Romania: Why EU and Nato fear this election

First TikTok was to blame, then it was Russia’s fault: The presidential election in Romania is being repeated due to alleged manipulation. And once again, fear is spreading in Brussels.

‘The Romanian election scenarios scaring Brussels’, headlines Politico. The EU Observer warns of ‘extremist attempts to destabilise pro-European Romania’.

What's going on? Well, the right-wing candidate George Simion, who replaces Calin Georgescu, who won in December but was then expelled, is the favourite going into the race, which will last two rounds of voting until 18 May.

Should he prevail, not only further integration into the EU and Romania's role as a hub for NATO and military support for neighbouring Ukraine would be in question.

Simion is also considered a Trump supporter. His party ‘Alliance for the Unity of Romanians’ sees itself ‘in perfect harmony with the MAGA movement’. The Trump administration, for its part, has declared the election a test of democracy.

Above all, however, it will be a test for the EU Commission and Nato. The EU authorities made Romania a full member of Schengen in January and claim that the country is in a great position.

But many Romanians see things differently.

In view of high inflation and the high cost of living, there are many in Romania who reject the establishment, writes the news agency AP.

And Nato is building the largest military camp in the EU in Romania. 70,000 Nato soldiers are now stationed in Romania. The Bundeswehr has deployed Eurofighters to Constanța. German weapons can be seen everywhere.

With so much going on, it's all too understandable that the ‘decision-makers’ in Brussels are terrified of the election. What should they do if the ‘wrong person’ wins again? Cancelling everything again is probably not an option...

The original post (in German) is here