Latest news with #NicușorDan
Euronews
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Fact-checking claims NATO troops are preparing to attack Russia
A video circulating online falsely claims to show British tanks ammassing in the Estonian capital of Tallinn as part of a NATO plan to "attack" the Russian city of St Petersburg. One post sharing the claim on X has been seen over 800,000 times. It wrongly claims that "NATO has arrived in Estonia. British soldiers and tanks in Tallinn plan to attack Saint Petersburg." At the time of publication of this article, no community notes cautioning users of the false information was added to the post on the Elon Musk-owned platform. The same claim has been amplified across several platforms including Instagram and Facebook. Euroverify found that the footage in fact shows the British Army's Royal Dragoon Guards in Tallinn on 24 February 2025 as part of a parade to celebrate Estonia's Independence Day. Over 1,000 Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) and NATO allied troops took part in that annual military parade to mark the 107th anniversary of Estonia's independence. Vehicles from the United Kingdom, France and the United States were part of the annual procession. Euroverify identified the site of the footage in the centre of Tallinn, near the Estonian Drama Theatre. The site can be seen in the image above captured from Google's Street View. The same address was closed for traffic during the parade to allow for the passage of tanks. A closer look at the number plate of the tank seen in the video (DT16AA) corresponds to a tank pictured by the Estonian press agency ERR taken during the Independence Day procession. According to fact-checkers at Reuters, the tank was pictured in Estonia between May and December 2024, proving that they had not "just arrived" in the Baltic country as online users claim. We can conclude with certainty that the video does not show a military escalation in Tallinn, but rather a tank being loaded onto a vehicle following the procession in February. The video has been re-circulating in recent weeks, accompanied by unfounded claims of a military escalation, just as troops from seven allied countries, including the UK and France, joined military drills in Estonia. Those drills, codenamed Exercise Hedgehog, are part of NATO's efforts to improve the "interoperability and integration" of allied forces, according to the alliance. The X account responsible for the false claim has made similar unfounded allegations about an impending "siege of Saint Petersburg" and constantly shares anti-NATO, pro-Kremlin disinformation Open source intelligence experts have linked the account to the Matryoshka campaign, described as a "coordinated" operation by the French cyber agency. Romania's new president, Nicușor Dan, has been officially sworn in, ushering in a tentative close to the worst political crisis to grip the European Union country in decades after the annulment of the previous election but several challenges lie ahead. Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former mayor of Bucharest decisively won the 18 May runoff, beating his hard-right opponent George Simion, who later challenged the results in the Constitutional Court but was rejected last week. At the inauguration ceremony in a joint session of Parliament, Dan signed the constitutional oath. In a speech afterwards, he promised to tackle Romania's economic woes and to be a president "open to the voice of society." "The Romanian state needs a fundamental I invite you to continue to be involved with all the social force you have proven, to put positive pressure on the institutions of the Romanian state so that they can reform," he said. "I assure you that I will be a president who listens to the voice of society and who is a partner to that society." The May election rerun was held months after the Constitutional Court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Călin Georgescu led the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied. The court's unprecedented decision last year plunged Romania, which is an EU and NATO member, into a period of unprecedented political turmoil. The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. In the presidential runoff, Dan ran independently on an "Honest Romania" ticket, reaffirming Western ties, continued support for Ukraine and fiscal reforms. Addressing the economic challenges that lie ahead, Dan said that "put Romanian state is spending more than it can afford." "It is in the national interest for Romania to send a message of stability to financial markets. It is in the national interest to send a signal of openness and predictability to the investment environment," he said. Many observers viewed the election outcome as crucial to maintaining Romania's place within Western alliances, especially as the war continues in neighbouring Ukraine. At the same time, the continent scrambles to arm itself as the United States' commitment to European partners has waned under US President Donald Trump. As Dan begins his mandate, he faces the immediate challenge of nominating a prime minister who can garner the support necessary to form a government, a tall order in a country where a rejection of the political class led to the emergence of figures like Georgescu and Simion. Dan will also have to contend with a string of other crises, such as a large budget deficit, deep societal divisions exposed by the chaotic election cycle and the war that drags on next door. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, says that forming a new cabinet will be "a major test" that will indicate whether Dan is capable of mediating between the fragmented political parties. "Dan will face fierce resistance from the state apparatus and old politicians in his pursuit to start reforms," he told The Associated Press. "Although the economic crisis is urgent, the political and societal divisions are those that the new president has to address in the longer term." He added that, with populism growing in popularity, a deeper political crisis was "put on hold and a new one will be in the making" ahead of future elections. "The success of his presidency will decide if we can avert such a crisis or not," he said. A day after he won the presidency, Dan had a call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he conveyed to Rutte that Romania "will remain a steadfast ally" within the alliance. Dan first rose to public prominence as a civil activist with his Save Bucharest Association, tasked with saving built heritage and fighting against illegal real estate projects in a system he described as a "real estate mafia." He won hundreds of lawsuits. He also joined a wave of anti-corruption protests that gripped Romania through the mid-2010s. In 2016, he founded the reformist Save Romania Union party, at the time largely viewed as an anti-corruption party, but later left. In 2020, he successfully secured the mayorship of Bucharest and was elected last year for a second term. As mayor, Dan tackled some key infrastructure projects, such as modernising Bucharest's ageing residential heating systems, which previous mayors have been accused of neglecting.
Euronews
26-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Dan sworn in as Romania's new president easing political crisis
Romania's new president, Nicușor Dan, has been officially sworn in, ushering in a tentative close to the worst political crisis to grip the European Union country in decades after the annulment of the previous election but several challenges lie ahead. Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former mayor of Bucharest decisively won the 18 May runoff, beating his hard-right opponent George Simion, who later challenged the results in the Constitutional Court but was rejected last week. At the inauguration ceremony in a joint session of Parliament, Dan signed the constitutional oath. In a speech afterwards, he promised to tackle Romania's economic woes and to be a president "open to the voice of society." "The Romanian state needs a fundamental I invite you to continue to be involved with all the social force you have proven, to put positive pressure on the institutions of the Romanian state so that they can reform," he said. "I assure you that I will be a president who listens to the voice of society and who is a partner to that society." The May election rerun was held months after the Constitutional Court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Călin Georgescu led the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied. The court's unprecedented decision last year plunged Romania, which is an EU and NATO member, into a period of unprecedented political turmoil. The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. In the presidential runoff, Dan ran independently on an "Honest Romania" ticket, reaffirming Western ties, continued support for Ukraine and fiscal reforms. Addressing the economic challenges that lie ahead, Dan said that "put Romanian state is spending more than it can afford." "It is in the national interest for Romania to send a message of stability to financial markets. It is in the national interest to send a signal of openness and predictability to the investment environment," he said. Many observers viewed the election outcome as crucial to maintaining Romania's place within Western alliances, especially as the war continues in neighbouring Ukraine. At the same time, the continent scrambles to arm itself as the United States' commitment to European partners has waned under US President Donald Trump. As Dan begins his mandate, he faces the immediate challenge of nominating a prime minister who can garner the support necessary to form a government, a tall order in a country where a rejection of the political class led to the emergence of figures like Georgescu and Simion. Dan will also have to contend with a string of other crises, such as a large budget deficit, deep societal divisions exposed by the chaotic election cycle and the war that drags on next door. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, says that forming a new cabinet will be "a major test" that will indicate whether Dan is capable of mediating between the fragmented political parties. "Dan will face fierce resistance from the state apparatus and old politicians in his pursuit to start reforms," he told The Associated Press. "Although the economic crisis is urgent, the political and societal divisions are those that the new president has to address in the longer term." He added that, with populism growing in popularity, a deeper political crisis was "put on hold and a new one will be in the making" ahead of future elections. "The success of his presidency will decide if we can avert such a crisis or not," he said. A day after he won the presidency, Dan had a call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he conveyed to Rutte that Romania "will remain a steadfast ally" within the alliance. Dan first rose to public prominence as a civil activist with his Save Bucharest Association, tasked with saving built heritage and fighting against illegal real estate projects in a system he described as a "real estate mafia." He won hundreds of lawsuits. He also joined a wave of anti-corruption protests that gripped Romania through the mid-2010s. In 2016, he founded the reformist Save Romania Union party, at the time largely viewed as an anti-corruption party, but later left. In 2020, he successfully secured the mayorship of Bucharest and was elected last year for a second term. As mayor, Dan tackled some key infrastructure projects, such as modernising Bucharest's ageing residential heating systems, which previous mayors have been accused of neglecting.
Euronews
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Fake Euronews video alleging Romania election meddling spreads online
A fabricated Euronews video which claims that Romania cautioned French authorities over interference in the Romanian presidential election runoff last Sunday has been circulating on social media in the aftermath of the vote. The report fraudulently bears the Euronews logo and alleges that Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent the French government a "note of protest" for attempting to meddle in the presidential elections with the help of messaging app Telegram. Euronews did not produce or publish the video, and our branding was copied without consent. Our teams are working to ensure the video is removed from all social platforms. On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania issued a statement on X "adamantly refuting" the content of the video falsely attributed to Euronews, and pointing to "a sustained campaign of foreign information manipulation and interference aimed at influencing Romania's public opinion and more recently its elections." "This campaign is still ongoing and has all the hallmarks of (Russian) disinformation and covert anti-NATO and anti-EU propaganda campaigns," the statement adds. Romania's foreign, interior and defence ministries have also previously denounced what they called "Russian interference" in Sunday's runoff, which saw pro-European centrist Nicușor Dan narrowly beat nationalist George Simion to the Romanian presidency. The captioned video was first spotted by Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, a government agency. Its format strongly resembles Euronews' social media videos, but the content is inauthentic. It comes after Pavel Durov, the Russian-born owner of Telegram, claimed on social media that France's intelligence chief asked him to "silence" Romanian conservative voices by banning them from his messaging app ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off. There is no evidence to back Durov's claims, which the French interior ministry has described as a "diversionary maneuver from the real threats of interference targeting Romania." But Durov's allegations have since triggered a flood of disinformation on social media. Durov, who was indicted in France last September on six charges related to illegal activity on Telegram, has said he would "testify" in favour of Simion when he contests Sunday's runoff result before the Romanian Constitutional Court. Euronews has contacted the French foreign ministry to confirm that the allegations in the doctored video are false. Antibot4Navalny, an anonymous group of disinformation researchers, shared on Thursday screenshots of reports mimicking major French media outlets including Le Parisien, Libération and BFMTV. The collective has linked the campaign to Operation Matryoshka, which the French cyber agency Viginum describes as posting "fake content that generally impersonates North American and European public figures and media outlets, including French ones." The falsified reports are all based on Durov's statements, but have relayed slightly different unfounded narratives. For example, a fake Radio France Internationale (RFI) report claims journalists have announced "mass protests" against President Emmanuel Macron's "censorship" in response to Durov's allegations. A fake BFMTV falsely claims Macron's popularity rating has "plummeted" in response to Durov's claims. Euronews' fact-checking team, Euroverify, has seen the video shared multiple times on pro-Russian Telegram accounts, garnering at least 85,000 views at the time of publication of this article.
Euronews
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Democracy is Europe's first line of defence
Romania has a new president. And for a moment, Europe held its breath. This was never just about one election. What hung in the balance was military aid to Ukraine, the territorial integrity of neighbouring countries, and a potential strategic and ideological pivot towards Washington on security and defence. Nicușor Dan's victory may offer a temporary reprieve. But it does not erase the deep fractures across our continent, nor the powerful currents reshaping its future. Just this past Friday, I joined more than 40 European heads of state and government at the European Political Community Summit in Tirana. Security, stability, and democratic resilience were at the top of the agenda. Europe's security architecture stands exposed — and with it, the vulnerabilities we can no longer ignore. Europe's security is inseparable from its values. The Council of Europe, with its 46 member states, was founded on the conviction that true and lasting security depends on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Today, this means tackling issues like terrorism, migration and cybercrime. The traditional divide between 'hard' and 'soft' security is outdated. Europe must now define a strategy for democratic security — one that puts values at the heart of our defence. Because the very values that have made peace possible in Europe for over eighty years are under attack. The European Union is right to commit €800 billion for military defence. Democratic security demands the same clarity, urgency, and resolve across the entire continent. Not all threats come from outside Europe's borders. One of the most insidious is the fragmentation of the political landscape. Traditional parties are losing ground. Political reference points are shifting — often to the benefit of extreme positions. Disruptive forces are rushing in to fill the vacuum. Today's politics is, above all, anti. Anti-European. Anti-immigration. Anti-elite. Anti-woke. Anti-system. Democratic debate is increasingly drowned out by so-called 'culture wars'. There are always easy targets. In the UK, Conservative Party Chair Kemi Badenoch has highlighted the weaponisation of the European Convention on Human Rights, accusing it of weakening national identity and border security. In the US, Vice-President JD Vance, doubling down on his Munich speech, has framed limits on free speech as a direct threat to Western civilisation. The risk is using the tools of democracy itself — its laws, institutions, and freedoms — to restrict rights, suppress dissent, and create the illusion that security must come first. Across Europe, foreign influence laws are being introduced. Their intent may be legitimate. But as I have made clear, these measures should not be used to stifle criticism or shrink civic space. These laws must be scrutinised without double standards, especially by the judiciary. What is deemed unacceptable in Georgia or Hungary must be judged by the same measure in Germany or Romania. Because double standards, whether real or perceived, erode public trust and damage Europe's credibility, not least in the eyes of the Global South. It is not an isolated concern. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a legal and constitutional crisis threatens to destabilise the Western Balkans. In Germany, a far-right AfD candidate recently claimed Adolf Hitler was a communist, a jarring reminder that lies continue to poison democratic life. This is where the real danger lies: trading democratic security for the security of democracy, without even realising it. In this new paradigm, freedoms are curtailed in the name of protecting them, institutions are hollowed out by cynicism or design, and rules are bent under the pretext of sovereignty or urgency. The window for action is closing fast. That is why we need a New Democratic Pact for Europe, backed by all 46 member states and built on three priorities: education, protection, innovation. To educate is to teach the difference between truth and falsehood. Seventy-six per cent of young Europeans say they have encountered disinformation in the past week. Forty-two per cent rely on social media as their primary news source. Europe cannot surrender the public sphere to algorithms. We need to pave the way for a Council of Europe Convention on Disinformation and Foreign Influence — to draw clear boundaries between freedom of expression and imperative for truth, between legitimate critique and destabilisation. To protect is to reinforce democracy wherever it is in retreat. From attacks on journalists to weakened elections and politicised justice systems, the warning signs are all around us. A Democratic Resilience Fund would provide rapid support wherever democracy teeters, allowing us to prevent, rather than repair. To innovate is to adapt our institutions to fast-moving, cross-border, hybrid threats. No single organisation can face this alone. The Council of Europe and the European Political Community share the same continent and have the same ambition. One brings legal standards, institutional experience, and technical expertise; the other, political momentum. Together, they can make democratic security a European priority. Building Europe's democratic security will not be easy. But Europe has turned adversity into opportunity before. In April 1945, Buchenwald survivors scrawled two simple words on makeshift signs: 'Never again.' They became the post-war rallying cry for an entire continent. From that moral pact emerged a new Europe — and with it, the Council of Europe. Eighty years later, if Europe is to avoid reliving 'Never again', it must unite around a new pact and make democratic security its first line of defence. Alain Berset is Secretary General of the Council of Europe and former Swiss president.
Newsweek
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Romania Dodged a Bullet, But the West Is Still in Danger
Romanians came dangerously close to voting away their post-communist successes. In choosing Nicușor Dan over George Simion in its presidential election, Romania may have decided not to burn down the house, but only barely. That nearly half of Romanians supported a populist demagogue who questions Romania's commitments to the European Union and NATO is a major crack in Europe's democratic wall. The irony is suffocating: While the Romanian people ultimately made the right choice, the leadership of the United States—the very country that built and led the postwar liberal world order—was quietly rooting for the other side. From Hungary's Viktor Orbán to Vladimir Putin to the autocratic rulers of petrostates in the Gulf, President Donald Trump's affections clearly lie with strongmen and ideologues, not democrats or transatlantic institutions. It is hard to overstate what a reversal this is for America—the one-time anchor of the free world. There have been warning signs for years: Orbán's consolidation of power in Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suffocation of Turkish democracy, and the recurring popularity of Putin in Russia. In Western Europe, the far-right continues to surge—from AfD in Germany to the National Rally in France to Reform UK riding the anger left behind by Brexit. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Democrats—despite facing a convicted felon in Trump—just lost both houses of Congress and the presidential popular vote for the first time in two decades. That alone should alarm anyone who cares about truth, norms, or basic democratic values. The defenders of liberal democracy seem lost. They know that a dark tide is rising, but they rarely ask why. They condemn voters for drifting rightward, but they rarely question how they might have contributed. It is not enough to defeat the Simions of the world at the ballot box. We must understand why they nearly win—and make sure it doesn't happen again. For one, liberalism itself has come to be associated with a cultural orthodoxy that many ordinary people no longer recognize as their own. What used to be a politics of tolerance and inclusion is now seen—often rightly—as obsessed with identity, hypersensitive to offense, and incapable of self-criticism. Wokeness has turned into a kind of substitute religion for the progressive elite. And it is driving people away. The constant focus on gender identity, the erasure of distinctions in the name of inclusion, the rigid enforcement of new social codes—all of it has alienated working people and made the term "liberal" toxic in many parts of the world. Many who vote for right-wing populists live in real hardship. Which brings us to the second point: corruption. In too many democracies—Romania very much among them—liberalism has been marred by corruption tolerated or even encouraged by those in power. People feel lied to. They were promised Western standards and the rule of law, but instead found elites enriching themselves while pretending to care about values. When citizens are told that liberal democracy prizes fairness but see a judiciary that bends to power and politicians who steal with impunity, why would they defend it? The economic model that has underpinned the liberal order since the end of the Cold War has also failed too many people. The past 40 years of globalization produced enormous growth—but the gains were unequally distributed. While cities boomed and a class of global professionals emerged, large segments of the population stagnated. Wages didn't rise. Job security vanished. Inequality exploded. In Eastern Europe, the disparity is even more stark: the promise of catching up with the West came true for some, but many remain in grinding poverty. When liberal democracy appears to mean unchecked capitalism and chronic unfairness, its appeal fades. Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan salutes his supporters as he exit his campaign headquarters in Bucharest on May 18, 2025. Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan salutes his supporters as he exit his campaign headquarters in Bucharest on May 18, 2025. Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP/Getty Images This is why economic nationalism is not going away. It's not a passing phase or a quirk of Trumpism. It's a cry of protest against jobs being outsourced, industries being hollowed out, and entire communities being sacrificed on the altar of efficiency. People were never really asked whether they agreed to the global bargain of cheaper goods in exchange for deindustrialization, labor market insecurity, and the erosion of local control. Yes, the system produced iPhones and falling prices. But it also brought misery to millions. The political backlash is not irrational. Immigration, too, plays a role. For years, mainstream liberal parties insisted that all cultures are equal and that identity is fluid. But most people do not believe that. They value their national cultures and want them preserved. They don't want to be told that preferring one's own culture is racist. They reject the idea that borders are immoral or that their societies should absorb limitless newcomers with vastly different traditions and values. These are not fringe concerns. They are a major reason liberal democracy is under siege. If its defenders do not adjust, they will lose, not because the alternatives are better—they are not—but because too many people have concluded that the system isn't working for them, and that its leaders refuse to listen. Romania's narrow escape should be studied and learned from. The country nearly handed itself over to a man who would have endangered everything it built since communism: its integration into Europe, its place in the democratic world, and its fragile political maturity. And Romania not an isolated case. If even the U.S. government is cheering for those who would unmake the liberal order, then that order is in existential danger. The way forward is not to abandon liberalism, but to save it—from its worst excesses, its blind spots, and its tone-deaf elites. We must separate liberal democracy from the ideological baggage that now surrounds it. We must champion free speech, not cancel culture. We must embrace fair markets, not rigged ones. We must protect borders while treating migrants humanely. We must celebrate national cultures without falling into chauvinism. Most of all, we must renew faith in the idea that democracy can deliver freedom, fairness, and dignity for ordinary people. That idea is still worth fighting for. But if we continue to ignore what drove people toward Simion and others like him, we may not be so lucky next time. Mihai Razvan Ungureanu is the former prime minister and foreign minister of Romania, headed the country's external intelligence service, and is a professor of history at the University of Bucharest. Dan Perry was the first post-communist AP correspondent in Romania and later led the agency in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean; he is the author of two books and publishes "Ask Questions Later" at The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
