June 10, 2024
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 10.06.2024, 13:55
Local elections – The incumbent general mayor of Bucharest, the independent Nicuşor Dan, won a new mandate in Sunday’s local elections, obtaining almost 47% of the votes, according to the partial results. On second position, at a great distance, is the social-democratic candidate Gabriela Firea. In the General Council, the Social Democratic Party – PSD (in the governing coalition together with the National Liberal Party – PNL) and the United Right Alliance, which supported Nicusor Dan, are tied, with about 27% of the votes. PSD and PNL won, in this order, the most county councils. European Parliament elections were also held in Romania on Sunday, which were won by the joint list proposed by PSD and PNL. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR (sovereigntist, ultranationalist) is on 2nd position, at a big distance, followed by the United Right Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR. Romania will be represented by 33 MEPs.
European elections – The partial results of the European elections held between June 6-9 show that the first position is held by the European People’s Party group, which obtained 191 mandates, 15 more than in the last elections. The Social Democrats are in second position, with 135 mandates, which means a decrease of four mandates compared to 2019. Renew loses almost 20 mandates but keeps the third position. The two far-right Eurosceptic parties, the Conservatives and Reformists group, as well as the Identity and Democracy group, climb to fourth and fifth place. The Greens lose fourth position and fall to sixth, with 53 mandates, compared to the 71 they held following the 2019 elections, and the extreme left remains in seventh position with 35 mandates. The independents got 50 mandates, and the unaffiliated parties 45 mandates. According to these partial data and according to last night’s declarations of the political leaders, Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels reports, the future majority will be formed through the negotiation between the first three groups, just as happened in the past. Together, they hold a comfortable majority of 409 parliamentary mandates out of a total of 720, so the vote for the future European Commission should not pose any problems. The European People’s Party wants Ursula von der Leyen to get a second term as head of the Commission, for which only 361 votes are needed. The president of the European Commission has said that her centre-right alliance will act as “a bastion against extremes” in the European Parliament, following a surge in people’s support for nationalist parties. Far right and radical rightist parties won the elections in France, Austria and Italy and came second in Germany and the Netherlands. Following the results in France, President Emmanuel Macron decided to hold early elections in three weeks’ time.
Deficit – Romania’s trade balance deficit in the first four months of the year was just over 9.3 billion euros, 440 million Euros higher than the one recorded in the same period last year, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced on Monday. During the analyzed period, exports totaled almost 31.3 billion Euros, and imports over 40.6 billion Euros. According to INS, in the first four months of the year, important shares in the structure of exports and imports are held by machines and transport equipment, as well as by other manufactured products. The value of intra-EU27 exchanges of goods accounted for about 73% of both total exports and total imports.
Tech Week – Bucharest hosts between June 10-16 the eighth edition of Bucharest Tech Week, an emblematic event that transforms the city into the epicenter of technological innovation and where more than 25,000 technology enthusiasts are expected. With a focus on redefining the human experience through technology, the event promises to inspire industry professionals and enthusiasts alike, giving them the opportunity to discover the latest trends and innovations. Bucharest Tech Week maintains the same successful structure, the organizers announced: 5 days of Business Summits, followed by Tech Expo, the largest tech exhibition in Romania, dedicated to the public at large, held throughout the weekend. This year, the five business summits bring together over 50 local and international speakers, and over 60 partner companies respectively, that will bring to the attention of those present over 450 technology solutions dedicated to the business environment. Among the participants in the opening ceremony is Mircea Geoană, NATO Deputy Secretary General.
Summit – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, will participate on Tuesday, in Riga, in the Bucharest Format Summit 9 (B9), which he will co-chair alongside the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will also participate in the event. The meeting takes place one month before the NATO Anniversary Summit in Washington, D.C., which marks 75 years since the Alliance was founded. In Riga, the leaders will have the opportunity for an in-depth exchange of views on the major objectives and the main expected results for the Washington Summit, with focus on strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense posture on the Eastern Flank, as well as on intensifying support for Ukraine, writes a press release from the Romanian presidency. (LS)
