Description: Calin Georgescu, the pro – Russian presidential candidate in Romania, whose appeal to overturn the results from the Dec polls was rejected by the European Court of Human Rights, still led the polls. Georgescu, known as a staunch NATO critic unsupportive of the Ukrainian cause, appealed the decision of the Romanian government to overturn the results from the Dec polls due to suspicions of Russian interference in the election process. The latest polls indicated that he still enjoyed a favorable support from the Romanian people despite his stances towards NATO and Ukraine and eventual allegations of Russia – backed political campaign.
Impact: With Romania being one of the key EU and NATO members in the CEE region, the threat of Russian influence is evident as hybrid attacks, disinformation campaigns and electoral influence have risen in the past year. The Romanian government should closely investigate the suspicions and mitigate all risk of outside influence in their governance. Enhanced background checks raised levels of counterintelligence readiness and election monitoring should be Romania’s short-term priorities amid the elections in May. Russia is expected to continue inserting their influence in countries from the CEE region as they aim to weaken all and any support for Ukraine.