May 27, 2026
A roundup of domestic and world news
Newsroom, 27.05.2026, 13:55
Government – Three weeks have passed since Parliament dismissed the current governing coalition (PNL-USR-UDMR) in Bucharest, led by Liberal Ilie Bolojan, through a motion of no confidence, and the parliamentary parties are waiting for President Nicuşor Dan to make an official nomination for the position of prime minister. The head of state has held both informal and formal consultations with the political parties, but these have concluded without the formation of a majority to support a future executive. Meanwhile, the parties have continued negotiations, with each attempting to impose its own governing scenario. The PNL maintains its decision not to join an executive alongside the PSD, its former governing partner and the initiator of the no-confidence motion. The USR also rules out any collaboration with the PSD, and the UDMR will not join a minority government and does not believe in the viability of a technocratic executive. The PSD would prefer a political government, not a technocratic one, while the AUR (an opposition, nationalist party) is willing to join the government if it gets the prime minister seat.
Unified pay scale – The discussions started on Tuesday at the Romanian Labor Ministry headquarters with the unions regarding the new law on a unified pay scale for public sector employees will continue with each sector individually. Today, union representatives from the health, social assistance, and culture sectors are invited to the consultations. The goal of this reform is to eliminate inequities in the system, said Acting Minister Dragoş Pîslaru. The new public sector pay bill has sparked discontent among teachers, doctors, and judges, who argue that the current version of the draft will lead to lower incomes. Discussions at the Labor Ministry will be accelerated, with a deadline set for next Thursday. The bill is a mandatory milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and should be adopted by Parliament by July 1. Healthcare union members have already announced that they will take to the streets on June 3.
Nadia Comaneci – Leading figures from the Romanian and international sports will gather from May 29 to 31 in Onesti (east), the hometown of former Romanian gymnastics great Nadia Comaneci, in events organized to mark the 50th anniversary of the first perfect 10 in gymnastics history, which she achieved at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. The events are part of the Year of Nadia, established specifically to commemorate the Montreal moment. For three days, the public will be able to attend competitions, official ceremonies, press conferences, festivities, and performances dedicated to athletic achievement.
Heat wave – Western Europe is facing a heat wave that meteorologists describe as unprecedented. Italy is bracing for the peak of the heat wave today, with forecast highs of 39 degrees Celsius. Similar temperatures are expected in France on Thursday and Friday. In fact, both France and the United Kingdom have reported several deaths attributed to the heat wave. Temperatures well above seasonal norms were also recorded in Spain, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and much of the Balkans.
CAP – On Tuesday in Brussels, 16 European Union member states from the south and east of the continent called for an increase in the funds allocated to the Common Agricultural Policy and the Cohesion Policy, compared to the proposal drafted by the European Commission. In a letter, these countries requested that national control over budget planning should be maintained, that conditions should be less stringent, that the financial mechanism for attracting funds should be retained, and that there should be balanced access among member states to competitiveness funds. Present in Brussels, Romania’s acting Foreign Minister, Oana Toiu, called for flexibility regarding long-term investments.
Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea faces Germany’s Eva Lys today in the second round of the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament. Cîrstea (WTA 18) and Lys (WTA 81) are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head record. Also on the clay courts in Paris, the Romanian-Austrian pair Jaqueline Cristian/Anastasia Potapova was defeated by the pair Eri Hozumi (Japan)/Fang-Hsien Wu (Taiwan), 6-3, 6-0, on Tuesday in the first round of the women’s doubles. Romania still has two representatives in the doubles at Roland Garros—Sorana Cîrstea and Gabriela Ruse. Cîrstea will team up with Russian Ana Kalinskaia, and in the first round they will face the French pair Fiona Ferro/Diane Parry. Ruse will play alongside Ukrainian Marta Kostiuk against the third seeds, Elise Mertens (Belgium)/Shuai Zhang (China).
Survey – Romanians say the country needs stability, not conflict, and want a profound change in the political class, according to the latest poll conducted by INSCOP. Specifically, the data shows that nearly 90% of the population supports the continuation of economic reforms, even if they are unpopular, and believes that the state must protect its citizens. At the same time, 68% agree that it is time for a complete overhaul of the current political class. Another key finding of the poll concerns protecting the population in a difficult economic context. Nearly 50% of those surveyed believe the state should do this even at the risk of no longer being able to pay its debts. The data was collected through telephone interviews with a representative sample of 1,100 people, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3% at a 95% confidence level. (LS)
