July 17, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 17.07.2025, 20:00
VISIT President Nicuşor Dan will be on an official visit to Germany on Friday, when he will have official talks with his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the federal chancellor Friedrich Merz. The agenda also includes a meeting with German businessmen, as well as a meeting with members of the Romanian community, a news release issued by the Presidency reported on Thursday. The visit takes place at the invitation of president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as the high-level Romanian-German dialogue is deepening, and reflects the ‘excellent’ strategic relations between the two countries. The talks will focus on developing collaboration in areas of interest, with an emphasis on economic cooperation projects and investments in sectors such as defence, energy, automotive, industry, as well as on close coordination regarding European affairs and in the fields of security and defence.
RULING On Friday the Constitutional Court dismissed as unfounded a complaint lodged by president Nicuşor Dan concerning the Law on measures to fight anti-Semitism and xenophobia, which bans organisations, symbols and acts of a fascist, extreme right, racist or xenophobic nature. The president views the law as breaching certain constitutional norms and principles. Among other things, the head of state highlights the lack of clarity of the term “fascist”. The Court found that ‘the law subject to constitutional review is clear, precise and predictable with respect to the content of the regulation, which it relates to the legitimate subject matter and purpose of the law, which is to use criminal law to protect the most important social values of a democratic society, based on the need to ensure the dignity of human beings and full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms’. The law was also referred to the Constitutional Court by the Opposition, but the objection was dismissed by the Constitutional Court last week.
MOLDOVA Romania and the Republic of Moldova signed in Chișinău a Declaration on bilateral cooperation in programmes centrally managed by the European Commission, a document of strategic importance for the European accession efforts of this former Soviet republic. The Romanian minister of investments and EU projects Dragoş Pîslaru highlighted on this occasion that Chișinău’s participation in EU-funded programmes will create new bridges of collaboration, including for the business environment, local communities and the public sector. “This collaboration means real development for citizens: infrastructure projects, digitisation, education, environment and innovation. We want Moldova to be prepared and competitive in the new European context,” Dragoş Pîslaru emphasised. “Romania is already our main partner on the European path, and this collaboration in the field of EU-funded programmes will turn opportunities into results. We will work together so that Moldova becomes an active part of this common space of development, stability and prosperity,” the Deputy PM Vladimir Bolea said in his turn, adding that this Declaration signifies not only the strengthening of strategic relations with Romania, but also an essential step towards Moldova’s EU integration.
ARIZONA Arizona becomes the first American state to open an economic representative office in Romania, a first in the history of bilateral relations. ‘In the recently adopted budget for the fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 – September 2026), the state of Arizona earmarked USD 125,000 for the opening of a representative office in Bucharest, an initiative that recognizes Romania’s role as a regional hub for investment and strengthens the economic partnership with the United States,’ the Romanian Embassy in the US announced on Thursday, in a Facebook post. The office in Romania will cover Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.
RECYCLING The Romanian authorities have analysed and revised a programme that encourages citizens to scrap old cars, with the environment minister officially announcing that the Rabla (Car Scrap) programme for individuals will be resumed, but with a smaller budget of only about EUR 40 million. Diana Buzoianu said the re-launch of the programme was necessary because investments had been made, people had already given an advance payment and the impact on the economy must also be taken into account. For the future, however, this formula needs rethinking, and the main focus should be on reducing polluting emissions. The Car Scrap programme, which began in 2005, plays a key role in the purchase of electric vehicles, with most EVs being bought under this scheme. (AMP)
