December 3, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 03.12.2025, 13:55
Visit to Austria
Romania’s Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan is paying a two-day official visit to Austria, at the invitation of Austria’s Chancellor Christian Stocker. The main objective is to strengthen bilateral ties both politically-diplomatically and economically, as well as closer coordination at regional and European level. On his way to Vienna, Prime Minister Bolojan has a scheduled meeting this morning in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán. Special attention is given to cooperation among the three countries for developing interconnections in the electricity sector, with the aim of ensuring affordable prices for the population and competitive ones for businesses.
NATO Foreign Ministers meeting
Several NATO countries on Wednesday announced over $1 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine and called on Moscow to stop its threats and engage in serious negotiations with Kyiv, AFP reports. NATO Foreign Ministers opened a meeting in Brussels, one day after a new round of talks between Russia and the United States in Moscow, without US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. No compromise could be reached in Moscow on the central issue of Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, following talks between US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian president Vladimir Putin, AFP recalls. “Peace talks are underway, which is a good thing, but at the same time we must ensure that, while they take place and without knowing when they will end, Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to continue the fight”, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
Car registrations
New car registrations saw a significant increase of 36% last month compared to the same period of 2024, according to the Romanian Carmakers Association. First place in the ranking is held by domestic producer Dacia, followed at a considerable distance by Toyota and Skoda. In total, however, new car registrations in the first 11 months of this year were slightly down, by about 1% compared to the same period last year, exceeding 135,000 units. By contrast, second-hand cars recorded a notable increase of over 10%, with 30,000 more units registered in the first 11 months compared to the same period of 2024.
Water crisis in southern Romania
Over 100,000 people in 13 towns and villages in southern Romania have no tap water. The activity of several medical and educational institutions in the area has been severely affected, while a power plant that provides 10% of the country’s electricity production has shut down. The reason is tied to hydrotechnical works at the local dam and heavy rains in recent days, which made water treatment impossible. Authorities estimate the situation could return to normal at the beginning of next week. Until then, residents are supplied with household water in tankers and bottled water for drinking, classes have moved online and hospitals are no longer admitting patients. Medical units in Bucharest are prepared to take in patients from the affected areas. Meanwhile, inspections and checks are being carried out to establish who is responsible.
Agreement on phasing out Russian gas imports
The European Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to gradually eliminate imports of Russian gas by 2027, the BBC reports, recalling that Russia has financed its campaign in Ukraine through fossil fuel exports, while European countries have remained a major market despite significantly reducing dependence on Russian energy. The European Council said that the agreement aims to end reliance on Russian energy, which the EU started reducing in 2022, once Russia invaded Ukraine. Prior to the invasion, Russia supplied 45% of the EU’s gas imports, a share that has now dropped to about 12%. Among the European countries still importing Russian gas are France, Belgium and Hungary, the BBC further notes.
A new edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair opens in Bucharest
The 32nd edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, opened today at noon in Bucharest. Until Sunday evening, over 180 participants will be exhibiting their products, including all the country’s prestigious publishing houses, distributors of Romanian and foreign books, university presses and higher education institutions, as well as music distributors. Public access is free of charge.
Romania at the 2025 Handball World Championships
Romania’s national handball team is today taking on Hungary in the first match of the main group stage at the World Championship hosted by the Netherlands and Germany. On Friday, the team will play Senegal, and on Sunday they will face Switzerland. Romania entered this stage of the competition with 2 points, after victories against Croatia and Japan and a defeat to Denmark. The top two teams in the main group qualify for the quarterfinals. Romania has participated in every edition of the Women’s Handball World Championship. (VP)
