November 30 – December 6, 2025

The headline-grabbing events of the past week.

Newsroom, 06.12.2025, 14:00

NATIONAL DAY. December 1, the National Day of Romania, was marked throughout the country with military and religious parades and ceremonies. An impressive celebration took place in Bucharest, where almost 3,000 soldiers and specialists from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service and the National Penitentiary Administration paraded through the Triumphal Arch Square, with modern technical means. Foreign soldiers from France, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the US, as well as from allied countries contributing to NATO structures on Romanian territory, also marched in the parade. In his message, delivered at the National Day reception, President Nicușor Dan advocated calm and balanced discussions on the problems that society has, in order to reach common points of view on which to build. Leaders from all over the world have sent congratulatory messages to the Romanian people. Romania’s National Day has been celebrated every year since 1990 on December 1 – the date on which, in 1918, the resolution of the Union of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș with Romania was adopted by the Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia.

MAGISTRATES’ PENSIONS. The Romanian government took responsibility in Parliament for the project regarding the special pensions of magistrates. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said that it corrects a social injustice, creates the premises for a sustainable pension system and responds to a commitment made by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The deadline has passed, and 231 million euros depend on it. The government hopes that, if the normative act enters into force, the European Comission will nevertheless unblock the funds. The project was negatively approved by the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM). The previous draft reform of magistrates’ pensions was rejected by the Constitutional Court because it did not have the CSM’s opinion, which is consultative but mandatory. The document stipulates that magistrates’ pensions cannot exceed 70% of the last net salary, and the retirement age will gradually increase to 65 years, with a 15-year transition period, calculated from January 1, 2026. Opposition MPs submitted dozens of amendments to this draft, but the executive did not accept any of them.

DIPLOMACY. Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan paid an official visit to Austria, at the invitation of Chancellor Christian Stocker. On his way to Vienna, he had a meeting in Budapest on Wednesday with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban. After the meeting, the Romanian official said that it was a pragmatic discussion about consolidating electrical interconnections. On Thursday, Ilie Bolojan was received in Vienna by Chancellor Christian Stocker. The strengthening of bilateral relations, both in political and diplomatic terms and especially in economic terms, were on the agenda of the discussions. The Chancellor said that Austria supports Romania’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Regarding the war in Ukraine, he said that Romania and Austria want a peace based on the rights of peoples and that the EU and Ukraine should be at the negotiating table. A long-term peace cannot be thought of without Ukraine and the EU countries agreeing to the solutions that are proposed, said, in turn, Ilie Bolojan. Regarding migration, Christian Stocker thanked the Prime Minister for Romania’s contribution to border protection and combating illegal migration. Austria is one of Romania’s most important economic partners. The value of Romanian-Austrian trade in goods exceeded 5.3 billion euros last year.

UKRAINE. More than two-thirds of NATO member states have pledged to provide weapons to Ukraine through the so-called “priority list of requirements”, which has so far received commitments worth 4 billion euros, the Alliance’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte, announced at the Brussels meeting of allied foreign ministers. The conclusion with which the North Atlantic Council ended, was that NATO will continue to support Ukraine militarily in the context in which there is no certainty about peace. Present at the meeting, Oana Țoiu, the Romanian Foreign Minister, also had separate meetings with her counterparts from the Black Sea, Turkey and Bulgaria. She said that financing for Ukraine must be continued, so that the country is not forced into a premature agreement. As for financial support for Ukraine, the European Commission presented the details of the loan for it, based on the seized liquidities of Russia. The plan will be put on the table of European leaders in two weeks, but Belgium, which is opposed, must be convinced. Most of the money is in Belgium – about 194 billion euros in June – and outside the EU, in Japan – about 50 billion dollars – but also in the US, the UK and Canada, where smaller amounts are found.

GAUDEAMUS. The 32nd edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, is taking place in Bucharest these days. Until Sunday, over 180 participants are exhibiting, offering readers more than 600 editorial events. Book launches and presentations, editorial projects, debates, meetings with writers and autograph sessions are taking place. Among those present are all the prestigious publishing houses in the country, Romanian and foreign book distribution agencies, university publishing houses and higher education institutions or music distributors. The honorary president of this year’s edition is the journalist, writer and foreign policy analyst Sabina Fati. (EE)