Social Democrat government

Russian energy giant Lukoil is in talks with ExxonMobil about the planned sale of the US multinational's 50 per cent stake of Neptun Deep gas project in the Romanian zone of the Black Sea, Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban revealed late on Monday.

Centre-right Romania President Klaus Iohannis, who frequently locked horns with the country's previous Social Democrat government, faces former Prime Minister Viorica Dancila in a presidential run-off on Sunday seen as likely to return the incumbent for a second and final term.

Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced he will forge ahead with his bid to pass the 'name' agreement with Greece through parliament, despite his "yes" campaign failing to draw enough voters to pass the turnout threshold required to make Sunday's historic referendum legally valid.

The parliament of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has begun debating a no-confidence motion by the conservative opposition, which argues that the country's 11-month-old Social Democrat government has failed to control corruption or halt economic stagnation.

Romania's new Social Democrat government, led by the country's first woman Prime Minister, Viorica Dancila, was sworn in on Monday.

However, there was criticism from the opposition about the alleged lack of expertise among some ministers and about a governance plan that has raised fears of further economic uncertainty.

More than 250,000 Romanians demonstrated on Feb. 1 against a government decree decriminalizing some graft offences, seen as the biggest retreat on reforms since the country joined the European Union in 2007. 

Romania's centre-left wing Social Democrat Party, PSD, won the country's legislative elections on Sunday, but failed to secure a parliamentary majority, leaving the door open for negotiations on forming a coalition with another parliamentary group.