May 23, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 23.05.2025, 13:55
GOVERNMENT Nicuşor Dan, validated by the Constitutional Court of Romania on Thursday as the winner of the presidential election, is set to officially begin his term in office on Monday, in a solemn session of Parliament. Immediately after the inauguration, he will have talks on the future government with the parliamentary parties, and his first choice for prime minister remains the current interim president Ilie Bolojan. At the same time, Nicuşor Dan reiterated that the country’s financial situation is a priority, which is why, in addition to meetings with the heads of the ministries of finance and investment, he also began technical discussions with other important relevant institutions. In the context of the substantial budget deficit and the need to fund investment projects, the interim government Thursday approved a set of measures to facilitate quick access to European funds. In the next four and a half years, Romania will have to spend EUR 44 billion, but for the time being the next instalment of the EUR 13 billion grant obtained under the Recovery and Resilience Plan is awaited. In order to carry on the measures to reduce public spending, the finance minister Tánczos Barna says that a government with full powers is needed as soon as possible.
FORUM The “Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum”, a major defence, security and foreign policy forum organised by the New Strategy Centre, which brings together diplomats and military officials from EU and NATO member and partner states, continues in Bucharest. The talks focus on the transatlantic relationships and the recalibration of the American military presence in Europe, the peace negotiations in Ukraine and support provided to the Republic of Moldova. At the opening of the forum, the president elect Nicuşor Dan reaffirmed Romania’s firm commitment to the pro-Western direction through its NATO and EU membership, and to the consolidation of the strategic partnership with the United States. One session focused on the Black Sea, as a strategic energy hub. Romania, through projects such as Neptun Deep, can consolidate its position as the main natural gas producer in the European Union, acquired last year, the energy minister Sebastian Burduja said. The strategic Black Sea area was also highlighted by the French minister delegate for European affairs, Benjamin Haddad, who mentioned, among other things, the joint NATO exercises carried out in Romania. The 9th edition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum, an event organised by the New Strategy Centre, comes to a close on Saturday.
AWARD The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola (Malta), Thursday received the Timisoara Award for European Values, the highest distinction granted by this Romanian city to international personalities who actively support community values. Metsola was nominated for this award for her courage and firm attitude in times of crisis, for her support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, and for her efforts towards Romania’s Schengen accession. At the end of the ceremony, Metsola stated that the award is not only a recognition of her work and that of her colleagues in the European Parliament, but also a signal regarding the need to safeguard European values, democracy and freedom. As for last Sunday’s presidential election, the head of the European Parliament said that Romanians sent a pro-European signal. Roberta Metsola mentioned that she had met with Romania’s president-elect, Nicuşor Dan, in Bucharest on Wednesday and that she was eager to start working with him.
FAKE NEWS The Romanian defence ministry warns against new disinformation attempts regarding alleged preparations for military mobilisation and vows that there is no connection with the security context generated by the Russian Federation’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. The fake news comes as the defence ministry recently released information about the organisation of a training exercise in the south of the country between May 26-31, to assess the mobilisation capacity, the ministry spokesman, General Constantin Spânu, explained in a post on Inforadar, a platform dedicated to countering disinformation.
CYBER SECURITY A large-scale cyber operation carried out by Russian military intelligence targeted surveillance infrastructure in several Eastern European countries in an attempt to track supply routes to Ukraine. According to a report made public by the UK and its allies, quoted by The Guardian, the attacked network included about 1,000 video cameras in Romania. British cyber-security services, together with partners from 10 other countries, including the US, France, Germany and Poland, warned that Russia had also used municipal networks, such as traffic cameras, to spy on transport flows. According to the report, almost 10,000 cameras were hacked into, 80% of which were in Ukraine. Romania is the second most affected country, with about 10% of the targeted devices. (AMP)
