July 9, 2025. ONLINE SPOTLIGHT. Online news of the last 24 hours

In the last 24 hours, the Romanian online press has intensively covered three major topics: the ECOFIN recommendations on the budget deficit, the European Commission's report on the rule of law and the reactions to the no-confidence motion against Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament.

European Commission assessment of the rule of law in Romania

The conclusions of the European Commission's report on the rule of law in Romania have attracted media attention. The document underlines both progress in the fight against corruption and the persistence of vulnerabilities in key areas such as the independence of the judiciary and transparency in the financing of political parties. The press notes that Romania needs to take further steps to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the media, and that the overturning of some convictions due to prescription is a critical point in the report. (Digi24, HotNews.ro, Știrile Pro TV)

Fiscal consolidation and the budget deficit

A major topic on the media agenda concerns Romania's fiscal consolidation plan in the context of the ECOFIN meeting. The European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Valdis Dombrovskis, praised the measures announced by the Romanian government, but stressed that a final assessment will take place in the fall.(HotNews.ro, Europa Liberă, Mediafax)

Fiscal measures proposed by PSD

Separate from the premier's announcements, the PSD came up with its own proposals for the second package of economic measures. Among other things, the party wants to limit the income earned by board members of state-owned companies. In the context, Raluca Turcan asked the PSD to clarify whether it wants to continue its governmental collaboration or assume another political position. (Digi24, Agerpres, Mediafax)

Tension and political irony in Brussels: motion against Ursula von der Leyen

Another issue that has captured the attention of the press is the no-confidence motion against Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament. The initiative is not seen as having a chance of success, with the press insisting on political reactions and ironies, especially against AUR and leader George Simion. Ursula von der Leyen rejected extremism, reaffirming her commitment to European democratic values (HotNews.ro, Europa Liberă, Libertatea)

The final exam in education

Benefitting from media visibility is also the 2025 national final exam for teaching, taken by more than 9,500 beginning teachers. The press reports on the subjects and scales, the holding of the exam under special conditions due to the heatwave, and the incidents recorded - nine candidates were eliminated and around 650 were absent. (Edupedu.ro, HotNews.ro, G4Media)

Top entities frequently mentioned in the news:

1. European Commission
2. Ilie Bolojan
3. Ursula von der Leyen
4. ECOFIN / Brussels
5. George Simion / AUR

*****Summary compiled using a monitoring feed provided by NewsVibe Romania, as well as Google News data. The analysis, data and images presented were enhanced using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence tools.