May 9, 2025 UPDATE
The latest news from RRI
Newsroom, 09.05.2025, 20:00
Meeting – Romania’s interim President Ilie Bolojan met on Friday in Bucharest with Roxana Mînzatu, EC Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness. According to the Presidential Administration, the discussions focused on topics of major interest for Romania and the EU: the Black Sea strategy and strengthening defense on the Eastern Flank, accelerating access to European funds and recovering delays in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), as well as preparing defense industry projects for financing through the European ReArm / Readiness 2030 program and job creation. The importance of improving inter-institutional collaboration was also emphasized, for a more efficient representation of Romania within the EU and an active contribution to European construction. The meeting reflected the commitment of both sides to work together to advance files of strategic importance, the Presidential Administration also specified.
Elections – The Constitutional Court of Romania on Friday validated the result of the first round of the presidential election held on May 4. Also on Friday, the Constitutional Court rejected, as ungrounded, the request of a former candidate in the presidential election to cancel the first round of May 4. The Constitutional Court has also announced the organization of the second round of the presidential election for May 18. The election campaign for the second round started on Friday, pitting the ultranationalist populist George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), who obtained 41% of the votes in the first round, against the pro-Western independent Nicusor Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest, who got 21% of the votes. In Romania, the vote will take place on May 18, but Romanian citizens abroad will be able to vote for three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – just like in the first round. The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) reports that 3.6 million ballots are to be sent for the second round of the presidential election, the same as for the first round. At the same time, the MAE assures that Romanians abroad will vote in good conditions and recalls that political parties have designated members or observers in polling stations abroad.
Investors – The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania, AmCham Romania, calls for responsibility and dialogue to prevent the irreversible depreciation of investor confidence in Romania, in the context of the economic turbulence accumulated and accentuated to the point of breakdown by the extended electoral period. According to AmCham Romania, Romania’s zero priority is economic recovery and macro-budgetary balancing. Romania, according to AmCham representatives, has been facing overlapping crises for several years, which have generated huge budgetary pressure and a highly deteriorated investment climate, while the prospect of being downgraded to the category of countries not recommended for investment (junk) is closer than ever. Business people argue that real reforms can no longer be postponed, that Romania cannot afford to lose European funds and that financing the economy and exiting the crisis depend on the capacity to attract and use funds received under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. AmCham brings together 600 American, international and Romanian companies with cumulative investments of over 30 billion US dollars in Romania.
Pope – The new Pope, Leo XIV, the first leader of the Catholic Church from the United States, led a religious ceremony for cardinals on Friday, after being elected Thursday night. The new Pontiff is seen by many as continuing the agenda of his predecessor, Pope Francis, reaching out to people on the margins of society, on the fringes of the Catholic world and outside the faith. On social media, he has been critical of Donald Trump’s immigration policies, of racism, of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sexual abuse within the Church. On Thursday night, the first speech to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square of Pope Leo XIV focused on the importance of world peace, the need to build bridges of communication and on the unity of the church. Messages of congratulations for the new Pontiff came from political and religious leaders around the world, including from Romania, a mostly Orthodox country.
Europe Day – “Romania is part of the European project and we must continue on this path,” said interim president Ilie Bolojan, in a message sent on Europe Day. He stressed that the EU also meant values such as democracy, the rule of law, freedom, solidarity. Europe Day was marked at the Cotroceni Palace (the headquarters of the Romanian presidential administration), through the debate “Together we #share the future”. The event was dedicated to reflecting on Romania’s European path and the common values shared within the EU and brought together numerous guests, including 150 students and pupils in the last year of high school, ambassadors of EU member states accredited in Romania, as well as representatives of European institutions: the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank. Also on Friday, in Bucharest, a public gathering was organized with the theme of Europe Day – “One path – Europe May 9”. “On Europe Day, we gather in University Square (Piata Universitatii), the symbolic place of freedom won with sacrifice, and we set off on a peaceful march towards Victory Square (Piata Victoriei), because we want a Romania that moves forward, not backward. A Romania that preserves its moral compass and the European path”, the organizers say. (LS)
