Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Romania’s president Nicușor Dan has urged calm (17:09, 17:12) after the country’s pro-European coalition government led by Ilie Bolojan collapsed after losing a key vote of confidence in the Romanian parliament (13:27).
Dan insisted he would seek to find majority for forming a new pro-EU government in the country, amid pressures from the far-right AUR party which leads in the poll (17:58).
But the political limbo could last for weeks, raising questions over the consequences of this political crisis for Romania’s access to EU funds and key economic reforms (13:47, 14:18).
In other news,
US secretary of state Marco Rubio expects a “frank” meeting with Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican this week, the US ambassador said, after president Donald Trump took a fresh pot-shot at the pope for criticising the US war in Iran (12:30).
French president Emmanuel Macron has made an unabashed pre-election pitch on behalf of Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, saying the country’s destiny lies with Europe ahead of next month’s tricky election (15:21).
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of “utter cynicism” for killing five people in overnight strikes at the same time as seeking a truce so it can stage a military parade in Moscow (10:33).
The EU has urged the US to make “a swift return” to the terms of the trade deal struck last summer after Donald Trump said he would tear up part of the deal and increase tariffs on EU cars (17:33, 17:45).
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Romania's president Dan walks a tightrope as he faces daunting task of leading coalition government negotiations - snap analysis
in Bucharest
Back to Romania, tough negotiations lie ahead for president Nicușor Dan as he seeks to form a new government coalition, after the liberal PNL and the reformist USR parties have vowed to oppose any future administration with the Social Democratic party (PSD).
President Dan has ruled out snap elections – an unprecedented event in Romania’s modern history – which would risk propelling George Simion’s far-right AUR, currently polling ahead of all governing parties, to the top.
Determined to prevent that scenario, he appears willing to go to considerable lengths to mediate and preserve a pro-western government.
However, many Romanians have grown disillusioned with the reformist president after what they perceive as a passive first year in office, marked by inaction on justice reform, appointing controversial chief prosecutors and a failure to name heads for the intelligence services.
For weeks, he also declined to publicly back PM Bolojan after PSD and AUR began signalling their desire to remove him. Some have accused the president of colluding with PSD to ease Bolojan out and install a new prime minister who might prove less divisive within the coalition.
A faction of senior figures within the PM’s Liberal party are keen to remain in government, breaking ranks with Bolojan and USR, who refuse to enter into any alliance with the Social Democrats.
One of the senior Liberal figures still backing an alliance with PSD is Cătălin Predoiu, who held interior and justice ministries through many governments and is believed to have his eyes on the PM’s office.
Dan now faces the difficult task of convincing the two centre-right parties to remain in the coalition. A technocrat government could ease out the tensions, but it’s unclear if there will be consensus on that.
Observers have said that the government crisis was triggered once Bolojan’s government started to pursue reforms that put him on a collision course with Social Democrats.
If Dan manages to bring the coalition together with a more neutral prime minister, it could be seen as an implicit signal for the new administration to steer clear of reforms in these areas.
Updated
