THE WEEK IN REVIEW

4-8 August, 2025

Leyla Cheamil, 09.08.2025, 13:12

Thursday – a day of national mourning in Romania, in memory of Ion Iliescu, the country’s first post-communist president, buried with military honors

Romania’s first post-communist president, Ion Iliescu, was buried with military honors on Thursday. For two days, state funerals were organized in memory of the man who led Romania for three terms, and Thursday was a day of national mourning. All public and local institutions and authorities flew the Romanian flag at half-mast. Radio and television stations, as well as cultural institutions, adapted their broadcast programs and organized activities accordingly this day. Ion Iliescu died on Tuesday at the age of 95 of lung cancer. Under Nicolae Ceaușescu, he was Minister of Youth between 1967 and 1971. Fallen from grace, Ceaușescu placed him in positions considered, at the time, second-rate. Intensely publicized, he was perceived as the leader of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and, on May 20, 1990, in the first free presidential elections, he received 85% of the vote. During his last term, Romania was admitted to NATO. Ion Iliescu was put on trial for crimes against humanity, in the Revolution case, when over 800 people were killed after he had de facto taken power, and for crimes against humanity, in the so-called miners’ riot case of June 13-15, 1990, when he allegedly called miners from the Jiu Valley to Bucharest to violently suppress protests against his regime. The cases were not finalized in court.

The head of diplomacy from Bucharest, Oana Ţoiu, met in Kiev with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky

The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Ţoiu, was in Kiev on Thursday, where she had meetings with several Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Iuliia Svirîdenko and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. The head of diplomacy in Bucharest reiterated Romania’s support for Ukraine, and among the topics addressed during the discussions were the ongoing joint projects, the participation of Romanian companies in the reconstruction of Ukraine, the development of cooperation in the military industry, but also the rights of minorities, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram account that he thanked for the military, political and logistical assistance offered by Romania and for the contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, given that our country donated a Patriot system. Volodymyr Zelensky also welcomed the adoption of the law allowing the shooting down of drones entering Romanian airspace. On the other hand, during the meeting with her counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, Oana Toiu stressed the fundamental importance of protecting the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, including educational, religious and free association rights. She referred to the unique contribution of ethnic Romanians in Ukraine and Ukrainians in Romania to the further rapprochement of the two countries, as well as to ensuring a secure and prosperous European future. A meeting in Chernivtsi with members of the ethnic Romanian community and participation in the fourth meeting of the Romania–Republic of Moldova–Ukraine Trilateral conclude the agenda of the head of diplomacy’s visit to Bucharest.

Romania has activated, for the first time, the European RESTORE mechanism

Romania has activated, for the first time, the European RESTORE mechanism for rapid intervention in the event of a disaster for the situation in the northeastern counties of Suceava and Neamţ, where floods and strong storms at the end of last month damaged hundreds of homes and road infrastructure. The authorities in Bucharest must propose a modification of an operational, regional or national program, in order to redirect support funds to the affected disaster areas. The request to modify a program under the RESTORE mechanism must be submitted within six months of the date on which the damage caused by the floods was centralized. Once the Commission approves the modification of the program, it will pay 25% of the amount allocated as exceptional pre-financing.

Teachers protest in the streets

Hundreds of teachers protested, again this week, in Bucharest, against the measures taken by the Government to reduce the budget deficit. According to them, among the measures that “severely hit” education in Romania are the two-hour increase in the teaching norm, the merger of hundreds of educational units – which, in their opinion, will lead to layoffs of auxiliary and even administrative teaching staff, and the decrease in the hourly rate. They announced that, on September 8, the first day of the new school year, over 30,000 union members will participate in a national protest rally in Bucharest.

Music and film festivals in Romania

The most famous music festival in Romania, UNTOLD, started on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca (northwest). Now in its 10th edition, the festival brings over 250 international artists and hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world to Cluj-Napoca. Post Malone, Metro Boomin, Armin van Buuren, Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Don Diablo and many others will take to the main stage, one of the largest constructions of this type in Romania. It is the most ambitious setting ever built for a festival in Romania. On the other hand, in Sibiu (center), the 19th edition of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) will take place from August 7 to 10, with screenings both outdoors and in cinemas. The program includes international films, as well as the latest productions by Romanian authors, who are present at the festival. The festival continues the German Film Days, which brings new voices of German cinema to the fore.

Romanian football and volleyball teams in European competitions

Romanian football champion, FCSB, defeated Kosovo team FC Drita, with a score of 3-2, on Thursday evening, at the National Arena in Bucharest, in the first leg of the third preliminary round of the Europa League football competition. In the same competition, Romania’s vice-champion, CFR Cluj, was defeated, at home, by Sporting Braga (Portugal) with a score of 2-1. In the preliminary round of the Conference League, Universitatea Craiova defeated the Slovak team Spartak Trnava 3-0. The decisive matches for qualification will be played next week, with all three Romanian teams playing away from home. In turn, the Romanian women’s national volleyball team qualified for the 2026 European Championship, after defeating the Croatian team, with a score of 3-1, on Wednesday evening, in Blaj (center), in its last match in Group G of the preliminaries. The final tournament, which will feature 24 teams, will take place between August 21 and September 6, 2026, in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.