October 2, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 02.10.2025, 19:07
EPC. Present at the European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen, Romanian President Nicusor Dan discussed regional security, hybrid warfare, disinformation, and cyberattacks with European leaders. In this context, Nicusor Dan presented the General Prosecutor’s Office report on Russia’s interference in the 2024 presidential elections in Romania. According to the head of state, much of the discussion also focused on the action plan that the European Commission said it would bring to the informal European Council meeting in Brussels in three weeks’ time. On the sidelines of the summit, Nicusor Dan met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. “Romania and Sweden have very close bilateral cooperation in the context of our European alliance,” the head of state wrote on social media. According to him, the two also discussed how NATO can strengthen its deterrence against threats from Russia. Also on the sidelines of the summit, the head of state spoke with the Prime Minister of Armenia and recalled, in this context, that the next CPE meeting will take place in May 2026 in Armenia. For Romania, the Caucasus region is interesting from an economic point of view, the head of state said. On Wednesday, also in Copenhagen, Nicusor Dan participated in the Informal European Council.
Budget. The Romanian government approved on Wednesday, in an extraordinary meeting, the first budget adjustment of this year, which the Minister of Finance says brings the state budget into a realistic projection range. Alexandru Nazare specified that both expenditures and revenues are correctly assessed, and the deficit target taken into account is 8.4%. The extra money covers essential spending for pensions, salaries, and social assistance, and part of the newly allocated funds will be used to pay interest on previous state loans. The rest of the money will go towards investments. The Minister of Finance also said that next month, work will begin on drafting next year’s state budget and that he aims to ensure that the revised budget does not allocate such large sums for expenditure as this year’s.
Training. Romanian citizens, both men and women aged between 18 and 35, will be able to apply to the Ministry of Defense to participate in a basic military training program, according to the draft law on military volunteering, which was approved by the Government on Thursday. The bill stipulates that young people who have not completed active military service will be able to train for a period of four months. The organization and implementation of this program will be established by order of the Minister of Defense. During the training program, volunteer soldiers will receive free accommodation, medical assistance, and a monthly allowance similar to that of soldiers, i.e., 3,000 lei. At the end of the internship, volunteers will receive a financial bonus equal to three average salaries, which currently amounts to 27,000 lei. In addition, volunteer recruits who are employed will not lose their jobs during training, and employers are required to temporarily suspend their employment contracts. At the same time, the executive also approved the draft law on national defense, which includes measures to simplify the decision-making chain in theaters of operations. Both drafts will be sent to Parliament for debate and approval.
Chisinau. The electoral process in the Republic of Moldova, where parliamentary elections took place on Sunday, was affected by social and political polarization, attempts at external influence typical of hybrid warfare, information manipulation, and voter corruption – this is the conclusion of civic organizations that monitored the elections. The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections argues that the expansion of polling stations in the diaspora and the introduction of postal voting facilitated access for citizens outside the Republic of Moldova. In contrast, the reduction in the number of polling stations for voters in the Transnistrian region was perceived as a disproportionate restriction. We recall that the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), a pro-European party that has been in power for four years and was founded by President Maia Sandu, won the latest parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet republic with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population).
Cathedral. Work on the National Cathedral in Bucharest is in the final stages ahead of its grand consecration on October 26, with less than 30 days to go before the historic event. All the scaffolding inside the Orthodox building has been dismantled, all the mosaic work that the team of artists had to complete by the end of the month has been finished, and by Saturday at the latest, the automation of the Cathedral’s 27 bronze doors will be completely finalized. The idea of building a cathedral representative of the Romanian Orthodox space emerged at the end of the 19th century, when it was found that no church in Bucharest was large enough to accommodate all those who attended services on special occasions or other solemn moments. The project was re-launched in the 2000s, and the foundation stone of the National Cathedral was laid in November 2007, with construction work beginning at the end of 2010. Pope Francis visited the National Cathedral, still under construction, on May 31, 2019. (MI)
