May 24, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 24.05.2025, 19:29
President. President elect Nicuşor Dan says Romania may have a government in place within a month and that talks to form one will begin shortly. He will officially begin his term in office on Monday in a solemn session of Parliament and said he will immediately start talks with the parliamentary parties to form a government, his first choice for prime minister being the acting interim president, the Liberal Ilie Bolojan. The president elect said four parties would attend the talks, namely the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Save Romania Union, alongside the representatives of national minorities, and insisted that Romania needs a government supported by a stable parliamentary majority. He again stressed that scenarios about a possible VAT rise are purely theoretical and that there is no plan to raise the capped VAT levels on energy and basic products of 5% and 9%, respectively. He recalled that Romania is in the Excessive Deficit Procedure. In this context, the interim government has approved a set of measures to facilitate quick access to European funds. So far, Romania has cashed in 9.2 billion euros of the 28.5 billion at its disposal for the implementation of its national recovery and resilience plan. 13.6 billion euros is in the form of grants and 14.9 billion euros in the form of loans.
Harvard. The ministry of education and research in Bucharest was informed of the decision of the US administration to revoke Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certification and is closely watching ongoing developments. In a statement, the ministry says it is concerned about the impact of this decision on the Romanian students at Harvard, exceptional young people who represent Romania in prestigious academic centres. The ministry says it is in contact with the Romanian embassy in the US and supports diplomatic efforts to clarify the status of these students and their families. An American judge on Friday temporarily halted the decision of the Trump administration to block Harvard University from enrolling international students. The suspension remains in place until the university’s case against the government is heard. The administration has accused Harvard University of protecting violence and anti-Semitism. More than 220 court cases have been brought against the US administration since Donald Trump took office in January. They refer to a whole series of issues, from his attempt to deport people without a trial to the dismissal of government employees, eliminating birthright citizenship and dismantling the Department of Education.
Congress. Bucharest hosted the Romanian Student Congress, which was now in its 17th year and whose theme was being a student in the European Union. The guests, personalities from public and private sectors, provided their institutional and personal perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in the European Union. Participants included the Vice-President of the European Commission, Roxana Mînzatu, and the Ministers of Education of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. President elect Nicuşor Dan also attended. He urged students to be active and get involved in society. “We have a deficit of civic and political involvement”, he warned.
Award. Romanian supermodel and actress Catrinel Menghia won the Starlight International Film Award for her directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Girasoli, the film directed by Catrinel Menghia, who is known in Italy as Catrinel Meron, is co-produced by Cristian Mungiu, the winner of the Palm d’Or at Cannes in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Girasoli is the story of two young women, Lucia and Anna, both prisoners, each in her own way, in a psychiatric hospital back in the 1960s. The screenplay is by Catrinel Marlon, Francesca Nozzolillo and Heidrun Schleef. The Starlight International Award is being presented for the first time at Cannes, rewarding the excellence of new Italian cinema. The award was previously given at the Venice Film Festival.
