May 15, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 15.05.2026, 20:05
BANK The board of Romania’s Central Bank (BNR) on Friday decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at the level of 6.50% a year, a bank’s press release says. According to the same sources, the BNR made this decision by means of assessments and the available figures at the moment and after taking into account higher uncertainties. Financial analyst, Adrian Codirlasu, told Radio Romania that one of the factors fueling the inflation is the high budget deficit against the background of the state’s increased funding costs. According to him, the high level of taxes and interest rates is lowering consumption and private investment, which makes the economy to slow down while the population feels the pressure through price hikes and a reduced purchasing power.
VISIT Romania’s Foreign Minister, Oana Toiu, went to Chisinau on Friday to participate in the ministerial meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, together with her counterparts from the 45 member states. The head of the Romanian diplomacy went to Chisinau with concrete messages on the three directions defining the activity of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The most visible moment of her participation was the co-chairing with the Republic of Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mihai Popsoi, of the round-table talks dedicated to combating operations of foreign interferences and protecting election integrity. Minister Ţoiu underlined that we are witnessing an unprecedented escalation in manipulation and information interference through increasingly well-funded campaigns fueled by artificial intelligence and cybernetic devices, which are spreading disinformation at a speed, which is difficult to control. According to the Romanian minister, the information exchange, international cooperation and the appropriate legal instruments are the only way through which the European democracies can effectively respond.
FUNDING The European Commission has approved Romania’s Payment Request number 4 under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, worth around 2.6 billion Euros. The money will go into the digitalization of public administration, healthcare, education, social infrastructure, energy and transport. The Commission’s decision must now be endorsed by the Economic and Financial Committee of the European Union, after which the money will be sent to Bucharest. Romania will thus have received almost 13 billion Euros under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, accounting for over 60% of the total amount of funding allocated to it.
TALKS Romania’s President, Nicuşor Dan, has invited parliamentary parties to official consultations in order to appoint a new prime minister. The talks will begin on Monday morning, and the delegations have one hour each to present their options. The first to be received by the president are the representatives of the Social Democratic Party, followed by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the group of national minorities, SOS and the Party of Young People.
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