March 14, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 14.03.2026, 13:45
State budget. The budget bill for 2026 will be submitted to a final vote in Parliament next Thursday. On Friday, the joint permanent bureaus of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate approved the calendar for the debate and adoption of the state budget and the social security bills for this year. The main challenge, that of reducing the deficit to 6.2% of GDP, will be supported by an ambitious reduction in state spending by 10 billion lei (2 billion euros). However, investments will go up to a record level of almost 170 billion lei (34 billion euros), mainly funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the SAFE programme. The budget bill is based on an economic growth rate of 1% and an inflation rate of 6.5% at the end of the year. Senate speaker Mircea Abrudean said the budget needs to be passed by Parliament in the form adopted by the Government, describing it as “realistic”.
Alert. The population in the north of Tulcea County, near the Romanian-Ukrainian border, received three text alert messages in fewer than 12 hours on Friday, warning them that drones had been detected in the immediate vicinity of the Romanian airspace. The Delta Inspectorate for Emergency Situations emphasises that Romania is not targeted by the airstrikes of the Russian Federation, but, given the situation in the proximity of the border, the authorities are sending warning messages to inform and protect the population. According to a press release from the Ministry of Defence, in this context, aircraft in the Reinforced Air Police service were scrambled for the research and monitoring of airspace. The Ministry of Defence says it permanently monitors the airspace in close cooperation with NATO allies, to ensure the security and territorial integrity of the country. Since the beginning of this year, residents of Tulcea County have received several such messages, amid the war started by Russia in the neighbouring Ukraine.
Romania-Moldova. The parliamentary committees for European affairs in Bucharest and Chişinău held a joint meeting on Friday to discuss the support that Romania can provide to the Republic of Moldova in its process of accession to the European Union. The talks focused on the transfer of experience for the harmonisation of legislation, the absorption of European funds and the cooperation between the local authorities in the two states. The officials in Bucharest reaffirmed Romania’s firm support for the European future of the Republic of Moldova and for the earliest possible opening of official negotiations by chapters. The Republic of Moldova was granted the status of EU candidate country in June 2022 and EU leaders decided to open accession talks in December 2023.
Fuel. The Ministry of Energy in Bucharest announced that it is preparing several measures to combat the increase in fuel prices. The measures are included in an internal working document that was sent to the prime minister and coalition leaders in an attempt to find solutions as quickly as possible. Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan stressed that a government decision is needed for these measures to be applied, but that some steps have already been taken to combat the effects of the war in the Middle East. On Friday, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said the government cannot prevent fuel price increases, but is closely following their evolution in order to take certain measures to mitigate their impact. Fuel prices have continued to go up in Romania, with diesel oil and petrol already passing 9 lei (that’s about 1.8 euros). (CM)
