May 16, 2025 UPDATE (2)
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 16.05.2025, 20:00
SUMMIT – The 6th summit of the European Political Community took place in the Albanian capital, Tirana, on Friday, with 47 heads of state and government from Europe attending. The war in Ukraine was a topic addressed by both Kyiv leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Europeans. “Our main priority is a complete, unconditional and honest ceasefire, and if Russian representatives in Istanbul cannot agree even to this, then it will be 100% clear that Putin continues to undermine diplomacy”, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen spoke about sanctions against Russia and recalled that Moscow’s oil and gas revenues have decreased by almost 80% compared to the period before the war. Representing Romania was interim president Ilie Bolojan, who said that he was there to express solidarity and find common solutions to the challenges we face.
ELECTION – The voting process for the second round of the presidential election started on Thursday at 10 P.M. (EEST), with the opening of the first polling stations in Aukland, New Zealand. By 8 P.M. on Friday, some 170 thousand Romanians had already voted. Abroad, the election is scheduled to take place over three days: May 16, 17 and 18. Romanians abroad can vote in one of the 965 polling stations around the world, regardless of whether or not they have their domicile or residence outside the country. On Romanian territory, the second round of the presidential election will take place over a single day, Sunday, May 18, in about 19 thousand polling stations. According to the Permanent Election Authority, 87 foreign journalists and 159 international observers have been accredited. Running in the decisive round are the ultranationalist and populist leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, a self-proclaimed sovereigntist, and the pro-Western independent Nicușor Dan, the current Bucharest Mayor General.
BANKING – The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania on Friday decided to maintain both the monetary policy interest rate at 6.5% per year and the interest rates at which commercial banks can borrow from the Central Bank or receive on amounts held in Central Bank accounts at 7.5% and 5.5% per year, respectively. In the first quarter of this year, the annual inflation rate decreased less than expected, and, according to forecasts, the annual inflation rate will continue to fluctuate in the third quarter. The inflation will decrease slowly over the fourth quarter and go down only in the first quarter of 2026, just below the upper limit of the target range – 3.5%. The prolonged election cycle and growing political tension have reversed capital movements on the local financial market, with capital outflows increasing significantly in recent days. These changes have had a major impact on liquidity and interest rates on the capital market, as well as on the supply-demand ratio on the foreign exchange market, the country’s foreign exchange reserves and the exchange rate, Central Bank specialists warn.
FUNDS – €2.6 billion worth of EU cohesion funds is expected to enter Romania in the coming period, the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Boloş, has announced. Technical discussions are taking place in Brussels these days, both about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and cohesion policy, the Minister said, adding that he made a series of important proposals, which the European Commission agreed to analyze. These concern additional budget allocations to health infrastructure, a pilot waste management project in Bucharest and the expansion of financing for water and sewage networks in settlements with less than 2,000 inhabitants.
MUSEUMS – Over 75 museums, along with 210 venues from across the country, will participate, on Saturday, in the 21st edition of the European Night of Museums. An impressive number of specialists in the field of heritage and museum education will organize hundreds of activities for all categories of public, passionate about history, art, science and tradition. Thousands of visitors, especially young people and tourists, participated, last year, in Bucharest, in the 20th anniversary edition of the Night of Museums. The participating institutions offered the public interactive tours, exhibitions, screenings, presentations, urban installations, shows, workshops or street animations.
HANDBALL – Romania’s men’s national team will compete in Group B at the European Handball Championship – EHF EURO 2026, alongside Denmark, Portugal and North Macedonia, according to the Thursday evening’s draw. The final tournament will take place in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, over January 15 – February 1, 2026. In the women’s competition, Romania’s team is part of Pot 2 for the World Championship draw. The draw will take place on May 22, in the Netherlands, the host of the tournament, alongside Germany. The World Championship is scheduled for November 26 – December 14. (LS & VP)
