April 1, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 01.04.2025, 19:40
Vote. Romanian deputies will be debating on Wednesday a simple no-confidence motion against the Liberal Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu initiated by the nationalist opposition party the Alliance for the Union of Romanians. The latter accuses Predoiu of having turned the Interior Ministry into a genuine political police institution, where citizens are no longer protected, but monitored, intimidated and silenced. The party also demands an inquiry with a view to his being subject to criminal prosecution for his actions while in office. Cătălin Predoiu said this approach is a democratic exercise and that he will answer any questions posed to him with arguments, as he has done every time he has been faced with a vote of no-confidence. Previously, senators voted against a vote of no-confidence submitted by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, the Young People’s Party and SOS Romania against Liberal Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, who was accused of promoting an incompetent policy, lacking in vision and of depriving his country of sufficient electricity production. The three parties also criticise the fact that Romania imported natural gas from neighbouring Bulgaria this year at much higher prices than if it had purchased it from Central Europe. Sebastian Burduja denied the allegations and said that, for the first time in 17 years, Romania has a national energy strategy and that the energy is safe, cheap and clean.
Funding. Romania’s Minister for Investment and European Projects, Liberal Marcel Boloș, said on Tuesday that Romania is considering submitting only two payment applications to the European Commission under the Recovery and Resilience Plan that would include all outstanding milestones. He said Romania has one year and a half left to implement the investments under the Plan. Boloș was invited on Tuesday before the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on European Affairs to present the amendments to Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan and the stage of negotiations with the European Commission. At the request of the Save Romania Union, Minister Boloș also presented the measures for unlocking all funds as part of its third funding application. So far, Romania only cashed in 1.3 out of the 2 billion euros it has applied for, because it failed to meet six milestones. It has another six months at its disposal to implement the required measures in order to unlock the remaining payments.
Unemployment. The unemployment rate in Romania stood at 5.6% in February, up by 0.1% compared to the level recorded in January, the National Statistics Institute said on Tuesday. The number of unemployed aged 15-74 in February was 456,800 people, a slight increase compared to the previous month (450,900 people), but also compared to the same period of 2024 (436,300 people). Broken down by gender, the unemployment rate among men exceeded that of women by 0.4%, namely 5.7% and 5.3%, respectively. The Institute also recorded a high unemployment rate of 26.3% among young people aged 15-24 between October and December 2024. Youth unemployment accounts for 72.5% of total unemployment estimated for February 2025.
Tariffs. The European Union is ready to respond against the new tariffs imposed by the US, although it would prefer negotiation, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. She told MEPs in Strasbourg that the European Union has “a strong plan” to retaliate if necessary. “We will protect our interests, our people, and our companies. I want to be very clear on the aim of our response. We think that this confrontation is in no one’s interest. The flow of goods and services between us is nearly balanced. We are willing to work on the trade balance of goods as well as services. This is the largest and most prosperous trade relation worldwide. We would all be better off if we could find a constructive solution”, von der Leyen added. She said the EU will also focus more on the single market and emphasised the need for diversifying trade with other partners. In another move, the European Parliament on Tuesday debated two draft reports urging member states to invest more in defence.
Handball. The Romanian men’s handball champions Dinamo Bucharest will be facing SC Magdeburg of Germany on Wednesday away, in the return leg of the Champions League playoffs. In the first leg hosted by in Bucharest, the German side won 30-26. (CM)
