October 20, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 20.10.2025, 20:00
DECISION– The European Union’s Energy Council on Monday adopted the European Commission’s proposal to ban any import of Russian gas into the bloc after January 31, 2027. New short-term contracts will be banned even earlier, starting in January 2026, and ongoing ones will be stopped on June 17, 2026. Amidst Hungary’s opposition, European foreign ministers failed to adopt the 19th package of sanctions against Russia. The EU is not satisfied with the Washington administration’s proposal that Ukraine give up territories. The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, recalled that Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is the victim. She drew attention to the fact that such a concession to Russia will encourage Moscow to take other hostile actions in order to get what it wants,, something that has happened many times in history. The subject will be revisited at the European Summit later this week. The meeting could, however, be marked by another Hungarian blockage of the start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
RULING – The Constitutional Court of Romania has admitted the appeal filed by the High Court of Cassation of Justice (ICCJ) regarding the law on magistrates’ pensions, for which the Government took responsibility in Parliament, and has established that the normative act is unconstitutional. The law provides for the reduction of the pensions of judges and prosecutors and the gradual increase in their retirement age from 48 to 65 years. According to the ICCJ, the law violates numerous fundamental principles of the rule of law, including that of the independence of the judiciary, the principle of legal certainty, legality and non-retroactivity of the law. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan expressed his hope that the Constitutional Court judges will close the chapter on magistrates’ special pensions on Monday, which represents a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, compliance with which hundreds of millions of euros of European funds are conditioned upon.
MAYOR – The President of the Romanian Senate, the liberal Mircea Abrudean, believes that December 7 would be a good date to hold elections for general mayor of Bucharest. However, he said that no decision has yet been made in the ruling coalition. The Save Romania Union, a party in the ruling coalition with PNL, PSD and UDMR, is also asking the Government to decide this week on the date of this election. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Friday on Radio Romania that he would support, in the coalition, elections being held at the end of November or on the first Sunday of December. Meanwhile, 51% of Bucharest residents believe that these elections should be organized in 2026, according to a survey conducted this month. We recall that, currently, Bucharest is managed by an interim mayor, after the former mayor, Nicuşor Dan, won the presidential elections and now occupies the highest position in the state.
VISIT – Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan received on Monday the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, who is on an official visit to Bucharest, part of the tour of European capitals that the Commissioner is carrying out in his first year in office. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in the areas of internal security, migration and protecting the external borders of the European Union. Commissioner Brunner said that he appreciates Romania’s efforts in combating illegal migration and the professional way in which the borders that became part of the Schengen Area with its accession are managed. The European official, who also had a meeting with Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu, emphasized that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – Frontex has an increased capacity in Romania justified by the country’s geographical positioning. At the same time, he gave assurances that Brussels will continue to support Romania in the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration.
MARCH – Several thousand people participated on Sunday in the “Together for Women’s Safety” march, organized in Bucharest and in several cities across the country, to show their support for women and to draw attention to all forms of violence they are subjected to. The participants recalled the large number of victims of domestic violence reported since the beginning of the year. They asked Parliament to amend the law to prevent femicides and the violence that precedes them, they called for the criminalization of forced marriage as a distinct crime, as well as education for gender equality in the education system. (EE)
