Romania has allowed the deployment of the high-readiness NATO rapid deployment forces on Romanian territory this year, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis informed parliament in a letter sent on Wednesday evening, euractiv.com informs. With this decision, the North Atlantic Council may opt to deploy very rapid joint task forces on Romanian soil in the event of a sudden serious security crisis threatening the country’s national independence and sovereignty “to address the crisis promptly and prevent its escalation,” the president highlighted in the letter. “The fast transit or deployment of a series of overlapping crises and an increasingly unpredictable environment, where NATO’s intervention may become necessary to safeguard Romania’s security and sovereignty”, the letter added. To ensure the swift deployment of this force within a 72-hour timeframe, prior approval for its deployment or transit through the country is required, he added. Romania’s parliament will debate the president’s decision in the next joint session in the coming weeks. Romanian Defence Chief Gheorghita Vlad also suggests that such preparedness should be improved among the population, urging the Romanian authorities to adopt laws and measures to improve the population’s preparedness against potential Russian threats, warning that a victory for Moscow in Ukraine could encourage further aggression. But these calls have generated quite a heated debate, with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu backpedalling on the military chief’s claims and Russian Ambassador Valeri Kuzmin rapidly reacting in a press briefing. “As soon as Romania invites even more troops and declares itself concerned about military service, then surely some consequences must be foreseen. We talk openly about them, but in no case are we seeking war,” said Kuzmin. Commenting on the military preparation of the population, Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar pointed to a bill proposing a paid military preparation service for those aged 18 to 35 during discussions without providing details. Nevertheless, the ministry has ruled out the reintroduction of conscription, a highly sensitive issue in Romania, where the state abolished compulsory military service years after the fall of Communism.
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu will be part of the jury that will judge the films in the main competition of this year’s Venice Film Festival - Venezia 82. The jury, headed by American director Alexander Payne, includes French director and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé, Italian director and screenwriter Maura Delpero, Iranian director and writer Mohammad Rasoulof, Brazilian actress, writer, and […]
Romania continues to face significant prison overcrowding, according to the Council of Europe’s latest data, released on Friday, July 18. The 2024 Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations (SPACE I) show that Romania is among six countries in Europe with severe overcrowding, housing 116 inmates for every 100 available places. The report, which...
Chris Hemsworth returns to Disney+ in August with a new season of the National Geographic documentary series Limitless, this time focused not just on longevity, but on discovering how to live better. Titled Limitless: Live Better Now, the three-part season follows Hemsworth through physical, emotional, and mental challenges across six countries, with one standout episode […]
The Black Sea 200 Regatta 2025, Romania’s first non-stop offshore regatta with a 200 nautical mile route, takes place between July 21 and 27. Now in its first edition, the event brings together more than 10 boats from Romania and Bulgaria, according to the organizers. The endurance course will start and finish in the Romanian […]
The National Environmental Guard has fined an illegally operating zoo in Dâmbovița county, southern Romania, a total of RON 120,000 following a joint inspection that uncovered serious violations, including the lack of environmental authorization and inadequate conditions for wild animals kept in captivity. The zoo was reportedly charging RON 50 per person for entry and […]
The National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) and engineering company Enevo Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to strengthen cybersecurity in Romania’s energy sector. The partnership aims to test and develop monitoring and alerting technologies for cyberattacks, and to improve national response coordination to incidents affecting critical infrastructure, the companies said. The agreement focuses on sharing […]
