Romania

Vice Premier Marian Neacșu is the latest official to face a plagiarism scandal, though with a rare twist: he is accused of copying the summary of his doctoral thesis and his colleague's CV. The colleague expressed surprise at the discovery. At the same time, the National Liberal Party is attempting a rebranding by forming a Modernization Pole and welcoming back former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who left five years ago.

A retired general warned that coordination with Bulgaria is so poor that it is blocking regional defense plans in the Black Sea, while a public disagreement broke out between the former energy minister and the foreign minister over whether the Neptun Deep gas field was ever actually a matter of territorial dispute. Meanwhile, the trade deficit grew to 25.5 billion euros in the first ten months of the year, a 3.6% increase, and the finance minister discussed objectives for simpler fiscal rules in Brussels.

Local democracy remains effective in Sibiu, where 98% of voters in a commune referendum rejected a proposed mining operation. On the energy front, Cernavodă’s Reactor 2 is expected to restart on Tuesday; the shutdown cost the state 1 billion lei. Elsewhere, Călin Georgescu is once again asking a tribunal to trade his pre-trial detention for house arrest.