March 26, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 26.03.2025, 20:00

ELECTIONS The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has announced the mission of its observers during the repeat presidential elections in Romania on May 4. The OSCE said in a statement that its team consists of 13 international experts based in Bucharest and 22 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country as of April 2. Its observers will monitor all key aspects related to the election process, such as the conduct of the campaign, the work of the election administration, election-related legislation and its implementation, campaign financing, media coverage and the resolution of election disputes. The head of the mission, Eoghan Murphy, said the monitoring will also look at the media coverage of the election campaign and the use of social media during the elections.

VISIT The interim speaker of the Romanian Senate Mircea Abrudean is making an official visit to France on April 31 and May 1, according to a memorandum approved recently by the leaders of the institution. According to this document, Mircea Abrudean is scheduled to meet the Speaker of the French Senate, Gérard Larcher, and the OECD secretary general, Mathias Cormann. The agenda will also include talks with local authorities and the Romanian diaspora. The trip is part of the bilateral actions between the Romanian and French Senate aimed at complementing and consolidating the existing strategic partnership between the two countries, in particular in light of the current economic and security situation at European level, the document also says.

PARLIAMENT Two bills that are benchmarks under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan were endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday. The first one binds Cabinet members and other central public administration officials to register with the Single Interest Transparency Register and bans them from requesting or accepting gifts from persons with whom they have relations while in an official capacity. It thus becomes mandatory to release information on meetings between government officials and third parties that could influence decision-making, including meetings taking place without prior planning. These regulations do not apply to local public administration and members of Parliament. The second bill concerns the efficiency of state-owned enterprises and is an important step towards Romania’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, said the Social Democratic Deputy Adrian Câciu, a former finance minister. He also said that those in charge of companies owned by the Romanian state must understand that they have been tasked with managing the country’s assets, not with making price policies that increase inflation or stock policies, as it was the case in the energy sector. The Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body in this case, and the bill will be submitted to the president of the country for promulgation.

FOREIGN MINISTRY The work of the Romanian foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu has been criticised by members of the ruling coalition in the context of the United States suspending the Visa Waiver programme for Romania. Romania’s Social Democratic PM Marcel Ciolacu said more involvement is needed in the relationship with the new US administration. He says Mr. Hurezeanu is an exceptional, experienced diplomat, an excellent ambassador and he will not dismiss him, but he will have a discussion on this topic with the interim president of Romania Ilie Bolojan. In turn, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians group in the Chamber of Deputies, Csoma Botond, said the strategic relationship with the US is vital for Romania and the Romanian diplomacy should be more active. He announced the foreign minister’s work could be analysed by the ruling coalition. Emil Hurezeanu was appointed as head of the foreign ministry by the National Liberal Party. In this context, the Liberal Deputy Raluca Turcan stated there were no talks of a prospective replacement of the foreign minister in the party, and cautioned that assessing the work of ministers is strictly the prime minister’s responsibility.

ECONOMY The Romanian Economy Minister Bogdan Ivan Wednesday took part in a question session in the Senate, at the invitation of Save Romania Union (in opposition). The discussion focused on the defence industry and prospects for development in the current regional security context. Mr. Bogdan Ivan said the authorities are in the final testing phase of Romanian-made drones, with the prototype due to be ready in the summer and production set to begin at the end of the year. The official also promised that the Romanian defence industry will grow. “European financial mechanisms have already been built, a budget has already been created, which is estimated to reach up to EUR 800 billion, with any EU member state, together with another member state and Ukraine, having the option not only to take part in the procurement process, but also to be involved in production,” the economy minister said.

101 The 101st Airborne Division, an elite US Army unit, has returned to Romania at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, in Constanţa County. The unit is replacing the 10th Montana Division and will spend 9 months in Romania to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank. The exchange of American soldiers is in line with the decision taken earlier this year by the US Administration to stay in southeast Europe to deter aggression against the alliance. The commander of the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade, Col. Duke Reim, confirmed that the US commitment to Eastern Europe and NATO remains very strong. The 101st Airborne Division is remembered for its contribution to the successful Normandy landings in 1944. It was sent back to Europe in 2022, 78 years after World War II, to serve alongside NATO Allies in the context of the war started by Russia in Ukraine. According to military experts, the light infantry unit is prepared to act in just a few hours on any battlefield. (AMP)