The Week in Review
The main stories in Romania this past week.
Daniela Budu, 08.03.2025, 14:00
Romania’s interim president attends European Council in Brussels
Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan on Thursday in Brussels called for an increased role from Europe in maintaining peace on the continent, supporting Europe and boosting defence spending. He attended an extraordinary meeting of the European Council where EU heads of state and government promised to support Ukraine in the context of the foreign policy pursued by the US president Donald Trump and to spend more on defence. The EU worked out a defence plan agreed by the leaders of the member states and whose priority is strengthening defence on the eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. EU states will have at their disposal a fund of 150 billion euros for defence spending. Here’s Ilie Bolojan speaking about this plan:
“Most certainly, most of this endowment, of these investments, will be focused in this area, and with respect to production, to the consortia, this will be spread out across the entire European Union. I believe this is also an opportunity for our defence industry, for these products to be manufactured in factories in Romania, creating jobs.”
Romania said it will not send troops to Ukraine, but is willing to become a regional defence centre providing logistics and support for the troops deployed by other states. Ilie Bolojan:
“Romania’s presence will be necessary in terms of planning and elements that have to do with the use of our infrastructure, military bases, for example, or other elements of defence infrastructure like ports and airports.”
After the summit in Brussels, Ilie Bolojan said Romania cannot double its military spending from one year to the next and recalled that last year, it spent more than 2.2% of GDP on defence, while the European average was 1.9%.
Romania and NATO’ eastern flank
Romanian interim president Ilie Bolojan on Monday had a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, saying the North Atlantic Alliance is the main guarantor of Romania’s security. He insisted on the importance of the transatlantic relationship and the American presence in Europe, which he views as essential for the security of the continent. Romania continues to contribute to the stability and security of NATO’s eastern flank alongside its partners and to support the consolidation of security in the Black Sea region, Ilie Bolojan emphasised. He added that Romania is once again ready to boost its investments in the defence sector. Referring to the situation in Ukraine, he spoke of the need for a fair and lasting peace and the importance of maintaining support for the neighbouring state. Mark Rutte thanked Romania for its contribution as an allied state and for being a member state that acts responsibly, being an important factor of security and stability in the Black Sea area and on the eastern flank.
Romania rejects Russian accusations
The authorities in Bucharest have categorically rejected the claims of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service that the European Union blackmailed Romania into blocking the candidacy of independent candidate Călin Georgescu in the presidential elections in May. Without providing any evidence, the Russian service claims that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asked the authorities in Bucharest to ban him from participating in the next election, warning that otherwise she would restrict Romania’s access to European funds. The Romanian Foreign Ministry qualifies the accusations of the Russian service as “ridiculous and completely unfounded” and says they are part of a hybrid campaign to undermine democracy and diminish trust in the authorities. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu considers the comments of a Russian secret service regarding decisions of the Romanian authorities intolerable. Meanwhile, Georgescu remains under judicial control for 60 days, after judges on Thursday rejected as unfounded his complaint against the measure in the case in which he is being investigated for several crimes. Prosecutors accuse Georgescu of plotting to destabilize Romania with the help of mercenaries led by Horațiu Potra, after the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election.
Treason case in Romania
The Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered the preventive arrest of two members of a group formed and developed on the model of a military structure, accused of treason and ties to Russian agents, as well as the placement of four other members under judicial control for 60 days. Radu Theodoru, a retired major general, aged 101, is also being investigated as a suspect in the case. According to DIICOT, the organized crime service, the group aimed to withdraw Romania from NATO, abolish the constitutional order, abolish parties, adopt a new constitution, and change the flag, anthem, and even the name of the country. Investigators also say that the group members requested support from officers at the Russian Embassy and had several contacts with agents of a foreign power, both in Romania and in Russia. In the meantime, the Romanian authorities declared the Russian military attaché in Bucharest and his deputy persona non grata. The Romanian Intelligence Service stated that the two had collected information from areas of interest, and supported the anti-constitutional actions of the six Romanians accused of treason. Furthermore, recently, the name of the deputy of the Russian military attaché appeared in the criminal file of the former presidential candidate, the pro-Russian extremist Călin Georgescu.
