September 4, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 04.09.2025, 20:00

EUROPEAN LAW – The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that a judicial authority cannot refuse to enforce a European arrest warrant and take over the execution of the sentence itself, without the consent of the state that issued the warrant. The Court issued this ruling in a case in which it was notified by the Bucharest Court of Appeal about the situation of a Romanian, convicted of fraud, whom the Italian authorities refuse to extradite. The decision applies retroactively. In Romania, there are over 4,000 people who evade the serving of sentences, according to data centralized by the Police. In March 2025, the so-called “fugitives’ law” came into force, which provides for an additional penalty of up to three years in prison for those who evade serving their sentence. There are well-known cases of convicts who fled Romania before the final sentence was delivered and whose countries of residence – generally Italy and Greece – refuse to extradite them. Alina Bica, former head of DIICOT, former Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu, or the son of the president of the Romanian Football Federation, Mario Iorgulescu, are just some of them.

SANCTIONS – Romania supports the adoption of additional sanctions against Russia, Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced on Thursday on the X platform. The head of state welcomed the “transatlantic unity and coordination” towards Russia, after the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ summit he attended virtually, in Bucharest. “I appreciate the sustained efforts and the progress made in providing solid security guarantees for Ukraine,” the Romanian president said. He also said that “Ukraine’s strong security and the further consolidation of NATO’s position on the eastern flank and at the Black Sea go hand in hand.” The leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, made up of over 30 countries, mostly European, that support Ukraine militarily, met to discuss the security guarantees they are to offer to Kyiv. Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special representative, was present at the meeting, which was co-chaired in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

SPECIAL PENSIONS – The judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice decided on Thursday to refer to the Constitutional Court of Romania, the matter regarding the unconstitutionality of the Law amending the special pension system for judges and prosecutors, for which the Government assumed responsibility in Parliament. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said Monday, in Parliament’s plenary, where the government assumed responsibility for five bills from the second reform package, that Romanian magistrates retire at 48-49 years of age, and an average pension in the judiciary exceeds 4,800 euros. At the same time, many pensions reach 7,000 euros- 8,000 euros, especially for magistrates who have also held management positions. Through the proposed reform, there will be a transitional period of 10 years, at the end of which the retirement of magistrates will be at 65 years, the standard retirement age in Romania. At the same time, the length of service required for retirement will increase from 25 to 35 years. Until now, the amount of the pension was 100% of the last net remuneration, but this percentage has been capped at 70% of the last month’s net income. Even with this decrease, the pensions of magistrates remain considerable high, Ilie Bolojan said.

MOTIONS – The four censure motions filed by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR, the nationalist opposition) against the coalition government led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan, which target four of the five bills for which the government assumed responsibility, were presented Thursday in Parliament. The debates and the final vote are scheduled for Sunday in the Parliament’s plenary. The opposition needs 233 votes in favor to dismiss the government, which is difficult to achieve given that the coalition of PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and national minorities has a wide majority.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football side will be up against the representative of Canada in a friendly match in Bucharest on Friday night. On Tuesday, September 9th, the Romanians are playing Cyprus in Group H of the qualifiers for the World Cup next year in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The group’s leader is Bosnia with 9 points followed by Austria and Romania with 6, Cyprus with 3 and San Marino with no points. Romania’s last participation in a final world tour was in France in 1998.

TOUR – The two Romanian artists who in December 2024 set the first World GUINNESS record for a Romanian professional music project in Antarctica, are going to go around the globe for the third time in three consecutive years with a fresh concert tour. Over September 5th and October 1st, violinist Diana Jipa and pianist Stefan Doniga will be giving concerts in Geneva, in Switzerland, Vienna, Austria, Nairobi, Kenya, Brisbane, Australia and New York, in the USA. The two musicians will be tackling major themes for the entire culture and universal history to underline the fact that art is first and foremost an expression of the realities and truth of mankind. The aforementioned tour this year has been entitled MUSICA PROHIBITA and is marking 80 years since the end of the Holocaust and WWII. The concerts are symbolically given only in cities, which are housing headquarters of the United Nations, in token of respect for this international institution, which is protecting human rights. (EE)