November 18, 2025 UPDATE
The latest news from RRI
Newsroom, 18.11.2025, 20:00
Visit – Romania and Italy are ‘strong allies’, the Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu declared in Rome on Tuesday, also underlining that last year bilateral trade exceeded 20 billion Euros. On an official visit to Italy, she met with the Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. ‘We have close cooperation between individuals and communities. Over a million Romanians live here, well integrated into society, contributing to both Italian and Romanian society, whose way of organizing their lives, careers and businesses is based also on the good relations and strong ties that we have at the governmental level,’ Oana Țoiu pointed out at the end of the discussions. The Romanian official highlighted Italy’s contribution to NATO and to the air policing missions that have become increasingly important on the Eastern Flank, from the Black Sea to the north. She also recalled that 2026 will be the year of cultural diplomacy between Romania and Italy, and on December 1, the Bucharest National Orchestra and the National Opera will be present in Rome. A Brâncuși exhibition will also open in the Italian capital in February next year.
Taxes – The draft law on the increase in local taxes, which is part of the second package of fiscal measures, was adopted on Tuesday by the Romanian Parliament in a joint session. The Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan confirmed that, with the adoption of the law, property taxes and car taxes for individuals will increase from the beginning of next year. He justified these measures by the need to reduce the budget deficit and to close the fiscal loopholes caused by the VAT losses and artificial insolvencies. One of the taxes included in the second package and which will also apply from the beginning of next year is the amount of 25 lei (5 Euros) for parcels from outside the EU, with a value of up to 150 Euros. On the other hand, new obligations are introduced for companies and authorized individuals. Thus, companies will be required to have a bank account and accept card payments, and those that have been inactive for a year will be dissolved. The minimum share capital increases to 500 lei (100 Euros) for new companies, and for those with a turnover of over 400,000 lei (80,000 Euros), it will reach 5,000 lei (1,000 Euros).
Elections – Monday was the last day to enter the race for the Bucharest mayor post, with the election scheduled for December 7. The winner will only have half a term, until the summer of 2028. The election is held after Nicuşor Dan, re-elected general mayor in June 2024, became the president of Romania. For the by-election, deadlines were halved for the entire process, compared to the full-term ballot. The campaign only lasts for 15 days and ends on December 6, at 7:00 a.m. As many as 20 candidates have submitted their candidacies, and the Municipal Electoral Bureau validated 17 of them. Two candidacies were rejected and one is still under review. Recent polls point to a close race between Ciprian Ciucu (National Liberal Party), Cătălin Drulă (Save Romania Union), and Daniel Băluţă (Social Democratic Party).
Ilaşcu – The Romanian President Nicuşor Dan sent a message on Tuesday, after the death of Ilie Ilaşcu, whom he sees “a patriot who believed and acted without hesitation for a dream of union and freedom”. The head of state said that he was “a contemporary hero”. The former political prisoner and fighter for unity Ilie Ilaşcu passed away at the age of 73. He was one of the founders of the National Liberation Movement of Bessarabia (1988-1992). He led the Popular Front of Moldova – Tiraspol Branch (1989-1992) and actively participated in the war on the Dniester, commanding special troops of the Ministry of National Security of the Republic of Moldova. In 1992, he and other members of the Ilaşcu Group were arrested by illegal separatist forces supported by the Russian GRU (foreign intelligence agency) and held as political prisoners until 2001. In 1993, he was sentenced to death by an unconstitutional court, and after the intervention of the international community, he was released in 2001 and handed over to the authorities in Moldova and Romania. During the period he was in custody, Ilaşcu was first elected to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova between 1994 and 2000, then to that of Romania from 2000 to 2008.
Drone – The people evacuated as a precaution near the Ukrainian border after a liquefied gas ship tanker caught fire following Russian drone strikes, are returning home. The Danube Delta Emergency Inspectorate (ISU) announced on Tuesday that Ukrainian emergency and intervention services moved to contain the negative effects of the incident, thus significantly reducing the danger of a potential emergency with serious effects on neighboring localities. Over 200 people had self-evacuated or had been evacuated.
Foreign Policy – The foreign policy committees of the Parliament of Moldova and Romania’s Senate will meet in a joint session on Wednesday in Bucharest. The MPs will discuss Moldova’s European integration process and Romania’s support for these efforts. The two committees will sign a joint declaration. The Moldovan MPs will also visit the chapel of the Saint Sophia Church in Bucharest, to pay their respects to the former political prisoner Ilie Ilascu. (LS)
