October 22, UPDATE (I)
The latest from domestic and world news
Newsroom, 22.10.2025, 19:52
NRRP. The European Commission approved on Wednesday the final version of Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, announced Dragoş Pîslaru, Minister of European Investments and Projects, at a press conference. The new value of the NRRP is €21.41 billion. Dragos Pîslaru announced that there have been three payment requests so far and that he will discuss the submission of the fourth request on Friday in Brussels. He pointed out that high-risk investments had been removed from the PNRR and recalled that the €2.7 billion in funding for the A7 (Moldova Motorway, east) had been moved to grants. Minister Pîslaru stated that Romania is moving forward with a realistic PNRR, which brings concrete investments, protects the state budget, and contributes fundamentally to the country’s development.
Service. On Wednesday, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, as the first chamber to be consulted, endorsed the the bill on military volunteering, amending and supplementing the law on preparing the population for defense. The bill aims to establish a legal framework for the voluntary performance of active military service in peacetime by citizens who wish to receive military training. Thus, young Romanians between the ages of 18 and 35 will be able to voluntarily apply for enrollment in the four-month basic military training program. Volunteers will receive free accommodation, equipment, food, medical care, as well as monthly allowances similar to those received by conscripts. At the end of the training period, they will receive an allowance of three times the average gross salary and will remain in the operational reserve of the Romanian Army.
Drones. Drones that enter Romanian airspace without authorization will be shot down, Defense Minister Ionuţ Moşteanu said on Wednesday. The message comes in the context of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations sending a new RO-Alert message on Tuesday night to the northern part of Tulcea County, on the Romanian border with Ukraine, amid the war in the neighboring state. The Romanian Ministry of Defense’s surveillance systems detected, in advance, a group of aerial targets moving towards the Chilia arm and the Danube Delta, and, according to procedures, two F-16 aircraft took off to investigate the situation. At the same time, two German Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets carried out enhanced air policing missions. According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, approximately 10 explosions were reported on the Ukrainian banks, in the area of the towns of Ismail and Chilia, but no unmanned aerial vehicles were detected entering the Romanian airspace.
Elections. The ruling coalition parties (PSD – PNL – USR – UDMR) have decided that the elections for the Bucharest’s General City Hall will take place on December 7. The position of mayor of the capital remained vacant after the election of Nicuşor Dan as president of Romania. The parties in the coalition decided that each one will have its own candidate in this competition and agreed that future candidates would not attack each other. On December 7, the election for the designation of a new president of the Buzău County Council (southeast) will also take place. According to the law, mayors and heads of county councils are elected in a single round.
Chisinau. President Maia Sandu asked the new Parliament in Chisinau, which gathered on Wednesday for its inaugural session, to work on harmonizing legislation with the European legislation so that the Republic of Moldova can join the EU during the current legislative term. In her speech to parliamentarians, Maia Sandu said that the country was going through the most difficult period since independence and that it needed unity and dedication more than ever. According to Radio Chisinau, the head of state called for the continuation of judicial reform, support for the economy, and measures to encourage the diaspora to return home. Integration into the European Union remains the only way for the Republic of Moldova to become a peaceful, free, and prosperous state, Maia Sandu told the Parliament in Chisinau.
Visit. The Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Her Majesty Margareta, and Prince Radu were welcomed on Wednesday by the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, during a visit by representatives of the Royal House to Chisinau. Maia Sandu thanked the Royal House of Romania for its support in the process of Moldova’s accession to the European Union. In turn, Her Majesty Margareta congratulated Maia Sandu on the results of the parliamentary elections on September 28. On Thursday, the two officials of the Royal House will attend the anniversary ceremony of the Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in the Republic of Moldova, 80 years after its establishment, as well as the joint meeting of the Rectors’ Councils of the Republic of Moldova and Romania.
Talks. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu met with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and Expatriates Badr Abdelatty in Brussels on Wednesday ahead of the EU-Egypt Summit. The two officials discussed several areas of bilateral cooperation, with an emphasis on political-diplomatic, economic, commercial, and cultural collaboration. The head of diplomacy in Bucharest praised the remarkable level of Romanian-Egyptian relations and referred to the intensification of bilateral dialogue in sectors of particular interest to both parties, mentioning the value of trade exchanges, which exceeded €1 billion in 2024. Oana Ţoiu expressed her gratitude for Romania’s participation as a guest of honor at the Cairo Book Fair in January 2026. (MI)
