Romanian parliament

More than 300 people evacuated the Romanian Parliament building, also known as the “Ceausescu Palace,” on Tuesday afternoon after a man set fire to a room near the building’s entrance, according to local television station Digi24.

The incident took place in the visitors’ area, which includes an exhibition hall and souvenir shops.

Romania's Ministry of National Defence has introduced a bill in Parliament to facilitate the transfer of a Romanian Patriot anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine. The Patriot system, in its latest configuration, was acquired by Romania from the United States, and the country is set to receive a total of seven systems.

The Romanian parliament has voted to impose stringent restrictions on the gambling sector, marking a significant shift in the country's regulatory landscape. The move, which includes a ban on rotary machines and the closure of gambling halls in smaller settlements, has sparked both praise and controversy.

In a significant move to bolster its defense capabilities, Romania has received approval from the US State Department for the acquisition of dozens of M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks. The deal, valued at around .53 billion, is pending final approval from Congress, marking a substantial step in Romania's efforts to enhance its military capabilities.

With 290 votes "for", 95 "against" and no abstentions, the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament elected the new Romanian government headed by Marcel Ciolacu. Deputies voted first, then senators.

418 people's representatives out of a total of 465 were present in the hall during today's vote of confidence and the debates, marked by scandal and sharp exchange of remarks.

Romania will buy two second-hand British minesweepers and two French submarines as part of the Romanian army's re-equipment programmes, local media reported.

The Romanian state-owned electricity company, Nuclearelectrica, thas said that small modular reactors, SMRs, coming from the US, pose no danger to the country or its environment.

SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors that produce clean energy and have a much smaller installed capacity than a large reactor, it said.

The bicameral Romanian parliament on Tuesday elected two new judges at the Constitutional Court - Bogdan Licu and Laura-Iuliana Scantei, both of whom are believed to be close to President Klaus Iohannis.

Licu, who was nominated by the Social Democratic Party, PSD, for the position, was supported 208 lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies while 93 voted against.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is in Bucharest, met virtually today with nine of his Eastern European counterparts to discuss the crisis over Ukraine, Reuters reported. According to information from ClubZ, the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodora Genchovska also participated.

A no-confidence vote in the Romanian parliament overthrew the government of Prime Minister Florin Katsu, which took power in December 2020. The decision of the Social Democratic Party was supported by 281 MPs. The crisis in Romania began in September, when the coalition partner of the National Liberals - the USR-PLUS Alliance, stepped down from government.