THE WEEK IN REVIEW

6-10 January 2025

Corina Cristea, 11.01.2025, 13:00

Calendar of the new presidential elections in Romania

The political parties that make up the ruling coalition in Romania, together with representatives of national minorities, agreed on Wednesday the calendar of the new presidential elections. The first round will take place on May 4, and the second round on May 18, with the decision to be legally implemented next week through normative acts adopted by the Executive. The decision comes after the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election process last year due to foreign hybrid interference, and the undeclared financing of the electoral campaign of one of the candidates. Specifically, the independent candidate Călin Georgescu, an ultranationalist and admirer of Vladimir Putin, who surprised everyone by managing to collect the most votes in the first round of the elections on November 24. In its first meeting this year, the governing coalition also established that former PNL president Crin Antonescu would be validated, in February, in the leadership forums of the component parties as a common presidential candidate. Until then, an opinion poll will be organized to find out the mood of the population and its real problems. Announced, on December 23, as the sole representative of the coalition in the race for president, a few days ago Crin Antonescu had suspended himself from the agreement, citing the lack of a concrete date for the presidential elections, as well as the lack of support from the political forces that proposed him. Wednesday was also the day when the Bucharest Court of Appeal published the reasoning for the decision by which the legal action opened on December 31 by Călin Georgescu and the Coalition for the Defense of the Rule of Law against the Central Electoral Bureau in connection with the annulment of the presidential elections was rejected. The decisions of the Constitutional Court of Romania are final and binding, therefore they cannot be analyzed in court – writes the Bucharest Court of Appeal in its argumentation document, which also specifies that, by annulling these elections, no civil and fundamental rights of citizens were violated, as provided for in the Constitution.

Visit to Bucharest of the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy of the European Commission, Stéphane Séjourné

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu received, this week, the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy of the European Commission, Stéphane Séjourné, with whom he discussed the status of the European economy, and the need to continue investing in common recovery and development. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu believes that, despite the current European and global economic challenges, the Romanian economy will develop, counting on the support of the European Commission in increasing the absorption of European funds and in protecting the living standards of Romanians. The European Commissioner also met with the President of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan. Also, together with the Minister of Economy, Bogdan Ivan, he visited the Romanian factory Prime Batteries Technology, which produces state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries and customized energy storage systems. The two also visited aerospace and jet engine research institutes, where they discussed the use of drones for civilian and military purposes, as well as the impact of global competition in this field. Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné stated that Bucharest is the first European capital he is visiting as part of a tour, the purpose of his visit being to support Romania’s industrial development and to underline the strategic importance of this sector.

Event organized in Washington to mark Romania’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program

An event to mark Romania’s entry into the US Visa Waiver Program was prepared on Friday at the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, in the presence of the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the Romanian Ambassador to the United States, Andrei Muraru. In Bucharest, Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu previously announced that Romanians will be able to travel without a visa to the United States starting in March, after the US authorities will update the ESTA electronic travel authorization platform. Thus, Romanian citizens will no longer have to undergo interviews at the US consulate. The travel authorization will be valid for two years, with an unlimited number of entries or exits from the US. The authorization can be used for visits of up to 90 days, and the cost is 21 US dollars, unlike the cost of issuing visas, which is 185 dollars. Romanians can still apply for American visas, which have the advantage of being valid for 10 years, and the duration of a trip is a maximum of six months. The head of diplomacy from Bucharest also highlighted the economic advantages of Romania’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program. Beyond the improvement in the number of tourists, there will be more business trips, investors who travel more easily, which will lead to an increase in trade – says Emil Hurezeanu. As a result of the decision of the US federal government, Romania becomes the 43rd participant in the American visa waiver program.