Brussels dinner photo places President Dan at table with PNL dissident Rareș Bogdan as party votes to expel him

The dinner in Brussels

On June 18, just before the European Council meeting, President Dan was photographed at a restaurant in central Brussels with a group of Romanian politicians: PNL MEP Rareș Bogdan, PSD MEP and European Parliament Vice President Victor Negrescu, former prime minister-designate Eugen Tomac, head of the Protection and Guard Service (SPP) Lucian Pahonțu, and state counselor Valentin Naumescu. The image was aired by Digi24 on Sunday.

“These are normal meetings before the council; I am the leader of the Romanian delegation of the EPP and it is normal to meet with the president.”

Victor Negrescu added that such gatherings are routine ahead of European Councils, where political families coordinate on the agenda. Eugen Tomac said the president had earlier met with EPP leader Manfred Weber and then invited Romanian MEPs to lunch.

Party storm over Rareș Bogdan

The photo surfaced on Sunday as the PNL held an extraordinary congress that overwhelmingly reaffirmed Ilie Bolojan as party president and targeted five senior members for removal: Rareș Bogdan, Lucian Bode, Hubert Thuma, Alina Gorghiu, and Adrian Veștea. The congress gave them until Monday noon to resign voluntarily or face expulsion.

Bogdan is a vocal critic of Bolojan and had supported Adrian Veștea, whom President Dan had earlier designated to form a government, a step that sharpened divides inside the PNL. The photo, broadcast by a television station seen as close to Bolojan, fed speculation about the president's relations with the party's internal opposition.

“Before each European Council, there are meetings of the European political families to discuss the main topics on the agenda of EU leaders.”

What it means for Romanian governance

The dinner and the party shake-up come at a sensitive moment for Romanian government formation. President Dan's designation of Veștea to lead cabinet talks had already exposed fault lines in the PNL, and the congress vote signals a consolidation of Bolojan's control. The image of the head of state dining with a figure hours away from a party ultimatum adds a layer of personal entanglement to the institutional friction. No official reaction has come from the presidency, but the meeting's confirmation by several participants suggests it was not a secret, although its timing is politically charged.