November 18, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 18.11.2025, 13:55
BUDGET A draft law increasing local taxes as part of the government’s second set of fiscal measures will be endorsed by Parliament in a joint session today. According to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the fiscal set contains a bill that will bring multiple amendments to the Fiscal Codes, including some regarding companies, insolvency, and local taxes and duties, which will be increased as of next year. Companies will be required to have a bank account and take card payments, and businesses that have been inactive for a year will be deregistered. The minimum share capital increases to EUR 100 for new companies, and for companies with over EUR 80,000 in turnover the threshold is raised to EUR 1,000. As for the reform of magistrates’ pensions, provided for in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, an agreement is yet to be reached, and talks with associations of judges and prosecutors will resume today.
ELECTION Monday was the last day to enter the race for the Bucharest mayor post, with the election scheduled for December 7. The winner will only have half a term, until the summer of 2028. The election is held after Nicuşor Dan, re-elected general mayor in June 2024, became the president of Romania. For the mid-term election deadlines were halved for the entire process compared to the full-term ballot. The campaign only lasts for 15 days and ends on December 6, at 7:00. As many as 20 candidates have submitted their candidacies, and the Municipal Electoral Bureau validated 17 of them. Two candidacies were rejected and one is still under review. Recent polls point to a close race between Ciprian Ciucu (National Liberal Party), Cătălin Drulă (Save Romania Union), and Daniel Băluţă (Social Democratic Party).
DRONE The people evacuated as a precaution near the Ukrainian border after a liquefied petroleum gas tanker caught fire following Russian drone strikes, are returning home. The Danube Delta Emergency Inspectorate (ISU) announced on Tuesday that Ukrainian emergency and intervention services moved to contain the negative effects of the incident, thus significantly reducing the danger of a potential emergency with serious effects on neighboring localities. Over 200 people had self-evacuated or had been evacuated.
ILASCU Ilie Ilaşcu, a former political prisoner and fighter for unity passed away at the age of 73. He was one of the founders of the National Liberation Movement of Bessarabia (1988-1992), and led the Popular Front of Moldova – Tiraspol Branch (1989-1992). In 1992, he and other members of the Ilaşcu Group were arrested by illegal separatist forces supported by Russia’s foreign intelligence agency (GRU) and were detained until 2001. While in custody, Ilaşcu was first elected into the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (1994 – 2000), and he was a member of Romania’s Parliament between 2000 and 2008.
FOREING POLICY The foreign policy committees of the Parliament of Moldova and Romania’s Senate will meet in a joint session on Wednesday in Bucharest. The MPs will discuss Moldova’s European integration process and Romania’s support for these efforts. The two committees will sign a joint declaration. The Moldovan MPs will also visit the chapel of the Saint Sophia Church in Bucharest, to pay their respects to the former political prisoner Ilie Ilascu.
POLITICS The Romanian Presidency announced on Tuesday that president Nicuşor Dan and the presidential advisor Ludovic Orban, a former PM and Liberal leader, “have mutually decided to end their collaboration.” According to the source, the decision was made on amicable terms. The President expresses his appreciation for Orban’s activity and wishes him success in his future projects. Orban was appointed a presidential advisor on October 6. For a month and a half, he headed the domestic policy department within the Presidential Administration.
ECONOMY The European Commission has lowered its estimate for Romania’s economic growth rate this year to 0.7%, as opposed to 1.4% this spring, according to the autumn economic forecasts made public on Monday. After a peak of 9.3% of GDP in 2024, following a quick increase in spending, Romania’s general government deficit is expected to account for 8.4% of GDP in 2025 and 6.2% of GDP in 2026, and to drop to 5.9% of GDP in 2027. Also, according to the EC forecasts, the current account deficit is expected to reach 7.9% of GDP in 2025 and 6.4% of GDP in 2026. (AMP)
