November 2, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 02.11.2025, 19:23

Cathedral. Nearly 200,000 pilgrims have passed through the Altar of the new National Cathedral in Bucharest, the largest in the Orthodox world, over the past week. The cathedral was consecrated on October 26 in a special service held by Patriarch Daniel, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Plans for a national cathedral date back more than a century, following Romania’s independence, but were repeatedly delayed by two world wars, decades of communist rule and a fragile transition before joining the European Union. The cathedral is 127 meters high, can accommodate 5,000 people inside and tens of thousands on the esplanade. Hidden behind the parliament building, the cathedral has cost around 270 million euros so far, mostly from public funds. In Romania, the Church has considerable influence, remaining one of the most trusted institutions in the country of 19 million people, 85% of whom identify as Orthodox.

Bills. In Romania, low-income persons and families will also benefit from help with their heating and electricity bills over cold season, said the Minister of Labor, Florin Manole. In a post on social media, he said that applications are submitted to the city halls in the places of residence, and payments will be made starting in December. This is a way of helping families and single people in difficulty and those with few resources, Florin Manole also said. The heating bill supplement is granted between November 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, and the electricity supplement throughout the course of the year. The aid is granted to families and people living on their own who have no other goods or properties and who earn no more than 275 euros per family member per month or up to around 410 euros per month in the case of people living alone.

Elections. Candidatures for the by-elections of 7^th December may be submitted by 17^th November and the election campaign will begin on 22^nd November. Election are held for the post of general mayor of Bucharest and that of president of Buzău county council, as well as for mayors in 12 localities in 10 counties.

Schools. Romanian pupils will go back to school on Monday after a week-long holiday. School will break up for the winter holiday on 20^th December. The third learning module begins on 8^th January and will last until February. The structure of the pre-university school year was changed radically three years ago, so instead of semesters, there are now five learning modules divided by five holidays.

Reform. The Court of Auditors recommends a legislative reform to strengthen the financial autonomy of urban and rural localities in light of study it conducted showing, among others, that in 2023, only 31% of villages and 76% of small towns managed to cover their personnel expenses from their own sources. According to the study, there are still large differences between urban and rural areas in terms of access to healthcare, education and basic utilities. 12% of all villages in Romania have no family medicine practices, 50% no dental clinics, and 24% no pharmacies. At the same time, there are significant fluctuations in terms of the minimum number of 10,000 inhabitants that allows a commune to become a city or the 1,500 inhabitants needed to form a commune. Consequently, the Court of Auditors recommends the legislative and executive authorities to pursue combined measures of demographic and economic growth to capitalize on the potential of each area and to ensure a coherent development of the whole country.

Handball. The Romanian men’s handball side on Sunday defeated Slovakia 33-25 in their final match as part of the Carpați Trophy tournament hosted by Baia Mare, in the north-west of the country. Also on Sunday, Georgia lost to Ukraine 28-32, but still won the trophy thanks to their previous win over Romania, which finished in second place. Ukraine were in third place and Slovakia in fourth. The Carpați Trophy is a training competition for the national men’s handball teams in Central and Eastern Europe ahead of the official season. Romania also hosted an edition of the trophy last January, when it was held in Mioveni (south), with the title being won by  Serbia.