The leaders of a new political alliance which fared well in recent EP elections in Romania have issued an open letter urging opposition parties to join a deal "to prepare a responsible government in 2020". The call by Dacian Ciolos - who has just been chosen leader of the new Renew Europe group in the European Parliament - and Dan Barna comes as Romania prepares for a long run of elections.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), the leading group of the governing coalition in Romania, are choosing their new leadership at a Congress this weekend. PM Viorica Dancila is aiming to stay head of the party, but faces five challengers.

Romanian MPs on Wednesday voted a new pensions law which would increase pensions in a phased manner starting September this year and through 2020 to 2022. The bill was supported by the governing coalition, led by Social Democrats, despite opposition criticism that there was no money to support such pension rises and that it did not comply with Constitutional Court decisions.

Former Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos, who led a technocratic government in 2016, and a team including many ministers of that government announced the launch of a new party late last week. On Sunday evening, he claimed during a TV show that his Romania Together Movement has already drawn 30,000 supporters on its website, 17,000 of which want to become members.

Former Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos, who has been pressed to enter politics after a year as head of a technocratic government, announced on Wednesday that documents for the establishment of a new political party, due to run in European elections, would be submitted within two weeks, according to Agerpres news agency.

Representatives of Romanian opposition parties PNL, PMP and USR took the floor in the House of Deputies on Wednesday to challenge the statement made Tuesday by House speaker Liviu Dragnea and Senate speaker Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, the leaders of the governing PSD-ALDE coalition, dismissing the US State Department urge that the Romanian Parliament drop planned changes to the laws of the judiciary.

Romanian opposition group Save Romania Union warns in a press release that most of the PSD-ALDE governing coalition members are trying to block in Parliament the law of acquiring the first Patriot missile system and thus jeopardizing the strategic partnership with the US.

Ludovic Orban, the leader of Romania's main opposition party, the National Liberal Party (PNL), said on Monday that the reshuffle decided by the governing alliance last week was "a joke" and criticized the new nominees, announcing that the Liberals were still considering the submission of a censure motion, according to Agerpres news agency.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that he would question the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) ability to govern in case the current government would fall due to internal party struggle.

The major disputes that ignited between Romanian PM Mihai Tudose and Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD), which ignited last weekend, left room for messages of dialogue on Tuesday. The two met during the afternoon and announced that a decision on a future government reshuffle would me made on Thursday. And while Tudose met President Klaus Iohannis for talks on the government party rifts, PSD officials suggested talks to aleviate the problems were under way.

In 2009, the PDL representative Ioan Olteanu issued the most plastic definition for the political compromise: he compared the PDL’s alliance with PSD with “swallowing a frog.” Now, it was Klaus Iohannis who had to swallow a frog. Tudose government seems to be a bullfrog which is too big even for Romanian political standards. 

The leadership of the National Liberal Party (PNL), part of the coalition with Social Democrats (PSD) which ruled Romania for the past two years, adopted a resolution on Tuesday evening to withdraw from the government. The announcement comes as the alliance, known as the Social Liberal Union (USL), was marked by intense disputes over the past several months between PM Victor Ponta, head of the PSD, and Senate speaker Crin Antonescu, the PNL leader who hoped to run as USL candidate for presidency late this year.

The Romanian Parliament voted the new government led by Social Democrat Victor Ponta into office on Monday. Ponta's government, formed by the Social Liberal Union coalition of Social Democrats (PSD) and Liberals (PNL), replaces the Democratic Liberal-dominated government led by Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, who lost a censure motion in the Parliament in late April. Ponta's government received the support of 284 MPs, with 92 votes against.

Several Liberal MPs wrote their resignation from the Romanian Parliament and handed them to opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) leader Crin Antonescu to have them at the ready should PNL decide to withdraw from the Parliament en-masse, Antonescu said on Monday. But he said a decision has not yet been made whether USL - the opposition union of liberals and Social Democrats - would withdraw from the Legislative. Antonescu said talks will be held with their Social Democrats (PSD) and Conservatives (PC) on the issue.

Romanian prime minister Emil Boc announced before the Parliament on Monday that he dismisses Foreign minister Teodor Baconschi. He made the announcement shortly after apologizing before the joint chambers of the Parliament for communication failures of some members of the Government regarding the protests that have been taking place in Bucharest. By Monday afternoon, an announcement on the Foreign Ministry website said Baconschi was in Brussels for the Foreign Affairs Council.
UPDATE PM Emil Boc later said that he dismissed minister Baconschi because dignitaries should not be "encouraged to insult people who are rightfully discontent". For his part, Teodor Baconschi said for news station Realitatea TV that PM Boc informed him by phone about the decision and said it was a political decision as the prime minister had nothing to complain about when it came to government affairs. One possible replacement for Baconschi, according to some sources, might be Cristian Diaconescu, head of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR).

A struggle to replace the second highest ranking official in Romania took a major twist on Wednesday, when the Senate voted its speaker Mircea Geoana out of office following him being ousted from the Social Democratic Party (PSD, opposition) on Tuesday. An interim speaker was named - Senator Petru Filip of the governing Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), who will serve until a new speaker is officially elected. According to Romania's Constitution, should the President be suspended or unable to fulfill his duties, the Senate speaker takes his place. The PSD announced earlier this week it would start procedures to suspend President Traian Basescu.

Romania's opposition Social-Liberal Union, formed of Social Democrats (PSD) and Liberals (PNL), decided on Monday to launch a procedure to suspend President Traian Basescu. While leaders of the USL Union said they hoped to have the support of the Romanian people, PM Emil Boc had described a possible such move as demagogic and irresponsible. USL leaders said the official suspension request would be finished most probably within a week.

The leader of Romania's main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD), spoke kindly of the country's National Anti-corruption Department (DNA) in an interview with HotNews.ro. PSD leader Victor Ponta, who's party had repeatedly claimed the DNA has been acting politically at the current president Traian Basescu's order, changed the tone in the interview. He praised the DNA for starting to move against the top ranks of the "institutionalized corruption system" in the country.

The leader of Romania's main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD), said in an interview with HotNews.ro on Thursday that the PSD would accept any court sentence regarding former PM Adrian Nastase, who's the subject of several court cases which the PSD has so far described as politically motivated. PSD leader Victor Ponta's statement comes as Adrian Nastase broke Ponta's lines in a major internal struggle of the party.

​The leadership of the Romanian Senate was undecided on Monday afternoon as the main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD) called on Senate speaker Mircea Geoana to withdraw from the second top job in the Romanian state. The PSD group in the Romanian Parliament later announced it withdrew its political support for Geoana and that it proposed Titus Corlatean, PSD vicepresident and head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to take over the seat of Senate Speaker.