A look back at the year 2025 in Romania
The year 2025 in Romania was marked, among other things, by political turmoil and economic austerity
Roxana Vasile, 03.01.2026, 12:57
A turbulent political year
On January 1, 2025, Klaus Iohannis was still the president of Romania, even though he had already completed his second and final term in office. The executive branch was made up of the PSD (Social Democratic Party), PNL (National Liberal Party), and UDMR (Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania) parties. This was despite the fact that all types of elections had been scheduled for 2024—for the European Parliament, local, parliamentary, and presidential—and Romanians seemed to want change. However, the cancellation, in the middle of the campaign, of the December 2024 presidential elections, due to alleged Russian interference in favour of the independent sovereignist Călin Georgescu, who was leading in the polls, profoundly disrupted domestic political life. With the cancellation of the election, the Constitutional Court ruled that President Iohannis, although he should have left office on December 21, 2024, could remain in office until a successor was elected. In mid-February 2025, however, he announced his resignation, saying he wanted to avoid a crisis that could have been caused by his suspension from office, a procedure initiated by the nationalist opposition. According to the Constitution, the then-president of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan, took over as interim president of the country. Meanwhile, the presidential elections were rescheduled for two rounds, on May 4 and 18, 2025. The election campaign was marked by political instability and protests against the cancellation of the December vote, and Călin Georgescu was banned from running again, with several criminal cases opened against him. Instead, the leader of the nationalist AUR party, George Simion, ran for office, but did not achieve the success he had hoped for in the wake of Călin Georgescu’s campaign. The second round, on May 18, was won by the mayor of Bucharest, the pro-European independent Nicușor Dan, who became the new president of Romania with over 53% of the vote. About a month after the presidential election, a new government coalition was formed, consisting of the same parties that had been in power until then – PSD, PNL and UDMR – joined by USR (Save Romania Union), previously in opposition. And the Liberal Ilie Bolojan became prime minister of a cabinet that, in just half a year of existence, was not spared from scandals. One of the deputy prime ministers, businessman Dragoș Anastasiu, resigned amid accusations of past involvement in a corruption case, Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu resigned due to uncertainties surrounding his university studies, and Education Minister Daniel David decided to leave the government team just before Christmas. It should also be noted that the position of Mayor of Bucharest, which had been vacant since the presidential elections, was filled by the Liberal Ciprian Ciucu following local by-elections held on December 7.
Reforms, austerity, and protests
After all elections in 2024 and 2025 had been completed, the governing program with which Ilie Bolojan’s cabinet set out in June 2025 was developed in response to the fiscal and budgetary crisis that Romanians had come to realize they were facing. The main goal is still to restore the state budget by reducing the largest deficit in the European Union. As a result, since last summer, among many other measures, the government has increased VAT rates and fuel excise duties, seniors with pensions of over 3,000 lei (equivalent to about 600 euros) have been taken 10% for health insurance, the workload of teachers has increased, and the number of school and student scholarships has been reduced. A 10% reduction in central government spending has also been agreed, and in local government, a 30% reduction in the number of jobs. At the same time, new local taxes and fees, almost double the current level, have been decided, which the population will have to pay from 2026. Also to save money, the PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR government managed to assume responsibility in Parliament for a reform of the special pensions benefiting judges and prosecutors—a milestone in the NRRP—through a law that would reduce their privileges. Almost in parallel with discussions about the privileged status of judges and prosecutors upon retirement, which have antagonized a large part of Romanians against this profession, a documentary by the online publication Recorder added fuel to the fire. Resignations and a new reform of the justice system were demanded after the documentary discussed how acts of corruption had been time-barred.
Rahova… Paltinu… or disasters that could have been avoided
A series of major negative social events marked Romanians in 2025. In Bucharest, in the fall, an explosion, most likely caused by a natural gas distribution company, destroyed an apartment building. Three people died, 15 were injured, and hundreds were left homeless. Meanwhile, in the south of the country, over 100,000 people were left without drinking water for days after the Paltinu dam in the area was emptied for repairs. The crisis, which also affected the energy system, was attributed to delayed decisions and a lack of institutional coordination at the highest levels. Let us also remember the catastrophic floods in the summer caused by heavy rainfall in the counties of Suceava and Neamț in north-eastern Romania. In Suceava, the hardest hit area, three people died and over 2,500 were affected. Approximately 600 houses were destroyed or damaged, cars were swept away by the waters, and there was major damage to the road, electrical, and water and sewage infrastructure.
All borders in Schengen
On January 1, 2025, the external border of the European free movement area changed completely, with Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen also with their land borders. Air and sea borders had already been open since March 2024. This finally marked a return to normality, as Romania had been meeting the technical conditions for Schengen membership for more than a decade.
The Great Consecration of the National Cathedral in Bucharest
October 26, 2025, was the day of the grand consecration of the National Cathedral in Bucharest. It was the culmination of events through which the Orthodox Church celebrated 140 years since the recognition of its autocephaly and 100 years since its elevation to the rank of Patriarchate. A symbol of the national and spiritual identity of Romanians, the Cathedral is one of the largest in the Orthodox world, boasting the largest iconostasis on the globe and the largest interior collection of mosaic paintings.
Sports achievements
For Romania, 2025 was one of the best years in the last three decades in individual sports. David Popovici won gold at the World Championships in Singapore in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle. Weightlifter Mihaela Cambei won gold in all three events (snatch, clean and jerk, total) at the European Senior Championships in Chișinău, and at the World Championships in Norway, she won gold in the snatch event, setting a new European record. She won silver in the clean and jerk, as well as in the total. Gymnast Ana Bărbosu won no less than four medals at the European Championships in Leipzig: one gold, one silver, and two bronze. In team sports, Romanian rowing continued to prove its worth in 2025, table tennis remained at a high level, and the national football team is in the World Cup play-offs. (MI)
