Romania’s president appoints former Liberal mayor as PM to form new government | European Union news

Adrian Vestea, who was appointed prime minister after his predecessor, Eugen Tomac, will leave.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan has appointed Adrian Vestea, a member of the National Liberal Party and a former mayor, as prime minister to form a new government after the previous election failed.

“Eugen Tomac has resigned this morning and I am appointing Adrian Vestea as the new prime minister,” Dan, in the middle, said in a post on X on Sunday.

Vestea, 52, is the president of the central Romanian district council in Brasov. Eugen Tomac was seeking to lead a government of technocrats but did not have the support of the parties in the parliament.

Vestea, who served as minister of development from 2023 to 2024, said he wanted “a political government that will change reality and keep Romania on the acceptable path of the West”.

“We are the sixth largest country in Europe, and we have to put a lot of emphasis on development. Which I will do from day one,” he said.

Dan’s appointment as Prime Minister this month comes after a a vote of no confidence ousted former Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in May. The general election is not scheduled until 2028.

Dan said Vestea was the right candidate for the position because he had “passed through all levels of leadership” throughout his political career.

“He was a successful mayor, a successful president of the regional council, a successful minister, and he attracted European funds, focusing on development, for example the Brasov airport, which is successful,” said Dan.

The parties in the parliament have already said that a small government, whose members do not have many seats in the parliament, would be better than a government of technocrats.

Vestea will have 10 days to form a government and must win a vote of confidence in parliament to take up his new position.

Romania has one of the most dysfunctional economies in the European Union and is plagued by inflation and recession.

When the coalition government came to power in June 2025, it made reducing the budget deficit a priority. Bolojan was sworn in with the aim of solving one of Romania’s most difficult political crises in its communist history, but his government lasted less than a year.