June 10, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 10.06.2025, 13:55
PRESIDENCY – President Nicuşor Dan this morning met with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, with whom he later visited the “Getica” Joint Training Center in Cincu, Braşov County (center). In the second part of the day, the Romanian president will pay an official visit to Chişinău, the first since taking office, where he will meet president Maia Sandu. Nicușor Dan will also meet with Olympic students from the Republic of Moldova. In the evening, Nicuşor Dan will meet the Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu and Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean. The Romanian head of state will also attend the event “The Common European Future of Romania and the Republic of Moldova”. President Dan will reaffirm Romania’s support for the sustained efforts of the Republic of Moldova to join the EU and the acceleration of reforms in all key areas. The implementation of all cross-border projects of major interest will also be discussed, in particular energy and transport interconnections. The agenda for talks will include other topics of key interest, such as strengthening the stability and resilience of the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine and increasingly complex hybrid threats, including ahead of the legislative election scheduled for September.
DEFICIT – This afternoon, the pro-Western parties in Parliament (PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR) that could form the future government are resuming talks after yesterday’s meeting between president Nicuşor Dan and the leaders of the four political parties ended without an agreement on measures to reduce the budget deficit. However, all the proposals put forward so far remain on the table. President Nicuşor Dan’s priority is to reduce state spending, combat waste and increase efficiency in revenue collection, presidential advisor Radu Burnete wrote on Facebook, adding that “raising taxes remains a last resort”. According to political sources, the leaders of PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR have not reached a consensus with the head of state either on fiscal measures or the name of the future prime minister. There is talk of increasing VAT by 2%, applying a progressive tax for incomes higher than €2,000 or imposing a solidarity tax. Another very controversial and highly criticized measure circulated in the public sphere in recent days would be to introduce a fee on all banking transactions, a fee that will be collected to the state budget. With regard to public spending, the parties are analyzing the reduction of bonuses and the merger or elimination of certain public institutions.
SURVEY – Over half of Romanians believe that Nicuşor Dan will be a president more involved in public life, shows the Informat.ro – INSCOP Research Barometer. According to the sociological survey, 56.4% of Romanians believe that Nicuşor Dan will be a president more involved in public life, while 36.7% expect him to be more absent. 6.8% had no option or did not answer this question. The barometer also reveals that 61.7% of Romanians believe that Nicuşor Dan will be a president who will rather mediate and seek consensus, while 28.3% believe that the new president will rather seek conflict. 9.9% did not have an opinion or did not answer.
DEBT – Romania’s government debt rose in February to 990.84 billion lei, from 964.3 billion lei in the previous month, according to data published by the Ministry of Finance. Government debt accounts for 56.3% of GDP, up from 54.8% in January. According to a report of the European Commission, Romania’s public debt increased to almost 55% in 2024 and will reach almost 60% this year, mainly due to the increase in current spending, especially on salaries and pensions.
PAYMENTS – Romania is set to receive an installment worth almost €1.3 billion in payments from the European Commission as part of the third funding package included in its Recovery and Resilience Plan. However, Brussels has decided to suspend another €870 million in payments, which be transferred at the end of November, provided Bucharest successfully implements reforms in three key areas: special pensions, the appointment of management to the agency that monitors the performance of state-owned companies and the designation of administrators of companies subordinated to the Ministry of Energy. According to the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Marcel Boloş, the fourth payment request is being negotiated with the European Commission, and Bucharest wants an increase in the allocated amounts from almost €2.7 billion to €5.7 billion. However, other reforms must be carried out in exchange.
FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team is today playing Cyprus on National Arena stadium in Bucharest, in a match counting for Group H in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. On Saturday, Romania lost to Austria 2-1 at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna. The winners of the 12 preliminary groups will qualify directly to the 2026 World Cup. The other four available places for the European qualifying zone will be decided by playoffs pitting the 12 second-placed teams in each group and the best-ranked group winners from the 2024-2025 Nations League, which failed to secure qualification in the preliminaries. (VP)
