April 22, 2026 UPDATE
The latest news from RRI
Newsroom, 22.04.2026, 20:00
Consultations – On Wednesday, Romania’s President Nicuşor Dan convened consultations with the leaders of the coalition that formed the government led by Liberal Ilie Bolojan, after the Social Democratic Party (PSD) withdrew its political support for the government on Monday. The aim of the discussions is to find a quick solution for a stable government that will not lead the country into financial deadlock. The first to arrive at the consultations were the Social Democrats, who argued that one solution was to continue the governing coalition, but with a different prime minister. PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu warned that if no agreement was reached, the party could move into opposition, from which position it would not support a minority government. Regardless of the decision, Grindeanu emphasized, the Social Democrats would continue to support Romania’s international commitments. For his part, Liberal leader and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan reaffirmed that he remained committed to his mandate at the head of the executive. Furthermore, the National Liberal Party (PNL) has committed to supporting the government’s work at both the governmental and parliamentary levels, so that this political crisis should have as little impact as possible on the absorption of European funds and the economic situation. Following his discussion with the head of state, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) leader Kelemen Hunor stated that a minority government comprising the PNL, Save Romania Union (USR), and UDMR could be considered if there was also support from individual members of parliament. Kelemen Hunor assured that the Ethnic Hungarians’ ministers would remain in the executive, noting that he did not believe in the option of a technocrat prime minister. Representatives of the national minorities group and of the USR also participated in the consultations.
Statistics – The data confirmed on Wednesday by Eurostat, showing that Romania’s budget deficit fell from 9.3% of GDP in 2024 to 7.9% of GDP in 2025, indicates that the country has entered a genuine phase of fiscal and budgetary correction and maturity, according to Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare. Romania’s budget deficit, calculated according to the European System of Accounts (ESA) methodology, recorded a correction of 1.4 % of GDP, exceeding the initial expectations of markets and international institutions, the Finance Ministry announced in a press release. According to the cited source, the result is better than the initial estimates of markets and international institutions, which indicated an ESA deficit of between 8.2% and 8.4% of GDP for 2025. According to the cited source, this development confirms the effectiveness of the fiscal consolidation measures adopted in the second half of last year, marking Romania’s return to the fiscal trajectory agreed upon with the European Commission through the Fiscal-Budgetary Plan.
Visit – European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investment Union, Maria Luis Albuquerque, is paying an official visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday. She will meet with the Governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Mugur Isărescu, the Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare, the President of the Financial Supervisory Authority, Alexandru Petrescu as well as representatives of the financial and capital markets sectors and of trade union confederations in Romania. The visit aims to strengthen dialogue between European institutions and national partners in the financial, economic, and social sectors, in the context of deepening the Savings and Investment Union at the EU level.
Ceremony – Land Forces Day will be celebrated on Thursday in Bucharest and across the country with military ceremonies at monuments dedicated to heroes, sports and military skills competitions, as well as weapons exhibitions, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense announced. According to a Defense Ministry statement, Land Forces Day is celebrated every year on April 23, the same day on which Saint George the Great Martyr, the Victory Bearer, is honored. He is the spiritual patron and protector of the soldiers of the Land Forces. In Bucharest, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in “Carol I” Park, a military and religious ceremony will take place, followed by an exhibition of weapons, equipment, and military technology.
Ukraine – On Wednesday in Brussels, the EU approved a 90 billion Euro loan for Ukraine and the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, following nearly three months of opposition from Hungary. The vote took place during a meeting of member state ambassadors, and Budapest’s approval came after Ukraine repaired the Druzhba pipeline that transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. It remains unclear why the repair of the Druzhba pipeline took nearly three months after it was damaged by Russian bombing in late January, during which time Hungary blocked the loan. Budapest claimed that Ukraine had intentionally delayed the repairs to prevent cheap Russian oil from flowing to Hungary, thereby seeking to influence the Hungarian elections, which resulted in Viktor Orbán losing the government. On the other hand, Ukraine stated that Russia had bombed its own pipeline countless times, and repairs were delayed because it was dangerous for technical crews to work under wartime conditions. This pipeline transports Russian oil to the only EU countries that still have contracts with Moscow, namely Hungary and Slovakia, while the rest of the EU has banned such imports to limit the funds Moscow uses to finance the war in Ukraine. (LS)
