January 20, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 20.01.2025, 20:14

White House. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, congratulated, on Monday, his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on his inauguration, also stressing the need for a strong and vibrant transatlantic connection. The return of President Donald Trump to the White House is a historic moment, which will have positive echoes as far as Romania is concerned, the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, said, after the US President-elect took the oath on Monday. Marcel Ciolacu stated, in a message posted on his Facebook page, that, in the two telephone conversations he had with President Trump, one in Bucharest and one in Budapest, together with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, he made sure that Romania was on the agenda of the new American president, both in terms of security and major investments. The President and Vice President of the USA – Donald Trump and J.D. Vance respectively – were sworn in before a crowd of former presidents, elected officials and family members gathered at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Trump stated that, in the first hours of his presidency, he will sign almost 100 so-called “executive orders”. The measures announced by Donald Trump include the building of an anti-missile shield to protect the United States, the relaxation of environmental protection regulations and boosting oil extraction.

Government. Monday’s meeting of the leaders of the PSD-PNL-UDMR governing coalition, in which the internal polls regarding Romanians’ voting intentions in the May presidential elections were to be analyzed, was postponed. The leaders of the three parties were supposed to make a decision regarding a common candidate for the presidential elections, after several politicians were tested, including the former Liberal president Crin Antonescu and the leaders of PSD and PNL. This week, the Liberals and the Social-Democrats should, decided upon a joint candidacy for the presidential elections, given that the Social Democrats have not yet validated Crin Antonescu’s candidacy. The PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu called a meeting of the party’s leadership for Tuesday to discuss the joint candidacy with the Liberals.

Elections. As of Monday, until March 20, Romanians domiciled or residing abroad who wish to vote in the presidential elections in May by mail, can register online on the portal www.votstrainatate.ro. The Permanent Electoral Authority has also announced that, for those interested in registering as voters in a diaspora station, the deadline is March 4. We recall that the Government has recently decided that voting outside the country should take place from Friday to Sunday, May 4, and on the last day the polling stations should close at 21.00 local time in Romania. The presidential elections were annulled at the end of last year by the Constitutional Court.

Cooperation. The Romanian and Hungarian Foreign Ministers, Emil Hurezeanu and Péter Szijjártó, met on Monday in Bucharest, on the occasion of the Hungarian dignitary’s participation in an international conference in the field of energy. The two agreed on the development of economic cooperation through the implementation of joint projects in areas such as infrastructure, transport and energy. The Romanian Foreign Minister emphasized the need to provide more substance to the Romanian-Hungarian strategic partnership, a fundamental element of bilateral cooperation, and highlighted the concerns regarding the security challenges generated by the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, as well as their multiple implications, reiterating Romania’s consistent stand. Emil Hurezeanu also stressed Romania’s support for Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly Romanian-speaking), including in the field of energy.

Hostages. The next release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian Hamas terrorists and transferred to the Gaza Strip will take place next Saturday, when four persons are to be freed – Radio Romania correspondent in Israel says. Three Israeli female hostages were released on Sunday after 15 months of captivity since the Hamas terrorist attack, which led to the war in Gaza. One of the hostages also has Romanian citizenship and another one is of Romanian descent. Authorities in Bucharest hail the release of the first round of hostages upon the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Fair. Romania is participating this week in the ”Green Week” exhibition in Berlin, the Agriculture Ministry in Bucharest says. Until January 26, the Romanian stand will be offering samples of Romanian natural food, such as cheese, meat, honey, dairy and bakery products, several types of brandy, wine and cold-pressed oil registered or under registration with European quality systems. Last year, the Green Week event in Berlin was visited by 300 thousand people. (MI)