June 9, 2025
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 09.06.2025, 13:55
Talks – Romania’s president, Nicuşor Dan, today has a new round of talks with the leaders of the avowed pro-European parties that will form the future governing coalition, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), in order to agree on the economic measures necessary to reduce the budget deficit. A draft of these measures is also expected at the end of the day, but this is not the final version, as the head of state stated. Among the measures taken into account by the experts in the technical group are tax increases, reorganizations of state-owned companies through bonus cuts and mergers, as well as the efficient fight against tax evasion. On the other hand, Dan declared himself optimistic that, in 10 days, Romania will have a new government. The president stated that it was possible to announce the name of the future prime minister by the end of the week. The mandate of the interim prime minister, the liberal Cătălin Predoiu, expires on June 20.
Visit – Romania’s President, Nicuşor Dan, is paying an official visit to the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population) on Tuesday, where he will meet with the leaders of the pro-Western administration in Chişinău: President Maia Sandu, the Speaker of Parliament, Igor Grosu, and the PM Dorin Recean. The visit’s agenda also includes a meeting with the Olympic students from the Republic of Moldova. Also on Tuesday, before the visit to Chişinău, Nicuşor Dan will go together with King Felipe of Spain to the Joint Training Center in Cincu, Braşov County (center), where Spanish soldiers are also deployed, participating in NATO missions. On Wednesday, Dan will arrive in Ukraine, for the summit in Odessa, after recently reconfirming Romania’s support for the neighboring country, invaded by the Russian troops. At the end of the month, the Romanian president will participate in the NATO summit in The Hague and the European Council in Brussels.
Agriculture – The Romanian Agriculture Ministry could receive almost one billion Euros, in installments, over the next four years, for the rehabilitation of irrigation systems. The measure is provided for in a draft law that is on the agenda of the plenary session of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies this week, as a decision-making forum. Also, the deputies from the specialized committees will analyze several legislative initiatives regarding drug trafficking and consumption. These provide for between 2 and 7 years of imprisonment for the import or export of high-risk drugs for personal consumption and the increase by half in the limits of penalties for the distribution of psychoactive substances in educational institutions or in places for educational activities frequented by young people. Plenary and committee sessions are also scheduled in the Senate. An initiative on the agenda establishes the automatic extension of temporary protection orders until a court decision is issued in cases of domestic violence. It also calls for increased penalties for repeat offenders.
Bonds – Romanians will be able to buy Fidelis government bonds this week as well, with interest rates of 7.35% for lei bonds with a maturity of 2 years and of 7.95% for bonds with a maturity of 6 years. Those who provide proof of blood donation will benefit from a higher interest rate, 8.35% with a maturity of 2 years. For Euros, the interest rate is 3.9% for bonds with a maturity of 2 years, 5.6% for bonds with a maturity of 5 years and 6.5% for bonds with a maturity of 7 years. Subscriptions will be made until June 16, and the income obtained by the population is non-taxable. The money acquired by the state through these bonds is used to finance the budget deficit and refinance public debt.
Football – Romania’s national football team plays, on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with Cyprus’ national team, a new match from Group H of the 2026 World Cup preliminaries. In the first three matches, the Romanians were defeated, at home, by Bosnia and, away from home by Austria, and won in San Marino. The winners of the 12 preliminary groups will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup. For the other four places available for the European zone, the 12 teams ranked second in the groups and the best ranked group winners from the 2024-25 Nations League, which did not qualify through the preliminaries, will compete. Romania last participated in a World Cup final tournament in 1998, in France. (LS)
