at least 5 salaries for the last month of activity were eliminated, which, in the case of the heads of the National Forestry Agency, amounted to 10 salaries. Romsilva employees are contesting the changes adopted by the Government. Trade union representatives criticize a 25% reduction in foresters’ income and announce a protest in Bucharest next week. (LS)
