November 12, 2025
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 12.11.2025, 13:56
Pensions. Romanian president Nicuşor Dan is today meeting the leaders of the government coalition and the representatives of magistrates to discuss the reform of judges and prosecutors’ pensions. The president says he is optimistic that a solution will be found by the end of the month. Romania faces losing 230 million euros under the EU-funded National Recovery and Resilience Plan unless it passes new legislation on magistrates’ pensions by November 28. The president said the matter of special pensions is rather administrative in nature. A previous government raised magistrates’ pensions above the level of salaries, and now they are equal, which is not natural and must be addressed. The Constitutional Court recently rejected a draft law initiated by the government to modify special pensions on grounds that the government did not wait for the opinion of the Supreme Council of Magistracy. The bill provided for limiting magistrates’ pension to 70% of their final net salary and for gradually raising the retirement age for magistrates to 65 years. In another move, coalition leaders reached an agreement on the administration reform. Prime minister Ilie Bolojan recently said that in addition to reductions in staff and expenditure, the reform would also include several provisions to boost the tax collection capacity of city halls and transfers of abilities and responsibilities, as well as other measures to streamline the activity of the local administration.
Inflation. The annual inflation rate was 9.8% in October, with the price of non-food products rising by 10.96%, that of services by 10.52% and that of food products by 7.57%, according to a report by the National Institute of Statistics published today. In September, the annual inflation rate was 9.88%. The inflation rate from the beginning of the year was 9.0%. The National Bank of Romania has revised the inflation forecast for the end of the year up to 8.8% from 4.6% previously, saying it might even exceed 9%, and expects it to reach 3% at the end of 2026, compared to 3.4% in its previous forecast.
Protest. Under the slogan ‘Govern for us too! Not just for you!’, thousands of trade union members took to the streets in Bucharest to protest against the government’s austerity measures and a drop in the people’s purchasing power. Protesters demanded an increase in the minimum wage abandoning reforms that require public sector job cuts. The rally staged by the National Trade Union Bloc outside the government headquarters was followed by a marsh with symbolic stops outside the main institutions responsible for the country’s economic and social policies.
Elections. Candidates who wish to enter the election race for the general mayor of Bucharest and for president of the Buzău County Council can register at the electoral offices from today until November 17. The registration period for mayoral by-elections in 12 other localities in Romania began on Tuesday. The electoral campaign will begin on November 22 and will end on December 6, with the ballot to take place on December 7. Bucharest now has an interim mayor, as the former occupant of the post of general mayor, Nicuşor Dan, became the president of the country in the May elections.
Sanctions. Representatives of the Romanian energy ministry are working with all relevant authorities to create legislation to ensure full compliance with the sanctions regime established by the United States regarding the Russian company Lukoil and for the continuation of the oil refining activities at Petrotel Ploieşti, a company owned by Lukoil, said energy minister Bogdan Ivan. In a post on his Facebook page, he said he would not request an extension of the November 21 deadline set by the American authorities. On October 22, the United States Treasury Department announced a number of sanctions against the two big Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in response to “the lack of serious commitment” from Russia to end the war in Ukraine. (CM)
