March 21, 2025
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 21.03.2025, 13:57
Summit – Attending the Brussels summit, the European states’ leaders on Thursday reiterated their commitment to continue supporting the defense of Ukraine, as well as maintaining pressure on Russia. The declaration was adopted, however, without the signature of Hungary. Also, during the European Council meeting, the European Commission’s strategy on strengthening the security and defense of the EU was approved. The plan provides for investments in defense of 800 billion Euros. Present at the Brussels summit, Romania’s interim president, Ilie Bolojan, explained that the member states will be able to carry out joint defense procurements, which represents an opportunity for the national defense industry. NATO remains the foundation of collective defense, Ilie Bolojan also said, specifying that all military arrangements that Romania has made with the US will be respected.
CSAT – Romania’s interim president, Ilie Bolojan, has convened a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense for March 28, the Presidential Administration announced on Friday. According to the communiqué, they will discuss topics such as the stage and prospects of the conflict in Ukraine following the illegal and unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation, as well as the implications for Romania and the country’s positioning in the context of the negotiation process regarding the end of the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. ‘The Council meeting will also analyze other current issues in the field of national security,’ the Presidential Administration also said.
Influencers – Several influencers, who campaigned on TikTok and other social media platforms for the former independent presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, were targeted by searches in a voter corruption case. Following these raids, Bogdan Peşchir, the main financier of Georgescu’s promotion, was detained for 24 hours. Representatives of the social network confirmed Peşchir’s identity and mentioned that he made payments to users of accounts involved in promoting Călin Georgescu, also after the end of the electoral campaign. Bogdan Peşchir allegedly financed Călin Georgescu’s campaign with over 380,000 Euros. Among those who were also searched is an advisor to a senator from the SOS Romania party (ultranationalist, populist). Declassified documents from the Interior Ministry and the Intelligence Service (SRI) showed that influencers were involved in promoting and buying votes. Judicial activities aim to establish links between those targeted by the searches and other individuals who may have been involved in the electoral fraud and how they were paid.
Fellowship – The ‘Eugen Ionescu’ doctoral and postdoctoral research fellowship program, financed by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and managed together with the University Agency of Francophonie – (AUF) edition 2024 – 2025, will be attended by 110 people from 24 French-speaking countries, the MAE informs. The fellowship program will take place between May 1 and July 31, in one of the 29 universities and higher education institutions in Romania, AUF members, registered for this edition. On May 23, 2007, the Government of Romania, following the commitment made during the 11th Sommet de la Francophonie (Bucharest, September 2006), decided to establish and finance a Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, entitled Eugen Ionescu, to honor the memory of the Romanian-French writer, an emblematic figure of 20th-century literature and a major representative of the theater of the absurd. The program allows young French-speaking doctoral students and researchers from around the world to benefit from a three-month research fellowship in one of the partner higher education institutions in Romania.
Start-up – The Romanian government has allocated around 450 million Euros for this year’s edition of the Start-Up Nation program, designed to stimulate the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises. Each young entrepreneur up to 35 years old who will be admitted to the program to start a business or to develop the one they already have will receive 50,000 Euros. The government wants to help, in this way, over 7,000 young businessmen to establish at least 15,000 new jobs.
Football – Romania’s national football team faces Bosnia-Herzegovina tonight in the first match of Group H of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will take place in North America. On Monday, the Romanian footballlers will face San Marino, away from home. Group H also includes Austria and Cyprus. Romania has not qualified for a World Cup final tournament since 1998.
Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse qualified on Thursday evening for the third round of the Miami Open (WTA 1,000) tournament which has total prizes of about 9 million dollars, after defeating Poland’s Magdalena Frech in two sets. In the third round, the Romanian will face Arina Sabalenka from Belarus, the current world leader. Another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, failed to qualify for the third round after losing to American Danielle Collins on Friday. (LS)
