March 13, 2025 UPDATE 2

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Newsroom, 13.03.2025, 20:01

Support – Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu reiterated, at a working meeting with EU ambassadors in Bucharest, Romania’s support for the neighboring Ukraine and for the consolidation of the European Union’s security and defense policy. At the same time, Hurezeanu emphasized the importance of a solid transatlantic partnership, vital for European security and prosperity. The meeting in Bucharest was held in the context of Poland holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Candidacy – The president of the opposition, pro-European party Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, has submitted her application to run in the May presidential election. Also on Thursday, the leader of the populist, ultranationalist opposition party S.O.S. Romania, Diana Şoşoacă, registered in the May presidential race. Şoşoacă also ran in last year’s presidential race, but the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) rejected her candidacy. Elena Lasconi qualified for the final round of the presidential race, along with the pro-Russian extremist Calin Georgescu, but the CCR cancelled the vote due to the flaws in the electoral process which favored Georgescu. The Court definitively rejected Georgescu’s candidacy for the upcoming election. Following this decision, the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, and the leader of the populist ultranationalist Party of Young People (POT), Ana Maria Gavrilă, who supported Georgescu, announced that they would submit their candidacies, with one of them withdrawing after their validation. The former Social Democratic (PSD) leader and former Prime Minister Victor Ponta also entered the competition. Following this move, the PSD leadership excluded him from the party. The government coalition (PSD – PNL – UDMR) has a common candidate, the former liberal leader Crin Antonescu. He and the current Bucharest mayor, Nicusor Dan, are the only political competitors accepted, so far, by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) and validated by the CCR. The deadline for registering candidacies at the Central Electoral Bureau is March 15.

ID – The first Romanian electronic identity cards will be issued in a week in Cluj County (northwest), and in the next two months, this type of document will be available throughout the country, the Interior Ministry (MAI) announced. The electronic identity card will have a standard size, similar to bank cards. In printed format, it will contain the name, surname, citizenship, date of birth, gender, a photo and the personal identification number (CNP), as well as the handwritten signature. The electronic format will also include other information, such as the parents’ first names, domicile, the prints of two fingers of the ID holder and digital certificates for authentication or electronic signature. According to the MAI, the electronic identity card will contain advanced security elements which ensure protection against forgery and identity theft. In Romania, the electronic identity card is not mandatory, and those who do not want it, can request simple identity cards, without a microchip.

Deficit – Romania’s trade deficit increased by 38% in January, compared to the same period last year, data from the National Institute of Statistics shows. In 2024, Romania exported goods worth 6.5 billion Euros and imported goods worth 11.4 billion Euros. Romania continues to have a major deficit, especially in relations with China, Germany and Poland, while recording surpluses with the UK, the Republic of Moldova and the US, although at smaller volumes. A vulnerable sector remains trade in agricultural and food products, where Romania mainly exports raw materials and imports finished products. To reduce the trade deficit, of about 5 billion Euros, experts recommend a strategy focused on the export of value-added products and more efficient use of statistical data for better-founded economic decisions.

Pensions – Pensioners in Romania whose pension incomes do not exceed 2,574 lei (517 Euros) will receive financial support of 800 lei (160 Euros). The decision, approved on Thursday by the Romanian Government, stipulates that the amount will be granted in two equal installments of 400 lei (80 Euros) in April and December respectively. In the case of people whose pension rights are established after April 1, the financial aid will be granted in December and will amount to 400 lei (80 Euros). The support targets Romanian pensioners residing in the country or abroad. According to official data, almost 2.7 million pensioners have incomes lower than or equal to 2,574 lei (517 Euros), and of these, over 86,000 are in the Diaspora. Also on Thursday, the executive amended, by emergency ordinance, the Statute of Forestry Personnel. Thus, the bonuses equivalent to at least 5 salaries for the last month of activity were eliminated, which, in the case of the heads of the National Forestry Agency, amounted to 10 salaries. Romsilva employees are contesting the changes adopted by the Government. Trade union representatives criticize a 25% reduction in foresters’ income and announce a protest in Bucharest next week. (LS)