November 22, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 22.11.2025, 20:00
UKRAINE Kyiv’s Western allies reject the US peace plan for Ukraine in its current form. In a joint statement issued after a meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, EU leaders and the heads of 11 member countries said the US plan was a basis for talks but required further work. They reiterated the principle that borders should not be changed by force and expressed deep concerns with the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, on which neither Kyiv nor the Europeans have been consulted, includes territorial concessions and a cut down in Ukraine’s military, while also providing Western security guarantees for Kyiv. Donald Trump has given Kyiv until next Thursday to accept the plan. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the plan and said he would not betray his country. In Bucharest, president Nicușor Dan welcomed the US president Donald Trump’s renewed efforts towards a sustainable truce and a formula for negotiated and lasting peace, but said that the security of Romania and Europe as a whole depends on the terms of the peace in Ukraine and the subsequent arrangements. Emphasising the importance of an intense and honest transatlantic dialogue, in the spirit of solidarity between Allies and the complementarity of interests for the EU and NATO, Mr. Dan also said that he joins in the message of other European leaders who have assured Ukraine of their continued support.
DRONES New drone strikes were reported on Friday night in Ukraine, near the Romanian border on the Danube, the Romanian defence ministry announced. Two F-16 fighter jets took off to monitor the situation, and the locals were warned via Ro-Alert messages. No national airspace violations were detected. The defence ministry says that it stays alert at all times and ensures strict surveillance of Romania’s air, maritime and land space. Contact with NATO Allies is also permanent. An announcement was made on Saturday that because of Friday night’s strikes, Danube ferry crossing between the Romanian town of Isaccea and the Ukrainian village of Orlivka was suspended and traffic was rerouted. The two ferries that service the route are docked in Romania.
DEFENCE The Romanian Presidency announced on Saturday that it has received notes on the draft National Defence Strategy for 2025-2030, currently under public review, both from civil society and from public institutions with responsibilities in defence, national security and foreign policy, and that several changes have been operated to clarify some provisions of the document. Other suggestions, while not integrated into the Strategy, will help substantiate the steps in its implementation plan, the Presidency also announced. President Nicuşor Dan convened a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council on Monday, November 24, to discuss the Strategy among other things. The document, based on the concept of ‘solidary independence’, provides a strategic framework for the organisation and coordination of defence and national security.
BY-ELECTION The campaign for the local by-elections of December 7 for the Bucharest City Hall began on Saturday, with 18 candidates in the race. The mayor general seat has been vacant since Nicuşor Dan was elected president of Romania in May. Also on December 7, elections will be held for the Buzău County Council chief and the mayors of 12 localities. The interior ministry announced that it will ensure the smooth conduct of the campaign and the election, and added that measures have already been taken to ensure that they take place in safe conditions for candidates and citizens.
INFLATION The year-on-year inflation rate in the European Union was 2.5% this October, down from 2.6% at the end of September, but higher than a year ago, when it was 2.3%. According to Eurostat, the highest rate was reported in Romania, 8.4%. Estonia follows with 4.5%, and in third place comes Latvia, with 4.3%. At the opposite end, the lowest rates were reported in Cyprus 0.2%, France 0.8% and Italy 1.3%. Compared to September 2025, the year-on-year inflation decreased in 15 member states, remained stable in three and increased in nine. According to the National Statistics Institute in Bucharest inflation in Romania was almost 9.8% in October.
COUNCIL of EUROPE The Republic of Moldova has taken over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. According to Chisinau, a priority of its term will be to facilitate support for Ukraine and the need to hold Russia accountable for aggression. Moldova also aims to promote a new pact for democracy, to fight disinformation and foreign interference, as well as to strengthen democracy, human rights and the implementation of ECHR decisions. Based in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe is a European intergovernmental organisation that currently has 46 member states, after the Committee of Ministers decided to exclude the Russian Federation from the CoE in 2022. (AMP)
