THE WEEK IN REVIEW

July 14-18, 2025

Corina Cristea, 19.07.2025, 13:36

Parliament rejects motion of censure against Bolojan’s government

The motion of censure against the Bolojan Government, initiated by 131 deputies and senators, was rejected on Monday by a vote in the Parliament in Bucharest. Thus, the Executive remains in office, and the austerity law, for which the government has taken responsibility, will come into force if it passes the constitutionality test. The main measures that would apply starting August 1st aim to increase VAT, reorganize the system of granting school scholarships, increase excise duties on alcohol, tobacco and fuels, but also impose a health contribution for pensions exceeding 3,000 lei (about 600 euros). Starting next year, additional profits of banks and gambling winnings will be taxed more, salaries and pensions in the public system will no longer increase, and unjustified hiring and bonuses will be limited. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan explained that all these measures are necessary to correct the budget deficit and, he says, Romania is already starting to regain confidence from international markets, with borrowing costs starting to fall. The Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which initiated the motion, however, challenged the first package of fiscal measures for which the Government assumed responsibility in Parliament at the Constitutional Court. The debate on the motion will take place on July 22. Those affected by the first austerity measures announced by the government took to the streets to protest.

The Constitutional Court of Romania will operate in a new formula for the next three years

The Constitutional Court of Romania has changed its composition and has a woman as its president for the first time. This is Simina Tănăsescu, appointed judge of the Constitutional Court by the country’s former president, Klaus Iohannis, in 2019. She was elected by a majority vote of the nine constitutional judges, three of whom have just begun their nine-year mandates. This includes Dacian Cosmin Dragoş, proposed by President Nicuşor Dan, a university professor and doctoral supervisor at the Faculty of Law of Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, and the judges proposed by the two chambers of Parliament: Mihai Busuioc, who has headed the Court of Auditors for the past eight years, and Csaba Asztalos, who served as president of the National Council for Combating Discrimination. The first decision of the CCR in the new formula concerned the notification of President Nicuşor Dan in relation to the Law on Certain Measures to Combat Antisemitism and Xenophobia. The head of state assessed that the law was adopted in violation of constitutional norms and principles, and that it is not clear in explaining the concepts of legionnaire and fascist, which would leave room for arbitrariness in the interpretation and application of this concept by the competent judicial bodies. On Thursday, the Constitutional Court found that the law is clear, precise and predictable in relation to its purpose, which is to protect by penal law means the most important social values of a democratic society, the dignity of the human being, and the full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.

NRRP, to the attention of officials from Bucharest and Brussels

Projects worth approximately 6.3 billion euros can no longer be completed by August 2026, so they will be removed from the National Recovery and Resilience Program, where they were included for financing. The announcement was made by the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragoș Pîslaru, who stated that Romania must send the revised form of the NRRP to the European Commission by the end of this month. The official, who presented the conclusions of the meeting of the Interministerial Coordination Committee of the NRRP, and gave details about the negotiations taking place during this period so that Brussels accepts the proposals of the Romanian authorities, gave assurances, however, that Romania will not lose any of the financing represented by the non-reimbursable funds. According to him, there will be some small adjustments, but there is no danger of failure to complete these projects by August 2026. The amount allocated to Romania for the implementation of the NRRP is 28.5 billion euros, of which it has collected 10.74 billion euros so far.

The Rabla program for individuals will be relaunched

The authorities in Bucharest have analyzed and revised the program that encourages Romanians to give up old cars, with the Minister of Environment officially announcing that the Rabla program for individuals will be relaunched, but with a smaller budget, of only 200 million lei (about 40 million euros). Diana Buzoianu explained that, for the future, there is a need to rethink this formula, not just the allocation of vouchers. The minister also said that the main vision must focus on reducing polluting emissions. The Rabla program, which began in 2005, plays an essential role in the purchase of electric cars, most of them being purchased through this method.