April 17, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 17.04.2026, 13:55
PRESIDENCY – Romanian President Nicuşor Dan is participating in today’s videoconference of countries not involved in the Middle East conflict, co-chaired in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This is a group of states that want to contribute to the so-called multilateral mission with strict defense objectives in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, the idea of an alliance to oversee the reopening of the strait and ensure the escort of ships once the fighting stops, was launched last month by President Macron. Romania also signed, alongside other countries, a joint declaration on guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the area.
FUEL- Fuel prices have continued to fall in Romania in recent days, amid a relative stabilization of the price of a barrel of oil at approximately 98 dollars. Thus, gasoline costs on average 8.67 lei (about 1.7 euros), and diesel 9.47 lei (the equivalent of approximately 1.9 euros). We recall that, in the context of the war in the Middle East, a government emergency order has been in force in Romania since April 1st, declaring a crisis situation on the fuel market. Based on the order, the Government adopted a series of measures to temper the increase in gasoline and diesel prices. Among other things, the tax on diesel was reduced, the biofuel content in gasoline was reduced to lower production costs, and the method of updating prices at the pump was regulated.
DECISION – On Monday, April 20, the Social Democrats will decide whether or not to leave the four-party ruling coalition in Romania, as they believe a political reset is needed to change the current direction of the country. Their colleagues from the PNL and USR are further supporting the Liberal head of government, Ilie Bolojan. At the same time, the Liberals have announced that they will no longer form a coalition with the Social Democrats if the latter bring down the Government through a censure motion. In order to avoid breaking up the current coalition, the head of state, Nicuşor Dan, has discussed with both Prime Minister Bolojan and PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu, but has avoided taking sides. The President stressed that a coalition of the current pro-Western parties is the only solution to govern Romania and insisted on at least minimal collaboration.
REORGANISATION – Dozens of state-owned companies in Romania are recording historic losses totalling approximately 14 billion lei (about 2.7 billion euros), according to data presented on Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu. She announced that, next week, she would submit to the government for approval a memorandum on the recovery of 22 state-owned companies analyzed in a pilot project. The Deputy Prime Minister said that, while some companies must be supported because they have a real strategic role, others must be transformed or restructured, and others must be closed because maintaining them in their current form serves neither the economy nor the taxpayer.
BOOKS – Romania is participating, between April 17-19, in the Festival du Livre de Paris, the most important international book event in the French capital. Under the motto “’Romania, beyond borders/ A territory still to be discovered”, readers are invited to discover or rediscover authors and writings from contemporary Romanian literature. Visitors can choose from a selection of 60 titles by Romanian authors translated into French, offered by publishers in France and Switzerland, and over 60 titles in Romanian, proposed by 13 publishers in Romania.
WASHINGTON – The Romanian delegation in Washington DC has begun negotiations with Pfizer representatives to convert the debt of over 600 million euros into innovative medicines. The Ministers of Health and Finance, Alexandru Rogobete and Alexandru Nazare, announced that they are trying to transform this situation into a benefit for patients. Thus, Romania’s proposal to the American pharmaceutical company is to convert the debt into innovative medicines, intended for oncology patients and those with rare diseases. According to the two ministers, Pfizer representatives are to provide an answer regarding the technical framework for continuing the negotiations and the possibility of this proposal being analyzed and approved at the management level. We recall that, at the beginning of this month, Romania lost in the first instance the lawsuit opened by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer due to the refusal of the Bucharest government to pay for over 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
CONFLICT – The Romanian Army’s air defense systems monitored two air targets in the border area with Ukraine last night, amid Russian attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in the neighbouring country. One of the targets entered Romanian airspace, but radar contact with it was lost over an uninhabited area, as announced by the Ministry of National Defense. As a result, residents of northern Tulcea County, on the Danube, received a Ro-Alert message warning them of the possibility of objects falling from the airspace and urging them to take self-protection measures. The alert was lifted after approximately 90 minutes.
INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in the European Union rose to 2.8% in March, from 2.1% in February, and Romania is still the country with the highest value, according to data from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat). According to the National Institute of Statistics, in Romania, the annual inflation rate increased to 9.87% in March, as services, non-food and food goods became more expensive. Bread, milk, eggs, meat and other basic foods have increased prices, despite the capping of the trade mark-up. (EE)
