October 17, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 17.10.2025, 20:22
VISIT Romanian Foreign Minister, Oana Toiu, attended a working session entitled the ‘Beyond Borders, a European Union with 35 members’, part of the State of Europe 2025 conference staged by the European think thank Friends of Europe. The session was also attended by the president of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, and the Republic of Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European integration, Cristina Gherasimov. In her address, the Romanian Foreign Minister, reiterated Romania’s firm commitment to stepping up the enlargement process on its two dimensions – the Eastern vicinity and the Western Balkans. The Romanian official congratulated the Republic of Moldova and Montenegro on the significant progress made in their EU accession process, as the two countries recently became part of the Single Euro Payments Area, SEPA.
GDP Romania’s Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, told the public radio that in 2026 the interests Romania is going to pay for the credits it contracted would stay at 3% of the GDP. Bolojan explained that recent years saw an accelerated rise in loans adding the Executive would impose investment. On the other hand, the Prime Minister underlined the need for cutting expenses in local and central administration, with regards to staff spending. He also said that expense cuts don’t have to be uniform. In 2024 Romania’s budget deficit exceeded 9% of the GDP, the highest in the European Union.
BLAST Three people have lost their lives in the extremely powerful explosion that occurred, on Friday morning, at a residential building in Bucharest. 13 victims, among who two in a serious condition, were rushed to the hospital. Two floors of the eight-story building were affected. The head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), Raed Arafat, declared that “the building was at risk of collapse” and was completely evacuated. He specified that the area would remain secure. A nearby high school was evacuated. A RO-ALERT message was also issued warning the population to avoid the area if they do not absolutely need to go there.
REFORM The Development Minister Cseke Attila said it was essential for the Romanian government and the governing coalition to quickly make a decision on the reform of local administration. He also warned that prolonging the discussions affects the political process and efficiency at the local level. Cseke Attila said that the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), the party he belongs to, advocates a differentiated approach from one locality to another, because it is not fair to force even the city halls that have proven efficient to make spending cuts.
(bill)
