February 28, 2025
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 28.02.2025, 13:55
Motion. The Romanian Parliament is debating and voting today on the no-confidence motion filed by the populist and ultranationalist parties AUR, S.O.S. Romania and POT, against the PSD – PNL – UDMR coalition government, led by the Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu. The signatories of the document claim that the current Government is illegitimate and, although it has been in office for only two months, it is accumulating a shameful record of abuses and failures. In addition, they say, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has lost his credibility, because his image and that of some members of the Cabinet are allegedly compromised by his association with the ‘Nordis’ real estate scam, as a result of which numerous Romanians were harmed. The Save Romanian Union (pro-Western opposition) has announced that it will not vote on the motion, so as not to throw the country into chaos.
Prosecution. Prosecutors with the General Prosecutor’s Office are requesting the preventive arrest of mercenary Horaţiu Potra, a close associate of the former independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, Potra’s son and brother. 18 people accused in the same case have already been detained and will be presented to the Supreme Court today with a preventive arrest proposal. Potra left the country before the searches in which prosecutors found dozens of lethal weapons, gun loaders, grenades, launchers and machine guns at his and his relatives’ properties. Large sums of money, 3,300,000 dollars and 700,000 lei, as well as 24 kilograms of gold, were also discovered. Potra is accused of attempting to act against the constitutional order, public incitement and operations with pyrotechnic devises carried out without permission. Călin Georgescu, who was placed under judicial control by prosecutors from the General Prosecutor’s Office, is also accused of instigating actions against the constitutional order. Other charges brought against Georgescu include communicating false information, making false statements in an aggravated manner, initiating or establishing an organization with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character, joining or supporting, in any form, such a group and promoting, in public, the cult of persons guilty of committing crimes of genocide against humanity and war crimes, initiating or establishing an organization with an anti-Semitic character.
Dismissal. The Romanian Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, joined in plenary session today, have decided to dismiss the president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă. 267 parliamentarians voted in favor, 56 voted against, and 71 abstained. The legal committees of the two chambers had previously reported on the adoption of the request regarding Greblă’s dismissal. According to the request, “Mr. Toni Greblă, in March 2023, 2 days after being appointed to this position, established his monthly allowance in violation of the law, by referring to the level of the minimum gross salary in payment on the date of appointment (3,000 lei, equivalent to approximately 600 euros), although the allowances were frozen at the amount of 2,080 lei, the value of the amounts improperly collected for the years 2023 – 2024 being ascertained and established by audit of the Court of Accounts of Romania”. In 2024, although there was a headquarters contract concluded for the operation of the Central Electoral Bureau, Greblă moved the headquarters to another location, by concluding a new contract, further burdening the PEA budget and, implicitly, the state budget.
Energy. The energy price capping scheme will apply in Romania after the end of next month, when the current price compensation measures were due to expire. According to the emergency ordinance approved by the Government, for electricity, the capping will be extended by three months, until the end of June. In the meantime, the Ministry of Labor will develop a support mechanism, energy cards or vouchers that will later be granted to vulnerable people as support to cover costs. For natural gas, the maximum price will remain the same for another year, until March 31, 2026, because, the Minister of Energy explained, at the end of the current cold season, storage depots will reach a very low level, and their refilling will mean increased demand for gas, which will implicitly lead to price increases and much higher bills next winter for the population. More on this after the news.
Moldova. The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, will pay a working visit to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly Romanian-speaking) on Monday, three years after Chisinau submitted its application for EU membership. He will meet with pro-Western President Maia Sandu, according to a statement from the presidency in Chisinau. The Republic of Moldova submitted its application for membership in the EU on March 3, 2022. Less than a year later, the European Commission issued its opinion on the application for membership in the community bloc. In June 2024, accession negotiations were officially launched.
Tennis. Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea qualified on Thursday for the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Austin (Texas, USA), with 275,094 dollars in prize money, after defeating the Russian Diana Schnaider, the second seed, in 3 sets. In the quarterfinals, Cîrstea will meet the American McCartney Kessler, on Saturday. She was defeated in the round of 16 by Cristina Bucşa, a player born in Chişinău but representing Spain.
Rugby. On Sunday, March 2, the Romanian national team will meet Georgia away from home in the semi-finals of the 2025 Rugby Europe Championship. Both teams have already qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, following the group matches. The other semi-final of the competition will pit Portugal against Spain on Saturday. In the matches for 5th-8th places, the Netherlands will face Germany, and Belgium will take on Switzerland. The finals and ranking matches will take place between March 14-16. (MI)
