Nicolae Ștefănuță

Nicolae Ștefănuță or Nicu Ștefănuță is a progressive Romanian politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.

Political career
In 2007, Nicolae Ștefănuță was a member of the Democratic Party and assistant to Monica Iacob Ridzi. He was appointed to head the new department of European politics and affairs.

As a member of USR PLUS, Ștefănuță was elected as MEP in 2019. In parliament, he serves on the Committee on Budgets and on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. In 2020, he also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer. Ștefănuță has been serving as the parliament’s lead rapporteur on the budget of the European Union for 2023.

In addition to his committee assignments, Ștefănuță is part of the parliament's delegation for relations with the United States. He co-chairs the informal MEP Interest Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). He is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights, the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights and the European Parliament Intergroup on Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages.

In March 2023, Ștefănuță left the Save Romania Union party and the Renew Europe parliamentary group for the Greens–European Free Alliance as an independent MEP.

After the 2024 European elections, Ștefănuță has become the fourth independent in Romanian history to get a mandate. He got 3.04% which is above the 3% needed to get in as an independent.

Political positions
In 2021, Ștefănuță joined seven other Romanian MEPs in co-signing a letter to Ursula von der Leyen and Maroš Šefčovič in which they call on the European Commission to stop the United Kingdom from holding EU nationals in immigration removal centers.

Nicu Ștefănuță is a strong supporter of Palestine. He participated in a pro-Palestinian rally in Bucharest on 19 May 2024. After, on June 20, 2024, the management of the University of Bucharest called the gendarmes to evacuate the pro-Palestine protesters occupying the its territory, Ștefănuță compared this event with the invitation of miners by President Ion Iliescu in 1990, which resulted in the infamous June 1990 Mineriad.

Ștefănuță attended the 2024 Bucharest Pride.

Personal life
Ștefănuță's father, also named Nicolae, was a PSD member and later switched to PDL. He led the Sibiu branch of the Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate (DSV) for years. The transition of Nicolae Ștefănuță Sr. from PSD to PDL was related to the management position at DSV Sibiu. He was deputy director at DSV Sibiu until 2012. After the PDL lost the elections, he left the leadership position. He continues to work at that institution and currently as a senior advisor. Ștefănuță senior was prosecuted for a prejudice of 500 000 RON. According to an article in România Liberă, “Director General of the Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Directorate Sibiu (DSVSA), Nicolae Ștefănuță, is investigated by the officers of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police because he purchased laboratory equipment without any auction from several companies of the same associate. According to investigators, seven times more money than the actual price of the equipment went into the pockets of Ștefănuță Sr's protege. (…) Officers of the Fraud Investigation Directorate have determined that the total damage to the state budget by the management of DSVSA Sibiu amounts to over 500.000 RON”.

His mother, Paraschiva Ștefănuță, was the coordinating director within the County Office for Agricultural Consultation in Sibiu.

Nicu Ștefănuță is married to American Carolyn Blake, Senior Manager of Research and International Policy at the US Chamber of Commerce.