Anti-EU Protests Turn Violent in Romania

Romanians staged a violent anti-European Union protest Tuesday that highlighted ongoing tensions in the Eastern European nation.Protesters clashed with riot police at Victory Square outside the government headquarters in Bucharest. Protesters threw objects at police and tried to surge through barriers. They were met with tear gas. Video from the scene showed several protestors being dragged away and taken into custody.The protest by livestock farmers over an export ban started peacefully. In June, the European Union extended the ban through the end of the year due to an outbreak of small ruminant plague. Brussels also blocked Romania from exporting the animals to non-European Union countries.Romania is the bloc’s second-largest sheep producer and the shepherds say the domestic market is not large enough for them to survive. They supplied more than 70 percent of live sheep imports for several Middle Eastern and North African markets before the ban.Representatives of the shepherds told Romanian media that outside agitators infiltrated their protest and caused the violence.The leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians Party, populist George Simion, asked for calm. “I also call on the police to act with restraint and professionalism. We must not fall into the trap of provocateurs or foreign interests that seek to divide us and discredit this legitimate struggle,” Mr. Simion said in a Tuesday Facebook post.“Romania needs a leadership that protects its citizens and knows how to work for them,” Mr. Simion added.Another populist right-winger, who was blocked from running in last year’s presidential election, encouraged the protesters. The leader of SOS Romania, Diana Șoșoacă, claimed police were assaulting demonstrators and urged people not to leave the square. “Occupy Bucharest, don’t walk away,” Ms. Șoșoacă said, according to local media. She also posted online messages calling for the overthrow of the “dictatorship.”President Nicușor Dan condemned the “extremely serious” violence and blamed it on the right wing politicians. “Equally serious and reprehensible is the incitement to violence and the attempt by irresponsible politicians to artificially amplify social tension in order to hijack a legitimate rally stemming from legitimate grievances,” Mr. Dan said in an X post.Mr. Dan defeated Mr. Simion in a 2025 two-round make-up election to become president. The 2024 election was scrapped over concerns of Russian interference following the unexpectedly strong performance of Călin Georgescu, who opposes Romania’s membership in the European Union and NATO.Mr. Dan campaigned on a pro-European Union and pro-NATO platform. He acknowledged “difficult social, economic, and political” frustrations among the population but appealed for protesters to do so responsibly.Mr. Dan is facing political pressure after the governing coalition collapsed in May after prime minister, Ilie Bolojan, lost a no confidence vote. Mr. Bolojan has remained in the role as acting prime minister.The political instability is causing economic pain in Romania. There are worries that rating agency S&P will soon downgrade the country to “junk” status for loans, Romania Journal reported.

Anti-EU Protests Turn Violent in Romania

Anti-EU Protests Turn Violent in Romania

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