For the first time in Romania, a Romani person has been appointed minister
One appointment stood out nonetheless, that of 41-year-old Petre-Florin Manole, the first Romani person to serve as a minister in the country's history, in charge of labor, family, youth and social solidarity. "The first openly Romani person to obtain a ministerial position – and not just any ministry," said Romani sociologist Ciprian Necula with satisfaction. The word "openly" is significant in Romanian, as many public figures avoid disclosing their Romani origins for fear of stigma. The 2021 census, which allowed people to declare their affiliation with one of the country's 19 national minorities, counted 569,477 Romani people out of a population of 19.1 million. In reality, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and Romanian authorities estimate the true number is two to three times higher.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
10-07-2025
- Euronews
EU Parliament censure vote leaves von der Leyen weakened
As the European Parliament prepares to vote on a motion of censure against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the political fallout could be significant - regardless of the outcome, with the motion reigniting concerns about her leadership style, lack of transparency and political positioning. The motion was tabled by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea and signed by 77 members from the right-wing political groups, including the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Patriots for Europe, and the Europe of Sovereign Nations. At the heart of their criticism lies von der Leyen's opaque handling of the EU's Pfizer vaccine procurement and her increasingly centralised approach to power. Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law at HEC Paris, told Euronews that the motion's significance goes well beyond the numbers in Parliament, however. 'This motion of censure highlights many of the shortcomings that media and political observers have pointed out for some time—her presidential style, the centralisation of power, and her opacity,' Alemanno said. He argued that while von der Leyen will likely retain the support of a majority of MEPs, the damage to her public image and political standing will be lasting. 'More and more citizens will ask themselves: is she really the right person to lead the EU in such turbulent times—negotiating with a potential Trump administration or playing a key role in Russia-Ukraine peace talks?' Alemanno also noted that concerns about von der Leyen's leadership are not limited to the far-right. Her secretive handling of vaccine negotiations and unwillingness to engage with the media have drawn criticism across the political spectrum. 'This censure motion is acting as a lightning rod for broader frustration,' he added. 'It brings together complaints from multiple camps and highlights a growing desire for greater democratic accountability.' A senior European Commission official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the vote had been widely discussed within the Berlaymont headquarters. 'Officials see this as a warning. Her leadership style—extremely centralised and often politically ambiguous—has made her vulnerable. There's a sense she's become a prisoner of her own European People's Party (EPP),' the official said. Time for von der Leyen to realign her agenda, says MEP Von der Leyen and the centre-right EPP have faced criticism in recent months for accepting far-right support in several parliamentary decisions, breaking with the EU's traditional centrist coalitions involving socialists, liberals, and greens. One EPP decision-maker told Euronews that von der Leyen must now realign her agenda more clearly with the party's values. 'She should draw the consequences. An EPP-dominated Commission must better reflect the EPP's platform,' the source said. Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout suggested the damage from this episode could extend beyond von der Leyen herself. 'What's clear is that the centrist majority in Parliament isn't functioning well—and that reflects poorly not only on von der Leyen, but on Manfred Weber too,' said Eickhout. 'In terms of public image, Weber may have suffered even more.' Despite the motion's expected failure, political observers believe it will intensify scrutiny of von der Leyen's leadership and further limit her room to manoeuvre in a second term. 'She won't walk away strengthened,' Alemanno concluded. 'Even if the vote fails, the pressure to hold her accountable will only grow.' This will put her on the spot as debate turns from next week to the European budget, "which is expected to be very contentious within and among member states of the union", he said. "Up to now, up to this vote, von der Leyen could rely on both majorities based on political convenience," he says, referring to the traditional centrist platform on the one hand, and tie-ups with the right wing on the other. By the time of von der Leyen's State of the Union address to the Parliament in September, she will be constrained to pick one of the two that she can rely on, he said.
Euronews
08-07-2025
- Euronews
Dutch government seeks new tools in fight against fake news
The Dutch government is exploring new legal powers to combat fake news "in view of the geopolitical developments and the real threat to national security", outgoing Home Affairs Minister Judith Uitermark said in response to parliamentary questions. 'I want to gain earlier and better insight into the spread of (foreign) disinformation aimed at undermining the election process and undermining social stability around the elections. For this purpose, new powers or legal bases will be created where necessary,' Uitermark said, adding that the process will not be ready in time for the upcoming Dutch parliamentary elections of 29 October. For the upcoming election, the government will explore what can be done within the current legal framework - which includes for example the Digital Services Act (DSA). In addition, the minister will assess lessons learned from organising the NATO summit. The government will report back to the parliament this Autumn and expand on the process. The Netherlands is going to the polls in October after the coalition government collapsed in June after disagreements about migration policy. Less likely to be influenced Uitermark stressed that the country is less likely to be influenced by fake news campaigns due to the country's multi-party voting system, which is not a 'winner takes it all' situation, as in presidential elections. Despite this, the minister said the country needs to 'remain alert to potential vulnerabilities in our process, in our own context', adding that roundtables with security partners and local authorities will be organised. Last November, the first round of the Romanian election was invalidated because of intelligence reports which allegedly showed Russian involvement in voter influence through social media to support the then-relatively unknown nationalist candidate Călin Georgescu. Because of Georgescu's popularity on TikTok, the Commission in December began a probe into the role of the platform during the campaign to check whether it breached the DSA in relation to risk assessment and election integrity. The investigation is still pending. The European Commission is currently also working on a non-legislative proposal, European Democracy Shield, which will include topics like election integrity and countering foreign disinformation.
Euronews
08-07-2025
- Euronews
EU Parliament confidence vote: Where parties stand on von der Leyen
The majority of the political groups of the European Parliament will not back the vote of no-confidence tabled against von der Leyen's European Commission, but even those from the coalition that voted her into office last year reproached her leadership, and some groups are split over how to vote. After the debate held in the hemicycle on Monday, some of the eight groups of the Parliament clearly staked their position ahead of the vote, while others were more ambiguous, and not all MEPs align with their groups. The European People's Party (EPP), Ursula von der Leyen's political force, is fully behind her. "We will vote unanimously against", said Manfred Weber, chair of the group. The EPP has painted the vote as the emanating from far right MEPs friendly to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "With this motion of censure, we are wasting time: Putin will be happy of what his friends are doing here. I know the German AfD (Alternative for Germany) and the Romanian AUR (Alliance for Unity of Romanians) are the puppets of Putin. This motion of censure is against the security of the Europeans," Weber said during the debate. Criticism of von der Leyen on display Socialists and democrats (S&D), Renew Europe and Greens/EFA groups have also said they will not vote to censure, but that didn't stop their chairs criticising von der Leyen for treating with the right wing parties, ignoring important policy files and leading the Commission with an extremely centralised and opaque working style. 'This motion will not count with the vote in favour of my group. We will not give a single vote to those who want to destroy the European Union,' said S&D leader Iratxe García Pérez, describing the motion of censure as a "reactionary assault". But García Pérez also blamed von der Leyen for backsliding on the Green Deal when she allied with conservatives to withdraw the Commission's controversial directive on green claims, which is meant to address greenwashing. Besides, not supporting the motion does not necessarily equate to a pledge that the Socialists will vote against it. According to sources from the Parliament, the group's members could also abstain. "We have not decided yet, we will discuss the issue in the next days before the vote," S&D Belgian MEP Estelle Ceulemans told Euronews after a group internal meeting. Renew Europe also clearly stated that it opposed the motion of censure. "The motion itself shows the bad intentions of the signatories: a mishmash of allegations on Pfizer text messages, the spending of the Recovery Facility, defence plans and supposed election interference," a statement from the group read. Renew Europe's president, Valérie Hayer, doubled down on this during her intervention, but she too took the opportunity to take a swipe at von der Leyen. "The Commission is too centralised, too fossilised", she said. The Greens/EFA group is set to reject the motion of censure, with all its MEPs voting against, abstaining, or not showing up on the day of the vote, according to internal sources. The leader of the group, Bas Eickhout called the motion 'one big political show of the far-right to undermine democracy.' But he also lashed out at recent tie ups over voting between the EPP and the far-right. 'You are feeding that beast, and at a certain moment the beast will eat you,' Eickhout said, directing his glance at EPP President Weber. The Left's co-President Martin Schirdewa said his group opposes the motion of censure because it refuses "to be instrumentalised by right-wing extremists". But others within the group don't appear to be on the same page. The Italian Five Stars Movement, for example, will vote in favour: "Millions of citizens who believe in the EU, in democracy and in social justice are asking us today to send von der Leyen home", a statement from the party said. The Left's Irish MEPs are also set to vote in favour, according to Parliament sources. Conservatives split on the vote, far right united The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) illustrate this shaky group dynamic more clearly: some of its members proposed and actively promoted the vote of confidence, while others are set to defend the Commission. Officially, the group will leave its lawmakers to follow their consciences with a free vote, and the largest national delegations are in opposite camps. Romanians from ultra-nationalist party AUR and Polish from Law and Justice (PiS) are among the signatories of the motion of censure, consistently with a long tradition of hard criticism against von der Leyen and her college. On the other side, the members of Brothers of Italy will not vote in favour of the motion, as this would entail the resignation of all Commissioners, including Italy's Raffaele Fitto, Commission Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, who comes from the party's ranks. "This motion is doomed to failure, not even getting close to the required threshold [to topple the Commission]. This is a gift to our political opponents," ECR co-chair Nicola Procaccini said during his intervention. Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), the two more radical right groups in the Parliament, will vote in favour of the motion, requesting the Commission to resign. "The Pfizergate has been an abuse of power: you have acted alone, out of any democratic framework", Fabrice Leggeri, a French National Rally MEP, said during the debate, while ESN's leader René Aust from Alternative for Germany, said his group intended to send von der Leyen "to an undeserved retirement". A symbolic vote The vote of no-confidence has very little chance of being approved, as at least two-thirds of the votes cast representing a majority of all MEPs would need to back the motion of censure for it to be adopted. But Monday's debate gave an indication of the level of distrust for Von der Leyen in the parliament, regardless of MEP's political affiliation. The parties from the so-called "centrist majority" (EPP, S&D, Renew Europe) are split on the assessment of the Commission's track record so far. While the EPP group fully endorses von der Leyen's political line (and is probably also behind it), Socialists and liberals are at odds with it, signalling that the coalition which saw von der Leyen voted in as President of the Commission one year back is on shaky ground. In this respect, S&D's leader García Pérez addressed EPP President Weber at the end of her intervention: "This motion is the direct result of your strategy in the Parliament. You are asking for responsibility while you negotiate your policies with the far right. We cannot go on like this," she said. The vote on the motion on Thursday 10 will probably testify to the level of discontent. A large number of abstentions might save the necks of the Commissioners, but also simultaneously inflict a political flesh wound on von der Leyen.
