September 27, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 27.09.2025, 20:00
MOLDOVA Moldovan voters are expected to head to the polls on Sunday to elect the country’s single-chamber parliament. The vote is seen as crucial for the future of the predominantly Romanian-speaking former Soviet republic of about 2.5 million people, which gained independence in 1991 and is caught between deepening ties with the EU, which it is seeking to join, and falling back under Russian influence. The main contenders are the current ruling party, Action and Solidarity, founded by the pro-European president Maia Sandu, and several electoral blocs made up of former and current communists, socialists and Moscow-backed politicians. On Thursday, the European Union said Moldova had faced an unprecedented disinformation campaign led by Russia in the run-up to the parliamentary elections. In neighboring Romania, Moldovan citizens will be able to cast their ballots in one of the 23 polling stations in the country.
BUDGET The draft of the first budget adjustment this year will be posted on Monday on the finance ministry website for public review and due for endorsement late next week, after fresh talks in the ruling coalition. The announcement was made on Friday by the line minister, Alexandru Nazare. The bill was scheduled to be posted for public review on Friday, but the minister explained that the move was delayed because of the large number of financing applications which required careful consideration and prudent decisions given the large deficit and the pressure on the country’s public budget. According to political sources, all ministries have requested additional funding, amounting to a combined EUR 14 bln, but only EUR 5 bln is available, so the ministry has a difficult task. The largest amounts will be earmarked for the repayment of loans previously taken out by Romania, and for the payment of related interest. The main beneficiaries will be the ministry of transport and development for supporting investments, the labour ministry for financing social assistance, and the ministry of energy. Following recent talks in Brussels, PM Ilie Bolojan said the government aims to bring the budget deficit to 8.4% of GDP, as against the original 7.7% target.
DEFENCE The Romanian defence minister Ionuţ Moşteanu Friday took part in an online meeting organised by the European Commissioner for Defence, Andrius Kubilius, and focusing on strengthening the security and defence of the Eastern Flank of the European Union. The meeting was attended by the EU diplomacy chief, Kaja Kallas, officials of the member states on the border of Russia’s war against Ukraine – Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, as well as Slovakia and Hungary. NATO was present as an observer, and the Ukrainian defence minister Denys Shmyhal contributed to the talks. They focused on the so-called ‘drone wall,’ a project by a network of modern technologies, capable of detecting and neutralising drones and other aerial threats. Romania’s defence minister Moşteanu emphasised that the initiative must be completed as quickly as possible and that Bucharest will be a 100% involved partner. He added that Ukraine’s experience is vital and must be capitalised on to build effective solutions, and that the Black Sea is an area with challenges that require solutions to fight naval drones and protect strategic infrastructure. Ionuţ Moşteanu also said that Romania is directly targeted by Russian intimidation and needs these initiatives for the protection of its own citizens and for the security of the entire Eastern Flank.
PROTESTS Hundreds of finance ministry employees across the country protested in Bucharest today. They demanded, among other things, fair financing, realistic work standards, appropriate personnel numbers, accelerated digitisation, and the appointment of professionals to management positions. Students will also organise protests in Bucharest and several university centres in the country on Monday, at the start of the academic year, the Alliance of Student Organisations in Romania announced. The 40% cut in scholarship funds and the limitation of train travel discounts are the main reasons for discontent. Teachers in Romania also carry on protests that began in the summer, unhappy with the government’s austerity measures aimed at reducing the country’s deficit. Teachers oppose the increase in teaching workloads, the merger of certain schools, the reduction in the number of teaching positions, and the decrease in scholarship funds for students.
DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Oana Ţoiu Friday took part in an informal meeting of the Central European Initiative, organised on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York by the Serbian presidency of the Initiative. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, the participants reaffirmed support for the EU enlargement both in the Eastern Neighborhood and in the Western Balkans, based on the merits of each candidate state, as a stepped-up European integration process clearly benefits both the candidate countries and strengthening the EU’s position worldwide. Minister Oana Ţoiu spoke about the exceptional challenges the region must face in the very difficult context marked by the war in Ukraine, hybrid attacks and large-scale disinformation. The Central European Initiative is an intergovernmental forum for cooperation between 17 countries in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, 9 of which are EU members. (AMP)
