Introduction
Romania joins Schengen Area
On 31st March 2024, Romania and Bulgaria officially became part of the Schengen Area, and all Schengen rules now apply to both countries. Controls at air and sea borders have been removed. However, the exact date for lifting controls at land borders between these countries and other Schengen members still needs to be determined. Romania and Bulgaria had been waiting since 2011 to join Schengen.
So far, 23 of the 27 EU member states are part of the Schengen Area, along with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
Romanian right-wing parties join forces ahead of European elections
In April 2024, the liberal party Union Save Romania (USR) announced that it will collaborate with two smaller, right-populist parties ahead of the European elections in June 2024. The goal is to challenge the current government coalition as well as emerging extreme right-wing forces.
The new coalition is called United Right Alliance and consists of Uniunea Salvați România (Union Save România, USR), Forța Dreptei (Force of the Right) und Partidul Mișcarea Populară (People’s Movement Party, PMP). Both of USR's coalition partners identify as centre-right, Christian-democratic and pro-European.
Freedom of expression
Romanian journalists allege pressure from Swiss media conglomerate
On 6th December 2023, the Swiss media conglomerate Ringier Sports Media Group, which owns several news outlets in Romania, announced a new focus on digital offerings for the respected media outlet Libertatea amid a drastic decline in print sales. At the same time, Ringier confirmed the termination of three employees: editor-in-chief Cătălin Tolontan, deputy editor-in-chief Iulia Roșu, and head of the print division Camelia Stan.
Journalists at the newspaper, known for its investigative journalism, view the move as an attempt to pressure editorial policy in favour of business interests, particularly those from the gambling industry. A similar restructuring took place in October 2023 at Gazeta Sporturilor, another Ringier-owned publication.
Several Romanian media associations condemned Ringier’s decision, claiming that the journalists were dismissed in retaliation for opposing advertisements from the online gaming and sports betting industry. On 28th August 2023, Tolontan revealed that the editorial teams at Gazeta Sporturilor and Libertatea had sent an internal appeal to Ringier’s headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland, calling for an end to editorial interference and pressure.
Investigative journalist wins access to Police Academy’s PhD Archives
On 7th March 2024, after a three-year legal battle, Romanian investigative journalist Emilia Șercan secured access to the archives containing evaluations of PhD dissertations by professors at the Police Academy. “The Police Academy, the pathetic plagiarism factory of the Ministry of the Interior, must now provide me copies of all the reports of the doctoral theses defended in the institution,” Șercan said on Facebook.
Over the past seven years, Șercan has uncovered numerous cases of plagiarism involving high-profile Romanian politicians, as well as officials in the judiciary, law enforcement, military, and intelligence communities. She has previously won several court cases affirming her right to access public-interest information, including a similar victory against the Romanian Intelligence Service Academy (SRI).
Șercan has spent the last seven years uncovering dozens of plagiarism cases in doctoral dissertations of top Romanian politicians and high officials in the judiciary, law enforcement, military and intelligence community.
In a related incident, on 29th February 2024, a dispute unfolded between Șercan and National Library director Adrian Cioroianu after Șercan criticised the lack of heating in the library. Cioroianu accused her of spreading falsehoods and publicly disclosed information she’d requested from the library, revealing her ongoing investigation into potential plagiarism by top politician Mircea Geoană.
Șercan condemned his actions on the grounds that he had publicised private information that he had obtained in his official position. She recalled that she had been threatened and harassed numerous times as part of her plagiarism investigations and claimed that Cioroianu’s revelations had put her in danger. The controversy prompted civil society organisations to demand Cioroianu’s resignation in an open letter to the Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan, published on 1st March 2024.
In April 2019, Șercan was threatened with death by an officer from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Police Academy in Bucharest. In July 2022, the High Court of Cassation and Justice sentenced the academy’s former rector and vice-rector to three years of suspended prison terms for attempted blackmail.
Politicians propose TikTok ban to counter right-wing shift among youth
In March 2024, ahead of the European Parliament elections, members of Romania’s ruling coalition proposed a ban or stricter regulation of the social media platform TikTok. The move followed the release of survey data indicating increasing right-wing tendencies among teenagers and young adults, who are especially active on social media. On 23rd March 2024, Romanian news outlet HotNews published survey results showing that 15% of young people (aged 18 to 35) intended to vote for the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) in the upcoming elections.
Deepfake bill sparks concerns over censorship
On 4th April 2024, Research Minister Bogdan Ivan announced that the government would approve a memorandum to counter the spread of deepfake content during election campaigns. Discussions are underway between the government, technology companies, the Central Electoral Board, and seven other institutions to create an “election hub”—a direct link between officials and major social media platforms to mitigate the harmful effects of deepfakes.
Earlier, in February, Romanian lawmakers discussed a new deepfake bill, which has drawn harsh criticism from NGOs. The bill, which passed the Senate in 2023, defines deepfakes as “any image, audio and video content typically created using artificial intelligence or virtual reality to make it appear that a person has said or done things that were not actually said or done by that person.” It further describes deepfakes as “the malicious use of technology to mislead, manipulate behaviour, and create information chaos.”
Under the proposed law, the distribution of deepfakes would be prohibited unless a warning was displayed on at least 10% of the “exposure area” for visual content, or a message included at the beginning and end for audio content. Violators could face imprisonment.
In a letter to lawmakers on 7 February 2024, NGOs warned that the bill resembled the Chinese model of censorship more than European standards. They urged the parliament to reject the bill in its current form, as it could criminalise content that is legally protected under freedom of expression. They also criticised the absence of exceptions for satire or artistic works. Others worried that it might open the door to censorship of online media, due to numerous ill-defined terms such as “malicious” and “electronically altered documents”. After criticism from mass media, civil society and the opposition, the bill was returned to the parliamentary committees for revision.
Freedom of Assembly
Truckers and farmers protest in Romania
Similar to other European countries, Romania witnessed protests by truckers and farmers over low produce prices, rising costs, and the import of cheap food from abroad during the period covered in the report. Their main demands included faster subsidy payments, compensation for losses caused by imports from neighbouring Ukraine, and increased state aid for fuel costs. Truck drivers also called for lower taxes and insurance rates, alongside complaints about long border waiting times.
After a week of protests, the government announced a breakthrough in negotiations on 15th January 2024. However, talks ultimately collapsed over demands for lower taxes and higher subsidies. During the night between 15th and 16th January, protesters blocked access to two ports and disrupted road traffic. Convoys of trucks and tractors also caused congestion on the outskirts of the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
Finally, on 2nd February 2024, the government announced it had reached an agreement with the farmers and truckers, ending the protests.
Health care workers protest low wages and staff shortages
On 6th January 2024, Viorel Hușanu, president of the Bucharest branch of the SANITAS union, threatened a general strike in the healthcare sector would begin next month. Healthcare workers have been struggling with low wages and staff shortages following the government’s 2023 decision to freeze hiring and cut healthcare funding. Hușanu said workers had been exhausted from work since the start of the year, while other public servants were still on holiday. Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said both the Health and Development Ministries had submitted memoranda to lift the hiring freeze and resume recruitment, but the Finance Ministry had not approved them.
On 22nd February 2024, the Health Solidarity trade union organised a new wave of protests in Bucharest. It was announced that these would be the last protests involving small groups. On 29th February 2024, the union introduced “lunch break protests” as a rehearsal for a planned general strike on 11th March 2024. However, the strike has yet to take place, and another protest was held instead.
Taxi drivers continue protest against ride-sharing companies
On 27th February 2024, taxi drivers continued their protests against ride-sharing companies, accusing them of creating unfair competition. The drivers demanded the government regulate alternative transport services, abolish dynamic pricing by ride-share companies, and impose equal taxes and fees.
More than 1,000 cars blocked Bucharest’s Constitution Square, with some drivers even sleeping in their vehicles overnight. The protest began on 26th February and continued until 28th February. On that day, after unsuccessful negotiations, the National Association of the Employers of Transport Operators in the Taxi Regime (ANPOTRT) announced that about a dozen protesters had entered a hunger strike. Other taxi drivers blocked Victory Square, but the gendarmerie asked them to vacate the area, as they lacked permission from city hall to hold the rally. No clashes occurred.
In mid-March, 1,500 to 2,000 taxi drivers from across Romania protested with their vehicles outside the parliament building in Bucharest. ANPOTRT spokesperson Ioan Pugna said they would not leave until the government passed an emergency ordinance amending the law. He emphasised that their aim was not to abolish ride-sharing companies but to ensure fair competition.
LGBTQI+ Rights
New coalition seeks to redefine the meaning of family
On 2nd February 2024, 14 Romanian NGOs issued a statement condemning attempts by right-wing populist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) to revise the constitution and change the definition of family. The party’s members and affiliates have expressed support for a newly-formed citizen group called “Coalition for the Constitution,” which launched an initiative to redefine family as a marriage between a man and a woman. Claudiu Târziu, president of the AUR National Council, participated in the group’s event. A candidate for the European Parliament from AUR also appears as a signatory of the initiative.
The NGOs criticised the Coalition and its push for a new referendum. They emphasised that LGBTQI+ people in Romania continue to face attacks aimed at restricting their civil rights and freedoms. They emphasised that the political class has a duty to protect the families of all Romanians, including LGBTQI+ people, through laws and measures that meet the needs of society.
AUR, which polls at around 20%, promotes Eurosceptic and socially conservative views. Romania remains one of the few EU countries that do not legally recognise same-sex couples, despite European court rulings obliging it to do so and to provide better legal protections. A similar referendum in 2018 failed due to insufficient voter turnout.