September 5, 2025 UPDATE (2)
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 05.09.2025, 20:00
GDP GROWTH – The economies of the EU and the Eurozone grew slightly in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, according to data published by Eurostat on Friday. The GDP of the 20 countries that have adopted the single currency grew by 0.1% over April-June 2025, compared to the previous quarter. As for the EU, the economy of the community bloc grew by 0.2% in the second quarter, compared to the previous quarter. Among Member States, the strongest GDP growth rates were reported in Denmark (1.3%), Romania and Croatia (both with an increase of 1.2%). The only member states with a contraction of the economy were Finland, Germany and Italy. In the case of Romania, figures previously published by the National Statistics Institute show that the country’s GDP increased by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025, compared to the same period of last year, on a gross series, and by 2.1% on a seasonally adjusted series. In the first quarter, it increased by 0.3% compared to the same period in 2024, on a gross series, and by 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted series.
EXERCISE – The Romanian Ministry of National Defense on Monday, is expected to kick off an exercise to test the response capacity in crisis situations. The “Concordia 25” exercise is coordinated by the General Defense Staff and will take place in nine counties in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Protection and Guard Service and the Special Telecommunications Service. The exercise is designed to verify action procedures, including for the management of possible chemical, bacteriological, radiological or nuclear incidents. Thus, over September 8-12, the exercise will include patrol actions, mobile camps, public order maintenance missions, maritime mine clearance operations as well as actions to combat cyber threats.
DRONES – Two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft of the German Air Forces, deployed at the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu (southeast), overflew the area close to the border with Ukraine on Thursday, after the Defense Ministry radar surveillance systems picked up a group of drones 36 nautical miles north-east of Sulina. According to the Ministry, shortly after establishing radar contact, the drones changed their trajectory to the north, and later the electronic signal was lost. The Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft continued the monitoring mission, before landing at the 57th Air Base. In the last four months, a detachment of five fighter jets of the German Air Forces have been participating in the reinforced Air Policing mission, designed to protect national and allied airspace. Cohesion and solidarity represent the foundation of the North Atlantic Alliance and are a firm guarantee that any security challenge can be overcome with a unified and determined response, the Defense Ministry states in a release.
NOTIFICATION – The Constitutional Court of Romania will analyze on September 24 the notification filed by the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the law on the pensions of magistrates for which the Government has taken responsibility in Parliament. The bill slashes magistrates’ pensions and provides for a gradual increase in their retirement age to 65 years. On Thursday, the joint sections of the High Court decided to notify the Constitutional Court, considering the bill violates no less than 37 mandatory rulings of the Constitutional Court and numerous fundamental principles of the rule of law. High Court judges believe the changes proposed by the Government will weaken the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional status of the magistracy.
TRADE – Two-way trade between Romania and Germany dropped by almost 2% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period of 2024, the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced. Romania thus drops one position, to 17th, in the ranking of Germany’s trading partners. The Chamber believes that the economic slowdown and the reduction of industrial activities in Germany, as well as the declining economic dynamic in Romania, are also leaving their mark on bilateral economic exchanges. Businessmen from this organization point out that, in this context, it is important that the fiscal measures taken by the Bucharest administration do not become a burden for companies. They particularly criticize the recent decision to continue taxation on turnover, a decision that they say discourages investors. (VP)
