Titus Corlatean has announced his resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs during a press conference, stating that he has already informed the Romanian Prime Minister about his decision to leave his office, decision aimed at protecting the im...more »

The Romanian Constitutional Court today validated the results registered in the first round of 2014 presidential election, confirming the voter turnout of 53.17 and the scores of the 14 candidates as announced by the Central Electoral Office (BEC)....more »

Winner of the first round of the 2014 presidential election, Victor Ponta, the candidate sustained by PSD, UNPR and PC, says that subsequent to his resignation as Prime Minister to possibly take the Cotroceni office in December, a new government will be appointed, reads Agerpres....more »

Left-wing candidate, Victor Ponta, wins the first round of Romanian presidential election, scoring 40.33 percent with 98.3 percent of the vote counted. The Prime Minister will compete against Klaus Iohannis in the run-off which will be held on November 16, 2014, the ACL candidate ranking the second in this first round, with 30.44 percent of the vote, according to the preliminary results released by BEC (the Central Electoral Bureau)....more »

With only few days left until the first round of Romania’s presidential election scheduled on November 2, 2014, Victor Ponta and Klaus Johannis seem to have no competitors and will enter the run-off which will be held two weeks later....more »

MEPs today approved the new college of 27 commissioners, as presented by its President, Jean-Claude Juncker, by 423 votes to 209, with 67 abstentions.  Subsequently, the new Commission will be appointed by EU heads of state or government and will take up duty on November 1 for a five-year term....more »

Two weeks after the presidential campaign has been officially launched, the parties, political alliances and independent candidates involved in these elections have collected donations of 3.66 million lei according to a report released by the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP)....more »

The European Commission is taking Romania to Court for a failure to comply with EU legislation on mining waste. The case concerns the Bosneag pond, a 102-hectare tailing pond that holds waste extracted from copper and zinc mines in Moldova Noua, the Caras-Severin County, and which is currently in a state of almost complete abandonment. The Commission opened infringement proceedings against Romania on this matter with a letter of formal notice in October 2012, followed by a reasoned opinion in February this year. Subsequently, Romania agreed that the Bosneag pond remained a source of pollution during windy periods and admitted the need for remedial measures. While some measures have been proposed, including for example a watering system, no tangible action has yet been taken....more »

President Traian Basescu yesterday announced during a talk-show on Realitatea TV that Victor Ponta had served within 1997 and 2001 as undercover agent of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE). Basescu accused the Prime Minister of infringing the old Constitution, as his position then, of prosecutor, was not compatible with any other functions....more »

The EU Commission has adopted a report assessing the situation of non-reciprocity with certain third countries, such as the USA or Canada, in the area of visa policy. As citizens of these countries along with Australia, Brunei Darussalam and Japan enjoy visa-free travel to the EU, whereas citizens of certain Member States are required visas, the countries concerned – Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Poland notified the EU institution in this regard. However, after nearly ten months since introducing the revised visa reciprocity mechanism, the Commission does not consider appropriate at this stage to re-impose a visa requirement for certain categories of nationals of countries that still impose it on EU citizens, states a press release....more »