July 26, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 26.07.2026, 13:45
Drone. Romanian President Nicușor Dan said this morning that a new drone was shot down by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force over Romania’s territorial waters, in the Sulina-Chilia area in the Danube Delta, near the border with Ukraine. This is the third drone shot down this week, following incidents on Friday and Saturday in Buzău County and the Danube Delta. The president said the drone intercepted on Friday was of Russian origin and added that Romania is preparing an official note of protest to the Russian Federation.
Wildfire. French President Emmanuel Macron posted a message on X thanking Romania for the assistance provided by Romanian firefighters in battling the devastating wildfires in the southwest France. In a subsequent message, Macron added Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia to the list of nations contributing to the efforts of French emergency services. “This is Europe. In times of crisis, it brings to life the solidarity on which it is founded,” said the French president, quoted by the Romanian media.
Parliament. On Monday, Romanian senators and deputies are holding an extraordinary session to debate the bills needed to meet the milestones laid down in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan whose deadline is 31st August, as agreed by the Romanian government with the European Commission. Senate speaker and Liberal Party MP Mircea Abrudean says Parliament may pass five out of six bills. The law on unified public sector wages, which is strongly opposed by trade unions, will not be included on the agenda because the parties in the former governing coalition (the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania) are yet to reach an agreement on its final version. According to the local media, presidential advisor Radu Burnete, who is facilitating dialogue between the former political partners, estimates that another one or two weeks of negotiations are needed.
Petrol. The average price of diesel oil has continued to rise slightly in recent days in Romania, reaching 9.93 lei per liter. Meanwhile, the average price of gasoline is still above 9 lei per liter, as the price of an oil barrel has remained near the 100 dollar mark. In Bucharest, standard gasoline is selling for between 8.99 lei and 9.12 lei per liter, while the same amount of standard diesel oil costs between 9.88 lei and 9.98 lei. Currently, Romania ranks 13th in the European Union for the cheapest gasoline and 16th for the lowest diesel price. (1 euro is traded at approx. 5.25 lei)
Water polo. Romania lost to Hungary 22-4 (3-1, 5-1, 9-1, 5-1) on Saturday at the Women’s Water Polo World Championship hosted by Zagreb, in Croatia. Romania will next be playing Serbia today, the United States, tomorrow, and Ukraine, on the following day, 28th July. (CM)
