September 10, 2025 UPDATE (I)

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 10.09.2025, 19:58

Drones. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday denounced Russia’s “dangerous behavior” after Russian drones entered Polish airspace, to which the North Atlantic Alliance responded “very effectively,” AFP reports. According to the NATO chief, the North Atlantic Council met on Wednesday morning and discussed the situation based on Poland’s request for consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty. The allies expressed their solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s reckless behavior, Rutte said, adding that it’s clear that the incursion into Poland was not an isolated incident. “Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday in the European Parliament plenary. Reactions also came from Bucharest. The country’s president, Nicuşor Dan, said that “the flagrant violation of Polish airspace” was unacceptable and that Russia had once again demonstrated that it was behaving aggressively and defying peace efforts in Ukraine. “Romania stands in full solidarity with Poland, our ally and strategic partner. We are united in making NATO, and in particular the Eastern Flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, more secure,” Dan said. On the other hand, Moscow representatives said that Warsaw had not presented any evidence that the downed drones came from Russia.

Resolution. On Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Russia’s attempts to destabilize the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet republic with a Romanian-speaking majority) and stating that Russia’s interference aims to reverse the democratic progress of this state. MEPs criticise the intensification of hybrid operations and attempts at interference by Russia ahead of the parliamentary elections in Moldova on 28 September, according to a statement published on the European Parliament’s website. MEPs welcome Chisinau’s exemplary commitment to EU accession reforms and the steady progress made in this regard, despite significant internal and external challenges, including Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine and the Kremlin’s specific hybrid threats.

Spy. Alexandru Bălan, former deputy director of the Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova, has been remanded in custody on charges of treason. The decision was taken on Wednesday evening by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, at the request of prosecutors. The evidence gathered showed that Alexandru Bălan, who has dual Moldovan and Romanian citizenship, had been involved since last year in divulging state secrets to officers of the KGB service of the Republic of Belarus, a country close to Russia, and that the information sold is likely to endanger Romania’s national security. The former Moldovan officer was caught on Monday in Timişoara (west) after an operation carried out in several countries to dismantle a Belarusian spy network.

AmCham. American businesspeople operating in Romania are asking the country’s president, Nicuşor Dan, to intervene to eliminate the turnover tax. Representatives of the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce believe that this tax sends a negative message to investors, who would be very difficult to convince to come to Romania if they have to pay tax before making a profit. Speaking at a specialist forum, the Romanian president said that the presence of American companies in Romania has meant development and prosperity, but also the transfer of know-how. Nicuşor Dan told businesspeople from across the Atlantic that the main priority of the coalition government in Bucharest is stability. The Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce represents over 600 American, international, and Romanian companies operating in Romania in over 30 sectors.

Education. Romanian education ministry says it is monitoring activity in schools amid protests from trade unions, including a rally and a protest march by teachers on the first day of the new school year. Data centralised by the ministry show that classes were held regularly in 98% of schools. Teachers are unhappy with the increase in teaching hours, the merger of some schools and bigger class sizes, among others. Trade unions call on the government to give up on these measures, which they say will affect children, and ask for the resignation of the education minister Daniel David. On Monday, on the day of the protest, after talks with president Nicuşor Dan, they said protests will continue and are not ruling out a general strike.

Protests. Groups of protesters blocked roads and attacked infrastructure in towns across France as part of anti-government protests organized by a new movement called “Let’s block everything,” the BBC reports. Nearly 1,000 people tried to storm the main train station in Paris, but were repelled by police using tear gas. The protests took place after French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister on Tuesday evening. He will succeed François Bayrou, who was dismissed on Monday by a vote of the National Assembly, which refused to give him its confidence for the 2026 budget. One of Macron’s closest associates, Lecornu (39) will begin consultations with parliamentary parties in an attempt to find support agreements before forming a new government. None of the three major political blocs – the far left, the moderate right, and the radical right – has enough seats to support its own government. In just three years, there have been no fewer than five cabinets. Almost two-thirds of French people surveyed said they wanted President Emmanuel Macron to resign. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed also called for the dissolution of parliament and early legislative elections.

Oscars. The feature film ‘The Heist of the Century’, directed by Teodora Ana Mihai, based on a screenplay by Cristian Mungiu, will represent Romania in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2026 Academy Awards (Oscars). The film won the Grand Prix at the Warsaw International Film Festival (2024), the Best Actress Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival (2024) for actress Anamaria Vartolomei, the Balkan Film Award (award for best film in the Balkan competition) at the Sofia International Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The film is a Romania-Belgium-Netherlands co-production. The shortlist for the 2026 Oscar nominations will be announced by the American Film Academy on December 16, and the final selection on January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for March 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (MI)