October 29, 2025

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 29.10.2025, 13:55

Protests. Romania’s major trade union confederations are protesting today in front of the Government, expressing their dissatisfaction with the austerity measures. Trade unionists are demanding an increase in the minimum wage and pensions, fair taxation, job protection, and an end to fiscal and budgetary measures that only affect vulnerable people. The president of the Cartel Alfa Trade Union Confederation, Bogdan Hossu, says that the excessive deficit is not the fault of citizens, but of the government, and added that the latter must understand that concrete, fair, and immediate measures are needed to protect workers. At the same time, the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue is meeting at the government headquarters to discuss the possibility of increasing the gross minimum wage. Representatives of trade unions, employers, and the executive branch are participating.

US military. US military. By resizing the rotational force operating in Romania, the presence of American troops here actually returns to the level before the war in neighboring Ukraine, says President Nicuşor Dan in a post on the X network. The head of state also points out that the deterrence of threats on NATO’s eastern flank is compensated by a substantial increase in military equipment and the increased presence of European forces, in full agreement with the American partner. His statements come after reports that the United States is reducing its military presence in several countries, including Romania, a decision taken in the context of Washington allocating additional resources to the Asia-Pacific region. The American presence in Romania, which amounts to about 2,000 troops, is to be reduced by one battalion. The main base for American troops in Romania is at Mihail Kolgălniceanu (southeast). There are also troops in Deveselu (south), which operate the missile defense shield, and in Câmpia Turzii (center).

Reform. The leaders of Romania’s ruling coalition – PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR – discussed again on Tuesday the reform of magistrates’ pensions, which was rejected by the Constitutional Court, and decided that the government should draft a new bill for which it would assume responsibility in Parliament. The decision was taken after Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan rejected the Social Democrats’ proposal that this bill be adopted by Parliament as a matter of urgency. The version proposed by the prime minister was eventually accepted by the Social Democrats, who nevertheless expressed some concerns that the November 28 deadline for the adoption of this law, as committed to by Romania in the NRRP, would be missed. If this happens, Romania would lose several million euros of these European funds. More on this after the news.

Commissioner. The European Commission will analyze, by the end of November, the measures taken by the Romanian government to reduce the budget deficit, and if the assessment is positive, Romania will avoid the suspension of European funds, said Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis after meeting with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in Bucharest. The European official said that the measures must lead to the achievement of the deficit target of 8.4% at the end of the year, a threshold that Romania is committed to reaching, said the head of the Romanian executive. The deficit target for next year should be close to 6%, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan told European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, noting that both the measures taken so far and those to be adopted by the end of the year, together with appropriate financial discipline, can lead to regaining credibility both in the financial markets and with the European Commission.

Ukraine. Romanian Minister of Education and Research Daniel David sent a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart, stating that he “insists” on the importance of taking into account the legitimate requests made by representatives of the Romanian minority, as well as on the need to respect the rights of persons belonging to the Romanian minority to education in their mother tongue, in accordance with Ukraine’s international commitments. David states that he is thus responding to recent media reports on the implementation of educational reform measures in Ukraine at the high school level, which will have an impact on Romanian-language education in the Chernivtsi region. Numerous Romanian-language high schools in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine will disappear as of September 1, 2027, as a result of the reorganization of the education system, Aurica Bojescu, secretary of the Interregional Union of the Romanian Community in Ukraine, told the media in Bucharest. Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest (MAE) had also informed Ukraine that it considers access to the Romanian language outside Romania’s borders to be a priority. The indicative list of high schools in the Chernvtsi region does not reflect the legitimate requests made by representatives of the Romanian minority, warns the MFA, adding that respecting the rights of persons belonging to the Romanian minority and guaranteeing full access to education in their mother tongue are part of Ukraine’s full commitment to European values. Approximately 400,000 ethnic Romanians live in the neighboring state, most of them in northern Bukovina, northern and southern Bessarabia, and the Herța region, which were annexed by Stalinist Soviet Union in 1940 following an ultimatum and taken over by Ukraine in 1991 as the successor state.

INDAGRA. Indagra 2025 kicked off today in Bucharest, with 420 companies from the agricultural and food sectors in 20 countries participating. Designed as a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and action, the event brings together all the “players” in the Romanian agri-food chain until November 2 to openly discuss solutions, investments, and concrete partnerships. There will be debates on “innovation, resilience, and sustainability in Romanian agriculture,” as well as on “the identity, competitiveness, and opportunities of Romanian products.” Demonstration programs and competitions will also be organized.

Gaza. The Gaza Strip Civil Defense announced that at least 30 people were killed in Israeli attacks on the territory after the Israeli prime minister said Hamas had violated the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu ordered what he called “harsh strikes” on Gaza and accused Hamas of deliberately plotting to deceive Israel regarding the handover of all the bodies of the hostages. Last night, Hamas handed over what it said were the remains of a hostage, but Israel said forensic tests showed the remains belonged to a hostage already taken from Gaza two years ago. In addition, drone footage taken by the Israeli military showed a body being removed from a building in Gaza on Tuesday, wrapped up and placed in a pit that was then covered with earth. Israel also said it filmed Hamas conducting a fake excavation to remove the body after it had been buried. (MI)