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Romanian president could nominate a prime minister this week
By Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday he could nominate a prime minister this week provided pro-European parties reach an agreement on measures needed to lower the European Union's highest budget deficit and prevent a ratings downgrade. Centrist Dan, who won a divisive presidential vote in May that saw the far right gain ground, must form a ruling majority that has until the end of June to approve deficit cutting measures to avoid a downgrade to below investment grade. The European Commission, ratings agencies and analysts have said Romania cannot reduce its shortfall over seven years to the EU's 3% threshold as agreed without hiking taxes, but Dan and the four pro-European parties have proved reluctant to enforce unpopular measures, focusing instead on cuts to state spending. "There is a hierarchy of priorities, first cutting useless state spending, then merging some institutions, rescheduling some investments to 2026 and lastly possible tax hikes," Dan said during a visit to neighbouring Moldova. "I hope we will reach to the tax side as least as possible." Dan said the parties had identified a list of 60-80 possible measures, but had yet to agree on any. The president, who has a semi-executive role, added that pending the talks he could nominate a PM this week. Two sources told Reuters ratings agencies had told a London panel in May they were ready to downgrade Romania from the last rung of investment grade unless they saw convincing measures including tax hikes. The next rating review is in August. Earlier this month the European Commission opened the possibility of freezing some EU funds for Romania next year. 'SOLID PLAN' NEEDED Brussels, ratings agencies and the IMF have said hikes to value added tax or changes to Romania's flat 10% tax on income would be the most effective. "It needs to be a solid plan, two big measures that everyone can price are better than 50 that nobody can evaluate," one of the London sources said. "How can anyone trust you that you'll do what's needed in the 7-year adjustment plan?" Claudiu Nasui, a lawmaker from the centre-right Save Romania Union, one of four pro-EU parties engaged in talks, is a strong proponent of state spending cuts inspired by Argentinian President Javier Milei. He told Reuters that he had identified 34 billion lei ($7.73 billion) worth of cuts that could be made in the second half of the year without cutting healthcare, education and defence. However, they included cutting state-funded investment schemes that were easier to tap than EU funds with little oversight, a political instrument for mayors that parties were unlikely to approve cutting. "Any measure to cut the deficit will make parties unpopular, spending cuts or tax hikes, you just need political will," Nasui said. "I often look at a street trash bin outside my office, there are always people rummaging in it. Hiking taxes will not hit us, but it will hit those poor people." ($1 = 4.3977 lei)
The Star
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Romanian officials reroute flooded stream away from Praid salt mine
A drone view shows the Corund river flooding portions of the Praid salt mine and sink holes that have formed, near the village of Praid, Harghita, Romania, June 2, 2025. Inquam Photos/Alex Nicodim via REUTERS BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romanian officials were rerouting a stream in central Romania to prevent further flooding of the Praid salt mine, one of Europe's largest salt reserves and a crucial tourist attraction, after parts of its floor caved in. Authorities evacuated 45 households near the mine areas at risk of collapse after the worst floods in 30 years in the central Romanian county of Harghita have swollen the nearby stream. While part of the mine has been producing salt, with an annual production capacity of around 70,000-100,000 metric tons, its huge galleries and medical centre attract half a million tourists each year. On Monday, the government approved support schemes worth 300 million lei ($67.82 million) for immediate help to the state-owned mine as well as up to 200 local companies that will be affected from the loss of tourism. European experts were also expected on site to assess potential solutions to save the mine. ($1 = 4.4234 lei) (Reporting by Luiza Ilie, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump-admirer Simion hopes voter anger will win him Romania presidency
By Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Eurosceptic hard-right lawmaker George Simion could be elected Romania's president on Sunday, riding a wave of popular anger over living costs, corruption and the cancellation of a vote last year that another far-right contender had looked set to win. Simion decisively swept the first round of the presidential election re-run on May 4 in a ballot that is seen as a test of the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union. Simion, 38, has been ahead in most opinion polls ahead of the run-off against centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, though the most recent survey this week put them neck-and-neck. The president has considerable powers in Romania - being the person in charge of the defence council that decides on military aid. The president also has oversight over foreign policy, with the power to veto EU votes that require unanimity among member states. Simion opposes military aid to Ukraine, is critical of the EU leadership and supportive of U.S. President Donald Trump. A win for Simion in Romania, an EU and NATO member, would risk isolating the country abroad, eroding private investment and destabilising NATO's eastern flank, political analysts say. He is campaigning on a "Romania first" ticket, advocating conservative policies and stoking voter anger over high living costs and perceived social immorality that he blames on mainstream centre-left and centre-right politicians and Western elites. "I believe that just as MAGA won power in the United States, so too the Make Europe Great Again movement will have a majority in European institutions," Simion, said during a conference before the first election round. "I do not doubt that anywhere in the free world the wind is that of change and of returning to common sense. The 'woke' madness has gone too far." Simion's six-year-old Alliance for Uniting Romanians has grown from a fringe anti-vaccination group during the COVID pandemic to become Romania's second-largest party. As a lawmaker, Simion has a history of physical and verbal violence, clashing with other politicians. He has said he regrets his behavior and that he has grown into a statesman. Simion used to belong to a soccer "ultra" group - organized fan groups often known for violence - and spent years advocating for the unification with neighbouring Moldova before entering politics. If elected, Simion would get to appoint a new prime minister who would negotiate a new parliamentary majority, likely centered around Simion's party. Parliament is almost evenly split between centre-right, centre-left and hard-right parties. CANCELLED VOTE Romania had looked poised to swing towards Moscow after far-right newcomer Calin Georgescu topped the first round of voting in the presidential election last November. But the country's top court cancelled the election because of suspicions of Russian meddling. Moscow denied the allegations. Simion came fourth in the first round and called the subsequent cancellation a coup, petitioned courts and staged protests. He became Georgescu's de facto replacement. He is under criminal investigation on suspicion of inciting violence after saying the election authorities who banned Georgescu should be skinned, a statement he later said he did not mean. "Simion represents total opposition to the political, social, institutional, economic system dominated by mainstream parties," said Sergiu Miscoiu, a political science professor at Babes-Bolyai University. "His election will send a very bad signal about the direction Eastern Europe is headed to. It will be good news for Russia, in that it destabilises the region by adding one more division on the eastern flank." Simion has suggested his choice for prime minister could be Georgescu, who favours nationalizations and preferential treatment for Romanian-owned companies. UKRAINE STANCE During a televised debate last week Simion said Romania should be compensated for the aid it has provided to neighbouring Ukraine as Kyiv defends itself against Russia. He suggested he would veto Brussels military aid to Ukraine while saying Europe should depend on NATO for its own defence. While Simion has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, he has minimized the threat Russia poses to NATO's eastern flank and criticised European plans to prepare for a potential attack as EU governments seek to be less reliant on the United States for their security. Simion has also said Romania should buy back the controlling stake in oil and gas group OMV Petrom from Austria's OMV. Petrom and state gas producer Romgaz are working on an offshore gas project in the Black Sea which will make it a net exporter at a time the EU is weaning itself off Russian gas. He has supported restoring Romania's pre-World War Two borders, which include areas now in Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine, leading him to be declared persona non grata in the latter two countries.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Romanian centrist presidency candidate wants to spend more on defence, keep backing Ukraine
By Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A pro-European presidential contender in Romania's May 4 election has said defence spending should rise to 3.5% of GDP by 2030 from 2.5% and argued that maintaining support for Ukraine in its war with Russia is essential for Romania's security. Nicusor Dan, the 55-year-old two-term mayor of Bucharest, is an independent running neck-and-neck with ruling coalition centrist Crin Antonescu and nationalist former prime minister Victor Ponta in a bid to reach a runoff on May 18, alongside the hard-right frontrunner George Simion. Dan is running on an anti-corruption platform, something also likely to find favour with European Union and NATO allies as Romania assumes growing importance as a bulwark against Russian influence on the border with Ukraine and Moldova, another state under pressure from Moscow. "I want to underline that the war in Ukraine is essential for the security of Romania and Moldova," Dan told Reuters in an interview. "I appreciate what the Romanian state has done so far, the direction ... was correct and must continue." The election is being closely watched abroad after being cancelled in December, before the runoff, amid accusations of Russian meddling, which Moscow denies. The first round had been won by a far-right pro-Russia newcomer, Calin Georgescu, who has since been banned from running again as he faces a criminal investigation over his support for fascist groupings and campaign funding issues. Dan said the Constitutional Court decision to cancel the election, which has been criticised by members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, had been correct. Concerns are growing that the U.S. is set to cut troop numbers across Europe, demanding that European countries take more of the burden of maintaining the NATO alliance's security umbrella. Romania has donated a Patriot air defence battery to Kyiv, is training Ukrainian fighter pilots and has enabled the export of roughly 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta since the war began in 2022. Around 1,700 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Romania, most at the Kogalniceanu air base on the Black Sea, into which Bucharest is investing 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) to turn it into one of NATO's biggest European bases. Dan said Romania could use the base as a lever to encourage the U.S. to maintain its presence: "That American troops are using the Kogalniceanu air base is an advantage for them for the influence they want to have in the Middle East," Dan said. "Beyond that, everything depends on technical discussions. If Romania can do something (to keep the U.S. troops) we want to do that." He also said Romania should continue to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports, but must consult with Romanian producers so they were not disadvantaged. ($1 = 0.8788 euros)
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Presidential hopeful Ponta says will end Ukrainian grain exports via Romania
By Luiza Ilie BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian presidential candidate Victor Ponta said on Monday he would stop Ukrainian grain exports via the country's Black Sea ports if elected to protect local farmer, but pledged to defend neighbouring Moldova in case of a Russian attack. Romania, a European Union and NATO member state, will hold a re-run of a presidential election in May, after a December vote was cancelled over accusations of Russian meddling, which Moscow denies. Bucharest's role in NATO and the EU, as well as its aid to neighbouring Ukraine are in the spotlight. Romania's president has a semi-executive role, which includes chairing the council that decides on military aid and defence spending, and can veto European Union votes that require unanimity. Ponta, 52, is a former leftist prime minister whose politics have turned ultranationalist. According to opinion polls, he has a chance of making it into the run-off vote, alongside hard right opposition leader George Simion, the replacement candidate for the banned far-right frontrunner in the cancelled vote. Romania has helped to export roughly 29 million tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta in the three years since Moscow's invasion, becoming Ukraine's main alternative route out. "There has been a policy of favouring Ukrainian grain in terms of access to port facilities in recent years, at the detriment of Romanian grain, and Romanian farmers were greatly affected by it," Ponta told Reuters in an interview. He said he would uphold other measures already in effect to support Ukraine, including the transit of weapons and the training of Ukrainian pilots. SUPPORTS 'RADICAL' US CHANGES Ponta, who quit as prime minister in 2015 after a deadly nightclub fire, and whose first presidential bid in 2014 was thwarted by his government's bureaucratic hurdles to voting by Romanians abroad, said he backs what he calls "radical change" taking place in the United States. The cancellation of December's election has placed Romania at the centre of a dispute between Europe and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration over free speech and suppressing political opponents. "We must just be pragmatic and understand that in Washington things have changed fundamentally, and ... that we can have a relationship based on different criteria: pragmatism, common interest and military collaboration," Ponta said. "Thank God I play golf, and thank God I don't beat President Trump at it. He beats me, barely, but he beats me." He said he would support increasing Romanian defence spending to over 3% of economic output in 2026, from a planned 2.5% this year, and said he would focus on building up the flagship Mihail Kogalniceanu military air base, which hosts American troops. Ponta said his "Romania first" approach in the EU and NATO would focus on supporting EU accession for Moldova and the Western Balkans, as well as focusing on strategic partnerships with Poland and Turkey, the main military power in the Black Sea. "I believe Romania can support Moldova in case of aggression," he said. "Realistically, Romania cannot support another country, be it Ukraine or another. But it has the capacity to do that for Moldova." Ponta also said he did not support the introduction of civil unions for same sex couples.
