October 15, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 15.10.2026, 19:55

Government. Romania’s Prime Minister-designate, Luca Niculescu, submitted the government’s programme and the list of ministers to Parliament on Thursday evening. Two-thirds of the ministerial posts will be filled by members of the PSD, many of whom have also served as ministers in previous cabinets. The remaining ministries will be headed by non-partisan figures, specialists approved by the President, Nicușor Dan. The Social Democrats want the future government to refrain from raising taxes next year, to finalise the budget amendment by 1 November, to draw up the state budget for 2027 by 1 December, to index pensions – including military pensions and the state pension – and to abolish social insurance contributions for mothers, war veterans and people with disabilities. The PNL and UDMR have promised to vote in favour of the Niculescu government’s investiture, in order to end the political crisis, but will not participate in the government. Votes will also come from MPs representing national minorities. On the other hand, the AUR and USR will not vote in favour of the government. Luca Niculescu is the fourth candidate nominated by Nicuşor Dan for the post of Prime Minister, following the dismissal by Parliament, via a motion of no confidence on 5 May, of the PNL-USR-UDMR minority government led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan.

Summit. The President of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, is attending the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where he has announced that he will advocate for an ‘ambitious’ EU budget for the period 2028–2034. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, Romania wants the EU budget to maintain the level of funding for the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, two essential instruments for reducing development disparities between Member States, as well as for modernising the agricultural sector, developing rural communities and strengthening food security. At the same time, Romania will advocate for funding to strengthen European defence capabilities, with particular attention paid to the Eastern Flank and the strategic Black Sea region, as well as for policies aimed at regaining competitiveness and reducing strategic dependencies in the fields of energy and advanced technologies. Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that he hoped an agreement on the new EU budget would be reached by the end of the year, despite the divergent positions of the Member States, whilst Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Madrid would push for a budget increase, as the current proposal is insufficient to address the challenges facing the EU.

NATO.The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is to convene a meeting of the Alliance Council for consultations on security in the Black Sea, following the attacks on commercial vessels in recent weeks. This move comes in the wake of Thursday’s meeting in Brussels between the President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, and the NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte. NATO sources say that neither Romania, nor Bulgaria, nor the Alliance wished to invoke Article 4, but the meeting of the allied states’ ambassadors will carry the same weight as consultations to prepare response measures. These mainly concern the deployment of equipment to Romania and Bulgaria, and Mark Rutte has confirmed that the Alliance will adapt its deterrence and defence capabilities in the Black Sea region.

Deficit. Romania’s current account balance recorded a deficit of nearly 20 billion euros in the first eight months of the year, almost one billion higher than in the same period last year, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania. The main cause is the widening trade deficit, the National Bank of Romania states. Foreign direct investment fell to just over 2 billion euros, down from 5.6 billion, while total external debt rose by over 7.4 billion euros to exceed 238 billion. The current account of the balance of payments shows the difference between the money a country receives and the money it pays out in its economic dealings with the rest of the world. When the current account is in deficit, the country pays out more abroad than it receives from these transactions.

Ruling. Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice on Thursday secured a final victory in the case it brought against the Government and the Ministry of Finance, concerning the payment of outstanding salaries to judges. The supreme court dismissed the appeal lodged by the Government and the Ministry of Finance, upholding the decision of the Bucharest Court of Appeal from May, which ordered the Government to pay the magistrates’ outstanding salary entitlements, including through a budget amendment. These arrears arose as a result of pay rises established retroactively by court rulings. The sum at stake in this case is approximately 5 billion lei (almost 940 million euros).

Excise. The Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday that it was extending the temporary 25 per cent reduction in excise duty on diesel for the period 16–31 October 2026. The Ministry stated that it had decided to maintain this level in light of developments in international prices and prices at the pump. The mechanism for reducing excise duty is reviewed every two weeks. In Romania, the price of diesel at the pump exceeds 2 euros per litre.

Emergency. The Maritime Coordination Centre of the Romanian Naval Authority has launched an emergency search and rescue operation following a serious incident reported on Thursday morning in the Black Sea, approximately 13 nautical miles south-east of the town of Sulina, not far from the border with Ukraine, which has been invaded by Russian troops. The commercial vessel Wide Trader, flying the San Marino flag, sent out an emergency alert, reporting that a fire had broken out on board. There were 12 people on board: 5 of them are safe, whilst 7 are reported missing. (deleted). Two Black Hawk helicopters and two rescue vessels from the Romanian Ministry of the Interior are taking part in the rescue operations for the Wide Trader’s crew. (MI)