October 23, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 23.10.2025, 13:55
COUNCIL President Nicuşor Dan represents Romania at the European Council in Brussels. The main topics are the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, European security and defense, EU competitiveness, access to housing, migration, and the Republic of Moldova. Also in Brussels, Nicuşor Dan takes part in an extended Euro Summit, which looks at the economic situation in the European Union, with an emphasis on the Economic and Monetary Union and the digital euro. On Wednesday, the Romanian official took part in a working dinner organised by the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, with the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, on the sidelines of the EU-Egypt institutional summit.
SANCTIONS This morning the EU Council approved its 19th set of sanctions against Russia. The set includes, among other things, bans on imports of Russian liquefied gas. The movements of Russian diplomats within the EU are also restricted. The sanctions were adopted a day after the US President Donald Trump announced a tightening of US sanctions against Russia. They target the largest Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. These are the first sanctions introduced by Washington since Donald Trump returned to the White House. The US president also canceled the summit with his counterpart Vladimir Putin, which was supposed to take place in Budapest, after Moscow refused a ceasefire in Ukraine along the front line.
ELECTION The government of Romania in today’s meeting passed a draft resolution setting the date of the partial local elections for mayor of Bucharest, for chairman of the Buzău County Council and for mayors in 12 other electoral districts. The calendar of these elections was also approved. Recently, the parties in the ruling coalition agreed that the elections for mayor of Bucharest should take place on December 7. The post has been vacant since the election of Nicuşor Dan as president of Romania. Under the Romanian law, mayors and heads of county councils are elected in a single round.
MOLDOVA The president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, invited today and tomorrow the parliamentary parties and groups in the new Legislative Assembly in Chisinau to consultations to appoint a new prime minister. On Wednesday, in an address before the MPs elected on September 28, Maia Sandu emphasised that the Moldova needs unity and devotion, now more than ever. Also yesterday, Igor Grosu, the leader of the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, which won the legislative elections, was re-elected as Speaker of the Parliament. He announced that the main goal of the current legislature is for Moldova to sign the EU accession treaty by 2028.
ECONOMY The European Commission has approved the final draft of Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNNR), worth a total of EUR 21.4 billion. In the initial draft, the plan amounted to EUR 28.5 billion. The decision marks the end of the renegotiation process of the PNRR, which is now realistic, supports the economy and local communities, PM Ilie Bolojan said. According to him, the money will go towards investments in infrastructure, hospitals, digitisation, green energy and streamlining the administration. (AMP)
