March 18, 2025 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 18.03.2025, 19:58

Elections – The Central Electoral Bureau has validated 12 candidates for the May presidential election in Romania. On March 20, the validated candidacies and electoral signs remain final, and on March 22, the order of the candidates on the ballot will be established. The interim president of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, met on Monday with the authorities and public institutions responsible for the organization of the election. It is essential that all the institutions involved fulfill their responsibilities in a professional and coordinated manner, in order to guarantee the smooth conduct of the election and to ensure respect for the fundamental principles of democracy, the presidential administration has stated. In another move, the Permanent Electoral Authority has announced that, in the Diaspora, over 5,000 requests for postal voting in the presidential election were registered. Most requests came from Germany, followed by the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The deadline by which Romanians with their domicile or residence abroad can still register to vote by mail is March 20, at midnight.

Kyiv – Ukraine’s Security Service announced that it had banned the Romanian MEP Diana Ivanovici Şoşoacă from entering the territory of neighboring Ukraine for three years. In a press release, which was picked up by news agencies, Kyiv argues that the president of the populist S.O.S. Romania party supports Russia’s war against Ukraine. Moreover, she has sent letters to President Vladimir Putin, in which she praises the Russian invasion, questioning Ukraine’s sovereignty and its internationally recognized borders. In an initial reaction, the MEP wrote on Facebook that she ignores the decision, which she believes comes “from a state that does not exist.”

Football – Romania’s national football team is preparing its first matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in Bucharest and against San Marino on Monday, March 24, away from home. Austria and Cyprus are also part of the same Group H. The 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign starts in Europe in March 2025 and will end in November 2025. The winners of the 12 preliminary groups will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. The other four places available for the European zone will be contested by the 12 second-placed teams in the groups and the best-placed group winners from the 2024-25 Nations League, which did not qualify through the qualifiers. Romania has not qualified for a World Cup final tournament since 1998.

Defense – Romania’s interim president, Ilie Bolojan, had a telephone conversation on Tuesday with the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. The two discussed, among other things, Romania’s priorities regarding the continuation of the European Union’s support for Ukraine and the advancement of decisions regarding the consolidation of the European defense sector. The European Council will meet on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. On Monday, the Council of the European Union gave the green light to the third payment to Kyiv, worth almost 3.5 billion Euros, from the funds of the Mechanism for Ukraine, consisting of grants and non-reimbursable loans. The main objective of this mechanism is to support the macro-financial stability, the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, the Council said in a statement. With this payment, Kyiv has received a total of almost 20 billion Euros so far through this mechanism that entered into force a year ago. Also on Monday, EU foreign ministers discussed a new initiative to provide Kyiv with up to 40 billion Euros worth of military aid this year. Romania was represented by Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu. He expressed his firm support for a just and lasting peace, backed by solid and credible security guarantees, and for continuing European assistance to Kyiv.

Moldova – The Council of the European Union on Tuesday gave the green light to the creation of the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova, a new instrument to support EU-related reforms and economic growth. According to a Council statement, the €1.9 billion envelope provided by this instrument is the largest EU financial support package since Moldova gained independence. It will support Chisinau in the period 2025-2027 and is to provide grants and loans on favorable terms, with long repayment periods and advantageous interest rates.

Consultations – Romania’s interim president, Ilie Bolojan, on Tuesday had consultations with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on the topic of the agenda of the European Council to be held in Brussels at the end of this week. According to the head of state, the two discussed increasing European competitiveness, simplification and de-bureaucratization, energy, economic development, investments and the need to invest in defense. “We need decisions that strengthen the security of our country and the European Union. Romania will also reiterate its position not to send troops to Ukraine,” Marcel Ciolacu wrote on a social network after the meeting.

Colectiv – The High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania decided on Tuesday to resend the Colectiv 2 file to the General Prosecutor’s Office and to resume the investigation into the authorities’ intervention, possible nosocomial infections in hospitals and the transfer of the injured abroad after the October 2015 tragedy in a Bucharest club. The decision was made after judges admitted several complaints against the dismissal solution ordered by the General Prosecutor’s Office in June 2024. The Health Minister, who was in office 10 years ago, Nicolae Bănicioiu, hospital managers, and the head of the Directorate for Emergency Situations (DSU), Raed Arafat, escaped criminal liability. The main file was sent to court, and was finalized with convictions and the payment of damages to the victims. Following the fire in the Colectiv club on October 30, 2015, 65 people died and several hundred were injured.

Washington – US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Tuesday about the war in Ukraine, a 30-day ceasefire and steps toward a peace agreement, foreign media reported. The White House said Russia had agreed to a ceasefire on energy infrastructure as part of a US initiative to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also said the two sides had agreed to “technical talks” on a ceasefire in the Black Sea and, further, a complete ceasefire and permanent peace. Ukraine has already accepted the ceasefire proposed by the US to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday, after the phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, that “Europe must be at the negotiating table.” The first conversation between Trump and Putin took place on February 12, when the White House leader announced that “the peace process in Ukraine has been launched.” (LS)