'I want Romania to maintain its pro-Western direction,' presidential hopeful Dan says

Euronews

09-05-2025

George Simion is a self-described Euro-realist with differing views on Ukraine. Yet he's not fallen to any kind of anti-Ukrainian sentiment, he says. It's patriotism and protecting the interests of the Romanian minority living there, plain and simple.
And to prove that point, in his mind there is no doubt over who's to blame for the war in Ukraine, or who can be the peacemaker.
"Our position towards the Russian war is very clear. It's a Russian war against Ukraine, against all international treaties, and our hopes and prayers go towards a peaceful solution of the Trump administration in this region because escalating the conflict is not the answer," Simion explained in a joint interview with Euronews and Euronews Romania.
"Our problems with Ukraine is not about hatred, about opposing something. It's about Ukrainians who must respect international treaties and the rights of national minorities," Simion said.
"We have half a million Romanian speakers in Ukraine, and they don't have the right to school and to church."
Simion still has a standing ban on entry to Ukraine, as well as neighbouring Moldova, however. Yet, he is confident the bans will get lifted once he enters office.
"Probably after I win on 19 May, these false interdictions will disappear because it is in Chisinau and Kyiv's interest to work with us. I want to work with them on several topics and I want to have good neighbourly relations," he said.
When asked whether Romania will continue to support Ukraine, defending itself from Russia's all-out war, now in its fourth year, or if Bucharest will put that on hold, Simion was clear.
"This is not an obligation so far as I know, and I will not help Ukraine until Ukraine manages to respect the right of the Romanians living in the sovereign territory of Ukraine," he said.
Does that mean Romania would withdraw its support? Simion said yes.
"I said it numerous times. The solution is a ceasefire and peace negotiation, de-escalating the conflict and we must follow the interests of the Romanian nation, not of other nations that are not part of the European Union and of NATO. And NATO is a defensive alliance," he pointed out.
Yet Romania's future is closely tied to that of the EU in Simion's views, while there's no chance his country would ever leave NATO under his leadership, he emphasised.
"For us, being a member of NATO is vital. We sacrificed a lot for being admitted to NATO. We invested a lot, and our defence spending is quite large."
"So we want to be, along with Poland and the Baltic states, the eastern flank of NATO, and we want to invest more in our defence spending. We want a NATO led by the United States," he added.
Simion has emerged as the frontrunner for Romania's next president, securing 40.5% of the votes in the repeat's first round held last Sunday.
Just two days after his victory, in an interview before the Euronews Romania debate, Simion was optimistic about his chances — and very vocal about his policies.
He's neither a Eurosceptic nor a pro-Russian politician, and he's tired of the relentless name-calling, especially from abroad, he pointed out.
"I am a Euro-realist," Simion told Euronews. "We want a Europe of nations, and I am the person who fought the most before entering politics against Russian propaganda."
His opponent in the second round, Nicușor Dan, who received 21% of the vote on Sunday, is a staunch pro-Ukraine ally.
Both candidates participated in a debate, organised by Euronews Romania Thursday night, in which Ukraine was one of the key topics of discussion.
Mathematician and Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan has remained steadfast in his support of a pro-Western policy, despite the threat emanating from Russia.
Highlighting his beliefs, Dan is confidently pro-European, though he is not turning his back on good relations with US President Donald Trump's administration in Washington.
"I want Romania to maintain its pro-Western direction," Dan said in a joint interview with Euronews and Euronews Romania, "which means pro-European, for Romania to be active in the European Union."
"On the other hand, I want to preserve the strategic partnership Romania has with the United States, which is very important, especially in the security area."
Asked about Trump himself, Dan underlined pragmatism in Romania's approach with his administration.
"Romania has a strategic partnership with the US that I want to see continued and expanded. I would like a greater presence of American companies in Romania," he pointed out.
"And I would obviously like a retention of American troops in Romania, which is an additional security guarantee for Romania."
The biggest question hanging over the election, though, is what has led to Simion's meteoric rise on the right, an event that saw the first attempt at the election cancelled because of alleged irregularities in the first round.
"It is a failure of the traditional political class, one that was exploited by those who shouted louder, who had stronger, more populist messages," Dan says of his opponent's success.
"Romania has a big problem, which is corruption. This is the reason why the doubling of GDP in the last 10 years has not been reflected in the living conditions of ordinary people," Dan said.
"Romania has a problem with the functioning of the state apparatus that people, again, see very well. But on the other hand, Romania has the resources to correct all these things and transfer the economy to prosperity."
The Bucharest mayor and his nationalist opponent offered sharply differing attitudes on support for Ukraine in their first television debate, hosted by Euronews Romania.
In the interview conducted prior to the debate, Dan said he wanted to remain aligned with Western partners, more importantly, from Western Europe, as he explains it is about the "security of Romania and the Republic of Moldova at stake."
"In the event that I am president, I will campaign for this within the European structures," Dan said.
Dan has an uphill battle receiving 21% of the vote on Sunday compared to 41% from Simion. The second round will take place on 18 May, with the future direction of Western alliances at stake.
Domestically, Dan will look to stabilise Romania financially, with a first quarter deficit of 2.3%. "That means a prediction of a 9% deficit per year, which is not healthy at all, the target being 7%."
"This is the first thing that needs to be done, limit certain expenses, see what are the obstacles to attracting European funds, very high pressure on big tax evasion and also on the functioning of state-owned companies, on the management of state-owned companies," Dan concluded.
Friedrich Merz, the new federal chancellor of Germany, brought an unambiguous message to his first visit to Brussels since taking office.
"It cannot become the rule that we go into debt at the EU level," he declared.
In separate press conferences with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and António Costa, the president of the European Council, the German leader left no doubt as to his view on the issuance of debt shared by the 27 member states, as the bloc did in 2020 to set up the €750-billion COVID recovery fund.
Since that groundbreaking experience, a growing group of countries has raised the idea of repeating the model to raise money for the myriad of challenges facing Europe today, including the gradual loss of competitiveness, the fight against climate change, the phase-out of Russian energy fuels and, more recently, the ramp-up of military spending.
In early March, von der Leyen unveiled the "Readiness 2030" plan to invest up to €800 billion in rearming the EU and building up deterrence. The plan involves €150 billion in low-interest loans, which will be repaid only by the member states that request them. The rest of the money is meant to be raised through the temporary relaxation of fiscal rules and new initiatives with the private sector.
On Friday, Merz defended the need to resort to the financial markets to boost military expenditure but warned against extending the approach to other policy areas. Before taking office, the conservative leader spearheaded a constitutional amendment to exempt defence and security spending above 1% of GDP from the so-called "debt brake" in Germany.
"We're facing crises and challenges across the world that are becoming more permanent, and that cannot be used as a basis for permanent common European debt," the chancellor said, speaking next to Costa.
Later, with von der Leyen, he echoed his earlier message.
"There can be exceptional circumstances, such as during the COVID pandemic. And another situation we currently find ourselves in is stocking up our defence capabilities," he said. "But it should remain an exception for the European Union to go into debt."
Merz also raised concerns about the burden that continued public spending would put on member states, some of which already exceed the 100% debt-to-GDP ratio.
"I wonder to what extent the refinancing, not just of the debt but also the interest rates, is going to be possible. We cannot go into never-ending spirals of debt," he said.
"What we need to do is look for joint solutions, but it's not just a question of money. It's also a question of efficiency," he added, calling for regulatory simplification, standardisation and economies of scale as alternative methods.
The debate around debt will begin at full throttle when the Commission unveils its proposal for the EU budget 2028-2032, which will introduce a brand-new envelope to pay back the accumulated debt from the COVID recovery fund. Repayments are estimated to be sizeable, ranging from €13 billion to €15 billion per year until 2058.
The Commission's presentation, expected before the end of this year, will trigger a protracted, complex and likely explosive debate among member states.
Spain, for example, has tabled an ambitious proposal to increase the bloc's budget from the current €1.2 trillion to €2 trillion, using common debt as a tool. Meanwhile, the Baltic states, Poland and Greece have called for grants to finance defence spending. Unlike loans devised by von der Leyen, such grants would be paid back collectively.
Finland and Denmark, two traditionally frugal nations, have switched gears to embrace a more flexible position, arguing Russia's aggressive posturing merits a new way of thinking. By contrast, the Netherlands insists on its long-standing red line: no more common debt.
Squaring the circle will only be possible once Germany and France, the EU's largest economies, arrive at common ground. Paris has often called for innovative solutions to the EU budget, even as it struggles to curb its ballooning debt levels.
"It's going to be a difficult discussion. There will be differences of opinion," Merz admitted. "There's not always agreement between Germany and France, but we're sitting down and talking about these topics."
Merz's visit to Brussels coincided with Europe Day.