March 31, 2025

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 31.03.2025, 13:55

NAVY As of today the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanţa is hosting “Sea Shield 25,” the largest multi-national training exercise organised this year by the Romanian Navy. Roughly 2,300 Romanian and foreign military personnel from 11 states are taking part in the drills, which also involve 33 ships, 9 fast boats, 14 aircraft and 90 vehicles. “Sea Shield 25” primarily aims to enhance the interoperability of the naval forces of allied and partner countries. Until April 11, combat sequences will be carried out in all action environments: sea, river, lagoon, underwater, land and air. The coordination and response capacities of the participating forces in highly complex scenarios will be tested and improved.

EU The European Parliament convenes in Strasbourg today for a new plenary session. The topics that MEPs will discuss until April 3 include the EU’s foreign and security policies for this year and plans to improve safety and preparedness. They will vote on two draft reports calling on the European Union to invest more in its defence sector and to increase its military and political support for Ukraine. MEPs will also discuss new steps against drug trafficking, as well as a new agenda to fight terrorism. On Tuesday, they will vote on a new Romanian member of the European Court of Auditors. Lucian Romaşcanu, nominated by the Romanian government, is expected to take office on July 1.

GOLD The price of gold reached a new all-time high last week. In recent years more and more Romanians have decided to invest in this precious metal, instead of other financial instruments. Last year alone, approximately 900 kilogrammes of gold were sold to Romanian customers, almost double the amount reported five years ago. Among the best-selling products at the moment are 100-gram bars, sold at prices ranging from EUR 8,000 to 10,000. According to the advisor to the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Adrian Vasilescu, there are 100 tonnes of gold in the central bank’s reserve, whose role is to preserve high confidence in the Romanian State.

PARLIAMENT The Romanian Senate is today discussing and voting on a simple motion against the minister of energy, Sebastian Burduja. The document was signed by Senators from the opposition parties AUR (the Alliance for the Union of Romanians), S.O.S. Romania and the Party of Young People (POT). They say the energy sector, critical for any country, is too big a hat for minister Burduja, and are calling for his resignation. Sebastian Burduja announced he will come to Parliament and present concrete figures and projects signed and completed during his term in office. He says he will carry on projects to ensure Romania’s security and competitiveness. On the other hand, on Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies will vote on a simple motion against the interior minister Cătălin Predoiu. AUR members want him to step down and argue that he has turned the Romanian Police into a political police institution, with citizens no longer protected, but intimidated and silenced instead. Minister Predoiu promised he would respond with arguments to all the accusations against him.

FRANCE The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty today in a public funds embezzlement case. The court found damages of EUR 2.9 million embezzled from European Parliament funds to the benefit of the National Front party, used mainly for fictitious employments between 2004 and 2016. So far in the trial, the court has found Marine Le Pen alone guilty of embezzling EUR 474,000, most of which was used to pay the salaries of her bodyguard and her former parliamentary assistant.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian won the WTA 125 tournament in Puerto Vallarta (Mexico), with USD 115,000 in total prize money. She defeated the Czech Linda Fruhvirtova 7-5, 6-4 in the final on Sunday. For Jaqueline Cristian, it was the first title in her career, after 3 WTA 250 finals. The Romanian player also returned to her best WTA ranking on Monday, no. 57, which she had first reached in July 2024. (AMP)