May 8, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 08.05.2025, 19:53
Pope. White smoke rose from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. After several rounds of voting since the start of the conclave, the 133 cardinal electors elected the 267th Pope in the person of the 69 year-old American Robert Francis Prevost. This is the first American Pope in the history of the Catholic Church. As the Pope he will bear the name Leo XIV. The name of the new Sovereign Pontiff was announced during the ceremony called “Habemus Papam” from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in front of tens of thousands of people and in the presence of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.
Depreciation. On Thursday, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) set a new historic exchange rate of 5.1222 lei to the euro. This increase is the result of the first round of the presidential election held on May 4, when the sovereigntist George Simion, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) candidate, got 40.96% of the votes, followed by the independent Nicuşor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, with 20.99%. The BNR intervened on the foreign exchange market, but the pressure towards the depreciation of the leu remains very high. This has been confirmed by the European Central Bank, which has reported that the euro has exceeded the psychological threshold of 5 lei on the interbank market, a benchmark that had been firmly defended by the National Bank of Romania. A higher exchange rate directly affects services and products imported or traded in euros, such as mobile phone subscriptions, excise taxes applied by the state on some products, the car market, the real estate market, as well as many foods, as Romania is dependent on imports.
Infringement. The European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against Romania for failing to introduce certain European provisions into national energy legislation. The Commission says Bucharest is restricting the freedom of gas producers to set their wholesale prices on the market. The EC believes that the measure maintained by the Romanian executive is detrimental to the internal market and consumers. Romania now has two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission says it will refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
PNNR. The interim government in Bucharest, led by acting Prime Minister Cătălin Predoiu, adopted on Thursday a memorandum that allows for the renegotiation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNNR) with representatives of the European Commission. According to the decision, the Minister of European Projects, Marcel Boloş, can now renegotiate the PNRR in order not to lose any money from the 13.7-billion-euro instalment. However, the executive must ensure that it has the necessary time to implement all the investment targets it has committed to by August 31, 2026. The second goal of the PNRR renegotiation is to advance 55 targets and milestones from payment request number 4 and increase its value to 5.7 billion euros. Boloş also announced that, by the end of this month, Romania must receive 1.3 billion euros from payment request number 3.
Europe Day. On the occasion of Europe Day, on Friday, the debate “Together – Romania and our Europe: present and future” will take place in Bucharest, an event dedicated to reflecting on Romania’s European path and the common values shared within the EU, the Presidential Administration announced. The event will bring together approximately 200 guests, including 150 students and pupils in their final year of high school, ambassadors of the European Union member states accredited in Romania, as well as representatives of European institutions: the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank. Among the main speakers are Roxana Mînzatu, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Ramona Chiriac, Head of the European Commission Representation in Romania.
Chisinau. The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, is visiting the Republic of Moldova to celebrate Europe Day in Chisinau and to reconfirm the European Union’s commitment to supporting the European path of the Republic of Moldova. The European Commissioner is scheduled to meet with Moldovan authorities, as well as with representatives of civil society, entrepreneurs and citizens, as well as visit several areas of the country where projects supported by the European Union will be inaugurated. The delegation led by the European Commissioner also includes two Romanian MEPs, Siegfried Mureşan and Dan Barna.
EP. The European Parliament has adopted a position of principle on the future multiannual budget of the European Union. The lead rapporteur, Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan, says that the European Parliament wants more funds for defence and economic competitiveness, in line with the priorities of Europeans in the latest Eurobarometer. Two other priorities are the common agricultural policy and the cohesion policy, as well as facilitating access to money, Siegfried Mureşan said. The European Commission is to propose the draft budget in the summer, after which the Parliament and the Council will start negotiations.
Tariffs. The European Commission has published a list of products imported from the United States of America that could be subject to additional tariffs by the Union if negotiations with Washington fail to yield any results. The list includes imports worth 95 billion euros annually, such as industrial agricultural products and livestock. Moreover, the Commission is also considering a restriction on exports of metal waste and chemical products to the United States worth 4.4 billion euros. The Commission has also announced that it will submit a formal request for the World Trade Organization to organize consultations and mediate the problem created by the Trump Administration. Brussels believes that Washington is violating international law to which it is a party along with the European Union. The Commission’s calculations show that, currently, 70% of the EU exports to the US, worth 379 billion euros, are subject to new tariffs since Donald Trump took office. American tariffs have already raised costs on both sides of the Atlantic, reduced demand, increased inflation and economic uncertainty, and are having a global impact.
Weather. The National Meteorological Administration on Thursday issued a Yellow Warning for showers and storms, valid until Friday morning in 21 counties across Romania and in Bucharest. It also issued an alert for significant rainfalls targeting most regions. In the southern counties, torrential showers, frequent electrical discharges and short-term wind intensifications (gusts of 50 – 70 km/h) are also expected. In the mountainous area, at altitudes over 1,500 meters, sleet and snow will be reported especially in the northern Eastern Carpathians where a layer of snow is also expected to cover part of the area. (MI)
