May 5, 2026 UPDATE
No-confidence motion against Ilie Bolojan government is passed in Parliament.
Newsroom, 05.05.2026, 14:25
Motion. A no-confidence motion against the cabinet led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan and initiated by the Social Democratic Party, a former partner in government, together with the populist opposition the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, passed in Parliament with 281 votes in favour. The initiators of the motion criticised the prime minister for pursuing austerity policies that harm the population and refusing constructive dialogue, among others, while the prime minister insisted that he is a target precisely because he has blocked the waste of public money. The parties will next be invited for consultations by president Nicuşor Dan, for him to appoint a prime minister to form a new government.
Currency. Romania’s national currency, the leu, has continued to depreciate amid political uncertainty. The euro has passed 5.21 lei on the interbank market, after the leu closed last week at its lowest level in history. Analysts warn that the national currency remains extremely vulnerable to the political crisis that began in late April. They also say that in times like these the depreciation is quick and recovery against the European currency is, most of the time, only partial. Financial expert Adrian Codirlaşu told public television that all Romanian assets have depreciated and that the situation could last, amid a lot of uncertainty. “We see that Romania has two large deficits, that of the current account and of the budget. They are unsustainable and rating agencies have said this, that their high levels take us from the category of countries recommended for investment, but what keeps us going is our membership of the EU, namely European funding,” Adrian Codirlaşu pointed out.
Reform. The minister for investments and European projects Dragoş Pîslaru has announced that the assessment of payment request no. 4 under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has been finalised and that no problems have been identified. 2.62 billion euros worth of funding thus becomes available. On Monday, the Government approved two emergency orders to allow local authorities carrying out projects as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to have quicker access to these funds. These are projects related to healthcare, education, digitalisation and infrastructure. The projects must be finalised by the end of the summer for Romania not to lose the funding.
Awards. Kontinental ʹ25 directed by Radu Jude won the best film award at this year’s Gopo Awards Gala held last evening in Bucharest. Eszter Tompa won the award for best actress for her role in Kontinental ʹ25, while Ben Schnetzer won the best actor award for his role in “The Yellow Tie”, a film that won seven categories, including the People’s Choice Award. (CM)
