UPDATE. Romania’s local elections see sweeping gains for the ruling Liberals
Romania’s minority Liberal government has won most seats nationwide in a boost ahead of general elections in December.
Civic activist and mathematician Nicusor Dan ousted the Social Democrat incumbent Gabriela Firea in Sunday’s ballot, promising to fight corruption and attract European Union funds to upgrade the chaotic and congested city of 2.3 million.
Romania’s Social Democrats suffer defeat after parliament fails to muster quorum for no-confidence vote
It has been a bad start for the new leader of Romania’s biggest political
party.
Marcel Ciolacu suffered a humiliating defeat Monday in his first test as
leader of the Social Democratic Party after he failed to get enough lawmakers
into Parliament to vote on a no-confidence motion against the minority government.
On paper,...
Romania’s unemployment rises to 4.8% in April, highest rate in 30 months
Romania’s unemployment rate rose to a 30-month high in April, the latest indicator of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, the National Statistics Institute said Wednesday.
The jobless rate was 4.8% in April, and 1.5% higher for men than women, the institute said.
Overall, 5.4%
of working age...
Romanian ex-health minister detained on suspicion of taking “repeated bribes”
Anti-corruption prosecutors on Saturday detained Sorina Pintea, a former health minister, on suspicion that she took bribes worth about 35,000 euros in exchange for a public procurement contract.
Pintea, who is manager of the Baia Mare Emergency Hospital, was brought to Bucharest for questioning early Saturday where she was detained for 24 hours.
European court rules Romania’s anti-graft chief Laura Codruta Kovesi was wrongly dismissed
The European Union's fraud prosecutor was wrongly removed from her previous job as head of Romania's anti-corruption agency, the European Court of Human Rights said Tuesday in a ruling against political interference in the judiciary.
The court
said the dismissal of Laura Codruta Kovesi in 2018 had "defeated the very
purpose of maintaining judicial independence" and...
Hungary agrees to keep 12 border crossings with Romania open, as it prepares to close borders to foreigners to slow rise in Covid-19 cases
Hungary has agreed to keep a dozen border crossings with Romania open after Budapest announced it was closing its borders to foreigners to curb a rise in coronavirus cases.
Romanian Interior Minister Marcel Vela spoke to his Hungarian counterpart Sandor Pinter on Monday about entry to Hungary a day ahead of the border closure....
Coronavirus: panic buying at supermarkets, 100s of flights to Italy canceled, but Bucharest hotels relaxed about virus
Coronavirus panic sparked a run on Romanian supermarkets in this week. Wizz Air, the biggest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced it's canceling more than 500 flights from Romania, Hungary and Poland to Italy in March over a drop in demand for tickets.
But if tourists are staying away from Italy,...
Talks on Romania’s future government in deadlock
Talks on Romania’s future government were in a deadlock on Saturday after the three parties in a future coalition couldn't agree on who should hold key jobs in the next government.
The three parties which have offered to form a center-right governing coalition after no party won a majority in Dec. 6 elections were...
Balkan Insight: Southeast Europe plagued by catastrophic depopulation
Millions of young people are leaving the region and fertility rates have collapsed. On top of this, the societies of southeastern Europe are ageing, with far-reaching consequences, Balkan Insight said in a major article published Monday.
The publication says analysis of the region’s demographic decline, depopulation and the depletion of the labor force is...
Romania’s Covid-19 Map: Which counties have the most cases and deaths?
After a legal void which allowed thousands of Romanians infected with the virus to walk out of hospital and authorities unable to lock down areas where there were Covid outbreaks, a law came into effect Tuesday giving the government the power to quarantine.
Areas which could see lockdowns under the new law are the...
