March 16, 2025
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 16.03.2025, 14:00
A roundup of local and international news.
PRESIDENCY- Romania will continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to ensure a lasting and fair peace, the country’s interim President Ilie Bolojan said in a message posted on the Internet, after participating, on Saturday, in a videoconference on Ukraine, hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Bolojan said that an unconditional ceasefire is a first step towards a lasting peace, and Russia must agree to this. Ilie Bolojan also advocated coordination between the states that participated in the discussions – several European countries, as well as Canada, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.
BELGRADE – Tens of thousands of demonstrators descended on Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Saturday to express their “discontent after years of dictatorship and corruption” in a student-led rally, one of the largest in Serbia’s recent history, France Presse reports. Many of the protesters wore a badge with a bloody hand – the symbol of the movement, which adopted the slogan “corruption kills.” Groups of motorcyclists, veterans and the student police, which has provided security for the movement since its inception, formed a security ring around the procession to prevent unrest, especially in front of parliament and the presidency. Dozens of farmers driving their tractors also arrived in support of the students. Since the Novi Sad train station accident on November 1, which killed 15 people when the concrete roof of a recently renovated building collapsed, demonstrations have taken place across the country. Demonstrators see the accident as evidence of corruption that they say taints public institutions.
DECISION – In Romania, the National Audiovisual Council has decided to require the TikTok platform to remove clips and audio-video material inciting violence against members of the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC). The BEC notified the CNA about this content, and the Council identified the profiles responsible for distributing the materials, even if some of them were no longer public. The respective accounts are to be analyzed and, if necessary, their closure may be ordered. The CNA specifies that it operates on a permanent basis and constantly maintains contact with the public and with the relevant authorities on this period preceding the presidential elections, namely the Central Electoral Bureau and the Permanent Electoral Authority.
ELECTIONS – The period for submitting candidacies to the Central Electoral Bureau for the May presidential elections in Romania ended at midnight on Saturday. The Central Electoral Bureau registered eight candidacies, three of independents– the current mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, the former social-democratic prime minister, Victor Ponta, and John-Ion Banu-Muscel. Another candidate is Crin Antonescu, running for the Romania Forward Alliance, formed by the current ruling parties PSD, PNL and UDMR,, as well as representatives of the opposition, such as the USR president Elena Lasconi, the head of AUR, George Simion, Lavinia Şandru representing PUSL, and Cristian Terheş with the Romanian National Conservative Party. Among the rejected candidates is that of the independent sovereignist Călin Georgescu, who had ranked first in Romanians’ voting options in last winter’s presidential elections, annulled by the Constitutional Court, which invoked foreign interference. The Court’s judges considered that the irregularities attributed to Călin Georgescu in the 2024 election had implicitly affected his right to run in the new election in May. The electoral campaign for the presidential elections begins on April 4 and ends on the morning of May 3. The first round will take place on May 4, and the second – if necessary – on May 18.
FIRE – Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has conveyed his condolences for the victims of the fire in the city of Kocani, North Macedonia, which killed dozens of people, and said that Romania is ready to offer its support. At least 50 people died and over 100 were injured in a fire that broke out in a nightclub in the city of Kocani on Saturday night, France Presse reports. The fire broke out in a crowded nightclub, where a famous hip-hop band was performing. The fire was allegedly caused by the use of pyrotechnic devices, according to media reports.
EUROPE – A pro-European rally took place on Saturday afternoon in the center of Bucharest. Approximately 10,000 people of all ages from the capital and other cities answered the call of civic organizations. With flags of Romania and the European Union, people demonstrated peacefully and formed a heart out of sheets of paper and lights to convey that their hearts beat for Europe and European values. “Any desire to distance Romania from the European Union would coincide with turning directly towards the Russian Federation, and this would cancel decades of efforts made by millions of Romanians for democracy and prosperity, for freedom and equal opportunities,” the organizers of the event said. According to them, Romanians have adhered, over time, not only formally, but also morally to the pillars of the European Union: freedom, democracy, the rule of law, peace, respect for human rights. Similar actions took place in several other European capitals. (EE)
