November 11, 2025 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 11.11.2025, 20:00
Coalition – The President of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, is meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of the governing coalition and with representatives of magistrates, according to the head of state’s agenda. On Tuesday, he discussed with the leaders of the parties in the governing coalition about the reform projects regarding magistrates’ pensions. So far, the coalition leaders have not managed to reach a compromise formula, and time is getting shorter until the new deadline on which a considerable amount of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) depends, 230 million Euros, which would be conditioned by the reform of special pensions. Another delayed project is the one regarding the reform of the administration and the layoffs in the city halls. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan recently stated that, in addition to staff and expenditure cuts, the reform in the administration includes several provisions for increasing the capacity of city halls to collect taxes, transfers of competences and responsibilities and other measures to streamline local activity.
Elections – In most of the constituencies where by-elections are being held in Romania on December 7, the period for submitting candidacies has begun. However, not for the position of president of the Buzău County Council (southeast) or for that of general mayor of the capital. In these two cases, candidacies will only be submitted starting on Wednesday. For the position of mayor of Bucharest, a position left vacant after the former mayor Nicuşor Dan became head of state, Daniel Băluţă (Social Democratic Party – PSD), Cătălin Drulă (Save Romania Union – USR), Ciprian Ciucu (National Liberal Party – PNL), Liviu Negoiţă ( Social Liberal Humanist Party – PUSL) and the journalist Anca Alexandrescu, supported by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), have announced their candidacies. The electoral campaign will begin on November 22 and will end on December 6.
Drones – The Romanian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that possible fragments of Russian drones were found 5 km inland after a Russian night attack on Ukrainian ports on the Danube. Weather conditions prevented Romania from scrambling fighter jets, and the population in the area was alerted to take shelter, the ministry added. Romania, which shares a 650 km border with Ukraine, has repeatedly found fragments of Russian drones that have fallen on its territory and has repeatedly faced violations of its airspace.
Femicide – The Romanian Justice Ministry is proposing a legislative initiative to punish femicide with life imprisonment. The minister responsible, Radu Marinescu, argues that ‘there must be maximum firmness on the part of the law enforcement agencies’. A bill to combat femicide was already submitted to Parliament at the end of October and aims to recognize the concept of femicide in Romanian law and classify its various forms in order to identify the appropriate measures to prevent and combat this phenomenon. Other provisions in the draft legislation include: the elimination of the requirement for a prior complaint in cases of rape and sexual assault, and the recognition of the seriousness of crimes committed in a context where the perpetrator exercises control or domination over the victim or in the presence of a child, and the need for unconditional intervention by initiating criminal proceedings ex officio in cases of domestic violence. The issue returned to public attention after a woman was killed by her ex-husband, even though she had a protection order issued against him.
Farms – The Council and the European Parliament have reached an agreement to adopt the simplification package for farmers, a project proposed by the Commission this year. According to the new rules, farm checks are reduced to just one per year, and the documents that a farmer must fill in as part of his relationship with the state are fewer. Another element is the simplification of the rules for environmental conditions for organic farms. According to estimates by the European Commission, the simplifications will lead to savings of around 1.6 billion Euros for farmers and 200 million Euros for national administrations that check farmers’ documentation.
Visit – Romania must expand its economic relations beyond the borders of the European Union, said the Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Radu Miruţă, during a working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ‘We have valuable resources, real skills and partnerships that are worth building with trust’, said Radu Miruţă. According to a press release, the minister was in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 7 to 11 November, to participate in the 26th meeting of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization – UN Tourism. The event tackled, among other things, the strategic directions regarding the sustainable development of global tourism, digital innovation and the consolidation of regional partnerships. Radu Miruţă had a series of bilateral meetings aimed at strengthening Romania’s cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as with the states participating in the meeting. (LS)
