The Parliament of Romania has supported a vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, leading to the سقوط of the pro-European cabinet and opening a new phase of political uncertainty in one of the key countries on the eastern flank of the EU and NATO.
A total of 281 deputies voted in favor of the no-confidence motion, exceeding the required minimum of 233 votes. Only four parliamentarians voted against. This result became one of the largest no-confidence votes in the history of Romanian parliamentarism.
The political crisis escalated after representatives of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) withdrew from the government. Following this, the Social Democrats, together with right-wing and far-right forces, initiated the consideration of the no-confidence motion at a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Immediately after the announcement of the voting results, Bolojan left the parliament building and returned to the government residence.
One of the causes of the crisis was disagreements over fiscal austerity measures. Bolojan’s cabinet pursued a course of deficit reduction, tax increases, and spending cuts, which provoked resistance from the Social Democrats. After PSD’s withdrawal from the coalition, the government effectively lost its stable majority.
Bolojan remains acting prime minister until a new government is formed; however, his powers will be limited. The President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, is expected to begin consultations with political parties to find a new cabinet formula. Possible scenarios include restoring a pro-European coalition in a revised composition, appointing a technocratic prime minister, or forming a new minority government.
The political situation is further complicated by the fact that the Romanian parliament remains highly fragmented. Following the parliamentary elections of December 1, 2024, no party secured a majority in either the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate.
In the Chamber of Deputies, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) became the largest force with 86 seats. It is followed by the right-wing nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) with 63 seats, the National Liberal Party (PNL) with 49 seats, the liberal Save Romania Union (USR) with 40 seats, the far-right S.O.S. Romania with 28 seats, the Party of Young People (POT) with 24 seats, and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) with 22 seats. An additional 19 seats are held by representatives of national minorities.
In the Senate, PSD secured 36 seats, AUR — 28, PNL — 22, USR — 19, S.O.S. Romania — 12, UDMR — 10, and POT — 7 seats.
Politically, the parliament is now условно divided into three blocs. The first consists of moderate pro-European parties: PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR, and representatives of national minorities. In theory, they could form a new majority, but they have significant disagreements over budget, taxation, and social policy. The second bloc is the nationalist and eurosceptic flank, primarily AUR, S.O.S. Romania, and POT. The third consists of situational groups and individual deputies, whose role increases in tight votes.
The crisis in Bucharest has not only domestic but also regional significance. Romania remains one of the most important countries for Ukraine’s logistics, exports via the Danube and the Black Sea, hosting NATO infrastructure, and maintaining security on Europe’s eastern flank. Any prolonged political uncertainty may complicate decision-making on budgetary, defense, and infrastructure issues.
Economic risks are also substantial. Political instability increases concerns about Romania’s sovereign ratings, access to EU funds, and the stability of the national currency. Bucharest must implement reforms and meet deficit reduction targets to maintain access to significant resources from European recovery funds.
According to the analytical center Experts Club, the fall of the Romanian government creates three main risks for the region: slower fiscal consolidation, increased volatility in financial markets, and weakened political predictability in matters of support for Ukraine.
“For Ukraine and the entire region, it is important that the political crisis in Romania does not turn into institutional paralysis. Romania is not a peripheral player, but one of the key hubs of Eastern European security, Danube logistics, and interaction with the EU. If a new government is formed quickly and maintains a pro-European course, the effect will be limited. However, if the crisis drags on, it may affect infrastructure projects, defense coordination, and the investment climate across the region,” said the founder of Experts Club, Maksym Urakin.
According to him, the factor of far-right forces that supported the no-confidence vote is of particular importance.
“The no-confidence vote itself does not mean a turn away from the EU or NATO. However, it shows that protest against fiscal austerity and social pressure can be used by forces advocating a more confrontational and less predictable foreign policy. For neighboring countries, this is a signal: economic fatigue of the population is becoming a security factor,” Urakin noted.
Experts Club believes that the baseline scenario remains an attempt by the president and moderate parties to restore a manageable pro-European configuration without the participation of the far right. However, even in this case, the new government will have to balance between EU requirements for deficit reduction, social discontent, and the need to maintain Romania’s active role in regional security.
The population of European Union countries is projected to decline by 53 million (11.7%) between 2025 and 2100, according to a forecast by the EU’s statistical office (Eurostat).
In 2025, the EU population was estimated at 451.8 million, resuming its growth trend in 2022 after a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The population is projected to grow over the next three years, peaking at 453.3 million in 2029, after which it will gradually decline to 398.8 million by 2100.
By the start of the next century, the share of children and youth (ages 0–19) in the total population will decline to 17% from 20% last year, and the working-age population (ages 20–64) will fall to 50% from 58%. In contrast, the share of people aged 65–79 will rise to 17% from 16%, and those aged 80 and older to 16% from 6%, according to a Eurostat report.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank released a video on how the world’s population has changed in recent years; a more detailed video analysis is available here – https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MnNXy72azrw
The agricultural holding “TAS Agro” plans to invest approximately $15 million over the next three years in modernizing dairy farms to bring them into compliance with EU standards, the company’s CEO Oleg Zapletnyuk said in an interview with Delo.ua.
The CEO of the agricultural holding clarified that TAS Agro is concentrating its livestock operations in the Vinnytsia region, where it is completely rebuilding a farm, increasing the number of stalls, and implementing loose housing for livestock.
“The total investment amount is approximately $15 million over the next three years. We are investing in this step by step. This primarily concerns cows. Our goal is to transform outdated livestock farming into a highly productive sector, increase its efficiency, improve livestock housing conditions, and enhance the quality of meat and dairy products,” Zapletnyuk said.
The company’s CEO noted that the strategic plan calls for expanding the land bank from the current 80,000 hectares to 100,000 hectares by the end of 2026.
“Strategically, we plan to increase our land bank to 100,000 hectares. We are currently considering certain assets; if we manage to finalize the purchase by the end of the year, that will bring us to about 100,000 hectares. The next step is to increase it to 120,000 hectares, but that is by 2028,” he said.
Assessing the financial results, the company’s CEO noted that TAS Agro’s net profit for 2025 is expected to be in the range of $20–22 million.
“In 2025, the company’s net profit was in the range of $20–22 million, but we have not yet sold part of our production. As of today, we have effectively sold the wheat, but we have not yet updated the key financial indicators. Estimated at $20–22 million, this is actually 10% more than we had budgeted,” he emphasized.
Zapletnyuk attributed the decline in profitability compared to 2024 (over $25 million) to drought in some of the regions where the company operates and the drop in global prices for agricultural products.
Last year, the holding exported approximately 270,000 tons of agricultural products, with exports accounting for about 60% of total production. The primary destination was the EU, which received 49% of all shipments. Additionally, 25% of exports went to North African countries, 19% to Asia, and 4% of the products were sold in Middle Eastern markets. At the same time, sunflower seeds, as well as a significant portion of soybeans and rapeseed, are processed domestically at partner plants for the subsequent sale of finished products.
The TAS Agro agricultural holding was established in 2014. It cultivates approximately 80,000 hectares across six regions of Ukraine. Its specialization is crop production and dairy farming (cattle herd—5,500 head). Its grain storage capacity is 250,000 tons. Serhiy Tihipko is the founder of the “TAS” group and the beneficiary of the agricultural holding.
The state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” together with Latvian partners, has launched a project to create living memorials in the EU, under which 2,000 pine trees were planted in Latvia in honor of nearly 200 Ukrainian foresters who lost their lives, the enterprise’s press service reported on Facebook on Monday.
“The memory of the fallen must be transformed into the world’s determination to stop aggression,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the presentation of the 2026 Four Freedoms Award.
The event in the Talsi region near Kamparkalns marked the first step in the international expansion of the “Forests of Memory” project, under which nearly 50 memorial groves have already been planted in Ukraine. On April 23, a memorial plaque was installed and trees were planted on the Latvian site in honor of the Ukrainian heroes.
“Today, here on Latvian soil, we are creating a living monument to Ukrainian foresters who defended their homeland with weapons in hand. These trees will remind everyone of the courage of the Ukrainian people and the price paid for independence,” emphasized Maris Lopa, Chairman of the Latvian Forest Certification Council.
The event was organized by the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture, the Latvian Forest Certification Council, and the companies Latvijas valsts meži and Latvijas Finieris.
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” predicts that this year such memorial forests will also appear in other European Union countries to strengthen international support and honor the heroic deeds of Ukrainian soldiers.
In addition, on April 19, Latvian volunteers delivered another batch of aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine: seven buses, including two minibuses for units where foresters from Volyn and Rivne regions serve.
The European Union is interested in expanding the European railway network to Lviv, Kyiv, and Odesa while ensuring transport safety, said Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport.
“In the medium term, I would like to see several European-gauge rail corridors running unimpeded from Poland all the way to Kyiv, from Prague to the southern route via Uzhhorod, and then all the way to Kyiv and Odesa,“ she said at the ”Ukraine-EU“ business summit in Brussels on Wednesday, according to a correspondent for the ”Interfax-Ukraine” agency.
Kopchynska noted that Ukraine has already very quickly built 22 km of European-gauge track from Chop to Uzhhorod, and the EU has allocated funds to Ukraine to begin construction of the line that will run to Lviv.
The European Commission representative emphasized that when planning new financial programs, the EU is increasingly encountering the principle of “dual use” of infrastructure—taking into account issues of proper functioning and safety of transport infrastructure.
“Now, based on Ukraine’s terrible experience, member states are much more aware that it is not enough to simply build something. We also need to make sure we know how to protect it,” she emphasized.
Kopchynska noted that over the past 10 years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to extend transport corridors beyond the EU’s borders, which has become the basis for expanding the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) beyond 2022 to include Ukraine, specifically Odesa.
“We tried to convince member states 10 years ago that it might be a good idea for these corridors, which are located within the EU, to extend beyond the EU’s borders. This didn’t work until February 2022,” Kopchynska stated.
She drew particular attention to the role of the so-called “Solidarity Lanes,” which the EU introduced after the start of the full-scale war, when the operation of Ukrainian Black Sea ports was effectively blocked. According to her, these routes have proven their effectiveness and remain important for Ukraine and the world even after the reopening of Black Sea shipping.
“I think the situation is improving somewhat, but if you ask me whether everything is perfect and running smoothly, that’s not the case,” Kopchynska said, calling for the further development of the “Solidarity Lanes.”
In her view, the construction of border crossing infrastructure should be considered in a way that ensures maximum simplification, given that Ukraine is still not part of the Schengen Area.
Kopchynska emphasized that it is also necessary to develop inland waterways and operational seaports in the Black Sea.
“And yes, once airspace is open, we will also need developed airports in Ukraine,” added the Director-General of the Directorate for Mobility and Transport.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, housing prices in the European Union rose by 5.5% year-on-year, and by 5.1% in the eurozone. Compared to the third quarter of 2025, growth stood at 0.8% for the EU and 0.6% for the eurozone. Eurostat released the latest data on April 7.
Among EU countries, an annual price decline was recorded only in Finland, at 3.1%. The highest growth rates were seen in Hungary, where housing prices rose by 21.2%, Portugal, by 18.9%, and Croatia, by 16.1%. On a quarterly basis, prices rose the most in Slovenia (5.1%), Hungary (4.2%), and Portugal (4.0%), while declines were observed in France, Finland, and Estonia.
New statistics confirm that the European housing market remains in a phase of sustained price appreciation following the 2023 correction. According to Eurostat, after negative trends in the second and third quarters of 2023, price growth in the EU resumed and by 2025 had once again settled above the 5% mark on an annual basis.
A broader analysis of Eurostat’s housing data shows that this is not a short-term spike but part of a long-term trend. By the end of 2024, housing prices in the EU were 53% higher than in 2010, while rents rose by 25% over the same period, and inflation stood at 39%. Separately, in its statistical review for Q4 2025, Eurostat notes that from 2015 to the end of 2025, housing prices in the EU rose by 64.9%, while rental rates increased by 21.8%.
For the market, this means that real estate in the EU is appreciating faster than both consumer prices and rents, and the main pressure is now shifting to countries in Central and Southern Europe, where growth rates are significantly higher than the European average. Against this backdrop, investors and developers are likely to continue focusing on markets with double-digit price growth, primarily in Hungary, Portugal, and Croatia.
